Eternal Phoenix

Ah, how I appreciate a good burn. My prediction is ref stoppage due to blood loss. Or severe, sustained ass whipping. AKA going past what would normally be the red on a body part. If either thing is possible, anyway. We're certainly gonna find out!

Ho...she must be built similarly to Kichi, only with a move set focused more on flashy moves rather than brutal violence. Interesting.

Two words. Mandible Claw. (I know that's not it, but let a man dream.) Though I'm actually curious now. Can a Submission Match end in a blood stoppage? I suppose we'll find out.

ALPHA DIVISION I dunno, man. This week doesn't thrill me. One unique, one high stakes, one ass kicking about to happen, and a renewal of a rivalry so one sided I dunno if we can even call it one. (1) Brandy McDonald (2-1, OVR 524) vs. (4) Brian Blackfield (2-1, OVR 572) [First Career Meeting] The unique. I like Brandy, but Blackfield eas her type for breakfast. (3) George Mastachas (2-1, OVR 533) vs. (2) Nuclear Templeton (2-1, OVR 537) [Career: Tied 3 - 3] The high stakes. I'll back Mastachas here. I still believe he's got that tissue paper thin edge against Nuke. LAST ONE STANDING MATCH: (7) The Mastodon (1-2, OVR 523) vs. (8) Jean-Paul Ouilette (1-2, OVR 522) [First Career Meeting. Mastodon is 1-1 in Last One Standing bouts.] The ass kicking about to happen. Man, this just isn't fair to Ouilette at all. (6) Mel O'Hallister (1-2, OVR 527) vs. (5) De'siree Mitchell (1-2, OVR 503) [Career: De'siree Mitchell, 4 - 0] The last. Mel...hasn't done very well in this series. I don't favor De'siree, but the history speaks for itself. BETA DIVISION Beta isn't much more exciting, I think. Top half versus bottom half. Two uniques, but eh. CAGE MATCH: (1) Christian Priest (2-1, OVR 577) vs. (2) Pulsar (2-1, OVR 488) [First Career Meeting. Pulsar is 1-0 in Cage matches.] Priest should run Pulsar over like a bug. (3) Yoshii Nakamatsu (2-1, OVR 518) vs. (6) Blood River (1-2, OVR 507) [Career: Blood River, 3 - 1] River's got the history, but Yoshii has proven he can beat him, and he's better than ever this season. (7) Billy Norris (1-2, OVR 515) vs. (8) Reverend Johnny Gross (1-2, OVR 507) [Career: Reverend Johnny Gross, 2 - 0] I do believe the Rev has woken up from his early season slumber. (4) Lucas Molina (2-1, OVR 485) vs. (5) Angela Wassermann (1-2, OVR 480) [First Career Meeting] Wasserman doesn't have the stamina to hang with Molina's patient style. GAMMA DIVISION Gamma's weird this week. Two uniques, one lopsided rematch, and one hopefully epic collision. (4) Diego Rodriguez (2-1, OVR 516) vs. (3) Big Scott Weathers (2-1, OVR 498) [First Career Meeting] Unique #1. Technician over brawler. Or Diego dos his two steps forward, one step back thing that he does. (6) Lance Heartilly (1-2, OVR 450) vs. (2) Monty Dhillon (3-0, OVR 536) [Career: Tied 1 - 1] Last time, down in Delta, Monty squished him. I don't see it going quite that badly, but Monty's surpassed Heartilly. SUBMISSION MATCH: (7) Indigo Rose (0-3, OVR 493) vs. (7) Terrance Stevens (0-3, OVR 485) [Career: Tied 2 – 2. Rose is 2-0 in Submission matches] This is lopsided. Stevens doesn't have a trademark submission at all. Rose obviously does. Rose both can and has blown matches like this, but come on. It's the biggest gimme of her season. Take it, woman. SUBMISSION MATCH: (1) Kichi Hida (3-0, OVR 473) vs. (5) Markus Clay (1-2, OVR 482) [First Career Meeting. Clay is 1-1 in Submission matches.] Kichi would like to know who booked this crap? This is more likely to end in a ref stoppage than a submission, after Clay is beated from pillar to post and back again. Seriously, someone explain the rules of this one to her before she goes out there. She doesn't know a submission from a hole in the ground. DELTA DIVISION It's here in Delta where everything's unique and there's some intriguing match ups in store. (3) Diamond (2-1, OVR 486) vs. (1) Nocturne (3-0, OVR 441) [First Career Meeting] This is arguably Diamond's best opportunity to genuinely start earning my respect back. So of course she's gonna blow it. It's kind of her trademark at this point. (7) Sterling Silver (0-3, OVR 448) vs. (6) Mickey Steele (1-2, OVR 407) [First Career Meeting] Here is where Silver can turn it around, or we can start writing off her whole season. Obviously, I think the former is the case. (4) Scott Stevens (2-1, OVR 428) vs. (2) Rock Sheridan (2-1, OVR 410) [First Career Meeting] Scott's doing okay for himself this season, and that's great. Real happy for him, and I hope he continues to do well in his other matches. Unfortunately, he's about to be on the business end of a Grit City Lariat. Sorry about that, bud. (8) George Stevens (0-3, OVR 401) vs. (5) Leon de Ramos (2-1, OVR 410) [First Career Meeting] I want to say something nice about George here, but yanno...he's 0-3. It makes it challenging. So instead I'll say this is approaching his last chance to be relevant in the division this season. Like I implied with Silver above, 0-4 with 10 remaining bodes quite poorly. And unfortunately, he's up against this season's resident technician. But you know, maybe he can make a stand here. I hope he does. I don' think he will, but I hope he does.

Week 3 Quick Thoughts (yanno, I like this format better) Delta Rock Sheridan def. Mickey Steele Scott Stevens def. George Stevens Nocturne def. Sterling Silver Diamond def. Leon de Ramos Some real excitement in Delta this week. Three match of the night contenders in one division. Well, then. Rock establishes some dominance. The Stevens bros went to war and left George’s future looking shaky. Silver shows signs of life, but still loses and is in an increasingly bad spot. Nocturne, however, is now one of the only three undefeated wrestlers in the League. And Diamond? Now that’s how you show signs of life. Silver? Take notes. Another couple of wins like that and I might start to believe again. Gamma Kichi Hida def. Lance Heartilly Big Scott Weathers def. Terrance Stevens Diego Rodriguez def. Markus Clay Monty Dhillon def. Indigo Rose Kichi getting over the hump. Endless Carnival! We’ve only seen successfully used once! Terrance looking weaker and weaker. Diego thoroughly rebounding after that Week 1 beatdown. Rose in a hole of her own making. Monty still dominant. And Gamma has two of the three undefeated wrestlers in the League. Not bad. Not bad at all. Beta Angela Wasserman def. Pulsar Billy Norris def. Lucas Molina Reverend Johnny Gross def. Yoshii Nakamatsu Christian Priest def. Blood River Started the week with three undefeated wrestlers. Ended with zero. Wasserman continues her dominance over Pulsar. Norris steals one from Molina. And Gross wakes up against Nakamatsu. Can’t call it upset week, because Priest smashed River. So instead it’s just things starting to even out. Maybe it’ll be like last season, where just about everyone was within two wins of each other until basically the end of the season. Competitive as all hell. Alpha Brandy McDonald def. De’siree Mitchell Nuclear Templeton def. Jean-Paul Ouilette Mel O’Hallister def. George Mastachas Brian Blackfield def. The Mastodon Go Brandy go! Match of the Night! Nuke dishes out a hellacious ass whipping. Mel says “I’m not dead yet” by beating the champ. And the show closes out like it almost always does. With the hand of Brian Blackfield raised in victory. So you know. Business as usual here in Alpha. See you next time.

ALPHA DIVISION Some real collisions this week in Alpha. Two first time ever match ups and two lopsided long runners. (5) The Mastodon (1-1, OVR 523) vs. (7) Brian Blackfield (1-1, OVR 568) [Career: First Career Meeting] Once again, if this isn't the main event I'm shocked. We have the opportunity, for the first time in League history, to see two adrenaline rushes in one match. I've been looking forward to this since somewhere in early Season Nine. (8) Mel O'Hallister (0-2, OVR 523) vs. (1) George Mastachas (2-0, OVR 533) [Career: George Mastachas, 3 - 1] Ah, Mel. You're really making your relegation case this season so far, aren't you. Mastachas will be happy to help. (4) Nuclear Templeton (1-1, OVR 533) vs. (6) Jean-Paul Ouilette (1-1, OVR 521) [Career: First Career Meeting] Nuke, despite coming out pretty damn flat last week, is still among the class of the division. Ouilette...isn't. (2) Brandy McDonald (1-1, OVR 519) vs. (3) De'siree Mitchell (1-1, OVR 501) [Career: Brandy McDonald, 4 - 2] Brandy's had this rivalry locked down so far, but De'siree is trying to catch her. Not this time. Probably. BETA DIVISION Meanwhile, Beta's got three first time ever match ups to look forward to, and the sole rematch has it's own story to tell. (5) Blood River (1-1, OVR 506) vs. (4) Christian Priest (1-1, OVR 574) [Career: First Career Meeting] River is the type of guy Priest eats for breakfast. (7) Reverend Johnny Gross (0-2, OVR 503) vs. (2) Yoshii Nakamatsu (2-0, OVR 518) [Career: First Career Meeting] Yoshii appears to be on absolute fire right now. In the best form we've ever seen him in. Meanwhile, Gross is in the worst. Maybe the Rev can turn it around, but I'm not about to bet against Yoshii after dropping Priest in dominating fashion. (6) Billy Norris (0-2, OVR 510) vs. (3) Lucas Molina (2-0, OVR 484) [Career: First Career Meeting] Bluntly, if Nakamatsu can do it, so can Molina. 'Nuff said. (8) Angela Wassermann (0-2, OVR 477) vs. (1) Pulsar (2-0, OVR 487) [Career: Angela Wassermann, 2 - 0] Pulsar's off to a hot start, and Wasserman is, uh, not. Angela swept him last season, though, and honestly needs a win here for later in the season to fight off relegation when Pulsar inevitably sinks. GAMMA DIVISION Gamma has two first time match ups, too, and one intriguing rematch from Delta. (1) Monty Dhillon (2-0, OVR 531) vs. (8) Indigo Rose (0-2, OVR 492) [Career: First Career Meeting] Rose is having a tough early season, and it doesn't get any easier here. (5) Markus Clay (1-1, OVR 481) vs. (4) Diego Rodriguez (1-1, OVR 512) [Career: Diego Rodriguez, 2 - 0] Diego swept him last season, and I don't expect this one to go any differently. (6) Big Scott Weathers (1-1, OVR 495) vs. (7) Terrance Stevens (0-2, OVR 485) [Career: First Career Meeting] Coinflip+superior stamina+dat superkick, yo. (3) Lance Heartilly (1-1, OVR 449) vs. (2) Kichi Hida (2-0, OVR 468) [Career: Lance Heartilly, 2 - 0] And here is our intriguing rematch. Lance swept Kichi down in Delta, but Kichi is thus far on a tear going through a technician in Diego and a brawler in Stevens. It's the former that makes me want to bet on her this time. Technicians are vulnerable to being strike blitzed, and that's Kichi's whole thing. Especially this season. DELTA DIVISION Delta, as ever, is entirely fully of new match ups. However, unlike last week every single one is intriguing heading in. (2) Leon de Ramos (2-0, OVR 409) vs. (3) Diamond (1-1, OVR 481) [Career: First Career Meeting] Diamond showing signs of life. Leon doing that technician domination thing they all do down here. Experience or technican aptitude? Well, one win isn't enough to earn my respect back, so yanno. (7) Sterling Silver (0-2, OVR 447) vs. (1) Nocturne (2-0, OVR 436) [Career: First Career Meeting] Nocturne may be even better than I expected from her this season, while Silver is trending toward the worse. (7) George Stevens (0-2, OVR 401) vs. (6) Scott Stevens (1-1, OVR 425) [Career: First Career Meeting] Going with League experience and superior stamina on this one. Otherwise it's almost a coinflip. (4) Mickey Steele (1-1, OVR 405) vs. (5) Rock Sheridan (1-1, OVR 405) [Career: First Career Meeting] If Mickey thinks Rock is like George just because they're both big dudes, he's about to get his head lariated off.

Hey, boss? Rules question everyone ought to know the answer to. If a wrestler is relegated to Omega, do they get the offseason...everything? Can spend XP, +1 Trait, and can increase/add negative Traits?

Week 2 Quick Thoughts (trying out a different format, wheee) Delta Mickey Steele def. George Stevens Leon de Ramos def. Scott Stevens Nocturne def. Rock Sheridan Diamond def. Sterling Silver Rough night in Delta. Though some early front runners emerging in Nocturne and de Ramos. Silver so far has been disappointing. With that said, two matches do not a season make. Gamma Markus Clay def. Lance Heartilly Kichi Hida def. Terrance Stevens Diego Rodriguez def. Indigo Rose Monty Dhillon def. Big Scott Weathers Some more defiance of expectations here. Kichi on top with Monty (she says konnichiwa, bud)? Rose on the bottom? Early season is full of unexpected happenings. Like Heartilly dropping to Clay. Side note, Hida/Stevens probably got to 3* because of the blood, adrenaline rush, and second finisher. Some of the most memorable matches in our world were pretty one sided ass kickings that left the loser bloody, too. So fair enough. Beta Pulsar def. Reverend Johnny Gross Lucas Molina def. Blood River Yoshii Nakamatsu def. Billy Norris Christian Priest def. Angela Wasserman More surprises here. Gross is in an unexpected funk. Yoshii overcomes Billy. Priest gets his groove back after an opening shocker. And Pulsar, of all division members, is technically in the promotion race lead. Man, early season can be so weird. This should change by mid season, but man. Seeing Pulsar up there. Enjoy it while it lasts, bud. Also, Molina says oh hi Priest. Been a while since he was the one above you in the rankings, huh. 😛 Alpha Jean-Paul Ouilette def. Mel O’Hallister Brandy McDonald def. Nuclear Templeton George Mastachas def. The Mastodon Brian Blackfield def. De’siree Mitchell Yep, early season weirdness, business as usual, and the Juggernaut in the main event. Mel in a funk. Nuke just not having it this week. Blackfield working extra hard to beat De’siree, which does not bode well for Mastodon next week. Honestly, Alpha was the division I was least interested in this week. And yet the matches of the night (for the first time, there was two) were both here. Plus a genuine surprise is Brandy’s win. Shows what I know. 😅

ALPHA DIVISION With the season's tone set, Alpha segues into relatively mundane, if not well trodden, territory. Three out of four matches have happened before, and two of those right here last season. (5) Brian Blackfield (0-1, OVR 562) vs. (1) De'siree Mitchell (1-0, OVR 500) [Career: First Career Meeting] De'siree doesn't have an awful record against guys with adrenaline rushes, but that's Mastodon. This is Blackfield. She's gonna have a bad night. (3) The Mastodon (1-0, OVR 522) vs. (4) George Mastachas (1-0, OVR 529) [Career: George Mastachas, 5 - 1] Another chapter in this...well, we can't call something this one sided a rivalry, now can we? Mastachas maintains his dominance here. (2) Nuclear Templeton (1-0, OVR 533) vs. (5) Brandy McDonald (0-1, OVR 515) [Career: Tied 3 - 3] Once upon a time, this would have beendifficult to call, but Nuke has firmly surpassed his rival. (7) Jean-Paul Ouilette (0-1, OVR 516) vs. (7) Mel O'Hallister (0-1, OVR 522) [Career: Tied 1 - 1] Mel is mah boi. Ouilette's about to have a very long season. 'Nuff said. BETA DIVISION The season's tone has also been set in Beta. Though everything is a bit less business as usual. Two first ever match ups instead of one, only one happened last season. (7) Christian Priest (0-1, OVR 570) vs. (7) Angela Wassermann (0-1, OVR 476) [Career: First Career Meeting] Both looking to rebound, but Priest ought to be out of Wasserman's weight class. HARDCORE MATCH: (3) Yoshii Nakamatsu (1-0, OVR 513) vs. (5) Billy Norris (0-1, OVR 509) [Career: Billy Norris, 2 - 0] Last season this proved very interesting, as Yoshii's usual stamina advantage didn't exist, and Norris was simply too fast for him to keep his hands on. I expect this season to go much the same way. FIRST BLOOD MATCH: (4) Lucas Molina (1-0, OVR 478) vs. (1) Blood River (1-0, OVR 504) [Career: First Career Meeting] I do believe Molina has a bit of an advantage over a luchador when it comes to causing blood. Still, this match type favors neither of them and could go either way. (5) Reverend Johnny Gross (0-1, OVR 502) vs. (2) Pulsar (1-0, OVR 484) [Career: Reverend Johnny Gross, 2 - 0] A relative breather week for Gross. He ought to win this reasonably easily. A loss would not bode well for his season. GAMMA DIVISION Meanwhile, Gamma is still whipping out mostly unique, first time encounters. And the one that's not is a dead even rivalry that's spanned two seasons now. (4) Big Scott Weathers (1-0, OVR 494) vs. (2) Monty Dhillon (1-0, OVR 527) [Career: First Career Meeting] While Weathers is a bigger challenge (figuratively and in literal physical size) than Clay, I expect Dhillon to bulldoze him too. (5) Indigo Rose (0-1, OVR 492) vs. (8) Diego Rodriguez (0-1, OVR 508) [Career: Tied 2 - 2] What can be said? This one's getting historic in length. It's one of the longest running outside of Alpha's stalwarts. I nab Diego because I believe he has an tissue paper thin edge. But as their history shows, this can easily go either way. (1) Kichi Hida (1-0, OVR 464) vs. (5) Terrance Stevens (0-1, OVR 483) [Career: First Career Meeting] Stevens is the type Kichi bullies for fun and eats for breakfast. Though, if we're lucky, we may at last see her adrenaline rush trigger. (3) Lance Heartilly (1-0, OVR 449) vs. (5) Markus Clay (0-1, OVR 477) [Career: First Career Meeting] Observe, as Heartilly eats Clay alive. DELTA DIVISION Delta is, naturally, full of fresh match ups. The only possible repeat is Nocture vs. Scott Stevens, after all. (6) Sterling Silver (0-1, OVR 447) vs. (6) Diamond (0-1, OVR 479) [Career: First Career Meeting] I believe Silver rebounds from that initial loss here. I have no faith left in Diamond, unfortunately. (2) Nocturne (1-0, OVR 432) vs. (1) Rock Sheridan (1-0, OVR 405) [Career: First Career Meeting] Gotta believe in my guy, right? Plus, the last two brawling types Nocturne faced were Monty Dhillon and Kichi Hida, and they dominated her. TABLES MATCH: (3) Scott Stevens (1-0, OVR 425) vs. (4) Leon de Ramos (1-0, OVR 406) [Career: First Career Meeting] Real bad match type for poor Leon. Otherwise he'd have a shot here. I fully expect Stevens to put him through a table. (8) George Stevens (0-1, OVR 400) vs. (5) Mickey Steele (0-1, OVR 402) [Career: First Career Meeting] Toughest call of the week, in my opinion, in dead heat with Rose/Rodriguez above. Feels like it ought to be George here, according to both wrestling and game logic, but Roxy Rose can easily intervene and turn the tables at a crucial moment. Plus there's a big stamina disparity. I may be going Steele, but I would not at all be surprised if George got the W.

Week 1 Quick Thoughts Leon de Ramos def. Mickey Steele Hey, congrats on the match of the night, you two. If memory serves, that’s the first time the leadoff was MOTN. Well done. Also, Leon showing early signs of being a force in the division. Nocturne def. George Stevens As expected, she took care of business. Rock Sheridan def. Sterling Silver Minor upset here by the numbers, but I believed in Rock. Looking forward to how your season goes, bud. Scott Stevens def. Diamond Diamond always seems to find a way to lose when she needs to win and win when she has no business doing it. This was more of the same. New division, arguably the most experienced in it, lost her debut. It is what it is with her at this point. But credit to Stevens for getting the job done. Escaping a finishing submission is not something just anyone can do. Lance Heartilly def. Terrance Stevens Heartilly still in fine form, and Stevens the Spoiler may be on the verge of losing that sobriquet. Kichi Hida def. Diego Rodriguez My personal upset of the show. The one time I don’t believe in her, and I’m wrong. Kichi, what are you doing this year? Lucas Molina def. Reverend Johnny Gross Gross meets his first technician test, and is found wanting. How both will respond to this match ought to be interesting to see. Blood River def. Angela Wasserman Wasserman chokes another away. Almost want to nickname her “The Choker”, but it doesn’t quite fit. Yet. Credit where it’s due, however, for Blood River getting the victory despite being on the back foot most of the way. Big Scott Weathers def. Indigo Rose Disappointed in Rose, but at this point she just does this two or three times a season. Takes losses she has no business taking. Pulsar def. Billy Norris High fliers. Who can pick ‘em? Monty Dhillon def. Markus Clay The expected beatdown. ‘Nuff said. De’siree Mitchell def. Jean-Paul Ouilette Ouilette’s in for a very long and pain filled season. The Mastodon def. Brandy McDonald Brandy kept it close, but the big man begins his championship chase strong. Nuclear Templeton def. Mel O’Hallister Nuke has surpassed Mel now. It’s quite clear. Yoshii Nakamatsu def. Christian Priest Nakamatsu making a statement that he’s nobody’s speed bumb. Well done, Yoshii. George Mastachas def. Brian Blackfield Not how I expected it, but the result I did expect. The rematch in the second half just got very interesting.

I mean, I think my work does enough of that anyway.

At last, we begin again. Gentlemen (and lady), let's have some fun this season. ALPHA DIVISION (7) Brian Blackfield (0-0, OVR 561) vs. (1) George Mastachas (0-0, OVR 524) [Career: First Career Meeting] Honestly all the Alpha matches this week are tone setters for the division, but this one is right at the top of the list. Juggernaut vs. Defending Champion. Get your popcorn ready. If this isn't the Main Event I'm shocked. And yes, I honestly don't think Blackfield can handle Mastachhas. The champ is bigger, stronger, has better stamina with Cardio Freak, and equivalent grappling skills. But still, this should be pretty good. (5) Mel O'Hallister (0-0, OVR 522) vs. (2) Nuclear Templeton (0-0, OVR 529) [Career: Mel O'Hallister, 3 - 1] Setting the tone for both men's seasons. Mel would like to forget his 2-5 second half while reasserting his dominance over someone he's had a lot of success against and Nuke would just like to start his championship chase off strong. I'mma go with Nuke, because I think he turned a corner last season and I don't know how anyone but Mastachas and maybe Mastodon/Blackfield stops him. (4) Brandy McDonald (0-0, OVR 514) vs. (3) The Mastodon (0-0, OVR 517) [Career: Tied 3 - 3] As tone setters go, this is probably the weakest. They've matched up before six times now. That said, it's similar to the above. Brandy wants to continue to be relevant in the division and Mastodon wants to be in the Championship chase from the start. Going Mastodon to start strong, but as the record shows this could go either way. (6) De'siree Mitchell (0-0, OVR 496) vs. (8) Jean-Paul Ouilette (0-0, OVR 516) [Career: First Career Meeting] This one sets the tone for the basement o the division. If Ouilette can't beat or at least have a close showing here, he's in for a very, very long season. But if he can win, he has a shot at proving he's not quite the whipping boy I and everyone else expect him to be. I think Cecile makes the difference here. BETA DIVISION (2) Yoshii Nakamatsu (0-0, OVR 509) vs. (7) Christian Priest (0-0, OVR 570) [Career: First Career Meeting] Tone setters here in Beta, too, as Nakamatsu gets a chance to prove he's nobody's whipping boy, despite what Blackfield did to him four straight times. Yoshii, bud, I like you, but no. Priest is on an absolute rampage since the start of last season, and you're just another speed bump. (3) Billy Norris (0-0, OVR 507) vs. (6) Pulsar (0-0, OVR 479) [Career: Tied 1 - 1] Eh, coinflip+superior stamina. High fliers are so erratic, man. (1) Reverend Johnny Gross (0-0, OVR 501) vs. (8) Lucas Molina (0-0, OVR 473) [Career: First Career Meeting] This is Beta's other tone setter this week. Gross, despite last season, was dominant in Beta in Season Nine. But I don't believe he's ever gone up against anyone who can go hold for hold with him. Outside of Tag Team Turmoil, anyone. Because this is a bit of a rematch from last season's final. So get your popcorn ready for this one too, as both men have something to prove. Win-wise, I'm just being a homer. Either could take it. #TechnicianSweepPart1 (4) Blood River (0-0, OVR 501) vs. (5) Angela Wassermann (0-0, OVR 476) [Career: Blood River, 3 - 1] Look at the record. Speaks for itself. GAMMA DIVISION (5) Markus Clay (0-0, OVR 477) vs. (6) Monty Dhillon (0-0, OVR 524) [Career: First Career Meeting] You can call this a tone setter if you want to it, I guess. Monty to debut outside of Delta with a dominant thumping of the division's whipping boy. (3) Diego Rodriguez (0-0, OVR 508) vs. (8) Kichi Hida (0-0, OVR 461) [Career: First Career Meeting] I want to be wrong, but I know I'm not. Both Molina and Heartilly took Kichi apart. Diego's technical skills just as good if not better than both men. I don't like it, but not even my homer leanings make me delusional. #TechnicianSweepPart2 (1) Big Scott Weathers (0-0, OVR 491) vs. (2) Indigo Rose (0-0, OVR 491) [Career: First Career Meeting] #TechnicianSweepPart3 (4) Terrance Stevens (0-0, OVR 483) vs. (7) Lance Heartilly (0-0, OVR 445) [Career: First Career Meeting] #TechnicianSweepPart4 (I don't know why I think of this last season. Dang it.) DELTA DIVISION Every match is a tone setter, because most of these guys haven't been on camera yet, and the two who have definitely have something to prove. (3) Scott Stevens (0-0, OVR 420) vs. (1) Diamond (0-0, OVR 478) [Career: First Career Meeting] I dunno, man. I just got a feelin'. (2) Nocturne (0-0, OVR 429) vs. (4) George Stevens (0-0, OVR 400) [Career: First Career Meeting] I'm a fan, young lady. You've had a season to improve. Show me what you're made of and tap the big man out. TABLES MATCH: (8) Rock Sheridan (0-0, OVR 400) vs. (5) Sterling Silver (0-0, OVR 446) [Career: First Career Meeting] I mean, he beat her before in Omega, right? Plus I'm a homer? (7) Leon de Ramos (0-0, OVR 400) vs. (6) Mickey Steele (0-0, OVR 400) [Career: First Career Meeting] #TechnicianSweepPart5, anyone? No? Just me? Okay.

Keith Lee has been booked reasonably strongly, too, with the notable exception of the ROH TV Title match. He's just had terrible luck with his health. We're not privy to all o the behind the scenes stuff, but reading between the lines says that Brian Cage's problems were at least partially self inflicted. I thought people didn't like Jay Lethal and didn't want him to be signed, let alone get any kind of push. Andrade's problems were also at least partially self inflicted. Ethan Page is the only one I'll give you, and even then he was being primed for something bigger before Brawl Out fallout derailed it and he got trapped in the Hardy Vortex of Doom. (Matt, I love you bud, but almost nothing you've done in AEW has hit. And every time I see you, you walk more and more like Mick Foley. You're in severe Time Decline. Please consider retirement. For your health, if nothing else.)

I mean...it is and it isn't. Time consuming and mentally demanding, I mean. I update my won/loss records and character stats after each show and I don't just...not think about the League during the week, you know? The posts are only a collection of thoughts I've already been having plus the logical extension of same. But at the same time, quarterly instead of halfway point and post is stretching it. Not so much material, alas. It's why I asked instead of just doing it. If quarterly was enjoyed and a return is desired, I can probably make that happen. Barring any disasters at work, anyway. Otherwise, I can keep my thoughts half formed in my head until the halfway point and post season.

If y'all want me to do the quarter season stuff again, lemme know. Right now I'm only planning to do the halfway mark and the post mortem like I originally planned last season.

Season Eleven Pre Season Predictions & Commentary This is based on last season’s performances and ending stats, along with reported Omega results and educated guesses based on starting stats for the newcomers in Delta. Off season upgrades have not been taken into account. I promised I’d wait until the schedule reveal, and now that’s happened. So let’s get started, shall we? Alpha Division Top Two: George Mastachas, Nuclear Templeton Middle Four: Brandy McDonald, Brian Blackfield, Mel O’Hallister, The Mastodon Bottom Two: De’siree Mitchell, Jean-Paul Ouilette Alpha changed little last season. The two newcomers bounced off without making a dent in the established and evolving dynamics of the six who have been there since Season 9. As many expect, however, this is the season that changes. Brian Blackfield, The Juggernaut, has arrived. Zero chance he simply washes out like Gross and Simmons did. With that said, he has shown signs of weakness as he’s climbed divisions, and I said all last season Alpha is where he hits the wall. Mastachas, Nuke, and Mastodon are a type of foe he’s simply not faced before. So while he won’t wash out, I sincerely doubt he’s going to win the League championship. That is still more or less a two horse race between Mastachas and Nuke. The middle four listed above can and will play spoiler and possibly even make their own pushes (especially Mastodon and perhaps Blackfield), but I feel pretty comfortable saying that the top two last season will be the top two this season. Brandy and Mel ought to hold their spots in Alpha down, as well. It’s De’siree and Ouilette who’ll be bounced out at the end of the season. Ouilette’s a no brainer. Anyone with eyes can see how far out of his weight class he is in Alpha. Dude’s gonna get rag dolled all season. De’siree, however…it’s no secret I’m not high on her. She almost washed out last season, with Gross and Simmons stinking it up. Blackfield is neither man. She does have a chance if she can overtake Brandy or Mel, but eh. I don’t think it’s likely. She’ll fight, but she’ll lose. ********** Beta Division Top Two: Christian Priest, Reverend Johnny Gross Middle Four: Billy Norris, Blood River, Lucas Molina, Yoshii Nakamatsu Bottom Two: Angela Wasserman, Pulsar Beta, by contrast to Alpha, has definitely changed. But not as much as some may think. Priest is just Blackfield 2.0, as far as the division is concerned. He’ll be handing out ass whippings all season. Gross absolutely dominated this place two seasons ago. His performance last season wasn’t because he’d suddenly gotten dramatically worse. Tag Team Turmoil showed that wasn’t true at all in rather dramatic fashion. Add in Molina and Nakamatsu’s somewhat erratic performances last season, and Priest and Gross should be the ones battling it out for the division crown. With that said, Molina did technically earn his promotion by winning just enough, and Nakamatsu missed promotion by a hair. They’re not chumps, and ought to keep the promotion chase very interesting down the stretch. Here’s where the divide between top and bottom halves of the division gets a bit sharper. We all know Pulsar’s jobber tier. Saved only by Simmons taking a season off. The thing is, Wasserman missed being in his place by a hair of her own. Billy Norris had to take care of his business pretty late in the season to avoid any possibility of being in it. And Blood River’s promising start was completely squandered. Barring somebody else taking a season break, it’s all but guaranteed one of these three will be relegated at the end of the season. River and Norris ought to have just enough to avoid it, but Wasserman’s 1-6 in the second half was bowling shoe ugly. So starting the season off, she’s my candidate for the second spot. ********** Gamma Division Top Three: Monty Dhillon, Diego Rodriguez, Indigo Rose Middle Two: Lance Heartilly, Kichi Hida Bottom Three: Big Scott Weathers, Markus Clay, Terrance Stevens Gamma, despite being in a similar situation to Beta, feels like it hasn’t changed a whole lot. Monty Dhillon fills that Christian Priest shaped hole at the top of the division. Lance Heartilly slides right in as the third technician, Lucas Molina style. The other two, Diego Rodriguez and Indigo Rose, are still here. So are Terrance Stevens and Markus Clay. There’s even Big Scott Weathers filling in for Gibson (who’s on break) as the brawler who gasses easily. There, however, the similarities end. Kichi Hida is not in any way like Diamond. And that is what’s going to make this season different from the last. With that said, I do believe that Diego and Rose will be battling it out for the second promotion spot. Technicians give Kichi fits, and Gamma’s got three of them. Lance is good, but he’s not quite up to the levels that Diego and Rose have reached. Kichi ought to have enough to avoid the second relegation spot. Clay is claiming the first to the surprise of nobody. Which leaves Weathers and Stevens to fight over who gets the second one. I kind of want to bet on Stevens, but who knows? ********** Delta Division Top Two: Nocturne, Sterling Silver Middle Three: Leon de Ramos, Mickey Steele, Rock Sheridan Bottom Three: Diamond, George Stevens, Scott Stevens Sterling Silver is back, and Delta is an entirely different place since she left. I had her pegged as a top promotion candidate before the arrival of Lance Heartilly. She was going to fight tooth and nail with Monty Dhillon and the improving Kichi Hida, mostly likely coming out with the second promotion spot behind Monty. You will notice that none of those three names are in Delta now. In fact, only two names from last season’s division remain. Nocturne and Scott Stevens. Oh, yeah. Silver’s my division champion pick. Nocturne was my pick for the second promotion spot before Kichi got promoted after Gibson’s break was announced. With a season’s worth of improvement in the books and the people responsible for 6 of her 7 losses last season out of the division, she’s primed for a good run. Leon de Ramos is a technician, which tends to do well here in Delta. I think Nocturne’s improvements will put her just past him, but he’ll compete strongly until the end of the season for that second promotion spot. Mickey Steele…on paper I get Erick Gibson (1D brawler with valet) combined with Billy Norris (stamina keeps him in matches long enough to have a chance despite that 1D status) vibes. And clearly, this worked out for him down in Omega. There’s no reason why it can’t continue to do so in Delta. But I don’t quite get that “elite” feeling. I gotta see him work. So for now he’s in the middle of the pack. Rock Sheridan, however, I know well because he’s mine. He’s a powerhouse brawler who finishes opps off with a lariat. There’s already two of these guys that come to mind who already do that in the League. Mastodon and Priest. So Rock’s in good company, even if he’s not quite ready to dominate the way those two do. Diamond…look, I…I wanted to believe in her last season, and she let me down hard. So if she wants my respect back this season, she’s gotta earn it. Right now, she doesn’t have it. The Stevens brothers, well…Scott jobbed hard last season. Like Diamond, if he wants my respect, he’s gotta earn it. With George, I only have his stat to work with and well, I’m not impressed. My initial impression is Jun Onoo but with more raw power. This does not mean that he can’t do well and impress me. This bottom trio has it in them to step up and excel. I just haven’t seen them do it yet, so yanno. Bottom off the rankings for them.

That gasp you heard, boss? That was Molina. He is both shocked and insulted. He's supposed to be entertaining? C'mon, that's not what this sport is about. It's about wins and losses Kichi, meanwhile, wonders what on earth this has to do with inflicting maximum violence in a minimal amount of time. If she's supposed to have more "entertaining" matches, then her opponents need to step up. Rock says whatever, man. He's just excited to get out of Omega. Tacoma's favorite son is ready.

Hey. Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals. 🎅

I think it has more to do with the business end o things. Tana actually has a law degree and graduated from university before becoming a wrestler. Literally right before. Graduated and then joined New Japan immediately. Representative Director also makes me think he'll function as the locker room's voice in business related decisions. As far as booking goes, I mean, no shot Gedo was ignoring Tana when the man had something to say. Being the President may make that status more official rather than based on Tana being a legend and probably a locker room leader, but I doubt it actually alters it, you know?

The booker is still Gedo, but I think it's Tana and those other two who can have him replaced now, instead of the outgoing guy. Not that they would, necessarily.

What can I say? I was thinking about it all season.

I searched Youtube for Japanese death metal, and basically the first one was DEVILOOF's uh, something. I, uh, doubt this would pass muster even on streaming, though. Sorry, Kichi. Lucas, on the other hand, probably has something either symphonic or 80s/early 90s electronic whatever. The most basic theme because he just doesn't even care.

I'll maintain that Bryan could wrestle an inanimate object to a four star match at this stage in his career, so anything Nigel might do can only improve matters. Plus I want to give the man enough credit to know that if he can't surpass a broomstick, he ought to stay retired. Most of the truly excellent ones do seem to know when it's time to quit trying to be something other than a special attraction, and or me Nigel is one of those excellent ones.

Anyone who thinks OC didn't evolve during his first International title run was not paying attention. Yeah, at the beginning he was his usual "Whatever" But as the run went on, he got more and more battered. His biggest moves stopped being reliable. He clung to the belt with a fury unimaginable for the guy who originally won it. Seriously, he was getting his ass handed to him in every match at the end, yet somehow finding a way. Until he ran into Mox, who took everything he had and left him bloody, beaten, and utterly defeated. Mr "Whatever" had shown, rather dramatically, that he actually cared about being champion. Before he may have fought for the honor of a friend or to defend himself, but this? This was new. Out of kayfabe, I think that run was so long because Orange is both well respected in the locker room and can be consistently be relied upon to put on a good to great match with literally anyone. Plus he always seems to be over with the live crowd, so his music hitting is a guaranteed pop. I don't think he should be world champion. Not a good spot for him. But as a reliable upper midcard presence I do think he just works. This is a guy who has an intimate understanding of both in ring and out of ring psychology. Dismissing him as a overpushed comedy wrestler is doing him a grave disservice, because he can flat out go when the situation calls for it. He and Darby are easily AEW's top sellers. Kids love him. I could go on, but you get it. I mean, no less than Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero had comedic periods and I don't remember them getting half as much criticism. Granted, they'd already "proven" they could be serious wrestlers who wrestled seriously before, so maybe that's it. All OC has is having been Fire Ant, which isn't quite the same thing, heh.

You know, I think sometimes wrestling fans forget that wrestling is ultimately glorified stage fighting. It's theatre. Entertainment. It's okay to have preferences, but to say (or even imply) that only one style/type of wrestling is willfully ignoring the prior statement. I mean, if that was true DDT would have collapsed a long time ago. AEW, from the start, has been committed to having as wide a variety of wrestling styles and character types as possible. I know some people don't like Orange Cassidy, but a big part of why he's so over is the variation in the gimmick. It's a master class in out of ring psychology. The valleys of low effort and motivation better highlight the peaks of high effort and motivation, which is perfect for a babyface. It makes the heels who menace him seem more imposing as they provoke a stronger reaction than normal. No, not eery babyface should be like this, because then it wouldn't work. In fact, that's precisely why it does work, because nobody else is doing it. Orange is the only one who has such a wide gap between those peaks and valleys. It also helps that he's a small, agile guy and not a huge, jacked muscle man. In a sea of guys who have to yell to get across that they're more motivated than ever, Orange only has to speak in complete sentences in a serious tone of voice. That's damn fine and extremely consistent character work. Abadon I'm willing to give a chance because I'm ) an Undertaker mark from way back thus I'm eager to see someone else pull off a similar gimmick, 2) I know that the person behind the facepaint has been literally working their ass off to get this chance. As in they're at least 30 pounds lighter than they were when they debuted for AEW a few years back. And 3), well, see the top statements again. Theatricality is, in my opinion, an integral part of wrestling. And I don't just mean pyro and presentation. I'm an eternal advocate for creative freedom within the limits of good taste, you see. We live in a world where a literal dead man and his pyromaniac brother were major characters for over 20 years. Where Steve Borden has played a surfer, The Crow, and the Joker. Where the insanity that was Broken Matt Hardy not only worked but got so over he won a main event title with it. So if Abadon is genuinely getting a run of appearances, I'm happy to give her a shot. But then again, I'm very different from most posters to this thread. I prefer to seek the good in something rather than complain about the bad. As CinemaWins says, liking things is better than not liking things. Though that's just how I feel about it. Y'all can say whatever you want. Don't mind me.