roderickstrong: My best friend. 📸: Ryan Loco

Tag Tourney Quarter Finals: Best Friends vs Undisputed Kingdom

AEW Dynamite 3/27/24

My brain is confusing because I simultaneously love Undisputed Kingdom and also chant “Oh fuck off” at my screen every time they’re on.

wrestling obession with 2017 nxt will never not be weird to me.

whether it be triple h trying to relive the glory days of DIY, AEW trying to make an undisputed thing happen, or even tna trying to relive the "glory days" of sanity with damo vs eric young.

lads, LADS, can we please just fucking move on, we get it, nxt was really cool at one point, let's move on, you can do good stuff, the undisputed kingdom is a decent faction but we dont need it to be UNDISPUTED, DIY is a fine tag team but lets just move on, COME ON LADS

I love Undisputed Kingdom because seeing my boys in a heel faction is just pure nostalgia to me

And nostalgia is one hell of a drug...

My latest retouch of the second illustration of some "Schwarze Reiter” that I have officially designed to feature the faction iconography of “Hohenrotbart Des Königreich Middenland" or "House Rotbart of The Kingdom of Middenland," one of the most iconic and essential factions of my "homebrew" low-fantasy setting. Both this artwork and it's associated faction iconography were officially designed for a "homebrew" low-fantasy setting of my original conception with technology and material culture roughly equivalent to European History during the compounded advents of The Italian Renaissance, The Protestant Reformation, and The Discovery of America. Where formations of heavily armoured and mounted, aristocratic and noble knights in either suits of full plate armour or heavy coats of chainmail fight alongside professional regiments of pikemen and matchlock musketeers. Where medieval-style stone castles are gradually being outsourced in favour of lavish country estates and devoted military fortifications, or “bastions,” due to the technological advancements being made in gunpowder-based, siege artillery. And where fledgling nation-states in the form of both kingdoms and empires look beyond the great oceans and the frontiers of “The Known World” in search of exotic riches and territory.

In context to the canon lore of my "homebrew" low-fantasy setting, “Hohenrotbart Des Königreich Middenland" or "House Rotbart of The Kingdom of Middenland" is loosely inspired by Medieval and Renaissance Prussia under The Theocracy of The Teutonic Knights as well as Ducal Prussia during the 16th and 17th centuries. “Friedrich I, Der erster und herrschend König von Middenland und Der Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart," with his legislative decree to formally convert to “The Luxembourgian Reformation” on behalf of both his dynastic household and his hereditary subjects being highly analogous to "Albrecht von Preußen's" or "Albert von Brandenburg-Ansbach's" formal secularization of “The Monastic State of The Teutonic Knights” or “Der Deutschordenstaat” to The Lutheran, East Prussian Duchy as it's last effective grandmaster and it's first duke in the early 16th century. Designated in my "homebrew" low-fantasy setting as “Shwarze Reiter” or “Black Riders,” the constituent “Bruderschaften” or “chapters” of “Die Schwarzen Reiter” as the elite, pseudo-monastic, martial fraternities of aristocratic and noble heavy cavalry paying direct homage and military service to the legal persons of "Hohenrotbart Des Königreich Middenland” as opposed to the feudal, private interests of the aristocratic and noble “great houses” of “junker” princeps and magnates. Each “Brüderschaft” or “chapter” is led under the personal command and the direct supervision by “Ein Großmeister” or “a grandmaster,” who are each personally and individually appointed for life from “legitimate issues” or “dynastic scions” of the aristocratic and noble "great houses" of “junker” princeps and magnates to serve the royal, state interests of “Hohenrotbart Des Königreich Middenland” over those of any princely “great house” of “junker” aristocracy and nobility. “Die Könige von Middenland” as the hereditary, dynastic patriarchs of "Hohenrotbart" are, by tradition, the more-or-less hereditary holders of the appointed office of “Der Hochmeister Der Schwarzen Reiter” or “The Supreme Grandmaster of All Schwarzen Reiter” as a tradition meant to "engender" or otherwise "rationalize" their position of military authority as the lawful, legitimate, and undisputed commanders-in-chief of all constituent “Bruderschaften” or "chapters" of "Die Schwarzen Reiter" in Das Königreich Middenland. To reinforce both the professional loyalties and the direct homage of the constituent "Bruderschaften" of "Der Schwarzen Reiter" to the persons of “Hohenrotbart Des Königreich Middenland” as the traditional and more-or-less hereditary holders of the appointed office of “Der Hochmeister Der Schwarzen Reiter.” Both the personal livelihoods and the unit upkeep costs of the constituent “Brüderschaften” or "chapters" of "Der Schwarzen Reiter" were funded through a combination of the quarterly land tax generated by “the demesne” or “the crownlands” under the direct administration of "Hohenrotbart Des Königreich Middenland" and their civil administrators, through any tariffs imposed on the commerce and the industry of Der König von Middenland’s charter companies and the local trade guilds, as well as through any tithes and benefices generated by the religious services of, donations to, and property owned by The Conservative Church of The New Gods in joint partnership with "Hohenrotbart Des Königreich Middenland" over the sovereign and legitimate rulership, the state administration, and the systematic, mass conversion of the autochthonous, apostate Albic tribes religiously subscribed to the druidic, cult worship of “Erdøk” or ”The Great Forest” geographically situated directly beyond the easternmost fronters of “Das Selbst Kaiserreich Der Menschheit” or “The Empire of Mankind Proper.”

Alongside "Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg," "Hohenrotbart Des Königreich Middenland" collectively forms "Die Sudkreuzritterstaaten," "Die Teutogenstaaten," or "Die Sudentscheidenstaaten." Essentially a "Teutogen" or "Southern Austere" cultural and linguistic bloc born of the subsequent and complimentary events of "The Southern Crusades" and "The Sudsiedlung." "The Southern Crusades" essentially being the religious warfare and the territorial conquests formally preached and prosecuted against the autochthonous, apostate, Albic tribes religiously subscribed to the druidic, cult worship of "Erdøk," "The Great Forest," or "The Great Bastion" geographically situated directly beyond the easternmost frontiers of "Des Zweiten Kaiserreich der Menschheit" or "The Empire of Mankind Secundus." While "The Sudsiedlung" generally denotes the gradual and effective resettlement of culturally and ethnically "Austere" or "Northern Imperial" settlers and immigrants hailing from "Das Selbst Kaiserreich der Menschheit" or "The Empire of Mankind Proper" alongside the synonymous, systematic, and complimentary mass conversion of the indigenous, apostate, Albic tribes back into the fold of The Conservative Church of The New Gods officially seated within The Holy Sept of Romulus and their thorough and effective assimilation into the "Austere" or "Northern Imperial" culture and language of their feudal and ecclesiastical lords and masters using the religious services and the church schools officially sponsored by a culturally and ethnically "Austere" or "Northern Imperial" Conservative Clergy with their traditional monopolies over knowledge, learning, and education in general. The cultural assimilation of the autochthonous, apostate, Albic tribes of Des Königreich Middenland and Der Markgrafschaft Brannenborg being a synonymous and complimentary necessity with their systematic, mass conversion back into the fold of The Conservative Church of The New Gods, as there were essentially no literate and formally educated indigenous Albic Clergy who could effectively and efficiently preach and proselytize the Conservative Liturgy of The Holy Canons of The New Gods to the pious masses in "Die Sudkreuzritterstaaten, "Die Teutogenstaaten," or "Die Sudentscheidenstaaten." With any autochthonous, apostate, Albic tribes who had both violently resisted and openly protested against both the legislative marginalization of their religious liberties and their synonymous, systematic, and complimentary mass conversion and cultural assimilation into the culture, religion, and language of their "Austere" or "Northern Imperial" feudal and ecclesiastical overlords facing mass genocide at the hands of the fledgling, yet brutally efficient and effective professional armies paying direct homage and military service to "Hohenrotbart Des Königreich Middenland" and "Hohenbiermann Der Markgrafscaft Brannenborg," or those of the feudal, aristocratic levies of knightly retinues and pike-and-shotte infantry regiments paying direct homage and military service to the aristocratic and noble "great houses" of "junker" princeps and magnates in either Das Königreich Middenland or Die Markgrafschaft Brannenborg. "Hohenrotbart Des Königreich Middenland," in particular, was born out of Bishop-Prince Friedrich Albrecht Von Rotbart's "Midlands Crusade" formally preached and prosecuted on behalf of "Archpatriarch Vexillarius IV, 299th and Reigning Bishop of Romulus and Current Head of The Conservative Church of The New Gods" against the autochthonous, apostate, Albic tribes geographically situated directly beyond the southernmost frontiers of "Des Zweiten Kaiserreich der Menschheit" or "The Empire of Mankind Secundus." With "The Midlands Crusade" finally concluding, in stunning and overwhelming triumph, in favour of Bishop-Prince Friedrich Albrecht Von Rotbart and the conquering, crusading host of "The Midlands Crusade" at the climactic "Battle of The Godswoods."

With the stunning and final conclusion of "The Midlands Crusade" formally and officially preached and prosecuted against the indigenous, apostate, Albic tribes religiously subscribed to the druidic, cult worship of "Erdøk" or "The Great Forest" by Friedrich I's far more prestigious, prolific, and illustrious older brother Friedrich Albrecht Von Rotbart, "Bishop-Prince of Elchingen," "ecclesiastical, invested Kurfürst Des Selbst Kaiserreich der Menschheit," and above all "Archpatriarchal Legate" or "Pontifical Representative" to "Vexillarius IV, 299th and Reigning Bishop of Romulus and Current Head of The Conservative Church of The New Gods" for "The Midlands Crusade" with the stunning and overwhelming victory for the sanctioned host of The Conservative Church of The New Gods at the climactic "Battle of The Godswoods." "The Godswoods" as the holiest shrine and the sacred grove to the autochthonous, apostate, Albic tribes geographically situated directly beyond the southernmost frontiers of "Das Selbst Kaiserreich der Menschheit" or "The Empire of Mankind Proper" was subsequently and consequently desecrated and demolished by the conquering, crusading knights of "The Midlands Crusade." With it's constituent lands being formally consecrated as the site of the new basilica town of Marienburg, where Friedrich Albrecht Von Rotbart would be invested, with The Bishop of Romulus' explicit blessing, the awesome and prestigious ecclesiastical office of "Bishop-Patriarch of Marienburg" in order to facilitate the systematic, mass conversion of the indigenous, apostate, Albic tribes back into the fold of The Conservative Church of The New Gods officially seated within The Holy Sept of Romulus. By sheer virtue of his fraternal ties to both "The Archpatriarchal Legate" or "The Pontifical Representative" to Vexillarius IV for "The Midlands Crusade" as well as the seminal and founding "Bishop-Patriarch of Marienburg," Friedrich Von Rotbart was naturally prioritized over all other prospective candidates for his formal coronation and anointment as "Friedrich I, Der ester und herrschend König von Middenland und Der Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart" as The Former Kingdom of The Midland's first hereditary monarch and dynastic household since the extinction of the legitimate, male bloodline of The Late House Bartholemew almost an entire century ago. Using the awesome power, prestige, and authority inherently tied to the venerable and prestigious ecclesiastical office of Bishop-Patriarch of Marienburg, Friedrich Albrecht Von Rotbart would use his ecclesiastical office within The Conservative Church of The New Gods to leverage the unanimous political and religious support of all the high ranking ecclesiastical and monastic offices of Conservative Clergy within Das Königreich Middenland.

Although having won the unanimous religious support and the political backing of the ecclesiastical and the monastic clergy of The Conservative Church of The New Gods in Das Königreich Middenland. Friedrich I's coronation as "Der ester und herrschend König von Middenland und Der Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart" was generally and initially received with both icy anticipation and subtle dread, in equal measure, by the newly established aristocratic and noble "great houses" of "junker" princeps and magnates who formed from the cream, core, and bulk of the conquering, crusading knights originally involved in Friedrich Albrecht Von Rotbart's "Midlands Crusade." Many of whom personally felt that they were better suited towards, or otherwise felt that they were more entitled to the formal and official coronation for the hereditary, dynastic title of "Der erster und herrschend König von Middenland" due to the equal degree of suspicion and skepticism they generally held in regards to Friedrich Von Rotbart in most part due to his minor aristocratic and noble birth within the "Austere" or "Northern Imperial" cultural and linguistic hemisphere of "Des Zweiten Kaiserreich der Menschheit" or "The Empire of Mankind Secundus," as well as his professional background as a mercenary captain to pike-and-shotte infantry, as opposed to aristocratic and noble heavy cavalry due to the historical precedence of the militaristic traditions and ideology of professional chivalry. To placate the residual and looming suspicion, skepticism, and subtle dread initially and generally expressed by Das Königreich Middenland's greater and lesser dynastic houses of "junker" aristocrats and nobles, while also further "entrenching" or otherwise "reinforcing" their feudal homage and their hereditary, dynastic loyalties to "Hohenrotbart Des Königreich Middenland." Friedrich I, with Bishop-Patriarch Friedrich Albrecht Von Rotbart's explicit blessing, would award hereditary, dynastic enfeoffment over Das Königreich Middenland's most arable and lucrative lands, titles, and estates which had not been previously claimed as the legal property of The Conservative Church of The New Gods to the greater and lesser dynastic houses of "junker" aristocrats and nobles. Later on into the decades of his long, prolific, and illustrious reign as "Der erster und herrschend König von Middenland und Der Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart," Friedrich I would decree state legislation to award Das Königreich Middenland's greater and lesser dynastic houses of "junker" aristocrats and nobles the exclusive, feudal privilege for state appointments as judges and magistrates for the new, secular, "royal" law courts officially established by Friedrich I since the aftermath of "The Midlands Crusade" with his formal coronation as "Der ester und herrschend König von Middenland und Der Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart." The voluminous bodies of secular law codes, traditions, and customs governing the provincial jurisdiction of Friedrich I's "royal" law courts essentially being derivative works of those of "Die Freie Reichsstädte" or "The Imperial Free Cities" within the "Austere" or "Northern Imperial" cultural and linguistic hemisphere of "Des Zweiten Kaiserreich der Menschheit" or "The Empire of Mankind Secundus." With the exception of the provincial jurisdiction of the episcopal diocese of The Archbishopric of Marienburg, which was governed directly by the canon law courts answerable only to The Archpatriarch officially seated within The Holy Sept of Romulus.

In direct cooperation and in joint partnership with his far more prestigious, prolific, and illustrious older brother Bishop-Patriarch Friedrich Albrecht Von Rotbart. "Friedrich I, Der erster und herrschend König von Middenland und Der Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart" worked in direct cooperation and in joint partnership with both the ecclesiastical and the monastic clergy of The Conservative Church of The New Gods over the sovereign and legitimate rulership, the state administration, and the systematic, mass conversion of Das Königreich Middenland's autochthonous, apostate, Albic tribes back into the fold of The Conservative Church of The New Gods officially seated within The Holy Sept of Romulus. With any indigenous, Albic tribes who had both violently resisted and openly protested against the legislative marginalization of their religious liberties in order to encourage their systematic, mass conversion back into the fold of The Conservative Church of The New Gods facing mass genocide at the hands of either the fledgling, yet brutally efficient and effective professional army paying direct homage and military service to "Hohenrotbart Des Königreich Middenland," or those of the feudal, aristocratic levies of knightly retinues and pike-and-shotte infantry regiments paying direct homage and military service to Das Königreich Middenland's aristocratic and noble "great houses" of "junker" princeps and magnates. The systematic, mass conversion efforts to bring the autochthonous, apostate, Albic tribes back into the fold of The Conservative Church of The New Gods was facilitated exclusively by a culturally and ethnically "Austere" or "Northern Imperial" Conservative Clergy, who had maintained their traditional monopoly over knowledge, learning, and education in general. As there were no literate or formally educated "autochthonous" or "indigenous" Albic Clergy who could effectively and efficiently preach and proselytize the Conservative Liturgy of The Holy Canons of The New Gods in Das Königreich Middenland, the systematic, mass conversion of Das Königreich Middenland's indigenous, apostate Albic tribes came with their synonymous, complimentary, and thorough cultural assimilation into the culture and language of their culturally and ethnically "Austere" or "Northern Imperial" feudal and ecclesiastical lords and masters using the religious services and the church schools officially sponsored by a culturally and ethnically "Austere" or "Northern Imperial" Conservative Clergy.

In order to "revitalize" or otherwise "encourage" the growth of Das Königreich Middenland's internal economy, industrial base, and cultural and scholastic activity. Friedrich I's first and most enduring policy as "Der ester und herrschend König von Middenland und Der Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart" was to encourage both the mass immigration and the thorough and effective resettlement of skilled, educated, and moneyed commoners hailing from his native "Austere" or "Northern Imperial" cultural and linguistic hemisphere within "Das Selbst Kaiserreich der Menschheit" or "The Empire of Mankind Proper." Using the allure and the promise to permanently resettle, in free hold, within the newly established castles and fortified cities of Das Königreich Middenland, as well as the most lucrative and arable rural estates of their attached countryside. Friedrich I hopes to stimulate the growth of both the rising class of urban "burghers" or "bourgeoisie, merchants, professionals, and artisans," as well as the rising class of rural "kollmers" or "country gentlemen." In order to relieve the societal tension caused by the cultural and religious differences between the more-than-significant influx of culturally "Austere" or "Northern Imperial" settlers and immigrants with the indigenous, apostate Albic tribes. Friedrich I as "Der ester und herrschend König von Middenland und Der Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart," in direct partnership with the ecclesiastical clergy of The Conservative Church of The New Gods in Das Königreich Middenland, officially decreed state legislation to offer church-sponsored dowries to any autochthonous Albic families who had both openly and formally converted back into the fold of The Conservative Church of The New Gods in return for marrying off their daughters to any male settlers and immigrants hailing from the "Austere" or "Northern Imperial" cultural and linguistic hemisphere of "Des Zweiten Kaiserreich der Menschheit" or "The Empire of Mankind Secundus." By officially endorsing both a political and a religious campaign to encourage intermarriage between the daughters of any indigenous Albic families who had both openly and formally converted back into the fold of The Conservative Church of The New Gods with male settlers and immigrants hailing from the "Austere" or "Northern Imperial" cultural and linguistic hemisphere of "Des Zweiten Kaiserreich der Menschheit" or "The Empire of Mankind Secundus" using dowries officially sponsored by the ecclesiastical clergy of The Conservative Church of The New Gods in Das Königreich Middenland. Friedrich I hopes to "stimulate" or otherwise "encourage" the rate and the efficiency of the systematic, mass conversion of Das Königreich Middenland's indigenous, apostate, Albic tribes while also placating any political and social instability agitated by the cultural and the religious friction between the more-than-significant influx of "Austere" or "Northern Imperial" settlers and immigrants with the Albic natives.

With the untimely passing away of Bishop-Patriarch Friedrich Albrecht Von Rotbart as Friedrich I's far more prestigious, prolific, and illustrious older brother, "The Archpatriarchal Legate" or "The Pontifical Representative" to Vexillarius IV for "The Midlands Crusade," and the seminal and founding "Bishop-Patriarch of Marienburg" formally invested during the stunning conclusion and aftermath of "The Midlands Crusade" with the official consecration of the site of the basilica town of Marienburg over the lands of the former "Godswoods" as the holiest shrine and the sacred grove of the autochthonous, apostate, Albic tribes of "The Former Kingdom of The Midlands" since before it's untimely and final collapse with the extinction of the legitimate, male bloodline of "The Late House Bartholemew" and the subsequent and consequent political feuding and warring between The Former Kingdom of The Midlands' aristocratic and noble "great houses" of feudal princeps and magnates over the issue of legitimate succession to the extinct, legitimate male bloodline of The Late House Bartholemew. The venerable and ailing Archpatriarch Vexillarius IV as "The 299th and Reigning Bishop of Romulus and The Current Head of The Conservative Church of The New Gods" formally and officially invested in, with his explicit blessing, "Wolfgang Amadeus Von Holswig-Schlestien, Bishop-Prince of Griffenheim and ecclesiastical, invested, Kurfürst Des Selbst Kaiserreich Der Menschheit" as the lawful and legitimate successor to the late Friedrich Albrecht Von Rotbart for the venerable and prestigious ecclesiastical office of "Bishop-Patriarch of Marienburg." Unlike Bishop-Patriarch Friedrich Albrecht Von Rotbart as his immediate predecessor and the seminal and founding Bishop-Patriarch of Marienburg, this new Bishop-Patriarch of Marienburg was particularly hellbent on both maximizing and prioritizing the spiritual, cultural, and moral power, authority, and influence of The Conservative Church of The New Gods formally seated within The Holy Sept of Romulus as the historic capital, civilizational kernel, and titular namesake of The Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Republic and "The Empire of Mankind Primus" at the expense of marginalizing the secular, worldly, and temporal power, authority, and influence of "Hohenrotbart Des Königreich Middenland" to a purely nominal level, in order to improve the rate and the efficiency of the systematic, mass conversion of Das Königreich Middenland's autochthonous, apostate Albic tribes religiously subscribed to the druidic, cult worship of "Erdøk" or "The Great Forest" geographically situated directly beyond the easternmost frontiers of "Das Zweiten Kaiserreich Der Menschheit" or "The Empire of Mankind Secundus," which he deemed as being facilitated "reluctantly" or otherwise "inadequately." Stating at one point during his brief and untimely tenure as The Second Bishop-Patriarch of Marienburg that "The Midlands Crusade was formally and officially preached and prosecuted against the autochthonous, apostate, Albic tribes in the name of The Canon Pantheon of The New Gods, not in the name of the selfish and conceited ambitions of prospective monarchs and aristocrats. And it was through their sheer grace and divinity that The Midlands Crusade had finally concluded, in stunning and overwhelming triumph, in favour of the sanctioned host of The Conservative Church."

"Friedrich I, Der erster und herrschend König von Middenland und Der Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart," in direct response to this seemingly existential threat to his sovereign and legitimate rule posed by this new Bishop-Patriarch of Marienburg and his clerical and lay administration, formally decreed state legislation as "Der erster und herrschend König von Middenland und Der Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart" to officially convert to "The Luxembourgian Reformation" to the religious establishment of, and the institutions of organized religion within The Conservative Church of The New Gods officially seated within The Holy Sept of Romulus as the historic capital, the civilizational kernel, and the titular namesake of both The Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Republic and "The Empire of Mankind Primus" during "The Civilized World's" historic epoch of "Classical Antiquity" on behalf of both his dynastic household and his hereditary subjects. Karl Von Luxembourg essentially being a learned church doctor of theology at "Die Universität Wörtzburch" in "Das Herzogtum Solingen," a prestigious graduate of "The Imperial Academy" at "Nymphenburg," and the official head and former heir apparent to "Hohenluxembourg Des Königreich Schönbrunn," the only hereditary monarchy within "Das Selbst Kaiserreich der Menshheit" or "The Empire of Mankind Proper" who is best known for his written thesis openly condemning the corruption, the abuses, and the worldly excesses of both the ecclesiastical and the monastic clergy of The Conservative Church of The New Gods and the appeal for a general, sweeping, and universal theological reformation of the religious establishment of, and the institutions of organized religion within The Conservative Church of The New Gods officially seated within The Holy Sept of Romulus. In the process of enacting his legislative decree to become the first hereditary, dynastic ruler in both the recorded histories and the geographic enormity of The Known World to officially convert to Karl Von Luxembourg's general, sweeping, and universal theological reformation to The Conservative Church of The New Gods. Friedrich I would subsequently, consequently, and formally "assume supreme authority over matters of religion” as “The First Supreme Head of The Reformed Church of The New Gods in Das Königreich Middenland," thus endowing himself with state investiture over new bishops and abbots for "The Reformed Church of The New Gods in Das Königreich Middenland." Including state investiture over the venerable and prestigious ecclesiastical office of Bishop-Patriarch of Marienburg since the historic consecration and founding of the basilica town of Marienburg over the site of the former "Godswoods" in the aftermath of Friedrich Albrecht Von Rotbart's "Midlands Crusade," with his formal investiture as the seminal and founding "Bishop-Patriarch of Marienburg" charged with the systematic, mass conversion of the indigenous, apostate, Albic tribes religiously subscribed to the druidic, cult worship of "Erdøk" or "The Great Forest." Friedrich I's formal assumption of supreme authority over matters of religion through his legislative decree to officially convert to "The Luxembourgian Reformation" on behalf of both his dynastic household and his hereditary subjects would naturally culminate in the systematic persecution, the legislative marginalization, and the confiscation of the lands, estates, and treasuries of any ecclesiastical and monastic clergy of The Conservative Church of The New Gods who had both openly and stubbornly refused to submit before, and openly protested against Friedrich I's formal renunciation of his spiritual, cultural, and moral ties of fealty to “The Archpatriarchs” or “The Bishops of Romulus” as “The Anointed, Acolytic, and Universal Heads of The Conservative Church of The New Gods.”

Friedrich I's first official policy as "The First Supreme Head of The Reformed Church of The New Gods in Das Königreich Middenland" was to decriminalize both the vernacular translations and the private ownership of "The Holy Canons of The New Gods" in direct accordance with Karl Von Luxembourg's theological tenets of "sola scriptura" or "salvation by scripture alone," and "sola fide" or "salvation by faith alone," which had always been traditionally codified in "Classical Cosmopolitan" or "Ecclesiastical Cosmopolitan" as the liturgical language of The Conservative Church of The New Gods since the original composition, codification, and canonization of the most widely attested and popular oral mythologies of The Cosmopolitan and The Mycenean Pantheons into the canon theology of The Faith of The New Gods traditionally attributed to the theological reforms officially decreed under the reign of The Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Imperator of Mankind "Cassadorian the Great." While both the private ownership and the strict interpretation of The Holy Canons of The New Gods had remained the exclusive, legal reserve of the ecclesiastical and the monastic clergy of The Conservative Church of The New Gods since it's original institutionalization under The Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Imperator of Mankind "Demetrius Superbus" as an "administrative organ" or an "administrative body" within the civil magistracy of The Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan "Empire of Mankind Primus," as well as the exclusive, feudal privilege of the hereditary, dynastic, greater and lesser houses of feudal aristocracy and nobility as both the "traditional" and the "preferential" source for aspiring and prospective clergymen. With Friedrich I's legislative decree to decriminalize both the vernacular translations and the private ownership of The Holy Canons of The New Gods opening both it's reading and it's strict interpretation to all social classes outside the ecclesiastical and the monastic clergy of The Reformed Church of The New Gods in Das Königreich Middenland as well as the greater and lesser dynastic houses of "junker" aristocracy and nobility.

In order to effectively "bolster" or otherwise "reinforce" his legislative decree to open both the private ownership and the strict interpretation of the vernacular translations of The Holy Canons of The New Gods to all social classes outside the ecclesiastical and monastic clergy and the feudal aristocracy and nobility. Friedrich I had actively campaigned to proliferate both the spread and the growth of mass literacy within Das Königreich Middenland using the religious support and the political backing of any professional printers, missionaries, and church schools personally sympathetic to Karl Von Luxembourg and his general, sweeping, and universal reformation to the religious establishment of, and institutions of organized religion within The Conservative Church of The New Gods officially seated within The Holy Sept of Romulus as the historic capital, civilizational kernel, and titular namesake of The Cosmopolitan, Classical Romulan Republic and "The Empire of Mankind Primus." With Friedrich I's formal issuance of the deed of foundation for "The Collegium Fridericium" or "Die Universität Königsberg" serving as both the earliest and the greatest centre for the ideological proliferation of Karl Von Luxembourg's general, sweeping, and universal theological reformation of The Conservative Church of The New Gods, as well as a religious, material, and intellectual cultural monument quite literally "set in stone" devoted in homage to his enduring legacy and infamy as the first hereditary, dynastic ruler in both the recorded histories and the geographic enormity of "The Known World" to formally renounce his spiritual, cultural, and moral ties of fealty to The Holy Sept in Romulus, and in the process formally assuming supreme authority over matters of religion within his sovereign realm as "The First Supreme Head of The Reformed Church of The New Gods in Das Königreich Middenland." With "The Collegium Fridericium" or "Die Universität Königsberg" essentially serving as a mighty bastion and stronghold of religious and intellectual cultural education explicitly founded with the intent of producing prospective bishops and abbots formally schooled and educated in the intellectual framework and methodology of renaissance humanism most popular within the scholastic and academic communities and circles native to the "Frivolous" or "Southern Imperial" states of "L'Impero dell'Umanità Secundo" or "The Empire of Mankind Secundus" and charged with the clerical maintenance and administration of religious orthodoxy within "The Reformed Church of The New Gods in Das Königreich Middenland," as well as literate and formally educated missionaries and preachers charged with the mission of preaching and proselytizing the theological reforms of Karl Von Luxembourg throughout and beyond the established frontiers of Das Königreich Middenland.

My sexy wet haired boo boo kitty man

Hey Spanish announce team

Roddy needs to LOSE!!!!!

This faction has been dead in the water since December

Also I love Kyle and I want him to have the belt maybe even take over the undisputed kingdom and force Adam to fight him for right to lead when he gets back (cause at this point I feel like Adam will be back before mjf)

Thoughts on the AEW Revolution 2024 card:

The Young Bucks vs Sting and Darby Allin - I will be genuinely surprised if Sting and Darby win this match. I can see a reason to have them win and just have them relinquish the belts on Dynamite or something, but there would be no better way for the Bucks to cement themselves as Terrible People than by fucking on Sting and getting the belts.

Orange Cassidy vs Roderick Strong. While I have been enjoying OC as the Enternal International Champion, I think Roddy needs to win this to help legitimate Undisputed Kingdom as an actual faction to care about. I maintain some of the issues with the credibility of the group will be reduced once Adam Cole is able to actually go out there and do more than sit.

Samoa Joe vs Hangman Adam Page vs Swerve Strickland. It will suck if Hangman is unable to actually be there for the match (since reports are that there's some sort of "personal issue" that may impact this, which is why they did the foot thing). That said, regardless, I feel like Joe should retain. If it's all three of them, it perfectly sets up HangMAD being too caught up in trying keep Swerve from winning that he ends up also not winning.

Toni Storm vs Deonna Purrazzo. This match will probably be great. Deonna is great. Toni is great. I feel like the most likely outcome is some sort of fucky finish that allows Toni to retain. Although I wouldn't be surprised if it backfires and Deonna wins-- since that could feasibly set up a Toni/Mariah feud.

Eddie Kingston vs Bryan Danielson. I want Eddie to win. I always want Eddie to win. I think there's a solid case to be made for Bryan winning. However, I also think that Bryan's apparent refusal allow himself to be booked to win a title, and how hard he's going with the "Eddie is a bum and I don't respect him" lines, also makes a solid case for Eddie retaining. Undoubtedly, Eddie will have to lose the belts at some point, but I'm not sure that this is the best time. Plus, it would complete the story (lol) of Eddie earning the respect of Blackpool Combat Club (or re-earning, in the case of Mox).

Will Ospreay vs Konosuke Takeshita. Bruv I don't even care who wins. This match is gonna fuck.

Christian Cage vs Daniel Garcia. I *want* DG to win. Dude deserves having the belt. He's a former ROH Pure champ. He's great in the ring. People enjoy him. I legitimately don't think losing would hurt Christian from a fan perspective. The man can still be a reprehensible POS without the belt.

Wardlow vs Powerhouse Hobbs vs Lance Archer. A "Meat Madness" match. lmao. This is obviously just a big hoss shitpost match, but I think it'll be fun.

FTR vs Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli. Wheeler has his pending trial in May from where he allegedly brandished a gun at someone on the highway (wtf man, settle the hell down) so I don't know exactly how that's going to factor in with any potential booking. Both FTR and Mox are booked in ways that keep them pretty protected (Mox has only been pinned clean what, like, maybe 4 times the entire time he's been in AEW? And one of those was when he was accidentally concussed.) so it'll be really interesting to see where this goes. I can see a case for either side winning, but I would speculate that if BCC loses, it would probably be Claudio eating the loss (or it'll be some kind of DQ).

GOD I LOVE WRESTLING ARGGGGG

Spoiler ramblings of the latest dynamite episode under the cut.

The opening 15 mins has officially made some (tho not all) of the weaker parts of the Devil plotline worth it for me, because they were set up for so many warring factions and ideas.

Heel!Adam, you have instantly become 1000x sexier and the new entrance music fucks HARD. It's basically a darker remix of Adam's first AEW theme and it's perfect. He really is the best as a heel, and I gotta admit, I like how meta Adam's motivations are for pulling off the betrayal. Hating how MJF takes up all the spotlight, being an asshole to everyone and everything, so Adam wanted to break and drive MJF out of the company to "fix" what's wrong with it (which i think references the ppl who criticize that MJF is ruining AEW/doesn't fit in it at all). Plus, pointing out that no one would've cared about face!MJF if it wasn't for Adam in the first place, that MJF needed Adam to work as a face (something that I've pointed out before). Adam's faction now called the Undisputed Kingdom, combining the previous two factions he was in? *chefs kiss* You just know a third in group betrayal will happen.

Bullet Club Gold and the Acclaimed having a tentative alliance bc the Undisputed Kingdom fucked them over when trying to take down MJF? Hangman and Swerve looking for a fight/the championship bc they were side casualties of the whole Devil incident? Samoa Joe, who worked with Adam and Max separately, being involved in all this as the new champ? When Max's injuries weren't public, we all thought these were set ups for fights with Max, when really, it looks like the Undisputed Kingdom is gonna take his spot as the faction a bunch of people have it out for. So many different angles and relationships and feuds that intertwined perfectly, the possibilities are endless.

The tag team division looks like its back on the menu, the women's division having more matches+promos+big stars, Christian Cage and his "family" being hilarious as always, Takeshita is still a powerhouse, Darby doing more of his excellent ragdoll work, Eddie Kingston is here!!!! and is the absolute best on commentary I can listen to him talk forever, Bryan Keith jobbed in the four way but I'm just glad he's here, Swerve v Daniel Garcia was as fire as I thought it'd be, and then even MORE teasing of Hangman v Swerve.

Lately, it's been looking like most of the original Elite and their friends and other big players like Mox and Danielson are starting to phase out/take a break, so it's nice to see the rest of the company can still step up and lead matches without them.

God, I'm SO EXCITED for wrestling this year

Ok hi I'm sort of new to njpw I need to know as much as you can tell me. Who is will Osprey, who is Okada, who is juice. Is Bullet club still a thing. I just need to know any and everything you can tell me and other people can chime in as well I just need to be educated on njpw

So I am giving really basic answers because we're talking about +10 years of history for a lot of this so it's like top lines details because it's hard for me to get into explaining a lot without suddenly having dozens of matches and segments for folks to watch.

I think the best way to figure out NJPW is to check out some matches, especially of the guys that interest you. Their website is a mess, but some matches are up for free without membership and others are on YouTube, their Roku App, and if you have cable AXSTV.

Honestly, I think they're building to Forbidden Door in a way that's accessible for people who aren't familiar with NJPW so no one needs to know everything. Don't let the fact that there are so many new names, faces, and storylines potentially here overwhelm you. I think you'll be able to jump in fine with limited knowledge.

I am probably less helpful than a Wikipedia article right now. But this is basically who the people/groups you asked about are, if there's a match to recommend to show their style or explaining how you'll be seeing them soon/how they've been talked about recently on AEW:

eta: went back in and added a couple sentences about Juice before I forgot to include something for him.

Will Ospreay is a British wrestler, he is currently REVPro's British Heavyweight Champion and has held belts across multiple promotions including ROH and NJPW. He's the leader of the faction United Empire, which includes Jeff Cobb, TJP, Great-O-Khan, Mark Davis, and Kyle Fletcher, the latter two tag as Aussie Open and will be in a match with FTR and Trent on Friday. He held the IWGP World Heavyweight Title before vacating due to an injury. Most recently, he had matches at Windy City Riot against Moxley and also a fourway match at Capital Collision with Moxley, Juice Robinson, and Tanahashi worth checking out for his style. Ospreay is divisive -- a lot of people dislike him.

Okada is the current IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. He's the leader of Chaos, the stable that Rocky Romero invited Best Friends and Friends into around the time started making AEW appearances. His matches with Kenny (there have been four) are some of my all-time favorites, especially their 2 out of 3 falls match in 2018 and their Wrestle Kingdom 11 match. Hangman called him out tonight for the IWGP title, and that's when Cole got involved. I can't think of an Okada match I wouldn't recommend, tbh.

Yes, Bullet Club is still a thing. Jay White, who Adam Cole referenced tonight and who has shown up on AEW a few times including his match against Trent earlier in the year, has been their leader since 2018. Bullet Club is now comprised of the Good Brothers, Hikuleo, Chris Bey, El Phantasmo, Taiji Ishimori, Bad Luck Fale, Juice Robinson, Ace Austen, members of their sub-group, House of Torture, and Ch*se Owens. The Good Brothers entered back into the scene after Jay White betrayed Tama Tonga (Bullet Club OG) and Tanga Loa, older brothers of Hikuleo. NJPW Strong's early episodes has some solid matches of older iterations of the Bullet Club for free on YouTube, big man matches worth checking out. The betrayal of Tama and T (GoD) started on Impact. Regardless, with many former BC members, history with Jay White and Kenny, Hikuleo pairing with the Undisputed Elite last week, and Adam's history with Kenny especially by BTE canon, I'm sure the girls will be fighting eventually.

Juice Robinson is David Finlay’s former tag team partner where they worked and held belts as FinJuice. He left recently, citing his contract was up, only to appear again and join Bullet Club without David. He’s also engaged to Toni.

Anthony’s Stupid Daily Blog (769): Thu 25th Apr 2024

Checked out last night's AEW Dynamite which culminated in Scapegoat Jack Perry asaulting Tony Khan. We could all tell this was coming from a mile away but thats not always a bad thing if it does what it needs to do. At the close of the show the Young Bucks gave Khan a Tony Driver to close the show. I'm glad that we've got a new and improved Elite but I cartainly hope that we don't get another villain heel faction running the show storyline. I do think however that since the Undisputed Kingdom storyline has been a complete flop thanks to dam Cole's injury and MJF's absense they should probably just merge the Eltie and The Undisputed Kingdom to try and salvage Adam Cole and Wardlow by putting them in the main event picture. 

I drove the car to the warehouse this morning for another test run to get me in the mood for doing it properly tomorrow when I'm actually at work. I decided to take Lucy with me so she wouldn't be stuck in the house waiting for me. I wish she was a bit bigger so she could get a good look out of the window because she was constantly struggling to find her footing and eventually just lay down. I'm still a bit nervous doing reverse parks even though there's a computer screen in the car that guides you in but the more I do it the more confident I will get. I mean when I first started killing people and burying their bodies I was rubbish at it. I kept splashing blood all over the place and leaving their arms poking out of the dirt but now I'm an absolute master. 

Open challenge for International title! Nick Wayne vs Champ Orange Cassidy!

2/28/24, AEW Dynamite

Kinda miffed we didn't get the faction war/fued between the Undisputed Kingdom and the Bang Bang Scissor Gang that was teased at the beginning of the year

Fuck the Undisputed Kingdom. Just a shit faction all around. We did not need a Roderick fucking Strong match tonight.

Favorite History Books || Conquest: The English Kingdom of France in the Hundred Years’ War by Juliet Barker ★★★☆☆

The Hundred Years’ War is defined in the popular imagination by its great battles. The roll-call of spectacular English victories over the French is a source of literary celebration and national pride and even those who know little or nothing about the period or context can usually recall the name of at least one of the most famous trilogy – Crécy, Poitiers, Agincourt. It is curious therefore that an even greater achievement has been virtually wiped from folk memory. Few people today know that for more than thirty years there was an English kingdom of France. Quite distinct from English Gascony, which had belonged to the kings of England by right of inheritance since the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II in 1152, the English kingdom was acquired by conquest and was the creation of Henry V.

When he landed a great English army on the beaches of Normandy at the beginning of August 1417 Henry opened up an entirely new phase in the Hundred Years’ War. Never before had an English monarch invaded France with such ambitious plans: nothing less than the wholesale conquest and permanent annexation of Normandy. Yet, after he had achieved this in the space of just two years, the opportunity presented itself to secure a prize to which even his most illustrious ancestor, Edward III, could only aspire: the crown of France itself. On 21 May 1420 Charles VI of France formally betrothed Henry V of England to his daughter and recognised him as his heir and regent of France. In doing so he disinherited his own son and committed both countries to decades of warfare.

By a cruel twist of fate, Henry died just seven weeks before his father-in-law, so it was not the victor of Agincourt but his nine-month- old son, another and much lesser Henry, who became the first (and last) English king of France. Until he came of age and could rule in person, the task of defending his French realm fell to his father’s right-hand men. First and foremost among these was his brother John, duke of Bedford, a committed Francophile who made his home in France and for thirteen years ruled as regent on his nephew’s behalf. His determination to do justice to all, to rise above political faction and, most important of all, to protect the realm by a slow but steady expansion of its borders meant that, at its height, the English kingdom of France extended from the coast of Normandy almost down to the banks of the Loire: to the west it was bounded by Brittany, to the east by the Burgundian dominions, both of which, nominally at least, owed allegiance to the boy-king.

Bedford’s great victory at Verneuil in 1424 seemed to have secured the future of the realm – until the unexpected arrival on the scene of an illiterate seventeen-year-old village girl from the marches of Lorraine who believed she was sent by God to raise the English siege of Orléans, crown the disinherited dauphin as true king of France and drive the English out of his realm.  The story of Jehanne d’Arc – better known to the English-speaking world today as Joan of Arc – is perhaps the most enduringly famous of the entire Hundred Years’ War. The fact that, against all the odds, she achieved two of her three aims in her brief career has raised her to iconic status, but it is the manner of her death, burned at the stake in Rouen by the English administration, which has brought her the crown of martyrdom and literally made her a saint in the Roman Catholic calendar. The terrible irony is that Jehanne’s dazzling achievements obscure the fact that they were of little long-term consequence: a ten-year-old Henry VI was crowned king of France just six months after her death and his kingdom endured for another twenty years.

Of far more consequence to the prosperity and longevity of the English kingdom of France was the defection of the ally who had made its existence possible. Philippe, duke of Burgundy, made his peace with Charles VII in 1435, just days after the death of Bedford. In the wake of the Treaty of Arras much of the English kingdom, including its capital, Paris, was swept away by the reunited and resurgent French but the reconquest stalled in the face of dogged resistance from Normandy and brilliant tactical military leadership from the “English Achilles”, John Talbot. For almost a decade it would be a war of attrition between the two ancient enemies, gains by each side compensating for their losses elsewhere, but no decisive actions tipping the balance of power.

Nevertheless, the years of unremitting warfare had their cost, imposing an unsustainable financial burden on England and Normandy, draining both realms of valuable resources, including men of the calibre of the earls of Salisbury and Arundel, who were both killed in action, and devastating the countryside and economy of northern France. The demands for peace became more urgent and increasingly voluble, though it was not until Henry VI came of age that anyone in England had the undisputed authority to make the concessions necessary to achieve a settlement.

The Truce of Tours, purchased by Henry’s marriage to Marguerite of Anjou, the infamous ‘she-wolf of France’, proved to be a disaster for the English. In his determination to procure peace at any price, the foolish young king secretly agreed to give up a substantial part of his inheritance: the county of Maine would return to French hands without compensation for its English settlers who had spent their lives in its defence.

Worse was to follow, for while the English took advantage of the truce to demobilise and cut taxes, Charles VII used it to rearm and reorganise his armies so that, when he found the excuse he needed to declare that the English had broken its terms, he was ready and able to invade with such overwhelming force that he swept all before him. The English kingdom of France which, against the odds, had survived for three decades, was crushed in just twelve months.