Empty Budokan: How AJPW and NOAH Survived The 00s To Die In The 10s

Nothing lasts forever.

No matter how mighty or unassailable something may seem in the peak of it's strength, it can easily crumble and fall apart if not properly tended to. Staying on top in any industry is all about changing with the times, keeping an eye towards the future and ensuring that your company has everything it needs to keep performing at the highest possible level. As you might have guessed from the title of this post, this is the story of two companies who did not take these lessons to heart. And now, despite both being, at various times, the top promotion in all of Japan, they now both sit on the precipice of obscurity and failure.

How did things get this way? How did the fertile ground that birthed the Four Pillars, (Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue,) later become known for fights in the locker room? How did a company founded by the most popular wrestler in the nation, and built in his image, lead all of wrestling in failed main event pushes? Today, we'll do our best to answer those questions.

To Be Continued »

Fantasy Friday - The Trials of Styles: Part 2

Welcome, welcome, welcome, to the finest thing to happen to Friday since Carl Winslow, Fantasy Friday! Now, for those of you who were naughty and didn't join us last week, this feature represents my occasional urge to rebook a famous storyline from history. Maybe I thought that The Rock and John Cena should have had a monster truck tug of war match, or maybe I thought that Hogan/Sting should have taken place in a ball pit surrounded by grizzly bears. Hell, occasionally the ideas will even make sense, which will probably come as a pretty major surprise to both of us.

Today we'll be entering part 2 of my booking plan for the current AJ Styles storyline in TNA. The goal is to put 6 months on the clock and compose a storyline so compelling that leads AJ to Bound For Glory, that people will actually be willing to turn on TNA's shows in order to watch it. It's among the more daunting tasks that I've ever taken on, but my middle name is Danger and my last name is Cansuckit. In the first installment, I already covered the initial build up, leading up to a match between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, and a title match between Bully Ray and Hulk Hogan that actual makes some semblance of sense. Where do things go from here? Only one way to find out.

To Be Continued »

NJPW Invasion Attack 2013

New Japan Pro Wrestling Proudly Presents...

NJPW Invasion Attack 2013

Welcome, cats and kittens, to yet another installment of the only reviews that send you flowers after lariating you, Cewsh Reviews! We have a special treat for you tonight as we look to Japan for a big time follow up to one of the most incredible shows we've ever reviewed, and focus on NJPW Invasion Attack 2013! Now, if you remember our review of Wrestle Kingdom from this year, the first thing that jumps to mind is no doubt how completely over the moon we were for it. The matches were incredible, the rivalries were on fire, and the show was capped by the biggest match that money could buy, as we saw Hiroshi Tanahashi hold off the attack of the upstart challenger, Kazuchika Okada. Well now all of that is coming to a head one more time, as Okada gets one last shot at reducing the Empire of the Golden Abs to rubble and remaking it in his image. One more go round for the hottest feud to hit Japan since the 90s, and that's just one of the wild things on this show. We'll get a crazy heel turn, the strange return of the NWA, and the match that our Puro guy Defrost excitedly named "the greatest match of all time." What more can I say? Let's get this party started.

So without any further ado, let's do a motherfucking review!

To Be Continued »

Fantasy Friday - The Trials of Styles: Part 1

Let me start off this post by making it clear what this feature is and is not going to be. This is a feature about the dreaded subject of fantasy booking. This is NOT going to happen all the time, because there simply aren't enough storylines worth this level of attention to detail going on at any given time, and because I am absolutely terrible at predicting the future, (as we all know very well.) What this is, instead, is an occasional feature that will give me a chance to plot out the possibilities behind interesting storylines that many of our readers may not be following or even be aware of. And it will give me carte blanche to assume the controls myself for a moment, so that I can try to concoct a storyline that holds up to the kind of scrutiny that I would level against the company if I were reviewing it. This is not an easy task, because I'm kind of an asshole. 

The storyline that I'm going to be taking charge of is the booking of AJ Styles in TNA, from this very day today, all the way to the Bound For Glory PPV in October. For those of you who don't watch TNA, (which, statistically, is most of you,) the story currently is that AJ Styles, furious with being overlooked and unappreciated by the company that he dragged into the spotlight, left TNA for a number of months. Commissioner Hulk Hogan and Owner Dixie Carter begged him for months to come back until Hogan finally demanded that AJ do so, only to find that AJ had adopted a much darker persona. Meanwhile Bully Ray is the TNA Champion and rides at the head of the Aces and Eights, a biker stable of his own design that rules TNA at present. I have 6 months to connect the two in a meaningful way, and I've broken the story into 3 parts (April/May, June/July/August, September/October) for easy digestion.

Start the clock.

To Be Continued »

The Shimmer Volume 57 Wrap Up (Speca, Speca, Speca, Speca, Speca) Spectacular

YOU COME AND GOOOOOOOO. YOU COME AND GOOOOoooooooOOOOO. Yes, boys and girls, we've come to the end our Shimmer wrap up. We've loved and laughed together as we explored the depths of a live Shimmer weekend, and we certainly hope that you've enjoyed taking this journey with us. Tonight we'll say some fond farewells, cheer for some climactic victories, and enjoy one last show before Shimmer hangs up the ropes until October. So read on, and have a blanket, a heating pad and plenty of water on hand, because you're about to go into Shimmer withdrawals.

HOW CAN I LIVE WITHOUT YUU? I WANT TO KNOW.

But before they can leave us, first they will put on one last show. Can it live up to the three before it? Will the events of this show change Shimmer forever?

To Be Continued »

The Shimmer Volume 56 Wrap Up (Super) Spectacular

Welcome to a beautiful Saturday night in scenic Jetpackistan. We hope you're enjoying your day as much as we are as we stare out from our Cewsh Reviews castle built out of a mountain in the shape of Hiroshi Tanahashi's face. But if you aren't then we're here to change all that nonsense around, as we bring you the third installment in our series recapping our live attendance of the Shimmer tapings, (Volumes 54-57). One week ago we were deeply embroiled in the kind of magical world that you can only find in a ballroom in Berwyn, Illinois.

The Original Site For Disneyland.

When we last left you, Cheerleader Melissa was still reigning supreme as Shimmer champion, Jessicka Havok and Serena Deeb were deeply entrenched in a war, and the Global Green Gangsters were hot in pursuit of those dastardly Canadian Ninjas. All of these things will see a dramatic new chapter in the last two volumes of our recap, but first let's focus on Volume 56, the first show of the Sunday tapings. I would say that it is the greatest thing that has ever happened in the history of the world, but that would make it really hard to convince you to come back for Volume 4, so just read on already!

To Be Continued »

The Shimmer Volume 55 Wrap Up (Even More) Spectacular

Evening, cats and kittens, and welcome back for another episode of SHIM WORLD. When we last left you, intrigue had begun to abound about what the rest of the Shimmer weekend would hold. After she was left lying once again by the underhanded tricks of Jessicka Havok and her minions, will Serena Deeb be able to summon the fire necessary to ward off this giant outsider? Or would she be the first of many conquests on Havoks road to Shimmer dominance. DUN DUN DUN! The Global Green gangsters have worked their way into the tag team title scene, only to come against the champions, who know every trick in the book. Will Skater and Nakagawa be able to channel their own heelish demons to overcome one of the greatest tag team obstacles the wrestling world? Or will yet another babyface dream die to the tune of Funky Cold Medina? DUN DUN DUN! And as she rides a wave of momentum that could make or break her career, will Courtney Rush capitalize on her number one contendership victory and unseat the reigning queen of independent wrestling? Or will she just wind up as just one more smear on the curb? DUN DUN DUN AGAIN!

Just Imagine This Small Child Is Courtney Rush.

It's Shimmer weekend part two, boys and girls. And it's about to get ROWDY.

To Be Continued »

The Shimmer Volume 54 Wrap Up Spectacular

Good afternoon, boys and girls. You may not be aware of this, but this past weekend one of the most hotly anticipated indie wrestling events of the year took place, as the finest women's wrestlers from all over the world converged on Berwyn, IL for the Spring Shimmer tapings. If you've never seen Shimmer before and have no idea what I'm talking about, Shimmer is the biggest all female promotion in the United States and has become one of the most important hubs of international wrestling in the country. Competitors from Japan, Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland, and Canada came to meet America's best that you might be familiar with from promotions like WWE, TNA, ROH, CZW and pretty much everywhere else that people kick each other in the face.

In Japan, Face Kicking Is How Women Say Hello.

So yeah, Shimmer is pretty much completely awesome, and since there are only two Shimmer events a year, (they tape 4 shows at each one,) it's a pretty significant event. So since Mrs. Cewsh, DDT and I were at the shows, just like we are pretty much every single time, we're bringing you a snazzy report on what the women of Shimmer got up to over the weekend. This is the first of four recaps you'll be getting this week, going from today to Sunday, documenting the events of each show and letting you in on the worst kept secret in independent wrestling.

Spoiler Alert: IT'S FUCKING FANTASTIC.

To Be Continued »

WWE Wrestlemania XXIX

World Wrestling Entertainment Proudly Presents...

WWE Wrestlemania XXIX

Welcome, cats and kittens, to yet another installment of the coolest cats this side of a serial killer's refrigerator  Cewsh Reviews! We have a special treat for you tonight, as we all don our tuxedos and evening dresses for the fanciest and most prestigious night of the wrestling year. Come be thrilled as our monocles pop out in amazement, come be dazzled as our silken fans flutter to calm our enraged emotions, and come be confused as you try to figure out how you feel about Vice in an evening gown. However you come join us, and for whatever reason, we have our most jam packed, star studded gala event of the season ready and waiting for you to partake of. Will John Cena embrace the hate and finally get redemption for his greatest failure? Will Triple H's career survive the horrific machination of a deranged monster? Will CM Punk be the man who forever tarnishes the greatest statistic in wrestling history? Is anyone else even on this show? There's only one way to find out.

So without any further ado, let's do a motherfucking review!

To Be Continued »

Wrestlemania 29 Preview

Hey boys and girls. So I hear that there's this big show coming up tomorrow. Kind of sort of the biggest wrestling show of the year or something? Well as odd as it might be to think of for some of us, not everyone follows the Road To Wrestlemania with the level of scrutiny and poetic craftsmanship as we do, and they might be looking at this card wondering what in the hell is going on and why they should care.

"Seriously, Is This More Of A Nacho Cheese Show, Or A Cool Ranch Show?"

As professional blog journalists, we've made it our goal to be there for you in times of great strife and uncertainty, just like this one. But while we could easily bang out 10,000 words about why Big E Langston's pecs look like someone stuffed watermelon in sideways and covered it with balloons; we're going to take this opportunity to highlight a terrific up and coming blogger named G9Z as he leads us through the Wrestlemania build up for some of the biggest matches, and gives you his thoughts on who will win and why. This guy is no joke, and we consider his blog, (which you will read by clicking on this link BECAUSE I SAID SO,) to be the more respectable brother to Cewsh Reviews. He'll be examining the match ups this year based on the guys with prior performances, and how they got here. So now I'll leave you in G9Z's capable hands, and go drink myself into the kind of stupor normally reserved for back to back TNA shows. God I love delegating.

To Be Continued »