What a year it’s been! I think we’ve had a little bit of everything, good and bad. And the drama llamas had much to feed on.

Last year was easier to pick a favorite match. I’m not always into tag team wrestling, but it had to be one of the Briscoes v FTR matches. This year is a little harder. Wasn’t Tanahashi v Speedball earlier this year at Multiverse United? I heard of Speedball before he showed up in Impact, but hadn’t seen him. I quickly grew to like him. I’d also heard of Tanahashi but had only seen him the time or two he’d shown up in AEW. That match was the first time I got Tanahashi. The way he came out and made sure that everyone in the crowd got to see him during his entrance. It felt so special. I thought, oh right, he’s a star that wants to make sure everyone has the full experience. I understood why I’ve always seen the comparisons to John Cena and why people say it’s a dream match. The effort Speedball put in to beat this respected wrestler! Wanting to beat him without turning to dirty tricks. A lot of my favorite matches tend to be ones where I know at the beginning who will win, but I get so invested that I’m able to turn my brain off and believe that the underdog might pull it off. It’s probably the closest to feeling like a kid watching wrestling again. This match had me going back and forth on who would win.

Anyone who has noticed me in the Impact threads won’t be surprised that I have to mention MK Ultra. Masha Slamovich first caught my eye during the NWA Empowerrr ppv, so I was happy when she showed up in Impact. Killer Kelly was awesome the moment she turned up and started a feud with Tasha Steelz. I was actually beginning to worry about Masha. Impact had built her up strong for awhile, but then she kept losing Knockouts World Title matches. Nothing wrong with that on the surface, but she needed something new. The feud between her and Kelly and then becoming a tag team was a real highlight for me. Long may they reign.

AEW: Boy, it’s been a year of super highs and super lows. Injuries, backstage drama, big debuts, All In. There are bright spots with the women’s division: Timeless Toni Storm, more Shida reigns, Kris Statlander returning, Julia Hart, Riho with her pipe for a little while. But overall, the women’s division still desperately needs more help and care. They need more separation between AEW and ROH. Yes, I’m always happy when Dalton Castle shows up on AEW TV, but the men’s ROH titles should have only been on AEW as often as Athena as ROH women’s champ was. I cut the cord on cable years ago and subscribed to Hulu Live when Dynamite began so that I could watch it. In June, I realized I wasn’t enjoying watching weekly like I used to. With injuries and the build for Forbidden Door 2 starting at the beginning of that month, I gave them until after All In/All Out to see if they felt back on track with what I liked. I got rid of Hulu Live after All Out. I’ve kept up in other ways and bought the PPVs, but this upcoming PPV might be the first that I don’t buy.

Other thoughts: I got to see my first TJPW ppv back in March when they were in LA! It was super fun to be able to put a face to some of the names I’d seen. I also got my wife to check out a few old Japanese matches (Manami Toyota v Bull Nakano and Bull Nakano v Aja Kong) and she loved them so much that she wants to check out more Japanese wrestling.

And lastly, I’d like to mention what this place has become. It’s nice having a chill place to talk about wrestling. I love getting to hear about Stardom. Hopefully, if anyone watches other promotions (I think AEW and Impact are the most watched here), they feel free to let us know what cool things are happening, just like those Stardom threads. And sorry for the extremely long post.