Articles by Rick Poehling

Howdy!

I’ll just put it out there on front street; this weekend, arguably the most anticipated women’s wrestling event in literally years is happening. And I want to celebrate it, talk about it, and convince you to watch it. If I get even one of y’all to do that, I’m going to consider this a success.

So click the read more button and come on in. I don’t care if you know nothing about Stardom, or joshi, or whatever; we’re gonna get there and by the time we’re done, you’ll be setting an alarm to watch this thing.

Let’s preview some wrestling, shall we?

Howdy!

I was watching the Triangle Derby, but I really was not planning to cover the Final…..and then this show happened.

Let’s watch some wrestling, shall we?

Howdy!

Well, it looked like people did want more Stardom reviews on the site, so it seems like it’s worth my time to do them! We’ll be hitting all the major events for the time being and tonight, we’ve got a big one on tap as Giulia defends her World of Stardom title against Suzu Suzuki in the main event!

Let’s watch some wrestling, shall we?

Howdy!

I wrote about Stardom back in 2021 (here, if you’re so inclined) and I wanted to again.

And I wanted to say a few things about the company because I like them and I think that you should like them as well. And from the Doomie nominations, it’s clear to me that more than a few of you are already watching; for those that aren’t or are just wondering about it, Part 1 of this is for you and is, I hope, well worth checking out.

So with that in mind, let’s watch some wrestling, shall we?

Howdy!

Yep, back again as usual for what I do – preview Wrestle Kingdom! The annual New Japan show is set to take place once again on January 4th, and this year’s edition is one of the strongest in a long time.

So with that in mind, let’s preview the big show and get ready for 12 matches in the Tokyo Dome!

Let’s watch (preview) some wrestling, shall we?

Howdy!

About a week or so ago, I was compiling my Top 10 matches of 2022 for another project, and it struck me that the BoD is home to some of the best writing about wrestling out there. And with that in mind, I wondered what everyone else was thinking about when it came to the best of what they watched this year.

And as it turns out, a few were willing to share.

Howdy!

Last Monday, myself and a few others here on the blog watched a professional wrestling show. And you should watch it too.

I’d like to tell you about it.

Let’s watch some wrestling, shall we?

Howdy!

The Climax has come to a close, as Kazuchika Okada reigns supreme again in the G-1, defeating Will Ospreay in the Final. This post will serve as bit of a wrap-up/preview, as we head towards the Fall months in New Japan, a bit of a freeform nonsense as we try to decipher it all.

Let’s watch some wrestling, shall we?

Howdy!

As all 4 of my dedicated New Japan fans know, over the last few weeks as part of my New Japan Strong recaps I’ve added a section of quick reviews of the currently ongoing G-1 Climax; with the G-1 scheduled to wind up here within the week, I felt it was time to give it a separate post. And now I’ll post twice this week! Time to get some of that sweet, sweet blog money from Scott’s new corporate….

….turns out I don’t get any of that money. Huh. 

Damnit, y’all better flatter the hell outta me in the comments section.

With that in mind, let’s watch some wrestling, shall we?

Howdy!

Tonight, it’s a 4 match show on New Japan Strong as we get our next finalists in the Strong tag title tournament with Aussie Open meeting the Stray Dog Army! Also, it’s a big 6-man main event as the Ace comes to Strong! And, of course, we’ll take a (much less profane than last week) look at the G-1 as the tournament rounds the halfway point!

Let’s watch some wrestling, shall we?

Howdy!

Tonight, it’s the 100th episode of New Japan Strong! And we’ll cover the week in G-1 where, for one match in particular, I will use an overwhelming amount of profanity! You’ve been warned!

With that in mind, let’s watch some wrestling, shall we?

Howdy!

Well, with Forbidden Door behind me and the BOSJ done, I think it’s time to get back on the Strong beat to please Scott’s new blog overlords. We’ll throw in some G-1 thoughts at the end. 

With that in mind, the tag tournament to crown our Strong Tag champs continues this week on New Japan Strong, so let’s watch some wrestling, shall we?

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/aew/aews-jeff-hardy-arrested-for-dui

Hardy will appear before a judge on Tuesday. This is his 3rd DUI in the last 10 years. Talk about it below if you wish.

Howdy!

So, 60 matches. 6 events, 10 match cards, 60 matches.

Yeah, I won’t subject you to that. I was going to do each match and I actually have notes on all of them (I’m a sad, sad human in many ways), but it would be the most boring thing written by myself in the history of boring things I’ve written for this site. 

With that in mind, I’m going to give an overview of the second half of the tournament as a lead-in to the Final on Friday. It should be a breezier read and hopefully get people more excited, plus that will allow me to preview the Final a bit more in-depth. 

Let’s watch some wrestling, shall we?

Howdy!

It’s BOSJ time! For the next few weeks, I’ll be taking a hiatus from covering New Japan Strong to….cover New Japan. 

But DIFFERENT New Japan.

Yeah, that’s the ticket. So, instead of doing a post a day which will surely end me at this point (work has been stressful recently), I’m instead going to do a weekly roundup of the shows in capsule form, with a few longform reviews of the top matches. Plus, the shorter paragraphs will surely make it much easier to ignore my usual nonsense and get straight to the star ratings! Win-win!

Let’s watch some wrestling, shall we?

Howdy!

Hey y’all. Needed to take a bit of a break there, mostly due to going to Chicago and work taking away most of my other time. But I’ll be back for the foreseeable future. I’ll also be taking on a bit for the Best of the Super Juniors with some weekly recaps once we get going. Not going to do every show, since I need to maintain some semblance of sanity. 

That having been said, let’s get back to some NJPW Strong! I’ll be writing up a bit about my trip to Chicago after, along with some pics taken by my incredibly talented wife. Up first, though, our main event this week features one Jay Lethal taking on Ren Narita!

Let’s watch some wrestling, shall we?

Howdy!

FTR, man. FTR. 

I’d like to say that I want to see them face off against the Dangerous Tekkers next, but I gotta be honest – I’m hoping against hope that Zack will be somewhat busy with other things come the end of this weekend.

But you know what? I didn’t think he was going to win the New Japan Cup. Hell, I didn’t even pick him to make the Final. And yet, on the back of two MOTY candidates (well one MOTY candidate and a very, very good match against Naito), he’ll be facing Okada with his best chance ever to win the big belt.

Still, don’t want to jinx it, so I’ll say that I think Okada is gonna retain. Take that, Rainmaker! You’re totally screwed now!

Speaking of titles, this week on New Japan Strong, the Strong Style Evolved tour begins and it’s time for Clark Connors to get his title shot against Filthy Tom Lawlor, so we’ve got no time to waste!

Let’s watch some wrestling, shall we?

Howdy!

ZSJ! ZSJ! ZSJ!

Gotta give credit where due, this year’s New Japan Cup was the best in years. Tons of fresh, good matches, the right winner, the entire House of Torture and Bullet Club eliminated before the quarterfinals….

It certainly slapped…..hard than Will Smith at the Oscars!

*Sigh* Okay, I knew it was a lame joke. I apologize…..like Will Smith did to Chris Rock the day after the Oscars!

*Crickets*

Oh, boy. I, uh….I’m not very funny. But I DO like me some fake fightin’, so let’s talk about that!

Let’s watch some wrestling, shall we?

Howdy!

ZSJ for the win this weekend. 

No, he’s probably not GOING to win it. Gun to my head, Okada wins the Cup and names Ibushi as his next challenger. It’s not what I would do, but I think there’s a good chance that’s what GEDO will do. 

Also, Tanahashi is teaming with the GoD, so pretty much nothing in New Japan makes sense any more. 

Time to go back to where NJPW makes the most sense these days – ‘Murica and New Japan Strong!

Let’s watch some wrestling, shall we?

(Ahem. So, this was supposed to post on FRIDAY before this week’s Strong aired, but it didn’t and due to work being completely insane, I didn’t follow up to see that I screwed it up. Anyway, it’s late and I’ll have the next one up at the usual time, many apologies to the 5 or so of you who read this.)

Howdy!

Give Hiromu Takahashi the IWGP World title, you cowards.

If you’ve been watching the New Japan Cup, you know I’m right.

That’s it, that’s the intro this week. 

Let’s watch some wrestling, shall we?