S5E9: Tiger Mask I vs Dynamite Kid w/Gemma Paolo

The big match has finally arrived!

Frank, Joaquin and Chuck are joined by Digital Producer for Conan Gemma Paolo as they watch Tiger Mask square off against Dynamite Kid. The match that earned the first ever five star rating from Dave Meltzer. Sit back, relax, and join us as we breakdown the match that changed the very idea of what wrestling could be.

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S5E8.5: Tiger Mask I vs Dynamite Kid Series Review

CREDIT: YOUTUBE

In a prelude to episode 9 of TIA coming next week, your boys are once again stealing Buzzfeed's gimmick and putting together a listicle.

Frank, Joaquin and Chuck have each watched the seven times the original Tiger Mask locked up with the Dynamite Kid — from Satoru Sayama's debut as the legendary masked fighter, all the way to the match that earned the first ever five star rating from Dave Meltzer.

Each contest will be discussed in chronological order and ranked. In the end, we will have charted the course of this legendary series and will have the definitive TIA Tiger Mask vs Dynamite Kid ranking.

The seven matches are:

Match 1 - April 23, 1981 - NJPW

Match 2 - January 1, 1982 - NJPW

Match 3 - January 1, 9182 - NJPW

Match 4 - July 23, 1982 - NJPW

Match 5 - August 5, 1982 - NJPW

Match 6 - August 30, 1982 - WWF

Match 7 - April 21, 1983 - NJPW

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S5E8: Meiko Satomura vs Kairi Hojo w/Marly Halpern-Graser

CREDIT: STARDOM WORLD

Yo-ho, yo-ho a pirate's life for me! Kairi Hojo is in this match so that means we are contractually obligated to make a certain number of references to swashbuckling and general marauding. 

This week, we're setting sail toward World Wonder Ring Stardom to see the Pirate Princess Kairi Hojo defend her World of Stardom championship against the living legend Meiko Satomura. Will the local buccaneer be able to defend her treasure from the veteran scallawag?

Swinging onto the deck this week (see what I mean) is the producer of Thundercats Roar and Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs! That's right, it must be Marly Halpern-Graser's music!

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S5E7: The Midnight Express vs The Southern Boys w/Jeff Lee

CREDIT: WWE NETWORK

Mullets on both sides of the ring. White Guy Karate. Jim Cornette insulting fans while waving a tennis racket wildly in the air. We must be in the early 90s. This week your boys have a look at a highly touted mid-card match-up between The Midnight Express and the Southern Boys.

The Boys are on a bit of a hot streak heading into this title match and it raises some questions: Can the crafty veterans manage to overcome their wild-eyed challengers? Will Beautiful Bobby's hair manage to stay attached to his head? Is someone going to tell Smothers and Armstrong that their ring gear is NOT COOL?

Joining the fun this week is the founder of Rough Draft Games and one of the hosts of the Roll And Move Podcast: Jeff Lee! (@roughdraftgames)

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S5E6: Combat Toyoda vs Megumi Kudo w/Jason Gibbs

CREDIT: YOUTUBE

In the film "The Five Obstructions" directors Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth explore the idea that obstacles (or obstructions) can often open up new avenues for artistic expression.

It is with this in mind that Combat Toyoda and Megumi Kudo enter the ring in a No Ropes Exploding Barbed-Wire Deathmatch to lower the curtain on Toyoda's career. As the match progresses we begin to see that it's the things the women can't do because of their in-ring restrictions that make this into one of the truly great entries in the Deathmatch genre.

Your boys are joined by Jason Gibbs, making his second appearance on the show, who will help break down all the action in the match.

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S5E5.5: Death Match Gauntlet Deathstravaganza 2018

Warning - the matches discussed in this episode are not for the squeamish or the faint of heart. This week Joaquin, Frank and Chuck once again leave the safe confines of mainstream American wrestling and enter the death match gauntlet!

Your boys have watched six death matches (suggested by listeners) and will discuss and power rank each one. In the end, the match that takes the top spot will be the subject of next weeks' TIA episode.

The matches discussed are the following:

Cactus Jack vs W*ING Kanemura - FMW 7th Anniversary Show

Megumi Kudo vs Combat Toyoda - FMW 7th Anniversary Show

Jun Kasai vs Ryuji Ito - Big Japan Pro-Wrestling 11/20/2009

Sami Callihan vs Danny Havoc - CZW Cage of Death XI

Vampiro vs Pentagon Jr - Lucha Underground S1E39

Masashi Takeda vs Masaya Takahashi - BJW Death Vegas 2017

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S5E5: The Kid vs Razor Ramon w/Dale Bumblis

It's uncut, uncooked and uncensored... its Monday Night RAW. We're traveling back in time to May 17th 1993 and one of the highlight episodes from the WWFs fledgling prime-time offering. 

And because it's May 17th we're of course watching-- The Kid vs Razor Ramon? We're not watching Shawn and Marty? Really? Okay.

Join us as we take a look at the Bad Guy squaring off against The Kid, a newcomer to the World Wrestling Federation, competing in just his third match on WWF Raw. 

It's like Vince always says: Anything can happen in the World Wrestling Federation.

Running in this week to add to the analysis is Dale Bumblis! (@Daleicious  https://soundcloud.com/postage/ )

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S5E4: Aztec Warfare 1 w/Ana Espinoza

CREDIT: EL REY NETWORK YOUTUBE

On this, the fourth episode of season five, your boys are checking out yet another new promotion! This time, we're heading down the street to Boyle Heights, where we hear there is some kind of underground fighting ring organized by a villainous rich guy with an affinity for violence and big keys. 

It's Aztec Warfare 1 from the ninth episode of the first season of Lucha Underground. Come for the lucha, stay for Joaquin's extended appetizer sampler metaphor. 

And joining us in the lab once again is long-time friend of the podcast Ana Espinoza! (@Espinoza_Ana)

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Watching the Elite - All In Recap

Welcome to the ALL IN Recap episode of Watching the Elite! Your hosts are the boys of This is Awesome? - Joaquin, Frank and Chuck. 

In this episode we are recapping and sort-of-reviewing the entire card of ALL IN that happened September 1st, 2018! We give a breakdown of the matches, choose who was the Elite of the Elite for the show, debate which match is the best of thecard and even speculate on the future of All In.

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Watching the Elite - All In Preview

Welcome to the ALL IN Preview episode of Watching the Elite! Your hosts are the boys of This is Awesome? - Joaquin, Frank and Chuck. 

In this episode we are breaking down the entire card for ALL IN on September 1st, 2018! We give a breakdown of the matches, make some predictions and even give you a rundown of the additional non-Being The Elite content that provides the background for the biggest independent pro wrestling show of all time (according to us)!

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