Joe Hulbert
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NBA Draft and Dallas Mavericks . Contributor @SwishTheory . #AuDHD
Articles by Joe Hulbert
Bert Watch 9/7: WWE Sunday Night’s Main Event, AEW’s All In Fallout
The usual formalities feel out of place here as if you’re reading this, you’re likely very aware that it’s been a rough weekend for the wrestling world, losing both Bill Dundee and The Butcher. I implore you to seek out more educated voices in appreciating the former, but I hope to write something this week in celebration of Big Andy. Either way, beyond anything else, I hope everyone is doing okay. DISCLAIMER: this is NOT intended as a complete look at pro wrestling’s week.
Bert Watch 8/31: AEW All In London, RevPro Anniversary Show
Just a brief edition of Bert Watch this Monday, as when I’d usually be catching up and writing, I instead spent my weekend at Wembley. Nonetheless, I tried my best to make up for that lack of variety with a pretty extensive look at AEW All In London, from its in-ring action to the show’s presentation and feel. In addition, I take a brief look at RevPro’s 14 Year Anniversary Show, specifically FTR’s war with Cowboy Way. DISCLAIMER: this is NOT intended as a complete look at pro wrestling’s week.
Bert Watch 8/24: AEW’s Road to Wembley, CM Punk vs. Kevin Owens
After a wild few weeks, some normality has finally been restored. I wouldn’t call this a quiet week but rather, just a week, which I appreciate. Nonetheless, Dynamite challenged that description with a whole lot of angles while elsewhere, CM Punk and Kevin Owens finally clashed on Friday Night SmackDown. In addition, ROH returned to Philadelphia for their Death Before Dishonor event, rebounding after a rough Supercard of Honor.
Joe Hulbert’s Bert Watch
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Bert Watch 8/10: AEW Grand Slam Mexico, WWE's Post SummerSlam Reset
Believe it or not, a lot has happened! This past week was maybe the year’s most eventful in terms of televised US wrestling, with most of the leading stories actually taking place on the shows themselves, imagine that! From AEW’s return to Arena Mexico to somewhat of a post-SummerSlam reset on RAW and SmackDown, we aren’t short on topics among The Big Two, pairing those with some NJPW, CMLL and TNA! DISCLAIMER: this is NOT intended as a complete look at pro wrestling’s week.
Bert Watch 8/3: WWE SummerSlam, AEW's Dynamite Promos, 2011 IMPACT Wrestling
I’m spent but another week, another Bert Watch. With SummerSlam in the books, I tackle my seemingly unusual take on the weekend’s good, bad and ugly, also stopping in on two G1 Climax shows. Elsewhere, AEW builds to Wembley with some impressive promo work and Maple Leaf Pro earn headlines via Adam Copeland. Finally, “Wrestling Matters” in 2011 IMPACT Wrestling. . . or does it?! DISCLAIMER: this is NOT intended as a complete look at pro wrestling’s week.
Bert Watch 7/27: AEW Redemption, Natsupoi - Syuri Slugfest
These post-PPV editions of Bert Watch are going to be a little top-heavy, but we still have a lot to talk about, starting with AEW Redemption but also including an incredible match from Stardom, a little SmackDown and even some NXT. Plus, two strong G1 matches from the tournament’s first week in full flow, including a stylistic statement on night three! Thanks for reading Joe Hulbert’s Bert Watch! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Bert Watch 7/20: WWE Saturday Night's Main Event, MLP Mayhem's Premiere
Another week, another Bert Watch and an unusually WWE-centric edition at that. As many of you will know, I seldom catch much RAW but made an exception on Monday, then sticking around for a pretty enjoyable weekend trip to Madison Square Garden. That’s not all either, rounding things out with a look at the trials and tribulations of 2006 SmackDown. Elsewhere, Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling premieres on TSN and AEW builds to Redemption, with TJPW hosting their biggest show of the summer along the way.
Bert Watch 7/13: New World Champions, G1 Climax Underway
Believe it or not, I haven’t forgotten about this. In fact, I’ve been plotting for at least 39% of the past two weeks. With the recent changes made to the format of LNG’s Friday flagship, this is what I’ve settled on: a Monday release that doesn’t detract from our livestream business, which has somehow become my bread and butter.
Bert Watch 6/23: Tournament Season
Have found myself in a terrible funk as of late and typically, that leads me in this direction. With that in mind, I haven’t wrote a word about wrestling outside of cagematch over the past year or so, as things have been pretty good. Now that they are less good though, here I am. This is an idea that I’ve flirted with in the past and who knows, perhaps this incarnation will be a one and done.
Understanding Amari Allen
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Javon Small: Scouting and Contextualising Feel, Passing and Processing Speed
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Scouting Report: Assessing Fit and Maximising Nikola Djurisic in the NBA
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Bobby Roode vs. Kota Ibushi (NXT Live) Match Review
Earlier this week, we spent three hours and change talking about Bobby Roode. Along the way, our resident Contrarian mentioned this match. I’d heard about it before, I think, but had no idea that it’d received the Hidden Gems treatment. For those unaware, Hidden Gems was/is a section of the WWE Network that the true losers adored. Anything without a natural home, from the weird to the momentous, would land there.
Dax Harwood vs. Tommy Billington (AEW Collision) Match Review
In the grand scheme of things, this is really quite simple. Dax Harwood is on the road to Anarchy in the Arena and before that, a Continental Title tilt with Kazuchika Okada this coming Wednesday. This is a rare singles win to position him for those headline bouts, earning “momentum” as it’s known in the wrestling television game. Better yet, Harwood’s opponent is a newcomer with a remarkably familiar face, giving this a little extra punch than your usual star singles win graphic.
The Set Plays and Concepts Fuelling the Utah Jazz Resurgence
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Perusing the Minefield: A Story of OCD and Stigma
My names Joe. I’m 28 years old and from Bristol in England. I have OCD. I had a pretty normal childhood, living in East Setauket, New York between 2008 and 2012 before moving back to England for the cheaper tuition fees. I have written about my past in other articles I’ve written, but that isn’t the intent here. I just thought it was important to know that I had a normal, healthy and even privileged upbringing. This is important because of what I’m about to write about.
Rick Plays the Hits: The Concepts Fueling the Indiana Pacers' Leading Offense
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Texas Death Masterpiece, In-Ring Returns & TV Projects | Hulbert’s Weekly Match Guide 11/21
With respect to the other six matches featured in this Guide, just one bout was required to make it a pretty special wrestling week. AEW’s Full Gear PPV only hosted one truly great match in my view, it just happened to be one of the greatest outings in promotional history. That’s the focus here but it’s not all as elsewhere, Chris Hero returns to the ring while Ronda Rousey continues her emerging independent wrestling campaign, stopping through REVOLVER on the way to ROH.
Chris Jericho & Eddie Guerrero vs. The Faces of Fear (WCW Monday Nitro) Match Review
It’s February 24th 1997, and World Championship Wrestling are in Sacramento, California. It’s a special time for WCW, still very much riding the wave of their nWo angle from the prior summer. While that packs the houses though, Nitro is increasingly reliant on the cruiserweights, providing their programme with weekly world class action. Two of those names are Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero, teaming up here as white-meat babyfaces.
Inside Wes Unseld Jr.'s Creative Playbook
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Terry Funk: Doing The Dance
Terry Funk is pro wrestling. Among Funk admirers, that’s a common sentiment, the simplest way to embody what he’s meant to our differing fandoms. This evening, news broke that Funk had passed away and though after recent reports, I wasn’t stunned, my emotions quickly unravelled. It wasn’t the news that shocked me, it was that sudden finality that we’re never quite prepared for.
Breaking Down The Most Interesting First Round Series: Cavs vs. Knicks
Cleveland Cavaliers versus New York Knicks Season Preview Part One: Strategies of the Cavaliers Offense and New York Knicks Defense The upcoming series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks is projected to be one of the closer ones. In this series, I do schematic deep dives on either team, and explore the hypothetical questions that I believe to be the key points of interest for the opponents.
Jamie Hayter vs. Toni Storm (AEW Full Gear) Match Review
After a relatively encouraging few months for the AEW women’s division, Full Gear represented a potential turning point. Improvements had been gradual and frankly, long overdue but with three promoted matches on the PPV card, there was an opportunity to make a major statement. In that sense, the AEW Women’s World Title tilt felt pivotal, a genuine candidate to steal the whole show.
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Dax Harwood (AEW Rampage) Match Review
While hardly mirror images of one another, Claudio Castagnoli and Dax Harwood are very much cut from the same cloth. The pair of tag team specialists represent a resurgent genre of the modern wrestling landscape, blending traditional fundamentals with today’s innovation and zeal. ‘Throwback’ feels like a lazy term at the best of times but especially when describing Castagnoli, a wrestler armed with some of the industry’s most dynamic offence.
FTR vs. The Briscoes (Death Before Dishonor) Match Review
Sometimes, the wrestling world’s stars align, allowing for the perfect matchup in the right place at the right time. In fact, that happened in April, as FTR and The Briscoes produced an instant classic at ROH Supercard of Honor. Now almost four months later, things were slightly different. This time, these two teams weren’t armed with an electric crowd, nor were they riding the wave of constant Twitter trash talk.
The Blackpool Combat Club vs. Jericho Appreciation Society (Blood & Guts) Match Review
The sequel to an instant classic in Double or Nothing’s Anarchy in the Arena, Wednesday’s Blood & Guts match always had a tough act to follow. However, I think the general response, both live and in nerdy bubbles such as this one, suggests that all involved can be pretty pleased with their night’s work. Blood & Guts 2 was a critical and commercial success, but admittedly fell slightly short of my personal expectations on first watch.
The Sudden, Surreal Return of Samoa Joe
Though it increasingly feels like a distant memory, Samoa Joe’s AEW debut wasn’t even two months ago. Arriving at the conclusion of Tony Khan’s first event as ROH owner, Joe was in action at the very next Dynamite. It’s easy to forget now but in the months following his WWE release, there was understandable doubt surrounding Joe’s potential place in All Elite Wrestling. Joe’s battle with injuries had begun to dominate his story, increasingly showing the effects of a gruelling career.
The Eddie Kingston Experience
You know, I’ve been thinking about Eddie Kingston a lot as of late. In fairness, who hasn’t? After all, Kingston produced another PPV thriller on Sunday night, arguably stealing the show alongside Chris Jericho. In fact, Kingston even went one step further this time, finally winning “the big one” and in theory at least, entering a new chapter of his already spectacular AEW stint.
Barnett’s Battle, Pope’s Promo | Best of the Rest #6
MLW Fusion is back, the NWA Title has a new era ahead and NJoA’s New Beginning has begun. In addition, IMPACT’s No Surrender event is fast ahead so depending on your perspective, things are heating up, or whatever. Before we get started, I wanted to quickly apologise for the delay on this week’s edition. Unfortunately, my hands were tied by the biggest wrestling story in recent memory, as Buddy Matthews reportedly began his road to All Elite Wrestling. Also, Cody left or something like that.
Evaluating The Wrestling World In 2022 | The Distraction on Fightful 1/13/22
Jeremy Lambert and Joe Hulbert look at the wrestling landscape in 2022 and what we want from each company.
AEW Dynamite Preview, CM Punk, Wardlow, Corey Graves | Distraction on Fightful
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Reimagining Ring Of Honor | Distraction on Fightful
Jeremy Lambert, Joe Hulbert, and Stephen Jensen discuss the return of Ring of Honor and what the reimagined ROH could look like.
AEW Battle Of The Belts And IMPACT Hard To Kill Reviews | Distraction on Fightful
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WWE Day 1 Review | Distraction on Fightful
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AEW New Year's Smash Preview, Toni Storm Gone From WWE | Distraction on Fightful
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We're Going To Talk About Bret Hart For An Hour | Distraction on Fightful
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ROH Final Battle 2021 And Final Thoughts | Distraction ROH Rewind
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Taylor Swift Birthday, Zion Williamson, UFC 269, NO WRESTLING | Distraction on Fightful
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AEW And WWE Q&A, The GOAT Josh Giddey, Young Bucks | Distraction Post-Show
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CM Punk vs. Lee Moriarty, Cody Returns To Atlanta, AEW Dynamite | Distraction on Fightful
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WWE Survivor Series Preview, The Bulls Suck | Distraction on Fightful Post-Show
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Hangman Page Celebration, Ric Flair Podcast | Distraction Dynamite Pre-Show
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CM Punk vs. Raven, Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles (ROH 2003) | Distraction ROH Wrestling Rewind
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AEW, WWE, Wrestling Q&A, NBA Talk | Distraction Post-Show On Fightful
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WWE Live Events Results From Brighton, England (11/3): Big E Takes On Bobby Lashley
Jeremy Lambert & Joe Hulbert Nov 3, 2021 7:12PM WWE held a live event on November 3 from The Brighton Centre in Brighton, England. Full results (courtesy of Joseph Hulbert) and highlights are below. Related Article AEW Dynamite Results For 11/3/21 Cody Rhodes vs Andrade El Idolo, Orange Cassidy vs Mystery Opponent WWE Live Events Results From Brighton, England (11/3) - WWE United States Championship: Damian Priest (c) def. Kevin Owens, Finn Balor and Seth Rollins - Austin Theory def.
Eddie Kingston: The Unwanted Moral Victory
Now more than ever, great matches aren’t uncommon, especially in AEW. Even with those increasingly high standards though, outliers remain. They may not be unanimous examples of course, as taste will vary but regardless, I think we all have an internal playlist that fits the description. For whatever reason, there will always be matches that hit you a little harder, stories that strike a step deeper. It doesn’t have to be one genre or style either, that’s the beauty of this nonsense in truth.
WWE UK Tour, AEW Rampage Preview, Q&A | Distraction on Fightful Post-Show
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AEW Dynamite Preview, Bobby Fish WILL BEAT CM Punk, ROH News | The Distraction On Fightful
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