2023 books read

updated reading goal: 150

1) nancy drew: the curse → micol ostow (audiobook, reread) / (jan 1) 2) all the dangerous things → stacy willingham (arc) / (jan 2) 3) lunar love → lauren kung jessen (arc) / (jan 3 - jan 4) 4) death by dumpling → vivien chien (audiobook) / (jan 6) 5) where echoes die → courtney gould (arc) / (jan 4 - jan 7) 6) the no-show → beth o’leary (audiobook) / (jan 6 - jan 8) 7) 6 times we almost kissed (and one time we did) → tess sharpe (arc) / (jan 8) 8) a fatal thing happened on the way to the forum: murder in ancient rome → emma southon (audiobook) / (jan 8 - jan 9) 9) this appearing house → ally malinenko (audiobook) / (jan 9) 10) spare → prince harry (audiobook) / (jan 10) 11) hell bent → leigh bardugo (audiobook) / (jan 10 - jan 12) 12) have i told you this already? → lauren graham / (jan 12 - jan 13) 13) partners in crime → alisha rai (audiobook) / (jan 13) 14) always the almost → edward underhill (arc) / (jan 14) 15) a room of one’s own → virgina woolf / (jan 5 - jan 14) 16) icebreaker → hannah grace (audiobook) / (jan 15) 17) the companion → e.e. ottoman / (jan 15 - jan 16) 18) feel your way through → kelsea ballerini / (jan 16) 19) comfort me with apples → catherynne m. valente (audiobook) / (jan 17) 20) a strange loop → michael r. jackson / (jan 21) 21) maybe in another life → taylor jenkins reid / (jan 23) 22) the fraud squad → kyla zhao / (jan 23 - jan 25) 23) the family game → catherine steadman (audiobook) / (jan 25 - jan 26) 24) the six deaths of the saint → alix e. harrow / (jan 28) 25) these fleeting shadows → kate alice marshall (audiobook) / (jan 28) 26) better than fiction → alexa martin (audiobook) / (jan 30 - jan 31) 27) this is not a personal statement → tracy badua / (jan 28 - feb 1) 28) nine liars → maureen johnson / (feb 2 - feb 4) 29) the nanny → lana ferguson (arc) / (feb 6) 30) finlay donovan is killing it → elle cosimano (audiobook) / (feb 7) 31) finlay donovan knocks ‘em dead → elle cosimano (audiobook) / (feb 8) 32) finaly donovan jumps the gun → elle cosimano (audiobook) / (feb 8) 33) someone had to do it → amber brown & danielle brown (audiobook) / (feb 12) 34) daisy jones & the six → taylor jenkins reid (reread, annotation) / (feb 8 - feb 12) 35) wuthering heights → emily brontë (audiobook, reread) / (feb 13 - feb 14) 36) practical magic → alice hoffman (audiobook) / (feb 16) 37) delicious monsters → liselle sambury (arc) / (feb 11 - feb 17) 38) the world cannot give → tara isabella burton (audiobook) / (feb 18 - feb 19) 39) this time it’s real → ann liang / (feb 14 - feb 19) 40) partners in crime → agatha christie (audiobook) / (feb 20) 41) the glass menagerie → tennessee williams (reread) / (feb 22) 42) missing clarissa → ripley jones (arc) / (feb 22 - feb 23) 43) the reunion → kayla olson (audiobook) / (feb 23) 44) twelfth night → william shakespeare (reread, annotation) / (jan 15 - feb 23) 45) the summer i turned pretty → jenny han (reread, audiobook) / (mar 1) 46) it’s not summer without you → jenny han (reread, audiobook) / (mar 1) 47) we’ll always have summer → jenny han (reread, audiobook) / (mar 1) 48) the late mrs. willoughby → claudia gray (arc) / (feb 23 - mar 2) 49) the appeal → janice hallett / (mar 2 - mar 3) 50) fatal throne: the wives of henry vii tell all → candice fleming, m.t. anderson, jennifer donnelly, stephanie hemphill, debrah hopkinson, linda sue park, lisa anna sandell (audiobook) / (mar 4) 51) a quiet life in the country → t.e. kinsey (audiobook) / (mar 6 - mar 7) 52) leave it to the march sisters → annie sereno (arc) / (mar 7 - mar 8) 53) wild is the witch → rachel griffin (audiobook) / (mar 9) 54) no exit → taylor adams / (mar 9 - mar 10) 55) julius caesar → william shakespeare (reread, audiobook) / (mar 15) 56) last violent call → chloe gong / (mar 10 - mar 15) 57) the witch and the vampire → francesca flores (arc) / (mar 15 - mar 16) 58) what lies in the woods → kate alice marshall (audiobook) / (mar 17) 59) the writing retreat → julia bartz (audiobook) / (mar 18 - mar 20) 60) spells for forgetting → adrienne young (audiobook) / (mar 23) 61) anne of green gables → l.m. montgomery (reread) / (mar 21 - mar 24) 62) an elderly lady is up to no good → helene tursten (audiobook, translated work) / (mar 27) 63) murder your employer: the mcmasters guide to homicide → rupert holmes (audiobook) / (mar 28 - mar 29) 64) fake dates and mooncakes → sher lee (arc) / (mar 29 - mar 30) 65) the sweetest connection → denise williams (audiobook) / (apr 1) 66) immortal longings → chloe gong (arc) / (mar 16 - apr 1) 67) lost in the never woods → aiden thomas / (apr 2 - apr 3) 68) that wasn’t in the script → sarah ainslee (arc) / (apr 3) 69) tell me what really happened → chelsea sedoti (arc) / (apr 3) 70) shakespeare in love → lee hall / (apr 4) 71) the golden spoon → jessa maxwell (audiobook) / (apr 6 - apr 7) 72) hamlet → william shakespeare (reread, annotation) / (mar 4 - apr 8) 73) anne of avonlea → l.m. montgomery (reread) / (apr 4 - apr 9) 74) anne of the island → l.m. montgomery (reread) (apr 9) 75) of human kindness: what shakespeare teaches us about empathy → paula marantz cohen (audiobook) / (apr 7 - apr 10) 76) ophelia → lisa m. klein (audiobook) / (apr 12 - apr 13) 77) anne of windy poplars → l.m. montgomery (reread) (apr 10 - apr 13) 78) women of will: following the feminine in shakespeare’s plays → tina packer (audiobook) / (apr 14 - apr 17) 79) juliet: the life and afterlives of shakespeare's first tragic heroine → sophie duncan (arc) / (apr 5 - apr 18) 80) your guide to not getting murdered in a quaint english village → maureen johnson, jay cooper / (apr 20) 81) when the reckoning comes → latanya mcqueen (audiobook) / (apr 21 - apr 22) 82) laertes: a hamlet retelling → carly stevens / (apr 23) 83) the broken girls → simone st. james / (apr 21 - apr 26) 84) the night swim → megan golden (audiobook) / (may 1 - may 2) 85) when you wish upon a lantern → gloria chao (audiobook) / (may 3 - may 4) 86) chloe and the kaishao boys → mae coyiuto / (may 2 - may 7) 87) ghosted: a northanger abbey novel → amanda quain (arc) / (may 2 - may 7) 88) happy place → emily henry / (may 7 - may 9) 89) the mad women’s ball → victoria mas / (may 9 - may 11) 90) the fiancée farce → alexandria bellefleur (audiobook) / (may 14 - may 15) 91) the strange case of the alchemist's daughter → theodora goss (audiobook) / (may 18 - may 19) 92) the weight of blood → tiffany d. jackson (audiobook) / (may 19 - may 20) 93) the twyford code → janice hallett / (may 18 - may 21) 94) never vacation with your ex → emily wibberley and austin siegemund-broka / (may 22) 95) the dos and donuts of love → adiba jaigirdar (arc) / (may 23 - may 24) 96) european travel for the monstrous gentlewoman → theodora goss (audiobook) / (may 22 - may 25) 97) one jump at a time: my story → nathan chen (audiobook) / (jun 1) 98) death of a bookseller → alice slater (audiobook) / (jun 1 - jun 2) 99) a treacherous tale → elizabeth penny (audiobook) / (jun 3 - jun 5) 100) chapter and curse → elizabeth penny (audiobook) / (jun 5) 101) julieta and the romeos → maria e. andreu (audiobook) / (jun 5 - jun 6) 102) a far wilder magic → allison saft (audiobook) / (jun 7 - jun 11) 103) meet me at the lake → carly fortune (audiobook) / (jun 11 - jun 12) 104) foul heart huntsman → chloe gong (arc) / (may 25 - jun 17) 105) rules for vanishing → kate alice marshall / (jun 1 - jun 19) 106) little thieves → margaret own (audiobook) / (jun 15 - jun 21) 107) the last word → taylor adams / (jun 19 - jun 21) 108) the three dahlias → katy watson / (jun 5 - jun 24) 109) painted devils → margaret own (audiobook) / (jun 25 - jun 29) 110) reign → katharine mcgee (arc) / (jun 25 - jul 1) 111) the chateau → jaclyn goldis / (jul 1 - jul 4) 112) a most agreeable murder → julia seals / (jul 2 - jul 4) 113) the shadow sister → lily meade / (july 4 - july 5) 114) if we were villains → m.l. rio (reread, audiobook) / (jul 6) 115) something is killing the children, vol 1 → james tynion iv / (jul 7) 116) something is killing the children, vol 2 → james tynion iv / (jul 7) 117) something is killing the children, vol 3 → james tynion iv / (jul 7) 118) you’re not supposed to die tonight → kalynn bayron / (jul 8) 119) something is killing the children, vol 4 → james tynion iv / (jul 9) 120) lock every door → riley sager (audiobook) / (jul 8 - jul 9) 121) something is killing the children, vol 5 → james tynion iv / (jul 10) 122) the sun down motel → simone st. james / (jul 9 - jul 11) 123) the only survivors → megan miranda (audiobook) / (jul 13) 124) at home with the horrors → sammy scott / (jul 16 - jul 21) 125) one of us is lying → karen m. mcmanus (reread, audiobook) / (jul 31) 126) bring me your midnight → rachel griffin (arc) / (jul 21 - jul 31) 127) one of us is next → karen m. mcmanus (reread, audiobook) / (jul 31 - aug 1) 128) the summer of broken rules → k.l. walther / (jul 30 - aug 1) 129) one of us is back → karen m. mcmanus / (aug 1 - aug 3) 130) what happens after midnight → k.l. walther / (aug 4 - aug 6) 131) the narrow → kate alice marshall / (aug 3 - aug 6) 132) night of the living queers: 13 tales of terror delight → edited by shelly page and alex brown (arc) / (aug 9 - aug 15) 133) the death i gave him → em x. liu (arc) / (aug 17 - aug 19) 134) heartstopper, vol 1 (reread) → alice oseman / (aug 19) 135) heartstopper, vol 2 (reread) → alice oseman / (aug 19) 136) heartstopper, vol 3 (reread) → alice oseman / (aug 19) 137) heartstopper, vol 4 (reread) → alice oseman / (aug 19) 138) the only one left → riley sager / (aug 19 - aug 21) 139) the getaway list → emma lord (arc) / (aug 21 - aug 22) 140) a good girl’s guide to murder → holly jackson (reread, audiobook) / (aug 23 - aug 24) 141) good girl, bad blood → holly jackson (reread, audiobook) / (aug 24 - aug 26) 142) as good as dead → holly jackson (reread, audiobook) / (aug 26 - aug 27) 143) five survive → holly jackson (reread, audiobook) / (aug 27) 144) one for my enemy → olivie blake / (aug 31 - sep 5) 145) business or pleasure → rachel lynn solomon / (sep 5) 146) maybe meant to be → k.l. walther (audiobook) / (sep 6 - sep 7) 147) yellowface → r.f. kuang (audiobook) / (sep 10 - sep 11) 148) going bicostal → dahlia adler (audiobook) / (sep 19) 149) teach the torches to burn: a romeo and juliet remix → caleb roehig / (sep 16 - sep 23) 150) none of this is true → lisa jewell / (sep 24) 151) the girls in the garden → lisa jewell (audiobook) / (sep 29 - sep 30) 152) a very lively murder → katy watson / (oct 3 - oct 4) 153) she is a haunting → trang thanh tran (audiobook) / (oct 4 - oct 5) 154) murder and mamon → mia p. manansala / (oct 5) 155) in these hallowed halls: a dark academia anthology → edited by marie o’regan & paul kane / (sep 14 - oct 7) 156) hallowe’en party  → agatha christie (audiobook) / (oct 8 - oct 9) 157) the second death of edie and violet bond → amanda glaze (audiobook) / (oct 9 - oct 11) 158) the fall of the house of usher → edgar allan poe / (oct 12) 159) home before dark → riley sager (audiobook) / (oct 13 - oct 14) 160) a haunting on the hill → elizabeth hand / (oct 7 - oct 16) 161) the lost coast → a.r. capetta (audiobook) / (oct 14 - oct 19) 162) murder in the family → cara hunter / (oct 18 - oct 21) 163) starling house → alix e. harrow (audiobook) / (oct 22 - oct 25) 164) the unmaking of june farrow → adrienne young (physical and audiobook) / (oct 23 - oct 28) 165) when ghosts call us home → katya de becerra / (oct 28 - oct 30) 166) a christmas carol → charles dickens (reread) / (nov 5) 167) the fall of whit rivera → crystal maldonado (audiobook) / (nov 9 - nov 10) 168) iris kelly doesn’t date → ashley herring blake (audiobook) / (nov 11 - nov 12) 169) fair rosaline → natasha solomon / (nov 8 - nov 14) 170) the dead romantics → ashley poston (audiobook) / (nov 20) 171) if we were villains → m.l. rio (reread, physical and audiobook) / (nov 8 - nov 22) 172) the ballad of songbirds and snakes → suzanne collins / (nov 23 - nov 25) 173) i hope this doesn’t find you → ann liang (arc) / (nov 27 - nov 28) 174) the hunger games → suzanne collins (reread, annotation) / (dec 1 - dec 2) 175) the christmas appeal → janice hallett (audiobook) / (dec 6) 176) enchanted to meet you → meg cabot (audiobook) / (dec 8 - dec 10) 177) catching fire → suzanne collins (reread, annotation) / (dec 3 - dec 17) 178) mockingjay → suzanne collins (reread, annotation) / (dec 18 - dec 23) 179) none shall sleep → ellie marney (audiobook) / (dec 15 - dec 23) 180) little women → louisa may alcott (reread, physical and audiobook) / (dec 25 - dec 28)

The Great Pro-Wrestling Adventure Hour - 017 09/07/23 Defy TV 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST Filmed at the Good Time Theatre at Dorney Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania

SEGMENT ONE (EIGHT MINUTES):

- The show opened with an In Memoriam graphic for Adnan Al-Kaissie.

- We joined Sudu Upadhyay at the commentary booth where he introduced his new broadcast partner, Raven. Raven was seated behind the booth with a tablet in front of him, Raven pressed his finger to the tablet and a clip of Squiggy from Laverne & Shirley saying "Hello!" played. Sudu welcomed Raven to the show and he again pressed the tablet this time triggering a clip of Bobby Bittman from SCTV asking, "How Are Ya?" Sudu questioned Raven about his contraption, to which Raven explained the Defy TV people thought Sudu was a little dour recently, so they gave him this soundboard to give the program a little juice. He then proceeded to play a variety of sound effects including horns, springs, and canned laughter. Sudu runs down the lineup for today's show but Raven plays a clip of Columbo saying "Just one more thing." Raven says that later in the broadcast he will present the first episode of his new interview series A Taste Of Honey and his special guest will be the hottest free agent in wrestling who has been making headlines all week since their sudden departure from AEW.

- The Great Pro-Wrestling Adventure Hour opening aired set to "Black Swan Lake" by Janko Nilovic.

Kevin Blackwood and Alan Angels vs. Alan Clayball and Sage Matthews Kevin Blackwood and Alan Angels defeated Alan Clayball and Sage Matthews with the Wing Snapper into the doublestomp on Clayball. (3:33)

SEGMENT TWO (SEVEN MINUTES):

- We return from break to a title card reading, "A Taste Of Honey - Brought To You By Bob Evans". We see an establishing shot of the Bob Evans restaurant in Phoenixville, PA before cutting inside where we are shown Raven seated at a table drizzling honey over a short stack of pancakes. Raven introduces his guest, saying they are the talk of the wrestling world since leaving AEW last week. Raven was joined at his table by Sonny Kiss. Sonny Kiss claimed that Ari Daivari bought out their AEW contract so that Sonny could come to CORE to personally oversee the TrustBusters Reserve. Sonny said that Hyan and Trench were already on the bubble, but following a first round loss at Trios Kingdom no one in the TrustBusters Reserve is safe. And apparently that goes double for Invictus Khash after his recent loss teaming with local talent on Ring Of Honor television. While taking a bite of his honey soaked pancakes, Raven voiced his surprise at the claim that Ring Of Honor is on television. Sonny announced that over the next few weeks, matches have been made for every current and prospective member of the TrustBusters Reserve, and the first two will take place during this very broadcast.

Hyan vs. Jazzy Yang Hyan defeated Jazzy Yang with the Beauty Sleep. (2:45)

- We cut to a shot of Starboy Charlie in Dorney Park watching the closing moments of a Peanuts stage show. As Snoopy hangs ten on a surfboard, Alex Taylor takes a seat next to Starboy. The two exchange pleasantries and we learn that Kerry Morton informed Starboy that someone from his Southern Six group would meet him here to take the place of the injured Marcus Mathers and Brogan Finlay. Starboy asks that besides Kerry Morton, Kenzie Paige, Silas Mason, and Alex Taylor, who are the other two members of the Southern Six? Alex Taylor tells Starboy that he could be one of them if he plays his cards right. Starboy points out that he's not from the south. Taylor slaps Starboy Charlie on the back and with a laugh states that Charlie is from Southern California after all before walking off into the park. Starboy Charlie rubs his own shoulder while saying to no one in particular that he's actually from the Bay Area.

SEGMENT THREE (NINE MINUTES):

Andrew Everett and "Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams vs. TrustBusters Reserve (Big Dan Champion and Joshua Bishop) - During the match Joshua Bishop knocked Andrew Everett off the ring apron to prevent Hot Sauce from making the hot tag. Everett was grabbed and pulled into the audience. Jake Something and Vincent Nothing could be seen attacking him within the crowd. Tracy Williams was left to fend for himself in the ring. TrustBusters Reserve defeated Andrew Everett and "Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams with the Bishop Bomb from Bishop followed by a running splash from Big Dan on Hot Sauce. (5:34)

- After the match, Jake Something and Vincent Nothing went to the commentary booth to be interviewed. Jake Something voiced his frustrations with Giant Baba Yaga acting like she was the star of the group, Jake said that Baba intimidates her opponents by hiding behind a mask, but once they reveal her true identity everyone will know that she can be beaten. Raven pressed Something to reveal Giant Baba Yaga's name, Something disclosed that they've never seen her without the mask, but they have a plan. With that UltraMantis Black made his way to the interview area and asked if that was a challenge. Jake Something said there was nothing he'd enjoy more than a singles match with Baba, but they don't need to win a match to expose her. Something said that before their "disagreement" at Trios Kingdom, Mantis sent them a full itinerary for the month of September and they saw that Giant Baba Yaga is scheduled for a match on the September 21st episode of the Great Pro-Wrestling Adventure Hour. Something said that there are only a handful of people in wrestling of Baba Yaga's stature. Something said that UltraMantis will soon be hearing about this from Baba Yaga, but he'll spoil it now; Jake Something will be using his signing bonus from Impact Wrestling to book every possible suspect to appear on September 21st during Baba’s match and the one person that doesn't show must be under the mask.

SEGMENT FOUR (EIGHT MINUTES):

The Production (Derek Dillinger and Magnum CK) vs. Derrick King and Ray Ray Sanders The Production defeated Derrick King and Ray Ray Sanders with a superplex from Magnum into a second rope moonsault from Dillinger on Sanders. (3:01)

. The Production continued to attack their opponents after the match. Fuego Del Sol led a group of CORE officials, referees, and local talent to ringside and The Production finally left the ring.

- We joined Daphne Oz at the CORE news desk for a complete recap of Trios Kingdom 2023 on the COal REgion Roundup.

SEGMENT FIVE (TEN MINUTES):

Team JTO (TAKA Michinoku/Ren Ayabe/Fire Katsumi/Akira Juumonji) vs. Black Generation International (Titus Alexander/Kaito Ishida/Flamita/Yutani) Black Generation International defeated Team JTO with a Chaos Theory from Alexander on TAKA. (8:50)

SEGMENT SIX (THREE MINUTES):

- Sudu and Raven closed out the show. Sudu previewed all the action for our episode next week and thanked CORE's newest promotional partner, Bob Evans Restaurants. Sudu thanks Raven which prompts a soundboard clip of John Witherspoon from Friday saying, "that's my pleasure!" Raven signed off and then played a sound clip of a door slamming shut to end the broadcast.

Next Week On The Great Pro-Wrestling Adventure Hour 2023 Trios Kingdom Winners The 37KAMIINA (MAO/Yuki Ueno/Toi Kojima) vs. Black Generation International (Yutani/Bendito/Emperador Azteca) Queen Aminata (with Raychell Rose) vs. Xia Brookside Also in action… folkstyle The Production Starboy Charlie and Alex Taylor

Upcoming Shows:

The Great Pro-Wrestling Adventure Hour Every Thursday from 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST on Defy TV

CORE Pro #123 Preservation Act 09/28/23 Bloomsburg Fair - Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania

01. TrustBusters Reserve Decision Match: Hyan vs. Trench

It’s been a long time, and we’ve got a lot of catching up to do on each other’s lives.

Traci Finlay, from The Falling of Stars

read in 2021 - The Falling of Stars

I could confess everything- right now. Tell them the millions of ways my life has gone to hell, and how I brought it all on myself. But where would I stop?

The Rules of Burken – Traci Finlay I was peeling a clementine orange when my brother Ian burst into the kitchen and told me that the monster was gonna get me if I didn’t run now.

Blog Tour & Review: THE FALLING OF STARS by Traci Finlay

Blog Tour & Review: THE FALLING OF STARS by Traci Finlay

“Forget having to lock your doors, predators are right at your fingertips—in the bedrooms of our children. The Falling of Stars is a terrifying revelation of the dangers lurking online, and a must-read in this age of technology. — Willow Aster, USA Today bestselling author

The Falling of Stars, an all-new intriguing psychological thriller from Traci Finlay, is available now!

My Review:

View On WordPress

Smart move on ROH’s part, to build a stable around the idea of babyfaces actively rejuvenating the company for the future.  Putting Juice at the forefront is clever, since I wasn’t sure he’d be around that much; this move removes all doubt.  This faction can’t replace the Elite but it demonstrates that ROH can be more than a rump organization after AEW.

The New Beginning in Sapporo Night 1 - 2/2/2019; The New Beginning USA Night 2 - 2/1/2019

Not one but two shows to report on today, and it will be like this tomorrow too. This morning was the first of two New Beginning in Sapporo shows. No title matches here, but a LOT of angle building. You can see it now on NJPWWorld.

The New Beginning in Sapporo - 2/2/2019, Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kitayell (NJPWWorld)

Ren Narita d. Yuya Uemura (Front Suplex Hold, 9:45)

Manabu Nakanishi & Toa Henare d. Ayato Yoshida [K-DOJO] & Shota Umino (Henare > Umino, Toa Bottom, 8:53)

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tiger Mask IV d. Takashi Iizuka & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG] (Tenzan > TAKA, DQ, 9:26)

Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS], Tomoaki Honma, YOSHI - HASHI [CHAOS] & Ryusuke Taguchi d. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi, Chase Owens & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club] (Yano > Yujiro, Schoolboy, 13:38)

Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado [SZKG] d. Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables] (Taichi > BUSHI, Dangerous Backdrop, 13:28)

Minoru Suzuki [SZKG] d. SANADA [Los Ingobernables] (Gotch Style Piledriver, 19:40)

EVIL [Los Ingobernables] d. Zack Sabre Jr. [SZKG] (EVIL STO, 22:01)

Jay White & Bad Luck Fale [Bullet Club] d. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] (White > Tanahashi, TTO, 24:36)

First Jay submits Tanahashi with a new move, TTO, “Tana Tap Out,” but then Jay STEALS THE IWGP TITLE the little shit! Jay’s ascension to the #1 gaijin heel in NJPW is pretty much complete now. EVIL finally gets a singles win over ZSJ. Taichi uses one of the signature moves of his trainer, Toshiaki Kawada, to win the match. Pre-match, Tenzan attempts a reconciliation with one of his old partners, Takashi Iizuka, and it fails miserably. This is probably angle building for Iizuka’s retirement later this month. 

Three title matches tomorrow, the full lineup at the bottom of this post.

Meanwhile, last night NJPW debuted in North Carolina, in a show with a title match main event, as well as the US debut of the only Japanese talent on these shows, Tomoyuki Oka in his Dominator Great O-Kharn shtick from RevPro.

- 2/1/2019, Grady Cole Center, Charlotte, NC

Karl Fredericks TLD Clark Connors (10:00)

Colt Cabana & John Skyler d. Lance Archer [SZKG] & Shane Taylor (Cabana > Taylor, Clutch Hold, 10:13)

Dominator Great O-Kharn USA Debut: Dominator Great O-Kharn d. Tracer X (Iron Claw Slam, 8:57)

Marty Scurll & Brody King [Villain Enterprises] d. Jeff Cobb [FREE] & Jonathan Gresham (King > Gresham, Modified Piledriver, 13:46)

Davey Boy Smith Jr. [SZKG] d. Alex Coughlin (Bulldog Bomb, 10:08)

David Finlay Jr. & Tracy Williams [Lifeblood] d. Chuck Taylor & Rocky Romero [CHAOS] (Williams > Taylor, Crossface, 17:08)

IWGP US Heavyweight Championship: Juice Robinson [Lifeblood] © d. Trent Beretta [CHAOS] (Pulp Friction, 27:29) - Robinson succeeds his 1st defense

Post-main, Juice and Beretta showed respect to one another. Juice also, by accounts, cut a promo apologizing for the Japanese talents’ visa situation, and promised next time NJPW comes to North Carolina they’ll bring the full roster. This apparently prompted a “FUCK YOU TRUMP” chant from the crowd. Wow. And in a state Trump won. If the administration is losing the Southern wrestling fan vote...

Best Friends keep losing on these shows, and there is heavy chatter that Dustin and Greg are off to All Elite Wrestling, so that’s probably them doing their tour of jobbing duty then on the way out. Oka debuted, and apparently looked pretty good against a local indie wrestler I’m not very familiar with.

Tonight they will be debuting in Nashville, rounding out these shows. Once again, I’ll be reporting on that tomorrow morning along with tomorrow’s Sapporo show.

- 2/2/2018, War Memorial Auditorium, Nashville, TN

Karl Fredericks v. Alex Coughlin

Colt Cabana & Jonathan Gresham v.  Lance Archer [SZKG] & Shane Taylor

Harlem Bravado v. Dominator Great O-Kharn

Clark Connors v. Marty Scurll [Villain Enterprises]

Jeff Cobb [FREE] v. Brody King [Villain Enterprises]

CHAOS v. Lifeblood Elimination Match: Juice Robinson, David Finlay Jr. & Tracy Williams [Lifeblood] v. Trent Beretta, Chuck Taylor & Rocky Romero [CHAOS]

- 2/3/2019, Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kitayell (NJPWWorld)

Toa Henare v. Yota Tsuji

Manabu Nakanishi & Tiger Mask IV v. Ayato Yoshida [K-DOJO] & Shota Umino

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Ren Narita v. Takashi Iizuka & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS], Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi v. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] & YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] v. Jay White, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens [Bullet Club]

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship:BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables] © v. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: EVIL & SANADA [Los Ingobernables] © v. Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. [SZKG]

IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito [Los Ingobernables] © v. Taichi [SZKG]

Juice Robinson y LIFE BLOOD debutan en Ring of Honor

El día de ayer durante las grabaciones para televisión, Juice Robinson  protagonizó un segmento en el que confirmó que estará luchando a tiempo completo en la empresa durante 2019 con el objetivo de devolver el "honor" de los tiempos pasados con Bryan Danielson, CM Punk o Samoa Joe. Para cumplir su meta, Robinson anunció la creación de LIFE BLOOD, un stable en el luchará junto a Mark Haskins, Bandido, Tracy Williams, Tenille Dashwood y David Finlay.

Juice Robinson and LIFE BLOOD debuted in Ring of Honor 

Yesterday during the Ring of Honor TV Taping,  Juice Robinson came out and said he would be appearing a lot in the promotion this year. He formed a stable with Mark Haskins, David Finlay, Bandido, Tracy Williams and Tenille Dashwood. The new group is called LIFE BLOOD, with the goal of bringing honor back to ROH.

Fuente: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

ROH HONOR REIGNS SUPREME JANUARY 13, 2019 CONCORD, NC AT CABARRUS ARENA

ROH HONOR REIGNS SUPREME JANUARY 13, 2019 CONCORD, NC AT CABARRUS ARENA

Shinobi Shadow Squad (Cheeseburger, Eli Isom, and Ryan Nova) defeated “The Pale Horse” Josey Quinn, Corey Hollis, and John Skyler

Mark Haskins defeated Beer City Bruiser

Juice Robinson & David Finlay defeated Best Friends (Beretta & Chuckie T)

Tracy Williams defeated Flip Gordon (The referee stopped the match after Gordon  injured his knee)

The Kingdom (c) defeated Shane “Hurricane” Helms, Delirious, and Luchasaurus in a Trios Proving Ground Match

Bandido defeated PJ Black

Jeff Cobb (c) defeated Rhett Titus and Jonathan Gresham in an ROH TV Title Proving Ground Match_

Kelly Klein (c) defeated Jenny Rose (WOH World Title Street Fight)

Villian Enterprises (Marty Scurll, PCO, Brody King) defeated The Briscoes and Silas Young in a six-man tag

Jay Lethal (c) defeated Dalton Castle to retain the ROH World Championship

Mystery/Thriller Monday

Whoa. This was a heckuva book. It’s about three girls from Elliott Bay Academy in Seattle. They all want to get into Stanford, and, all have different reasons why they may. But, the Academy will only recommend one of them. (I may be listening to too many episodes of the Deck the Hallmark Podcast during this Christmastide, but, Wait, What? Is that how that really works? Yeesh…) Where was I, oh, yes, and then there’s there mothers. Oh, and then, just days before the applications to the school are due, one of the girls’ has an attempt made on her life. Double yeesh.

With the real life college scandal winding down it was a little easier to read this fiction that used some of the same material. One of the girls is a legacy kid, one’s Mom is seriously wealthy, and one of the girls is the Valedictorian of the school, but, does that matter in this book is the question. It got messy for sure, and, let’s just say that there weren’t a whole ton of characters to fully root for in the book either.

You may like this book If you Liked: Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano, For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing, or She Was the Quiet One by Michele Campbell

Girls with Bright Futures by Tracy Dobmeier

The Falling of Stars – Traci Finlay Malik holds my hand as we walk toward the gravesite. He hasn’t held my hand since he was about ten.

Release Blitz: THE FALLING OF STARS by Traci Finlay

Release Blitz: THE FALLING OF STARS by Traci Finlay

“An intense, eye-opening psychological thriller about a mother, her teenage son, and a manipulative online stalker. It doesn’t get more creepy than that.” – Claire Contreras, New York Times bestselling author The Falling of Stars, an all-new intriguing psychological thriller from Traci Finlay, is available now!

When a high school freshman commits suicide, everyone at Liberty School of…

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Hey, everybody, remember Ring of Honor?  They still exist!  Let’s see what they’re up to...

Matt Taven vs. Jeff Cobb - Taven is defending the Ring of Honor world championship, which he won at the big Madison Square Garden show on April 6.  That same night, Cobb won a double title match, defending the ROH television title and capturing the NEVER openweight title.  Cobb has since lost both of those belts, and he has declined to pursue rematches to instead challenge Taven.

Cobb is scheduled to enter the G1 Climax (July 6-August 12), so if he wins here he would bring ROH’s most prestigious prize to wrestling’s most prestigious tournament.  To my knowledge that’s never been done before, and probably with good reason--it’s rough to book around your top champion being off your schedule for six weeks so he can lose a few matches in another company.  Still, that might be a shot in the arm for Ring of Honor’s credibility, after looking second-rate on their own MSG show and being overshadowed by All Elite Wrestling.  Keeping the title on Taven is going to feel like a commitment to mediocrity, and unfortunately that fits ROH to a tee.

Shane Taylor vs. Bandido - Taylor won the ROH television championship on May 9, but Bandido scored a win over him before that, which puts Bandido in line for a title match.  Taylor is nearly twice the size of the challenger, but he moves pretty fast for a big man.  Bandido was a key acquisition for ROH after the AEW exodus, so you would expect him to be winning matches like this one.

Ordinarily I would feel like a title change can happen, but ROH has sort of conditioned me to expect heel bullshit for months before a babyface can get the brass ring.  The safe bet is on Taylor, I think.

Marty Scurll & PCO & Brody King vs. PJ Black & Tracy Williams & Mark Haskins - Scurll’s team, Villain Enterprises, is defending the ROH six-man tag team championship.  Williams and Haskins are part of the Lifeblood stable, but they’re shorthanded seeing as Bandido is in another title match, David Finlay is injured, and Juice Robinson apparently isn’t coming back.  So Black (formerly WWE’s Justin Gabriel) teamed with them recently to win a trios match, putting them in contention for this championship.

The biggest storyline here that I’m aware of is that Villain Enterprises is actively searching for a fourth member, but I’m not sure how that would play into this match.  I suppose the fourth man could reveal himself by helping Scurll’s team win the match.  But this isn’t exactly helping the Four Horsemen or the NWO protect the world title; it’s just Villain Enterprises and it’s just a trios title.  It’s not a spot for a big star, and if it’s not a big star there’s no point to doing it here.  A better formula might be for the new member to help regain the trios title later on, so for that reason alone I think it would make sense for Black’s team to win here.

Kelly Klein & Jenny Rose vs. Angelina Love & Mandy Leon - Love and Velvet Sky (formerly the Beautiful People in TNA) showed up in ROH on April 6 to team with Leon as “The Allure.”  They attacked Klein after her women’s title defense, and took out Rose and Stella Grey when they attempted to make the save.

Love and Sky did the “hot mean girls” bit years ago, and now they’re adding the “bitter veterans” gimmick to it, demanding credit for recent improvements in major league women’s wrestling.  This should be exhaustingly familiar to anyone who lived through Nikki and Brie Bella’s last few years with WWE--the connotation is that the super-hot women “can’t wrestle” and got ahead by their looks, so now that we’ve supposedly moved beyond that they’re trying to undermine the slightly-less-hot women who are “real” wrestlers.  It boils down to the same cliche WWE has been using for over 20 years: Women are fighting over which of them is wrong about what a woman should be.  I’m not excited to see that trope make its way into ROH.

I could see the Allure losing this match if ROH has decided to abandon the experiment.  (The concept was originally developed to convince Madison Rayne to stay, but she didn’t, and the group’s debut was widely panned.)  But otherwise, it would be a mistake to job them out so quickly after their debut.

Jonathan Gresham vs. Silas Young - This is being billed as a “pure/scientific rules” match.  Back in the day ROH made its name by being the polar opposite of hardcore brawling, and there was even a “pure” championship that could only be contested under strict enforcement of the standard rules.  I assume this is meant to be a throwback to that idea.  Gresham is a master technician in the ring, but Young has bested him in the past with cheap shots and foreign objects.  So in theory these rules give Gresham the advantage, but it’s ROH in 2019 so I’m pretty sure Young will still manage to break the rules behind the ref’s back for the win.

Dalton Castle vs. Dragon Lee - Castle suffered a humiliating loss to Rush on April 6, causing him to turn heel and vow revenge...on Rush’s brother, Dragon Lee.  Lee is just coming off of a nice run in New Japan, having lost the IWGP junior heavyweight title to Will Ospreay.

Castle’s stock has dropped a lot since back problems led to him dropping the ROH world title last year.  It’s hard to tell if his recent downturn is due to in-ring limitations holding back a renewed push, or to set up the heel turn.  The fact that he’s still wrestling in a back brace doesn’t make me very optimistic.  Even if he wins (he should, or the heel turn is pointless), I’m not expecting him to do very much, unfortunately.

Nick Aldis & ? vs. Mark Briscoe & Jay Briscoe - Billy Corgan bought the National Wrestling Alliance a few years ago and has been partnering with ROH to promote matches.  This led to an NWA/ROH co-promotion of the Crockett Cup tournament on April 27 to reactivate the NWA tag team championship.  The Briscoes were disqualified in their tournament match against PCO and Brody King, who went on to win the whole thing.  That made the Briscoes mad enough to attack NWA national champion Colt Cabana after a match with James Storm on May 12, at which point they called out NWA world champion Nick Aldis, dragging him into the fight.  So this match was originally made with Aldis teaming with Cabana, but then Colt suffered a minor leg injury and had to pull out of this show.  Aldis’s new partner is supposed to be revealed on the pre-show.

Logically this should all build to PCO and King defending the NWA tag title against the Briscoes, but to get there the Aldis team needs to fail somehow.  The key to that may lie in the NWA’s hype video for the mach, which showed James Storm walking away from the Briscoes’ attack on Colt and oddly emphasized tensions between Aldis and his enforcer Kamille.  One way or another I expect shenangians that blindside the NWA team while handing victory to the Briscoes.

Rush vs. Flip Gordon - This is scheduled for the pre-show for some reason.  After Gordon won a four-way over Rush, Dalton Castle, and PJ Black; Castle talked shit at Rush but wouldn’t back it up, so Gordon proposed this match and Rush kicked his ass.

They’ve spent over a year building up Gordon as the underdog hero of the masses, but Rush is the biggest star in the company.  I don’t think this will be as quick as the squash of Dalton Castle on April 6, but I expect Rush to make similarly sort work of Flip.