10 PERFORMERS WHO ARE MAKING THE MOST OF THE FANLESS ERA OF PRO WRESTLING

What a year for professional wrestling! Ten fanless months. Both WWE and AEW have sort of figured it out but, still, what's pro wrestling without the fans? They have so much to do with the fate and fortune of the talent and can push the promotions in unexpected directions. That's not happening at the moment which made me start to wonder about which wrestlers have made the most from this fanless situation. the fans would have played a big role in elevating these performers to the next level. 

So, for shits and giggles, I put together a list of ten wrestlers who have overcome this transformation of the sport over the past ten months who I think will be even more successful when the fans return. 

ROMAN REIGNS

I have always been a fan and he is the franchise. He's taken a lot of abuse but has always handled it. I knew/hoped he would be better as a heel but, HOLY SHIT, this turn has been amazing. Add Paul Heyman to the mix, make it personal with his cousin, who is also kicking ass, and you have one of the best things in WWE for quite some time. You know when the fans return, they are going to cheer him. It took Reigns turning heel to become the best face in the business.

The quiet seething anger that Roman exhibits, the desperate need for validation by Jey and Heyman's facial expressions are all gold.

BAYLEY/GOLDEN ROLE MODELS

Like the above mentioned Head of the Table, turning Bayley heel has transformed her into one of the most entertaining performers in the biz and you know the fans are going to go along for the ride on this one. Who knew she was a talker, I mean "Ding Dong, Hello?" would be a call out by the fans.

Bayley and Sasha Banks had the phenomenal run as the Golden Role Models holding every Woman's belt. It ended too soon for me. This love/hate friendship has several more iterations so, at some point, the fans will chime in.

DREW McINTYRE

You really have to give him credit. He has been carrying the shitty brand on his shoulders. Drew has been waiting his entire career for this and cannot share the moment with the fans. More than any other wrestler on the list I wonder what the fan reaction will be when Drew performs before a live audience. He has delivered some exceptional matches in the fanless arena.

BIANCA BELAIRE

Simply put, she is the future of the Women's Division. Bianca possesses the three essentials of a wrestling superstar. She has the look with the braid, the outfits and the lips. She has the mike skills and the personality and she can wrestle. She truly is The "EST" of the WWE. Watching her this week in the ring with Charlotte Flair gave me a sense of her size. We're flying blind with her but she's the real deal and the inevitable heel turn down the road will take it to the next level.

KEVIN OWENS

It's KO, what else is there to say? Is he a face or a heel and does it really matter with him? Single handedly taking on the Reigns posse,, who else can do that? He's just the best and my favorite wrestler and has soldiered on through all of this.

MJF

The nice Jewish boy from Long Island. How can I not put him on the list? He has held his own with one of the all-time greats and he's been doing innovative storytelling. MJF and Jericho are the Crosby and Hope of wrestling right now.

RAQUEL GONZÁLEZ/RHEA RIPLEY

These women are behemoths, and this has been an exciting feud which feels far from over. This is the woman's version of the Keith Lee/Dominik Dijakovic program and props to Dakota Kai for helping put this over. Ripley will probably be called up at some point, but González has come out of nowhere to establish herself as a dominant heel and certain to get the strap soon.

ASUKA

Fantastic worker and the old "you be you but 150%" really works for her. They have called on her to carry two belts until the Charlotte turn and she will do the job.

PAT McAFEE

This guy should not be as good as he is and he's not even a wrestler. His match with Adam Cole was a revelation (props to Cole of course) and his mike work has been outstanding. I wanted to hate him but I have come to appreciate him and too bad there's no crowd reaction to this run.

DR. BRITT BAKER

Great heel and she's a real dentist. Excellent talker and has the look. She just needs to stay healthy, but she is definitely a future AEW champion. Crowd will hate her when they return.

TLC WILL BE SAVED BY THE TWO TLC MATCHES

 It is amazing how the same company can offer us something so good as SMACKDOWN and something so awful as RAW but here we are. Other than the two men’s TLC championship matches there’s not a lot here that excites me, but I think those two bouts will make this an above average PPV. I think there will be some other matches added so I may update this before Sunday. So, so far……

 

NEW DAY V. HURT BIZ

 

Like everything about RAW these days, I have no idea what or why this is happening. We have seen every permutation of this over the past few weeks, so I feel no excitement or interest in the outcome, and I have no idea what teams are on the horizon after this nonsense is over. The ND don’t need the belts, but I don’t feel that Benjamin and Alexander are the answer to anything. The only thing that may  make this a smidge interesting is the insertion of Ricochet into this nonsense. I’m going New Day and hoping that there are some challengers down the road. 💩💩1/2 Match

 

SASHA V. THE PRINCESS OF STATEN ISLAND

 

This feels like another “bidding our time match”. The new Carmella sort of feels like the old Carmella but with blonder hair and better boobs. She was always a little better wrestler than one would think, and I will always appreciate how she survived while Enzo and Big Cass have vanished. Sasha is an OK wrestler who probably abuses her body more than she needs to, but she shines most when she is factioned with Bayley who can carry the promo load and bring the heat. I assume Sasha wins here and let’s see what’s on the horizon. 💩💩 Match

 

NIA/SHAYNA V. ASUKA/WHO THE FUCK KNOWS

 

The fact that Carmella is in a championship match and Asuka is again reduced to this nonsense is all you need to know about the WWE and RAW. The only interest in this match is who will be Asuka’s partner. It won’t be Charlotte so I’m going with an NXT call-up. My guess Rhea Ripley or Io Shirai in an OTO appearance and the match ends with some shenanigans so everything stays as it is. 💩1/2 Match

 

FIEND V. RANDY

 

It’s an Inferno Match. It will suck. Randy will win by putting Alexa in some sort of danger and Bray must choose between saving her and the match and the face turn begins. 💩🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

 

DREW V. AJ

 

Why do I feel that this is another placeholder match while they bide their time until WrestleMania? Still, these dudes are two of the best right now and it will feel fresh since they have never battled. Hopefully WWE keeps that big motherfucker away from the battle so we can appreciate what this can be. Maybe Sheamus gets involves and he and Omos duke it out outside the ring and then Sheamus makes the turn. I figure Drew retains in a 💩💩💩💩1/2 Match.

 

THE TRIBAL CHIEF WHO SITS AT THE HEAD OF THE TABLE V. KO

I am really really looking forward to this. As much as RAW sucks SMACKDOWN has been en fuego. Roman Reigns is an outstanding heel (thank you Paul) and KO is my favorite wrestler and the one person who can stand up to Reigns. The insertion of Jey into all this pandemonium has been flawless….and that end to SMACKDOWN Friday night….fuckn’ A!!!! I’m going out on a limb here and predicting KO is victorious in a totally insane match, but this feud will be far from over. I hope I’m right (probably not) but, either way, I’m going all in (💩💩💩💩💩) on this one. In fact, this may wind up as a 💩💩💩💩💩💩 classic.

 

MASKED 10 (AND 10 MORE) TV AND JAZZ FOR 2020

Strange strange year for the consumption of entertainment. Saw a total of 6 films in the theater. I miss The Landmark and the local arts theater out here in Agoura Hills. So no movie list this year. We watched lots of TV but limited our viewing to the evening. Kept the TV off through the day. Those of you who follow me on Twitter know that I do not watch televised news.

As always I never call this a "best of" list since I believe that no one has that super power. These were the shows that resonated with me on various levels. 

Only one I would call outstanding or ground breaking             (P-VALLEY) with a unique and memorable performer in Nicco Annon. Another stellar performer (Rhea Seehorn) took an outstanding show and made it even better, and two (GIRI/HAJI and LOVECRAFT COUNTRY) were so different that they always commanded my full attention. I would feel exhausted after watching an episode.

If you haven't seen them check them out in the new year. I found it interesting that, among the Masked 10, and more than half overall, are shows that drop once a week and were consumed that way. I also watched a shit-ton of international procedurals over the year especially when we started to hunker down.

So here's the 10 with an additional 10 more that I would recommend

THE MASKED 10 - TV

P-Valley (STARZ)

Better Call Saul (AMC)

Giri/Haji (NETFLIX)

Lovecraft Country (HBO)

Shitts Creek (POP TV)

Kim’s Convenience (NETFLIX)

Fargo (FX)

Perry Mason (HBO)

Pen15 (HULU)

What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

THE NEXT 10

McMillions (HBO)

World on Fire (PBS)

Homeland (SHOWTIME)

Awkwafina is Nora From Queens (COMEDY CENTRAL)

Gentefied (NETFLIX)

Dark Side of the Ring (VICE)

The Queen’s Gambit (NETFLIX)

Stumptown (ABC)

Hunters (AMAZON)

Working Moms (HBO)

The evening was for TV but the rest of the day we had music playing throughout the house and out back which served as my office. Mostly jazz and reggae.

We miss the live concerts at Cal State Northridge and UCLA Royce Hall and the clubs we frequent...Catalina and The Baked Potato. We try to make it to New York and spend a week at the clubs there and were devastated to learn of the closing of the Jazz Standard. We have been supporting the clubs through live streaming sets especially at Smalls which offers live jazz every day.

These are the albums that, when they appear on shuffle, I stop and confirm who I think it is. Hard to limit it to ten so there's an additional ten I would recommend. Again not the best, just the ones that stood out to me. If you are not a fan of jazz and want to get acquainted this is a good place to start.

Hopefully, the coming year brings more time in a theatre, a club or a concert hall and  I look forward to a Dodger Dog....but I'm realistic.

MASKED 10 - JAZZ

Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah - Axiom

Gilfema-Three

Ron Miles - Rainbow Sign

Immanuel Wilkens - Omega

Charles Lloyd - 8:Kindred Spirits

Joel Ross - Who Are You?

Fahir Atakoglu - For Love

Artemis - Artemis

Raphaël Pannier Quartet - Faune

Sun Ra Arkestra - Swirling

THE NEXT 10

Koppel/Werner/Colley/DeJonette - The Art of the Quartet

The Nels Cline Singers - Share the Wealth

Nubya Garcia - Source

Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard, Steve Swallow - Life Goes On

Luciana Souza WDR Big Band Cologne - Storytellers

Dave Douglas - Dizzy Atmosphere

Aaron Parks - Little Big II:Dreams of Mechanical Man

Rudresh Mahanthappa - Hero Trio

Gerald Clayton - Happening Live at the Village Vanguard

Nate Wooley - Seven Story Mountain VI

SHIPS PASSING IN THE NIGHT: SURVIVOR SERIES PREDICTIONS

Ever since the nonsensical draft the WWE’s two premier shows have been moving in opposite directions. SMACKDOWN was given all the good stories (the Mysterio Family, the Tribal King, Bayley/Sasha) and the emerging stars like the Street Profits and Bianca Belair. They still have KO and Daniel Bryan. RAW seems to have some solid wrestlers but most seem to be on the downside of their careers and there doesn’t seem to be much going on. The Fiend is well beyond his expiration date. I just find it hard to name RAW wrestlers. That’s not good.

So here we are at Survivor Series and at least there was not a lot of confrontation between the two brands leading up to this and it’s one of those PPV’s that generally doesn’t advance the storylines, but we’ll see. Here are my thoughts and, most important, holy shit (💩) assumptions.

TEAM RAW MEN V. TEAM SMACKDOWN MEN

The way I look at these classic survivor series matches is who is moving up the card, who’s moving down and just who is what they are. Using that criterion, it comes down to Jey Uso and Matt (yes, he has a first name) Riddle and I think the Reins/Usos story has a way to go so this will be a SMACKDOWN win in a 💩💩💩 contest.

TEAM RAW WOMEN V. TEAM SMACKDOWN WOMEN

Team Smackdown has the talent with Bayley and Bianca (superstar of the future if Vince doesn’t fuck it up) and an emerging tag team in The Riott Squad but RAW has been setting Lana up to emerge from this as the MVP of her team after going through a table for what feels like the entire pandemic. At the very least she will be the last woman standing for Team RAW and hopefully this is the end of the road for this nonsense which really does feel like a big fuck you to her husband for going AEW. This should be Bianca’s coming out party but I’m going Team RAW in a 💩💩 match.

LASHLEY (RAW) V. SAMI (SMACKDOWN)

I really, really, don’t give a shit but the Hurt Business v. Retribution is one of the few stories that seems to be happening on RAW, so I assume a total squash or not much of a wrestling match here with Bobby prevailing in a 💩1/2 exhibition

NEW DAY (RAW) V. STREET PROFITS (SMACKDOWN)

This could be match of the night and a real contrast between the past and the future of WWE. Montez Ford, like his better half, is a superstar waiting to happen, but I have a feeling this goes to the New Day out of respect for all that they have done, and still can do for this company. It really doesn’t matter who wins or loses, these are the best at what they do, and this is a 💩💩💩💩1/2 classic, at least that’s what I’m hoping.

ASUKA (RAW) V. SASHA (SMACKDOWN)

Asuka is simply the best with not much to do and I’m hoping Rhea Ripley is on the way to give her some real competition. Sasha’s good but she’s no Asuka. This one’s a real headscratcher. Asuka should win but I think they give it to Sasha to progress the story that she can finally hold on to a championship (I know it’s not on the line) and Asuka can handle the rare loss. This is a 💩💩1/2 brawl.

SCOTTISH PSYCHOPATH (RAW) V. TRIBAL CHIEF (SMACKDOWN)

This should be good and brutal but, in the end, Reigns is #1 and he will prevail. I feel bad for Drew since his successful run has never been before a live audience and I think he would be a popular champ with the fans. I’ll go 💩💩💩💩 holy shits for this one.

So, I have it 3-3 assuming clean finishes but you know it never goes that way. Look for Rhea Ripley to show us and turn Asuka/Sasha into a schmoz. May Big E does a heel turn helping the Profits defeat Kofi and X.

Whatever happens these are two brands travelling in different directions.

HOW dONALD tRUMP GOT THE COVID

I was born on the lower east side of Manhattan but at a very early age my parents moved to Queens. My father was one of eight children and, while we and one of his sisters (my father was the youngest of the 8) trekked to Queens, the rest of the family remained in the Al Smith housing projects. It was a very “close knit” family and we spent almost every Sunday at my grandparents’ small apartment with my aunts and uncles and my countless cousins who were coming in and out all day. It was never dull.

 

There was a gypsy lineage on my paternal grandfather’s side. My mom informed me of this when I was quite young. She told me about the rituals she was required to go through before she married my dad. Several of my aunts and uncles and their kids had a dark exotic look to them.  I had a few beautiful cousins. I thought it was cool to have a gypsy connection and the coolest thing about it was watching my aunts and uncles put curses on each other.

 

Sundays were pretty much spent watching my aunts and uncles going through their checklist of curses. There would be negotiations and apologies. Several curses were lifted only to be replaced as some grievance, often from their childhood, re-emerged. There would be screeching, shouting and pulling of hair.  Once in a while a fight would break out. Then the curse would come. They remembered them all.

 

Even my older cousins would get into the act. If their parent cursed a sibling they would throw curses on their cousins.

 

It was fantastic. I would sit there sucking on sugar cubes that I was dipping in strong caffeinated coffee.  I would drink it out of a memorial (yahrzeit) glass. Sometimes I would add matzo farfel.  I was flying and enjoying the show.

 

I guess because we lived in Queens I never connected with my father’s family and they sort of ignored me so for me this was anthropology. I have no idea if these curses ever worked but watching my family cursing each other, and taking it as seriously as they did, has stayed with me my entire life. Which brings me to donald trump and his stooges contracting COVID.

 

It appears that this may have started during the ceremony to announce Amy Coney Barrett as the replacement for Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the supreme court. Now I don’t know if RBG shared my jewish/gypsy bloodline but I would like to believe that after she told her granddaughter….

 

My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed

 

…I like to think that Ruth’s face darkened and she pulled her grandchild near her and said…

 

or there will be hell to pay

 

That’s what I’d like to think.

 

 

 

 

CLASH OF CHAMPIONS: BALL OF CONFUSION

 

It’s a lazy Saturday afternoon so I thought I would return to my posts regarding WWE PPV’s. Took some time off from these and actually cancelled my WWE Network subscription after Wrestlemania. That’s how down I was about the product. Thunderdome, Bayley/Sasha and the return of Roman Reigns with Paul Heyman was enough to lure me back in. Still not in love with the product and, I must admit, AEW is growing on me but, fuck, it’s pro wrestling and everything is pro wrestling so I’m back at least for now.

 

Here’s the thing “Clash of Champions” feels like a really shitty PPV. You have to believe that COVID is wreaking havoc on booking (AEW as well) and a lot is being made up as they go along. I mean I love, love, love Zelina Vega but, seriously what the fuck is she doing in the same ring with one of the best wrestlers in the world. Same for Jey Uso and Lucha House Party and Lashley/Cruz yet again?

 

Here’s the thing: there’s an inverse correlation between how shitty I think a WWE PPV is going to be and how great it turns out to be….so I’m starting to think, with such low expectations, there could be some real awesomeness here. Watching SMACKDOWN last night, I started to get excited about Reigns/Uso. If all the performers in the three-way ladder match bring it, and they can, this could steal the show. When Bayley dispenses with Nikki Cross and Sasha shows up to kick the crap out of the champ, that’s gonna be fun. I know, I know we’ve seen it ad nauseum but Street Profits/Andrade/Angel are four of the better performers right now and, given that this is the blow off, could be epic. Point being once again the WWE can defy expectations and deliver an excellent PPV.

 

There are several matches where the outcome seems so obvious that I would like to believe that there is one big surprise finish. Finally, there are a lot of MIA’s here, Bray, Alexa, Lee and the aforementioned Sasha so all sorts of run-ins are possible….and fucking RETRIBUTION. I’m prepared to be either elated or disappointed which is where the WWE wants us to be.

 

Here are predictions and holy shit (💩) estimates for the card

 

ASUKA over ZELINA 💩1/2 (out of 5)

Look Zelina is a surprisingly good wrestler but Asuka is elite and I can’t see them putting her in another ridiculous position to lose the belt. Hopefully this will be quick and bring on Rhea Ripley.

 

ROMAN over his cuz 💩💩💩💩 (out of 5)

I may be going out on a limb with the holy shit ranking, and it could be even better but Roman is going to put over his cousin and elevate Jey for future considerations like a shot against Lashley. I hope I’m not disappointed and I don’t think I will be and what does Heyman have up his sleeve.

 

BAYLEY over Nikki (💩💩)

I want Bayley to hold on to the belt forever. She has become my favorite wrestler. Ring skills, mike skills and she finally has the look. I feel like we’ve been here with Nikki before and, unless they’re setting up Bayley/Sasha with Banks costing Bayley the belt and Nikki/Fiend Alexa starting a program for the title….Bayley forever.

 

NIA/SHAYNA over the RIOTS (💩)

The odd couple is growing on me and the eventual breakup will be fun. This match won’t be. Make it quick.

 

ARTIST COLLECTIVE over LHP (💩💩)

Please Lord find them some talent to wrestle. These guys are so good but are rarely put in a position to show the world how undervalued they are in the WWE. I’ll assume this is COVID booking and move on. Luchadors are gonna lucha so it won’t be a total embarrassment.

 

HARDY over AJ and SAMI (💩💩💩💩1/2)

This should be fun and brutal and I hope there are no serious injuries but I would not be surprised. These are pros and they are going to entertain us with something awesome. I think any one of them could win this and I can make a case for it. Going with Jeff just because of his legacy in ladder matches but nothing would surprise me.

 

ANDRADE and ANGEL over the PROFITS (💩💩💩)

It’s time for Montez Ford to make the move up the food chain. His partner ain’t too shabby but Montez is the real thing and my fantasy booking is for him and his talented and glorious partner Bianca to hold belts at the same time and be the WWE power couple. When Becky returns, she and Seth can go at it with them. A boy can dream. We’ve seen it a million times before but four solid performers here.

 

LASHLEY over APOLLO (💩1/2)

I expect a RETRIBUTION run in here and maybe APOLLO finally realizes if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em and the Hurt Business grows to protect us all from this horrible RETRIBUTION storyline.

 

ORTON over The Champ (💩💩💩)

The only reason to make this a ambulance match is so neither has to take a pin which is why I think Drew gets carted away with the busted jaw and Randy rules the roost for a while until they give the belt to Keith Lee. Is Strowman on RAW now?

 

Well that’s it as far as I know and unless COVID decides to do a run in between now and the start of the festivities.

 

Bottom line: Come for the disappointment, leave feeling some elation that the WWE always finds a way.