Eternal Phoenix

Regarding predictions... Eternal Phoenix Croquemitaine Derek B Opening Round 7 correct 7 correct 7 correct Quarterfinals 4 correct (loser of Match 9 was different team, but winner correct) 3 correct (loser of Match 9 was different team, but winner correct) 3 correct (loser of Match 9 was different team, but winner correct) Semifinals 1 correct 1 correct 0 correct Finals 0 correct 0 correct 0 correct Total 12 correct 11 correct 10 correct A winner is me. But I'm ineligible for my own prize, obviously, so Cro if you wanna talk I'm available via PM. If you don't that's also super cool. That's all until I do match predictions. No Quick Thoughts for Tag Team Turmoil.

Priest had to kick out of not one but two finishers, plus how many times did Pastor Richards interfere, again? The First Church may have won the match, but they got pushed beyond the limit. Both were left bloodied and beaten to the limits of their endurance, as were both members of Rampage Carnival. The Carnival of Violence has been well represented this week. Kichi is, well, let's just say she's a very happy young lady right now. Rampage Carnival will return next season. On the other hand, Grappling Geniuses was only ever going to be a one season deal, assuming neither them nor Emerald & Silver won it all. Since this didn't happen, the Irish Canadian Connection is highly likely to return...probably with a new and improved team name, to boot.

Season Eleven Midpoint Review, Commentary, & Predictions Alpha Division Predicted Top Two: George Mastachas, Nuclear Templeton Predicted Middle Four: Brandy McDonald, Brian Blackfield, Mel O’Hallister, The Mastodon Predicted Bottom Two: De’siree Mitchell, Jean-Paul Ouilette Actual Top Two: Nuclear Templeton, George Mastachas Actual Middle Four: Jean-Paul Ouilette, Brandy McDonald, Brian Blackfield, Mel O’Hallister Actual Bottom Two: The Mastodon, De’siree Mitchell You know, the only big surprise here is the swap between Mastodon and JPO. Completely unexpected, based on last season. Another, not so big surprise is Blackfield at 3-4. A losing record for the first time in his League career, and the loss to Nuke caused his total losses in Alpha to exceed his total losses in the other three divisions combined. He has definitely hit the wall, albeit a bit sooner than I expected. Alpha really is the top dawg of the divisions, ain’t it? Aside from that, Alpha continues as it did last season. Nuke and Mastachas battling it out at the top, Brandy and Mel in the middle, and De’siree near the bottom. Though it appears that she will not escape relegation this time. Fear for Beta if this is the case. Huh. If Kichi Hida is promoted and De’siree is relegated, that’ll be must see action. Interesting, yes? Now, to the character breakdowns. Brandy McDonald L vs. The Mastodon (0-1 Season, 3-4 Career) W vs. Nuclear Templeton (1-0 Season, 4-3 Career) W vs. De’siree Mitchell (1-0 Season, 5-2 Career) W vs. Brian Blackfield (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Jean-Paul Ouilette (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. George Mastachas (0-1 Season, 3-4 Career) W vs. Mel O’Hallister (1-0 Season, 3-2 Career) Brian Blackfield L vs. George Mastachas (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. De’siree Mitchell (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. The Mastodon (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Brandy McDonald (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Mel O’Hallister (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Jean-Paul Ouilette (0-1 Season, 2-1 Career) L vs. Nuclear Templeton (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) De’siree Mitchell W vs. Jean-Paul Ouilette (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Brian Blackfield (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Brandy McDonald (0-1 Season, 2-5 Career) L vs. Mel O’Hallister (0-1 Season, 4-1 Career) L vs. George Mastachas (0-1 Season, 2-5 Career) L vs. Nuclear Templeton (0-1 Season, 1-6 Career) L vs. The Mastodon (0-1 Season, 2-5 Career) George Mastachas W vs. Brian Blackfield (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. The Mastodon (1-0 Season, 6-1 Career) L vs. Mel O’Hallister (0-1 Season, 3-2 Career) L vs. Nuclear Templeton (0-1 Season, 3-4 Career) W vs. De’siree Mitchell (1-0 Season, 5-2 Career) W vs. Brandy McDonald (1-0 Season, 4-3 Career) W vs. Jean-Paul Ouilette (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) Jean-Paul Ouilette L vs. De’siree Mitchell (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Mel O’Hallister (1-0 Season, 2-1 Career) L vs. Nuclear Templeton (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. The Mastodon (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Brandy McDonald (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Brian Blackfield (1-0 Season, 1-2 Career) L vs. George Mastachas (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) Mel O’Hallister L vs. Nuclear Templeton (0-1 Season, 3-2 Career) L vs. Jean-Paul Ouilette (0-1 Season, 1-2 Career) W vs. George Mastachas (1-0 Season, 2-3 Career) W vs. De’siree Mitchell (1-0 Season, 1-4 Career) L vs. Brian Blackfield (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. The Mastodon (1-0 Season, 3-2 Career) L vs. Brandy McDonald (0-1 Season, 2-3 Career) Nuclear Templeton W vs. Mel O’Hallister (1-0 Season, 2-3 Career) L vs. Brandy McDonald (0-1 Season, 3-4 Career) W vs. Jean-Paul Ouilette (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. George Mastachas (1-0 Season, 4-3 Career) W vs. The Mastodon (1-0 Season, 5-2 Career) W vs. De’siree Mitchell (1-0 Season, 6-1 Career) W vs. Brian Blackfield (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) The Mastodon W vs. Brandy McDonald (1-0 Season, 4-3 Career) L vs. George Mastachas (0-1 Season, 1-6 Career) L vs. Brian Blackfield (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Jean-Paul Ouilette (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Nuclear Templeton (0-1 Season, 2-5 Career) L vs. Mel O’Hallister (0-1 Season, 2-3 Career) W vs. De’siree Mitchell (1-0 Season, 5-2 Career) Brandy McDonald is about as steady as she goes. A threat to anyone in the division, as being the 1 in Nuke’s 6-1 shows, but not a threat to the championship itself. Honestly, I think she’s found her permanent spot in the division, barring having to take some time off and thus falling to Beta. Seriously, there’s not a lot to be said here. It’s very clear that she’s become Alpha’s gatekeeper. The one who needs to be consistently overcome if they want the strap. That’s it. Brian Blackfield has hit that Alpha wall. More losses in half a season than in the three full ones beforehand. I’d like to think that anyone who saw the differences between divisions could have seen this coming, especially after how hard Gross and Simmons bounced off the place last season. Can’t do that, though, and even I’m surprised at the fourth loss happening before the second half of the season. So he finds himself in an interesting position. The underdog. Can Blackfield rally to a respectable finish or even threaten for the title? Or will these struggles in the first have break him and have him wash out like Gross and Simmons? Gonna be interesting to see, I think. De’siree Mitchell, on the other hand, is finally washing out of Alpha. 1-6 at the halfway mark, historically, means the wrestler is getting relegated by season’s end. I don’t expect her to prove the exception. It’s been a long time coming, honestly. Despite a few bright spots, she’s consistently been at the bottom of Alpha’s rankings for three friggin’ seasons. It makes perfect sense that inevitably she’d fail to avoid the axe. And yet…whoever’s in Beta will need to watch their backs. To be clear, De’siree is a jobber in Alpha only. In any other division she’s a serious threat to dominate the place, and I think we’ll see that next season. George Mastachas is still doing his thing. The problem is that Nuke stepped his game up just a bit, and so the defending champ finds himself on the backfoot. He can’t afford any mistakes like that loss to Mel, and if he wants to retain his title he has to both remain dominant and beat Nuke in the rematch faster that Nuke beat him. At just under 15 minutes, it’s not an impossible task. Merely a challenging one. Good luck to him. Jean-Paul Ouilette is Alpha’s big surprise of the season. Just about everyone expected him to be the whipping boy like Gross and Simmons were last season. Instead, he’s 4-3 and ranked third in the division behind Mastachas and Nuke. It’s wild stuff. Who knew, after how he’d struggled at times in Beta, that he had this in him? Not me, that’s for sure. Now, he’s not a threat to win the title. Getting squished by both Nuke and Mastachas shows that. He may well, however, be here to stay in Alpha. Mel O’Hallister is still doing Mel O’Hallister things. Namely, being tough as hell to predict logically. He’s got wins against people who should’ve beat him, and losses against people he ought to be able to beat. And somehow being kind of midtable after all that. He’s a gatekeeper, too, but not as much of one as Brandy. He also needs to watch his back. He got a little lucky last season in that there were three obvious candidates for relegation at this point. This season, there’s just one. Mastodon could always step it up a level, after all. So last season’s 6-8 effort may get him relegated this time. Let’s go, Mel. Get scrappier. I mean, what I can say about Nuclear Templeton? He’s 6-1. A threat to run the table in the second half. He’s very likely the champ this year, you know? Just a dominant performance all around. He’s not showing any signs of weakness aside from coming out extra flat against Brandy that time. As long as that doesn’t repeat more than once or twice in the second half, he’s golden. Literally. There’s nothing else to be said. The Mastodon is having a rough one. My opinion of him drastically improved last season, but the more he struggles in this one, the louder the voices whispering “fluke” get. I think he can do better than 2-5, but he’s gonna have his work cut out for him avoiding relegation now. Those who’ve dodged it after such a woeful start are a short list, and they had help from other wrestlers tanking harder. He’s very likely not going to get that type of help from any of the middle quartet. So he’s got to rediscover what on earth made him so good last season, and in a hurry. End of Season Predictions Champion: Nuclear Templeton Staying in Alpha: George Mastachas, Jean-Paul Ouilette, Brandy McDonald, Brian Blackfield Questionable: Mel O’Hallister, The Mastodon Relegated to Beta: De’siree Mitchell Basically I can’t see anyone tanking hard enough to alter the current rankings much. Which leaves Mel and Mastodon fighting over the second relegation slot. Bummer. ********** Beta Division Predicted Top Two: Christian Priest, Reverend Johnny Gross Predicted Middle Four: Billy Norris, Blood River, Lucas Molina, Yoshii Nakamatsu Predicted Bottom Two: Angela Wasserman, Pulsar Actual Top Two: Lucas Molina, Yoshii Nakamatsu Actual Middle Four: Billy Norris, Reverend Johnny Gross, Christian Priest, Pulsar Actual Bottom Four: Blood River, Angela Wasserman Beta has proven to be quite surprising through half of the season. The two expected front runners struggling to reach that level, especially Gross early on. Molina and Nakamatsu taking advantage to take their places. Blood River tanking hard and Pulsar surprisingly not. But y’know, some things are constant. Like Billy Norris being a threat but not enough to lead the standings and Wasserman merrily jobbing away. …yeah, that’s all I’ve got. Let’s move on to the character breakdowns. Angela Wasserman L vs. Blood River (0-1 Season, 1-4 Career) L vs. Christian Priest (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Pulsar (1-0 Season, 3-0 Career) L vs. Lucas Molina (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Billy Norris (0-1 Season, 1-6 Career) L vs. Reverend Johnny Gross (0-1 Season, 0-3 Career) L vs. Yoshii Nakamatsu (0-1 Season, 0-3 Career) Billy Norris L vs. Pulsar (0-1 Season, 1-2 Career) L vs. Yoshii Nakamatsu (0-1 Season, 2-1 Career) W vs. Lucas Molina (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Reverend Johnny Gross (0-1 Season, 2-1 Career) W vs. Angela Wasserman (1-0 Season, 6-1 Career) L vs. Christian Priest (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Blood River (1-0 Season, 3-2 Career) Blood River W vs. Angela Wasserman (1-0 Season, 4-1 Career) L vs. Lucas Molina (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Christian Priest (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Yoshii Nakamatsu (0-1 Season, 3-2 Career) L vs. Reverend Johnny Gross (0-1 Season, 1-2 Career) L vs. Pulsar (0-1 Season, 0-3 Career) L vs. Billy Norris (0-1 Season, 2-3 Career) Christian Priest L vs. Yoshii Nakamatsu (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Angela Wasserman (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Blood River (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Pulsar (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Lucas Molina (0-1 Season, 3-2 Career) W vs. Billy Norris (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Reverend Johnny Gross (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) Lucas Molina W vs. Reverend Johnny Gross (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Blood River (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Billy Norris (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Angela Wasserman (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Christian Priest (1-0 Season, 2-3 Career) W vs. Yoshii Nakamatsu (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Pulsar (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) Pulsar W vs. Billy Norris (1-0 Season, 2-1 Career) W vs. Reverend Johnny Gross (1-0 Season, 1-2 Career) L vs. Angela Wasserman (0-1 Season, 0-3 Career) L vs. Christian Priest (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Yoshii Nakamatsu (0-1 Season, 0-3 Career) W vs. Blood River (1-0 Season, 3-0 Career) L vs. Lucas Molina (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) Reverend Johnny Gross L vs. Lucas Molina (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Pulsar (0-1 Season, 2-1 Career) W vs. Yoshii Nakamatsu (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Billy Norris (1-0 Season, 1-2 Career) W vs. Blood River (1-0 Season, 2-1 Career) W vs. Angela Wasserman (1-0 Season, 3-0 Career) W vs. Christian Priest (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) Yoshii Nakamatsu W vs. Christian Priest (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Billy Norris (1-0 Season, 1-2 Career) L vs. Reverend Johnny Gross (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Blood River (1-0 Season, 2-3 Career) W vs. Pulsar (1-0 Season, 3-0 Career) L vs. Lucas Molina (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Angela Wasserman (1-0 Season, 3-0 Career) Angela Wasserman I referred to as Beta’s gatekeeper a season ago. Considering her performance in the second half of Season Ten and the first half of this one, that can no longer be true. If it’s anyone, it’s Norris now. 1-6 speaks for itself, honestly. As I said above, she’s merrily jobbing away, most likely on her way down to Gamma. Her core problem is, as usual, her absolutely shoddy conditioning. We’ve seen her dominate the opening minutes of match after match, only to fade away and get beat. At this point she is who she is, and she’ll be doing it some more down in Gamma. Billy Norris, by contrast, seems to actually have it together this season. Last season appears to have been a blip on the radar and he’s back to his threatening ways. Though as in Season Nine, he’s just a step back from the leaders. We will carefully note, however, that he’s the 1 in Molina’s 6-1 and one of Gross’s 3 losses. As I said just above, he does appear to be playing the role Beta’s gatekeeper this season. It’s up to him whether or not he achieves more or slips down lower. Blood River is in total freefall. He hasn’t won since the first week of the season, and that was Wasserman. Hardly anything to brag about. The problem is pretty basic. Beta’s evolved since he first came up to it, and he hasn’t. He’s the same guy who was midtable in Season 9 and struggled some in Season 10. It was simply a matter o ftime before the jobbers below him were replaced with quality and those above him (because they’re Alpha Originals or promoted from Beta) to come down. Molina, Nakamatsu, Gross, and Priest are decidedly not Simmons, Ouilette, Clay, T. Stevens, or Weathers. He’s got to step up his game and evolve in some way or he’s simply cooked. That’s all there is to it. Christian Priest is not doing Christian Priest things so far, and it’s weird. 4-3 is a perfectly respectable record for the first half, but this is Priest we’re talking about. He’s better than respectable. Or at least that’s what he’s been for the past three seasons. Is this the same guy that when 13-1 in Season Ten and 11-3 in Season Nine? I dunno man, it’s damn odd. Then again, maybe it’s a testament to the skills of Nakamatsu, Molina, and Gross that they’ve been able to beat him this season. At any rate, if he wants to promote for the third time in three seasons, he’s got to step it up a level. Right now he’s not quite making the cut. Lucas Molina, on the other hand, absolutely is. He’s doing to Beta what Nuke is doing to Alpha, which is entirely unexpected given his struggles last season. He’s beaten everyone but Billy Norris and is in prime position to not just promote for the third time in three seasons, but win the division title outright. He’s apparently back in Season Nine form somehow, and he’s routinely popping out banger matches instead of the usual 1 or 2* snoozefests he used to do. Honestly I’m loving it. There’s nothing else to be said. Pulsar is also surprising, though in his case it’s because not quite tanking. After three seasons of non stop jobbing, he’s managed to find something resembling footing. He beat Norris, Gross, and River, and had Nakamatsu cold if he didn’t miss with Zodiac Implosion. For Pulsar, that’s riding high. Will he fall back to Earth? I dunno. But with two wins above River and Wasserman, it’s gonna take one hell of a collapse for him to get relegated. You’d be forgiven, I think, for thinking that Reverend Johnny Gross was finished after four weeks. 1-3, clearly struggling. Just not the same guy he was two seasons ago. And then Weeks 5 through 7 happened. 3 straight wins, including choking out Priest of all people. He’s surged most of the way back from that awful start. What remains to be seen is if he can sustain this. Rematches with the three who beat him (Molina, Pulsar, and Norris) loom, as does round 2 with Priest. It’s not gonna get any easier for him, but he’s not the kind of man who backs down for any reason. Yoshii Nakamatsu is doing great. 5-2, bay bee. Only losses to Gross (sad at the time, acceptable in retrospect) and Molina (completely understandable). There’s really not a lot to say here. He’s been quite consistent from season to season, and that hasn’t changed. If anything, he’s getting better. He’ll be in the promotion mix at the end of the season, guaranteed. End of Season Predictions Promoted to Alpha: Lucas Molina Probable: Christian Priest, Yoshii Nakamatsu Staying in Beta: Reverend Johnny Gross, Billy Norris, Pulsar Relegated to Gamma: Blood River, Angela Wasserman I still believe Priest can pick it up a notch. A fast, dominant win over Nakamatsu can put him in the driver’s seat, as well as beating Gross in the rematch. River is too far behind Pulsar to come back, especially with a loss to him. Wasserman may have a shot…except everyone who beat her the first time is high likely to do it again. So oh, well. ********** Gamma Division Predicted Top Three: Monty Dhillon, Diego Rodriguez, Indigo Rose Predicted Middle Two: Lance Heartilly, Kichi Hida Predicted Bottom Three: Big Scott Weathers, Markus Clay, Terrance Stevens Actual Top Three: Monty Dhillon, Kichi Hida, Diego Rodriguez Actual Middle Two: Markus Clay, Big Scott Weathers Actual Bottom Three: Lance Heartilly, Indigo Rose, Terrance Stevens Gamma is exploding with surprises. Yes, Monty is at the top and T. Stevens is at the bottom, but everything else is different. Rose has tanked. Heartilly has tanked. Kichi is dominating. Weathers and Clay are holding on in the middle somehow. Honestly, it looks like Delta last season. Three on top, and then everyone else scrabbling for what they can get underneath. Only instead of Heartilly, it’s Diego in the technician role and he’s in the spot Kichi was in after being soundly beaten by 1 and 2. Well, let’s get to the character breakdowns. Big Scott Weathers W vs. Indigo Rose (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Monty Dhillon (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Terrance Stevens (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Diego Rodriguez (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Markus Clay (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Kichi Hida (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Lance Heartilly (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) Diego Rodriguez L vs. Kichi Hida (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Indigo Rose (1-0 Season, 3-2 Career) W vs. Markus Clay (1-0 Season, 3-0 Career) W vs. Big Scott Weathers (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Lance Heartilly (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Monty Dhillon (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Terrance Stevens (1-0 Season, 2-1 Career) Indigo Rose L vs. Big Scott Weathers (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Diego Rodriguez (0-1 Season, 2-3 Career) L vs. Monty Dhillon (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Terrance Stevens (1-0 Season, 3-2 Career) L vs. Kichi Hida (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Lance Heartilly (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Markus Clay (1-0 Season, 3-2 Career) Kichi Hida W vs. Diego Rodriguez (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Terrance Stevens (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Lance Heartilly (1-0 Season, 1-2 Career) L vs. Markus Clay (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Indigo Rose (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Big Scott Weathers (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Monty Dhillon (0-1 Season, 2-3 Career) Lance Heartilly W vs. Terrance Stevens (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Markus Clay (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Kichi Hida (0-1 Season, 2-1 Career) L vs. Monty Dhillon (0-1 Season, 1-2 Career) L vs. Diego Rodriguez (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Indigo Rose (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Big Scott Weathers (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) Markus Clay L vs. Monty Dhillon (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Lance Heartilly (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Diego Rodriguez (0-1 Season, 0-3 Career) W vs. Kichi Hida (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Big Scott Weathers (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Terrance Stevens (0-1 Season, 5-2 Career) L vs. Indigo Rose (0-1 Season, 2-3 Career) Monty Dhillon W vs. Markus Clay (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Big Scott Weathers (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Indigo Rose (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Lance Heartilly (1-0 Season, 3-2 Career) W vs. Terrance Stevens (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Diego Rodriguez (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Kichi Hida (1-0 Season, 3-2 Career) Terrance Stevens L vs. Lance Heartilly (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Kichi Hida (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Big Scott Weathers (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Indigo Rose (0-1 Season, 2-3 Career) L vs. Monty Dhillon (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Markus Clay (1-0 Season, 2-5 Career) L vs. Diego Rodriguez (0-1 Season, 1-2 Career) Big Scott Weathers is…basically the same as usual. His 3 wins are against people having worse seasons than he is. Maybe he’ll skate and avoid relegation. And maybe he won’t. But he’s still pretty jobber-tastic. Diego Rodriguez, on the other hand, is probably looking at a third straight season of being on the outside looking in. Monty and Kichi have both stomped holes in his ass soundly enough that it’s a safe bet that they’ll do it again in the rematch. So promotion is very likely out of his reach. Again. Well. At least he can pick up some more wins and thus OVR and XP, right? There’s always next season where (checks notes) most likely another technician in Nocturne and a big beefy buttkicker in Rock Sheridan will be coming up and most likely River and Wasserman will be falling down. Man, he might need to evolve his game a little. Work on his conditioning, maybe. Heh. Indigo Rose has managed to completely fall apart. From 6-8 in Season Nine to 8-6 in Season Ten to now 2-5 halfway through Season Eleven. It’s gonna take a hell of a turnaround to get her to Season Nine’s final result. Said turnaround will also likely be required to avoid relegation. Like Diego, it seems she needs to evolve her game a little. 4 of her 5 losses are to people who weren’t in the division last year. Well, good luck to her. Kichi Hida is a bullshit call away from being 6-1. This is shocking, considering the Kichi Hida of Seasons Nine and Ten got owned by technicians. And as there’s three technicians in Gamma this season, I was expecting at best 6-8 (because of course she was getting swept by Monty). Instead she’s looking like she’s going to take the second promotion slot behind Monty. Yeah. Sure. Okay. Man, this game’s weird huh? Lance Heartilly, however, has turned out to be totally out of his depth out of Gamma. His 2 wins are against Rose and T. Stevens, who are about as hapless as he is this season. It’s strange, as he was so dominant last Season in Delta. At this rate he’s going right back. I can’t even say he needs to evolve his game. He’s barely established it. The best I can say is that he just wasn’t ready, I guess. He is, of course, welcome to attempt to prove me wrong in the second half. Don’t be fooled by Markus Clay’s 3-4 record. It would be 2-5 except for pure bullshit. He’s still jobber-tastic. He’s still the guy who got lucky with Gibson stepping away. The second half of the season ought to show this. Still, that win (bullshit as it was), may prove crucial in avoiding relegation this time. We’ll see. I don’t know what to say about Monty Dhillon. He’s undefeated. The only one that was even close was Kichi. Everyone else got squished. He’s probably going to go undefeated and win the division. That’s it. Terrance Stevens is in the opposite situation. It took him six weeks to get his first win, and that was against Clay of all people. Nothing worth bragging about. It seems like he’s just merrily jobbing his way down to Delta. End of Season Predictions Promoted to Beta: Monty Dhillion, Kichi Hida Staying in Gamma: Diego Rodriguez, Big Scott Weathers Questionable: Markus Clay, Lance Heartilly, Indigo Rose Relegated to Delta: Terrance Stevens It’s pretty obvious that Monty and Kichi are running away with the division. Diego, being right behind them, will stick around. Big Scotty will find a way to hang around, even if that’s by being a shade better than the division’s jobbers. And yes, I do have it as a three way brawl for the second relegation spot. ********** Delta Division Predicted Top Two: Nocturne, Sterling Silver Predicted Middle Three: Leon de Ramos, Mickey Steele, Rock Sheridan Predicted Bottom Three: Diamond, George Stevens, Scott Stevens Actual Top Two: Nocturne, Rock Sheridan Actual Middle Three: Diamond, Sterling Silver, Leon de Ramos Actual Bottom Three: Scott Stevens, Mickey Steele, George Stevens The only changes here are Rock for Silver and Steele for Diamond. They’re not HUGE surprises. Rock’s archetype has been pretty damn successful here (see Nuke, Mastodon, Priest, & Monty), and Diamond had to recover at some point. No better place to do it than the one where she’s got 50+ OVR more than anyone everyone. I joke, but I do think that it’s great that she’s doing well. I mean, I don’t have a lot to say here. Nocturne’s making her promotion case week by week. So is Rock. Silver’s made a great comeback. Leon is faltering a little after a hot start. Scott is doing better than lasts season. Steele is…well, allegedly he’s not made to be all that good. So…good job making him, I guess? And George is…well, I’ll just let his record speak for him. To the character breakdowns we go. Diamond L vs. Scott Stevens (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Sterling Silver (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Leon de Ramos (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Nocturne (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Rock Sheridan (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. George Stevens (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Mickey Steele (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) George Stevens L vs. Nocturne (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Mickey Steele (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Scott Stevens (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Leon de Ramos (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Sterling Silver (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Diamond (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Rock Sheridan (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) Leon de Ramos W vs. Mickey Steele (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Scott Stevens (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Diamond (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. George Stevens (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Nocturne (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Rock Sheridan (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Sterling Silver (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) Mickey Steele L vs. Leon de Ramos (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. George Stevens (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Rock Sheridan (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Sterling Silver (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Scott Stevens (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Nocturne (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Diamond (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) Nocturne W vs. George Stevens (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Rock Sheridan (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Sterling Silver (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Diamond (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Leon de Ramos (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Mickey Steele (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Scott Stevens (1-0 Season, 2-1 Career) Rock Sheridan W vs. Sterling Silver (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Nocturne (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Mickey Steele (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Scott Stevens (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Diamond (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Leon de Ramos (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. George Stevens (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) Scott Stevens W vs. Diamond (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Leon de Ramos (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. George Stevens (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Rock Sheridan (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Mickey Steele (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) L vs. Sterling Silver (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Nocturne (0-1 Season, 1-2 Career) Sterling Silver L vs. Rock Sheridan (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Diamond (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) L vs. Nocturne (0-1 Season, 0-1 Career) W vs. Mickey Steele (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. George Stevens (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Scott Stevens (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) W vs. Leon de Ramos (1-0 Season, 1-0 Career) Like I was saying. I don’t expect a lot from Diamond anymore. 4-3 at the halfway mark is fine. It’s fine. I’m glad she’s doing well. I don’t trust it, but I’m glad she’s doing well. She’s picked up a mostly deserved rep as an erratic jobber, and if she can shed it down here in Delta, more power to her. The losses to Nocturne and Rock show that lol no, she’s not promoting. But as a primary PC, she can’t be relegated to Omega either, and she may well win just enough to escape that fate legitimately. We’ll just have to see. George Stevens…man…look, 1-6 ought to speak for itself, all right? I’ve been kind of harsh of Scott in the past compared with NPCs, I think. And even George got it a little in my season preview thing. So y’know I’ll just say he’s not doing so well. Jobbed to everybody but Rock, which ain’t a dig but just the facts. Maybe he can do a little better in the second half. I dunno. I also don’t know if secondary PCs can be relegated or not, so I can’t comment on that other than to say he’ll probably be in the frame by season’s end. Leon de Ramos looked like a major player with his hot start. In Week 5, you’d be forgiven for thinking he was going to be one of the top promotion candidates by the end of the season. And then he lost twice in a row, and well…4-3’s not a bad start, man. Honestly, for a rookie he’s doing pretty great. The form he’s in ought to see him stay out of the relegation frame, and it’s not like all hope for promotion is lost. He’s only a win behind the tied leaders. One of which (Nocturne) he’s even beaten. So y’know. Let’s see how the kid does in the second half. Mickey Steele, by contrast, can only be called a disappointment. A dominant Omega performance turns into 2-5 at the season break. Unfortunate. At this rate, he’ll be in the relegation frame as much as George is likely to be. In fairness, he’s a pretty one dimensional striker with only a valet to add spice to his ring work, and I don’t believe he’s done any training he arrived in the League. So skills wise he’s falling behind more and more every week. Nocturne is who I believed the division champion would be at the end of the season, and she’s performing like she’ll pull it off. She stumbled for a couple of weeks but recovered and is definitely on the shortlist to promote at season’s end. She’s doing just about everything right. Though with how Heartilly’s doing up in Gamma, promotion may not go as well for her as she’d like. But let’s not count chickens before their hatched. For now she’s in the division lead and going strong. She’s even got a win over Rock for said lead via tiebreaker. Nice. Speaking of Rock Sheridan, he’s just a bit of a surprise. I thought I’d made him well, but this is going better than I thought it would. Though there’s a fun bit of synergy. Everyone Steele’s lost to, Rock’s beaten. And everyone Rock’s lost to, Steele’s beaten. I dunno, I just find that fun. Anyway, I guess I shouldn’t be all that surprised. His archetype tends to do well here in the League. Just look at Nuke, Mastodon, Priest, and Dhillon. I just thought that it’d take him a season to warm up first. Apparently not, heh. Scott Stevens is basically guaranteed to do better this season than he did last season. 4-10 then, 3-4 now. Barring a back half as bad as his brother’s first (which I don’t believe will happen) he’ll exceed last season’s win total. I don’t see him as a threat to promote, but this is absolutely progress. It is a good thing. As a primary PC he can’t be relegated. Since Delta’s relegation frame is so wide (at four), he may well be in it at the end of the season. If it was any other division’s size (two), however, he wouldn’t be. Again, quality progress. We love to see it. Next season we may see him challenging for promotion at last. Dunno, really, and we’re not countin’ chickens. Sterling Silver is a tale of perseverance. A preseason favorite, she immediately lost three straight matches and looked completely hapless. She hasn’t’ lost since. It’s a heck of a comeback, comparable to that of Gross in Beta. From dead in the water to contention in four weeks. Well done. But she’s still got those early losses to Rock and Nocturne on her record, and they may be what keeps her from promoting this season. Assuming she can’t avenge them with haste. I don’t think, however, that she’ll be sent right back to Omega. End of Season Predictions Promoted to Gamma: Nocturne, Rock Sheridan Staying in Delta: Sterling Silver, Leon de Ramos Staying in Delta because Primary PC: Diamond, Scott Stevens Relegated to Omega if possible: Mickey Steele, George Stevens I mean, I’ve been pretty correct so far, why mess with success? Nocturne hasn’t looked like she’s about to collapse. Neither has Rock. Silver’s on a roll. Leon’s got enough in the tank. Diamon and Scott are still proving themselves to me. And the other two, well…their records speak for themselves thus far.

Rampage Carnival match located.

First off, sympathy for you. Sorry this happened. It's gotta be frustrating as hell. Believe me, I know a bit about losing my work from time to time. With that firmly said, who I gotta sic the Carnival of Violence on? They're good names, you punks. Grr. (For clarity reasons, this is a joke to brighten your mood, maybe.)

Now it's time for my actual predictions. Obviously, I'm not eligible for my own prize because I have my help all the time. But bragging rights sounds cool. Match 1 1. Divine Juggernaut (Brian Blackfield and Reverend Johnny Gross) vs. 16. Team Friendship (Lance Heartilly and Terrance Stevens) Heartilly and Stevens are struggling mightily in Gamma. Blackfield and Gross have dominated Beta in the past. This shouldn't be all that close. Match 2 8. High Velocity (Billy Norris and Markus Clay) vs. 9. Football Fanatics (De’siree Mitchell and Leon de Ramos) We all know I'm not the biggest De'siree fan on the planet. That, however, is in comparison to everyone else in Alpha. She'd do very well in any other division. And Leon's technical skills provide a very interesting counterpoint to her brawling and power game. Match 3 5. The First Church (Christian Priest and Monty Dhillon) Vs. 12. Bloody Weather (Big Scott Weathers and Blood River) Two dominating powerhouses vs. a professional jobber and a Blood River in freefall since halfway through last season. Golly, I wonder how this'll go. Match 4 4. Warriors of the Ring (Angela Wassermann and Diamond) vs. 13. The Stevens Dynasty (Scott Stevens and George Stevens) This is the match to be on upset watch for. Diamond is carrying the seeding, and we all know what her record's been like the past few seasons. And we also know what Wasserman's been up to. Honestly this is a very tough call. Scott and Diamond seem to be on a similar tier, above the other two maybe? And Wasserman and George seem to be a similar tier, too, if below the other two in this match. So yeah, upset watch. Keep on it. Match 5 2. Emerald & Silver (Mel O’Hallister and Sterling Silver) vs. 15. Aria of Thorns (Indigo Rose and Nocturne) Gotta go with the Irish Buzzsaw on this. Silver's not Molina, but she can rock and roll, too. Rose is having a terrible season. Basically Alpha+Delta>Gamma+Delta. Match 6 7. Rampage Carnival (Kichi Hida and The Mastodon) vs. 10. Hearts of the Zodiac (Jean-Paul Ouilette and Pulsar) Is...is anyone serious picking against Kichi and Mastodon in a "who can do more violence faster" contest? And even if they were, who's picking JPO and Pulsar, of all people, to manage it? Match 7 6. Grappling Geniuses (George Mastachas and Lucas Molina) vs. 11. Dissonant Grit (Diego Rodriguez and Rock Sheridan) As much as I like Diego and Rock, lol no. The Reigning champ and Beta's leader take this. Moline proved himself better than Diego last season, and Rock managed to lose to Nocturne, a technican below Lucas's ability. And I believe that Mastachas would, currently, clean Molina's clock. Simple enough? Match 8 3. Nuclear Cocktail (Brandy McDonald and Nuclear Templeton) vs. 14. Steel Devastation (Mickey Steele and Yoshii Nakamatsu) Good Lord this is unfair. Listen, I like Yoshii a whole lot, and Steele's pretty cool too. But Nuke is friggin' Nuke, okay? He could drag Terrance Stevens to a W over this two. Having the Season 8 champ is just overkill. Match 9 Divine Juggernaut (Brian Blackfield and Reverend Johnny Gross) vs. Football Fanatics (De’siree Mitchell and Leon de Ramos) I think we have this match last season, when De'siree's partner was Pulsar. Shouldn't go any different, really. Leon's better than last season's Pulsar, but not enough to change the outcome. Match 10 The First Church (Christian Priest and Monty Dhillon) vs. Warriors of the Ring (Angela Wassermann and Diamond) Again, The Stevens Dynasty could easily be in instead of Wasserman and Diamond. The only difference that I think it'd make is in how much reinforcement the ring needs. George is a big man to powerbomb, y'know. Match 11 Emerald & Silver (Mel O’Hallister and Sterling Silver) vs. Rampage Carnival (Kichi Hida and The Mastodon) The redemption run for Mel & Silver ends here. Mel has trouble with Mastdon sometimes. Kichi is every bit the buzzsaw he is. And I firmly believe that after her season off, Silver is the weaker of the two. But this one's gonna be goddamn violent. Whew. Match 12 Grappling Geniuses (George Mastachas and Lucas Molina) vs. Nuclear Cocktail (Brandy McDonald and Nuclear Templeton) According to the current standings, this is a preview for Molina in Alpha. And with respect to the Rev. Gross, neither Brandy nor Nuke has dealt with a pure technican like Molina. Mastachas has an edge over Brandy and is still capable of beating Nuke one on one. So basically this is gonna be real good, and I'mma be a homer and pick my dude. That's it. Match 13 Divine Juggernaut (Brian Blackfield and Reverend Johnny Gross) vs. The First Church (Christian Priest and Monty Dhillon) Denied last season, allowed this one. I think it's Monty that makes the difference, actually. He and Priest are two peas in a pod when it comes to inflicting violence. Match 14 Rampage Carnival (Kichi Hida and The Mastodon) vs. Grappling Geniuses (George Mastachas and Lucas Molina) You know, I had a whole thing written out or this match...only to discover I'd screwed up and it wasn't Match 11. I'm not feeling recreating it. To summarize: Mastachas better than Mastodon. Molina on par with or better than Hida. Hida and Mastodon better in shorter matches. Matachas and Molina better in longer matches. Two out ot three falls are long. Tag Team Turmoil Championship Match The First Church (Christian Priest and Monty Dhillon) vs. Grappling Geniuses (George Mastachas and Lucas Molina) 100% Pure Homer Bullshit. Hook that win directly into my veins. DO IT. No? Okay. Molina's 2-0 vs. Dhillion, 2-3 vs. Priest, with #2 happening this season. Priest is not entirely dissimilar from Mastodon (who Mastachas dominates), and Nuke (who he's capable of beating in any give match). And Priest has not looked like his usual dominant self so far this season. NOW GIVE IT TO ME.

Aaaand here's all the super cool and mega rad team name I came up with (with a tip of the cap to the bossman for High Velocity). They're in convenient format for taking a guess at how all the matches will go. So have at it if you like. The prizes are bragging rights, and if you want it, I can point you in the right direction to upgrade one (1) of your PCs to achieve a bit more success than they've been having. There is no shade thrown. The RNG gods are ever fickle. I am certain that each and every one of you can handle it on your own if you so desire. If you turn out to be the best guesser, please feel free to decline this second prize at your discretion. But on the flip side of that, I just want to make sure everyone's having fun. And there's nothing like a prize beyond bragging rights to tempt you all into making a bracket. With that out of the way, off we go. Match 1 1. Divine Juggernaut (Brian Blackfield and Reverend Johnny Gross) vs. 16. Team Friendship (Lance Heartilly and Terrance Stevens) Match 2 8. High Velocity (Billy Norris and Markus Clay) vs. 9. Football Fanatics (De’siree Mitchell and Leon de Ramos) Match 3 5. The First Church (Christian Priest and Monty Dhillon) Vs. 12. Bloody Weather (Big Scott Weathers and Blood River) Match 4 4. Warriors of the Ring (Angela Wassermann and Diamond) vs. 13. The Stevens Dynasty (Scott Stevens and George Stevens) Match 5 2. Emerald & Silver (Mel O’Hallister and Sterling Silver) vs. 15. Aria of Thorns (Indigo Rose and Nocturne) Match 6 7. Rampage Carnival (Kichi Hida and The Mastodon) vs. 10. Hearts of the Zodiac (Jean-Paul Ouilette and Pulsar) Match 7 6. Grappling Geniuses (George Mastachas and Lucas Molina) vs. 11. Dissonant Grit (Diego Rodriguez and Rock Sheridan) Match 8 3. Nuclear Cocktail (Brandy McDonald and Nuclear Templeton) vs. 14. Steel Devastation (Mickey Steele and Yoshii Nakamatsu) Match 9 Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2 Match 10 Winner of Match 3 vs. Winner of Match 4 Match 11 Winner of Match 5 vs. Winner of Match 6 Match 12 Winner of Match 7 vs. Winner of Match 8 Match 13 Winner of Match 9 vs. Winner of Match 10 Match 14 Winner of Match 11 vs. Winner of Match 12 Tag Team Turmoil Championship Match Winner of Match 13 vs. Winner of Match 2

I've been waiting for the bracket, boss. 👍

She returns to the US in March after a stint on the injured list.

Week 7 Quick Thoughts (Big Half Season Review Next Week!) Delta George Stevens def. Rock Sheridan Sterling Silver def. Leon de Ramos Nocturne def. Scott Stevens Diamond def. Mickey Steele Congratulations to George. He finally got his win. With a low blow, but as long as the ref counts three it counts. Silver’s comeback rolls on. Nocturne recovers from her two match skid. And Diamond’s right there with Silver. With Nocturne’s struggles and Rock falling back a bit, it’s almost anybody’s game down in Delta. Gamma Big Scott Weathers def. Lance Heartilly Indigo Rose def. Markus Clay Diego Rodriguez def. Terrance Stevens Monty Dhillon def. Kichi Hida Heartilly just can’t get it together. Rose finally makes a stand. Diego handles his business. Monty remains undefeated. Really does seem to be a three horse race at the top. Beta Lucas Molina def. Pulsar Yoshii Nakamatsu def. Angela Wasserman Billy Norris def. Blood River Reverend Johnny Gross def. Christian Priest Molina has his first 4* match…and it’s not MOTN. Sure, Jan. Yoshii handles his business and doesn’t get kicked in the face. Norris says “don’t forget about me”. And Gross (while working hard on his comeback from his terrible early season) may have just cost Priest the division title if things continue as they have. 1 & 2 may be clear, but 3-5 aren’t far behind. So it’s chaotic in Beta. Alpha The Mastodon def. De’siree Mitchell Brandy McDonald def. Mel O’Hallister George Mastachas def. Jean-Paul Ouilette Nuclear Templeton def. Brian Blackfield It’s a similar story in Alpha. Mastodon wants to dig himself out of his hole. It was in fact Brandy’s turn to win against Mel. Mastachas and Nuke handle their business. 1 & 2 may be sorted, but 3-4 and 5-6 are far from eliminated.

Somewhere in Canada, Lucas Molina looks at the standings and the results of their last encounter. Then he raises an questioning eyebrow. "Go ahead and take down the Reverend," he says, "I already did. But don't forget I'm still here. We left Delta together. We left Gamma together. We're going to Alpha together. Week 13. European Rules, Round 2. I'll be waiting."

ALPHA DIVISION Alpha is in chaos. 4-6 in the rankings are two wins away from the leader. One of this week's two uniques is one of them getting the chance to narrow that gap. Meanwhile, 2 & 3 are about to clash. On the relegation side of things, the two struggling with one win will also clash. No throwaway matches this week, folks. (1) Nuclear Templeton (5-1, OVR 552) vs. (5) Brian Blackfield (3-3, OVR 577) [First Career Matchup] I wouldn't put it past Nuke to disappoint here. He's done it before. But right now he's the top man in the division with a legitimate shot at running the table in the second half. (2) George Mastachas (4-2, OVR 542) vs. (3) Jean-Paul Ouilette (4-2, OVR 536) [First Career Matchup] Ouilette is a huge surprise. He skated in by the skin of his teeth. Simmons and Gross last season just kinda bounced off the Alpha Six. Meanwhile he's got 3 wins over them. Mastachas, however, is a different breed from Mel, Mastodon, and Brandy. (4) Brandy McDonald (3-3, OVR 530) vs. (6) Mel O'Hallister (3-3, OVR 540) [Career: Tied 2 - 2] I dunno, man. This one's been a back and forth from the start. Mel's got the better stats, but Brandy gets out of the gate faster and has superior stamina. So I'm just gonna make heart pick and walk away. (8) The Mastodon (1-5, OVR 528) vs. (7) De'siree Mitchell (1-5, OVR 507) [Career: The Mastodon, 4 - 2] I still believe Mastodon can make a comeback this season. At least I think he can much more than De'siree. BETA DIVISION Two uniques in Beta this week. One of the hotly anticipated, the other less so. Honestly the other three matches kind of pale next to Priest/Gross happening at last. Molina Pulsar could have some fireworks, as Pulsar's doing better than expected. Don't fall asleep, though. It's always the matches you don't expect to be bangers that turn out that way. (3) Christian Priest (4-2, OVR 588) vs. (6) Reverend Johnny Gross (3-3, OVR 517) [First Career Matchup] Oh, yeah. This one's been, as stated, hotly anticipated since the beginning of the season. These two have a lot to prove to each other. If this was real wrestling instead of a game, we'd be looking at a guaranteed MOTN. But alas, it is a game. I do think Priest takes it. Gross's struggles in Alpha were primarily with the guys a lot bigger and a lot stronger than him. Priest also fits into that category. Hopefully this is good, though. (7) Blood River (1-5, OVR 507) vs. (5) Billy Norris (3-3, OVR 523) [Career: Tied 2 - 2] And in the shadow of Beta's Main Event this week, we have this. As usual when it comes to high flier battles, I throw up my hands and grab the faster guy. But Norris also has much better stamina, so yanno. (8) Angela Wassermann (1-5, OVR 482) vs. (2) Yoshii Nakamatsu (4-2, OVR 526) [Career: Yoshii Nakamatsu, 2 - 0] There's a rumor going around that Wasserman's been training to perfect a new finisher. A heavy strike of some kind, like a punch or a kick. So while I do think Yoshii is still too much for her, I don't think it's going to be nearly as much of a beatdown as it would normally be. You know, if those rumors are true. (4) Pulsar (3-3, OVR 492) vs. (1) Lucas Molina (5-1, OVR 497) [First Career Matchup] Pulsar's having a good season. Y'know, for him. Maybe he's escaped jobber tier. But he's still not enough to handle Lucas. GAMMA DIVISION Gamma is in the same situation as Beta, i I'm being honest. Yeah, there's some importance to the other three matches. One of them is even a unique. But they're all lying in the shadow of Hida/Dhillon V. Diego has a chance to keep pace with those two by beating Stevens, but last season showed that's not a guarantee for him. With Clay/Rose, the latter desperately needs a win in this even rivalry. It's only Heartilly/Weathers that's a little meh. It's got some relegation implications, but meh. (1) Monty Dhillon (6-0, OVR 546) vs. (2) Kichi Hida (5-1, OVR 482) [Career: Tied 2 - 2] Here we are. Gamma's Main Event for the week. This is gonna be loud, violent, and nasty. The two have bulldozed everyone in their paths, with the only loss between the two due to some deeply controversial bad luck. So why am I picking against my own? Because Monty can match her blow for blow, and he's got better health and more stamina. That doesn't mean Kichi can't win. Anyone who thinks that hasn't been watching her the past six weeks or last season. But the odds are not in her favor, in my opinion. You are, however, completely welcome to surprise me, Miss Hida. (8) Terrance Stevens (1-5, OVR 491) vs. (3) Diego Rodriguez (4-2, OVR 524) [Career: Tied 1 - 1] And in the shadow of all that, Diego tries to keep up without getting kicked in the face. Honestly, I'm just going with the most recent winner and who looks to be in better form overall this season and generally. (4) Markus Clay (3-3, OVR 491) vs. (7) Indigo Rose (1-5, OVR 498) [Career: Tied 2 - 2] Ditto the above. Except instead of "kicked in the face" it's moonsaulted on or flying leg dropped. Seriously, a loss here will make avoiding relegation in the second half extremely difficult for Rose. And she does tend to respond with wins when she really, really needs them. HARDCORE MATCH: (6) Lance Heartilly (2-4, OVR 453) vs. (5) Big Scott Weathers (2-4, OVR 500) [First Career Matchup] Season 10 Heartilly is in there somewhere, and Big Scotty is the type of wrestler he ate for breakfast down in Delta. A cardio freak technician vs a brawler who gasses very easily? I know my pick. DELTA DIVISION Delta, however, doesn't have such a strong headline match this week. Though it is notable that this is the only week in the first half that has a rematch in it. Nocturne/Stevens III has landed, folks. I dunno who was waiting for it, exactly, besides me, but it's here. Truthfully, it's kind of the other way around from Beta and Gamma. Instead o one headline match, there's one meh match and three important ones. 2 vs 4 and 3 vs 5 (especially when the opponents are a win apart) are big time, important matches. And then we get to see just how not dead Steele is, and whether Diamond can stay in the fringes of the promotion hunt. (6) Diamond (3-3, OVR 492) vs. (7) Mickey Steele (2-4, OVR 410) [First Career Matchup] This one is gonna go one of two ways, Hilarious stomp or banger of a brawl. Toss up, really. On paper Diamond's a little better, in my opinion, but if it does go a little long Steele's superior stamina may come into play. (3) Nocturne (4-2, OVR 445) vs. (5) Scott Stevens (3-3, OVR 431) [Career: Tied 1 - 1] This is the match Nocturne needs to rebound. She beat Stevens the last time, and she's only improved since. Still, it was close enough, so Scott may overwhelm with strikes and power. (2) Leon de Ramos (4-2, OVR 418) vs. (4) Sterling Silver (3-3, OVR 457) [First Career Matchup] Leon actually does have what it takes now to hold onto the slippery flier. With that said, if she does get on a roll, he doesn't have an answer. So I'll bet on her higher speed. (1) Rock Sheridan (5-1, OVR 423) vs. (8) George Stevens (0-6, OVR 403) [First Career Matchup] And the match that's kind of meh. I don't meant to get on Jman's bad side, but 0-6 is 0-6 and 5-1 is 5-1. Rock genuinely ought to take care of business here.

Week 6 Quick Thoughts (Fun Fact: We’re just about pacing the anime season week for week!) Delta Rock Sheridan def. Leon de Ramos Mickey Steele def. Nocturne Diamond def. George Stevens Sterling Silver def. Scott Stevens Rock solidifies his hold on the division lead. Steele says he ain’t dead yet with a defiant win. And Diamond and Silver come through. Bossman is right. Middle third’s a logjam. But I think we can safely say that the top three aren’t going anywhere and that poor George isn’t, either. Alas. Gamma Lance Heartilly def. Indigo Rose Terrance Stevens def. Markus Clay Kichi Hida def. Big Scott Weathers Monty Dhillon def. Diego Rodriguez Monty and Kichi are running away with the division. Diego had a shot to hang with them, but turns out he couldn’t do it. Clay of all people is in the middle, and everyone else has just made themselves irrelevant with loss after loss. Gamma’s shockingly uncompetitive after how narrow last season was. Beta Reverend Johnny Gross def. Angela Wasserman Pulsar def. Blood River Lucas Molina def. Yoshii Nakamatsu Christian Priest def. Billy Norris Beta, though, is looking like Delta. Two at the bottom, a trio at the top, and three wide logjam in the middle. Molina takes the lead, but Priest won’t be left behind. Pulsar hasn’t tanked yet, somehow. Wasserman and River are in absolute freefall. Alpha Mel O’Hallister def. The Mastodon Nuclear Templeton def. De’siree Mitchell George Mastachas def. Brandy McDonald Jean-Paul Ouilette def. Brian Blackfield I did predict that Blackfield would exceed his total career losses this season, but I didn’t think it’d potentially happen by midseason. Juggernaut’s hit that wall, it seems. Nuke is doing Nuke things. Mastachas is pacing him, mostly. Ouilette is a shocking development nobody saw coming. Mastodon last season was apparently a flash in the pan. De’siree is doomed, but we all knew that. Brandy and Mel are…doing okay? Yeah, they’re okay.

Hey folks! Fun Kichi Hida Fact: With the exception of her first match this season vs. Diego Rodriguez, she has bloodied all four of her opponents. Tune in to see if Big Scott Weathers is number 5 and the streak continues!

ALPHA DIVISION It's chaos in Alpha. Only Nuke has a claim on he division lead, but there's 4 people directly behind him so it's not like he can, y'know, relax or anything. Not that he would, but still. No uniques this week, but there's two even rivalries being renewed, we'll see if Blackfield can still run over Ouilette in a new division, and I believe the first appearance this season of everyone's favorite match type, European Rules. Gonna be a good night in Alpha, folks. (4) Brian Blackfield (3-2, OVR 578) vs. (5) Jean-Paul Ouilette (3-2, OVR 533) [Career: Brian Blackfield, 2 - 0] I'm not fool enough to bet against The Juggernaut when he's against someone he's previously dominated. TABLES MATCH: (3) George Mastachas (3-2, OVR 539) vs. (2) Brandy McDonald (3-2, OVR 529) [Career: Tied 3 – 3. Mastachas is 0 – 1 in Tables matches] Uh...I dunno, man. Neither wrestler's finishers can break tables. Brandy doesn't user her signature that can much, and Mastachas's signature can't either. So it's up to their regular High moves. Mastachas has more, but guaranteed Brandy has access to at least one move that can do it. Meh, coinflip it. EUROPEAN RULES MATCH: (7) De'siree Mitchell (1-4, OVR 506) vs. (1) Nuclear Templeton (4-1, OVR 546) [Career: Nuclear Templeton, 5 – 1. Mitchell is 0 – 1 in European Rules matches.] Nuke ought to win this borderline effortlessly, but hopefully De'siree hangs on to provide a good show at least. (6) Mel O'Hallister (2-3, OVR 535) vs. (8) The Mastodon (1-4, OVR 527) [Career: Tied 2 - 2] Heart pick. 'Nuff said. BETA DIVISION A couple of uniques this week, as well as some high stakes. Priest is not looking like himself so far, and Norris is lined up to make it worse if he can. Meanwhile, Nakamatsu and Molina wrestle for the division lead. (4) Billy Norris (3-2, OVR 522) vs. (3) Christian Priest (3-2, OVR 583) [First Career Meeting] The Priest we know ought to win this, but he's been slightly less than dominant this season. You okay, bud? Regardless, I think he can handle this. (1) Yoshii Nakamatsu (4-1, OVR 524) vs. (2) Lucas Molina (4-1, OVR 493) [First Career Meeting] I think Molina's better, just a tad. Am I biased? You get. Am I right? Well, we'll see. (7) Blood River (1-4, OVR 507) vs. (5) Pulsar (2-3, OVR 490) [Career: Pulsar, 2 - 0] In the battle of two high fliers, the faster one wins. Pulsar is much faster than River. HARDCORE MATCH: (8) Angela Wassermann (1-4, OVR 481) vs. (6) Reverend Johnny Gross (2-3, OVR 512) [Career: Reverend Johnny Gross, 2 – 0. Wassermann is 3 – 0 in Hardcore matches. Gross is 1 – 0 in Hardcore matches.] This isn't "I believe in Gross". This is "Wasserman is very bad." GAMMA DIVISION Three uniques in Gamma, and what should be a relatively easy night for Clay. HARDCORE MATCH: (3) Diego Rodriguez (4-1, OVR 524) vs. (1) Monty Dhillon (5-0, OVR 542) [First Career Meeting] While I believe Diego can beat Monty, I don't believe that he will. (5) Big Scott Weathers (2-3, OVR 500) vs. (2) Kichi Hida (4-1, OVR 478) [First Career Meeting] Place your bets on whether or not Big Scotty ends his night bleeding. Battered is a given. (8) Terrance Stevens (0-5, OVR 487) vs. (4) Markus Clay (3-2, OVR 490) [Career: Markus Clay, 5 - 1] Unbelievably, it seems like Clay will be going into the break with a winning record. Not bad for someone who's only been jobber-tastic so far. (7) Indigo Rose (1-4, OVR 497) vs. (6) Lance Heartilly (1-4, OVR 450) [First Career Meeting] Rose is allegedly neck and neck skill wise with Diego, even if this season isn't showing it. She should win here. DELTA DIVISION Stevens vs. Nocturne has apparently been saved for Week 7, so once again every match in Delta is a first time meeting, with implications up and down the four match card. (6) Sterling Silver (2-3, OVR 455) vs. (4) Scott Stevens (3-2, OVR 432) [First Career Meeting] Stevens is having a good start to his season, and Silver is trying to dig out of a big hole. But you know, Stevens vs. speedy fliers has not gone his way historically. I've got no reason to think differently. The questions here are "is Stevens for real after last season" and "can Silver get out of relegation range and into the promotion race after her bad start". SUBMISSION MATCH: (5) Diamond (2-3, OVR 488) vs. (8) George Stevens (0-5, OVR 402) [First Career Meeting. Diamond is 1 – 2 in Submission matches.] How down am I on Diamond? If this wasn't a submission match, I'd still give serious consideration to George winning this. But as he has no submission signatures or finishers, and Diamond has Florentine, well. Still, though...the submissionless party has won these before, so don't count George out entirely. CAGE MATCH: (7) Mickey Steele (1-4, OVR 407) vs. (3) Nocturne (4-1, OVR 445) [First Career Meeting] The question here is "can Nocturne respond well to her first loss of the season, or is she rattled". With Roxy sidelined outside of the cage, I think she'll be just fine. (2) Leon de Ramos (4-1, OVR 417) vs. (1) Rock Sheridan (4-1, OVR 419) [First Career Meeting] This is a repeat of an Omega clash from last season. Leon won. But this isn't Omega. They've both trained hard since then, and rematches can always go a different way. This is for the undisputed division lead. I choose to believe in Rock. How about you?

whistles innocently while shoving the post edited blurb under a rug Yep, just like I said. Mmhmm. Me, giving out accidental misinformation? Perish the thought. 😅

Week 5 Quick Thoughts (Fun Fact: no NPC stat updates this week, a quirk shared with no other week, not even Week 13!) Delta Scott Stevens def. Mickey Steele Sterling Silver def. George Stevens Leon de Ramos def. Nocturne Rock Sheridan def. Diamond The division does seem to be separating out into haves and havenots. The top three, middle three, and bottom two can clearly be seen. Stevens took a step forward with his win, and Steele fell back. Silver, after her abysmal start, is rising. However, Leon claimed the first win off Nocturne, setting up a showdown with Rock next week with control of the division at stake. What remains to be seen is if this separating out is for real or not. 5 weeks is roughly a third of the season. Not quite enough to be sure. Gamma Diego Rodriguez def. Lance Heartilly Kichi Hida def. Indigo Rose Markus Clay def. Big Scott Weathers Monty Dhillon def. Terrance Stevens There’s not a lot to say here. Monty and Diego took care of business. Heartilly and Stevens are in freefall. And whatever momentum Rose may have thought she’d gained after her win was violently beaten out of her. Kichi is still the Queen of Unmitigated Violence, as the boss said. Also, that’s the second time in a row Kichi’s opponent has been left bloody and with major head damage. Will this continue against Big Scotty? Good question. Beta Billy Norris def. Angela Wasserman Reverend Johnny Gross def. Blood River Yoshii Nakamatsu def. Pulsar Lucas Molina def. Christian Priest Norris continues to dominate Wasserman (no, not in a Rule 34 way, jeez). Gross may have saved his season. River may have lost his. Yoshii gets an opportunistic win instead of a fighty one. And the big headline. Molina beats Priest for the first time since their first encounter over a year ago in Delta. The rivalry lives again, and Molina is in the division lead. Just in time to wrestle Yoshii for it. Oh, boy. Alpha George Mastachas def. De’siree Mitchell Jean-Paul Ouilette def. Brandy McDonald Nuclear Templeton def. The Mastodon Brian Blackfield def. Mel O’Hallister Let’s see…Mastachas handles his business. Ouilette continues to insist he’s nobody’s jobber. Nuke hammers out a banger with Mastodon, who's probably out of reach of the title now. And once again, the show ends with the Juggernaut’s hand raised in victory. Alpha’s starting to get chaotic, but apparently some things never change around here.

Molina/Priest, is that you there? (Don't answer, boss, I'm just goofin')

It also depends what Sting himself wants to do. If he wants to go out on his back in his last match ever, who's gonna tell him no?

I have an addendum. D'Amore and Anthem were having severe creative differences. Enough that the purchase attempt was his last attempt at resolving the situation in his favor. With that offer rejected, there was only one way the story ended.

PWInsider has something about how D'Amore tried to buy TNA from Anthem, only they declined to sell. Apparently the offer was legitimate, backed by a big time bank and everything. Was a pretty good deal, to hear some speak of it. And now he's fired. Goodness. I wonder why.

ALPHA DIVISION After 4 weeks Alpha is partying like it's Season Nine.. Seriously, with Brandy & Nuke in the division lead it feels just a little like a flash back to a year ago. But the actual matches put the lie to that. Two uniques and two long running rivalries. Should be a good night. LAST ONE STANDING MATCH: (5) Brian Blackfield (2-2, OVR 572) vs. (3) Mel O'Hallister (2-2, OVR 534) [First Career Meeting. Blackfield is 2-0 in Last One Standing matches; O’Hallister is 3-0 in Last One Standing matches] Honestly? I don't know. It's as tough a call as Mastachas/Nuke or Diego/Rose. Total coinflip for me. Only thing tilting the scales is Blackfield's adrenaline rush and Mell nont having a submission finish. But as Brandy just showed, the rush isn't necessarily an "I win now" button for the Juggernaut. And as Ouilette over Mastodon just showed, having one may not even matter. (2) Nuclear Templeton (3-1, OVR 541) vs. (8) The Mastodon (1-3, OVR 525) [Career: Nuclear Templeton, 4 - 2] Mastachas was the only person I came close to doubting Nuke against, and now even that's on life support. (6) Jean-Paul Ouilette (2-2, OVR 528) vs. (1) Brandy McDonald (3-1, OVR 528) [First Career Meeting] Something's going on with Brandy this season, and I think I like it. A return to form for the Season Nine champ. (4) George Mastachas (2-2, OVR 534) vs. (7) De'siree Mitchell (1-3, OVR 505) [Career: George Mastachas, 4 - 2] The loss to Nuke hurts, but Mastachas recovers here. BETA DIVISION A week with no new matchups. What a concept. Everybody's fought everybody else before at least twice and in half the matches more than that. But don't you go thinking it's gonna be a dull night in Beta. Molina and Priest always put on a good show, and Gross/River features both men fighting for their seasons. (1) Christian Priest (3-1, OVR 583) vs. (3) Lucas Molina (3-1, OVR 489) [Career: Christian Priest, 3 - 1] Look. Molina's my guy. I love him to death. If he does actually manage to win I'll be thrilled to my toes. But goddamn. Priest's got almost 100 OVR on him. That grants a like 5% boost to everything Priest does, and then Molina's got to overcome the health disparity that entails. Nah. Molina's not ready to do that yet. Round 2 he ought to have a shot, but not this time. (4) Pulsar (2-2, OVR 489) vs. (2) Yoshii Nakamatsu (3-1, OVR 521) [Career: Yoshii Nakamatsu, 2 - 0] Yoshii had his number last season, and is only better now. (8) Reverend Johnny Gross (1-3, OVR 507) vs. (7) Blood River (1-3, OVR 506) [Career: Tied 1 - 1] Both men are fighting for their seasons here. I'm backing Gross and his better track record over River's erratic nature. (6) Angela Wassermann (1-3, OVR 481) vs. (5) Billy Norris (2-2, OVR 518) [Career: Billy Norris, 5 - 1] Norris has her number. Period. That lone win last season was a freakish fluke, as shown when Norris beat her again in the return match later on. GAMMA DIVISION Gamma, by contrast with Beta, is all uniues this week. Zero wins takes on zero losses. Kichi Hida takes on the third of Gamma's technician trio. And the other two square off in a match with deep implications for both men's seasons. (8) Terrance Stevens (0-4, OVR 485) vs. (1) Monty Dhillon (4-0, OVR 538) [First Career Meeting] Honestly, I don't have anybody potentially beating Monty except Kichi and Diego. With that said, Stevens has played spoiler to an undefeated season before... (5) Markus Clay (2-2, OVR 487) vs. (4) Big Scott Weathers (2-2, OVR 499) [First Career Meeting] Gamma's bathroom break match, jeez. I'm no fan of either man, but Big Scotty has been surprisingly competitive in the League despite being a total jobber. He always seems to sneak wins when we least expect it. (7) Indigo Rose (1-3, OVR 497) vs. (2) Kichi Hida (3-1, OVR 474) [First Career Meeting] Sorry, Rose. Gotta back my lady. Also she's pummeled the shit out of Diego and Heartilly, who I thought had the size to at least hold her at bay long enough to wear her down. Rose is actually smaller than Kichi. So this could get ugly. (3) Diego Rodriguez (3-1, OVR 521) vs. (6) Lance Heartilly (1-3, OVR 450) [First Career Meeting] A tale of two technicians trending in opposite directions. After a quarter of the season, Diego looks Beta bound and Heartilly looks like he's returning to Delta. DELTA DIVISION Delta is, as usual, all first time matchups. Two of which have deep implications towards the developing promotion race, and the other two towards the relegation race. (5) Diamond (2-2, OVR 487) vs. (2) Rock Sheridan (3-1, OVR 415) [First Career Meeting] Rock's first quarter has been impressive. His only loss thus far is to the literal undefeated division leader. But I think Diamond will be his toughest test yet. A win for Rock says he's for real in the promotion race. A win for Diamond says don't count her out just yet. And we know by now that I don't believe in Diamond anymore. Not until she proves herself worthy of it. (1) Nocturne (4-0, OVR 444) vs. (2) Leon de Ramos (3-1, OVR 413) [First Career Meeting] And this is the other one. Undefeated Nocturne versus the other resident technician in Leon. I do believe we'll be getting quite the technical showcase. Though I'll bet on the more experienced division leader, I wouldn't be entirely surprised to see it go the other way. (8) George Stevens (0-4, OVR 402) vs. (6) Sterling Silver (1-3, OVR 452) [First Career Meeting] To the bottom half we go. Silver has two seasons of experience on George, though with the size disparity I wouldn't be surprised to see it go the other way. High flyers like Silver can be erratic despite her desire to rise out of Delta, and George is going to win eventually. Devil's Delight he ain't. (4) Scott Stevens (2-2, OVR 430) vs. (7) Mickey Steele (1-3, OVR 407) [First Career Meeting] And the last match is as tough of a call as the first. Jeez. Hell, closer. The only advantages I can find are Stevens's somewhat greater health and Steele's somewhat better stamina. Neither of which is a decisive advantage in Delta's fast paced ruleset. Everything else is kind of a draw. So let's try and get on Jman's good side, eh? Go Scotty, go!

Week 4 Quick Thoughts (Hi everyone!) Delta Leon de Ramos def. George Stevens Rock Sheridan def. Scott Stevens Sterling Silver def. Mickey Steele Nocturne def. Diamond Nocturne remains undefeated and on the fast track to the division title. George remains winless and on the fast track to the bottom of the relegation pile. Silver gets her first win, but has a long road ahead to avoid relegation, let alone attempt to meet preseason expectations. And both Rock and Leon start genuinely looking like promotion threats. It’ll be interesting to see if Delta’s started to sort itself out into tiers, or if it’s way too soon to guess. Gamma Markus Clay def. Kichi Hida Indigo Rose def. Terrance Stevens Monty Dhillon def. Lance Heartilly Diego Rodriguez def. Big Scott Weathers 100% bullshit. An undiscovered bug in the game defeated Kichi, not Clay. I mean, yes she’s my PC, but I’d be annoyed even if she wasn’t. Any other match type, and he takes a fat L. You know it, I know it, we all know it. Submission matches between those without any trademark submission moves are a total crapshoot, and that bug just makes it worse. In other news, Rose finally takes care of her business, and may have hope for the future. Monty continues to be unstoppable. And Diego also takes care of his business. Surprisingly, Heartilly is looking like he belongs in the basement. How unexpected. Beta Lucas Molina def. Angela Wasserman Billy Norris def. Reverend Johnny Gross Yoshii Nakamatsu def. Blood River Christian Priest def. Pulsar There’s…not a lot to be said here. Molina, Nakamatsu, and Priest all took care of business as they should have. The lone outlier is Gross, who may not be as impressive as he was expected to be in preseason. As the narration said, at this rate he’s going to get relegated to Gamma. He’s got to find Season Nine Gross or he’s in deep trouble at this stage. Alpha Mel O’Hallister def. De’siree Mitchell Jean-Paul Ouilette def. The Mastodon Nuclear Templeton def. George Mastachas Brandy McDonald def. Brian Blackfield Here, on the other hand, was basically #UpsetWeek. Not a shot at Nuke, though, that one was basically even odds. Though I doubt it’ll continue to be, with Nuke holding the last two wins of the rivalry. No, I’m talking about Mel getting over the hump with De’siree and taking his first win over her. Ouilette taking an absolute beating but still overcoming Mastodon with a critical assist from Cecile. The big headline, however, is Brandy not only triggering Blackfield’s adrenaline rush, but surviving it to become the first person in League history to beat him with their finisher. Hell of a crown to claim, ma’am. I tip my hat to you. Well done.

Wasn't that NOLA? That's Starks's hometown, more or less. This always happens in AEW. Every heel is a babyface in their hometown, even MJF at his worst.

As long as they're each bringing a dish. Lasagna. Spaghetti. Fettucine. Maybe a nice salad and some garlic bread. Cannoli if they feel like it. If we're gonna have one of those lengthy conversations again, we might as well eat while we do it, right?