FINDING MY SMILE ONCE AGAIN + MY FAVOURITE THINGS OF RIGHT NOW

Yes, it's true. I'm away yet again. This time it'll be an entire month (gone 'til November like Wyclef) of infrequent posts, but hopefully I'll be able to get some stuff up every now and then. It'll likely be random stuff and not many reviews, although I will be keeping up to speed with what's going on in the wrestling world via Wrestling Bay (highly recommended for those who don't have a DVR/miss a lot of wrestling on TV).

So while I find my smile, I'll leave you with some of my favourite things of right now:

NUMBER ONE

FOOTNOTES OF WRESTLING

By K. Sawyer Paul

Footnotes of Wrestling Tumblr

K. Sawyer Paul on Twitter

This recommendation (a truly sincere one - definitely check this out) comes via the Drop Toehold Tumblr, which I just added to the sidebar. It also deserves it's own exclusive post, but since I'm trying to get a bunch of stuff in here at once, this will have to do.

Reading this blog/tumblr/whatever I should call it fills me with the same elated relief and simultaneous jealous rage that I was be filled with (to the absolute brim) when I discovered FanHouse's Brandon Stroud's wrestling recaps. I was both relieved that there was another wrestling fan on the internet writing about wrestling in the exact same way I felt, and jealous that this writer is so good and I could never capture that same profound style.

While I admired Stroud for his ability to write about wrestling in a hilarious AND positive way (I find it so impossibly difficult to be funny without being negative when it comes to wrestling, it's literally what I strive for), I admire Paul for his knowledge, grace, honesty and focus. Those aren't words you hear in describing a wrestling blog almost EVER. And I mean that.

Nothing makes me happier than finding a blog/writer/tumblr/twitter/ANYTHING that talks about wrestling in a way that speaks to me. Nothing makes me angrier than a blog that is constantly reprimanding wrestlers or companies like a fucking parent, or being overly, gimmickly (not a word) negative in constant failed attempts at being funny for people who don't know what funny is when it comes to wrestling, or anyone that places themselves above wrestling or being a wrestling fan or being an indy wrestling fan or not liking what they see on TV.

This guy does none of that. He offers observations and solutions and just general thoughts about wrestling that never feel like he's turning his nose up at it, or even upset with it. I can't stress this enough. Another one of my goals when I started my blog was to be as positive as possible, because the IWC/wrestling blogosphere is running rampant with unjust negativity, snarkiness and cynicism that drives me up the wall.

This post has turned into quite the virtual BJ, but I can't help it. Just go there and read everything he's written and promise to come back to my blog and don't leave me forever. That's all I ask.

NUMBER TWO

THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN

As sung by Michael P.S. Hayes - Watch now on YouTube

Via Fuck Yeah Wrestling!

Between this video, the Freebirds' montage from the WWE Allied Powers DVD and the "I'm A Freebird, What Was Your Excuse" video/story from the Rise and Fall of WCW DVD (or maybe it was from a Legends' Rountable, can't remember), I've discovered that Michael P.S. Hayes may be the world's most accidentally hilarious man. Watch all of these things if you can find them.

NUMBER THREE

THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS & JIM CORNETTE'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY SCRAPBOOK

Available at Cornette's Collectables

I've had this book for a quite a while now, but I've only been able to really dig into it while I'm travelling, since there's tons of downtime. It's the perfect book for that, since it's a book that essentially documents the Midnight Express' life on the road, with thorough (almost entirely complete) results of their entire career together. From the gates they were pulling in, to pictures of paystubs and authentic show posters and newspaper clippings to stories of riots and ribs and all that you could want in a wrestling book, it's like readable crack cocaine. It's incredible to see that these guys were on the road pretty much every day out of the year, wrestling every night of the week (twice a night some nights) and driving from city to city in between that. Just insane. It's hard enough travelling that much period, so add in getting the shit kicked out of you daily and you've got a rough life on the road.

Those are some things I'm digging right now. I'll be back in full effect soon - but first, I'ma get the Prediction Game post up for Hell In A Cell tomorrow night.

JIM CORNETTE CHALLENGES VINCE RUSSO TO A FIGHT FOR CHARITY!

Ripped from the GameFAQs Other Feds board.

Holy balls.

ROH 08/03 VIDEOWIRE: TAG WARS 2010 CONTINUES; SHANE HAGADORN SHINES

Believe it or not (and this will be hard to believe), Shane Hagadorn is the star of the latest ROH VideoWire. I'm still rubbing my eyes in disbelief that I just wrote that.

ROH VideoWire & other videos now available via video podcast on iTunes

IN THIS VIDEO

- Austin Aries abducting Daizee Haze in Collinsville in the face of a protesting Paul Turner! Get him Paul!

- Jim Cornette teasing a World Title announcement before being interrupted by Delirious going "ashgdshgdghdsgsd" in search of his damsel in distress.

- Austin Aries saying distasteful things to Delirious and Daizee Haze (who plays the part of a emotionally scarred abductee quite well, actually)

- The All-Night Express and the Greatest Man(ager) Who Ever Lived having a group whiff of Daizee's ring attire (it's as creepy as it sounds).

- A real talk promo from Colt Cabana that feels like he's just your buddy.

- The line of the video might be Erick Stevens' "who cares, bro?!" to Prince Nana. I'm liking Stevens more and more as this douchey bro-saying asshole.

- Shane Hagadorn delivering the kind of promo I never thought he was capable of. Well done, sir. Well done.

- Tyler Black caked in dried blood.

JIM CORNETTE HATES VINCE RUSSO, ALSO, SKY IS STILL BLUE

Shit got real in Jim Cornette's latest commentary. Read this.

Essentially, Cornette emailed his good friend Terry Taylor (employed by TNA) and TNA intercepted the email and sent him some legal jargon talking about how he's in a real pickle now. Why? He wrote this (among other things):

"I hate Vince Russo. I despise Vince Russo. I want Vince Russo to die. If I could figure out a way to murder him without going to prison, I would consider it the greatest accomplishment of my life."

People (er... I searched Twitter!) are going bonkers over this, saying Cornette deserves to go to jail for this, blahrg blarh durrrr.

Cornette did say some hateful things. And that above statement looks pretty incriminating. But everyone seems to forget that this is Jim Cornette. Have you heard him speak? Ever?! The man speaks in hyperbole ALL THE TIME. He also has hated Vince Russo since I don't even know when. Nothing has changed. The only thing different is that TNA got their hands on a personal email. I'd wager there are about a billion other emails exactly like this to all of his other best friends. It means fucking nothing when you put it in context.

It's literally as if Hulk Hogan sent a message to Eric Bischoff that was filled with "brothers" and "dudes" and people were shocked and appalled. Jim Cornette's gimmick is hating Russo.

The most annoying thing I've read is people saying "okay, if he said like, I wish he'd die and then didn't say anything else, than whatever. But he just gets so specific and keeps going..."

That is Jim Cornette. Remember that time someone screwed someone else on Raw and he was commentating, and went, and I quote, "It was a ruse! A set-up! A hoax! A ploy! A stunt! A sham! We've been bamboozled! Conned! Whitewashed! Had the wool pulled over our eyes!" (this literally went on for longer than I can remember, using turns of phrase that sounded like they were from a hundred years ago).

Sound familiar? He just fucking SPEAKS THAT WAY.

It all just seems ridiculous to me. Maybe I'll have a different opinion tomorrow. But I really feel like this exact text could've been printed on his blog and no one would've said anything. People would've read it, laughed, moved on. But since TNA stepped in with lawyers, everyone's shitting bricks like HOLY CRAP JIM CORNETTE IS A TERRORIST.

I don't know the legal ins and outs of this, if TNA has a case, if Cornette's got something to worry about or what. But I truly believe that when put in context of the way Jim Cornette just is and the way he speaks, that this is completely harmless.

But if Vince Russo is found dead tomorrow, then yeah, "Jim Cornette in the meeting room with the tennis racket" is probably the right guess.