Who won the british gold medal at the olyimpics 2010
British TV: Nation Shall Speak Peace Unto Nation
2010.08.03 04:53 Raerth British TV: Nation Shall Speak Peace Unto Nation
News, articles and discussions regarding British TV shows, film and stand-up.
2006.02.19 09:02 Citius, Altius, Fortius
Welcome to the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad
2013.10.02 02:41 Antrikshy Little humans falling over, for your joy
it's hilarious to see little humans topple over. What more can we say?
2024.05.28 21:53 mpschettig Rapper Championship Belt
Idk how many hip hop fans are in the Bill Simmons subreddit but where the fuck else can I post something this niche
So I love the championship belt gimmick Bill does and after he did it with basketball players I started thinking about how it applies to my other interests, one of which is rap music. So here's my championship belt history. Starting with my criteria, these are in order they're all important.
1982-83: Melle Mel - I'm starting in 1982 because that's when I start to care enough about hip hop music to make this list. I respect the pioneers like Kool Moe Dee but for my relationship with the music it starts with one song. From the moment Melle Mel said "A child is born with no state of mind" in the 5th verse of The Message hip hop changed forever. He gets my inaugural title belt for that song which is still arguably the best rap song ever made 42 years later
1984-86: Run - Run-DMC became the first rap act to go Gold in 1984. Then in 85 they were the first to go Platinum. Then in 86 they were the first to go Double Platinum. All 3 albums were critically acclaimed and they had a top 5 hit as the exclamation point. Run gets the belt as the better MC of the two but he had help.
1987: Rakim - He drops Paid in Full, its amazing, his rhymes push the art form forward in leaps and bounds.
1988-1992: Ice Cube - Taking the belt off Rakim this early might be controversial and not giving it to Big Daddy Kane at that but NWA changed the game with Straight Outta Compton in 1988 and Ice Cube is the driving force behind that. Not only was he the best rapper in the group he also wrote the lyrics for Eazy E and Dr Dre when he would jump on the mic. Then be releases a solo album every year from 1990-93 with the first 3 being amazing culminating with his first breakthrough hits in Check Your Self and It Was a Good Day. All time run from a man who is mostly known to the kids today as Kevin Hart's sidekick.
1993: Snoop Doggy Dogg - You could argue his run started in 1992 with his contributions to The Chronic but I don't think he takes the belt off Cube until 1993 with his solo debut Doggystyle. Unfortunately Snoop couldn't keep it up for long.
1994: The Notorious BIG - Ready to Die and Illmatic are both masterpieces and I actually consider Nas to be a better rapper than Biggie but Biggie is the NY icon of the times and grabs the belt
1995-96: Tupac - I prefer Biggie to Tupac but he can't hold the belt in 95 and 96 without dropping an album when Tupac drops Me Against the World, All Eyez on Me, and The Don Killuminati (posthumously) and on top of that BODIES Biggie on Hit Em Up
1997: The Notorious BIG - Biggie was murdered just 3 months into this year but still owned it with Life After Death and his contributions to No Way Out which both came out posthumously.
1998: VACANT - There's a few guys with valid title claims in 1998. Andre 3000 just dropped OutKast's best album yet, DMX had two Platinum albums in 1998, Jay Z had his most commercially successful album. However I feel like leaving the title fallow for a year after the murders of Tupac and Biggie Smalls is the right thing to do.
1999-2003: Eminem - Maybe the easiest title reign to define. He dropped 3 critically acclaimed albums, became the best selling rapper ever, out rapped several icons on features, and destroyed the career of Ja Rule and the credibility of The Source magazine in two high profile feuds. And then.......
2004: VACANT - The belt is vacant this year because no one took it from Eminem he dropped it by putting out Encore, the most worthless piece of shit album ever made by a great musician, and then disappeared for 5 years to fight his addiction. He regained his form somewhat with Recovery and the MMLP2 but never the belt.
2005-09: Lil Wayne - What a fucking run. Tha Carter II is his best album and was a massive step up in quality for him and then he has his legendary mixtape run, Tha Carter III, and a million features. Then in 2010 he releases a shitty rock-rap album and goes to jail. He's regained some of his firm musically since then but never again wore the belt.
2010-11: Kanye West - MBDTF is his best album and then in 2011 he follows it up with Watch the Throne (with Jay Z) and is truly at his best. This is like the Bad Boy Pistons winning 2 titles while surrounded by absolute fucking dynasties (yes Eminem is obviously the 80s Celtics in this analogy)
2012-17: Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, m.A.A.d City was his major label debut and immediately it was clear this guy had next. He tests the limits of how often a rapper can drop while keeping the belt in this run with TPAB in 2015 and DAMN in 2017 but they're so fucking good he gets away with it, punctuated with winning a fucking Pulitzer for DAMN. Belt slips away because he doesn't drop for 5 years after DAMN.
2018-23: Drake - His creative peak was 2011-15 but Drake doesn't get the belt until 2018 when Kendrick disappears for 5 years. Full disclosure I'm not a fan of Drake's music but I can't argue with what he's done as a star. 2018 is a good starting point because that's the year of his first number 1 hit as a lead artist.
2024-Present: Kendrick Lamar - Kendrick grabbed the belt back in dominant fashion by demolishing Drake in their feud while also proving that he's capable of making music that can debut at number 1 when he wants to, he just only wants to when he's calling Drake a pedophile. We'll see where he goes from here, if we get his 6th album soon or if he goes back into hibernation.
I know this post is stupid long but I covered 42 years of music history lol. Let me know if you have any disagreements I know some of the biggest and best rappers ever didn't get their hands on the belt in my list but there can only be one at a time.
EDIT: I think people have convinced me through the volume of pushback that DMX rightfully won the belt in 1998 and that 50 Cent had it in 2003-04 with Get Rich or Die Tryin' but I'd still say Weezy grabbed it in 2005 bc The Massacre was not good ("You ain't get shot again yet so what's your second album about" - Jadakiss)
submitted by mpschettig to billsimmons [link] [comments]
So I love the championship belt gimmick Bill does and after he did it with basketball players I started thinking about how it applies to my other interests, one of which is rap music. So here's my championship belt history. Starting with my criteria, these are in order they're all important.
- Commercial success: This isn't a list of my favorite rappers by year or the best rappers by year. In order to grab the belt you need to be big. Not necessarily the biggest but definitely a star.
- Critical success: Your music can't just be popular it has to be good. MC Hammer doesn't get a title reign, neither does Vanilla Ice, etc
- Prolificness: You don't need to drop on album every year but you can't take 5 years off and hold the title the whole time
- Feuds: Not every great rapper has a high profile beef and they don't need to but if you body another rapper in a feud it's a feather in your cap
1982-83: Melle Mel - I'm starting in 1982 because that's when I start to care enough about hip hop music to make this list. I respect the pioneers like Kool Moe Dee but for my relationship with the music it starts with one song. From the moment Melle Mel said "A child is born with no state of mind" in the 5th verse of The Message hip hop changed forever. He gets my inaugural title belt for that song which is still arguably the best rap song ever made 42 years later
1984-86: Run - Run-DMC became the first rap act to go Gold in 1984. Then in 85 they were the first to go Platinum. Then in 86 they were the first to go Double Platinum. All 3 albums were critically acclaimed and they had a top 5 hit as the exclamation point. Run gets the belt as the better MC of the two but he had help.
1987: Rakim - He drops Paid in Full, its amazing, his rhymes push the art form forward in leaps and bounds.
1988-1992: Ice Cube - Taking the belt off Rakim this early might be controversial and not giving it to Big Daddy Kane at that but NWA changed the game with Straight Outta Compton in 1988 and Ice Cube is the driving force behind that. Not only was he the best rapper in the group he also wrote the lyrics for Eazy E and Dr Dre when he would jump on the mic. Then be releases a solo album every year from 1990-93 with the first 3 being amazing culminating with his first breakthrough hits in Check Your Self and It Was a Good Day. All time run from a man who is mostly known to the kids today as Kevin Hart's sidekick.
1993: Snoop Doggy Dogg - You could argue his run started in 1992 with his contributions to The Chronic but I don't think he takes the belt off Cube until 1993 with his solo debut Doggystyle. Unfortunately Snoop couldn't keep it up for long.
1994: The Notorious BIG - Ready to Die and Illmatic are both masterpieces and I actually consider Nas to be a better rapper than Biggie but Biggie is the NY icon of the times and grabs the belt
1995-96: Tupac - I prefer Biggie to Tupac but he can't hold the belt in 95 and 96 without dropping an album when Tupac drops Me Against the World, All Eyez on Me, and The Don Killuminati (posthumously) and on top of that BODIES Biggie on Hit Em Up
1997: The Notorious BIG - Biggie was murdered just 3 months into this year but still owned it with Life After Death and his contributions to No Way Out which both came out posthumously.
1998: VACANT - There's a few guys with valid title claims in 1998. Andre 3000 just dropped OutKast's best album yet, DMX had two Platinum albums in 1998, Jay Z had his most commercially successful album. However I feel like leaving the title fallow for a year after the murders of Tupac and Biggie Smalls is the right thing to do.
1999-2003: Eminem - Maybe the easiest title reign to define. He dropped 3 critically acclaimed albums, became the best selling rapper ever, out rapped several icons on features, and destroyed the career of Ja Rule and the credibility of The Source magazine in two high profile feuds. And then.......
2004: VACANT - The belt is vacant this year because no one took it from Eminem he dropped it by putting out Encore, the most worthless piece of shit album ever made by a great musician, and then disappeared for 5 years to fight his addiction. He regained his form somewhat with Recovery and the MMLP2 but never the belt.
2005-09: Lil Wayne - What a fucking run. Tha Carter II is his best album and was a massive step up in quality for him and then he has his legendary mixtape run, Tha Carter III, and a million features. Then in 2010 he releases a shitty rock-rap album and goes to jail. He's regained some of his firm musically since then but never again wore the belt.
2010-11: Kanye West - MBDTF is his best album and then in 2011 he follows it up with Watch the Throne (with Jay Z) and is truly at his best. This is like the Bad Boy Pistons winning 2 titles while surrounded by absolute fucking dynasties (yes Eminem is obviously the 80s Celtics in this analogy)
2012-17: Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, m.A.A.d City was his major label debut and immediately it was clear this guy had next. He tests the limits of how often a rapper can drop while keeping the belt in this run with TPAB in 2015 and DAMN in 2017 but they're so fucking good he gets away with it, punctuated with winning a fucking Pulitzer for DAMN. Belt slips away because he doesn't drop for 5 years after DAMN.
2018-23: Drake - His creative peak was 2011-15 but Drake doesn't get the belt until 2018 when Kendrick disappears for 5 years. Full disclosure I'm not a fan of Drake's music but I can't argue with what he's done as a star. 2018 is a good starting point because that's the year of his first number 1 hit as a lead artist.
2024-Present: Kendrick Lamar - Kendrick grabbed the belt back in dominant fashion by demolishing Drake in their feud while also proving that he's capable of making music that can debut at number 1 when he wants to, he just only wants to when he's calling Drake a pedophile. We'll see where he goes from here, if we get his 6th album soon or if he goes back into hibernation.
I know this post is stupid long but I covered 42 years of music history lol. Let me know if you have any disagreements I know some of the biggest and best rappers ever didn't get their hands on the belt in my list but there can only be one at a time.
EDIT: I think people have convinced me through the volume of pushback that DMX rightfully won the belt in 1998 and that 50 Cent had it in 2003-04 with Get Rich or Die Tryin' but I'd still say Weezy grabbed it in 2005 bc The Massacre was not good ("You ain't get shot again yet so what's your second album about" - Jadakiss)
2024.05.28 21:46 SeasonNo3107 Every reference in we didn't start the fire!
i love this song but i was like, who the hell is shinzo abe? So I popped the lyrics in chatgpt and here's a lil breakdown for yall :)
submitted by SeasonNo3107 to FallOutBoy [link] [comments]
- Captain Planet: An animated environmental superhero TV series from the 1990s.
- Arab Spring: A series of pro-democracy uprisings across the Arab world starting in 2010.
- L.A. riots: Violent protests in Los Angeles in 1992 following the acquittal of police officers filmed beating Rodney King.
- Rodney King: An African American man whose beating by LAPD officers in 1991 was videotaped and widely broadcast.
- Deep fakes: AI-generated fake videos that can depict people doing or saying things they never did.
- Earthquakes: Natural disasters caused by the movement of Earth's tectonic plates.
- Iceland volcano: Refers to the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010, which disrupted air travel across Europe.
- Oklahoma City bomb: A domestic terrorist truck bombing on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995.
- Kurt Cobain: The lead singer of Nirvana who died by suicide in 1994.
- Pokémon: A media franchise created by Nintendo, featuring video games, trading cards, and an animated series.
- Tiger Woods: A professional golfer who became famous in the late 1990s and faced personal scandal in the 2000s.
- MySpace: A popular social networking site in the early 2000s.
- Monsanto, GMOs: Monsanto is a company known for producing genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
- Harry Potter: A globally popular book series by J.K. Rowling about a young wizard.
- Twilight: A book and film series about vampires and werewolves by Stephenie Meyer.
- Michael Jackson dies: The pop star Michael Jackson died in 2009.
- Nuclear accident, Fukushima, Japan: The 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima following a major earthquake and tsunami.
- Crimean Peninsula: The region annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014.
- Cambridge Analytica: A data firm involved in a major Facebook data scandal during the 2016 US elections.
- Kim Jong Un: The Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011.
- Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man: Actor Robert Downey Jr. revitalized his career by playing Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- More war in Afghanistan: Refers to the prolonged conflict in Afghanistan that began in 2001.
- Cubs go all the way again: The Chicago Cubs winning the World Series in 2016 after a 108-year drought.
- Obama: Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017.
- Spielberg: Steven Spielberg, a renowned filmmaker.
- Explosion, Lebanon: Refers to the massive explosion in Beirut in 2020.
- Unabomber: Ted Kaczynski, who conducted a nationwide bombing campaign in the US.
- Bobbitt, John: John Bobbitt was famously assaulted by his wife Lorena in 1993.
- Bombing Boston Marathon: The terrorist bombing at the 2013 Boston Marathon.
- Balloon Boy: A 2009 hoax where parents claimed their son was trapped in a runaway balloon.
- War on Terror: The international military campaign launched by the US after 9/11.
- QAnon: A conspiracy theory alleging a secret plot against President Trump.
- Trump gets impeached twice: Donald Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives in 2019 and 2021.
- Polar bears got no ice: Refers to the melting ice caps affecting polar bear habitats.
- Fyre Fest: A fraudulent luxury music festival in 2017.
- Black Parade: Refers to the album by the band My Chemical Romance.
- Michael Phelps: An Olympic swimmer known for winning 23 gold medals.
- Y2K: The Year 2000 problem, a computer bug related to the formatting of calendar data.
- Boris Johnson: The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- Brexit: The United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union.
- Kanye West and Taylor Swift: Refers to Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift's VMA acceptance speech in 2009.
- Stranger Things: A popular science fiction TV series on Netflix.
- Tiger King: A true crime documentary series about exotic animal owner Joe Exotic.
- Ever Given, Suez: The container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in 2021.
- Sandy Hook: The 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
- Columbine: The 1999 school shooting in Columbine, Colorado.
- Sandra Bland and Tamir Rice: Both African Americans whose deaths sparked nationwide protests.
- ISIS: The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a terrorist organization.
- LeBron James: A professional basketball player widely regarded as one of the greatest.
- Shinzo Abe blown away: Refers to the assassination of Japan's former Prime Minister in 2022.
- Meghan Markle: An actress who married Prince Harry and became the Duchess of Sussex.
- George Floyd: His death in police custody in 2020 sparked worldwide protests against police brutality.
- Burj Khalifa: The tallest building in the world, located in Dubai.
- Metroid: A popular video game series by Nintendo.
- Fermi paradox: The apparent contradiction between the lack of evidence for extraterrestrial civilizations and various high estimates for their probability.
- Venus and Serena: Venus and Serena Williams, famous tennis players.
- Michael Jordan, 23: Refers to Michael Jordan, a legendary basketball player who wore the number 23.
- YouTube killed MTV: The rise of YouTube led to the decline of music television (MTV).
- SpongeBob: An iconic animated TV show.
- Golden State Killer got caught: Refers to the arrest of the Golden State Killer in 2018.
- Michael Jordan, 45: Refers to Jordan's brief return to basketball wearing the number 45.
- Woodstock '99: A music festival that ended in riots and fires.
- Keaton, Batman: Michael Keaton, who played Batman in the 1989 film.
- Bush v. Gore: The controversial 2000 US presidential election.
- Elon Musk: Entrepreneur known for SpaceX, Tesla, and other ventures.
- Kaepernick: Colin Kaepernick, who protested police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem.
- Texas failed electric grid: The power grid failure in Texas during a 2021 winter storm.
- Jeff Bezos: Founder of Amazon and a prominent billionaire.
- Climate change: The ongoing global issue of climate alteration due to human activities.
- White rhino goes extinct: The Northern White Rhino was declared functionally extinct.
- Great Pacific Garbage Patch: A massive area of marine debris in the Pacific Ocean.
- Tom DeLonge and aliens: Former Blink-182 member known for his interest in UFOs.
- Mars rover: NASA's robotic vehicles exploring Mars.
- Avatar: James Cameron's 2009 blockbuster film.
- Self-driving electric cars: Autonomous vehicles powered by electricity.
- SSRI's: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, a type of antidepressant.
- Prince and The Queen die: Refers to the deaths of musician Prince and Queen Elizabeth II.
- World trade, second plane: Refers to the 9/11 attacks when the second plane hit the World Trade Center.
2024.05.28 21:07 SpiralSour FBNXT, Booking An Attitude/RA Star In The Modern Day - Part 2: MACHINE
AEW Collision, Mar 1, 2025:
Kurt Angle's TNT Championship Open Challenge
[Kurt Angle decides that to celebrate his Title win, he will be giving one unlucky soul a chance to be battered, broken, and rendered unable to keep competing. Whoever accepts this challenge is in store for a career ending slaughter, where Doc Samson will force them to retire.
Kurt waits in intense arrogance before a series of tranquil chords hit in quick succession, a sinister appetizer for what's to come, the words KATSUYORI SHIBATA fill the screen, and The Wrestler himself stomps to the ring.
Shibata - Angle, face to face.
Commentary is keen to mention Shibata is one person who definitely wouldn't feel any fear in the face of a threat like that.
"Katsuyori Shibata, well this is better than I imagined it would be. Now I get to finish what God couldn't and retire you for good."
And with those words, a declaration of war has been written and signed.
Shibata is able to match Angle for grappling early, keeping Kurt guessing with a series of holds. He gets hold of Kurt's arm at one point and is able to do some fair damage with an armbar. Kurt gets frustrated with Shibata who smiles at Kurt after avoiding his umpteenth submission attempt.
Angle slaps Shibata across the face, Shibata's head goes down, his eyes go cold. He throws a boot that rocks Angle in the face, Kurt goes to the corner where Shibata meets him with repeated forearms to the mouth. Shibata runs to the opposite corner, Angle meets him there with a charging shoulder thrust to the ribs.
Angle to the opposite corner, Shibata meets him with a pump kick, Shibata to the opposite corner, Angle charges in for a rolling axe kick, Shibata moves, Angle hits the turnbuckles, Angle upside down in the corner, Shibata to the other side of the ring, Katsuyori takes a moment to compose himself, focusing his energy before charging in for a corner dropkick crushing Angle into the turnbuckles.
Shibata pulls Angle up and gets a stiff forearm, Angle returns but his dominant arm is weak from the early attack by Shibata. The two begin to trade forearms, Shibata always seeming to strike quite a bit harder.
Angle gets a flurry of right and left forearms backing Shibata up, Angle runs the ropes and Shibata gets a spin kick to the midsection before kicking at the back of Angle's knee. Shibata begins to target the not fully healed knee of Kurt now, locking figure fours and bow and arrow submissions.
Angle is reeling on the ropes after the onslaught, Shibata runs the ropes and looks for a big boot to send Angle out, Angle catches the leg, hooks around the neck and suplexes Shibata to the floor. Angle dives off the apron crushing Shibata at ringside before hitting a belly to belly suplex into the barricade.
Angle shoves Shibata back in and attempts a Moonsault, Katsuyori avoids and Angle backs into the corner where Shibata gets a big boot. He grabs Angle by the back of his neck, sprinting to the opposite side of the ring and connecting with another big boot once he plants Angle there.
He grips Angle by the back of his neck and gets sixteen forearms to the ear and jaw area, he gets a running start to the other corner before circling back with another corner dropkick.
Angle rolls to the apron to create distance and Shibata follows him there. A flurry of forearms connect yet again before Shibata backs up and gets a running dropkick to the downed Angle against the steel post!
Shibata sends Kurt back in and gets a two count, Angle pulls himself up on the ropes and Shibata looks for a German, Angle grips onto the ropes for dear life, Shibata lands a straight axe kick to the targeted arm and Angle recoils, Shibata runs the ropes and Kurt gets a rolling axe kick. Angle looks into the camera, beads of sweat running down, a frenzied look in the face, black mouth-piece in.
He grabs Shibata up and gets a big belly to belly, he's on all fours at this point, stalking, waiting for his next opening. German Suplex, yet again, completes the trio by throwing Shibata onto his head. Shibata clutches at his neck, but Kurt won't stop. Fallaway Slam by Angle, bodyslam by Angle. Kurt climbs and lands a moonsault to the upper body and face of Shibata, crushing his skull against the canvas.
Shibata is able to answer the count, so Angle stalks a dazed Shibata. Angle Slam, Katsuyori on his feet, STO by Shibata. As Angle recovers from the STO, Shibata is able to get some breathing room from the series of throws he took. Both men get to their knees, head to head, eye to eye. They begin exchanging forearms once more, but this time Angle has a more even playing field due to the headache beginning to start for Shibata.
Angle begins mixing in uppercuts with his forearms, Shibata catches him on one of these with a backslide, Angle kicks out and Shibata greets him with a chop across the neck, spinning backfist, a trio of forearms. Angle stops reacting, and stares up at Shibata, he lets out a shout and Shibata goes for a fourth forearm. Angle ducks and pushes Shibata into the corner before dragging him out with a Rolling German Suplex planting Shibata on his head.
Shibata on his hands and knees, trying to catch his bearings and make sense of the fog in his vision. Kurt climbs and gets a picture perfect moonsault to the kneeling Shibata. Katsuyori barely gets the shoulder up, Angle stares in disbelief at the ref, leaving himself still pinned over Shibata.
Shibata latches onto the arm getting a Kimura applied on the wounded Angle. Angle writhes until he finally grasps the bottom rope to force separation. Shibata drags Angle into the center of the ring. He tees off on the shoulder blade with kicks, he slaps Angle in the back of the skull sending a cloud of perspiration flying.
Shibata calmly crosses his legs, sitting down across from the crawling Angle. Angle gets to his knees, the two begin chopping each other in the face. Shibata gets a knife edge chop to the ear of Angle, and Kurt gets enraged. He stands up and begins another forearm exchange with Shibata. Angle wins this time backing Shibata into the corner, repeated shoulder thrusts to the ribs follow, Shibata taking a seat.
Angle with a corner running dropkick of his own! Angle goes for it again, Shibata rises and looks for a pump kick, Angle catches him, hugs Shibata in and gets a fallaway belly to belly. Angle beckons Katsuyori up and runs the ropes, Shibata stops him with a leg lariat.
Angle crawls into the corner and Shibata starts repeatedly stepping on his head. Angle tries to crawl out of the ring, but gets paintbrushed with the boot of Shibata. He drowns Angle with scrapes of his boot, stomps and kicks. The referee eventually backs up Shibata.
Shibata brings Angle out of the corner with a snapmare takedown followed by a soccer kick to the spine. He runs the ropes for a penalty kick, which Kurt catches and turns into an Ankle Lock, with the leg trapped he pulls Shibata into a German Suplex.
Shibata on his hands and knees, Angle begins a waistlock and tries to bear hug Shibata on the canvas, Shibata crosses his legs in this position. Angle rolls Shibata, but he lands crossed legged again. This continues until Angle gets frustrated, Shibata begins elbowing Angle in the side of the face and Kurt releases his grip. He runs the ropes and Shibata gets him with a big boot followed by a German Suplex of his own.
Angle pops up and Shibata turns around into a rolling axe kick, Shibata doesn't fall, pump kick by Shibata. Shibata from the corner to a stunned Angle, big boot, Angle avoids, German Suplex by Kurt. He maintains waist control and pulls Shibata up, Shibata begins elbowing Angle to force release. Angle grips the wrist to prevent Shibata from creating distance.
Shibata kicks him in his bad arm, and Angle lets go. He oblique kicks him in his knee before kicking away at the head of Angle. Angle desperately headbutts Shibata in the chest, igniting something in Katsuyori. Shibata turns around, takes a deep breath, turns to Angle and refuses to do what he desperately wants to, thinking of his health.
He forearms Angle down to the mat and gets an octopus hold applied, Angle scrambles to the ropes, fighting out. Penalty Kick by Shibata. Angle kicks out and Shibata locks a sleeper. A focused trance look on the face of Katsuyori as he strangles Angle.
Kurt grips the ropes to force the break, Shibata clubs the arms away, grips back on, sleeper suplex. Shibata with a spinning backfist, Angle catches the wrist, he grips the other wrist, backslide, Shibata rolls through, clothesline by Angle, ducked, Shibata ties him up in position. He spins Angle out, he readies his hand, he connects.
BitchMaker to Angle.
Kurt collapses and Shibata takes his time to catch his breath and focus up, all that focus goes into repeated, poised strikes to the shoulder, underarm and elbow of the damaged Angle. Angle grips onto the wrist to try and drag his way up, Shibata kicks his grip away. Shibata goes to run the ropes, but Angle grips onto the wrist again, avoids a clothesline attempt, traps both arms. Straight-Jacket Suplex on Shibata.
All of the weight coming down on his head and neck. Angle pulls up Shibata, German Suplex #1, Shibata begins elbowing Angle in the ear, German Suplex #2, Shibata still driving his elbow into the ear of Angle, Release German Suplex. Shibata lays motionless, blood begins trickling out of the ear of Angle, physical evidence of the desperation Shibata felt.
Angle brushes off the doctor's attempts to check on him, Kurt with an Angle Slam, but Shibata digging into the wound on the ear, Angle loses his balance, Shibata on his feet. Shibata hooks on from behind, trapping Angle's arm.
するか死ぬか
He spins Angle out, rainmaker style and closes the gap with a sickening headbutt to Kurt. Kurt collapses, but so does Shibata. He lays exhausted, head throbbing. Finally after over a minute, he musters the strength to crawl to the cover.
One, Two, Kurt kicks out. Kurt rises before Shibata who is kneeling, clutching his head. Angle pulls him up for a German, but Shibata refuses to go, clutching the back of his head and shaking his head. It's not an act of defiance or resilience, this is a man trying to stay alive.
Angle, despite having animalistic tendencies, has respect for Shibata after tonight and he shows mercy. He sends Shibata into the ropes chest first and when Katsuyori rebounds, he's caught with an Angle Slam. A cover by Kurt over the defenseless Shibata leads to one simple phrase, but one that intensifies the fullness in Shibata's head.
'And Still.']
Kurt Angle (c) def Katsuyori Shibata to retain the TNT Championship
AEW Big Business Dynamite, Mar 19, 2025:
Kota Ibushi vs Kurt Angle (c), TNT Championship
[Shortly after defeating Shibata in the hardest hitting match of Angle's career, he begins to lash out at the company that gave him his first big break. New Japan.
He states that he can work circles around any NJPW darling that think they're special because they had a few flashy matches in a company nobody watches.
This summons Kota Ibushi, vignettes have been airing teasing his return, but he finally appears coming face to face with Angle. The following week is Big Business and the bout is on.
Ibushi's fluid striking is able to pause Angle, Kurt attempts to make up for the strike deficit with suplexes, but Kota is incredibly spry and able to land safely on most everything Angle throws at him.
Ibushi with a series of strikes ending in a roundhouse, Angle ducks, German Suplex, Ibushi lands on his feet. Dropkick by Kota sends Kurt to the floor. Ibushi with a Triangle Moonsault to ringside, leveling Kurt.
Ibushi sends Kurt back in and goes for a Last Ride, Angle escapes and lands a German Suplex to Ibushi. Kurt begins to climb the turnbuckles, but Ibushi gets up and powerbombs Kurt from the middle turnbuckle, Angle kicks out, and Ibushi flips him onto his knees for a Kamigoye!
Angle catches the knee, and gets an Ankle Lock applied. Ibushi rolls free and sends Angle into the corner. Knee blast in the corner by Kota. He runs the ropes and Angle catches him with a belly to belly over the top rope.
Kurt climbs for a Moonsault to ringside, Ibushi avoids. Ibushi charges into the ring, Triangle Moon- Angle leaps onto the apron and German Suplexes Kota on to the apron, Ibushi's neck bouncing as he cadcades to the floor.
Angle quickly gets Kota back in, and attacks the ankle, Kota struggles, half conscious. He finally makes it to the ropes and is able to get back to his feet. He unloads with palm strikes and a slap to the face of Angle. Kurt looks for a clothesline, Kota ducks and gets a Pele Kick.
Ibushi pulls Kurt up for a Phoenix-Plex, Angle lands on his feet, not allowing Kota to drive his neck into the canvas. Angle Slam connects, and with that, Kurt has vanquished another NJPW legend.]
Kurt Angle (c) def Kota Ibushi to retain the TNT Championship
[Kurt grabs a microphone and begins berating Ibushi. He says this proves it, all those New Japan darlings that these marks worship, they're old, they're broken down, and they are no match for a Wrestling Machine.
Angle looks to target Ibushi again, getting a chair in hand, when all of a sudden Battle Cry hits. Kenny Omega storms the ring, avoiding a chair shot before hitting a V-Trigger sending the chair into Angle's face. Kurt retreats as Omega helps Ibushi up and Kurt's next challenge becomes increasingly clear, arguably the greatest NJPW wrestler of all time, Kenny Omega.]
AEW Dynasty, Apr 12, 2025:
Kenny Omega vs Kurt Angle (c), TNT Championship
[In the weeks leading up to Dynasty, we get some good build for this match including Angle and Hobbs vs Golden Lovers in which Omega pinned Hobbs for his team, as well as a segment in which Kenny and Kurt come face to face.
Kenny in full Terminator gear, he tells Kurt that he's been a big fish in a small pond until now, and that he should be careful not to forget who the original wrestling machine is.
When it comes bell time, Angle quickly recognizes Omega as the most pure athlete he's faced to date. The speed, the intensity, the pressure. Omega brings all of it in his first title match since returning late last year to combat The New Elite.
Kenny comes charging for a corner clothesline, but is caught by Angle who looks for a T-Bone Suplex into the turnbuckles, Omega with a DDT reversal. Angle rolls out and Omega begins drumming up the Terminator rhythm. Tope Con Hilo clears Angle at ringside.
Omega goes to send Kurt back in, but stops on the apron, joining Kurt there. The margin for error is thin as Omega locks the arms and gets a Snap Dragon Suplex across the thinly padded steel.
Kurt's neck issues start to become apparent here as he clutches at it. Omega goes to Irish Whip Angle into the barricade, but the momentum is reversed and Kenny is sent rocketing towards it. He promptly hops onto it and executes a Moonsault from the barricade.
Angle catches him and delivers him into the steel post, face first. Kurt proceeds to climb to the middle turnbuckle and hit a Moonsault to the downed Omega at ringside. Angle sends Kenny back in and begins his repeated German Suplexes, on the third, Omega lands on his feet and boots Angle into the turnbuckles harshly, Kurt exploding against the corner.
Kenny gets Kurt up now for One Winged Angel, Kurt rolls forward into a pinfall, Kenny kicks out and Kurt comes in with a standing 450 knee drop across the surgically repaired abdomen of Omega. Kurt now focuses up and goes after the leg, applying an Ankle Lock. Omega kicks free and slips behind Angle for a Kotaro Krusher.
Angle kicks out and Omega is left gripping his ribs as he pulls Angle up. He gets Angle on his shoulders, wincing as he does so. Rolling driver followed by a Springboard Moonsault on Angle. Kenny holds his midsection before getting Kurt up in OWA position once more.
Kurt struggles so Omega shifts him to a German Suplex, but Angle rolls into a pinfall. Omega kicks out, however, and Kurt is hot on his trail. A crossbody by Kurt takes both men to the outside.
Kurt pulls Kenny up for an Angle Slam against the steel post. Omega writhes in pain as Angle lets out a dominant cry. Kurt sets Kenny up top, but Omega fights back with wristbone strikes, sending Angle to the canvas. Kurt fires up, springing to the top turnbuckle for an Avalanche Belly To Belly, he follows through, but Omega lands on his feet!
Angle didn't see it and gets up to gloat, believing the cheers are for him. Omega gets a frenzied look in the eyes and scales to the top rope. Missile Dropkick to the back of Angle's skull.
Angel crawls to the ropes, drool leaking from his lax jaw. Omega runs the ropes for a V-Trigger against the ropes. He then exits the ring breaking out a steel chair, the ref attempts to stop him but Omega brushes him off. He opens it and sets it in the center of the ring.
Step-Stool V-Trigger! Omega covers for a near fall, and goes into the corner, talking to himself and trying to figure out how to put Angle down. Kurt recovers and tries to charge in, Omega rolls off the back and attempts a rana as Kurt comes over. Kurt with an abrupt sit-out powerbomb reversal before shoving Omega out of the ring.
Angle from the apron with a Somersault Plancha. Kurt sends Omega back in and tries for the Angle Slam, Omega with an arm drag reversal before sliding behind Kurt for a Snap Dragon into the turnbuckles. Omega runs into the opposite corner and closes in with a V-Trigger against the turnbuckles.
He pulls Angle up out of the corner and sticks a Poisonrana. Angle is able to barely survive the count. Omega in disbelief takes Angle to the top, he's thinking Avalanche OWA. Angle scrambles out and lands an Avalanche Angle Slam!
Omega somehow kicks out, and Kurt is beside himself. He goes to the top rope, a rare Frog-Splash from Angle, Omega moves, Kurt kisses the mat. V-Trigger to the back of the head, Omega pulls Kurt up, One Winged Angel connects.
Omega has ended the TNT Title reign of Kurt Angle, avenged the good name of NJPW and become a Grand Slam Champion in AEW.]
Kenny Omega def Kurt Angle (c) to win the TNT Championship
Kurt disappears for a while after this, but when vignettes begin airing detailing Angle's journey back, he's spotted being coached by one man in particular. One of the greatest technical wrestlers of all time, in Dean Malenko.
AEW Double Or Nothing, May 24, 2025:
Kurt Angle w/ Dean Malenko vs PAC
[Angle's first match back takes place two weeks prior to this one when he and Hobbs take on The Lucha Brothers. A victory for Angle and Hobbs isn't enough as Kurt attacks Fénix after the bell, refusing to release the Ankle Lock. Malenko eggs him on, telling him to break Fénix's leg.
This brings out PAC, who comes to the rescue of his long time friend and stablemate. He gets in Angle's face and shows no intimidation as he backs Kurt up. With Double Or Nothing around the corner, Angle believes PAC will make for an excellent first victim on his way to the top of the food chain.
Angle focuses more on his submission work under the advice of Malenko, he targets the legs making it hard for PAC to execute his aerial maneuvers. PAC is able to trap Angle in the Rings Of Saturn late, but Angle finds his way out, and gets a grip on the ankle. Moments later, PAC is tapping out.]
Kurt Angle def PAC
AEW Fight For The Fallen, Jun 28, 2025
Kurt Angle w/ Dean Malenko vs Will Ospreay (c), AEW World Heavyweight Championship
[Following his dominant victory over PAC, Angle sets his sights on the top of the mountain and the man standing at the peak of it. Ospreay has become unanimously agreed upon as probably the best wrestler on the planet. Angle looks to disprove this theory, and take care of another NJPW castaway.
Ospreay has Angle vulnerable and closes in for Essex Destroyer, Angle reverses with a Northern Lights and rolls through scooping Ospreay up for a deadlift powerbomb. Ospreay lands a rana reversal for a two count, before looking for Os-Cutter, Angle catches him and hits a Lawn Dart, vaulting Ospreay into the middle turnbuckle.
He begins his trio of Germans, Ospreay landing on his feet from the third and getting a superkick on Kurt. An Os-Cutter follows for a near-fall. Ospreay goes to the far corner, and charges in for Hidden Blade. Angle ducks and gets his third German Suplex.
He sets up for an Angle Slam, but Ospreay snags an arm drag reversal. Vertical dropkick by Ospreay who lands on his feet, enziguri connects, Ospreay with a handspring but caught by Angle with a German.
Ospreay goes to the outside and Kurt goes up top for a Moonsault to the floor, swing and a miss and Ospreay climbs. Corkscrew Moonsault by Ospreay, he sends Angle back in. Os-Cutter catches Angle flush. Ospreay from across the ring now, Hidden Blade connects!
Three seconds later, and Angle's dreams of being a World Heavyweight Champion are dashed by the best in the world...for now.]
Will Ospreay (c) def Kurt Angle to retain the AEW World Heavyweight Championship
AEW All In, Aug 23, 2025:
Adam Copeland & Christian Cage (c) vs Kurt Angle & Powerhouse Hobbs w/ Dean Malenko, AEW Tag Team Championships
[Following a devastating loss to Ospreay, Angle refocuses his tag team efforts alongside Hobbs. With Copeland and Christian having made amends and gone on to capture the AEW Tag Team Titles, Angle and Hobbs are eager to knock the legendary tag team off the throne.
Copeland has Angle in position for a Spear after a prolonged period of control when Kurt reverses it into an inside cradle for a near fall. Angle creates distance and tags out to Hobbs who attempts to overpower the historic duo, but the tag team experience is too much for Hobbs and as he is inevitably defeated, Angle experiences yet another setback.]
Adam Copeland & Christian Cage (c) def Kurt Angle & Powerhouse Hobbs to retain the AEW Tag Team Championships
AEW All Out, Sep 6, 2025:
Bryan Danielson vs Kurt Angle w/ Dean Malenko
[Just two weeks removed from a victory over long time rival, Nigel McGuiness, Danielson is riding high and wants the most intense competition possible for All Out.
Naturally, this attracts Kurt Angle, a man who has never been submitted, yet has an incredible string of submission victories. He challenges Danielson's claims to be the best technical wrestler in the world, and promises to tap out The Dragon.
Throughout the dream contest, Angle targets and does significant damage to the knee and ankle of Bryan. Bryan attempts to apply similar limb targeting to the previously injured arm of Angle. With both men's history of neck issues, there's plenty of nasty envelope pushes in that department as well.
Bryan looks for a Busaiku Knee late when Angle catches him and gets a powerbomb reversal, he then applies a Boston Crab, squeezing the Achilles Tendon of Danielson. Bryan is able to edge to his back and roll Angle into a pin.
Kurt kicks out, and Danielson lands a roundhouse to a kneeling Angle, leaving him lamenting himself after he feels the effect on his leg. He pulls Angle up for a Dragon Suplex, but Angle breaks the grip and gets a Snapmare Takedown.
Bryan lands on his feet and begins blistering Angle with repeated kicks to the chest, wincing after every one. He finally backs up and tries for the roundhouse, but Kurt catches him in an Ankle Lock.
Kurt twists away at the squirming Danielson, who is able to turn just enough to start landing up-kicks to the bad shoulder of Angle. Danielson then gets a Triangle, pulling Angle in to the submission.
He traps the bad arm and begins striking away at the shoulder socket with elbows. Angle powers up, lifting Danielson before dumping him into the turnbuckles, crumpling Bryan into the corner.
Angle whips Bryan into the corner and he performs a Springboard Moonsault, landing on his bad ankle. Kurt slithers in and cinches an Ankle Lock in yet again. Bryan rolls out and gets a LeBell Lock applied, the bad arm of Angle angled awkwardly. Kurt makes the ropes and Bryan fires up into the corner.
He beckons Kurt up and closes the distance with a Busaiku Knee, Angle ducks, Bryan's bad knee hits the top turnbuckle! Angle Slam connects!
Kurt covers and in doing so obtains the single biggest victory of his career so far. An incredible effort from both men, and an incredible step forward for Kurt Angle.]
Kurt Angle def Bryan Danielson
AEW WrestleDream, Oct 11, 2025:
Bryan Danielson vs Kurt Angle w/ Dean Malenko vs Zack Sabre Jr., Ultimate Submission
[A victory over Bryan Danielson should have Kurt on cloud nine, but he can't help feel disappointed that he didn't deliver on his promise. He didn't tap Bryan out. He challenges Danielson, one more match, a thirty minute timer, no pinfalls, most submissions wins.
Rather than Danielson, it's NJPW's resident technical wizard, Zack Sabre Jr. who answers the call. He states that him and Angle have unfinished business. In the G1 Climax last year, Zack had Angle on the brink of submission but just as Kurt was about to give in, his body gave out and he passed out instead.
Zack has kept that goal in the back of his head since, to make the unsubmittable Kurt Angle tap out. Kurt says that he has great respect for Sabre Jr. but right now he is focused on Danielson.
Bryan enters and states a solution, a triple threat match, under Angle's proposed rules of course, to finally determine who the best technical wrestler in the world is.
Match time arrives and all three men feel the pressure in the air. Three of the most technically gifted pro wrestlers of all time engaged in a war for a chance to finally be crowned the undisputed king of tapping people out.
Twenty five minutes of pure grappling glory elapse, and despite some close calls, none of the three competitors have submitted. With five minutes remaining, all three men are volatile in their pursuit to finally get a point.
Bryan looks for a diving knee strike, when Kurt catches him and cinches an Ankle Lock. Danielson rolls forward and Zack leaps onto the shoulders of Kurt, ranas him to the canvas and locks a mounting triangle.
Bryan with a roundhouse to Zack, pulling him off of Kurt, Bryan proceeds to lock Cattle Mutilation on Sabre who kicks and struggles to survive the maneuver.
Kurt out of nowhere with a Moonsault to Danielson! The grip on Sabre Jr. released, Zack rolls out of the ring. Kurt focuses on Danielson, landing his trio of German Suplexes, Bryan on his feet during the third attempt.
Busaiku Knee, Kurt ducks just enough to catch Bryan across his shoulders. Torture Rack applied on Danielson, bending Bryan over his shoulders. Bryan shifts off the shoulders and locks a Guillotine on Angle, trying to cut off blood flow to the brain.
Angle attempts to reverse with a Northern Lights, but Bryan lands on his feet and maintains grip, forming a bridging guillotine. Zack slithers in, kicking Bryan in the knee and causing Danielson to kneel while keeping the Guillotine applied.
Zack gets a Triangle on Bryan while Bryan has a reverse Guillotine on Kurt, after a few moments, Bryan has to cut his losses with Kurt and try to escape Sabre's grip.
He inches free of the Triangle, getting grip on the legs for a Boston Crab. He tucks the legs and bridges back for a modified Muta Lock. He gives up and applies a seated Guillotine. No matter what Bryan does, Sabre fights on, less than a minute remains when Bryan locks the LeBell Lock.
He drives his knuckles into the nose of Sabre, eventually garnering color, as the crimson begins to leak into his mouth. Danielson covers the mouth and nose with his hands, seconds remain when Kurt rushes in to save the match.
Zack Sabre Jr. is drowning in his own blood.
Three, Two, Sabre Jr. taps!
With one second on the clock, Danielson forces a submission, Kurt was fingertips away from saving the match-up. Sabre Jr. is released and inhales big, gulping breathe, bile and blood leaking from his mouth. Angle gets to his feet and approaches Danielson.
A handshake follows as Bryan Danielson is acknowledged as the Ultimate Submission Master in one of the greatest displays of technical wrestling ever.]
Bryan Danielson def Kurt Angle & Zack Sabre Jr. in Ultimate Submission
What isn't made clear at the time is that this actually serves as Kurt Angle's AEW farewell. He bids farewell to Malenko, telling him to watch over Hobbs for him and vice versa with Hobbs. Less than a month later, his contract expires and he opts not to resign. Questions begin to flare up about where Kurt Angle may turn up next, rumors even begin to circulate that he may be done with professional wrestling for the foreseeable future.
Remember that thing about death and taxes?
WWE Royal Rumble, Jan 31, 2026:
[The Royal Rumble arrives, and as with any given Rumble, who knows what surprises may be in store?
The Men's Rumble match is occuring when entry number twenty-seven is about to be revealed. Medal sounds and the roof comes off of Kaseya Center as the words KURT ANGLE pan across the titantron. The Olympic Hero has arrived.
Angle racks up a couple of eliminations, tossing Johnny Gargano after a fun sequence and Shinsuke Nakamura after an exchange of strikes. Angle comes face to face with AJ Styles who engages in a staredown with The Wrestling Machine.
Before they can lock up, both men are ambushed by other participants, delaying the dream match. Kurt makes it to the final six, but runs into a brick wall when he attempts to eliminate Bron Breakker.
A back and forth of control ends with Breakker on top, landing a belly to belly over the top rope to eliminate Kurt Angle.]
SmackDown, Feb 6, 2026:
John Cena's Open Challenge
[Cena, entering the twilight of his career, goes back to his old open challenge routine, wanting to face as many young superstars as he can before he calls it a career.
His first of these challenges is answered by Kurt Angle himself, who comes face to face with the established Cena. In just his second WWE match, Angle wants to lock up with the GOAT.
Cena, perplexed and expecting a talent on the roster that he was familiar with to appear, poses a reasonable question.
"Who in the hell are you?"
'I'm Kurt Angle'
"Kurt Angle, huh? Tell me, what is the one quality that you possess that makes you think you can come out here and challenge the very best?"
Angle pauses, somehow, he knows exactly what to say.
'Ruthless Aggression.'
Angle clocks Cena and the bell rings, Angle's WWE debut and he has a chance to show that ruthless aggression against one of the most reputable names in wrestling history.
Cena starts out the contest believing Angle will be an easy foe and taking time to pander to the audience. It doesn't take long though for Kurt to gain his respect with a surprise German Suplex while Cena is standing on the middle turnbuckle.
Angle begins to unload with a variety of kick variations and suplexes, wobbling Cena. Cena avoids a Moonsault and lands a Code Red for a near fall.
He beckons Angle up for an Attitude Adjustment, and Angle shifts off the shoulders to begin his trio of German Suplexes. He bridge pins on the third and Cena muscles out.
Angle looks for an Ankle Lock, but Cena rolls free. Attitude Adjustment positioning, Angle lands on his feet. Another German Suplex connects and Angle rolls through, lifting Cena into an emphatic Angle Slam.
Cena narrowly manages to kick out. Angle sizes Cena up for one more Angle Slam, Cena escapes to his feet, Attitude Adjustment, Angle shifts into a roll-up on Cena.
Three seconds later, and Angle has defeated the 16x World Champion in his WWE debut. A shocked Cena watches as Angle takes his place as a hot commodity in WWE.]
Kurt Angle def John Cena
It's not long after this that Kurt finds himself some teammates. During a bout with Akira Tozawa and Apollo Crews of WorldWide, the team of Cedric Alexander and Damon Kemp receive some unexpected assistance from Kurt Angle.
Following the bout, Angle approaches Alexander and Kemp, shortly thereafter, forming Team Angle.
WWE WrestleMania 42 - Night 1, Apr 11, 2026:
AJ Styles vs Kurt Angle
[Ever since their unsatisfying face off at the Royal Rumble, fans and these two alike have been eager to get a proper match made. Angle wants a legacy fight for WrestleMania, another name to engrave on his record.
AJ Styles refuses to be viewed as someone to be put out to pasture and tells Angle to bring his intensity, bring his intelligence, bring his integrity and then come to terms with the fact that it still won't be enough.
Angle tries for an Angle Slam after Styles misses a Springboard 450, Styles maneuvers his way over and into Styles Clash position only for Angle to grip the ankle and turn it into an Ankle Lock.
Styles writhes and tries to make the ropes, but Angle drags him back into the center of the ring and sits down into a knee bar - ankle lock fusion forcing Styles to submit to The Wrestling Machine.]
Kurt Angle def AJ Styles
WWE Backlash, May 23, 2026:
Cody Rhodes vs Kurt Angle
[Following his massive victory over AJ Styles at WrestleMania, Angle and his posse set their sights on another established vet, Cody Rhodes.
Angle tells Rhodes that Kurt is everything Cody has claimed to be, at Backlash he'll expose Cody as a fraud and show him who the true American Nightmare is.
It's a hotly contested affair with Cody, less than a year removed from his World Title run, putting Kurt to the test. Cody is in the driver's seat when a ref bump leads Cedric and Kemp to interfere, Kemp is neutralized before Cedric inadvertently lays Angle out.
Cross Rhodes to Cedric, and another one to Kurt and Rhodes has pinned The Olympic Hero.]
Cody Rhodes def Kurt Angle
WWE King & Queen Of The Ring, Jun 27, 2026:
Damian Priest vs Kurt Angle
[Kurt enters into the King Of The Ring tournament following his loss to Rhodes, but not before kicking Cedric out of Team Angle. He's replaced by a man Angle knows well, the debuting Josh Alexander.
While Josh and Kemp pick up the tag team titles, Angle focuses in on the tournament. He is able to defeat Rey Mysterio in the first round, Dragon Lee in the second, Pete Dunne in the quarters, and Cedric in the semis.
Damian, meanwhile wins the RAW bracket and the finals are set. The Punisher vs The Wrestling Machine.
In a vein very similar to what an Angle/Undertaker match looks like, Priest muscles around Angle, only for Kurt to surprise him with his own strength. Angle works on the leg, rendering Priest's kicking ability useless and kneading him for the eventual Ankle Lock.
Damian looks for Razor's Edge, powering through the pain in his leg. As he chucks Angle, Kurt reverses with a huracanrana taking Priest off guard. Angle begins his trio of Germans, on the third attempt, Priest maneuvers free and gets a Thunder Clap on Angle.
He sets up for The Reckoning, but Angle hits a Southern Lights Suplex, sending Priest forward to the canvas. Angle gets an Angle Slam for a near-fall.
A Moonsault follows, but Priest gets a grip across the throat as Kurt comes down. He lands South Of Heaven for a close two count. Damian sizes up Kurt from across the ring.
Tornado Kick, intercepted, Kurt locks onto the ankle! Priest tries to roll out, kick Kurt away, but Angle is relentless and vice grips around the ankle, torturing Damian.
Priest eventually passes out from the pain, giving Angle a victory, albeit one he's only slightly satisfied with. Regardless of how, Kurt has won King Of The Ring and will now main event SummerSlam for the World Heavyweight Championship.]
Kurt Angle def Damian Priest
WWE Battleground, Jul 25, 2026:
Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle
[Brock, having returned in the Royal Rumble earlier in the year and announcing a retirement tour, culminating at SummerSlam in his hometown, sets his sights on Kurt Angle.
Kurt, one month away from main eventing SummerSlam, accepts Brock's challenge, dubbing him one more legend Kurt can send packing.
The match is evidently very intense with Brock showing his trademark dominance and Angle impressing with bursts of strength and out-grappling Lesnar.
Towards the climax of the match, both men begin exchanging German Suplexes. Brock eventually decides to do the continuous trio ala Kurt. Angle lands on his feet on the third attempt and rolls Brock into a deadlift German Suplex.
Kurt scales for a Moonsault, but Brock catches him in mid-air for an F-5, Kurt scrambles free and gets an Ankle Lock applied. Brock is able to fight out, applying a Kimura Lock. Kurt makes it to the ropes and Brock gets fed up.
Lesnar goes to the top turnbuckle for the first time in decades and attempts a Shooting Star Press. Kurt moves and Lesnar eats canvas, Angle immediately jumps onto the leg of Brock applying an agonizing Ankle Lock.
After minutes of Kurt's snake-like refusal to release his grip, he does what few have ever been able to do and makes The Beast tap out. After the bout, Brock shakes the hand of Kurt Angle and Kurt looks ahead to his titanic Heavyweight Title opportunity.]
Kurt Angle def Brock Lesnar
As Angle approaches war at SummerSlam, he decides that Team Angle needs an advisor. Someone that can guide them to their ultimate goal of every member holding gold. He says for three of the best technical wrestlers in the world, their advisor must be of a similar status.
He enlists none other than The Excellence Of Execution, The Hitman is in Team Angle. Bret coaches Kurt in the lead-up to SummerSlam, giving him tips and reviewing old tapes showing how he won his Titles.
CONT. In Comments
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Kurt Angle's TNT Championship Open Challenge
[Kurt Angle decides that to celebrate his Title win, he will be giving one unlucky soul a chance to be battered, broken, and rendered unable to keep competing. Whoever accepts this challenge is in store for a career ending slaughter, where Doc Samson will force them to retire.
Kurt waits in intense arrogance before a series of tranquil chords hit in quick succession, a sinister appetizer for what's to come, the words KATSUYORI SHIBATA fill the screen, and The Wrestler himself stomps to the ring.
Shibata - Angle, face to face.
Commentary is keen to mention Shibata is one person who definitely wouldn't feel any fear in the face of a threat like that.
"Katsuyori Shibata, well this is better than I imagined it would be. Now I get to finish what God couldn't and retire you for good."
And with those words, a declaration of war has been written and signed.
Shibata is able to match Angle for grappling early, keeping Kurt guessing with a series of holds. He gets hold of Kurt's arm at one point and is able to do some fair damage with an armbar. Kurt gets frustrated with Shibata who smiles at Kurt after avoiding his umpteenth submission attempt.
Angle slaps Shibata across the face, Shibata's head goes down, his eyes go cold. He throws a boot that rocks Angle in the face, Kurt goes to the corner where Shibata meets him with repeated forearms to the mouth. Shibata runs to the opposite corner, Angle meets him there with a charging shoulder thrust to the ribs.
Angle to the opposite corner, Shibata meets him with a pump kick, Shibata to the opposite corner, Angle charges in for a rolling axe kick, Shibata moves, Angle hits the turnbuckles, Angle upside down in the corner, Shibata to the other side of the ring, Katsuyori takes a moment to compose himself, focusing his energy before charging in for a corner dropkick crushing Angle into the turnbuckles.
Shibata pulls Angle up and gets a stiff forearm, Angle returns but his dominant arm is weak from the early attack by Shibata. The two begin to trade forearms, Shibata always seeming to strike quite a bit harder.
Angle gets a flurry of right and left forearms backing Shibata up, Angle runs the ropes and Shibata gets a spin kick to the midsection before kicking at the back of Angle's knee. Shibata begins to target the not fully healed knee of Kurt now, locking figure fours and bow and arrow submissions.
Angle is reeling on the ropes after the onslaught, Shibata runs the ropes and looks for a big boot to send Angle out, Angle catches the leg, hooks around the neck and suplexes Shibata to the floor. Angle dives off the apron crushing Shibata at ringside before hitting a belly to belly suplex into the barricade.
Angle shoves Shibata back in and attempts a Moonsault, Katsuyori avoids and Angle backs into the corner where Shibata gets a big boot. He grabs Angle by the back of his neck, sprinting to the opposite side of the ring and connecting with another big boot once he plants Angle there.
He grips Angle by the back of his neck and gets sixteen forearms to the ear and jaw area, he gets a running start to the other corner before circling back with another corner dropkick.
Angle rolls to the apron to create distance and Shibata follows him there. A flurry of forearms connect yet again before Shibata backs up and gets a running dropkick to the downed Angle against the steel post!
Shibata sends Kurt back in and gets a two count, Angle pulls himself up on the ropes and Shibata looks for a German, Angle grips onto the ropes for dear life, Shibata lands a straight axe kick to the targeted arm and Angle recoils, Shibata runs the ropes and Kurt gets a rolling axe kick. Angle looks into the camera, beads of sweat running down, a frenzied look in the face, black mouth-piece in.
He grabs Shibata up and gets a big belly to belly, he's on all fours at this point, stalking, waiting for his next opening. German Suplex, yet again, completes the trio by throwing Shibata onto his head. Shibata clutches at his neck, but Kurt won't stop. Fallaway Slam by Angle, bodyslam by Angle. Kurt climbs and lands a moonsault to the upper body and face of Shibata, crushing his skull against the canvas.
Shibata is able to answer the count, so Angle stalks a dazed Shibata. Angle Slam, Katsuyori on his feet, STO by Shibata. As Angle recovers from the STO, Shibata is able to get some breathing room from the series of throws he took. Both men get to their knees, head to head, eye to eye. They begin exchanging forearms once more, but this time Angle has a more even playing field due to the headache beginning to start for Shibata.
Angle begins mixing in uppercuts with his forearms, Shibata catches him on one of these with a backslide, Angle kicks out and Shibata greets him with a chop across the neck, spinning backfist, a trio of forearms. Angle stops reacting, and stares up at Shibata, he lets out a shout and Shibata goes for a fourth forearm. Angle ducks and pushes Shibata into the corner before dragging him out with a Rolling German Suplex planting Shibata on his head.
Shibata on his hands and knees, trying to catch his bearings and make sense of the fog in his vision. Kurt climbs and gets a picture perfect moonsault to the kneeling Shibata. Katsuyori barely gets the shoulder up, Angle stares in disbelief at the ref, leaving himself still pinned over Shibata.
Shibata latches onto the arm getting a Kimura applied on the wounded Angle. Angle writhes until he finally grasps the bottom rope to force separation. Shibata drags Angle into the center of the ring. He tees off on the shoulder blade with kicks, he slaps Angle in the back of the skull sending a cloud of perspiration flying.
Shibata calmly crosses his legs, sitting down across from the crawling Angle. Angle gets to his knees, the two begin chopping each other in the face. Shibata gets a knife edge chop to the ear of Angle, and Kurt gets enraged. He stands up and begins another forearm exchange with Shibata. Angle wins this time backing Shibata into the corner, repeated shoulder thrusts to the ribs follow, Shibata taking a seat.
Angle with a corner running dropkick of his own! Angle goes for it again, Shibata rises and looks for a pump kick, Angle catches him, hugs Shibata in and gets a fallaway belly to belly. Angle beckons Katsuyori up and runs the ropes, Shibata stops him with a leg lariat.
Angle crawls into the corner and Shibata starts repeatedly stepping on his head. Angle tries to crawl out of the ring, but gets paintbrushed with the boot of Shibata. He drowns Angle with scrapes of his boot, stomps and kicks. The referee eventually backs up Shibata.
Shibata brings Angle out of the corner with a snapmare takedown followed by a soccer kick to the spine. He runs the ropes for a penalty kick, which Kurt catches and turns into an Ankle Lock, with the leg trapped he pulls Shibata into a German Suplex.
Shibata on his hands and knees, Angle begins a waistlock and tries to bear hug Shibata on the canvas, Shibata crosses his legs in this position. Angle rolls Shibata, but he lands crossed legged again. This continues until Angle gets frustrated, Shibata begins elbowing Angle in the side of the face and Kurt releases his grip. He runs the ropes and Shibata gets him with a big boot followed by a German Suplex of his own.
Angle pops up and Shibata turns around into a rolling axe kick, Shibata doesn't fall, pump kick by Shibata. Shibata from the corner to a stunned Angle, big boot, Angle avoids, German Suplex by Kurt. He maintains waist control and pulls Shibata up, Shibata begins elbowing Angle to force release. Angle grips the wrist to prevent Shibata from creating distance.
Shibata kicks him in his bad arm, and Angle lets go. He oblique kicks him in his knee before kicking away at the head of Angle. Angle desperately headbutts Shibata in the chest, igniting something in Katsuyori. Shibata turns around, takes a deep breath, turns to Angle and refuses to do what he desperately wants to, thinking of his health.
He forearms Angle down to the mat and gets an octopus hold applied, Angle scrambles to the ropes, fighting out. Penalty Kick by Shibata. Angle kicks out and Shibata locks a sleeper. A focused trance look on the face of Katsuyori as he strangles Angle.
Kurt grips the ropes to force the break, Shibata clubs the arms away, grips back on, sleeper suplex. Shibata with a spinning backfist, Angle catches the wrist, he grips the other wrist, backslide, Shibata rolls through, clothesline by Angle, ducked, Shibata ties him up in position. He spins Angle out, he readies his hand, he connects.
BitchMaker to Angle.
Kurt collapses and Shibata takes his time to catch his breath and focus up, all that focus goes into repeated, poised strikes to the shoulder, underarm and elbow of the damaged Angle. Angle grips onto the wrist to try and drag his way up, Shibata kicks his grip away. Shibata goes to run the ropes, but Angle grips onto the wrist again, avoids a clothesline attempt, traps both arms. Straight-Jacket Suplex on Shibata.
All of the weight coming down on his head and neck. Angle pulls up Shibata, German Suplex #1, Shibata begins elbowing Angle in the ear, German Suplex #2, Shibata still driving his elbow into the ear of Angle, Release German Suplex. Shibata lays motionless, blood begins trickling out of the ear of Angle, physical evidence of the desperation Shibata felt.
Angle brushes off the doctor's attempts to check on him, Kurt with an Angle Slam, but Shibata digging into the wound on the ear, Angle loses his balance, Shibata on his feet. Shibata hooks on from behind, trapping Angle's arm.
するか死ぬか
He spins Angle out, rainmaker style and closes the gap with a sickening headbutt to Kurt. Kurt collapses, but so does Shibata. He lays exhausted, head throbbing. Finally after over a minute, he musters the strength to crawl to the cover.
One, Two, Kurt kicks out. Kurt rises before Shibata who is kneeling, clutching his head. Angle pulls him up for a German, but Shibata refuses to go, clutching the back of his head and shaking his head. It's not an act of defiance or resilience, this is a man trying to stay alive.
Angle, despite having animalistic tendencies, has respect for Shibata after tonight and he shows mercy. He sends Shibata into the ropes chest first and when Katsuyori rebounds, he's caught with an Angle Slam. A cover by Kurt over the defenseless Shibata leads to one simple phrase, but one that intensifies the fullness in Shibata's head.
'And Still.']
Kurt Angle (c) def Katsuyori Shibata to retain the TNT Championship
AEW Big Business Dynamite, Mar 19, 2025:
Kota Ibushi vs Kurt Angle (c), TNT Championship
[Shortly after defeating Shibata in the hardest hitting match of Angle's career, he begins to lash out at the company that gave him his first big break. New Japan.
He states that he can work circles around any NJPW darling that think they're special because they had a few flashy matches in a company nobody watches.
This summons Kota Ibushi, vignettes have been airing teasing his return, but he finally appears coming face to face with Angle. The following week is Big Business and the bout is on.
Ibushi's fluid striking is able to pause Angle, Kurt attempts to make up for the strike deficit with suplexes, but Kota is incredibly spry and able to land safely on most everything Angle throws at him.
Ibushi with a series of strikes ending in a roundhouse, Angle ducks, German Suplex, Ibushi lands on his feet. Dropkick by Kota sends Kurt to the floor. Ibushi with a Triangle Moonsault to ringside, leveling Kurt.
Ibushi sends Kurt back in and goes for a Last Ride, Angle escapes and lands a German Suplex to Ibushi. Kurt begins to climb the turnbuckles, but Ibushi gets up and powerbombs Kurt from the middle turnbuckle, Angle kicks out, and Ibushi flips him onto his knees for a Kamigoye!
Angle catches the knee, and gets an Ankle Lock applied. Ibushi rolls free and sends Angle into the corner. Knee blast in the corner by Kota. He runs the ropes and Angle catches him with a belly to belly over the top rope.
Kurt climbs for a Moonsault to ringside, Ibushi avoids. Ibushi charges into the ring, Triangle Moon- Angle leaps onto the apron and German Suplexes Kota on to the apron, Ibushi's neck bouncing as he cadcades to the floor.
Angle quickly gets Kota back in, and attacks the ankle, Kota struggles, half conscious. He finally makes it to the ropes and is able to get back to his feet. He unloads with palm strikes and a slap to the face of Angle. Kurt looks for a clothesline, Kota ducks and gets a Pele Kick.
Ibushi pulls Kurt up for a Phoenix-Plex, Angle lands on his feet, not allowing Kota to drive his neck into the canvas. Angle Slam connects, and with that, Kurt has vanquished another NJPW legend.]
Kurt Angle (c) def Kota Ibushi to retain the TNT Championship
[Kurt grabs a microphone and begins berating Ibushi. He says this proves it, all those New Japan darlings that these marks worship, they're old, they're broken down, and they are no match for a Wrestling Machine.
Angle looks to target Ibushi again, getting a chair in hand, when all of a sudden Battle Cry hits. Kenny Omega storms the ring, avoiding a chair shot before hitting a V-Trigger sending the chair into Angle's face. Kurt retreats as Omega helps Ibushi up and Kurt's next challenge becomes increasingly clear, arguably the greatest NJPW wrestler of all time, Kenny Omega.]
AEW Dynasty, Apr 12, 2025:
Kenny Omega vs Kurt Angle (c), TNT Championship
[In the weeks leading up to Dynasty, we get some good build for this match including Angle and Hobbs vs Golden Lovers in which Omega pinned Hobbs for his team, as well as a segment in which Kenny and Kurt come face to face.
Kenny in full Terminator gear, he tells Kurt that he's been a big fish in a small pond until now, and that he should be careful not to forget who the original wrestling machine is.
When it comes bell time, Angle quickly recognizes Omega as the most pure athlete he's faced to date. The speed, the intensity, the pressure. Omega brings all of it in his first title match since returning late last year to combat The New Elite.
Kenny comes charging for a corner clothesline, but is caught by Angle who looks for a T-Bone Suplex into the turnbuckles, Omega with a DDT reversal. Angle rolls out and Omega begins drumming up the Terminator rhythm. Tope Con Hilo clears Angle at ringside.
Omega goes to send Kurt back in, but stops on the apron, joining Kurt there. The margin for error is thin as Omega locks the arms and gets a Snap Dragon Suplex across the thinly padded steel.
Kurt's neck issues start to become apparent here as he clutches at it. Omega goes to Irish Whip Angle into the barricade, but the momentum is reversed and Kenny is sent rocketing towards it. He promptly hops onto it and executes a Moonsault from the barricade.
Angle catches him and delivers him into the steel post, face first. Kurt proceeds to climb to the middle turnbuckle and hit a Moonsault to the downed Omega at ringside. Angle sends Kenny back in and begins his repeated German Suplexes, on the third, Omega lands on his feet and boots Angle into the turnbuckles harshly, Kurt exploding against the corner.
Kenny gets Kurt up now for One Winged Angel, Kurt rolls forward into a pinfall, Kenny kicks out and Kurt comes in with a standing 450 knee drop across the surgically repaired abdomen of Omega. Kurt now focuses up and goes after the leg, applying an Ankle Lock. Omega kicks free and slips behind Angle for a Kotaro Krusher.
Angle kicks out and Omega is left gripping his ribs as he pulls Angle up. He gets Angle on his shoulders, wincing as he does so. Rolling driver followed by a Springboard Moonsault on Angle. Kenny holds his midsection before getting Kurt up in OWA position once more.
Kurt struggles so Omega shifts him to a German Suplex, but Angle rolls into a pinfall. Omega kicks out, however, and Kurt is hot on his trail. A crossbody by Kurt takes both men to the outside.
Kurt pulls Kenny up for an Angle Slam against the steel post. Omega writhes in pain as Angle lets out a dominant cry. Kurt sets Kenny up top, but Omega fights back with wristbone strikes, sending Angle to the canvas. Kurt fires up, springing to the top turnbuckle for an Avalanche Belly To Belly, he follows through, but Omega lands on his feet!
Angle didn't see it and gets up to gloat, believing the cheers are for him. Omega gets a frenzied look in the eyes and scales to the top rope. Missile Dropkick to the back of Angle's skull.
Angel crawls to the ropes, drool leaking from his lax jaw. Omega runs the ropes for a V-Trigger against the ropes. He then exits the ring breaking out a steel chair, the ref attempts to stop him but Omega brushes him off. He opens it and sets it in the center of the ring.
Step-Stool V-Trigger! Omega covers for a near fall, and goes into the corner, talking to himself and trying to figure out how to put Angle down. Kurt recovers and tries to charge in, Omega rolls off the back and attempts a rana as Kurt comes over. Kurt with an abrupt sit-out powerbomb reversal before shoving Omega out of the ring.
Angle from the apron with a Somersault Plancha. Kurt sends Omega back in and tries for the Angle Slam, Omega with an arm drag reversal before sliding behind Kurt for a Snap Dragon into the turnbuckles. Omega runs into the opposite corner and closes in with a V-Trigger against the turnbuckles.
He pulls Angle up out of the corner and sticks a Poisonrana. Angle is able to barely survive the count. Omega in disbelief takes Angle to the top, he's thinking Avalanche OWA. Angle scrambles out and lands an Avalanche Angle Slam!
Omega somehow kicks out, and Kurt is beside himself. He goes to the top rope, a rare Frog-Splash from Angle, Omega moves, Kurt kisses the mat. V-Trigger to the back of the head, Omega pulls Kurt up, One Winged Angel connects.
Omega has ended the TNT Title reign of Kurt Angle, avenged the good name of NJPW and become a Grand Slam Champion in AEW.]
Kenny Omega def Kurt Angle (c) to win the TNT Championship
Kurt Angle w/ Dean Malenko vs PAC
[Angle's first match back takes place two weeks prior to this one when he and Hobbs take on The Lucha Brothers. A victory for Angle and Hobbs isn't enough as Kurt attacks Fénix after the bell, refusing to release the Ankle Lock. Malenko eggs him on, telling him to break Fénix's leg.
This brings out PAC, who comes to the rescue of his long time friend and stablemate. He gets in Angle's face and shows no intimidation as he backs Kurt up. With Double Or Nothing around the corner, Angle believes PAC will make for an excellent first victim on his way to the top of the food chain.
Angle focuses more on his submission work under the advice of Malenko, he targets the legs making it hard for PAC to execute his aerial maneuvers. PAC is able to trap Angle in the Rings Of Saturn late, but Angle finds his way out, and gets a grip on the ankle. Moments later, PAC is tapping out.]
Kurt Angle def PAC
AEW Fight For The Fallen, Jun 28, 2025
Kurt Angle w/ Dean Malenko vs Will Ospreay (c), AEW World Heavyweight Championship
[Following his dominant victory over PAC, Angle sets his sights on the top of the mountain and the man standing at the peak of it. Ospreay has become unanimously agreed upon as probably the best wrestler on the planet. Angle looks to disprove this theory, and take care of another NJPW castaway.
Ospreay has Angle vulnerable and closes in for Essex Destroyer, Angle reverses with a Northern Lights and rolls through scooping Ospreay up for a deadlift powerbomb. Ospreay lands a rana reversal for a two count, before looking for Os-Cutter, Angle catches him and hits a Lawn Dart, vaulting Ospreay into the middle turnbuckle.
He begins his trio of Germans, Ospreay landing on his feet from the third and getting a superkick on Kurt. An Os-Cutter follows for a near-fall. Ospreay goes to the far corner, and charges in for Hidden Blade. Angle ducks and gets his third German Suplex.
He sets up for an Angle Slam, but Ospreay snags an arm drag reversal. Vertical dropkick by Ospreay who lands on his feet, enziguri connects, Ospreay with a handspring but caught by Angle with a German.
Ospreay goes to the outside and Kurt goes up top for a Moonsault to the floor, swing and a miss and Ospreay climbs. Corkscrew Moonsault by Ospreay, he sends Angle back in. Os-Cutter catches Angle flush. Ospreay from across the ring now, Hidden Blade connects!
Three seconds later, and Angle's dreams of being a World Heavyweight Champion are dashed by the best in the world...for now.]
Will Ospreay (c) def Kurt Angle to retain the AEW World Heavyweight Championship
AEW All In, Aug 23, 2025:
Adam Copeland & Christian Cage (c) vs Kurt Angle & Powerhouse Hobbs w/ Dean Malenko, AEW Tag Team Championships
[Following a devastating loss to Ospreay, Angle refocuses his tag team efforts alongside Hobbs. With Copeland and Christian having made amends and gone on to capture the AEW Tag Team Titles, Angle and Hobbs are eager to knock the legendary tag team off the throne.
Copeland has Angle in position for a Spear after a prolonged period of control when Kurt reverses it into an inside cradle for a near fall. Angle creates distance and tags out to Hobbs who attempts to overpower the historic duo, but the tag team experience is too much for Hobbs and as he is inevitably defeated, Angle experiences yet another setback.]
Adam Copeland & Christian Cage (c) def Kurt Angle & Powerhouse Hobbs to retain the AEW Tag Team Championships
AEW All Out, Sep 6, 2025:
Bryan Danielson vs Kurt Angle w/ Dean Malenko
[Just two weeks removed from a victory over long time rival, Nigel McGuiness, Danielson is riding high and wants the most intense competition possible for All Out.
Naturally, this attracts Kurt Angle, a man who has never been submitted, yet has an incredible string of submission victories. He challenges Danielson's claims to be the best technical wrestler in the world, and promises to tap out The Dragon.
Throughout the dream contest, Angle targets and does significant damage to the knee and ankle of Bryan. Bryan attempts to apply similar limb targeting to the previously injured arm of Angle. With both men's history of neck issues, there's plenty of nasty envelope pushes in that department as well.
Bryan looks for a Busaiku Knee late when Angle catches him and gets a powerbomb reversal, he then applies a Boston Crab, squeezing the Achilles Tendon of Danielson. Bryan is able to edge to his back and roll Angle into a pin.
Kurt kicks out, and Danielson lands a roundhouse to a kneeling Angle, leaving him lamenting himself after he feels the effect on his leg. He pulls Angle up for a Dragon Suplex, but Angle breaks the grip and gets a Snapmare Takedown.
Bryan lands on his feet and begins blistering Angle with repeated kicks to the chest, wincing after every one. He finally backs up and tries for the roundhouse, but Kurt catches him in an Ankle Lock.
Kurt twists away at the squirming Danielson, who is able to turn just enough to start landing up-kicks to the bad shoulder of Angle. Danielson then gets a Triangle, pulling Angle in to the submission.
He traps the bad arm and begins striking away at the shoulder socket with elbows. Angle powers up, lifting Danielson before dumping him into the turnbuckles, crumpling Bryan into the corner.
Angle whips Bryan into the corner and he performs a Springboard Moonsault, landing on his bad ankle. Kurt slithers in and cinches an Ankle Lock in yet again. Bryan rolls out and gets a LeBell Lock applied, the bad arm of Angle angled awkwardly. Kurt makes the ropes and Bryan fires up into the corner.
He beckons Kurt up and closes the distance with a Busaiku Knee, Angle ducks, Bryan's bad knee hits the top turnbuckle! Angle Slam connects!
Kurt covers and in doing so obtains the single biggest victory of his career so far. An incredible effort from both men, and an incredible step forward for Kurt Angle.]
Kurt Angle def Bryan Danielson
AEW WrestleDream, Oct 11, 2025:
Bryan Danielson vs Kurt Angle w/ Dean Malenko vs Zack Sabre Jr., Ultimate Submission
[A victory over Bryan Danielson should have Kurt on cloud nine, but he can't help feel disappointed that he didn't deliver on his promise. He didn't tap Bryan out. He challenges Danielson, one more match, a thirty minute timer, no pinfalls, most submissions wins.
Rather than Danielson, it's NJPW's resident technical wizard, Zack Sabre Jr. who answers the call. He states that him and Angle have unfinished business. In the G1 Climax last year, Zack had Angle on the brink of submission but just as Kurt was about to give in, his body gave out and he passed out instead.
Zack has kept that goal in the back of his head since, to make the unsubmittable Kurt Angle tap out. Kurt says that he has great respect for Sabre Jr. but right now he is focused on Danielson.
Bryan enters and states a solution, a triple threat match, under Angle's proposed rules of course, to finally determine who the best technical wrestler in the world is.
Match time arrives and all three men feel the pressure in the air. Three of the most technically gifted pro wrestlers of all time engaged in a war for a chance to finally be crowned the undisputed king of tapping people out.
Twenty five minutes of pure grappling glory elapse, and despite some close calls, none of the three competitors have submitted. With five minutes remaining, all three men are volatile in their pursuit to finally get a point.
Bryan looks for a diving knee strike, when Kurt catches him and cinches an Ankle Lock. Danielson rolls forward and Zack leaps onto the shoulders of Kurt, ranas him to the canvas and locks a mounting triangle.
Bryan with a roundhouse to Zack, pulling him off of Kurt, Bryan proceeds to lock Cattle Mutilation on Sabre who kicks and struggles to survive the maneuver.
Kurt out of nowhere with a Moonsault to Danielson! The grip on Sabre Jr. released, Zack rolls out of the ring. Kurt focuses on Danielson, landing his trio of German Suplexes, Bryan on his feet during the third attempt.
Busaiku Knee, Kurt ducks just enough to catch Bryan across his shoulders. Torture Rack applied on Danielson, bending Bryan over his shoulders. Bryan shifts off the shoulders and locks a Guillotine on Angle, trying to cut off blood flow to the brain.
Angle attempts to reverse with a Northern Lights, but Bryan lands on his feet and maintains grip, forming a bridging guillotine. Zack slithers in, kicking Bryan in the knee and causing Danielson to kneel while keeping the Guillotine applied.
Zack gets a Triangle on Bryan while Bryan has a reverse Guillotine on Kurt, after a few moments, Bryan has to cut his losses with Kurt and try to escape Sabre's grip.
He inches free of the Triangle, getting grip on the legs for a Boston Crab. He tucks the legs and bridges back for a modified Muta Lock. He gives up and applies a seated Guillotine. No matter what Bryan does, Sabre fights on, less than a minute remains when Bryan locks the LeBell Lock.
He drives his knuckles into the nose of Sabre, eventually garnering color, as the crimson begins to leak into his mouth. Danielson covers the mouth and nose with his hands, seconds remain when Kurt rushes in to save the match.
Zack Sabre Jr. is drowning in his own blood.
Three, Two, Sabre Jr. taps!
With one second on the clock, Danielson forces a submission, Kurt was fingertips away from saving the match-up. Sabre Jr. is released and inhales big, gulping breathe, bile and blood leaking from his mouth. Angle gets to his feet and approaches Danielson.
A handshake follows as Bryan Danielson is acknowledged as the Ultimate Submission Master in one of the greatest displays of technical wrestling ever.]
Bryan Danielson def Kurt Angle & Zack Sabre Jr. in Ultimate Submission
Remember that thing about death and taxes?
[The Royal Rumble arrives, and as with any given Rumble, who knows what surprises may be in store?
The Men's Rumble match is occuring when entry number twenty-seven is about to be revealed. Medal sounds and the roof comes off of Kaseya Center as the words KURT ANGLE pan across the titantron. The Olympic Hero has arrived.
Angle racks up a couple of eliminations, tossing Johnny Gargano after a fun sequence and Shinsuke Nakamura after an exchange of strikes. Angle comes face to face with AJ Styles who engages in a staredown with The Wrestling Machine.
Before they can lock up, both men are ambushed by other participants, delaying the dream match. Kurt makes it to the final six, but runs into a brick wall when he attempts to eliminate Bron Breakker.
A back and forth of control ends with Breakker on top, landing a belly to belly over the top rope to eliminate Kurt Angle.]
SmackDown, Feb 6, 2026:
John Cena's Open Challenge
[Cena, entering the twilight of his career, goes back to his old open challenge routine, wanting to face as many young superstars as he can before he calls it a career.
His first of these challenges is answered by Kurt Angle himself, who comes face to face with the established Cena. In just his second WWE match, Angle wants to lock up with the GOAT.
Cena, perplexed and expecting a talent on the roster that he was familiar with to appear, poses a reasonable question.
"Who in the hell are you?"
'I'm Kurt Angle'
"Kurt Angle, huh? Tell me, what is the one quality that you possess that makes you think you can come out here and challenge the very best?"
Angle pauses, somehow, he knows exactly what to say.
'Ruthless Aggression.'
Angle clocks Cena and the bell rings, Angle's WWE debut and he has a chance to show that ruthless aggression against one of the most reputable names in wrestling history.
Cena starts out the contest believing Angle will be an easy foe and taking time to pander to the audience. It doesn't take long though for Kurt to gain his respect with a surprise German Suplex while Cena is standing on the middle turnbuckle.
Angle begins to unload with a variety of kick variations and suplexes, wobbling Cena. Cena avoids a Moonsault and lands a Code Red for a near fall.
He beckons Angle up for an Attitude Adjustment, and Angle shifts off the shoulders to begin his trio of German Suplexes. He bridge pins on the third and Cena muscles out.
Angle looks for an Ankle Lock, but Cena rolls free. Attitude Adjustment positioning, Angle lands on his feet. Another German Suplex connects and Angle rolls through, lifting Cena into an emphatic Angle Slam.
Cena narrowly manages to kick out. Angle sizes Cena up for one more Angle Slam, Cena escapes to his feet, Attitude Adjustment, Angle shifts into a roll-up on Cena.
Three seconds later, and Angle has defeated the 16x World Champion in his WWE debut. A shocked Cena watches as Angle takes his place as a hot commodity in WWE.]
Kurt Angle def John Cena
Following the bout, Angle approaches Alexander and Kemp, shortly thereafter, forming Team Angle.
AJ Styles vs Kurt Angle
[Ever since their unsatisfying face off at the Royal Rumble, fans and these two alike have been eager to get a proper match made. Angle wants a legacy fight for WrestleMania, another name to engrave on his record.
AJ Styles refuses to be viewed as someone to be put out to pasture and tells Angle to bring his intensity, bring his intelligence, bring his integrity and then come to terms with the fact that it still won't be enough.
Angle tries for an Angle Slam after Styles misses a Springboard 450, Styles maneuvers his way over and into Styles Clash position only for Angle to grip the ankle and turn it into an Ankle Lock.
Styles writhes and tries to make the ropes, but Angle drags him back into the center of the ring and sits down into a knee bar - ankle lock fusion forcing Styles to submit to The Wrestling Machine.]
Kurt Angle def AJ Styles
WWE Backlash, May 23, 2026:
Cody Rhodes vs Kurt Angle
[Following his massive victory over AJ Styles at WrestleMania, Angle and his posse set their sights on another established vet, Cody Rhodes.
Angle tells Rhodes that Kurt is everything Cody has claimed to be, at Backlash he'll expose Cody as a fraud and show him who the true American Nightmare is.
It's a hotly contested affair with Cody, less than a year removed from his World Title run, putting Kurt to the test. Cody is in the driver's seat when a ref bump leads Cedric and Kemp to interfere, Kemp is neutralized before Cedric inadvertently lays Angle out.
Cross Rhodes to Cedric, and another one to Kurt and Rhodes has pinned The Olympic Hero.]
Cody Rhodes def Kurt Angle
WWE King & Queen Of The Ring, Jun 27, 2026:
Damian Priest vs Kurt Angle
[Kurt enters into the King Of The Ring tournament following his loss to Rhodes, but not before kicking Cedric out of Team Angle. He's replaced by a man Angle knows well, the debuting Josh Alexander.
While Josh and Kemp pick up the tag team titles, Angle focuses in on the tournament. He is able to defeat Rey Mysterio in the first round, Dragon Lee in the second, Pete Dunne in the quarters, and Cedric in the semis.
Damian, meanwhile wins the RAW bracket and the finals are set. The Punisher vs The Wrestling Machine.
In a vein very similar to what an Angle/Undertaker match looks like, Priest muscles around Angle, only for Kurt to surprise him with his own strength. Angle works on the leg, rendering Priest's kicking ability useless and kneading him for the eventual Ankle Lock.
Damian looks for Razor's Edge, powering through the pain in his leg. As he chucks Angle, Kurt reverses with a huracanrana taking Priest off guard. Angle begins his trio of Germans, on the third attempt, Priest maneuvers free and gets a Thunder Clap on Angle.
He sets up for The Reckoning, but Angle hits a Southern Lights Suplex, sending Priest forward to the canvas. Angle gets an Angle Slam for a near-fall.
A Moonsault follows, but Priest gets a grip across the throat as Kurt comes down. He lands South Of Heaven for a close two count. Damian sizes up Kurt from across the ring.
Tornado Kick, intercepted, Kurt locks onto the ankle! Priest tries to roll out, kick Kurt away, but Angle is relentless and vice grips around the ankle, torturing Damian.
Priest eventually passes out from the pain, giving Angle a victory, albeit one he's only slightly satisfied with. Regardless of how, Kurt has won King Of The Ring and will now main event SummerSlam for the World Heavyweight Championship.]
Kurt Angle def Damian Priest
WWE Battleground, Jul 25, 2026:
Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle
[Brock, having returned in the Royal Rumble earlier in the year and announcing a retirement tour, culminating at SummerSlam in his hometown, sets his sights on Kurt Angle.
Kurt, one month away from main eventing SummerSlam, accepts Brock's challenge, dubbing him one more legend Kurt can send packing.
The match is evidently very intense with Brock showing his trademark dominance and Angle impressing with bursts of strength and out-grappling Lesnar.
Towards the climax of the match, both men begin exchanging German Suplexes. Brock eventually decides to do the continuous trio ala Kurt. Angle lands on his feet on the third attempt and rolls Brock into a deadlift German Suplex.
Kurt scales for a Moonsault, but Brock catches him in mid-air for an F-5, Kurt scrambles free and gets an Ankle Lock applied. Brock is able to fight out, applying a Kimura Lock. Kurt makes it to the ropes and Brock gets fed up.
Lesnar goes to the top turnbuckle for the first time in decades and attempts a Shooting Star Press. Kurt moves and Lesnar eats canvas, Angle immediately jumps onto the leg of Brock applying an agonizing Ankle Lock.
After minutes of Kurt's snake-like refusal to release his grip, he does what few have ever been able to do and makes The Beast tap out. After the bout, Brock shakes the hand of Kurt Angle and Kurt looks ahead to his titanic Heavyweight Title opportunity.]
Kurt Angle def Brock Lesnar
He enlists none other than The Excellence Of Execution, The Hitman is in Team Angle. Bret coaches Kurt in the lead-up to SummerSlam, giving him tips and reviewing old tapes showing how he won his Titles.
2024.05.28 20:57 SpiralSour FBNXT, Booking An Attitude/RA Star In The Modern Day - Part 1: With A Broken Freakin' Neck
Kurt Angle, often regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers in history and with good reason. The man who won an Olympic gold medal with a broken neck came onto the scene in WWE between late 1999 and early 2000.
He went on to carve out an incredible career for himself, winning world titles the world over. Whether it was WWE, TNA or even NJPW - Angle made sure to leave an impact everywhere he went.
What if things were different though? What if Kurt Angle never debuted in the attitude era and instead, at the prime age of 32, Kurt Angle debuted in the wrestling world we know today?
Who would he cross paths with? Would he reach the same heights he did in his day? I intend to explore this topic and find out for myself.
Can The Wrestling Machine thrive in the Renaissance Era? Only time will tell...
The year is 2023 and Kurt Angle arrives on the scene, he's well known as is from his historic feat in 2021, when he won a gold medal with a broken neck at the Summer Olympics.
Many would expect Kurt to chase this success into something significant, but many are surprised and intrigued when it's made clear what his future goals are.
To transition into the world of sports entertainment and become a professional wrestler.
He spends his first year working the independent scene, making appearances in GCW specifically. There, he ends up having standout matches with the likes of Brian Cage and Powerhouse Hobbs who make special guest appearances to lock up with the hot commodity. He even has a half-decent match with Jake Hager, in a bout that seems like it could've been something special if Hager was about a decade younger and still The All American American.
By the time June 2024 rolls around, dirt sheets are speculating that most of the major professional wrestling companies are showing great interest in Kurt, but it's likely he will turn up in WWE due to their extensive track record transitioning athletes from various walks of life and countless different sports.
Imagine everyones surprise then, when Hiroshi Tanahashi announces NJPW has signed Kurt Angle, not to a full time contract but for a very exciting purpose indeed.
The G1 Climax.
Along with him in B Block are seven other supremely talented athletes, some of NJPW's finest along with a couple of freelancers from other promotions.
NJPW, G1 Climax 34 - Night 1, July 15, 2024:
Eddie Kingston vs Kurt Angle
[Kurt's first match of the G1 comes in the form of the Mad King, Eddie Kingston. Eddie's striking and submission based aggression pairs well with Kurt's grappling and limb targeting. Angle is able to rattle Eddie throughout the match with throws and suplexes, as well as his ability to outmaneuver Eddie's submission attempts.
The match comes to a close as Eddie comes out of the corner with a Uraken to a wobbly Angle. Kurt ducks and latches on for a German Suplex, maintaining waist control, a second German Suplex, yet again. Kurt pulls Kingston up to complete the trio, but Eddie hooks onto the top turnbuckle. Kurt shows his strength, suplexing Kingston as the padding goes flying.
Kurt tries for an Angle Slam, but Kingston finds his footing behind Kurt, and grips hold of the neck, cinching a bulldog choke. Kurt struggles up before marching towards the corner and diving downwards, thus driving Eddie skull first into the exposed turnbuckle.
An Angle Slam follows, and Kurt secures a win in his NJPW debut.]
Kurt Angle (2) def Eddie Kingston (0)
NJPW G1 Climax 34 - Night 3, July 18, 2024:
Jeff Cobb vs Kurt Angle
[Kurt's second match of the G1 proves to be a very interesting one indeed. Jeff Cobb, a former olympian himself, is perhaps one of the only wrestlers on the planet who can match Angle regarding his knowledge of suplexes, throws, power maneuvers and grapples.
The match begins to near the end as Cobb has Angle up top in a deadlift stalling superplex, Angle is able to land on his feet behind Cobb and German Suplex Cobb off the middle turnbuckle.
Angle looks for an Angle Slam, but Cobb lands on his feet and tries for Tour Of The Islands, but Kurt scrambles free and lands a German Suplex, maintains waist control, Cobb breaks free and steps behind Angle, German Suplex, Angle does the same thing, Cobb gets fed up and hits a German Suplex that lands Angle flat on his face as Cobb releases the waist.
Cobb signals for the end and looks for a standing moonsault, Kurt avoids and hits a throwing German Suplex of his own. Angle scales the turnbuckles, moonsault! At the ref's count of two, Cobb sits up with Angle in his arms. Tour Of The Islands connects! Near-fall!
Cobb gets Angle up on his shoulder, Angle escapes and locks on to the ankle, Jeff rolls forward and sends Angle into the corner. Angle steps backwards into the arms of Cobb, Tour Of The Isl- Angle on his feet! Angle Slam!
Kurt begins to scale the ropes and lands another moonsault. With that, Cobb finally stays down and Angle is able to outlast his counterpart.]
Kurt Angle (4) def Jeff Cobb (0)
NJPW G1 Climax 34 - Night 5, July 21, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Kushida
[Taking into consideration Kushida's rather successful MMA background, this matchup seems like a no brainer. Both men are grappling gods well regarded as being submission experts. It's on full display when they finally face off in the G1.
Kushida has been vocal about his displeasure competing only in the Junior division and when put in the premier tournament of NJPW's year, he's eager to prove he belongs in the main event scene.
The story told here is Angle's non stop assault on the legs and ankles of Kushida, and in return Kushida relentlessly damaging the arms and wrists of Angle.
Kushida, despite the quickly deteriorating bones in his legs, is leech like with how determined he is to stay attached to the arm of Kurt. Angle Slam? Denied and turned into a Kimura Lock. Ankle Lock? Kushida rolls forward driving Angle shoulder first into the steel post, and then Kimura Lock. German Suplex? That's what you think, it's actually a Kimura Lock.
As Kushida continuously dissects the arm, Angle begins getting increasingly desperate. He dunks Kushida into the turnbuckles harshly. Onto the apron. Into the barricade. Taking more and more drastic measures to free himself and becoming less and less successful.
Eventually Kurt is in agony and nothing seems to shake Kushida, he climbs to the top rope, hoping a drop from that height will force release. Kushida lets go without Kurt even having to drop only to reapply and look for an arm drag variation off the top.
As Kushida goes to drop, Kurt grips to the ropes and Kushida lands in a tree of woe position. Kurt grabs hold of the ears of Kushida, pulling him up slightly, before shoving him down and forcing him to collide with the turnbuckles.
He drags Kushida up to the top rope, clearly looking for something big, but Kushida goes back in with the Kimura, Kurt begins driving Kushida into the top of the steel post before actually picking Kushida up with his bad arm only and slamming Kushida into the metal.
Kurt positions himself for one last gasp effort to thwart the colorfast Kushida. Angle Slam from the top turnbuckle! An exhausted Angle crawls to cover, and is at last able to defeat Kushida.
The question quickly becomes though, as the referee is refused the chance to even raise the arm of Angle, how much damage was done?]
Kurt Angle (6) def Kushida (2)
NJPW G1 Climax 34 - Night 7, July 25, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Matt Riddle
[Four nights after having his arm near surgically dissected by Kushida, Angle locks up against another skilled fighter endowed with MMA experience.
Riddle gives the challenge Cobb gave being able to match Angle on power, while also giving the challenge Kushida did with limb targeting and joint manipulation.
Riddle, entering his first G1 has arguably his biggest opportunity since joining NJPW earlier in the year. He spends the duration of the match peppering Angle with strikes to the arm, salting with submissions.
As the match nears it's own climax, Angle goes for a high risk moonsault only for Riddle to avoid. A final flash knee follows from the ever opportunistic Riddle. Kurt is able to kick-out, inspiring Riddle to try for a RainTrigger. Kurt blocks with his arm to avoid getting struck in the face. He winces and Riddle capitalizes with rapid palm strikes to the chest before kicking Kurt into the ropes.
As Angle rebounds, Riddle goes under the arm and tries for a falling pele kick, Kurt catches the leg and gets an Ankle Lock. Riddle is able to get back to his free foot, so Angle hits a leg trapped German Suplex to discourage a comeback.
Kurt tries for an Angle Slam, but Riddle maneuvers into a pinning predicament, Kurt reverses the pressure pinning Riddle's shoulders. They go back and forth until Kurt traps Matt in a sleeper hold. Riddle fires up to his feet and begins snapping Kurt's elbow over his shoulder to escape.
Riddle gets Kurt up for Bro To Sleep, Angle catches the leg and clings with an Ankle Lock. Riddle gets back to his feet and lands a surprise roundhouse with his free foot. A V-Trigger to the shoulder follows, before Riddle gets Angle in Tombstone position. Angle slithers down, and like a snake, latches onto the ankle.
Riddle crumples under the unexpected pressure as Kurt gets a knee baankle lock hybrid applied. He wrenches away on the Achilles tendon, as Riddle writhes in pain.
Matt nearly gets to the ropes, but Angle is able to roll with him back into the center of the ring. Eventually, Riddle has to think of the big picture and consider the matches he still has left in the tournament, and he submits to Kurt Angle.
Kurt is able to conquer another worthy adversary and remains undefeated in the tournament, but his arm is clearly bothering him and that is shown as Kurt takes time to nurse the injury after the bout.]
Kurt Angle (8) def Matt Riddle (4)
NJPW G1 Climax 34 - Night 9, July 27, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Minoru Suzuki:
[It's more bad news for Angle, as his next foe is regarded as arguably one of the most sadistic pro wrestlers of all time. Suzuki, known for his methodical approach and willingness to lay in with strikes, has him salivating at the prospect of getting his hands on the already wounded Kurt.
Angle is donning circulation tape as he locks up with the Murder Grandpa. Suzuki wastes little time in tearing at the tape, exposing the flesh beneath. Digging his elbow into the shoulder blade, he continues his attack on Kurt.
Knee drops and stiff chops leave a stinging sensation rippling through the arm of Angle. Kurt wants to execute his power maneuvers, but a lack of grip prevents him as he begins losing strength and ability with every blow to the shoulder.
Suzuki tucks Kurt's fragmented arm behind him, connecting with Russian Leg Sweeps and suplexes, landing Angle's weight harshly onto his own arm.
Kurt begins mounting something of a comeback against the relentless Suzuki. He keeps his arm close to his body, but is able to surprise Minoru with his explosiveness. He knows he can't lift Suzuki, and so turns to the aerial side of his arsenal.
A swan dive off the apron has Suzuki reeling and Angle is able to follow up with a moonsault into the ring. Angle tries to strike with his feet, connecting with dropkicks and enziguris.
Suzuki weathers the storm, however, and positions Angle for a Gotch-Style Piledriver. Angle is able to grasp onto the leg and sink down, refusing to let Suzuki power him up.
Angle goes under, maintaining his leg control, and gets an Ankle Lock applied. He struggles to keep it in for as long as possible, but the strength in his arm isn't present. Suzuki is able to kick Angle off of him, and Kurt goes into desperation mode. A wounded animal faced with an angry Minoru Suzuki.
Angle goes for a risky strategy, considering his lack of practice in this department, but he decides to use a leg oriented submission, given that his arms are unable to grip for long. He is able to reverse a Gotch-Style into a triangle choke, tightening his legs vice grip around the neck and applying pressure to the carotid.
Angle tries his damnedest, withstanding even a deadlift powerbomb and continuing his choke, to maintain his attack on Suzuki. It pays off as slowly, but surely, Suzuki loses the ability to breathe and is forced to tap out to Kurt Angle.]
Kurt Angle (10) def Minoru Suzuki (2)
NJPW G1 Climax 34 - Night 11, Aug 1, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Shingo Takagi
[It's out of the frying pan and into the fire as Angle survives Suzuki, but is now faced with arguably more aggressive competition, in the form of Shingo Takagi.
Angle is on the defensive for most of the bout, wanting to keep his perfect record intact, and knowing the danger of letting Shingo get ahold of his arm.
This also means Angle is less assertive, however, and Shingo is more willing to take risks to do damage to Kurt. Takagi gives Angle a taste of his own medicine as he begins repeatedly suplexing Angle, multiple Germans, landing Kurt on his bad shoulder. He mixes in other variations as well, optimizing the damage he can do to the arm.
Takagi also drives Angle, shoulder first into the steel post. When Angle slumps down, Takagi closes in with a running knee strike, popping Angle's shoulder into the turnbuckle.
Shingo dominates the course of the match, letting Angle get in little offense. Angle stirs, sitting up as he tries to catch his bearings on the canvas. Shingo spots Angle in position for a PUMPING BOMBER, Angle ducks, Angle Slam, Shingo on his feet to avoid, Made In Japan! Angle locks to the waist and reverses with a roll-up, Shingo rolls backwards to kick out, Shingo behind Angle, gets him up, Last Of The Dragons!
Angle planted right on his bad shoulder with authority by Takagi. Shingo gets rewarded for his effort with a very close near fall. Shingo pulls Angle up by his hair, forearm, after forearm, after forearm. Angle spits in the face of Takagi, refusing to go quietly for The Dragon. Shingo wipes his face calmly, before running the ropes, PUMPING BOMBER.
With that, Takagi has handed Angle his first singles career loss, and overtaken him in the G1 rankings.]
Shingo Takagi (11) def Kurt Angle (10)
NJPW G1 Climax 34 - Night 13, Aug 5, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Zack Sabre Jr.
[Finally, we arrive at Kurt's final test of this grueling tournament. The tournament that has left him clutching his arm in peril every night, the tournament that has left him blistered and bruised in the biggest tests of his young career, but most importantly, the tournament that put him on the map.
Angle, well regarded as a fantastic submission worker and grappler, takes aim at arguably the greatest submission based wrestler of all time, Zack Sabre Jr.
Angle's Olympian background makes for an intriguing contrast against Zack's more strike heavy, frenzied submission approach. Sabre Jr., one of the most shark like opponents you could have, rips at the arm of Angle in various ways.
Bending the arm back as he stands on the fingers before stamping the elbow sideways, penalty kicks to the forearm, palm strikes to the shoulder blade, using every opportunity to hang the arm over the ropes before being forced to release.
Zack has Angle in a pool of pain as he ascends for a diving knee drop to the arm, Angle avoids, catching Zack in mid air with an Ankle Lock. Zack scrambles, and rolls forward, sending Angle out of the ring.
Sabre goes to the apron, and attempts a diving uppercut, Angle catches him and flips him forward before getting him up for a powerbomb. Zack quickly shifts into an arm triangle, tearing at the arm. Angle drops Zack onto the barricade to no avail, but a firm drop onto the apron forces Zack to let Angle go.
Sabre Jr. is positioned against the stairs and Kurt charges in, Zack slips into the ring and Angle collides with the steel stairs. Baseball slide by Zack follows before he guides Angle to the steel barricade. He pops Angle's arm through the bars and uses his feet on the other side to pull Angle further in, trying to pull Angle through the fence.
Zack gets cocky, standing atop the barricade as he keeps his paws on Angle. Angle sweeps the legs and Sabre takes a nasty spill on top of the steel. An impromptu Angle Slam into the barricade follows before Angle sends Sabre Jr. back in.
Angle climbs, looking to put the finishing touches on Sabre Jr. A Moonsault by Angle caught with a triangle! Sabre Jr. wraps his legs around the neck of Angle, strangling The Wrestling Machine. Kurt powers up Sabre with his last bit of strength. He collapses Zack into the turnbuckles, shifting the ring with the force.
Angle recovers and rips Zack out of the corner into an Ankle Lock. He knows he can't maintain good grip with his arm, so he cinches down into a knee bar. Zack struggles for a while before finally finding the bottom rope. Zack gets an arm triangle over the ropes for a few seconds, before connecting with a kick from the apron.
Sabre dives back in, but Angle blocks the slingshot with an Ankle Lock. Zack swiftly rolls forward, and as Angle tries to roll backwards, Zack pins him down. Angle rolls backwards anyway with Zack and gets a German Suplex. Angle sits up and lets out a roar, before Zack stands up and kicks him in the back of the head. Both men collapse as the playing field is evened.
Angle and Sabre Jr. find themselves crawling back up in opposite corners. The crowd breaks into a clap building up to both men meeting in the center of the ring, unloading with strikes. Zack goes cheap with a falling kick to the bad arm. Zack steps on the knee of Angle before maneuvering over him and onto his arm where he then rolls into a cross armbreaker.
Angle fires up, and twists away at the ankle to turn into an Ankle Lock. Sabre rolls forward and turns it back into a cross armbreaker. Angle rolls backwards and pops out, into an Ankle Lock. Sabre rolls Angle into the turnbuckles to break the cycle. Step-up knee strike by Zack, avoided by Angle, Angle hops to the bottom turnbuckle to greet Zack. Angle Slam from the middle turnbuckle!
Kurt desperately covers, but Zack kicks out, locking a Kimura as he does. Angle yelps out in agony, and tries to roll out of it. Zack stops Angle with a cross armbreaker, Angle powers Zack up, Zack clings to Kurt, connecting with a rana before mounting into a triangle choke.
No matter what Kurt does, Zack won't let go of the arm. Angle, the pain unbearable, the breath leaving his body at an alarming rate. As Zack tightens like a snake across the arm and neck of Angle, Kurt begins to fade and eventually, perhaps inevitably, passes out in the jaws of Zack Sabre Jr.
Kurt's G1 proves to be incredibly impressive as he is ranked third in his block, and his undeniable grit was on full display, as The Olympic Hero refused to tap out, opting to lose consciousness instead.]
Zack Sabre Jr. (13) def Kurt Angle (10)
It's not long after this that Kurt surprises by opting not to sign a full time contract with NJPW, drowning out the offers from AEW and WWE, and instead decides to visit a promotion that he feels oddly at home in. Total Nonstop Action.
TNA Victory Road 2024, Sep 21, 2024:
Jonathan Gresham (c) vs Kurt Angle, TNA World Heavyweight Championship
[Kurt, being the genetic freak that he is, catapults to the main event scene, especially given his matches in the G1 Climax boosting his resume. Gresham, having dethroned Moose a few months back, has been confidently seated as face of the company. Angle looks to challenge that throne.
Gresham and Angle have a heated contract signing prior to the event, with Angle, in response to being called a rookie stating "Well, this rookie is going to kick your fucking ass." before busting Gresham's nose into the table, dragging Jonathan across the table and powerbombing him through it.
The bout is a technical masterclass with Gresham challenging Angle on the technical front. Gresham manages to get Angle in an octopus lock, Angle shifts Gresham out of it and cinches an Ankle Lock. Gresham hooks onto Angle's ankle and throws Kurt off balance, collapsing him into a knee bar. Angle manages to kick Gresham away before locking a figure four.
Gresham rolls over to reverse the pressure, before both men make their way onto their heads, slapping and swatting at each other. Angle throws the first closed fist and it dazes Gresham who breaks free of the predicament. Angle begins his repeated germans, Gresham lands on his feet with the third attempt. Octopus Lock by Gresham, Angle reverses into a third and final German Suplex.
Gresham stumbles up, Angle Slam, Gresham on his feet, big knee to the nose of Angle, Octopus Hold, a look of annoyed disbelief crosses the face of Angle due to Jonathan's insistence on this move, powerbomb reversal by Angle. Gresham pulls himself up using the ropes and is caught from behind with a definitive Angle Slam.
The referee counts the pin and Kurt Angle has secured his first pro wrestling title, the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, after a barn burner to dethrone Jon Gresham.]
Kurt Angle def Jonathan Gresham (c) to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
TNA Bound For Glory 2024, Oct 13, 2024:
Kurt Angle (c) vs Kushida, TNA World Heavyweight Championship
[A few short months following their classic in the G1, Angle is hungry for revenge on the man he claims cost him the biggest opportunity of his career. After all, Angle suffered his arm injury during his match with Kushida, and there's an argument to be made his losses to Shingo and Sabre Jr. wouldn't have occured if not for the target Kushida put on him.
Kushida wins a fatal four way over Laredo Kid, Mike Bailey and Rich Swann to punch his ticket to Bound For Glory and the rematch is set. Angle/Kushida II
Angle shows more of his aggressive side in this bout, given that this match is probably the most personal of Angle's young career. Kushida attempts to wear away at the arm, but Kurt has him scouted, sharply reversing any arm oriented attacks.
Angle dizzies Kushida with a series of throws and suplex, making Kushida feel like he's trapped in the spin cycle. Following Angle's several minutes of control time, he attempts to finalize his revenge on Kushida with an Angle Slam. Kushida shifts off the shoulders and into a Kimura Lock.
Angle is forced to tough it out for a minute as Kushida relentlessly latches on. Angle finally takes Kushida to the ground, gets a hand around the ankle and rolls out of the Kimura, taking the ankle with him.
Ankle Lock is in, Kushida though, rolls forward to escape. A nasty jab by Kushida connects, before he attempts his handspring back elbow. Angle catches him and lands a German Suplex. Angle rolls over into an Ankle Lock. A, so far, unseen intensity donning his expression.
Kushida is gutsy and resilient, but is eventually forced to submit to Angle. Kurt relishes his victory, getting what he perceives as his vengeance over Kushida.
Angle, ever the good sport, offers Kushida a hand and pulls him up into a handshake, squashing the beef between them.]
Kurt Angle (c) def Kushida to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
TNA Turning Point 2024, Nov 3, 2024:
Josh Alexander vs Kurt Angle (c), TNA World Heavyweight Championship
[Having effectively vanquished Kushida, Angle turns his attention towards his next challenger. Josh Alexander, having been forced to vacate the World Championship after becoming the longest reigning TNA World Champion in company history, is still seeking to gain back the title that he never lost.
He just so happens to have to go through the man who made his debut to rescue Alexander a couple short months ago to do so. Alexander and Angle, both of similar backgrounds, are excited and respectful in their pursuit to do battle.
The match runs fairly similarly to Jeff Cobb's clash with Angle, a game of one upmanship based around suplex variants. Angle gets the better of Josh with one of these exchanges, getting his trio of German Suplexes to connect and throwing Josh across the ring with the third.
Alexander pops up and comes barreling out of the corner with a spear, he then rolls with Angle, maintaining grip on the waist and lifts him into a deadlift gutwrench suplex creating a beautiful fusion move. Angle barely gets the shoulder up and both men lay exhausted.
They find their footing in the center of the ring, and Alexander begins to lay in with uppercuts. Angle gets a read on him, and catches an uppercut attempt into a backslide, Josh kicks out and Kurt gets him up in powerbomb position. Josh escapes onto his feet and gets Kurt up for a fireman's carry landing a cutter from that position.
Kurt kicks out and Alexander adapts, getting a torture rack applied, bending Angle over his traps. Kurt escapes and gets an emphatic German Suplex. Angle scales the turnbuckles, moonsault! Alexander avoids. Josh gets Angle up and lands a spinning tombstone for a near fall.
For the first time since Angle transitioned to professional wrestling, his neck begins to bother him after the nasty spike on the head. The commentators make point of mentioning Angle's background of neck issues. Alexander decides to make a statement at the expense of Angle, trapping him in an Ankle Lock.
Kurt is able to roll free and as Josh rebounds off the ropes, he is caught with an Angle Slam. Kurt, clutching his neck, goes up top. Moonsault connects. The referee begins the count, but Kurt stops him. Ankle Lock by Kurt.
Kurt wants to make Josh submit, but Alexander breaks out. He gets a double underhook, but Kurt lifts Josh with his bad neck and falls backwards to escape. Kurt immediately goes back on attacking the ankle. Josh scrambles to kick Kurt away and succeeds. Kurt charges back, right into the grips of Alexander. Double Underhook, Tiger Driver! Angle bounces off his skull, and Josh quickly covers. Kurt somehow kicks out!
Josh drags Angle up by his singlet straps, a second spinning tombstone! One, Two Three. Alexander, after several months on the shelf, having to give up his record breaking reign, has reclaimed his spot at the top of the TNA food chain and he's done it by defeating Kurt Angle.
After the bout, Alexander is forced to cut his celebrating short as Kurt struggles to move. He's eventually carted off with a stretcher, putting a damper on Alexander's cathartic title victory.]
Josh Alexander def Kurt Angle (c) to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
Following his harrowing loss of the TNA World Title, it's reported by PWI that Angle has a bad concussion and will be out of action for the remainder of November and likely all of Winter. This is due to precautionary measures being taken since Angle has a history of neck problems.
Death, Taxes and Dirt Sheets Being Wrong.
AEW Collision, Nov 9, 2024:
Motor City Machine Guns vs Konosuke Takeshita & Powerhouse Hobbs
[Meanwhile, in AEW, MCMG arrived a little under six months ago and in doing so have become one of the premier tag teams in the company. They've recently been embroiled in a mini-feud with The Don Callis Family, and it comes to a head here.
After various points of control for each competitor, MCMG are able to take the hard earned victory, pinning Hobbs with Takeshita failing to break it up.
After the bout, Hobbs takes a microphone and makes it clear that The Don Callis Family has been on a downhill slide lately. He states that he can make The Don Callis Family better, and bring them back to their former relevance. That he can inspire Takeshita and earn tag team gold with him.
"I just don't want to."
He turns to Takeshita and Callis, taking a predatory stance now.
"Why should I stay and save this family." He scoffs. "A family of failures...is no family of mine."
He headbutts Takeshita and stands over the fallen warrior. Blood begins to trickle down the nose, as Hobbs capitalizes with the World's Strongest Slam. He kneels over the broken body of Takeshita when the star spangled banner coats the titantron and just six days after it was reported he would be out of action for months, Kurt Angle debuts in AEW.
He brawls with his GCW rival, taking Hobbs out of the ring. He stands his ground, staring down Hobbszilla. The Olympic Hero is All Elite!]
AEW Dynamite, Nov 13, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Powerhouse Hobbs
[It's announced that on Dynamite, ten short days after Kurt Angle's TNA World Title loss, that he will lock horns with Powerhouse Hobbs on Dynamite in his official debut.
Hobbs is able to do what few have truly been able to, and that is overpower Kurt Angle. Angle is a stout, strong guy but when greeted with the powerlifter Hobbs, he finds himself manhandled.
Hobbs blocks suplex attempts and tosses Angle around with slams and throws. Hobbs begins to work on the back, getting Kurt in a torture rack submission. Kurt slips out the back door and gets a surprise German on Hobbs, he maintains waist control and attempts another, but Hobbs escapes and sends Kurt spiraling off the ropes.
A spinebuster from Hobbs follows for a two count. Hobbs gets frustrated throwing Angle out of the ring and using his environment to his advantage. He throws Kurt across the announce desk, into the steel stairs, smashes him against the barricade. Once he feels enough damage has been done, he sends Kurt back in and gets him up for Town Business, Angle escapes off the shoulders and lands an Angle Slam.
Clutching his back, Kurt is able to get the pinfall victory over the ever-menacing Hobbs. A successful debut for The Olympic Hero in the land of The Elite.]
Kurt Angle def Powerhouse Hobbs
AEW Dynamite, Nov 20, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Powerhouse Hobbs
[One week after their titanic clash, it is announced that Hobbs and Angle will clash once more ahead of Takeshita/Hobbs at Full Gear.
Angle makes his entrance, a new shade of intensity painting his face. Everyone believes Angle is going to express that intensity by giving Hobbs a proper beating.
Instead, as the two men stand across each other and the bell rings, the two come face to face, center of the ring.
Hobbs snatches the ref. World's Strongest Slam.
Angle simply snickers to himself as he backs into the corner.
As the crowd sits in stunned silence, Angle climbs to the top turnbuckle, landing a bone-rattling moonsault on the defenseless Rick Knox, making clear he is in on this sick plan.
Security begins to rush the ring, and Hobbs & Angle begin to get to work. They demolish every guard that enters the ring in quick succession.
After clearing the twenty-some security guards, Angle and Hobbs stand together, proud of the carnage they've inflicted. That is, until, Konosuke Takeshita's theme sounds.
Takeshita storms the ring, fighting both men at once. To everyone's amazement, Takeshita is able to clear the ring, chasing off the two newly united heels. Takeshita stands tall ahead of Full Gear, sending a brief but loud message to Hobbs.]
AEW Full Gear, Nov 23, 2024:
Konosuke Takeshita vs Kurt Angle
[Tony Khan makes the announcement that the behavior shown on Dynamite was unacceptable, and reprimands are in order. Kurt Angle is a newcomer to the company, so Tony will let him off with a one and only warning, but Hobbs has been here for years and he knows better. Powerhouse Hobbs has been suspended for thirty days and will miss Full Gear, in his place, his new running mate Kurt Angle will be forced to sub in against Takeshita.
In one of the biggest tests of both men's young careers, two of the hottest rising stars in AEW collide, with deep personal roots fueling the bout. Takeshita wanted Powerhouse Hobbs, the man who backstabbed him, tonight but settles for directing all of that anger towards Kurt Angle instead.
Angle enters with his signature mouth-piece finally making it's first appearance, he probably could have used that before, but hindsight. It adds a distinct edge to his grizzled 'real' fighter look.
In Kurt's second proper match in the company, he is put through the wringer in one of the most physically intense matches of his career. Takeshita's blistering strikes leave Angle cornered and forced to rely on pockets of offense to try to limit the damage done to him.
Angle finally gets an opening late and attempts an Angle Slam, Takeshita on his feet lands behind Angle and sinks him with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall. Takeshita sizing up Kurt from the corner, closes the distance with a Pegasus Knee Strike, Angle catches the leg, and rolls into a knee bar. He focuses his assault on the ankle, hoping to soften Takeshita up.
Takeshita writhes in pain before finally reaching the bottom rope, forcing separation. Angle uses every bit of the five count to continue torturing the ankle. Takeshita kicks Kurt away as Angle looks to pounce, and Konosuke begins running the ropes, picking up steam. He avoids multiple clothesline attempts, dizzying Angle.
He finally closes the gap with a massive lariat. Takeshita scouts Angle from the corner now, and the Pegasus Knee gets ducked by Angle. Kurt begins his trio of German Suplexes. On the third attempt, Takeshita escapes, Blue Thunder Bo- Angle escapes, a third German Suplex! It lands Konosuke flat on his face and Takeshita seeks refuge on the outside.
Angle scales the turnbuckles, catching Konosuke at ringside with a moonsault! He sends Konosuke back in and climbs once more. A final moonsault, but Takeshita rolls out of the way. Angle eats the canvas. Pegasus Knee Strike connects knocking the mouthpiece out! Takeshita pulling Angle up, Blue Thunder Bomb!
It is sweet victory for Takeshita, as he is able to get a measure of revenge on Kurt Angle, translated via the glare in his eyes and the expression on his face though, it is evident that Takeshita still wants Hobbs.]
Konosuke Takeshita def Kurt Angle
AEW Worlds End, Dec 29, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Kyle O'Reilly, Submission Match
[We arrive at Worlds End and these two grappling gods are chomping at the bit to finally cross paths. Hobbs is busy with Takeshita which gives Angle ample opportunity to put O'Reilly to the test.
Kurt's been getting more braggadocios following his victories, including in two five minute challenges in which he was able to tap both Lee Moriarty and Daniel Garcia in under five minutes.
O'Reilly is able to meet Angle tit for tat, much like Kushida and Sabre Jr. before him. Kurt finally starts to feel some of that pressure he's been applying to his recent opponents.
Late in the contest, O'Reilly begins to pummel Angle with various strikes taking toll on every part of the body. He caps off the sequence with a stomp to the back of the head and a spinning forearm. Angle is left dazed when Kyle leaps on to the back for a sleeper.
Kurt fumbles momentarily with the hands of O'Reilly, but as loss of consciousness rears it's head, Angle dives forward slamming O'Reilly against the turnbuckles, nearly driving both men through them. O'Reilly stumbles up into a trio of Germans, O'Reilly locks onto the waist with his legs on the third attempt, rolling Angle forward and applying a cross armbreaker.
Angle finds his way out with a grasp on the ankle. Ankle Lock is in, O'Reilly kicks and kicks, but Angle refuses to release the grip. O'Reilly shifts himself onto his back and is able to get Angle within reach to apply a Guillotine. Angle gives up the Ankle Lock to focus on the newfound predicament.
He solves it with a northern lights suplex to escape. Angle sets his sights on O'Reilly and closes in for an Angle Slam, Kyle on his feet, Russian Leg Sweep by O'Reilly who then finds the arm and reattaches. Angle shows his strength getting a deadlift powerbomb and forcing O'Reilly to forgo his grip.
Angle climbs to the top for a moonsault, O'Reilly avoids, Kyle comes in hot, stepping up on Angle's leg to then knee him in the face. O'Reilly follows up with a roundhouse, Angle ducks, leg sweep, Angle jumps and then Angle rolls forward and snatches the ankle.
The Ankle Lock is firmly applied, O'Reilly struggles, trying to grab the ropes, kick free, roll out, but Angle has seen it all before and has an answer for everything O'Reilly attempts. After agonizing minutes in the Ankle Lock, O'Reilly finally submits to Kurt Angle.
Yet another feather in the cap of the seemingly unstoppable wrestling machine.]
Kurt Angle def Kyle O'Reilly
AEW Dynamite, Jan 22, 2025:
[On the Dynamite after Angle and Hobbs score a tag team victory over Hook and RVD, Hook is in the ring and calls out Angle. He claims that he is the match Angle has been waiting for and that he knows he can submit Kurt.
Angle comes out and tells Hook that he's a very talented man, and that one day Hook could be a World Champion. Angle's a fan of Hook, he's a hooker.
The only thing Angle can't stand about Hook is his stupid hair. A Champion shouldn't look like they rolled out of a sleeping bag on Skid Row twenty minutes ago, and Angle damn sure ain't tapping to no hobo.
Angle agrees to a match with Hook under the stipulation that when Hook loses he shave his head, Angle is so confident even that he'll put his own hair on the line too.
Once the match is made, Hobbs lambasts Hook from behind, beating on the defenseless up and comer. This leads Taz to rise from the announce table and try to come to the ring, Angle stops him and blocks his way.
As the two face off, Angle gets that feeling again. It's impossible, but...he's been here before, seen this man before. Angle gets a ringing in his ears and abruptly headbutts Taz. Excalibur rises from the table before Taz is ripped up by his suit and Angle carrys him over to the announce desk.
A brutal Angle Slam through the desk connects. Hobbs even backs Angle up and is able to somewhat corral the unhinged Angle. Taz is carted off and suddenly the fight between Hook and Angle just got personal.]
CONT. In Comments
submitted by SpiralSour to FantasyBookingElite [link] [comments]
He went on to carve out an incredible career for himself, winning world titles the world over. Whether it was WWE, TNA or even NJPW - Angle made sure to leave an impact everywhere he went.
What if things were different though? What if Kurt Angle never debuted in the attitude era and instead, at the prime age of 32, Kurt Angle debuted in the wrestling world we know today?
Who would he cross paths with? Would he reach the same heights he did in his day? I intend to explore this topic and find out for myself.
Can The Wrestling Machine thrive in the Renaissance Era? Only time will tell...
The year is 2023 and Kurt Angle arrives on the scene, he's well known as is from his historic feat in 2021, when he won a gold medal with a broken neck at the Summer Olympics.
Many would expect Kurt to chase this success into something significant, but many are surprised and intrigued when it's made clear what his future goals are.
To transition into the world of sports entertainment and become a professional wrestler.
He spends his first year working the independent scene, making appearances in GCW specifically. There, he ends up having standout matches with the likes of Brian Cage and Powerhouse Hobbs who make special guest appearances to lock up with the hot commodity. He even has a half-decent match with Jake Hager, in a bout that seems like it could've been something special if Hager was about a decade younger and still The All American American.
By the time June 2024 rolls around, dirt sheets are speculating that most of the major professional wrestling companies are showing great interest in Kurt, but it's likely he will turn up in WWE due to their extensive track record transitioning athletes from various walks of life and countless different sports.
Imagine everyones surprise then, when Hiroshi Tanahashi announces NJPW has signed Kurt Angle, not to a full time contract but for a very exciting purpose indeed.
The G1 Climax.
Along with him in B Block are seven other supremely talented athletes, some of NJPW's finest along with a couple of freelancers from other promotions.
NJPW, G1 Climax 34 - Night 1, July 15, 2024:
Eddie Kingston vs Kurt Angle
[Kurt's first match of the G1 comes in the form of the Mad King, Eddie Kingston. Eddie's striking and submission based aggression pairs well with Kurt's grappling and limb targeting. Angle is able to rattle Eddie throughout the match with throws and suplexes, as well as his ability to outmaneuver Eddie's submission attempts.
The match comes to a close as Eddie comes out of the corner with a Uraken to a wobbly Angle. Kurt ducks and latches on for a German Suplex, maintaining waist control, a second German Suplex, yet again. Kurt pulls Kingston up to complete the trio, but Eddie hooks onto the top turnbuckle. Kurt shows his strength, suplexing Kingston as the padding goes flying.
Kurt tries for an Angle Slam, but Kingston finds his footing behind Kurt, and grips hold of the neck, cinching a bulldog choke. Kurt struggles up before marching towards the corner and diving downwards, thus driving Eddie skull first into the exposed turnbuckle.
An Angle Slam follows, and Kurt secures a win in his NJPW debut.]
Kurt Angle (2) def Eddie Kingston (0)
NJPW G1 Climax 34 - Night 3, July 18, 2024:
Jeff Cobb vs Kurt Angle
[Kurt's second match of the G1 proves to be a very interesting one indeed. Jeff Cobb, a former olympian himself, is perhaps one of the only wrestlers on the planet who can match Angle regarding his knowledge of suplexes, throws, power maneuvers and grapples.
The match begins to near the end as Cobb has Angle up top in a deadlift stalling superplex, Angle is able to land on his feet behind Cobb and German Suplex Cobb off the middle turnbuckle.
Angle looks for an Angle Slam, but Cobb lands on his feet and tries for Tour Of The Islands, but Kurt scrambles free and lands a German Suplex, maintains waist control, Cobb breaks free and steps behind Angle, German Suplex, Angle does the same thing, Cobb gets fed up and hits a German Suplex that lands Angle flat on his face as Cobb releases the waist.
Cobb signals for the end and looks for a standing moonsault, Kurt avoids and hits a throwing German Suplex of his own. Angle scales the turnbuckles, moonsault! At the ref's count of two, Cobb sits up with Angle in his arms. Tour Of The Islands connects! Near-fall!
Cobb gets Angle up on his shoulder, Angle escapes and locks on to the ankle, Jeff rolls forward and sends Angle into the corner. Angle steps backwards into the arms of Cobb, Tour Of The Isl- Angle on his feet! Angle Slam!
Kurt begins to scale the ropes and lands another moonsault. With that, Cobb finally stays down and Angle is able to outlast his counterpart.]
Kurt Angle (4) def Jeff Cobb (0)
NJPW G1 Climax 34 - Night 5, July 21, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Kushida
[Taking into consideration Kushida's rather successful MMA background, this matchup seems like a no brainer. Both men are grappling gods well regarded as being submission experts. It's on full display when they finally face off in the G1.
Kushida has been vocal about his displeasure competing only in the Junior division and when put in the premier tournament of NJPW's year, he's eager to prove he belongs in the main event scene.
The story told here is Angle's non stop assault on the legs and ankles of Kushida, and in return Kushida relentlessly damaging the arms and wrists of Angle.
Kushida, despite the quickly deteriorating bones in his legs, is leech like with how determined he is to stay attached to the arm of Kurt. Angle Slam? Denied and turned into a Kimura Lock. Ankle Lock? Kushida rolls forward driving Angle shoulder first into the steel post, and then Kimura Lock. German Suplex? That's what you think, it's actually a Kimura Lock.
As Kushida continuously dissects the arm, Angle begins getting increasingly desperate. He dunks Kushida into the turnbuckles harshly. Onto the apron. Into the barricade. Taking more and more drastic measures to free himself and becoming less and less successful.
Eventually Kurt is in agony and nothing seems to shake Kushida, he climbs to the top rope, hoping a drop from that height will force release. Kushida lets go without Kurt even having to drop only to reapply and look for an arm drag variation off the top.
As Kushida goes to drop, Kurt grips to the ropes and Kushida lands in a tree of woe position. Kurt grabs hold of the ears of Kushida, pulling him up slightly, before shoving him down and forcing him to collide with the turnbuckles.
He drags Kushida up to the top rope, clearly looking for something big, but Kushida goes back in with the Kimura, Kurt begins driving Kushida into the top of the steel post before actually picking Kushida up with his bad arm only and slamming Kushida into the metal.
Kurt positions himself for one last gasp effort to thwart the colorfast Kushida. Angle Slam from the top turnbuckle! An exhausted Angle crawls to cover, and is at last able to defeat Kushida.
The question quickly becomes though, as the referee is refused the chance to even raise the arm of Angle, how much damage was done?]
Kurt Angle (6) def Kushida (2)
NJPW G1 Climax 34 - Night 7, July 25, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Matt Riddle
[Four nights after having his arm near surgically dissected by Kushida, Angle locks up against another skilled fighter endowed with MMA experience.
Riddle gives the challenge Cobb gave being able to match Angle on power, while also giving the challenge Kushida did with limb targeting and joint manipulation.
Riddle, entering his first G1 has arguably his biggest opportunity since joining NJPW earlier in the year. He spends the duration of the match peppering Angle with strikes to the arm, salting with submissions.
As the match nears it's own climax, Angle goes for a high risk moonsault only for Riddle to avoid. A final flash knee follows from the ever opportunistic Riddle. Kurt is able to kick-out, inspiring Riddle to try for a RainTrigger. Kurt blocks with his arm to avoid getting struck in the face. He winces and Riddle capitalizes with rapid palm strikes to the chest before kicking Kurt into the ropes.
As Angle rebounds, Riddle goes under the arm and tries for a falling pele kick, Kurt catches the leg and gets an Ankle Lock. Riddle is able to get back to his free foot, so Angle hits a leg trapped German Suplex to discourage a comeback.
Kurt tries for an Angle Slam, but Riddle maneuvers into a pinning predicament, Kurt reverses the pressure pinning Riddle's shoulders. They go back and forth until Kurt traps Matt in a sleeper hold. Riddle fires up to his feet and begins snapping Kurt's elbow over his shoulder to escape.
Riddle gets Kurt up for Bro To Sleep, Angle catches the leg and clings with an Ankle Lock. Riddle gets back to his feet and lands a surprise roundhouse with his free foot. A V-Trigger to the shoulder follows, before Riddle gets Angle in Tombstone position. Angle slithers down, and like a snake, latches onto the ankle.
Riddle crumples under the unexpected pressure as Kurt gets a knee baankle lock hybrid applied. He wrenches away on the Achilles tendon, as Riddle writhes in pain.
Matt nearly gets to the ropes, but Angle is able to roll with him back into the center of the ring. Eventually, Riddle has to think of the big picture and consider the matches he still has left in the tournament, and he submits to Kurt Angle.
Kurt is able to conquer another worthy adversary and remains undefeated in the tournament, but his arm is clearly bothering him and that is shown as Kurt takes time to nurse the injury after the bout.]
Kurt Angle (8) def Matt Riddle (4)
NJPW G1 Climax 34 - Night 9, July 27, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Minoru Suzuki:
[It's more bad news for Angle, as his next foe is regarded as arguably one of the most sadistic pro wrestlers of all time. Suzuki, known for his methodical approach and willingness to lay in with strikes, has him salivating at the prospect of getting his hands on the already wounded Kurt.
Angle is donning circulation tape as he locks up with the Murder Grandpa. Suzuki wastes little time in tearing at the tape, exposing the flesh beneath. Digging his elbow into the shoulder blade, he continues his attack on Kurt.
Knee drops and stiff chops leave a stinging sensation rippling through the arm of Angle. Kurt wants to execute his power maneuvers, but a lack of grip prevents him as he begins losing strength and ability with every blow to the shoulder.
Suzuki tucks Kurt's fragmented arm behind him, connecting with Russian Leg Sweeps and suplexes, landing Angle's weight harshly onto his own arm.
Kurt begins mounting something of a comeback against the relentless Suzuki. He keeps his arm close to his body, but is able to surprise Minoru with his explosiveness. He knows he can't lift Suzuki, and so turns to the aerial side of his arsenal.
A swan dive off the apron has Suzuki reeling and Angle is able to follow up with a moonsault into the ring. Angle tries to strike with his feet, connecting with dropkicks and enziguris.
Suzuki weathers the storm, however, and positions Angle for a Gotch-Style Piledriver. Angle is able to grasp onto the leg and sink down, refusing to let Suzuki power him up.
Angle goes under, maintaining his leg control, and gets an Ankle Lock applied. He struggles to keep it in for as long as possible, but the strength in his arm isn't present. Suzuki is able to kick Angle off of him, and Kurt goes into desperation mode. A wounded animal faced with an angry Minoru Suzuki.
Angle goes for a risky strategy, considering his lack of practice in this department, but he decides to use a leg oriented submission, given that his arms are unable to grip for long. He is able to reverse a Gotch-Style into a triangle choke, tightening his legs vice grip around the neck and applying pressure to the carotid.
Angle tries his damnedest, withstanding even a deadlift powerbomb and continuing his choke, to maintain his attack on Suzuki. It pays off as slowly, but surely, Suzuki loses the ability to breathe and is forced to tap out to Kurt Angle.]
Kurt Angle (10) def Minoru Suzuki (2)
NJPW G1 Climax 34 - Night 11, Aug 1, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Shingo Takagi
[It's out of the frying pan and into the fire as Angle survives Suzuki, but is now faced with arguably more aggressive competition, in the form of Shingo Takagi.
Angle is on the defensive for most of the bout, wanting to keep his perfect record intact, and knowing the danger of letting Shingo get ahold of his arm.
This also means Angle is less assertive, however, and Shingo is more willing to take risks to do damage to Kurt. Takagi gives Angle a taste of his own medicine as he begins repeatedly suplexing Angle, multiple Germans, landing Kurt on his bad shoulder. He mixes in other variations as well, optimizing the damage he can do to the arm.
Takagi also drives Angle, shoulder first into the steel post. When Angle slumps down, Takagi closes in with a running knee strike, popping Angle's shoulder into the turnbuckle.
Shingo dominates the course of the match, letting Angle get in little offense. Angle stirs, sitting up as he tries to catch his bearings on the canvas. Shingo spots Angle in position for a PUMPING BOMBER, Angle ducks, Angle Slam, Shingo on his feet to avoid, Made In Japan! Angle locks to the waist and reverses with a roll-up, Shingo rolls backwards to kick out, Shingo behind Angle, gets him up, Last Of The Dragons!
Angle planted right on his bad shoulder with authority by Takagi. Shingo gets rewarded for his effort with a very close near fall. Shingo pulls Angle up by his hair, forearm, after forearm, after forearm. Angle spits in the face of Takagi, refusing to go quietly for The Dragon. Shingo wipes his face calmly, before running the ropes, PUMPING BOMBER.
With that, Takagi has handed Angle his first singles career loss, and overtaken him in the G1 rankings.]
Shingo Takagi (11) def Kurt Angle (10)
NJPW G1 Climax 34 - Night 13, Aug 5, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Zack Sabre Jr.
[Finally, we arrive at Kurt's final test of this grueling tournament. The tournament that has left him clutching his arm in peril every night, the tournament that has left him blistered and bruised in the biggest tests of his young career, but most importantly, the tournament that put him on the map.
Angle, well regarded as a fantastic submission worker and grappler, takes aim at arguably the greatest submission based wrestler of all time, Zack Sabre Jr.
Angle's Olympian background makes for an intriguing contrast against Zack's more strike heavy, frenzied submission approach. Sabre Jr., one of the most shark like opponents you could have, rips at the arm of Angle in various ways.
Bending the arm back as he stands on the fingers before stamping the elbow sideways, penalty kicks to the forearm, palm strikes to the shoulder blade, using every opportunity to hang the arm over the ropes before being forced to release.
Zack has Angle in a pool of pain as he ascends for a diving knee drop to the arm, Angle avoids, catching Zack in mid air with an Ankle Lock. Zack scrambles, and rolls forward, sending Angle out of the ring.
Sabre goes to the apron, and attempts a diving uppercut, Angle catches him and flips him forward before getting him up for a powerbomb. Zack quickly shifts into an arm triangle, tearing at the arm. Angle drops Zack onto the barricade to no avail, but a firm drop onto the apron forces Zack to let Angle go.
Sabre Jr. is positioned against the stairs and Kurt charges in, Zack slips into the ring and Angle collides with the steel stairs. Baseball slide by Zack follows before he guides Angle to the steel barricade. He pops Angle's arm through the bars and uses his feet on the other side to pull Angle further in, trying to pull Angle through the fence.
Zack gets cocky, standing atop the barricade as he keeps his paws on Angle. Angle sweeps the legs and Sabre takes a nasty spill on top of the steel. An impromptu Angle Slam into the barricade follows before Angle sends Sabre Jr. back in.
Angle climbs, looking to put the finishing touches on Sabre Jr. A Moonsault by Angle caught with a triangle! Sabre Jr. wraps his legs around the neck of Angle, strangling The Wrestling Machine. Kurt powers up Sabre with his last bit of strength. He collapses Zack into the turnbuckles, shifting the ring with the force.
Angle recovers and rips Zack out of the corner into an Ankle Lock. He knows he can't maintain good grip with his arm, so he cinches down into a knee bar. Zack struggles for a while before finally finding the bottom rope. Zack gets an arm triangle over the ropes for a few seconds, before connecting with a kick from the apron.
Sabre dives back in, but Angle blocks the slingshot with an Ankle Lock. Zack swiftly rolls forward, and as Angle tries to roll backwards, Zack pins him down. Angle rolls backwards anyway with Zack and gets a German Suplex. Angle sits up and lets out a roar, before Zack stands up and kicks him in the back of the head. Both men collapse as the playing field is evened.
Angle and Sabre Jr. find themselves crawling back up in opposite corners. The crowd breaks into a clap building up to both men meeting in the center of the ring, unloading with strikes. Zack goes cheap with a falling kick to the bad arm. Zack steps on the knee of Angle before maneuvering over him and onto his arm where he then rolls into a cross armbreaker.
Angle fires up, and twists away at the ankle to turn into an Ankle Lock. Sabre rolls forward and turns it back into a cross armbreaker. Angle rolls backwards and pops out, into an Ankle Lock. Sabre rolls Angle into the turnbuckles to break the cycle. Step-up knee strike by Zack, avoided by Angle, Angle hops to the bottom turnbuckle to greet Zack. Angle Slam from the middle turnbuckle!
Kurt desperately covers, but Zack kicks out, locking a Kimura as he does. Angle yelps out in agony, and tries to roll out of it. Zack stops Angle with a cross armbreaker, Angle powers Zack up, Zack clings to Kurt, connecting with a rana before mounting into a triangle choke.
No matter what Kurt does, Zack won't let go of the arm. Angle, the pain unbearable, the breath leaving his body at an alarming rate. As Zack tightens like a snake across the arm and neck of Angle, Kurt begins to fade and eventually, perhaps inevitably, passes out in the jaws of Zack Sabre Jr.
Kurt's G1 proves to be incredibly impressive as he is ranked third in his block, and his undeniable grit was on full display, as The Olympic Hero refused to tap out, opting to lose consciousness instead.]
Zack Sabre Jr. (13) def Kurt Angle (10)
Jonathan Gresham (c) vs Kurt Angle, TNA World Heavyweight Championship
[Kurt, being the genetic freak that he is, catapults to the main event scene, especially given his matches in the G1 Climax boosting his resume. Gresham, having dethroned Moose a few months back, has been confidently seated as face of the company. Angle looks to challenge that throne.
Gresham and Angle have a heated contract signing prior to the event, with Angle, in response to being called a rookie stating "Well, this rookie is going to kick your fucking ass." before busting Gresham's nose into the table, dragging Jonathan across the table and powerbombing him through it.
The bout is a technical masterclass with Gresham challenging Angle on the technical front. Gresham manages to get Angle in an octopus lock, Angle shifts Gresham out of it and cinches an Ankle Lock. Gresham hooks onto Angle's ankle and throws Kurt off balance, collapsing him into a knee bar. Angle manages to kick Gresham away before locking a figure four.
Gresham rolls over to reverse the pressure, before both men make their way onto their heads, slapping and swatting at each other. Angle throws the first closed fist and it dazes Gresham who breaks free of the predicament. Angle begins his repeated germans, Gresham lands on his feet with the third attempt. Octopus Lock by Gresham, Angle reverses into a third and final German Suplex.
Gresham stumbles up, Angle Slam, Gresham on his feet, big knee to the nose of Angle, Octopus Hold, a look of annoyed disbelief crosses the face of Angle due to Jonathan's insistence on this move, powerbomb reversal by Angle. Gresham pulls himself up using the ropes and is caught from behind with a definitive Angle Slam.
The referee counts the pin and Kurt Angle has secured his first pro wrestling title, the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, after a barn burner to dethrone Jon Gresham.]
Kurt Angle def Jonathan Gresham (c) to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
TNA Bound For Glory 2024, Oct 13, 2024:
Kurt Angle (c) vs Kushida, TNA World Heavyweight Championship
[A few short months following their classic in the G1, Angle is hungry for revenge on the man he claims cost him the biggest opportunity of his career. After all, Angle suffered his arm injury during his match with Kushida, and there's an argument to be made his losses to Shingo and Sabre Jr. wouldn't have occured if not for the target Kushida put on him.
Kushida wins a fatal four way over Laredo Kid, Mike Bailey and Rich Swann to punch his ticket to Bound For Glory and the rematch is set. Angle/Kushida II
Angle shows more of his aggressive side in this bout, given that this match is probably the most personal of Angle's young career. Kushida attempts to wear away at the arm, but Kurt has him scouted, sharply reversing any arm oriented attacks.
Angle dizzies Kushida with a series of throws and suplex, making Kushida feel like he's trapped in the spin cycle. Following Angle's several minutes of control time, he attempts to finalize his revenge on Kushida with an Angle Slam. Kushida shifts off the shoulders and into a Kimura Lock.
Angle is forced to tough it out for a minute as Kushida relentlessly latches on. Angle finally takes Kushida to the ground, gets a hand around the ankle and rolls out of the Kimura, taking the ankle with him.
Ankle Lock is in, Kushida though, rolls forward to escape. A nasty jab by Kushida connects, before he attempts his handspring back elbow. Angle catches him and lands a German Suplex. Angle rolls over into an Ankle Lock. A, so far, unseen intensity donning his expression.
Kushida is gutsy and resilient, but is eventually forced to submit to Angle. Kurt relishes his victory, getting what he perceives as his vengeance over Kushida.
Angle, ever the good sport, offers Kushida a hand and pulls him up into a handshake, squashing the beef between them.]
Kurt Angle (c) def Kushida to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
TNA Turning Point 2024, Nov 3, 2024:
Josh Alexander vs Kurt Angle (c), TNA World Heavyweight Championship
[Having effectively vanquished Kushida, Angle turns his attention towards his next challenger. Josh Alexander, having been forced to vacate the World Championship after becoming the longest reigning TNA World Champion in company history, is still seeking to gain back the title that he never lost.
He just so happens to have to go through the man who made his debut to rescue Alexander a couple short months ago to do so. Alexander and Angle, both of similar backgrounds, are excited and respectful in their pursuit to do battle.
The match runs fairly similarly to Jeff Cobb's clash with Angle, a game of one upmanship based around suplex variants. Angle gets the better of Josh with one of these exchanges, getting his trio of German Suplexes to connect and throwing Josh across the ring with the third.
Alexander pops up and comes barreling out of the corner with a spear, he then rolls with Angle, maintaining grip on the waist and lifts him into a deadlift gutwrench suplex creating a beautiful fusion move. Angle barely gets the shoulder up and both men lay exhausted.
They find their footing in the center of the ring, and Alexander begins to lay in with uppercuts. Angle gets a read on him, and catches an uppercut attempt into a backslide, Josh kicks out and Kurt gets him up in powerbomb position. Josh escapes onto his feet and gets Kurt up for a fireman's carry landing a cutter from that position.
Kurt kicks out and Alexander adapts, getting a torture rack applied, bending Angle over his traps. Kurt escapes and gets an emphatic German Suplex. Angle scales the turnbuckles, moonsault! Alexander avoids. Josh gets Angle up and lands a spinning tombstone for a near fall.
For the first time since Angle transitioned to professional wrestling, his neck begins to bother him after the nasty spike on the head. The commentators make point of mentioning Angle's background of neck issues. Alexander decides to make a statement at the expense of Angle, trapping him in an Ankle Lock.
Kurt is able to roll free and as Josh rebounds off the ropes, he is caught with an Angle Slam. Kurt, clutching his neck, goes up top. Moonsault connects. The referee begins the count, but Kurt stops him. Ankle Lock by Kurt.
Kurt wants to make Josh submit, but Alexander breaks out. He gets a double underhook, but Kurt lifts Josh with his bad neck and falls backwards to escape. Kurt immediately goes back on attacking the ankle. Josh scrambles to kick Kurt away and succeeds. Kurt charges back, right into the grips of Alexander. Double Underhook, Tiger Driver! Angle bounces off his skull, and Josh quickly covers. Kurt somehow kicks out!
Josh drags Angle up by his singlet straps, a second spinning tombstone! One, Two Three. Alexander, after several months on the shelf, having to give up his record breaking reign, has reclaimed his spot at the top of the TNA food chain and he's done it by defeating Kurt Angle.
After the bout, Alexander is forced to cut his celebrating short as Kurt struggles to move. He's eventually carted off with a stretcher, putting a damper on Alexander's cathartic title victory.]
Josh Alexander def Kurt Angle (c) to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
Death, Taxes and Dirt Sheets Being Wrong.
AEW Collision, Nov 9, 2024:
Motor City Machine Guns vs Konosuke Takeshita & Powerhouse Hobbs
[Meanwhile, in AEW, MCMG arrived a little under six months ago and in doing so have become one of the premier tag teams in the company. They've recently been embroiled in a mini-feud with The Don Callis Family, and it comes to a head here.
After various points of control for each competitor, MCMG are able to take the hard earned victory, pinning Hobbs with Takeshita failing to break it up.
After the bout, Hobbs takes a microphone and makes it clear that The Don Callis Family has been on a downhill slide lately. He states that he can make The Don Callis Family better, and bring them back to their former relevance. That he can inspire Takeshita and earn tag team gold with him.
"I just don't want to."
He turns to Takeshita and Callis, taking a predatory stance now.
"Why should I stay and save this family." He scoffs. "A family of failures...is no family of mine."
He headbutts Takeshita and stands over the fallen warrior. Blood begins to trickle down the nose, as Hobbs capitalizes with the World's Strongest Slam. He kneels over the broken body of Takeshita when the star spangled banner coats the titantron and just six days after it was reported he would be out of action for months, Kurt Angle debuts in AEW.
He brawls with his GCW rival, taking Hobbs out of the ring. He stands his ground, staring down Hobbszilla. The Olympic Hero is All Elite!]
AEW Dynamite, Nov 13, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Powerhouse Hobbs
[It's announced that on Dynamite, ten short days after Kurt Angle's TNA World Title loss, that he will lock horns with Powerhouse Hobbs on Dynamite in his official debut.
Hobbs is able to do what few have truly been able to, and that is overpower Kurt Angle. Angle is a stout, strong guy but when greeted with the powerlifter Hobbs, he finds himself manhandled.
Hobbs blocks suplex attempts and tosses Angle around with slams and throws. Hobbs begins to work on the back, getting Kurt in a torture rack submission. Kurt slips out the back door and gets a surprise German on Hobbs, he maintains waist control and attempts another, but Hobbs escapes and sends Kurt spiraling off the ropes.
A spinebuster from Hobbs follows for a two count. Hobbs gets frustrated throwing Angle out of the ring and using his environment to his advantage. He throws Kurt across the announce desk, into the steel stairs, smashes him against the barricade. Once he feels enough damage has been done, he sends Kurt back in and gets him up for Town Business, Angle escapes off the shoulders and lands an Angle Slam.
Clutching his back, Kurt is able to get the pinfall victory over the ever-menacing Hobbs. A successful debut for The Olympic Hero in the land of The Elite.]
Kurt Angle def Powerhouse Hobbs
AEW Dynamite, Nov 20, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Powerhouse Hobbs
[One week after their titanic clash, it is announced that Hobbs and Angle will clash once more ahead of Takeshita/Hobbs at Full Gear.
Angle makes his entrance, a new shade of intensity painting his face. Everyone believes Angle is going to express that intensity by giving Hobbs a proper beating.
Instead, as the two men stand across each other and the bell rings, the two come face to face, center of the ring.
Hobbs snatches the ref. World's Strongest Slam.
Angle simply snickers to himself as he backs into the corner.
As the crowd sits in stunned silence, Angle climbs to the top turnbuckle, landing a bone-rattling moonsault on the defenseless Rick Knox, making clear he is in on this sick plan.
Security begins to rush the ring, and Hobbs & Angle begin to get to work. They demolish every guard that enters the ring in quick succession.
After clearing the twenty-some security guards, Angle and Hobbs stand together, proud of the carnage they've inflicted. That is, until, Konosuke Takeshita's theme sounds.
Takeshita storms the ring, fighting both men at once. To everyone's amazement, Takeshita is able to clear the ring, chasing off the two newly united heels. Takeshita stands tall ahead of Full Gear, sending a brief but loud message to Hobbs.]
AEW Full Gear, Nov 23, 2024:
Konosuke Takeshita vs Kurt Angle
[Tony Khan makes the announcement that the behavior shown on Dynamite was unacceptable, and reprimands are in order. Kurt Angle is a newcomer to the company, so Tony will let him off with a one and only warning, but Hobbs has been here for years and he knows better. Powerhouse Hobbs has been suspended for thirty days and will miss Full Gear, in his place, his new running mate Kurt Angle will be forced to sub in against Takeshita.
In one of the biggest tests of both men's young careers, two of the hottest rising stars in AEW collide, with deep personal roots fueling the bout. Takeshita wanted Powerhouse Hobbs, the man who backstabbed him, tonight but settles for directing all of that anger towards Kurt Angle instead.
Angle enters with his signature mouth-piece finally making it's first appearance, he probably could have used that before, but hindsight. It adds a distinct edge to his grizzled 'real' fighter look.
In Kurt's second proper match in the company, he is put through the wringer in one of the most physically intense matches of his career. Takeshita's blistering strikes leave Angle cornered and forced to rely on pockets of offense to try to limit the damage done to him.
Angle finally gets an opening late and attempts an Angle Slam, Takeshita on his feet lands behind Angle and sinks him with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall. Takeshita sizing up Kurt from the corner, closes the distance with a Pegasus Knee Strike, Angle catches the leg, and rolls into a knee bar. He focuses his assault on the ankle, hoping to soften Takeshita up.
Takeshita writhes in pain before finally reaching the bottom rope, forcing separation. Angle uses every bit of the five count to continue torturing the ankle. Takeshita kicks Kurt away as Angle looks to pounce, and Konosuke begins running the ropes, picking up steam. He avoids multiple clothesline attempts, dizzying Angle.
He finally closes the gap with a massive lariat. Takeshita scouts Angle from the corner now, and the Pegasus Knee gets ducked by Angle. Kurt begins his trio of German Suplexes. On the third attempt, Takeshita escapes, Blue Thunder Bo- Angle escapes, a third German Suplex! It lands Konosuke flat on his face and Takeshita seeks refuge on the outside.
Angle scales the turnbuckles, catching Konosuke at ringside with a moonsault! He sends Konosuke back in and climbs once more. A final moonsault, but Takeshita rolls out of the way. Angle eats the canvas. Pegasus Knee Strike connects knocking the mouthpiece out! Takeshita pulling Angle up, Blue Thunder Bomb!
It is sweet victory for Takeshita, as he is able to get a measure of revenge on Kurt Angle, translated via the glare in his eyes and the expression on his face though, it is evident that Takeshita still wants Hobbs.]
Konosuke Takeshita def Kurt Angle
AEW Worlds End, Dec 29, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Kyle O'Reilly, Submission Match
[We arrive at Worlds End and these two grappling gods are chomping at the bit to finally cross paths. Hobbs is busy with Takeshita which gives Angle ample opportunity to put O'Reilly to the test.
Kurt's been getting more braggadocios following his victories, including in two five minute challenges in which he was able to tap both Lee Moriarty and Daniel Garcia in under five minutes.
O'Reilly is able to meet Angle tit for tat, much like Kushida and Sabre Jr. before him. Kurt finally starts to feel some of that pressure he's been applying to his recent opponents.
Late in the contest, O'Reilly begins to pummel Angle with various strikes taking toll on every part of the body. He caps off the sequence with a stomp to the back of the head and a spinning forearm. Angle is left dazed when Kyle leaps on to the back for a sleeper.
Kurt fumbles momentarily with the hands of O'Reilly, but as loss of consciousness rears it's head, Angle dives forward slamming O'Reilly against the turnbuckles, nearly driving both men through them. O'Reilly stumbles up into a trio of Germans, O'Reilly locks onto the waist with his legs on the third attempt, rolling Angle forward and applying a cross armbreaker.
Angle finds his way out with a grasp on the ankle. Ankle Lock is in, O'Reilly kicks and kicks, but Angle refuses to release the grip. O'Reilly shifts himself onto his back and is able to get Angle within reach to apply a Guillotine. Angle gives up the Ankle Lock to focus on the newfound predicament.
He solves it with a northern lights suplex to escape. Angle sets his sights on O'Reilly and closes in for an Angle Slam, Kyle on his feet, Russian Leg Sweep by O'Reilly who then finds the arm and reattaches. Angle shows his strength getting a deadlift powerbomb and forcing O'Reilly to forgo his grip.
Angle climbs to the top for a moonsault, O'Reilly avoids, Kyle comes in hot, stepping up on Angle's leg to then knee him in the face. O'Reilly follows up with a roundhouse, Angle ducks, leg sweep, Angle jumps and then Angle rolls forward and snatches the ankle.
The Ankle Lock is firmly applied, O'Reilly struggles, trying to grab the ropes, kick free, roll out, but Angle has seen it all before and has an answer for everything O'Reilly attempts. After agonizing minutes in the Ankle Lock, O'Reilly finally submits to Kurt Angle.
Yet another feather in the cap of the seemingly unstoppable wrestling machine.]
Kurt Angle def Kyle O'Reilly
AEW Dynamite, Jan 22, 2025:
[On the Dynamite after Angle and Hobbs score a tag team victory over Hook and RVD, Hook is in the ring and calls out Angle. He claims that he is the match Angle has been waiting for and that he knows he can submit Kurt.
Angle comes out and tells Hook that he's a very talented man, and that one day Hook could be a World Champion. Angle's a fan of Hook, he's a hooker.
The only thing Angle can't stand about Hook is his stupid hair. A Champion shouldn't look like they rolled out of a sleeping bag on Skid Row twenty minutes ago, and Angle damn sure ain't tapping to no hobo.
Angle agrees to a match with Hook under the stipulation that when Hook loses he shave his head, Angle is so confident even that he'll put his own hair on the line too.
Once the match is made, Hobbs lambasts Hook from behind, beating on the defenseless up and comer. This leads Taz to rise from the announce table and try to come to the ring, Angle stops him and blocks his way.
As the two face off, Angle gets that feeling again. It's impossible, but...he's been here before, seen this man before. Angle gets a ringing in his ears and abruptly headbutts Taz. Excalibur rises from the table before Taz is ripped up by his suit and Angle carrys him over to the announce desk.
A brutal Angle Slam through the desk connects. Hobbs even backs Angle up and is able to somewhat corral the unhinged Angle. Taz is carted off and suddenly the fight between Hook and Angle just got personal.]
CONT. In Comments
2024.05.28 16:52 MitchHenessey My Trip to London (long)
I wanted to post a thread discussing my recent trip to London for those planning their own trips. First, I see this post as a “pay it forward” because I found the comments and posts of others on this subreddit immensely valuable when planning my trip. Second, I am not at all saying my itinerary is the best way to do London (it is not), but I hope it can provide some clarity or lessons to others as you plan your own trips. Overall, I would consider our trip immensely successful.
I will describe how each day was planned, how it ended up, and some comments to recommend or not recommend. Warnings:
1) This post is long.
2) This itinerary logged 64.6 miles of walking over 7 days. If you are older, have kids, or are not in good shape, then my exact itinerary will not work for you; however, I will comment on what I think is feasible for others.
Day 1: Planned – Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Kensington Palace due to proximity to Airbnb and recommendations by this subreddit to be outdoors and walking to fight jet lag. Spot on. Unplanned – embassies on Kensington Palace Gardens, Royal Albert Hall, a couple random pubs. Tip 1: moving around and fresh air meant no jet lag for any of us despite a 7-hour time difference
LHR note: read nightmares about customs at LHR – we left with our luggage in under an hour (maybe even 45 minutes upon landing). Tip 2: stick with the Elizabeth line from LHR to Paddington (saved money 10 or 15 per person for a 5 minute longer journey over thee Heathrow Express). Three suitcases were not a problem and did not pose a problem for others on the line.
Day 1 mileage – 7.6 miles. The Hyde Park/Kensington Palace portion of this day is feasible for most anyone.
Day 2: Planned – Westminster Abbey (tickets purchased), Buckingham Palace (changing of the guards), Trafalgar Square, Chinatown (lunch), Whitehall/10 Downing Street, Big Ben/Westminster Palace.
Unplanned – Leicester Square (western tourist trap with a cool lego statue of Big Ben), Covent Gardens (shoppers paradise if that is your thing), Neal’s Yard (are you kidding me? So overrated, TikTok be damned), Royal Opera House (clean public bathrooms; adjacent rooftop bars with views), Emirates Stadium, Islington (amazingly cool and laid back area for dinner).
How did this happen? We did the planned; we were done early afternoon. Google maps said Royal Opera House and Covent Gardens “nearby,” so we walked over. If you like shopping, then this is a cool area. We were not shopping, so we walked through, used the clean bathrooms, and had a pint on the rooftop. Done; wanted something else. For no reason other than being football fans and sitting next to Covent Gardens station, we hopped the underground to Emirates Stadium. Walked and toured (highly recommend). Dinner time and hungry, so we walked over to central Islington and ate a Le Sacre Cour (excellent French food – 5/5 stars). by the way, Islington is such a wonderful vibe (laid back, family friendly, people strolling out and about, lot of restaurants). Really glad we spent the evening here.
Tip: purchase tickets in advance for Westminster first slot AM (gets crowded quickly, lot of tight spaces). And, pay the 5 extra for the gallery on the second floor (thank me later). We were out the door and at Buckingham right when the band for the changing of the guard arrived. Perfect timing. Crowd around Buckingham was no joke. Wow. Saw the march in, but at 6’4” I could barely see the courtyard rituals. If you insist on seeing the full ritual, then get there really, really early (you still have been warned that most of the ritual is behind a gate). If the changing is important, you cannot do Westminster before. Lunch at Chinatown was YiQi Pan Asian (5/5 stars).
Day 2 mileage – 14.18 miles. Crazy, I know. No regrets. The planned portion of this day is feasible for most anyone. You could even purchase tickets to see inside of Big Ben or Palace of Westminster or Buckingham Palace. We chose to walk by them.
Day 3: Planned – Tower of London (tickets), Tower Bridge to Borough Market (lunch), Southbank walk past Globe and Tate Modern via Millennium Bridge to St. Paul’s Cathedral (tickets), Sky Garden (tickets),and Brigadiers for dinner (reservations). Unplanned – random pubs and spent the evening in a pub surrounded by Leeds fans watching Leeds-Norwich City.
Pro-tip – first time slot in AM to the Tower highly advised (tight spaces; gets crowded; see the Crown Jewels first). St. Paul’s is grandiose, but a very different cathedral from Westminster. For me, the views at the very top make the price of admission worth it (580 steps up, fyi). Why pay for the Shard when you can do Sky Gardens for free? Brigadiers may have been the best Indian food ever. Afterwards, no one told me about the crowds of 20-ish financiers having a pint and kissing each other’s collective financial asses by the hundreds outside pubs mixed in the financial district inside the Square Mile banks (Queen Victoria Street). That was cool.
Day 3 mileage – 10.29 miles. The ToweBorough/St. Paul portion of this day is very feasible.
Day 4: Planned – Afternoon tea at the Wolseley (reservations), SoHo & Carnaby Street, Sucre (dinner reservations). Unplanned – The British Museum and random pubs. On day three we decided to fill this morning with the British Museum. Incredible artifacts, but it is the largest collection of stolen treasures I have ever seen. Cleopatra, Rosetta Stone, and pieces of the Parthenon was cool despite the theft. The Wolseley tea experience is recommend for a traditional mid-range afternoon tea experience (not cheap, but not the most expensive either). SoHo was shopping and people madness (but a fun cultural experience) and, sadly, Sucre (Argentinian cuisine) is overrated (average fair at crazy high prices). The one eating disappointment of our trip.
Day 4 mileage – 8.36 miles. Totally feasible.
Day 5: Planned – me and my son head go on a Chelsea Stadium tour (tickets) while the wife shops in Notting Hill. Unplanned – Craven Cottage, Wembley Stadium, SoHo again (just for pizza), Uber Boat to Canary Wharf.
I can’t speak for Notting Hill, but my wife loved it (Portabello Road Market; don't eat at Gold would also be her recommendation). Chelsea Stadium tour – highly, highly recommended if you are a Chelsea or English football fan. Craven Cottage? Not much there, but a wall and a cottage (through a fence).
On a whim, we decided to head over to Wembley to participate in the Oxford United-Bolton Wanderers pre-game atmosphere (and to see Wembley Stadium). It was fun to walk around Wembley and watch the Bolton and Oxford fans chant and heckle each other.
Tip 1: no luck buying tickets that morning online (know that they turn off online ticket buying on game day) and no luck on scalped tickets (this is clearly frowned upon unlike the US).
Tip 2: they have rules about serving alcohol and showing games in pubs near Wembley during a game at Wembley; we didn’t know this. After being turned away from several pubs, we found one, will keep unnamed, fairly certain it was not following the rules, but downed some pints with some friendly Bolton fans from Manchester who were unable to get into the game.
The unplanned continues – we had plenty to drink and really, really wanted pizza (I mean, we're Americans), so, on a whim, we head back to SoHo from Wembley to eat at Rudy’s Pizza Napoletana (5/5 - highly recommend). Also, afterwards, found a super-tiny churros place via TikTok a block away. From there, we meandered over to Embankment and, again, on a whim decided to take an Uber Boat to Canary Wharf. Meaning, we ended the day with unplanned night tour of London from the Thames (highly recommend, by the way). Tubed back to Paddington from Canary Wharf.
Comment on the day – it is so, so easy to get around London. And, everyone keeps asking on this subreddit if London is safe. We were in Canary Wharf late at night – walking and tubing – never once felt unsafe. Plenty of people about as well.
Day 5 mileage – 11.01 miles. The planned is very, very feasible; the unplanned is not feasible for families and people with low alcohol tolerance.
Day 6: Planned – Breakfast at The Locals in Chelsea (reservations), bus to Butcher’s Hook, Chelsea-Bournemouth game (tickets six month in advance), dinner afterwards at Fox and Pheasant (reservations).
What an experience! The game, the chants, the fans – everything was amazing. Not much to say here.
Unplanned – Thiago Silva tribute. Witnessed history. Silva's wife came into the Butcher's Hook.
Tips – taking the the bus from The Local’s to The Butcher’s Hook allowed us to see the beauty and charm of Chelsea.
Day 6 mileage – 4.55 miles. Feasible for all ages, unless you are offended by language. Oh, and you have to have game tickets to get into the pubs around Stamford Bridge during a Chelsea game.
Day 7: Unplanned – Oxford. At breakfast on day six, we decided on a day trip. Contending options were Greenwich and Bath. Oxford won because Bath train tickets were trending expensive and Greenwich was too London. Bought cheap train tickets through SplitMyFare (even though we didn't split) and spent the day in Oxford – Christ Church, Bodleian Library, Natural History Museum (free), Oxford Castle, random pubs (all tickets purchased online the previous day) and general walking about Oxford. Great, quaint town; nice to get away from the London busy and crowds. Kind of. Tourists all over, for sure. And....
Unplanned continued – ran into, literally, the Oxford United victory parade. It was cool to experience the joyful fan base of a small English town that had secured promotion to the Championship for the first time in three decades. Chants of “yellow” filled the square (from ages 5 to 75) and yellow flares all about. Found an amazing Lebanese restaurant (Comptoir Libanais – 5/5 stars; highly recommend) before hopping on the evening train back to Paddington.
Day 7 mileage – 8.63 miles. Feasible itinerary.
Final lesson - this is proof that after seven days, you still cannot see or do all of London. Set your priorities. Make them your priorities based upon your interests. Buy tickets in advance. Make dinner reservations in advance. London is safe; transportation is super easy. Some planning recommended so you don't lose too much time going from one part of London to another.
Let me know if you have questions; even welcome the feedback.
submitted by MitchHenessey to uktravel [link] [comments]
I will describe how each day was planned, how it ended up, and some comments to recommend or not recommend. Warnings:
1) This post is long.
2) This itinerary logged 64.6 miles of walking over 7 days. If you are older, have kids, or are not in good shape, then my exact itinerary will not work for you; however, I will comment on what I think is feasible for others.
Day 1: Planned – Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Kensington Palace due to proximity to Airbnb and recommendations by this subreddit to be outdoors and walking to fight jet lag. Spot on. Unplanned – embassies on Kensington Palace Gardens, Royal Albert Hall, a couple random pubs. Tip 1: moving around and fresh air meant no jet lag for any of us despite a 7-hour time difference
LHR note: read nightmares about customs at LHR – we left with our luggage in under an hour (maybe even 45 minutes upon landing). Tip 2: stick with the Elizabeth line from LHR to Paddington (saved money 10 or 15 per person for a 5 minute longer journey over thee Heathrow Express). Three suitcases were not a problem and did not pose a problem for others on the line.
Day 1 mileage – 7.6 miles. The Hyde Park/Kensington Palace portion of this day is feasible for most anyone.
Day 2: Planned – Westminster Abbey (tickets purchased), Buckingham Palace (changing of the guards), Trafalgar Square, Chinatown (lunch), Whitehall/10 Downing Street, Big Ben/Westminster Palace.
Unplanned – Leicester Square (western tourist trap with a cool lego statue of Big Ben), Covent Gardens (shoppers paradise if that is your thing), Neal’s Yard (are you kidding me? So overrated, TikTok be damned), Royal Opera House (clean public bathrooms; adjacent rooftop bars with views), Emirates Stadium, Islington (amazingly cool and laid back area for dinner).
How did this happen? We did the planned; we were done early afternoon. Google maps said Royal Opera House and Covent Gardens “nearby,” so we walked over. If you like shopping, then this is a cool area. We were not shopping, so we walked through, used the clean bathrooms, and had a pint on the rooftop. Done; wanted something else. For no reason other than being football fans and sitting next to Covent Gardens station, we hopped the underground to Emirates Stadium. Walked and toured (highly recommend). Dinner time and hungry, so we walked over to central Islington and ate a Le Sacre Cour (excellent French food – 5/5 stars). by the way, Islington is such a wonderful vibe (laid back, family friendly, people strolling out and about, lot of restaurants). Really glad we spent the evening here.
Tip: purchase tickets in advance for Westminster first slot AM (gets crowded quickly, lot of tight spaces). And, pay the 5 extra for the gallery on the second floor (thank me later). We were out the door and at Buckingham right when the band for the changing of the guard arrived. Perfect timing. Crowd around Buckingham was no joke. Wow. Saw the march in, but at 6’4” I could barely see the courtyard rituals. If you insist on seeing the full ritual, then get there really, really early (you still have been warned that most of the ritual is behind a gate). If the changing is important, you cannot do Westminster before. Lunch at Chinatown was YiQi Pan Asian (5/5 stars).
Day 2 mileage – 14.18 miles. Crazy, I know. No regrets. The planned portion of this day is feasible for most anyone. You could even purchase tickets to see inside of Big Ben or Palace of Westminster or Buckingham Palace. We chose to walk by them.
Day 3: Planned – Tower of London (tickets), Tower Bridge to Borough Market (lunch), Southbank walk past Globe and Tate Modern via Millennium Bridge to St. Paul’s Cathedral (tickets), Sky Garden (tickets),and Brigadiers for dinner (reservations). Unplanned – random pubs and spent the evening in a pub surrounded by Leeds fans watching Leeds-Norwich City.
Pro-tip – first time slot in AM to the Tower highly advised (tight spaces; gets crowded; see the Crown Jewels first). St. Paul’s is grandiose, but a very different cathedral from Westminster. For me, the views at the very top make the price of admission worth it (580 steps up, fyi). Why pay for the Shard when you can do Sky Gardens for free? Brigadiers may have been the best Indian food ever. Afterwards, no one told me about the crowds of 20-ish financiers having a pint and kissing each other’s collective financial asses by the hundreds outside pubs mixed in the financial district inside the Square Mile banks (Queen Victoria Street). That was cool.
Day 3 mileage – 10.29 miles. The ToweBorough/St. Paul portion of this day is very feasible.
Day 4: Planned – Afternoon tea at the Wolseley (reservations), SoHo & Carnaby Street, Sucre (dinner reservations). Unplanned – The British Museum and random pubs. On day three we decided to fill this morning with the British Museum. Incredible artifacts, but it is the largest collection of stolen treasures I have ever seen. Cleopatra, Rosetta Stone, and pieces of the Parthenon was cool despite the theft. The Wolseley tea experience is recommend for a traditional mid-range afternoon tea experience (not cheap, but not the most expensive either). SoHo was shopping and people madness (but a fun cultural experience) and, sadly, Sucre (Argentinian cuisine) is overrated (average fair at crazy high prices). The one eating disappointment of our trip.
Day 4 mileage – 8.36 miles. Totally feasible.
Day 5: Planned – me and my son head go on a Chelsea Stadium tour (tickets) while the wife shops in Notting Hill. Unplanned – Craven Cottage, Wembley Stadium, SoHo again (just for pizza), Uber Boat to Canary Wharf.
I can’t speak for Notting Hill, but my wife loved it (Portabello Road Market; don't eat at Gold would also be her recommendation). Chelsea Stadium tour – highly, highly recommended if you are a Chelsea or English football fan. Craven Cottage? Not much there, but a wall and a cottage (through a fence).
On a whim, we decided to head over to Wembley to participate in the Oxford United-Bolton Wanderers pre-game atmosphere (and to see Wembley Stadium). It was fun to walk around Wembley and watch the Bolton and Oxford fans chant and heckle each other.
Tip 1: no luck buying tickets that morning online (know that they turn off online ticket buying on game day) and no luck on scalped tickets (this is clearly frowned upon unlike the US).
Tip 2: they have rules about serving alcohol and showing games in pubs near Wembley during a game at Wembley; we didn’t know this. After being turned away from several pubs, we found one, will keep unnamed, fairly certain it was not following the rules, but downed some pints with some friendly Bolton fans from Manchester who were unable to get into the game.
The unplanned continues – we had plenty to drink and really, really wanted pizza (I mean, we're Americans), so, on a whim, we head back to SoHo from Wembley to eat at Rudy’s Pizza Napoletana (5/5 - highly recommend). Also, afterwards, found a super-tiny churros place via TikTok a block away. From there, we meandered over to Embankment and, again, on a whim decided to take an Uber Boat to Canary Wharf. Meaning, we ended the day with unplanned night tour of London from the Thames (highly recommend, by the way). Tubed back to Paddington from Canary Wharf.
Comment on the day – it is so, so easy to get around London. And, everyone keeps asking on this subreddit if London is safe. We were in Canary Wharf late at night – walking and tubing – never once felt unsafe. Plenty of people about as well.
Day 5 mileage – 11.01 miles. The planned is very, very feasible; the unplanned is not feasible for families and people with low alcohol tolerance.
Day 6: Planned – Breakfast at The Locals in Chelsea (reservations), bus to Butcher’s Hook, Chelsea-Bournemouth game (tickets six month in advance), dinner afterwards at Fox and Pheasant (reservations).
What an experience! The game, the chants, the fans – everything was amazing. Not much to say here.
Unplanned – Thiago Silva tribute. Witnessed history. Silva's wife came into the Butcher's Hook.
Tips – taking the the bus from The Local’s to The Butcher’s Hook allowed us to see the beauty and charm of Chelsea.
Day 6 mileage – 4.55 miles. Feasible for all ages, unless you are offended by language. Oh, and you have to have game tickets to get into the pubs around Stamford Bridge during a Chelsea game.
Day 7: Unplanned – Oxford. At breakfast on day six, we decided on a day trip. Contending options were Greenwich and Bath. Oxford won because Bath train tickets were trending expensive and Greenwich was too London. Bought cheap train tickets through SplitMyFare (even though we didn't split) and spent the day in Oxford – Christ Church, Bodleian Library, Natural History Museum (free), Oxford Castle, random pubs (all tickets purchased online the previous day) and general walking about Oxford. Great, quaint town; nice to get away from the London busy and crowds. Kind of. Tourists all over, for sure. And....
Unplanned continued – ran into, literally, the Oxford United victory parade. It was cool to experience the joyful fan base of a small English town that had secured promotion to the Championship for the first time in three decades. Chants of “yellow” filled the square (from ages 5 to 75) and yellow flares all about. Found an amazing Lebanese restaurant (Comptoir Libanais – 5/5 stars; highly recommend) before hopping on the evening train back to Paddington.
Day 7 mileage – 8.63 miles. Feasible itinerary.
Final lesson - this is proof that after seven days, you still cannot see or do all of London. Set your priorities. Make them your priorities based upon your interests. Buy tickets in advance. Make dinner reservations in advance. London is safe; transportation is super easy. Some planning recommended so you don't lose too much time going from one part of London to another.
Let me know if you have questions; even welcome the feedback.
2024.05.28 15:39 kksingh11 Role of IMF in Impoverishing Countries
 | The Communists communist party of great britain (marxist-leninist) Argentina Role of the IMF in impoverishing countries – the case of Argentina How the imperialists use the debt trap to loot the wealth of and enforce their hegemony over oppressed nations. submitted by kksingh11 to SocialisGlobe [link] [comments] Imposed by executives in sharp suits and air conditioned offices, the conditions attached to IMF ‘loans’ (funds that very rarely reach the people of an indebted country) amount to a brutal war on the poor and a demand that all the resources of their country should be funnelled to the corporate bloodsuckers in the imperialist heartlands. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was founded at the Bretton Woods conference in July 1944. This financial agency presents an image of itself as a democratic organisation that works “to achieve sustainable growth and prosperity for all of its 190 member countries … by supporting economic policies that promote financial stability and monetary cooperation”. Nothing could be further from reality, however. Not only is the IMF not a democratic organisation but, as this article will show, the policies that it promotes favour only a handful of countries. The decisions of the IMF are related to the ownership of SDRs (special drawing rights), known as the ‘quota’, which by reflecting the relative position of a country in the world economy, determines its voting power. Thanks to this self-perpetuating formula, the United States commands 16.5 percent of IMF votes, while the G7 countries combined (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States) command 41.25 percent. In a nutshell, the imperialist countries collectively, and in practice the dominant US imperialists, decide IMF policies, while the 171 non-imperialist countries that together hold less than half of the votes, have to obey them. The cure-all panacea of the IMF for any economy has always been ‘austerity’. In bourgeoise economic lingo, this is euphemistically referred to as ‘fiscal consolidation’ – a process aimed at ‘closing the gap’ between public income and public expenditure. In plain language, this inevitably means slashing pensions, healthcare and education services; cutting the salaries of doctors, teachers and other public servants; selling off publicly owned companies to international investors; cutting taxes to the benefit of corporations and banks; and implementing a raft of macroeconomic policies that will favour international finance capital. To implement these policies, the IMF relies on a so-called ‘surveillance process’, defined as “monitoring the economic and financial policies of member countries and providing them with policy advice … by recommending appropriate policy adjustments”. This in turn must be facilitated by a suitably servile comprador bourgeoise, whose members are willing to assist in this process of looting in return for a few tasty morsels from the imperialist banqueting table, all while the masses are being reduced to destitution. In his powerful The Open Veins of Latin America, Eduardo Galeano pointed out: “With the magical incantation of ‘monetary stabilisation’, the IMF – which not disinterestedly confuses the fever with the disease, inflation with the crisis of existing structures – has imposed on Latin America a policy that accentuates imbalances instead of easing them … liberalises trade by banning direct exchanges … forces the contraction of internal credits … freezes wages, discourages state activity. To this programme it adds sharp monetary devaluations.” (1971, p220) The people of Latin America, Africa and Asia have been suffering from IMF-imposed austerity for decades. For Argentina, the story of deception via its external debt started earlier. In 1824, Buenos Aires negotiated a loan with Britain’s Baring Brothers & Co bank. From the £1m agreed, the country received only £570,000 – not in gold as had been agreed but in paper notes agreeing the sale of British commodities at a price of their choosing! The interest on this extremely one-sided loan soaked up most of the country’s revenues for several decades. After successive rounds of refinancing the, ‘loan’ had been inflated to £4m, and was finally paid off 124 years after it was taken out by the government of Juan Perón in 1947. At the time of writing, yet another debt crisis is creating the conditions for the complete collapse of Argentina’s economy. As has happened at other times of harsh neoliberal austerity regimes (1976-83, 1989-99 and 2015-19), Argentina looks as though it is heading for bankruptcy. The military junta and Argentina’s first neoliberal experiment The military coup of March 1976 provided the opportunity to implement neoliberal policies for the first time in Argentina. During the junta’s rule (1976-83), the country’s industrial base was destroyed, 20,000 manufacturing businesses were closed, and the value added by Argentinean industry, including construction, as a percentage of GDP dropped from 50.89 in 1976 to 41.55 percent in 1983. As a result, the once strong and organised proletariat, which had fought fiercely against dictatorships earlier in the century, disappeared and many workers’ rights were eliminated. As the country moved from production to financial profiteering, the masses were impoverished as the country’s wealth was hoovered up by big corporations and international financial institutions. Before being kidnaped and murdered, Argentine writer Rodolfo Walsh wrote to the military junta: “The economic policies of this junta – which follow the formula of the International Monetary Fund that has been applied indiscriminately to Zaire and Chile, to Uruguay and Indonesia – recognise only the following as beneficiaries: the old ranchers’ oligarchy; the new speculating oligarchy; and a select group of international monopolies headed by ITT, Esso, the automobile industry, US Steel, and Siemens, which Minister Martinez de Hoz and his entire cabinet have personal ties to.” (24 March 1977) During this process, thousands of Argentineans were detained, tortured and killed, and people around the globe learned a new word: “desaparecidos” (the disappeared). Thanks to the good will of the IMF, Argentina’s external debt grew from $7.9bn in 1976 to $46bn in 1983. As one of its last acts in government, the junta nationalised all private debt, making the people of the country responsible for loans taken out by bankers and landowners. Unable to pay this huge debt, Argentina has never been in a ‘normal’ state since; its ‘external debt’ became an ‘eternal debt’, dictating every aspect of economic and social life. Democracy returns but the eternal debt remains In 1983, the first democratically elected government following the junta decided not to reject the external debt inherited dictatorship but to honour it. Thus the government of Raúl Alfonsín, which had incarcerated the junta criminals for their human rights abuses continued the junta’s policy of surrendering control of the economy to the IMF and its monitoring missions. As Fidel Castro correctly pointed out in 1985: “How can a government and a country that has to go every month to discuss with the International Monetary Fund what it is able to do at home be called independent? It is a fiction of independence, and we see this as a national-liberation struggle, which can truly bring together, and for the first time in the history of our hemisphere, all social strata in a struggle to achieve true independence.” Between 1984-88, IMF-imposed policies continued to be enacted, to the benefit of imperialist corporations and financiers. The result was that, despite some success in curbing inflation for a short period in 1985-86, the economy never recovered. In 1989, the Alfonsín government’s last year in office, the IMF withdrew financial support to Argentina in response to missed interest payments, pushing the country into a crisis. Inflation became hyperinflation (reaching a high of more than 3,000 percent annually) and elections were called six months early. In the end, thanks to the recommended policies of the IMF, the debt continued to grow from the $46bn that had been inherited in 1983 to $65bn in 1989. Everything was ready for a second neoliberal experiment. How a popular leader become a neoliberal After the failure of the Alfonsín government, the new president was elected on a platform of social justice, promising to defend jobs, salaries and publicly-owned companies, and to improve the life of millions in the tradition of Peronism. Having been installed in office, however, he changed sides and become the president of the landowners, big corporations and banks. With the support of the IMF, Carlos Menem (1989-99) implemented the recommendations of the ‘Washington consensus’ and applied the mantra of neoliberalism: privatisations, cuts to social expenditure, and further opening of the economy. The first step was to sell off all the publicly-owned companies that had been created through the efforts of several generations of Argentinians. Gas, oil, electricity, telephone, water, airlines and railroads all disappeared as public assets, their wealth being transferred so as to make foreign corporations and corrupt politicians richer at the expense, once again, of the Argentine people. This was followed by a cut in public social expenditure via reductions in spending on education, healthcare and social security, and via the privatisation of state-held pensions assets. Finally, the import duties were slashed, to the benefit of overseas monopoly corporations, allowing foreign goods to flood Argentina’s internal market. The consequent destruction of Argentinean industry, as initiated by the military junta, was now complete. To sustain these policies, the government set a one-to-one exchange rate between the US dollar and the local currency (known as the convertibility law), allowing foreign investors to exchange dollars for pesos, invest the pesos at an interest rate higher than the global IRR (internal rate of return) and then, months later, convert the pesos back to dollars. This operation, known as carry-trade, favoured big investors from around the world to the further detriment of the country’s finances, and was supported by the IMF, which continued lending money to Argentina. In the final years of the Menem government, the country’s economy deteriorated rapidly, poverty and inflation increased, and the country fell into a deep recession in 1998. Corruption was rampant, and anti-government resistance through the first organised cacerolazos (people making noise by banging pots or pans to protest) was on the rise. The IMF had done its job well. During this period, Argentina’s external debt grew to 133 percent of GDP, from $65bn in 1989 to $152bn ten years later. The second neoliberal experiment was reaching its end. Elections and the 2001 collapse The next government arrived promising to resolve the economic crises and fight corruption. Under the direction of the IMF, however, it continued to apply all the same policies that had failed the country before. In August 2001, as foreign deposits were leaving the country, Argentina was unable to pay the interest on its debt and requested an extension of the arrangement. IMF managing director Horst Köhler demanded the substitution of the local currency by the US dollar, and while the government hesitated, the IMF withdrew support. As the economy plummeted, money withdrawals increased, and the government decided to freeze all bank deposits (a measure known as the corralito). Popular protest increased and, incapable of resolving the crisis, the government announced a state of siege. During the ensuing December riots, 36 people were killed by police in the streets. President Fernando de la Rua (1989-2001) resigned on 20 December, and the crisis-hit country had five presidents during the two weeks that followed. Under the slogan “All of them must go!” (Que se vayan todos!), millions of people participated in neighbourhood assemblies, occupying unused land and implementing workers’ self-management in hundreds of factories. In the end, Argentina defaulted on its public debt (at that time $152bn), abandoned the fixed exchange rate by devaluing the peso (40 percent in January to around 300 percent at the end of the first semester of 2002), with the result that production collapsed and high levels of unemployment and poverty become the norm. IMF out of Argentina After the 2001 default, the new government of Nestor Kirchner (2003-07) developed a strategy for undermining the neoliberal agenda that had been responsible for the country’s economic collapse. His government worked to eliminate the permanent interference, recommendations and pressure from the IMF. In 2005, to the dismay of the financial centres, the President Hugo Chávez strengthened Venezuela’s relationship with Argentina. The Bolivarian government bought $2.4bn of Argentina’s debt, providing a welcome boost to the central bank reserves and helping the country to break its dependency on the IMF for debt refinancing. By repaying in full the $9.81bn owed to the IMF, Argentina gained financial independence from the institution’s endless negotiations and recommendations, all of which were unfailingly unfavourable in social and economic terms to Argenina’s people. The repayment followed a similar move by President Lula da Silva of Brazil, whose Workers party government had paid off its IMF debt in full two days earlier. For the first time, Latin America’s two largest economies were in a position to develop social policies that would improve the life of their people. As President Kirchner pointed out: “With this payment, we bury an ignominious past of eternal, infinite indebtedness.” The volume of the inherited external debt didn’t change with the payment to the IMF, but it did allow the government to pursue more independent policies. During the 12-year Kirchner period (Nestor Kirchner’s presidency [2003-07] was followed by two terms of office for his wife Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner [2007-11 and 2011-15]), Argentina implemented economic measures outside the neoliberal toolbox and built a political consensus through a discourse of social justice, economic independence and national autonomy. The economy improved, with GDP up by 62 percent and the value of exports by 81 percent. Unemployment and poverty were significantly reduced, and the government renationalised some of the key sectors that had been privatised during the neoliberal years, the most relevant being Argentina’s national oil company (YPF). The Kirchner government also restructured 93 percent of the country’s foreign debt, on it had defaulted in 2001. A small group of ‘vulture funds’ had acquired credit default swaps (CDS) against Argentinean bonds and $1.3bn of the bonds’ total value for cents, and they pursued the country via various courts in an unceasing quest for full payment. Much to the imperialists’ chagrin, the Kirchner governments never gave in to the vulture funds’ rapacity. Return of the IMF In 2015, the Peronist movement went to the elections divided into different factions, and the election was won by Mauricio Macri (2015-19) supported by a right-wing neoliberal coalition. A third neoliberal experiment was begun in Argentina. During the first 60 days of his government, President Macri paid off the vulture funds, reversed most of the social policies implemented during the Kirchner period, and reintroduced the carry-trade policies that had failed the country in the past – all to the benefit of international finance capital. To fund this massive transfer of wealth, the government increased its external debt once more, from $153bn at the end of 2014 to $280bn in 2019 – an increase of 83 percent in only four years! In June 2018, the Macri government asked the IMF for help, reaching an agreement on a 36-month stand-by arrangement (SBA) amounting to US$50bn (equivalent to about 1,110 percent of Argentina’s quota in the IMF), what has become known as the biggest loan ever in the history of the IMF. IMF managing director Christine Lagarde congratulated the Argentine authorities on reaching this agreement, stating: “The plan owned and designed by the Argentine government is aimed at strengthening the economy for the benefit of all Argentines.” The speed with which the agreement was reached led many to speculate that the intervention of US president Donald Trump in support of the loan was aimed at helping Macri to win the upcoming 2019 elections, giving him some leeway to make investments in social infrastructure. Nothing was further from reality, however: none of the promised schools, hospitals or roads were ever built. The money disappeared in capital flight, in paying dividends to overseas corporations, and in boosting the profit margins of financial institutions. As even the IMF’s own ex-post facto evaluation report admitted: “The programme did not deliver on its objectives … mounting redemptions, along with capital flight by residents, put considerable pressure on the exchange rate.” The result was that “the exchange rate continued to depreciate, increasing inflation and the peso value of public debt, weakening real incomes, especially of the poor”. In 2019, the Peronist ‘Frente de Todos’ (Alberto Fernandez and Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner) coalition won the elections for the period 2019-23, and millions hoped for the reversal of Macri’s policies. Sadly, it was not to be. Failure of the Fernandez government Right at the outset, the new government committed a cardinal sin. Instead of repudiating Macri’s IMF agreement, it accepted this vast inherited debt. The ideological limitations of Peronism were clearly revealed, and became a major obstacle to country’s development and to the welfare of millions of Argentinean people. Accepting the IMF agreement, and without any investigation into how this vast sum had been used, the government accepted IMF monitoring missions and found itself forced to limit its plans to implement progressive macroeconomic policies, conduct an independent foreign policy and invest in social services. Recognition of the IMF debt put the government into a trap, as had happened so many times in the past, and Argentine once again became a slave to impossible repayment commitments. The clock for the next economic crisis was ticking again. According to the government, the main causes of the economic debacle were the three consecutive years of drought that affected agricultural production, the mandatory lockdown and social distancing measures for the Covid pandemic, and to a lesser extent the war in Europe. But government and bourgeois politicians of all stripes failed to acknowledge the core of the problem: the IMF and the external debt that had been taken on by the previous government. Neoliberal policies return to Argentina with a vengeance With the victory of Javier Milei (2023), Argentina is returning once again to the bad old days, beginning its fourth neoliberal experiment. During the first days of the Milei government, the local currency was devaluated by 100 percent, public investment in infrastructure was suspended, barriers to the import of goods and services were removed with no consideration to the impact on jobs, energy prices were raised, subsidies for the poorest were reduced, and thousands of public employees were made redundant. At the same time, a complete alliance was declared with the USA, and now Israel, the country’s planned entry into the Brics group was cancelled, and a vociferous discourse was mounted against every progressive government in the region. The IMF was delighted. As director of communications Julie Kozack stated in December 2023: “IMF staff welcome the measures announced earlier today by Argentina’s new economy minister Luis Caputo. These bold initial actions aim to significantly improve public finances in a manner that protects the most vulnerable in society and strengthens the foreign exchange regime. Their decisive implementation will help stabilise the economy and set the basis for more sustainable and private sector-led growth.” In reality, of course, these measures are resulting in mass impoverishment, as reported by the Social Debt Observatory of the UCA (Catholic University of Argentina), which has declared poverty to be at a 20-year high (57.4 percent). This means that 27 million people are now considered poor in Argentina, while extreme poverty is affecting 15 percent of the population. Through a 664-clause bill, President Milei is pushing for further reforms that will destroy the existing social and economic structure of the country in favour of landowners, international corporations and finance capital. The bill will erase worker’s rights that have taken decades to achieve, while also curtailing the right to protest – with penalties of up to six years in prison for participants and organisers of demonstrations. By declaring a state of emergency, Milei is demanding absolute power to govern without the involvement of Congress, following in the steps of Adolf Hitler, who in 1933 pushed the Nazis’ Enabling Act through the Reichstag, granting himself absolute power to make and enforce laws without further parliamentary involvement. Right-wing backbenchers support the bill, while other sections of Argentina’s bourgeois political parties are testing the waters, sometimes mildly confronting the bill or requesting minor changes. Although the majority of backbenchers for UxP (Union por la Patria) are opposed to the bill, changing sides is not an unknown feature of bourgeois political life. Unable to trust backbenchers, Argentina’s main CGT (General Confederation of Workers) trade union has appealed successfully to the National Labour Court, challenging the constitutionality of the labour legislation contained in the proposed law. Since President Milei is refusing to accept any change to the proposed bill, even his supporters are rethinking their position in each of the bill’s clauses. In the latest developments, after some defeats the bill was sent back for further study, constituting a temporary defeat for the government. But this is a war against the people and there is no place or time for complacency. Without a clear political direction, the masses of Argentina are marching again, as in the economic crisis of 2001, to defend their basic rights. Within two months of the installation of a new government, cacerolazos and demonstrations had become the new normality. Those progressive forces who are debating whether or not the time is ripe to confront the government, would do well to remember the apt observation of Juan Perón: “People will march with their leaders at the head or with the heads of the leaders.” |
2024.05.28 13:04 Tokyono [Reality TV] You gotta be kidney me. The story of The Great Donor Show. A tale of organ donation and deception.
Note: I used google translate to translate all the Dutch sources in this post. Apologies for any translation errors, but I have 0 talent for languages.
I was going to write about the controversies of The Great British Bake Off, but then I came across this mess. Enjoy!
Just a quick note: there are two different types of organ donation law; opt-in and opt-out. In 2007, the Netherlands had an opt-in system. It was seen as very inefficient as it did not meet the needs of patients and there was a long waiting list. Most countries in Europe have an “opt out” system vs the USA which has an “opt-in” one.
In 2007, BNN, a Dutch broadcaster known for its controversial programming, announced that they would be airing a show called “The Great Donor Show”. It was created by Endemol, a Dutch production company that had created a lot of popular reality tv shows, including Big Brother.
The premise of the show:
BNN claimed that they produced the show in honour of their founder, Bart de Graaf, who died after waiting seven years for a kidney donation. The show was screened on the fifth anniversary of his death. Proceeds from all the text messages would go to the Dutch Kidney Foundation.
BNN’s then chairman, Laurens Drillich, defended the show and explained why they were airing it:
BNN invited Ab Klink to come onto the show and discuss what the government had done to solve the crisis. But he turned them down. In a poll conducted before the show aired, it was found that 61% of the Dutch population disapproved of the show. Interestingly enough, younger people approved of it much more than older people (44% of under 25s said they would watch it vs 13% of over 65s).
The Dutch Kidney Foundation welcomed the attention that the show had brought to the organ donor issue in the Netherlands, but said that “"their way of doing it is not ours, and it will bring no practical solution". However, the negative attention the show received, made them reach out and ask BNN to stop using their logo in the title of the show. BNN had not asked them for permission and had gone ahead and used their 2007 logo to replace the “o” in the word “show”.
The show aired on the first of June 2007. At the beginning of the broadcast, the presenter, Patrick Lodiers, highlighted the dramatic criticism the show had received, and at the end, he announced that the whole thing was a hoax.
If the vote had been real, then Charlotte would’ve won with 38% of the vote:
The reveal had a mixed reception. Ronald Plasterk thought the show was a “fantastic stunt” and that it had inspired him to become an organ donor. He was very happy that it wasn’t real. The then Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, was also relieved. Ab Klink still though the show was “inappropriate”, but he did find it positive that it had drawn attention to the issue of organ donations. Joop Atsma refused to change his stance, he continued to find the show “tasteless” and a “missed opportunity” and that it didn’t really contribute to solving the issue.
Foreign journalists were also divided on the show, some thought it was useful stunt, others thought it was useless. As for the Dutch Transplant Foundation (not the Dutch Kidney Foundation), they said:
If you want to read more about how the show was made, and how the true aim of it was kept secret, then I suggest reading this lengthy piece on the Bnnvara website (it replaced BNN in 2014).
That same evening, 12,000 people signed up to be donors. By the end of the following week, around 50,000 had requested organ donation forms (this didn’t mean they had actually registered). At the time, the number of registrations for organ donation was about 3,000 to 4,000.html) people had actually registered and become organ donors.
In the months after the show, a group of Dutch politicians decided to get together and form the Coordination Group on Organ Donation. Joined by the Dutch Kidney Association, and many other medical and civil organisations, they presented a “Master Plan for Organ Donation” to Ab Klink. It would change the law in the Netherlands from “opt in” to “opt out”. Klink thought that changing the donor law in such a way was a step too far and rejected it. He did accept the rest of the proposal, which included measures such as “encouraging people to become organ donors, to ensure that next of kin would say yes more often, that donor coordinators were appointed in hospitals, and so on,”.
The law wouldn’t change until 2020:
In 2007, The Great Donor Show won the Dutch TV moment of the year for the scene when Patrick Lodiers revealed it was all a hoax. In 2008, it won an International Emmy for non-scripted entertainment.
As for what happened to “Lisa” and the contestants of the show, as of 2020:
submitted by Tokyono to HobbyDrama [link] [comments]
I was going to write about the controversies of The Great British Bake Off, but then I came across this mess. Enjoy!
Just a quick note: there are two different types of organ donation law; opt-in and opt-out. In 2007, the Netherlands had an opt-in system. It was seen as very inefficient as it did not meet the needs of patients and there was a long waiting list. Most countries in Europe have an “opt out” system vs the USA which has an “opt-in” one.
The Doctor is in: BNN. Bart de Graaf. And The Great Donor Show.
Reality tv is a diverse genre. There are reality shows about dating, marriage, survival, cake baking, carpentry, …and now, organ donation.In 2007, BNN, a Dutch broadcaster known for its controversial programming, announced that they would be airing a show called “The Great Donor Show”. It was created by Endemol, a Dutch production company that had created a lot of popular reality tv shows, including Big Brother.
The premise of the show:
It focuses on Lisa, a 37-year-old woman dying of a brain tumour. She must decide which of three patients selected by the producers, aged between 18 and 40, should receive her kidney. Viewers can offer their opinions by SMS text message.The three contestants were Vincent Moolenaar, Charlotte Trieschnigg, and Esther-Clair Sasabone.
In the Netherlands, organ transplants are subject to strict laws, which prohibit donors from choosing who will receive their organs after their death.
However, an exemption is made in the case of kidney transplants, which can be carried out while the donor is still alive, allowing the donor to choose the beneficiary if there is some link between the two people.
BNN claimed that they produced the show in honour of their founder, Bart de Graaf, who died after waiting seven years for a kidney donation. The show was screened on the fifth anniversary of his death. Proceeds from all the text messages would go to the Dutch Kidney Foundation.
Every-body calm down: The Backlash
The shows announcement was quickly met with both international and national outrage, from politicians, television critics, and medical professionals. Dutch embassies were flooded with complaints . Even the Dutch prime minister at the time, Jan Peter Balkenende, criticised the show, saying it would damage the reputation of the Netherlands. Some Dutch politicians even called for the program to be banned:CDA MP Joop Atsma wants to see if BNN’s Big Donor Show can be banned.Ronald Plasterk weighed in on the situation::
Atsma hopes that BNN will come to repentance. "The fence is with this program of the dam. A careful medical assessment is thus passed. What are people in the program judged? - On their color? - In their gender? To their sexual orientation?”
Atsma calls Minister Ab Klink (CDA) of Health and Minister of Culture Ronald Plasterk (PvdA) Tuesday to the Question Time in the Chamber. “I want to know if we can ban the program. There is a good chance that it will go against the law. I want to explain if there is a difference in selling an organ to the highest bidder.”
"The intention of the programme to get more attention for organ donation may be applaudable," said Dutch Education and Culture Minister Ronald Plasterk.In the end, the government announced that they wouldn’t ban the program, because there was no basis under the law for them to do so.
"However based on the information I now have, the programme appears to me to be inappropriate and unethical because it is a competition," said Plasterk, who is a molecular biologist and former chief of the Dutch Cancer Institute.
BNN’s then chairman, Laurens Drillich, defended the show and explained why they were airing it:
"The chance for a kidney for the contestants is 33%,"…"This is much higher than that for people on a waiting list."He later added that in the five years since Bart De Graaf had died, the situation had gotten much, much, worse.
"We think that is disastrous, so we are acting in a shocking way to bring attention to this problem."
BNN invited Ab Klink to come onto the show and discuss what the government had done to solve the crisis. But he turned them down. In a poll conducted before the show aired, it was found that 61% of the Dutch population disapproved of the show. Interestingly enough, younger people approved of it much more than older people (44% of under 25s said they would watch it vs 13% of over 65s).
The Dutch Kidney Foundation welcomed the attention that the show had brought to the organ donor issue in the Netherlands, but said that “"their way of doing it is not ours, and it will bring no practical solution". However, the negative attention the show received, made them reach out and ask BNN to stop using their logo in the title of the show. BNN had not asked them for permission and had gone ahead and used their 2007 logo to replace the “o” in the word “show”.
The show aired on the first of June 2007. At the beginning of the broadcast, the presenter, Patrick Lodiers, highlighted the dramatic criticism the show had received, and at the end, he announced that the whole thing was a hoax.
If the vote had been real, then Charlotte would’ve won with 38% of the vote:
In the end, it was the most vulnerable of the three who made the biggest impression.(Note: it is very difficult to find surviving clips of the program. It is considered lost media. I was able to find this clip on YouTube, as well as the ones linked above, but that’s it.)
Twenty-nine-year-old Charlotte talked about the fact that she cannot even drink more than a pint of liquid per day, because that is all her body can handle.
Some 38% of those text messages were votes for Charlotte. However, just as "Lisa" started to announce who she was going to give her kidney to, the presenter intervened.
It takes some guts: Donation and deception.
It was revealed that Lisa was an actress, but that the three contestants were all real patients in need of a kidney donation. They knew what was going on and agreed to appear on the program to highlight the organ donation issue in the Netherlands.The reveal had a mixed reception. Ronald Plasterk thought the show was a “fantastic stunt” and that it had inspired him to become an organ donor. He was very happy that it wasn’t real. The then Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, was also relieved. Ab Klink still though the show was “inappropriate”, but he did find it positive that it had drawn attention to the issue of organ donations. Joop Atsma refused to change his stance, he continued to find the show “tasteless” and a “missed opportunity” and that it didn’t really contribute to solving the issue.
Foreign journalists were also divided on the show, some thought it was useful stunt, others thought it was useless. As for the Dutch Transplant Foundation (not the Dutch Kidney Foundation), they said:
The Dutch Transplant Foundation has sympathy for the staged Donorshow. “It reflects the desperation and need of patients well,” said a spokeswoman. At the same time, she warns that the show gives a wrong idea of reality.In a press statement issued after the show, Paul Römer, the director of Endemol, stated:
"In reality, when donating when living, a thorough screening takes place. Medically and psychologically.
For example, we are not looking at whether there is any pressure on the donor," the spokeswoman explains.
"Let there be no misunderstanding, I would never make a program such as 'The Great Donor Show' for real. I do understand the massive outrage very well. But I also hope for people to understand why we did this. It was necessary to get the shortage of donors back on the political agenda. I call up everybody to get very angry about that, and to fill in a donor form."In another news piece, he revealed that, after the show was announced, Endemol employees were bullied across Europe. A colleague in Germany was chased from his office, one in the UK was called a “Devil” in the press, and in Italy, potential clients informed the company that they did not want to work with them because of the program.
If you want to read more about how the show was made, and how the true aim of it was kept secret, then I suggest reading this lengthy piece on the Bnnvara website (it replaced BNN in 2014).
Let’s get organ-ized: The push to change Dutch law and the aftermath of The Great Donor Show.
The Great Donor Show was watched by 1.2 million people. At the time, the population of the Netherlands was about 16.4 million.That same evening, 12,000 people signed up to be donors. By the end of the following week, around 50,000 had requested organ donation forms (this didn’t mean they had actually registered). At the time, the number of registrations for organ donation was about 3,000 to 4,000.html) people had actually registered and become organ donors.
In the months after the show, a group of Dutch politicians decided to get together and form the Coordination Group on Organ Donation. Joined by the Dutch Kidney Association, and many other medical and civil organisations, they presented a “Master Plan for Organ Donation” to Ab Klink. It would change the law in the Netherlands from “opt in” to “opt out”. Klink thought that changing the donor law in such a way was a step too far and rejected it. He did accept the rest of the proposal, which included measures such as “encouraging people to become organ donors, to ensure that next of kin would say yes more often, that donor coordinators were appointed in hospitals, and so on,”.
The law wouldn’t change until 2020:
The amended Donor Act came into force on 1 July 2020. It stipulates that everyone aged 18 and over will be included in the Donor Register. The Donor Register records everyone’s choice regarding donation of organs and tissues after death.Pia Dijkstra, a Dutch MP who led the charge to change the law, said that: “The program (the Donorshow) has been very important in the drafting of the law. It has made the urgency of the problem. You should not underestimate that.”
In 2007, The Great Donor Show won the Dutch TV moment of the year for the scene when Patrick Lodiers revealed it was all a hoax. In 2008, it won an International Emmy for non-scripted entertainment.
As for what happened to “Lisa” and the contestants of the show, as of 2020:
Leonie Gebbink, who played Lisa, runs training and coaching firm ROER. She is happy that she can now be able to walk anonymously again. “I keep hearing: don’t I know you from somewhere? I don't usually call the Donorshow. I think that's a prodigy. As far as my career is concerned, participation has done me good. It is wonderful that makes publicity that people think in advance that you will also have quality, even though I work mainly as a communication trainer and coach and less as an actor.’Thanks for reading. Next I'll definitely be working on my Great British Bakeoff writuep, unless something distracts me again!
Vincent Moolenaar is also doing well. In the summer of 2016, he got a new kidney, after posting a call to it a year earlier on Facebook. Rehabilitation was successful, he told last March in the television program The Walk. Because he did his story there, Moolenaar did not want to cooperate in this article.
Charlotte Trieschnigg underwent a kidney transplant six months after the Donorshow, but that had nothing to do with the broadcast. ‘I had pulled Australia with a friend for a month with the backpack – a ‘Tour de Dialysis’ we called it, because I needed seven hospitals there for a kidney flush, that company still made it to De Telegraaf – and on the day after home I got a call for that kidney.’ After six months, however, things still went wrong. Now she wears a kidney she got in 2014, and it’s going well. Trieschnigg works with the mentally handicapped and also develops numerous activities related to her illness. “I started a website that informs what it is like to have kidney disease. Twice a year in the Radboud Hospital in Nijmegen I tell nurses in training about my own story. Last year I gave a lecture at the VU University in Amsterdam.’
Esther-Clair Sasabone also acts as an ambassador for the theme of kidney disease. With Moolenaar she founded Bureau Sterrenstof, an organization that she now leads alone and with which she supports chronically ill children. “I can go through that in length of years. We've made a children's book about Steven Sterman, a boy who gets kidney disease. At the end of last year a second book was published: Brothers and sisters. How is it for you? If your brother or sister is struggling with a chronic illness, you are also lacking attention.’ Sasabone calls the Donor show a personal turning point. “It was kind of coming out of the closet. Everyone knew about my illness.” One of her colleagues at the Muslim broadcaster offered his kidney the week after the broadcast. “I wouldn’t even accept such an offer from close family, let alone someone I barely know. It’s not just something: you have to get tested often, the donor’s blood must be very similar to that of the recipient.” Sasabone is now in her fourth kidney, which she received in 2010 through transplantation. She's good in her skin. “I just got back from a vacation to Japan. Both physically and emotionally, I feel better than ever.”
2024.05.27 23:32 TeaConfident4980 [WTS] Gold and Silver: Uncommon Fractional Gold, 2 oz KOMSCO Silver Stackers, 1/10 oz Chiwoo and Zi:Sin Gold, 1/10 Gold Perth Mint Lunar, Kangaroos and Map, 5 Gram Bar on Assay
My account is protected by common sense and 2FA. Feel free to ask for more detailed pictures. All detail/proof pictures sent via chat will always be on my familiar blue/white background. All items are verified on my Sigma Pro Mini, and verification photos will be sent to buyer for all items purchased.
Please comment on this post before contacting me. I will not respond to anyone who has not commented here first.
Proof
**************************************************************************************
Misc Fractional Gold Proof
Palau .5g .9999 Gold 8 Ball - $SOLD
Sun WuKong .5g .9999 Gold Coin w/COA - $75
Republic Of Liberia .73g .999 Gold Coin - $80
ArgoRaiffesen 5g Bar in Sealed Assay - $SOLD
RAM 2012 1/10 Gold Colorized Dragon - $290
Peoples Bank Of China 1/10 Gold Coin - $SOLD
**************************************************************************************
Perth Mint Gold:
2017 1/10 Square Map Coin - $265
2014 1/10 Kangaroo - $255
2023 1/10 Kangaroo - $255
2010 1/10 Lunar Tiger - $SOLD
**************************************************************************************
KOMSCO Gold:
2022 1/10 oz Gold Chiwoo Cheonwang Medals.
Low Mintage of 500 total Medals. 125 of each of the 4 colors.
Red, Blue, White available - $280ea.
2022 1/10 oz Gold Zi:Sin Tigris (500 Mintage)- $295 (1 left)
All 4 Chiwoo - $SOLD Shipped Priority. (1 Set Sold, have another available).
All 4 Chiwoo and 1 Zi:Sin - $SOLD Shipped Priority
*************************************************************************************
KOMSCO 2 oz Stackers
2024 Low Poly Lunar Dragon - $85ea (2 available)
2023 Lucifer The Fallen Angel - $90ea (1 available)
202? Mask Of Kitsune (Antique) - $90
*************************************************************************************
Payment: Zelle (preferred) ApplePay and CashApp are the only digital payments accepted. In honor of Began2L8inlife, and all others flying under the radar, I will also accept Postal Money Orders and CASH. *Your items will ship after payment is received.\*
Trades: Perth/RAM Lunar Gold would be the only thing I am interested in trading for. If you have Perth 1/10, 1/4, 1/2 oz Lunar GOLD (BU, Proof...All Series) you'd like to trade, I'm listening!
Offers: No Thank you.
MiddleMen: A middleman from the approved MM list can be used at the buyers expense.
Shipping: 5$ will cover G/A shipping in a well-taped bubble mailer. Because I prefer shipping using a SFRB for protection and convenience, I'll do Priority shipping for $7.50. For a couple extra bucks you get your items quicker and better protected by a shipping box.
After being securely packed, parcels are handed off directly to a Postal Clerk. I will send photo with receipt of accepted package at PO counter, and my liability for the parcel ends there. Shipped within 36hrs of settled transaction, but much quicker in almost all cases.
Thanks for looking, and to all who serve and have served, Thank you.
submitted by TeaConfident4980 to Pmsforsale [link] [comments]
Please comment on this post before contacting me. I will not respond to anyone who has not commented here first.
Proof
**************************************************************************************
Misc Fractional Gold Proof
Sun WuKong .5g .9999 Gold Coin w/COA - $75
Republic Of Liberia .73g .999 Gold Coin - $80
RAM 2012 1/10 Gold Colorized Dragon - $290
**************************************************************************************
Perth Mint Gold:
2017 1/10 Square Map Coin - $265
2014 1/10 Kangaroo - $255
2023 1/10 Kangaroo - $255
**************************************************************************************
KOMSCO Gold:
2022 1/10 oz Gold Chiwoo Cheonwang Medals.
Low Mintage of 500 total Medals. 125 of each of the 4 colors.
Red, Blue, White available - $280ea.
2022 1/10 oz Gold Zi:Sin Tigris (500 Mintage)- $295 (1 left)
*************************************************************************************
KOMSCO 2 oz Stackers
2024 Low Poly Lunar Dragon - $85ea (2 available)
2023 Lucifer The Fallen Angel - $90ea (1 available)
202? Mask Of Kitsune (Antique) - $90
*************************************************************************************
Payment: Zelle (preferred) ApplePay and CashApp are the only digital payments accepted. In honor of Began2L8inlife, and all others flying under the radar, I will also accept Postal Money Orders and CASH. *Your items will ship after payment is received.\*
Trades: Perth/RAM Lunar Gold would be the only thing I am interested in trading for. If you have Perth 1/10, 1/4, 1/2 oz Lunar GOLD (BU, Proof...All Series) you'd like to trade, I'm listening!
Offers: No Thank you.
MiddleMen: A middleman from the approved MM list can be used at the buyers expense.
Shipping: 5$ will cover G/A shipping in a well-taped bubble mailer. Because I prefer shipping using a SFRB for protection and convenience, I'll do Priority shipping for $7.50. For a couple extra bucks you get your items quicker and better protected by a shipping box.
After being securely packed, parcels are handed off directly to a Postal Clerk. I will send photo with receipt of accepted package at PO counter, and my liability for the parcel ends there. Shipped within 36hrs of settled transaction, but much quicker in almost all cases.
Thanks for looking, and to all who serve and have served, Thank you.
2024.05.27 23:18 AC_the_Panther_007 On the list, which Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games in North America are your favorites in each year (1985-1994)?
1985-1986 (Oct. 18, 1985 to Dec. 31, 1986):
submitted by AC_the_Panther_007 to retrogaming [link] [comments]
- Duck Hunt (Launch Title)
- Excitebike (Launch Title)
- Pinball (Launch Title)
- Stack-Up (Launch Title)
- Super Mario Bros. (Launch Title)
- Tennis (Launch Title)
- 10-Yard Fight
- Baseball
- Clu Clu Land
- Donkey Kong Jr. Math
- Golf
- Gyromite
- Hogan's Alley
- Ice Climber
- Kung Fu
- Mach Rider
- Wild Gunman
- Wrecking Crew
- Gumshoe
- Balloon Fight
- Donkey Kong
- Donkey Kong 3
- Donkey Kong Jr.
- Mario Bros.
- Popeye
- Urban Champion
- Ninja Kid
- Chubby Cherub
- Tag Team Match: M.U.S.C.L.E.
- Tag Team Wrestling
- 1942
- Commando
- Ghosts 'n Goblins
- Karate Champ
- Gradius
- Trojan
- Pro Wrestling
- Volleyball
- Rush'n Attack
- Track & Field
- BurgerTime
- Castlevania
- Ikari Warriors
- Athletic World
- Kid Icarus
- Mighty Bomb Jack
- Rygar
- Section-Z
- Solomon's Key
- Metroid
- The Legend of Zelda
- Arkanoid
- Athena
- Elevator Action
- Slalom
- The Legend of Kage
- 3-D WorldRunner
- Deadly Towers
- Double Dribble
- Lode Runner
- Raid on Bungeling Bay
- Ring King
- Sky Kid
- Spelunker
- Spy Hunter
- Sqoon
- Stadium Events / World Class Track Meet
- Star Voyager
- Stinger
- Tiger-Heli
- Winter Games
- Alpha Mission
- Lunar Pool
- Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
- Rad Racer
- Zanac
- Side Pocket
- BreakThru
- Gotcha! The Sport!
- Jaws
- Kid Niki: Radical Ninja
- Star Force
- Super Pitfall
- The Goonies II
- The Karate Kid
- Top Gun
- Mega Man
- Wizards & Warriors
- Karnov
- Renegade
- Contra
- Gun.Smoke
- R.C. Pro-Am
- Town & Country Surf Designs: Wood & Water Rage
- Dragon Power
- Ice Hockey
- Freedom Force
- Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road
- Major League Baseball
- City Connection
- Rambo
- Double Dragon
- Metal Gear
- R.B.I. Baseball
- Bases Loaded
- Defender II
- Gauntlet
- Iron Tank: The Invasion of Normandy
- Legendary Wings
- Life Force
- Adventure Island
- Galaga: Demons of Death
- Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode
- Jackal
- Jeopardy!
- Lee Trevino's Fighting Golf
- Milon's Secret Castle
- Wheel of Fortune
- Xevious
- 1943: The Battle of Midway
- Ghostbusters
- Joust
- MagMax
- Mickey Mousecapade
- Millipede
- Pac-Man (Tengen)
- Racket Attack
- Seicross
- Spy vs. Spy
- Super Mario Bros. 2
- Anticipation
- Blaster Master
- Bubble Bobble
- Cobra Command
- Dr. Chaos
- Super Team Games
- Bionic Commando
- Blades of Steel
- Bump 'n' Jump
- Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
- Othello
- Paperboy
- Platoon
- Rampage
- Robowarrior
- Skate or Die
- Superman
- Xenophobe
- Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
- Bomberman
- Sesame Street: 123
- Star Soldier
- Tecmo Baseball
- WWF WrestleMania
- Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach
- Friday the 13th
- Gyruss
- Q*bert
- Tecmo Bowl
- Ultima: Exodus
- Dance Aerobics
- John Elway's Quarterback
- Kung-Fu Heroes
- Marble Madness
- Ninja Gaiden
- World Games
- Adventures of Lolo
- Amagon
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- Fist of the North Star
- Legacy of the Wizard
- Mappy-Land
- Mystery Quest
- Predator
- Taboo: The Sixth Sense
- The Guardian Legend
- Operation Wolf
- Tetris (Unlicensed; Tengen 1989)
- Airwolf
- California Games
- Desert Commander
- Guerrilla War
- Hoops
- Hydlide
- Mega Man 2
- Monster Party
- Nobunaga's Ambition
- Shooting Range
- Street Cop
- Super Dodge Ball
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- The Adventures of Bayou Billy
- Track & Field II
- Baseball Stars
- Cobra Triangle
- Defender of the Crown
- Strider
- Super Sprint (Unlicensed)
- Thundercade
- Adventures of Tom Sawyer
- Dragon Warrior
- Faxanadu
- Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll
- Jordan vs. Bird: One on One
- The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle
- Adventures of Dino Riki
- Air Fortress
- Back to the Future
- Bad Street Brawler
- Castlequest
- Disney's DuckTales
- Fester's Quest
- Hollywood Squares
- King's Knight
- NFL
- P.O.W.: Prisoners of War
- Sesame Street: ABC
- Sky Shark
- The Black Bass USA
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit
- Casino Kid
- Goal!
- Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!
- Jeopardy! Junior Edition
- Rolling Thunder (Unlicensed)
- Romance of the Three Kingdoms
- Stealth ATF
- The Three Stooges
- Twin Eagle
- Wheel of Fortune: Junior Edition
- 720°
- Road Runner (Unlicensed)
- Tetris (Nintendo; 1989)
- Vindicators (Unlicensed)
- After Burner (Unlicensed)
- Alien Syndrome (Unlicensed)
- All-Pro Basketball
- Cybernoid: The Fighting Machine
- Dig Dug II: Trouble in Paradise
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
- Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II
- Kings of the Beach
- Knight Rider
- RoboCop
- Robodemons (Unlicensed)
- Shadowgate
- Shinobi (Unlicensed)
- Short Order + Eggsplode!
- Silent Service
- The Battle of Olympus
- The Uncanny X-Men
- Toobin' (Unlicensed)
- Willow
- The Adventures of Captain Comic (Unlicensed)
- Baby Boomer (Unlicensed)
- Crystal Mines (Unlicensed)
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Unlicensed)
- Master Chu and the Drunkard Hu (Unlicensed)
- Metal Fighter (Unlicensed)
- Raid 2020 (Unlicensed)
- Tagin' Dragon (Unlicensed)
- The Magic of Scheherazade
- 8 Eyes
- A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia
- Archon
- Bases Loaded II: Second Season
- Clash at Demonhead
- Demon Sword
- Double Dragon II: The Revenge
- Genghis Khan
- Infiltrator
- Rescue: The Embassy Mission
- River City Ransom
- RoadBlasters
- Rock 'n Ball
- The Chessmaster
- Top Gun: The Second Mission
- Top Players' Tennis
- Twin Cobra
- Super Mario Bros. 3
- Batman: The Video Game
- Dash Galaxy in the Alien Asylum
- Destination Earthstar
- Rollerball
- Super Spike V'Ball
- Abadox: The Deadly Inner War
- Adventures of Lolo 2
- Al Unser Jr.'s Turbo Racing
- Astyanax
- Baseball Simulator 1.000
- Burai Fighter
- Championship Bowling
- Code Name: Viper
- Conflict
- Fisher-Price: I Can Remember
- Fisher-Price: Perfect Fit
- Heavy Barrel
- Jack Nicklaus' Greatest 18 Holes of Major Championship Golf
- Kid Kool and the Quest for the Seven Wonder Herbs
- Magic Johnson's Fast Break
- Target: Renegade
- Terra Cresta
- Vegas Dream
- Wheel of Fortune: Family Edition
- Win, Lose or Draw
- Double Dare
- Dynowarz: The Destruction of Spondylus
- Ghostbusters II
- Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Off Road
- Phantom Fighter
- Pinbot
- Snake's Revenge
- Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular!
- Super C
- Tecmo World Wrestling
- To the Earth
- WCW World Championship Wrestling
- Wrath of the Black Manta
- Xexyz
- Final Fantasy
- Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
- Remote Control
- Adventures in the Magic Kingdom
- [219]
- Arkista's Ring
- Bad News Baseball
- Boulder Dash
- Cabal
- Captain Skyhawk
- Castle of Dragon
- Disney's Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
- Dragon Spirit: The New Legend
- Heavy Shreddin'
- Jeopardy! 25th Anniversary Edition
- Mechanized Attack
- Michael Andretti's World Grand Prix
- Pinball Quest
- Puss 'n Boots: Pero's Great Adventure
- Rad Racer II
- Rocket Ranger
- Shingen the Ruler
- Silkworm
- Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos
- Starship Hector
- The Last Starfighter
- The Mafat Conspiracy
- Wall Street Kid
- Bad Dudes
- Battle Chess
- Bigfoot
- Circus Caper
- Crystalis
- Dungeon Magic: Sword of the Elements
- Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball
- Image Fight
- Klax (Unlicensed)
- Little League Baseball: Championship Series
- Mad Max
- Pictionary
- Snake Rattle 'n' Roll
- The Adventures of Gilligan's Island
- Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord
- Barker Bill's Trick Shooting
- Dick Tracy
- NARC
- Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream
- Swords and Serpents
- Total Recall
- Back to the Future II & III
- Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
- Classic Concentration
- Destiny of an Emperor
- Dragon Warrior II
- Garry Kitchen's Battletank
- Gauntlet II
- Journey to Silius
- Kickle Cubicle
- Little Nemo: The Dream Master
- Low G Man: The Low Gravity Man
- M.U.L.E.
- Maniac Mansion
- Mission: Impossible
- NES Play Action Football
- Pipe Dream
- Rally Bike
- RollerGames
- Skate or Die 2: The Search for Double Trouble
- Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship
- Spot: The Video Game
- Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight
- The Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout
- Thunderbirds
- Time Lord
- Ultimate Basketball
- A Nightmare on Elm Street
- Caveman Games
- Days of Thunder
- Dr. Mario
- Gremlins 2: The New Batch
- Loopz
- Mendel Palace
- Orb-3D
- Sesame Street: Big Bird's Hide & Speak
- Super Glove Ball
- Arch Rivals: A Basket Brawl!
- Conquest of the Crystal Palace
- Formula One: Built to Win
- Mega Man 3
- Muppet Adventure: Chaos at the Carnival
- Palamedes
- Puzznic
- Silver Surfer
- The Immortal
- The Punisher
- Werewolf: The Last Warrior
- WWF WrestleMania Challenge
- Yo! Noid
- Bandit Kings of Ancient China
- Déjà Vu
- Digger T. Rock: The Legend of the Lost City
- Dirty Harry
- Dragon's Lair
- Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu
- Little Ninja Brothers
- Ninja Crusaders
- Nintendo World Cup
- North & South
- Shadow of the Ninja
- StarTropics
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game
- The Adventures of Rad Gravity
- Thunder & Lightning
- Ultima: Quest of the Avatar
- Bible Adventures (Unlicensed)
- Blades of Steel
- Castle of Deceit (Unlicensed)
- Challenge of the Dragon (Unlicensed)
- Chiller (Unlicensed)
- Deathbots (Unlicensed)
- Double Strike (Unlicensed)
- Dudes With Attitude (Unlicensed)
- Exodus: Journey to the Promised Land (Unlicensed)
- F-15 City War (Unlicensed)
- Fantasy Zone (Unlicensed)
- Galactic Crusader (Unlicensed)
- Impossible Mission II (Unlicensed)
- King Neptune's Adventure (Unlicensed)
- Krazy Kreatures (Unlicensed)
- Menace Beach (Unlicensed)
- Mission Cobra (Unlicensed)
- Moon Ranger (Unlicensed)
- Ms. Pac-Man (Unlicensed; Tengen 1990)
- P'radikus Conflict (Unlicensed)
- Pesterminator: The Western Exterminator (Unlicensed)
- Puzzle (Unlicensed)
- R.B.I. Baseball 2 (Unlicensed)
- ShockWave (Unlicensed)
- Silent Assault (Unlicensed)
- Skull & Crossbones (Unlicensed)
- The Miracle Piano Teaching System
- The Ultimate Stuntman (Unlicensed)
- Tiles of Fate (Unlicensed)
- Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance
- Fun House
- G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
- Kabuki: Quantum Fighter
- Peter Pan and the Pirates: The Revenge of Captain Hook
- Qix
- The Hunt for Red October
- The Krion Conquest
- The Untouchables
- Wayne Gretzky Hockey
- Adventure Island II
- Conan: The Mysteries of Time
- Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones
- Flying Warriors
- Galaxy 5000: Racing in the 51st Century
- Ikari III: The Rescue
- Isolated Warrior
- Magician
- Metal Storm
- Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom
- Ski or Die
- Super Cars
- The Last Ninja
- The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants
- Touchdown Fever
- Harlem Globetrotters
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Kiwi Kraze
- Metal Mech: Man & Machine
- Power Blade
- Totally Rad
- Whomp 'Em
- Bill Elliott's NASCAR Challenge
- Nobunaga's Ambition II
- RoboCop 2
- World Champ
- Beetlejuice
- Family Feud
- Flight of the Intruder
- Monopoly
- The Rocketeer
- Times of Lore
- Battletoads
- Castelian
- Cyber Stadium Series: Base Wars
- Faria: A World of Mystery and Danger!
- Laser Invasion
- Rainbow Islands
- S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team
- Tombs & Treasure
- Uninvited
- Videomation
- Frankenstein: The Monster Returns
- High Speed
- KlashBall
- Disney's The Little Mermaid
- Bill & Ted's Excellent Video Game Adventure
- Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom
- The Lone Ranger
- Adventures of Lolo 3
- Bases Loaded 3
- Captain Planet and the Planeteers
- Gun-Nac
- James Bond Jr.
- Magic Darts
- Monster Truck Rally
- NES Open Tournament Golf
- Rockin' Kats
- Romance of the Three Kingdoms II
- Smash TV
- Super Jeopardy!
- Where's Waldo?
- Zombie Nation
- American Gladiators
- Bo Jackson Baseball
- Darkman
- Home Alone
- Pirates!
- Roger Clemens' MVP Baseball
- Trog!
- Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?
- Wolverine
- Eliminator Boat Duel
- L'Empereur
- Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
- Sesame Street: ABC & 123
- Snow Brothers
- Space Shuttle Project
- Star Wars
- The Bard's Tale
- Uncharted Waters
- Vice: Project Doom
- Wurm: Journey to the Center of the Earth
- Barbie
- Batman: Return of the Joker
- Captain America and the Avengers
- Golf Grand Slam
- Shatterhand
- Disney's TaleSpin
- Tecmo Super Bowl
- The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino & Hoppy
- The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World
- Tiny Toon Adventures
- Toki
- Tom and Jerry: The Ultimate Game of Cat and Mouse!
- Treasure Master
- Action 52 (Unlicensed)
- Big Nose the Caveman (Unlicensed)
- Death Race (Unlicensed)
- Firehawk (Unlicensed)
- Bubble Bath Babes (Unlicensed)
- Micro Machines (Unlicensed)
- Pac-Mania (Unlicensed)
- Peek-A-Boo Poker (Unlicensed)
- Quattro Adventure (Unlicensed)
- Quattro Sports (Unlicensed)
- R.B.I. Baseball 3 (Unlicensed)
- Rad Racket: Deluxe Tennis II (Unlicensed)
- Secret Scout in the Temple of Demise (Unlicensed)
- The King of Kings: The Early Years (Unlicensed)
- Venice Beach Volleyball (Unlicensed)
- Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
- Bucky O'Hare
- Cowboy Kid
- Die Hard
- Dragon Fighter
- KickMaster
- Legends of the Diamond
- Mega Man 4
- Monster in My Pocket
- Motor City Patrol
- Nightshade
- Rampart
- Sword Master
- The Addams Family
- Wheel of Fortune: Featuring Vanna White
- Hook
- F-15 Strike Eagle
- Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters
- Hudson Hawk
- M.C. Kids
- Sesame Street: Countdown
- Star Trek: 25th Anniversary
- Super Spy Hunter
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day
- Dragon Warrior III
- Fisher-Price: Firehouse Rescue
- G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor
- Gemfire
- Ghoul School
- Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
- Town & Country Surf Designs: Thrilla's Surfari
- Wizards & Warriors III: Kuros: Visions of Power
- Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Pool of Radiance
- Hatris
- Paperboy 2
- The Mutant Virus: Crisis in a Computer World
- Toxic Crusaders
- Ultimate Air Combat
- Wizardry: Knight of Diamonds - The Second Scenario
- Alex DeMeo's Race America
- Roundball: 2 on 2 Challenge
- Wacky Races
- Disney's Darkwing Duck
- Day Dreamin' Davey
- Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge
- King's Quest V
- Power Punch II
- Yoshi
- Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: DragonStrike
- Baseball Stars II
- Defenders of Dynatron City
- Greg Norman's Golf Power
- The Blue Marlin
- Capcom's Gold Medal Challenge '92
- Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat
- Might & Magic: Secret of the Inner Sanctum
- RoboCop 3
- Adventure Island 3
- Contra Force
- Krusty's Fun House
- Tecmo Cup Soccer Game
- The Blues Brothers
- WWF WrestleMania: Steel Cage Challenge
- Crash 'n' the Boys: Street Challenge
- Dragon Warrior IV
- Felix the Cat
- Gargoyle's Quest II
- Ghost Lion
- Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
- Panic Restaurant
- Power Blade 2
- Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six
- Stanley: The Search for Dr. Livingston
- Goal! Two
- Lemmings
- Little Samson
- Prince of Persia
- Tecmo NBA Basketball
- Widget
- Best of the Best: Championship Karate
- Caesars Palace
- F-117A Stealth Fighter
- George Foreman's KO Boxing
- Joe & Mac
- Mega Man 5
- R.C. Pro-Am II
- Swamp Thing
- The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends
- The Great Waldo Search
- The Jetsons: Cogswell's Caper
- The Simpsons: Bartman Meets Radioactive Man
- The Terminator
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
- Tiny Toon Adventures: Cartoon Workshop
- 6 in 1 (Unlicensed)
- Bee 52 (Unlicensed)
- Big Nose Freaks Out (Unlicensed)
- Blackjack (Unlicensed)
- Cyberball
- Joshua & the Battle of Jericho (Unlicensed)
- Linus Spacehead's Cosmic Crusade (Unlicensed)
- Maxi 15 (Unlicensed)
- MiG-29: Soviet Fighter (Unlicensed)
- Operation: Secret Storm (Unlicensed)
- Pyramid (Unlicensed)
- Quattro Arcade (Unlicensed)
- Solitaire (Unlicensed)
- Spiritual Warfare (Unlicensed)
- Stunt Kids (Unlicensed)
- Ultimate League Soccer (Unlicensed)
- Wally Bear and the NO! Gang (Unlicensed)
- Batman Returns
- Break Time: The National Pool Tour
- Overlord
- Ultima: Warriors of Destiny
- Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Hillsfar
- Bomberman II
- Rollerblade Racer
- Alien³
- Fire 'n Ice
- Mickey's Safari in Letterland
- Zen: Intergalactic Ninja
- Bases Loaded 4
- Casino Kid II
- Kid Klown in Night Mayor World
- Lethal Weapon
- Tiny Toon Adventures 2: Trouble in Wackyland
- Yoshi's Cookie
- Kirby's Adventure
- Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team
- Cool World
- Disney's DuckTales 2
- Jurassic Park
- Color a Dinosaur
- Mario is Missing!
- Mighty Final Fight
- Bubble Bobble Part 2
- The Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt
- Battleship
- Bram Stoker's Dracula
- Star Trek: The Next Generation
- Championship Pool
- Last Action Hero
- Nigel Mansell's World Championship Racing
- Tetris 2
- Cliffhanger
- Jimmy Connors Tennis
- Ms. Pac-Man (Namco; 1993)
- Pac-Man (Namco; 1993)
- Pro Sport Hockey
- The Ren & Stimpy Show: Buckaroo$!
- Wayne's World
- WWF King of the Ring
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Bible Buffet (Unlicensed)
- Dizzy the Adventurer (Unlicensed)
- The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy (Unlicensed)
- Bonk's Adventure
- Disney's Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers 2
- Alfred Chicken
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters
- Mega Man 6
- Mickey's Adventure in Numberland
- Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II
- Mario's Time Machine
- Disney's The Jungle Book
- The Flintstones: The Surprise at Dinosaur Peak!
- The Incredible Crash Dummies
- Wario's Woods
- Trolls on Treasure Island (Unlicensed)
- Sunday Funday: The Ride (Unlicensed)
2024.05.27 04:23 hat3011 Order of Martial Arts to Train
So I need help making a decision. I basically have no fighting or martial arts experience. I want to learn self defense. (Yeah I understand you can run away, but that's not possible if you have your family with you)
In my area there is a Wrestling coach who teaches adults and is a multiple time college champion himself, there is a Muay Thai coach who has coached multiple champions, there is a Sambo coach who has won national level gold medals, a BJJ coach who has one multiple tournaments at black belt and brown belt, a Boxing coach with with a 19-4 career record, and an MMA coach who is a former fighter himself and was a participant on The Ultimate Fighter.
For someone like me, at 28 years old, 5'11 and 200 lbs, what order, frequency, and timeline would you recommend for me to get to a level where I could beat most untrained men? Also, could I train for (x) amount of years and just stop and just focus on weight lifting and general fitness, or should I continue to train a bit to keep myself sharp? Maybe MMA at that point?
Thanks in advance for the suggestions!
submitted by hat3011 to martialarts [link] [comments]
In my area there is a Wrestling coach who teaches adults and is a multiple time college champion himself, there is a Muay Thai coach who has coached multiple champions, there is a Sambo coach who has won national level gold medals, a BJJ coach who has one multiple tournaments at black belt and brown belt, a Boxing coach with with a 19-4 career record, and an MMA coach who is a former fighter himself and was a participant on The Ultimate Fighter.
For someone like me, at 28 years old, 5'11 and 200 lbs, what order, frequency, and timeline would you recommend for me to get to a level where I could beat most untrained men? Also, could I train for (x) amount of years and just stop and just focus on weight lifting and general fitness, or should I continue to train a bit to keep myself sharp? Maybe MMA at that point?
Thanks in advance for the suggestions!
2024.05.27 02:53 BiggestFlamingo When the Democratic Party somehow makes their opponents look rational The Times
It is not very mature to communicate in internet memes, but when I try to describe the Democrats’ attitude to protecting women’s rights, all I come up with is that Simpsons clip of Sideshow Bob repeatedly stepping on rakes and smacking himself in the face. So severe is this rake face-smacking tendency that last week the Democrats managed to make Texas senator Ted Cruz — a misogynist of such proportions that he thinks abortion should be banned even if the woman has been a victim of rape or incest — look like America’s last great feminist.
On Wednesday, at a US Senate judiciary hearing, Cruz questioned Judge Sarah Netburn, whom President Biden has nominated to the US District Court. Netburn has a long record of dealing with complex cases but Cruz focused on one in particular: her recommendation in 2022 that the serial rapist William McClain be transferred to a women’s prison.
In 2015, when McClain was 51, after he was released from jail for raping two children and before being reincarcerated for sharing violent child pornography, he chose to identify as a "woman". And off he went to a women’s prison, with Netburn’s blessing. When the Bureau of Prisons suggested this could be traumatising and dangerous to the female prisoners, the judge dismissed that concern as “overblown”.
“The other women in that prison … do they have the right not to have a 6ft 2in man who is a repeat, serial rapist put in as their cellmate?” thundered Cruz.
“I considered the facts presented to me and I reached a decision based on the law,” replied Netburn in a “computer says no” monotone.
[You can watch this shameful exchange here]
Given she referred to the convicted rapist as “she” during the hearing, her grasp on facts is perhaps a little shaky. The Democratic senator Mazie Hirono declared Netburn would be “a damn good judge”. Smack goes another rake.
Speaking as a US-UK citizen who has always voted Democratic and almost always Labour (save for the Corbyn years), I have a plea to those parties: can you please stop whacking yourselves in the face? Netburn was following the Democrats’ push to let inmates self-identify, meaning a male prisoner who claims to identify as a woman can potentially be incarcerated in a women’s prison.
Biden also expanded Title IX — the civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in schools — to include gender identity, after the Trump administration had restricted it to referring to biological sex.
Yet his team have been tentative about how this would work with school sports, and as a result, there are endless clips online of American boys with long hair body-slamming girls in basketball games and stealing gold medals in girls’ running races.
Activist groups insist being tgender is analogous to being gay, and so the Democrats have parked all critical thinking and waved through rights for males who identify as women. American women are now in the absurd position where defending their rights — the right to not share a prison cell with a rapist, to not be pummelled by a large teenage boy in gym class — places them on the same side as the misogynistic Republicans.
Before any British readers laugh too loudly, our own shadow minister for international development, Lisa Nandy, said in 2020 that male rapists who transition should have the right to go to a women’s prison. As recently as Monday, it emerged at an employment tribunal that staff at the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre believe “there is no such thing as biological sex”. Yup, at a rape centre. Its chief executive, Mridul Wadhwa — who identifies as a "woman" — thinks the role of a rape crisis centre is to “challenge [raped women’s] prejudices” — those prejudices being a preference to talk to a female counsellor rather than a male one about their sexual assault. When a caseworker, Roz Adams, tried to defend the rights of the victims — an unforgivable crime at this re-education gulag — and argued they had the right to request a female counsellor, she was dismissed as a bigot. The tribunal ruled that the centre had unlawfully discriminated against her.
You’d think, logically, that these cold shafts of reality’s light would make the phantasm of gender ideology wither away. But logic does not apply here. The same week the ERCC lost its employment tribunal, the shadow minister for women and equalities, Anneliese Dodds — no stranger to rakes — announced that Labour would make it easier for people to change gender. Because no problems have emerged from making it easy for people to change gender. Other than in the NHS, sport, schools, prisons, workplaces and everywhere else.
“Gender ideologues try to dismiss feminists — who argue there are major biological differences between men and women — by describing them as “right-wing”. It is true most politicians on the right tend to understand the existence of biological sex. They also probably accept the existence of gravity. That so many on the left would — still! — rather jettison women’s rights than state the well-established obvious reflects badly only on them, and it has left a lot of women politically homeless, stuck between anti-abortion homophobes on one side and biology-denying, rapist-pandering cultists on the other.
So please, Democratic and Labour politicians, can you stop making the worst Republicans seem like the only grown-ups in the room, simply for knowing that two plus two does not equal a unicorn? Or have you smacked yourself with so many rakes you’ve given yourself a permanent concussion?
source: https://archive.is/wVqPy
submitted by BiggestFlamingo to fourthwavewomen [link] [comments]
On Wednesday, at a US Senate judiciary hearing, Cruz questioned Judge Sarah Netburn, whom President Biden has nominated to the US District Court. Netburn has a long record of dealing with complex cases but Cruz focused on one in particular: her recommendation in 2022 that the serial rapist William McClain be transferred to a women’s prison.
In 2015, when McClain was 51, after he was released from jail for raping two children and before being reincarcerated for sharing violent child pornography, he chose to identify as a "woman". And off he went to a women’s prison, with Netburn’s blessing. When the Bureau of Prisons suggested this could be traumatising and dangerous to the female prisoners, the judge dismissed that concern as “overblown”.
“The other women in that prison … do they have the right not to have a 6ft 2in man who is a repeat, serial rapist put in as their cellmate?” thundered Cruz.
“I considered the facts presented to me and I reached a decision based on the law,” replied Netburn in a “computer says no” monotone.
[You can watch this shameful exchange here]
Given she referred to the convicted rapist as “she” during the hearing, her grasp on facts is perhaps a little shaky. The Democratic senator Mazie Hirono declared Netburn would be “a damn good judge”. Smack goes another rake.
Speaking as a US-UK citizen who has always voted Democratic and almost always Labour (save for the Corbyn years), I have a plea to those parties: can you please stop whacking yourselves in the face? Netburn was following the Democrats’ push to let inmates self-identify, meaning a male prisoner who claims to identify as a woman can potentially be incarcerated in a women’s prison.
Biden also expanded Title IX — the civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in schools — to include gender identity, after the Trump administration had restricted it to referring to biological sex.
Yet his team have been tentative about how this would work with school sports, and as a result, there are endless clips online of American boys with long hair body-slamming girls in basketball games and stealing gold medals in girls’ running races.
Activist groups insist being tgender is analogous to being gay, and so the Democrats have parked all critical thinking and waved through rights for males who identify as women. American women are now in the absurd position where defending their rights — the right to not share a prison cell with a rapist, to not be pummelled by a large teenage boy in gym class — places them on the same side as the misogynistic Republicans.
Before any British readers laugh too loudly, our own shadow minister for international development, Lisa Nandy, said in 2020 that male rapists who transition should have the right to go to a women’s prison. As recently as Monday, it emerged at an employment tribunal that staff at the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre believe “there is no such thing as biological sex”. Yup, at a rape centre. Its chief executive, Mridul Wadhwa — who identifies as a "woman" — thinks the role of a rape crisis centre is to “challenge [raped women’s] prejudices” — those prejudices being a preference to talk to a female counsellor rather than a male one about their sexual assault. When a caseworker, Roz Adams, tried to defend the rights of the victims — an unforgivable crime at this re-education gulag — and argued they had the right to request a female counsellor, she was dismissed as a bigot. The tribunal ruled that the centre had unlawfully discriminated against her.
You’d think, logically, that these cold shafts of reality’s light would make the phantasm of gender ideology wither away. But logic does not apply here. The same week the ERCC lost its employment tribunal, the shadow minister for women and equalities, Anneliese Dodds — no stranger to rakes — announced that Labour would make it easier for people to change gender. Because no problems have emerged from making it easy for people to change gender. Other than in the NHS, sport, schools, prisons, workplaces and everywhere else.
“Gender ideologues try to dismiss feminists — who argue there are major biological differences between men and women — by describing them as “right-wing”. It is true most politicians on the right tend to understand the existence of biological sex. They also probably accept the existence of gravity. That so many on the left would — still! — rather jettison women’s rights than state the well-established obvious reflects badly only on them, and it has left a lot of women politically homeless, stuck between anti-abortion homophobes on one side and biology-denying, rapist-pandering cultists on the other.
So please, Democratic and Labour politicians, can you stop making the worst Republicans seem like the only grown-ups in the room, simply for knowing that two plus two does not equal a unicorn? Or have you smacked yourself with so many rakes you’ve given yourself a permanent concussion?
source: https://archive.is/wVqPy
2024.05.26 18:48 jkjiuhuhuh How do Can I Find Free IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 live?
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How do Can I Find Free IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 live? Hey fellow Ice Hockey viewers. As I’ve been watching IIHF for quite a few seasons now, I've done some digging to access the trusty Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 streams. I pirate everything: sports, movies, TV Channels, and even made my own plex server. But lately I have gotten really into IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 and haven't found a great way to watch Switzerland vs Czech Republic live for free...What app/website are you using to watch the Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 live free? ... I'm not 100% it's basically a live stream of the Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024.
I pirate everything: games, movies, software, and even made my own plex server. But lately I have gotten really into Ice Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 and haven't found a great way to watch Canada vs sweden iihf for free live.
I don't care if there is a small delay or anything, but it needs to be at a good bitrate at 1080p or it isn't worth watch for me. Also preferably I would want a way to watch it on a smart TV in some way but im expecting to sacrifice that luxury honestly.
ESPN, ABC or Boxing Network. I'm sure you can stream as well as way to watch it but I want to see what you guys recommend.
Date: 26th May
Czechia is in the final for the first time since they won it all in 2010. After falling to third in Group A, they managed to pull out a win against undefeated Sweden in the semis, winning big, 7-3. Dating back to when the team competed under the Czechoslovakia banner, the Czechs are 12-13 in gold medal games.
2024.05.26 18:47 dfdrrdrrdr How/Where to Watch Free IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 live without cable?
🔴Here: Czechia vs Switzerland IIHF Final live
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How/Where to Watch Free IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 live without cable? Hey fellow Ice Hockey viewers. As I’ve been watching IIHF for quite a few seasons now, I've done some digging to access the trusty Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 streams. I pirate everything: sports, movies, TV Channels, and even made my own plex server. But lately I have gotten really into IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 and haven't found a great way to watch Switzerland vs Czech Republic live for free...What app/website are you using to watch the Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 live free? ... I'm not 100% it's basically a live stream of the Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024.
I pirate everything: games, movies, software, and even made my own plex server. But lately I have gotten really into Ice Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 and haven't found a great way to watch Canada vs sweden iihf for free live.
I don't care if there is a small delay or anything, but it needs to be at a good bitrate at 1080p or it isn't worth watch for me. Also preferably I would want a way to watch it on a smart TV in some way but im expecting to sacrifice that luxury honestly.
ESPN, ABC or Boxing Network. I'm sure you can stream as well as way to watch it but I want to see what you guys recommend.
Date: 26th May
Czechia is in the final for the first time since they won it all in 2010. After falling to third in Group A, they managed to pull out a win against undefeated Sweden in the semis, winning big, 7-3. Dating back to when the team competed under the Czechoslovakia banner, the Czechs are 12-13 in gold medal games.
2024.05.26 18:41 uyghghhgjj How to Watch Free Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Final live from Home?
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How to Watch Free Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Final live from Home? Hey fellow Ice Hockey viewers. As I’ve been watching IIHF for quite a few seasons now, I've done some digging to access the trusty Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 streams. I pirate everything: sports, movies, TV Channels, and even made my own plex server. But lately I have gotten really into IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 and haven't found a great way to watch Switzerland vs Czech Republic live for free...What app/website are you using to watch the Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 live free? ... I'm not 100% it's basically a live stream of the Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024.
I pirate everything: games, movies, software, and even made my own plex server. But lately I have gotten really into Ice Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 and haven't found a great way to watch Canada vs sweden iihf for free live.
I don't care if there is a small delay or anything, but it needs to be at a good bitrate at 1080p or it isn't worth watch for me. Also preferably I would want a way to watch it on a smart TV in some way but im expecting to sacrifice that luxury honestly.
ESPN, ABC or Boxing Network. I'm sure you can stream as well as way to watch it but I want to see what you guys recommend.
Date: 26th May
Czechia is in the final for the first time since they won it all in 2010. After falling to third in Group A, they managed to pull out a win against undefeated Sweden in the semis, winning big, 7-3. Dating back to when the team competed under the Czechoslovakia banner, the Czechs are 12-13 in gold medal games.
2024.05.26 18:39 juhgtfygh How/Where to Watch Free Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Final live without cable?
🔴Here: Czechia vs Switzerland IIHF Final live
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How/Where to Watch Free Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Final live without cable? Hey fellow Ice Hockey viewers. As I’ve been watching IIHF for quite a few seasons now, I've done some digging to access the trusty Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 streams. I pirate everything: sports, movies, TV Channels, and even made my own plex server. But lately I have gotten really into IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 and haven't found a great way to watch Switzerland vs Czech Republic live for free...What app/website are you using to watch the Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 live free? ... I'm not 100% it's basically a live stream of the Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024.
I pirate everything: games, movies, software, and even made my own plex server. But lately I have gotten really into Ice Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 and haven't found a great way to watch Canada vs sweden iihf for free live.
I don't care if there is a small delay or anything, but it needs to be at a good bitrate at 1080p or it isn't worth watch for me. Also preferably I would want a way to watch it on a smart TV in some way but im expecting to sacrifice that luxury honestly.
ESPN, ABC or Boxing Network. I'm sure you can stream as well as way to watch it but I want to see what you guys recommend.
Date: 26th May
Czechia is in the final for the first time since they won it all in 2010. After falling to third in Group A, they managed to pull out a win against undefeated Sweden in the semis, winning big, 7-3. Dating back to when the team competed under the Czechoslovakia banner, the Czechs are 12-13 in gold medal games.
2024.05.26 18:36 nbgvhvhhv How do Can I Find Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Final live stream free online?
🔴Here: Czechia vs Switzerland IIHF Final live
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How do Can I Find Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Final live stream free online? Hey fellow Ice Hockey viewers. As I’ve been watching IIHF for quite a few seasons now, I've done some digging to access the trusty Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 streams. I pirate everything: sports, movies, TV Channels, and even made my own plex server. But lately I have gotten really into IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 and haven't found a great way to watch Switzerland vs Czech Republic live for free... What app/website are you using to watch the Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 live free? ... I'm not 100% it's basically a live stream of the Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024. I pirate everything: games, movies, software, and even made my own plex server. But lately I have gotten really into Ice Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 and haven't found a great way to watch Canada vs sweden iihf for free live. I don't care if there is a small delay or anything, but it needs to be at a good bitrate at 1080p or it isn't worth watch for me. Also preferably I would want a way to watch it on a smart TV in some way but im expecting to sacrifice that luxury honestly. ESPN, ABC or Boxing Network. I'm sure you can stream as well as way to watch it but I want to see what you guys recommend. Date: 26th May Czechia is in the final for the first time since they won it all in 2010. After falling to third in Group A, they managed to pull out a win against undefeated Sweden in the semis, winning big, 7-3. Dating back to when the team competed under the Czechoslovakia banner, the Czechs are 12-13 in gold medal games.2024.05.26 18:32 nbnvbvvb How do Can I Find Czechia vs Switzerland IIHF Final live stream free online?
🔴Here: Czechia vs Switzerland IIHF Final live
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How do Can I Find Czechia vs Switzerland IIHF Final live stream free online? Hey fellow Ice Hockey viewers. As I’ve been watching IIHF for quite a few seasons now, I've done some digging to access the trusty Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 streams. I pirate everything: sports, movies, TV Channels, and even made my own plex server. But lately I have gotten really into IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 and haven't found a great way to watch Switzerland vs Czech Republic live for free... What app/website are you using to watch the Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 live free? ... I'm not 100% it's basically a live stream of the Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024. I pirate everything: games, movies, software, and even made my own plex server. But lately I have gotten really into Ice Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 and haven't found a great way to watch Canada vs sweden iihf for free live. I don't care if there is a small delay or anything, but it needs to be at a good bitrate at 1080p or it isn't worth watch for me. Also preferably I would want a way to watch it on a smart TV in some way but im expecting to sacrifice that luxury honestly. ESPN, ABC or Boxing Network. I'm sure you can stream as well as way to watch it but I want to see what you guys recommend. Date: 26th May Czechia is in the final for the first time since they won it all in 2010. After falling to third in Group A, they managed to pull out a win against undefeated Sweden in the semis, winning big, 7-3. Dating back to when the team competed under the Czechoslovakia banner, the Czechs are 12-13 in gold medal games.2024.05.26 18:27 xdsdfdfdsf How to Watch Free Czechia vs Switzerland IIHF Final live?
🔴Here: Czechia vs Switzerland IIHF Final live
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How to Watch Free Czechia vs Switzerland IIHF Final live? Hey fellow Ice Hockey viewers. As I’ve been watching IIHF for quite a few seasons now, I've done some digging to access the trusty Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 streams. I pirate everything: sports, movies, TV Channels, and even made my own plex server. But lately I have gotten really into IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 and haven't found a great way to watch Switzerland vs Czech Republic live for free...What app/website are you using to watch the Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 live free? ... I'm not 100% it's basically a live stream of the Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024.
I pirate everything: games, movies, software, and even made my own plex server. But lately I have gotten really into Ice Switzerland vs Czech Republic IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Final 2024 and haven't found a great way to watch Canada vs sweden iihf for free live.
I don't care if there is a small delay or anything, but it needs to be at a good bitrate at 1080p or it isn't worth watch for me. Also preferably I would want a way to watch it on a smart TV in some way but im expecting to sacrifice that luxury honestly.
ESPN, ABC or Boxing Network. I'm sure you can stream as well as way to watch it but I want to see what you guys recommend.
Date: 26th May
Czechia is in the final for the first time since they won it all in 2010. After falling to third in Group A, they managed to pull out a win against undefeated Sweden in the semis, winning big, 7-3. Dating back to when the team competed under the Czechoslovakia banner, the Czechs are 12-13 in gold medal games.
2024.05.26 17:20 mechakid Solar Wind - Part 50
This is a fan fiction. Events depicted here are not canon, though perhaps they could be.
SpacePaladin15, love your universe, thank you for letting us play in the sandbox.
Author Note: This work is now officially my longest storyline ever. A heartfelt thanks to all my readers for making every post worthwhile.
First /Venlil Contact Arc / Cradle Arc / Battle of Terra Arc / HF Arc /
Khoa Arc / Previous / Next
---
Memory transcription subject: Commodore Katsuo Hara, Titan Shipyards, Leto Hall
Date [standardized human time]: 1450 November 12, 2136
My wife ran her hands over my dress uniform, a gentle smile on her face. "You always were a handsome man, Katsuo." Her traditional cherry blossom pattern kimono, made with now irreplicable silks, contrasted my navy white as she adjusted the medals and ribbons slightly.
"Thank you, Tomoko, but it is only your beauty that makes me so." I kissed my wife's hand gently. "I just hope I don't fumble the ceremony."
"You won't." Outside the musicians began playing, indicating 10 minutes till the start of the proceedings. "I should take my seat. Be radiant, husband." She turned slowly and walked out the prep room, taking her seat in the second row.
I in turn went to check on the groom. Wilhelm was unusually fidgety. The man known for being constant perfection and stoicism was showing the stress of the moment. "Relax Ehricke-kun." I said as I pat him on the back. "I have to do all the work, all you need to do is say a few words."
"Ja, thank you mein kapitan." He took a deep breath, setting his jaw and face in stone once more. "Wilhelm ist perfection."
"Hai." Out in the hall the music changed. "Come, Ehrickle-kun. It's time."
"Jawohl."
The two of us stepped out into the main hall, with Wilhelm taking his place on my left. I could see the cameras in the back, knowing they were broadcasting not just to the fleet, or even to the UN, but across every available frequency to the entire universe.
No pressure.
The hall went silent, then a pair of singers took up their roles.
After them came Chief Uriel, escorting Elena Sapir, Azrael's young cousin. As they reached the front, Uriel pointed at his eyes, then at Wilhelm, a good natured "threat" that caused the audience to chuckle.
Finally, came Captain Edward Evans from the Samuel B. Roberts, my former right hand, and Wilhelm's best man. Arm in arm with him was Lieutenant Lei Xaioling, my former commissary, now Edward's first officer.
"Gathered friends," I began. "We are here today to celebrate a new union. So I ask, who is the bride to be?"
"I, Azrael, daughter of Simon and Rebecca."
"And who is it that gives Azrael as bride to be?"
"I, Simon Sapir, Lieutenant Colonel, Israeli Defense Forces, retired, do give my daughter to be the bride," said her father, his voice booming out across the hall.
"Does Azrael come willingly, free of undue influence or forces beyond her control?
"I do."
"Very well. Who is it that wishes to be bound to Azrael, life for life, spirit for spirit."
"I do, Vilhelm, zon of Gerard und Annalise"
And Wilhelm, do you come willingly, free of undue influence or forces beyond your control?"
"Ja, I do."
"Mister Sapir, you may be seated." Simon kissed his daughter on the cheeks and took his seat beside his wife. Azrael was smiling from ear to ear, while Wilhelm struggled with a slight case of the giggles. "Welcome family and friends. We are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the marriage of Azrael and Wilhelm. This is not the beginning of a new relationship but an acknowledgment of the next chapter in their lives. Together, they have fought, strived, bled, and sacrificed, and we now bear witness to what their relationship has become. Today, they will affirm this bond formally and publicly."
I took a deep breath and continued. "Azrael and Wilhelm will mark their transition as a couple not only by celebrating the love between themselves, but by also celebrating the love between all of us—including the love of their parents, siblings, extended family, and best friends. It is the same love felt between billions of couples of all species across the galaxy. As their commanding officer, it is both my honor and privilege to have served with them, and to lead this celebration."
"So now, Azrael, do you take Wilhelm to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in times of joy and times of strife, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto him for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do."
And do you Wilhelm take Azrael to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and strife, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto her for as long as you both shall live?
"I do!"
"May I have the rings please?" Edward made a show of searching his pockets, turning to Lei who produced the rings seemingly out of thin air and handed them to me. I shook my head in amusement, before holding up the rings. "A ring of gold, and a ring of iron, beauty and strength. These rings represent the unbroken circle of your lives, encompassing your immortal souls. By bestowing them upon each other, you give yourselves without beginning or end." I turned to the bride, holding up the first ring. "Azrael, take this ring of gold, place it on Wilhelm's finger, and pledge yourself to him."
"I give you this ring as a symbol of my love with the pledge: to love you today, tomorrow, always, and forever. May its beauty shine as your light forever."
I turned to Wilhelm next. "And now Wilhelm, take this ring of iron, place it on Azrael's finger, and pledge yourself to her."
"I give to you zis ring az a zymbol of my love vit ze pledge: to love you today, tomorrow, alvays, und forever. May itz strength protect you from all danger, and keep you zafe now und alvays."
I put my hands on each of their shoulders as the couple beamed happily at each other. "Before these witnesses, and every being in the whole galaxy, you have pledged to be joined in marriage. You have now sealed this pledge with your wedding rings, binding you together forever. By the authority vested in me by the United Nations of Earth, I pronounce you to be husband and wife."
The whole audience cheered as Azrael grabbed Wilhelm, pulling him to her and planting a kiss on him. The wedding party quickly fell back to the rear of the hall where a set of swords waited for them. As Azrael and Wilhelm walked down the aisle together, Edward's voice boomed out "PRESENT ARMS!" The swords were drawn, held in an arch through which the couple walked, but before they could clear it, Edward lowered his sword, blocking their path. Cameras flashed as the couple kissed again, and Edward pulled his sword in. As Azrael and Wilhelm passed him, the swung the sword back, catching both of them on the rear with the flat of the blade.
"And now ladies and gentlemen, while the photographers and news media have their way with the happy couple, please proceed to the adjacent hall for cocktail hour."
As the crowd filed out, my wife found me once more, positively glowing. "That was perfect, husband."
"Good. You know, I've led my men in to battle a dozen times, but none of them made me this nervous."
"Bah, you humble yourself too much, Katsuo. Now, let's go next door ourselves. I hear there is a bottle of Hakkaisan Tokubetsu Junmai with your name on it."
submitted by mechakid to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]
SpacePaladin15, love your universe, thank you for letting us play in the sandbox.
Author Note: This work is now officially my longest storyline ever. A heartfelt thanks to all my readers for making every post worthwhile.
First /Venlil Contact Arc / Cradle Arc / Battle of Terra Arc / HF Arc /
Khoa Arc / Previous / Next
---
Memory transcription subject: Commodore Katsuo Hara, Titan Shipyards, Leto Hall
Date [standardized human time]: 1450 November 12, 2136
My wife ran her hands over my dress uniform, a gentle smile on her face. "You always were a handsome man, Katsuo." Her traditional cherry blossom pattern kimono, made with now irreplicable silks, contrasted my navy white as she adjusted the medals and ribbons slightly.
"Thank you, Tomoko, but it is only your beauty that makes me so." I kissed my wife's hand gently. "I just hope I don't fumble the ceremony."
"You won't." Outside the musicians began playing, indicating 10 minutes till the start of the proceedings. "I should take my seat. Be radiant, husband." She turned slowly and walked out the prep room, taking her seat in the second row.
I in turn went to check on the groom. Wilhelm was unusually fidgety. The man known for being constant perfection and stoicism was showing the stress of the moment. "Relax Ehricke-kun." I said as I pat him on the back. "I have to do all the work, all you need to do is say a few words."
"Ja, thank you mein kapitan." He took a deep breath, setting his jaw and face in stone once more. "Wilhelm ist perfection."
"Hai." Out in the hall the music changed. "Come, Ehrickle-kun. It's time."
"Jawohl."
The two of us stepped out into the main hall, with Wilhelm taking his place on my left. I could see the cameras in the back, knowing they were broadcasting not just to the fleet, or even to the UN, but across every available frequency to the entire universe.
No pressure.
The hall went silent, then a pair of singers took up their roles.
"Is this the last time?The procession began, the wedding party coming out in pairs. First was Tevye, the venlil engineer we saved at the start of our crusade. Holding his arm was Able Space-ven Sipha. The awkwardness of both of them in a human wedding was strangely adorable.
Is this the last adventure?
We journeyed outward,
and we survived together..."
After them came Chief Uriel, escorting Elena Sapir, Azrael's young cousin. As they reached the front, Uriel pointed at his eyes, then at Wilhelm, a good natured "threat" that caused the audience to chuckle.
Finally, came Captain Edward Evans from the Samuel B. Roberts, my former right hand, and Wilhelm's best man. Arm in arm with him was Lieutenant Lei Xaioling, my former commissary, now Edward's first officer.
Set your pack down by the fireEveryone took their positions, and there was a pause, during which Azrael appeared at the door of the hall, holding onto her father Simon's arm. Here elegant dress was immaculate white with blue accents. A single voice took up a new song, a beautiful rendition of Od Yshama sung by a man with a beautiful, powerful voice. As the walked down the isle, I saw Simon pull out a cloth from his pocket, wiping his eyes as he led his daughter to us.
We settle now as we desire
A three year journey now is done
Or has it only now begun?
"Gathered friends," I began. "We are here today to celebrate a new union. So I ask, who is the bride to be?"
"I, Azrael, daughter of Simon and Rebecca."
"And who is it that gives Azrael as bride to be?"
"I, Simon Sapir, Lieutenant Colonel, Israeli Defense Forces, retired, do give my daughter to be the bride," said her father, his voice booming out across the hall.
"Does Azrael come willingly, free of undue influence or forces beyond her control?
"I do."
"Very well. Who is it that wishes to be bound to Azrael, life for life, spirit for spirit."
"I do, Vilhelm, zon of Gerard und Annalise"
And Wilhelm, do you come willingly, free of undue influence or forces beyond your control?"
"Ja, I do."
"Mister Sapir, you may be seated." Simon kissed his daughter on the cheeks and took his seat beside his wife. Azrael was smiling from ear to ear, while Wilhelm struggled with a slight case of the giggles. "Welcome family and friends. We are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the marriage of Azrael and Wilhelm. This is not the beginning of a new relationship but an acknowledgment of the next chapter in their lives. Together, they have fought, strived, bled, and sacrificed, and we now bear witness to what their relationship has become. Today, they will affirm this bond formally and publicly."
I took a deep breath and continued. "Azrael and Wilhelm will mark their transition as a couple not only by celebrating the love between themselves, but by also celebrating the love between all of us—including the love of their parents, siblings, extended family, and best friends. It is the same love felt between billions of couples of all species across the galaxy. As their commanding officer, it is both my honor and privilege to have served with them, and to lead this celebration."
"So now, Azrael, do you take Wilhelm to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in times of joy and times of strife, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto him for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do."
And do you Wilhelm take Azrael to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and strife, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto her for as long as you both shall live?
"I do!"
"May I have the rings please?" Edward made a show of searching his pockets, turning to Lei who produced the rings seemingly out of thin air and handed them to me. I shook my head in amusement, before holding up the rings. "A ring of gold, and a ring of iron, beauty and strength. These rings represent the unbroken circle of your lives, encompassing your immortal souls. By bestowing them upon each other, you give yourselves without beginning or end." I turned to the bride, holding up the first ring. "Azrael, take this ring of gold, place it on Wilhelm's finger, and pledge yourself to him."
"I give you this ring as a symbol of my love with the pledge: to love you today, tomorrow, always, and forever. May its beauty shine as your light forever."
I turned to Wilhelm next. "And now Wilhelm, take this ring of iron, place it on Azrael's finger, and pledge yourself to her."
"I give to you zis ring az a zymbol of my love vit ze pledge: to love you today, tomorrow, alvays, und forever. May itz strength protect you from all danger, and keep you zafe now und alvays."
I put my hands on each of their shoulders as the couple beamed happily at each other. "Before these witnesses, and every being in the whole galaxy, you have pledged to be joined in marriage. You have now sealed this pledge with your wedding rings, binding you together forever. By the authority vested in me by the United Nations of Earth, I pronounce you to be husband and wife."
The whole audience cheered as Azrael grabbed Wilhelm, pulling him to her and planting a kiss on him. The wedding party quickly fell back to the rear of the hall where a set of swords waited for them. As Azrael and Wilhelm walked down the aisle together, Edward's voice boomed out "PRESENT ARMS!" The swords were drawn, held in an arch through which the couple walked, but before they could clear it, Edward lowered his sword, blocking their path. Cameras flashed as the couple kissed again, and Edward pulled his sword in. As Azrael and Wilhelm passed him, the swung the sword back, catching both of them on the rear with the flat of the blade.
"And now ladies and gentlemen, while the photographers and news media have their way with the happy couple, please proceed to the adjacent hall for cocktail hour."
As the crowd filed out, my wife found me once more, positively glowing. "That was perfect, husband."
"Good. You know, I've led my men in to battle a dozen times, but none of them made me this nervous."
"Bah, you humble yourself too much, Katsuo. Now, let's go next door ourselves. I hear there is a bottle of Hakkaisan Tokubetsu Junmai with your name on it."
2024.05.26 14:22 ENVR000 Opinions About Enver Pasha's interaction with an American Journalist
 | I found a rather interesting article about Enver Pasha, and Since Enver Pasha, did quite a lot of things in Balkans as well as Anatolia and Even central Asia, I wanna ask your opinion about that. submitted by ENVR000 to AskBalkans [link] [comments] Source: https://www.marxists.org/archive/bryant/works/1923-mom/pasha.htm Mirrors Of Moscowby Louise BryantLenin and his subordinates:Enver Pasha and the MohammedansNo man I ever met lives so completely in the immediate moment as Enver Pasha; the past he puts behind him, the future he leaves to Allah. His only hero is Napoleon. In Moscow he was the avant coureur of the new understanding between Russia and the Mohammedan world, which means Turkey, Afghanistan, Persia, Bokhara and enough of India to shake the British Empire. Any man who has brains and gives all his being to the task in hand is bound to possess personality and power and, very likely, charm. Enver Pasha certainly has charm, in spite of his very obvious opportunism, and the cruelty and lack of conscience which a fatalistic belief inspires. Interested in himself above all things, he is a curious contrast to those meri who are trying to blot out individualism and make the state all-important. As far as there was any social life in Moscow, Enver was, for the nonce, the social lion. Some future historian will probably call him the Don Juan of the revolution, though it is only fair to say that he resisted this alluring doom with an uncomplimentary coldness; he was too absorbed in politics to be interested in social conquest. The real reason for the shower of attention bestowed on him by the ladies of Moscow was the natural reaction of those ladies to a life almost unendurably monotonous and difficult. There was something very pitiful about the way actresses smiled at Enver across the footlights and unearthed old pictures of him in his elaborate War Minister regalia, when he still wore the "Kaiser" moustache, the gold braid and numerous medals. One evening we went to the dressing room of a prima donna where we were invited for tea during an intermission. Enver sat stiffly in his chair, refusing to talk, but his uncle, Halil Pasha, the former Commander of the Mesopotamian and Caucasian fronts, caused much merriment by fighting a sham duel with wooden swords. His opponent was a singer dressed as a medieval knight. Besides the actresses several of the old aristocracy were gracious to Enver and even the pretty wife of a Commissar attached to the Foreign Office wrote him what would have been considered an intriguing note, in another time and place. She offered to teach him Russian if he would teach her l"rench and he replied curtly that he was not a "professor." But Enver was not always over-serious and unbending. In a certain small circle of friends he was quite otherwise. And circumstances, which so largely decide our destinies, gaye me an opportunity to know him as well as one alien to his religion could know him. He was allotted by the Foreign Office quarters in the little palace where I was living. For half a year I saw him everyday, sat next to him at table and occasionally we went to the theatres and the Turkish Embassy. During that time Enver told me a great deal about his life and his ambitions. He had known my husband in Constantinople, and was away from Moscow at the time of my husband's death. As soon as he returned he called on me, bringing Halil and the Turkish Ambassador, Ali Fued Pasha, with him. All three were extremely kind and sympathetic. From that moment until I left Moscow the Turks did everything possible to make life less tragic for me, and I gained an insight into the Turkish character which I had never imagined. The Turks have a peculiar capacity for friendship. And friendship, once given, has no bournes; a friend is a friend through everythingsorrow, dishonor, poverty, as well as wealth and success. An enemy, on the other hand, is beyond all consideration; he is spared nothing, forgiven nothing. Enver has the personal vanity of the enthusiast and he imagines that everything he does he does well. The only way to cope with his conceit is to be brutally frank. I discovered early in our acquaintance that frankness by no means offends him. One of Enver's nicest qualities is that he likes to discover his faults as well as his virtues; he is eager to improve himself. He has a passion for making pencil sketches of people he meets and always goes about with a pencil and a pad of paper in his pocket. In the house where we lived he made sketches of all the guests and all the servants. He made, in all, six very uninteresting portraits of me. One morning when the tea was more tasteless than ever and the bread especially sour and muddy so that I felt I could not manage to eat a single bite, I could not help feeling unpleasantly resentful to see Enver busy with his sketches and full of enthusiasm. And while I sat staring at the terrible meal, he proceeded to make a life-size portrait of me which was incredibly bad. I remember that I wondered where on earth he ever got such a large piece of paper in Russia. When he had finished the sketch he signed his name with a flourish and presented it to me. I took it but said nothing. Enver has the curiosity of a child, and, after a long silence, he asked me if it was possible that I did not really like it. I said that I thought he had no talent for drawing. He became suddenly quite angry and said in a low voice, "But do you realize I have signed my name to it?" "Your name doesn't mean anything on a picture," I explained. "If it was an order for an execution or an advance it would be another matter. You can't make a good drawing just by signing your name to it." He frowned and then grew cordial as suddenly as he had grown angry. He rose and bowed to me in a most courtly way. "You can't imagine," he said, "how pleasing arrogance is to me." His three dominating characteristics being bravery, hauteur and recklessness, he imagined that these motives also guided the actions of his friends. Enver never seemed to be able to loaf in the easy manner of most Orientals. His mental and physical vitality is more like that of an enthusiastic and healthy American. Every morning he rose early to go for a long walk, he read a great deal, took at least three lessons in some foreign language every week and was constantly writing articles for Turkish papers which he printed on a hand press in his own room, and he held almost daily conferences either with the Russians or the Mohammedans. He does not drink or smoke and is devoutly religious. He likes any discussion which reveals another person's deepest emotions. If he cannot rouse one any other way he does so by some antagonistic remark which often he does not mean at all. For example, he is extremely liberal in his opinions about women and does not think they should be excluded from political life. Nevertheless, he said to a young actress at tea one afternoon in my apartment, when they were talking about woman suffrage, that she would be better off in a harem. Being an ardent feminist, she rose and fairly shouted at him: "Enver Pasha, you may be a great man in the East, but just listen to me I I am one of the first actresses of my profession. In my world it is every bit as great and important for me to remain an actress as it is for you in your world to remain a warrior or a diplomat." Enver took his scolding in very good humor. Afterwards he told me that he had never liked this actress before. "Independence is a great thing in women. Our women lack it and many of them are just puppets on this account." He was always extremely interested in American ideas and American opinions. He said he could never understand why Americans were so sentimental about Armenians. "Do they imagine that Armenians never kill Turks? That is indeed irony." At the table he used to ask Mr. Vanderlip questions about his proposed Kamchatka concessions. V anderlip, like many Californians, is rather violently anti-Japanese. His idea of having a naval base at Kamchatka amused Enver. He said Vanderlip was killing two birds with one stone, that he wished to manceuver the American Government into a war with Japan, prove himself a patriot, and at the same time protect his own interests and grow rich. "So that," said Enver, "if it really came about-the next war would be for Vanderlip and should be known as 'Vanderlip's War.' " When I asked, "Would you be sorry to see America and Japan at war?" he replied, "Not if England was involved. Anything which tends to draw England's attention away from us or which weakens the great powers, naturally gives Turkey a better chance for reconstruction. You understand that I'm not saying I want to see another war; I am simply saying that if those nations interested in destroying Turkey are occupied elsewhere it relieves us of war burdens and gives us a chance to carry out our own destinies." He tried to get Mr. Vanderlip's reaction on women by the same tactics he employed with the actress. One day he said, "I have three wives and I'm looking for another." This was not true, but Mr. Vanderlip proved entirely gullible. "Good heavens," he said, regarding Enver in shocked surprise, "we Anglo-Saxons consider one wife enough tyranny. . . . " "Naturally," Enver conceded, suavely, "with one there must be tyranny but with three or four or a hundred. . . . Ah, you must agree that is quite a different matter." His sudden appearance in Moscow during the blackest days of the blockade as well as the blackest days for the Central Powers proves him an incomparable solider-of-fortune. With two suits of clothes, a pair of boots, a good revolver and a young German mechanician whom he could trust, he started by aeroplane from Berlin to Moscow. The story of how they had to land because of engine trouble near Riga, of how he was captured and spent two months in the Riga jail just at the moment when the whole Allied world was calling loudest for his blood, will remain a story which will have scanty advertisement from those British Secret Service men who like so well to turn journalists and write .their own brave autobiographies. Enver sat in the Riga jail as plain "Mr. Altman" who could not speak anything but German. He was scrutinized by eyery Secret Service man in the vicinity and pronounced unanimously a Jewish German Communist of no importance. By appearing humble, inoffensive and pleasant, he soon worked his way into the confidence of the warden, was released and escaped to Moscow. He arrived just in time to rush off for the dramatic Baku conference. The Communists understood perfectly well that Enver Pasha was not at the Oriental Conference as a sudden and sincere convert to Internationalism, and he knew that they knew. Both Zinoviev and Enver were actors taking the leading roles in a significant historical pageant. The results are really all that matter, since the motives will soon be forgotten. When Enver turned to Moscow he had no other place to turn to and when Zinoviev took him to Baku, Zinoviev knew no other means of effectively threatening the English in order to change their attitude on the blockade. Zinoviev could not complain about Enver's shallow attitude towards Socialism since there was hardly anything Socialistic about Zinoviev's appeal for a "holy war." Enver summed up his feelings about the new alliance thus: "For the future of Turkey and the future of the East a friendship with Russia is worth more to the Turks than any number of military victories. And we have to build that friendship while we have the opportunity." His way of living without any regrets and as if there were no to-morrows is rather startling at times. I remember when Talaat Pasha, his lifelong friend, was murdered by an Armenian in Berlin, he read the message with no show of emotion and his only comment was: . "His time had come!" But against an excessive temptation on the part of fate to record Enver's death prematurely, in his own words, he "sleeps with one eye open," carries a dagger and a loaded automatic. Once when we talked about the possibility of his being assassinated he said, "I have been near death so many times that these days I live now seem to be a sort of present to me." Enver is no open sesame to those who do not know him well. He really has the traditional Oriental inscrutability. The first two or three times I talked with him, we stumbled along rather lamely in French. Someone suggested to me that he probably spoke several languages which, for some unknown reason, he would not admit. So one day I said abruptly, "Oh, let's speak English." He looked at me with one of his sudden, rare smiles and answered in my own language, "Very well, if you prefer it." When I asked him how he learned English he told me he had learned it from an English spy. "He came to me as a valet and professed deep love for Turkey. For several months we studied diligently. One day I thought I would test his love for Turkey so I ordered him to the front. He was killed. Later, we found his papers." "Were you surprised?" I asked him. "Why, not at all," said Enver. "He really showed a great deal of pluck. The only thing I had against him was that he taught me a lot of expressions not used at court." "Like what?" "Like 'don't mention it,' " said Enver, laughing. "And the terrible thing about learning such an expression," he said, "is that it is so sharp and so definite and often fits an occasion so aptly that it flashes in one's mind and can't be forgotten. American slang is extremely picturesque and expressive, but it is not dignified enough to be used by diplomats." Everyone is familiar with Enver's "direct action" method of playing politics. One of the ways he was wont to remove troublesome rivals in the days of the Young Turk Revolution was to go out and shoot them with his own hand. This "impulsiveness" got him into grave trouble with the Soviets in spite of all his sensible utterances to the contrary. When he was "shifted" to Bokhara so that he would not be in the way of either Kemal or the Russians, he got bored and started a war of his own. One night he fled into the hills of Afghanistan and soon began to gather recruits around him. A few nights after that one of the principal officials of the Bokharan Republic also fled to join Enver. This performance was repeated until over half the Bokharan cabinet had fled. Then fighting began and we got vague rumors of battles, but only through the Soviet press. In August, 1922, we heard that Enver had been killed, that his body had been found on the field of battle. There was even romance surrounding him and his supposed death. Stories were circulated that when the body was picked up and examined, the letters of an American girl were found next his heart. I went to see Jacob Peters, who has charge now of all the Eastern Territory and who was then in Moscow. He laughed heartily and said he would show me the "information." It consisted of three very hazy telegrams which had been three weeks on the way. The men who sent the telegrams and discovered the body had never seen Enver. There was no mention of letters. And Peter's opinion of the whole affair was that there was nothing at all authentic in the story or else it was "a trick of Enver's to sham being dead." Peters' theory proved true. Within a few days fighting began again and Enver began to win. He had conceived the notion of uniting all Turkestan and Bokhara and Keiva to the Angora government. It places the Soviets in a strange position. They may have to give in to him, though he will not actually be an "enemy," because neither the Turks nor the Russians can afford to break their treaty. Therefore, his private war in the south embarrasses the Soviets much more than it does Kemal, who needs only to disavow any connection with it, as do all the Turkish officials. If Enver wins he will add a nice slice to Turkish territory; if he loses, Turkey will be in the same position as before. Enver, while he will always maintain a great prestige in the Mussulman world, will never oust Kemal. Mustapha Kemal Pasha is the great popular hero of a victorious Turkey, which but for him might never have even survived. There were times in the past when Enver was more important than Kemal, but that can never happen again in Kemal's life. Both men rose from the ranks and both are the sons of peasants. And Kemal at this moment is more important than the Sultan. Greater than that no man can be under the banners of Mohammed. One can hardly over-estimate the importance of the new Mohammedan unity, that new patriotic energy which has taken the place of the former lethargy and which already reaches out far beyond the borderland of the Faithful. The Mussulman world is reviving after a long sleep: And not only Mohammedans are uniting but the entire East and Middle East. Aside from Japan, a significant harmony is rapidly taking place, a harmony which evolves itself into a tremendous power. This power may decide the world's destiny before any other generation. Enver and Kemal Pasha, being aware of the purport of beginning that great concord by interwoven treaties with Russia, read the stars well. There must come a day also when that great sleeping giant, China, will be part of this alliance. And the seeds of that friendship have also been planted. The Chinese official delegations which came to Moscow were not only well received by the Russians, but they hob-nobbed with the Mohammedans like brothers. https://preview.redd.it/hb9k0hixjr2d1.jpg?width=736&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=05f07defa1a297e239fa8e98ddd0ba61a035bd3a https://preview.redd.it/1u67tjmyjr2d1.jpg?width=736&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a7fe73a07824045122f6a994c390129d2ed27417 |
2024.05.26 11:13 ENVR000 Opinions About Enver Pasha's interaction with an American Journalist
 | Source: https://www.marxists.org/archive/bryant/works/1923-mom/pasha.htm submitted by ENVR000 to AskMiddleEast [link] [comments] Mirrors Of Moscowby Louise BryantLenin and his subordinates:Enver Pasha and the MohammedansNo man I ever met lives so completely in the immediate moment as Enver Pasha; the past he puts behind him, the future he leaves to Allah. His only hero is Napoleon. In Moscow he was the avant coureur of the new understanding between Russia and the Mohammedan world, which means Turkey, Afghanistan, Persia, Bokhara and enough of India to shake the British Empire. Any man who has brains and gives all his being to the task in hand is bound to possess personality and power and, very likely, charm. Enver Pasha certainly has charm, in spite of his very obvious opportunism, and the cruelty and lack of conscience which a fatalistic belief inspires. Interested in himself above all things, he is a curious contrast to those meri who are trying to blot out individualism and make the state all-important. As far as there was any social life in Moscow, Enver was, for the nonce, the social lion. Some future historian will probably call him the Don Juan of the revolution, though it is only fair to say that he resisted this alluring doom with an uncomplimentary coldness; he was too absorbed in politics to be interested in social conquest. The real reason for the shower of attention bestowed on him by the ladies of Moscow was the natural reaction of those ladies to a life almost unendurably monotonous and difficult. There was something very pitiful about the way actresses smiled at Enver across the footlights and unearthed old pictures of him in his elaborate War Minister regalia, when he still wore the "Kaiser" moustache, the gold braid and numerous medals. One evening we went to the dressing room of a prima donna where we were invited for tea during an intermission. Enver sat stiffly in his chair, refusing to talk, but his uncle, Halil Pasha, the former Commander of the Mesopotamian and Caucasian fronts, caused much merriment by fighting a sham duel with wooden swords. His opponent was a singer dressed as a medieval knight. Besides the actresses several of the old aristocracy were gracious to Enver and even the pretty wife of a Commissar attached to the Foreign Office wrote him what would have been considered an intriguing note, in another time and place. She offered to teach him Russian if he would teach her l"rench and he replied curtly that he was not a "professor." But Enver was not always over-serious and unbending. In a certain small circle of friends he was quite otherwise. And circumstances, which so largely decide our destinies, gaye me an opportunity to know him as well as one alien to his religion could know him. He was allotted by the Foreign Office quarters in the little palace where I was living. For half a year I saw him everyday, sat next to him at table and occasionally we went to the theatres and the Turkish Embassy. During that time Enver told me a great deal about his life and his ambitions. He had known my husband in Constantinople, and was away from Moscow at the time of my husband's death. As soon as he returned he called on me, bringing Halil and the Turkish Ambassador, Ali Fued Pasha, with him. All three were extremely kind and sympathetic. From that moment until I left Moscow the Turks did everything possible to make life less tragic for me, and I gained an insight into the Turkish character which I had never imagined. The Turks have a peculiar capacity for friendship. And friendship, once given, has no bournes; a friend is a friend through everythingsorrow, dishonor, poverty, as well as wealth and success. An enemy, on the other hand, is beyond all consideration; he is spared nothing, forgiven nothing. Enver has the personal vanity of the enthusiast and he imagines that everything he does he does well. The only way to cope with his conceit is to be brutally frank. I discovered early in our acquaintance that frankness by no means offends him. One of Enver's nicest qualities is that he likes to discover his faults as well as his virtues; he is eager to improve himself. He has a passion for making pencil sketches of people he meets and always goes about with a pencil and a pad of paper in his pocket. In the house where we lived he made sketches of all the guests and all the servants. He made, in all, six very uninteresting portraits of me. One morning when the tea was more tasteless than ever and the bread especially sour and muddy so that I felt I could not manage to eat a single bite, I could not help feeling unpleasantly resentful to see Enver busy with his sketches and full of enthusiasm. And while I sat staring at the terrible meal, he proceeded to make a life-size portrait of me which was incredibly bad. I remember that I wondered where on earth he ever got such a large piece of paper in Russia. When he had finished the sketch he signed his name with a flourish and presented it to me. I took it but said nothing. Enver has the curiosity of a child, and, after a long silence, he asked me if it was possible that I did not really like it. I said that I thought he had no talent for drawing. He became suddenly quite angry and said in a low voice, "But do you realize I have signed my name to it?" "Your name doesn't mean anything on a picture," I explained. "If it was an order for an execution or an advance it would be another matter. You can't make a good drawing just by signing your name to it." He frowned and then grew cordial as suddenly as he had grown angry. He rose and bowed to me in a most courtly way. "You can't imagine," he said, "how pleasing arrogance is to me." His three dominating characteristics being bravery, hauteur and recklessness, he imagined that these motives also guided the actions of his friends. Enver never seemed to be able to loaf in the easy manner of most Orientals. His mental and physical vitality is more like that of an enthusiastic and healthy American. Every morning he rose early to go for a long walk, he read a great deal, took at least three lessons in some foreign language every week and was constantly writing articles for Turkish papers which he printed on a hand press in his own room, and he held almost daily conferences either with the Russians or the Mohammedans. He does not drink or smoke and is devoutly religious. He likes any discussion which reveals another person's deepest emotions. If he cannot rouse one any other way he does so by some antagonistic remark which often he does not mean at all. For example, he is extremely liberal in his opinions about women and does not think they should be excluded from political life. Nevertheless, he said to a young actress at tea one afternoon in my apartment, when they were talking about woman suffrage, that she would be better off in a harem. Being an ardent feminist, she rose and fairly shouted at him: "Enver Pasha, you may be a great man in the East, but just listen to me I I am one of the first actresses of my profession. In my world it is every bit as great and important for me to remain an actress as it is for you in your world to remain a warrior or a diplomat." Enver took his scolding in very good humor. Afterwards he told me that he had never liked this actress before. "Independence is a great thing in women. Our women lack it and many of them are just puppets on this account." He was always extremely interested in American ideas and American opinions. He said he could never understand why Americans were so sentimental about Armenians. "Do they imagine that Armenians never kill Turks? That is indeed irony." At the table he used to ask Mr. Vanderlip questions about his proposed Kamchatka concessions. V anderlip, like many Californians, is rather violently anti-Japanese. His idea of having a naval base at Kamchatka amused Enver. He said Vanderlip was killing two birds with one stone, that he wished to manceuver the American Government into a war with Japan, prove himself a patriot, and at the same time protect his own interests and grow rich. "So that," said Enver, "if it really came about-the next war would be for Vanderlip and should be known as 'Vanderlip's War.' " When I asked, "Would you be sorry to see America and Japan at war?" he replied, "Not if England was involved. Anything which tends to draw England's attention away from us or which weakens the great powers, naturally gives Turkey a better chance for reconstruction. You understand that I'm not saying I want to see another war; I am simply saying that if those nations interested in destroying Turkey are occupied elsewhere it relieves us of war burdens and gives us a chance to carry out our own destinies." He tried to get Mr. Vanderlip's reaction on women by the same tactics he employed with the actress. One day he said, "I have three wives and I'm looking for another." This was not true, but Mr. Vanderlip proved entirely gullible. "Good heavens," he said, regarding Enver in shocked surprise, "we Anglo-Saxons consider one wife enough tyranny. . . . " "Naturally," Enver conceded, suavely, "with one there must be tyranny but with three or four or a hundred. . . . Ah, you must agree that is quite a different matter." His sudden appearance in Moscow during the blackest days of the blockade as well as the blackest days for the Central Powers proves him an incomparable solider-of-fortune. With two suits of clothes, a pair of boots, a good revolver and a young German mechanician whom he could trust, he started by aeroplane from Berlin to Moscow. The story of how they had to land because of engine trouble near Riga, of how he was captured and spent two months in the Riga jail just at the moment when the whole Allied world was calling loudest for his blood, will remain a story which will have scanty advertisement from those British Secret Service men who like so well to turn journalists and write .their own brave autobiographies. Enver sat in the Riga jail as plain "Mr. Altman" who could not speak anything but German. He was scrutinized by eyery Secret Service man in the vicinity and pronounced unanimously a Jewish German Communist of no importance. By appearing humble, inoffensive and pleasant, he soon worked his way into the confidence of the warden, was released and escaped to Moscow. He arrived just in time to rush off for the dramatic Baku conference. The Communists understood perfectly well that Enver Pasha was not at the Oriental Conference as a sudden and sincere convert to Internationalism, and he knew that they knew. Both Zinoviev and Enver were actors taking the leading roles in a significant historical pageant. The results are really all that matter, since the motives will soon be forgotten. When Enver turned to Moscow he had no other place to turn to and when Zinoviev took him to Baku, Zinoviev knew no other means of effectively threatening the English in order to change their attitude on the blockade. Zinoviev could not complain about Enver's shallow attitude towards Socialism since there was hardly anything Socialistic about Zinoviev's appeal for a "holy war." Enver summed up his feelings about the new alliance thus: "For the future of Turkey and the future of the East a friendship with Russia is worth more to the Turks than any number of military victories. And we have to build that friendship while we have the opportunity." His way of living without any regrets and as if there were no to-morrows is rather startling at times. I remember when Talaat Pasha, his lifelong friend, was murdered by an Armenian in Berlin, he read the message with no show of emotion and his only comment was: . "His time had come!" But against an excessive temptation on the part of fate to record Enver's death prematurely, in his own words, he "sleeps with one eye open," carries a dagger and a loaded automatic. Once when we talked about the possibility of his being assassinated he said, "I have been near death so many times that these days I live now seem to be a sort of present to me." Enver is no open sesame to those who do not know him well. He really has the traditional Oriental inscrutability. The first two or three times I talked with him, we stumbled along rather lamely in French. Someone suggested to me that he probably spoke several languages which, for some unknown reason, he would not admit. So one day I said abruptly, "Oh, let's speak English." He looked at me with one of his sudden, rare smiles and answered in my own language, "Very well, if you prefer it." When I asked him how he learned English he told me he had learned it from an English spy. "He came to me as a valet and professed deep love for Turkey. For several months we studied diligently. One day I thought I would test his love for Turkey so I ordered him to the front. He was killed. Later, we found his papers." "Were you surprised?" I asked him. "Why, not at all," said Enver. "He really showed a great deal of pluck. The only thing I had against him was that he taught me a lot of expressions not used at court." "Like what?" "Like 'don't mention it,' " said Enver, laughing. "And the terrible thing about learning such an expression," he said, "is that it is so sharp and so definite and often fits an occasion so aptly that it flashes in one's mind and can't be forgotten. American slang is extremely picturesque and expressive, but it is not dignified enough to be used by diplomats." Everyone is familiar with Enver's "direct action" method of playing politics. One of the ways he was wont to remove troublesome rivals in the days of the Young Turk Revolution was to go out and shoot them with his own hand. This "impulsiveness" got him into grave trouble with the Soviets in spite of all his sensible utterances to the contrary. When he was "shifted" to Bokhara so that he would not be in the way of either Kemal or the Russians, he got bored and started a war of his own. One night he fled into the hills of Afghanistan and soon began to gather recruits around him. A few nights after that one of the principal officials of the Bokharan Republic also fled to join Enver. This performance was repeated until over half the Bokharan cabinet had fled. Then fighting began and we got vague rumors of battles, but only through the Soviet press. In August, 1922, we heard that Enver had been killed, that his body had been found on the field of battle. There was even romance surrounding him and his supposed death. Stories were circulated that when the body was picked up and examined, the letters of an American girl were found next his heart. I went to see Jacob Peters, who has charge now of all the Eastern Territory and who was then in Moscow. He laughed heartily and said he would show me the "information." It consisted of three very hazy telegrams which had been three weeks on the way. The men who sent the telegrams and discovered the body had never seen Enver. There was no mention of letters. And Peter's opinion of the whole affair was that there was nothing at all authentic in the story or else it was "a trick of Enver's to sham being dead." Peters' theory proved true. Within a few days fighting began again and Enver began to win. He had conceived the notion of uniting all Turkestan and Bokhara and Keiva to the Angora government. It places the Soviets in a strange position. They may have to give in to him, though he will not actually be an "enemy," because neither the Turks nor the Russians can afford to break their treaty. Therefore, his private war in the south embarrasses the Soviets much more than it does Kemal, who needs only to disavow any connection with it, as do all the Turkish officials. If Enver wins he will add a nice slice to Turkish territory; if he loses, Turkey will be in the same position as before. Enver, while he will always maintain a great prestige in the Mussulman world, will never oust Kemal. Mustapha Kemal Pasha is the great popular hero of a victorious Turkey, which but for him might never have even survived. There were times in the past when Enver was more important than Kemal, but that can never happen again in Kemal's life. Both men rose from the ranks and both are the sons of peasants. And Kemal at this moment is more important than the Sultan. Greater than that no man can be under the banners of Mohammed. One can hardly over-estimate the importance of the new Mohammedan unity, that new patriotic energy which has taken the place of the former lethargy and which already reaches out far beyond the borderland of the Faithful. The Mussulman world is reviving after a long sleep: And not only Mohammedans are uniting but the entire East and Middle East. Aside from Japan, a significant harmony is rapidly taking place, a harmony which evolves itself into a tremendous power. This power may decide the world's destiny before any other generation. Enver and Kemal Pasha, being aware of the purport of beginning that great concord by interwoven treaties with Russia, read the stars well. There must come a day also when that great sleeping giant, China, will be part of this alliance. And the seeds of that friendship have also been planted. The Chinese official delegations which came to Moscow were not only well received by the Russians, but they hob-nobbed with the Mohammedans like brothers. https://preview.redd.it/uf2hlor4mq2d1.jpg?width=736&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d665785cba03d1aa17be9b8dd3ca19c0cfd3029 https://preview.redd.it/wygwa5v1mq2d1.jpg?width=736&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=acf6153ecacd31a70e95160590359af9a65abb67 |
2024.05.26 07:11 SufficientTangelo367 A list of all the proposed mergers/acquisitions that never came through.
Disclaimer: I'm bringing it here before any shutdown of AMH because lately, there's random stuff being posted there and a lack of control.
*Deals from 2020 onward might still be possible in some ways.1927:
- Fox Film and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer were planning to merge before being called off.
- Warner Bros Pictures, Inc. called off a merger with Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation.
- Suitors including what would become Associated Artists Pictures had been bidding for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's back catalog. MGM would eventually enter the TV market themselves.
- Associated Artists Pictures almost closed a deal to buy Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's shorts library (including the Tom and Jerry shorts) but shut it down due to the (unspecified) price tag.
- National Telefilm Associates announced plans to buy Associated Artists Pictures, which at this point was a subject of litigation. It would be United Artists who would buy them.
- 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer considered merging.
- Orion Pictures looked at buying Embassy Pictures and Allied Artists before settling in on Filmways.
- Warner Communications tried in July to buy back the rights to Metro-Goldwyn-MayeUnited Artists' pre-1950 WB library for the first time. The negotiations fell apart because of dozens of unresolved points, probably relating to the oldest Warner Bros. films. The second time was successful 14 years later with the Turner merger.
- Reliance Insurance attempted to take over Disney.
- Turner attempted to take over the Columbia Broadcasting System for $5.4 billion.
- Viacom was looking to buy 50% of MGM/UA from Turner.
- Carolco Pictures attempted to buy Orion Pictures and Media Home Entertainment.
- NBC considered buying the Turner Broadcasting System.
- MCA offered to buy Disney.
- Bill Cosby tried to buy a stake in NBC.
- Jim Henson attempted to merge his company with The Walt Disney Company for $150 million.
- Before Time Warner, Paramount Communications, which just rose up from Gulf+Western planned to merge with Time Inc before the latter went with Warner Communications.
- Viacom itself even planned to merge with Gulf+Western, 5 years before making a full-on successful buyout.
- Viacom was even in talks with MCA Inc., the owner of Universal Studios, according to the same article.
- Ted Turner somehow tried to repurchase Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, this time including the United Artists side.
- News Corporation, which also owned 20th Century Fox, also bid for MGM/UA.
- Qintex (which would later become Seven Media) also planned to buy MGM/UA for A$1.5 billion.
- In March, Brøderbund ended merger talks with Sierra On-Line, and given that date, it most likely started plans in the previous year.
- Turner's New Line Cinema looked into buying Orion, which the interests of Republic Pictures, Savoy Pictures, the American Broadcasting Company, and Polygram would also follow.
- MCA and Hallmark were originally the buyers for Hanna-Barbera but got outbid by Turner, which merged with Time Warner.
- In September, QVC tried a hostile $9.6 billion bid for Paramount Communications before a lawsuit came in, and lost to a $9.85 billion bid from Viacom in February.
- Bell Atlantic planned to buy Tele-Communications Inc. for $33 billion. TCI would later head for AT&T 5 years later.
- Time Warner Communications tried to buy NBC from General Electric for $2 to 2.5 billion.
- News Corporation, MCA, Time Warner Communications and Cinergi placed bids for Carolco Pictures before Le Studio Canal+ took over.
- Brøderbund bid for the original The Learning Company, before SoftKey bought them and adopted their name. They would buy Brøderbund in 1998.
- Before fatefully settling its eyes upon Sierra On-Line and Davidson & Associates (Blizzard, Animation Magic, and Knowledge Adventure), Comp-U-Card International, or more unfortunately named, CUC's Walter Forbes had considered a larger company that consisted of not just Sierra and Davidson, but also Brøderbund and LucasArts.
- After having Broadway Video's family library for dinner, Golden Books planned to buy out Nelvana.
- Microsoft nearly acquired Davidson & Associates (Blizzard) on the first try, but they lost to Comp-U-Card. In December 1997, CUC merged with HFS, and the new company was renamed Cendant, which would suffer a big accounting scandal.
- British Telecom, who owned a partial stake since 1994, bid $22 billion for MCI.
- For a year, Polygram attempted to buy out Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Samuel Goldwyn.
- News Corporation and Morgan Creek also bid for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
- GTE, which eventually merged with Bell Atlantic to become Verizon 3 years later, bid $28 billion for MCI. Eventually, Worldcom kicked in.
- GoodTimes Interactive planned to buy MicroProse for $250 million before letting Hasbro Interactive take it in. Coincidentally, both GoodTimes AND Hasbro Interactive would be bought out by Infogrames (later Atari SA) in 1999 and 2001, respectively.
- Epic Pictures had offers to be bought by Artisan, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Disney before PolyGram succeeded to buy it. PolyGram would eventually sell it to Metro-Goldwyn-MayeOrion over a year later.
- Microsoft tried to acquire Davidson & Associates (Blizzard) for the second time from Cendant, but they were beaten by Havas, which was owned by Vivendi.
- Viacom's Paramount Pictures offered to buy French art house studio CiBy 2000 for 500 million francs, or roughly $80 million in USD. The founder's widow, however, refused, and the catalog was dispersed between TF1, MK2, and several companies. Thirty-two years later, Paramount would get almost half of an indie film studio: Miramax.
- MCI Worldcom tried to buy Sprint for $129 billion. After a 2001 scandal, Worldcom (name since 2000) was renamed to MCI Inc., which would get bought by Verizon in 2006. Sprint merged with T-Mobile US 14 years after MCI went to Verizon.
- Global Crossing offered to buy US West for $37 billion before Qwest outbid them. Coincidentally, the rest seems to have been a big wave of all coming together, as Global Crossing (after a bankruptcy in 2002) would get bought by Level 3 in 2011, which itself would be bought in 2016 by CenturyLink WHO MERGED with Qwest back in 2010.
- Artisan Entertainment and Canal+ were speculated to pick up PolyGram Filmed Entertainment.
- Two years before the release of the Xbox, Microsoft approached Nintendo about buying them. The deal was that they would make the hardware for Nintendo, but the latter's executives "laughed their asses off."
- They also tried to buy Squaresoft, Electronic Arts, and Midway around this time.
- CanWest Global attempted to acquire NetStar (which consisted of TSN and Discovery Canada), but was vetoed by ESPN. CTV would eventually buy it.
- Francis Ford Coppola planned to buy United Artists from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
- Activision and partial owner Nintendo bid for Rareware until Microsoft bought them out 2 years later.
- Netflix offers to be bought by Blockbuster for $50 million, but they decline.
- Warner Music Group tried to buy British music label EMI for $20 billion but canceled the merger after pressure. Info here. After EMI's bankruptcy in 2011, Warner would buy Parlophone from it for $765 million, about 40% of EMI's record label.
- Sesame Workshop was put up for sale, with speculated buyers being Viacom, AOL Time Warner, The Walt Disney Company, and Classic Media.
- The Jim Henson Company was also up for sale to The Walt Disney Company, Viacom, HIT Entertainment, AOL Time Warner, Haim Saban, and Classic Media.
- Chris-Craft (involved in the United Paramount Network) offered to be bought by Viacom for $3.1 billion until News Corp came in.
- Before NBC came in, the bidders of Telemundo were Viacom, The Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation (later absorbed into Univision), The Walt Disney Company, and AOL Time Warner.
- Viacom and USA Network were originally speculated to buy Fox Family Worldwide before it was sold by News Corp to The Walt Disney Company.
- Emtv tried to sell The Muppets to Sesame Workshop and ClassicMedia.
- Before Lionsgate took the shot, Marvel and Miramax were placing a bid to pick up Artisan.
- Viacom, Liberty Media Corp, News Corporation, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Barry Diller were also bidding to buy Universal Studios and its theme parks.
- Comcast tried to buy Disney for $66 billion.
- Take-Two Interactive Software considered buying Vivendi Universal Games for $1 billion, which was below what Vivendi Universal wanted. Vivendi Games, after its parent company stripped itself of Universal Studios to make NBC Universal, would merge with Activision Publishing four years later to create Activision Blizzard, now part of Microsoft.
- In June, an unnamed financier offered $10 million for TheFacebook, the first of many attempts over the next three years.
- Friendster also offered to buy them, according to documents seen by SAI Global.
- A couple of Google execs visited Facebook's office to see if there was a way to work with Zuckerberg or perhaps even buy his company.
- 2 years after Kirk Kerkorian put Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer up for sale, Time Warner emerged as a bidder for the studio. The bid wasn't unexpected, as Ted Turner was the largest shareholder. After all, his Turner Entertainment Group had risen to success through its ownership of the pre-May 1986 library, which had been acquired by the bidder when they merged with Turner eight years prior.
- Casey-Werner was looking to sell itself to a large media company but would later decide against selling. The potential suitors were General Electric/Vivendi's NBC Universal and the first incarnation of Viacom, which owned CBS.
- Channel 4 considered merging with Channel 5 for nine months before calling it off. Five would later get bought by RTL Group.
- Viacom offered to buy out TheFacebook for $75 million; the deal would have Mark Zuckerburg earn $35 million "on the spot".
- MySpace's CEO Chris DeWolfe also visited Mark and his team to buy them.
- NBC Universal's NBC execs stopped by "for a peek" this year.
- In the fall, Mark Zuckerberg flew to New York to meet with Viacom CEO Tom Freston. Tom would pitch all sorts of synergies to Mark between MTV and Facebook.
- Before creating an alliance consisting of Pandemic Studios and BioWare, Elevation Partners planned to buy out Eidos Interactive before SCi (no, not Sony Computer Interactive) stepped in and bought them in May. The Pandemic and BioWare alliance would get bought by Electronic Arts 2 years later, with the former studio shutting down two years later.
- Five months before Viacom purchased Dreamworks SKG, there were rumors that NBC Universal would buy the then-independent studio for $2.5 billion. Dreamworks Pictures already used Universal's film distribution and home entertainment divisions to distribute their products.
- In January, News Corporation's Ross Levinsohn wanted to buy Facebook but was worried the deal might not keep up its growth.
- Viacom sent the company a $1.5 billion offer--$800 million in cash up front, the rest a payout later. In this case, it's said it "almost sold."
- In June, Yahoo! offered $1 billion, only to... lower it to $850 million after announcing horrible Q2 earnings.
- In the fall, they suggested they would pay $1 billion or more.
- In the middle of the year, AOL's CEO Johnathan Miller wanted to buy the company, convincing Time Inc.'s CEO to come in on the deal they took to their parent company Time Warner. A detailed plan would have AOL sell MapQuest and Tegic, while Time Inc. would sell IPC. Together, they'd offer $1 billion-plus.
- At least according to the YouTuber Hook: before Google came in, the bidders for YouTube were News Corporation, Microsoft, Yahoo!, and even Viacom, the last of which, after the Google purchase, would coldly claim YouTube infringed copyright, losing in the long end, and, after a CEO change, bought VidCon.
- In November, National Transcommunications Limited (or NTL for short) approached ITV plc with a merger bid. However, it would get blocked when British Sky Broadcasting (now Sky UK) bought roughly 18% of ITV for £940 million ($117.3 million in US dollars).
- RTL Group, who owned Channel 5 at the time, also bid at one point; the plan would have seen RTL acquiring Sky's stake in ITV plc (with the aim of further acquisitions of shares in the future) in exchange for BSkyB taking full control of Channel 5.
- Google offered to buy Facebook.
- Microsoft also offered to buy a small stake in the platform at a $15 billion valuation, then have the option, every six months, to buy another 5 percent. The complete takeover would've been well within five to seven years. While it never happened, they did buy 1.6% of the company for about $250 million, a deal which set their value at $15 billion.
- A reverse merger deal between DHX Media and Entertainment One was considered.
- Microsoft offered to buy Yahoo! for $47.5 billion until the latter let Google display its ads on the site.
- There were later debunked rumors of Viacom buying Take-Two Interactive, around the time of the next one:
- Electronic Arts even tried to buy Take-Two Interactive until September.
- France Télécom (present-day Orange) planned to buy Swedish telco TeliaSonera for $40 billion, but both could not come to an agreement.
- Square Enix planned to buy Tecmo, but the latter insisted on a merger of equals with Koei.
- Lionsgate announced plans on February 1 to buy Summit Entertainment, but 2 days later, the plans fell through. Lionsgate would end up purchasing Summit in 2012.
- Before Comcast came in, Time Warner and News Corporation were originally interested in buying NBC Universal from General Electric and Vivendi.
- News Corporation, Time Warner, Amir Malin's Qualia Capital, and Lionsgate Entertainment were bidding for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Holdings during its bankruptcy. Time Warner already owned the pre-May 1986 MGM library, had enough cash reserves, and co-produced the Hobbit films with the studio. News Corporation's 20th Century Fox, meanwhile, was Metro Goldwyn Mayer's home entertainment distributor at the time.
- News Corporation made a plan for the takeover of British Sky Broadcasting (already owning 39.1% until then) in June for 700 pounds per share for the remaining 60.9% shares until two turning points came: the removal of regulatory approval from Vincent Cable in December, and the more infamous 2011 News of the World phone hacking incident, which caused the bid to fall to its face.
- In a part 2, two more bidders, Reliance Entertainment (about $1.8 billion) and Relativity Media (about $1.6 billion) went onboard for MGM Holdings. But by November 3rd, MGM Holdings filed bankruptcy and emerged almost a month later when the Federal Bankruptcy Court approved the reorganization plan.
- AT&T tried to buy T-Mobile US for $39 billion.
- Hulu found itself in an unsolicited offer that was said to involve Google and Yahoo!. Ultimately, none of the bidders offered an amount satisfactory to its owners.
- World Wrestling Entertainment and the UFC were in separate talks to buy G4 until UFC went into a deal with Fox and WWE built its network.
- Before Mattel chipped in, the other bidders planning to buy HiT Entertainment from Apax Partners were The Walt Disney Company, the second incarnation of Viacom, rival Hasbro, ClassicMedia (which would be bought by Dreamworks Animation, which is now a Comcast company), Chorion, and Saban Brands.
- CBS was also rumored to buy Sony Pictures from Sony.
- Facebook's Instagram attempted to buy Snapchat for $3 billion in cash due to the latter's introduction of Stories. 3 years later, Instagram made their own Stories.
- Yahoo! considered buying either Netflix or Hulu until they fatefully decided upon Tumblr for $1.1 billion.
- DirecTV and Time Warner also bid for Hulu.
- Time Warner was stated to be one of the buyers of THQ until its bankruptcy in the same year, followed by Nordic Games buying its trademark in 2014.
- ZeniMax Media also made a $26.3 million bid for THQ's Relic Entertainment before Sega came in.
- Dish Network considered buying Sprint for $25.5 billion.
- RTL Group's Fremantle attempted to buy out All3Media.
- Microsoft was negotiating to purchase HTC, a fact revealed by former Nokia chairman Risto Siilasmaa during an interview with the Helsingin Sanomat, or Hesari. Microsoft would later buy Nokia's mobile phone business that year.
- On the topic of mobile phones, Lenovo planned to buy Blackberry Limited, but the Canadian government blocked the deal due to security concerns because prominent members of governments around the world have used Blackberries themselves. They would later buy Motorola Mobility from Google in January 2014 for $2.91 billion.
- 21st Century Fox offered an $80 billion bid for Time Warner, but a potential CNN spinoff was one of the reasons why it became unattractive and fell.
- Hasbro planned to buy DreamWorks Animation to form Hasbro-Dreamworks, two years before Comcast went in.
- SoftBank was also planning to buy Dreamworks Animation for $3.4 billion.
- Comcast tried to buy Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion but faced a ton of madness to the point of abandonment.
- BT, ITV plc, Channel 4, Comcast (through NBCUniversal), Endemol, Time Warner, Viacom, Scripps Network Interactive, Saban Capital Group, and a joint bid of BSkyB and Discovery Communications were all bidders reportedly interested in acquiring Channel 5. Viacom won.
- There were some fears of Yahoo! buying Dailymotion from Orange, which were soon quelled by Vivendi's purchase of the site.
- Apple had considered buying TimeWarner.
- Before Viacom bought Telefe from Telefonica, Time Warner and the Cisneros Group were bidding for the network.
- 21st Century Fox tried a $32.5 billion bid for Sky until they were bought by Disney. Comcast eventually kicked in and bought Sky.
- Vivendi attempted a bid to buy out Ubisoft for $6.4 billion before ending the hostile takeover bid 2 years later. Today, Ubisoft is partially owned by Tencent.
- Disney somehow planned to merge with Time Warner before AT&T went into negotiations.
- Activision Blizzard's CEO Bobby Kotick somehow considered buying TimeWarner before AT&T took it.
- National Amusements sends a letter to both CBS Corporation and Viacom asking them to merge back. It's declined... for now.
- ITV plc placed a £1 billion ($1.3 billion USD) offer to buy eOne, which they rejected. Hasbro bought them for $4 billion in 2019.
- The Walt Disney Company planned to buy Twitter but decided not because there were a substantial amount of bots.
- Microsoft, Salesforce, and Google were also said to bid for Twitter.
- Viacom tried to sell a stake of Paramount Pictures to Dalian Wanda, but it fell through, thankfully.
- Spotify was rumored to be looking into buying SoundCloud. It would be complementary as Spotify targets signed artists, and SoundCloud targets indies.
- 22 companies comprising but not limited to Viacom, Miramax, Ronald Wayne Burkle's Yucaipa, Lionsgate, A&E, Sony, and MGM all placed bids for The Weinstein Company.
- Viacom was going to take in Scripps Networks Interactive before Discovery Communications came through with a $12 billion outbid.
- Comcast, Sony, and Verizon were the other bidders for 21st Century Fox's assets. Comcast's bid persisted until July 2018, leaving it to The Walt Disney Company in March 2019.
- Tribune Media announced its sale to Sinclair Broadcast Group, but 15 months later, they were sued for a breach of contract. They would merge with future CW majority owner Nexstar Media Group for $4.1 billion.
- Hasbro attempted to buy Lionsgate.
- Viacom, CBS (both would re-merge in 2019), Verizon, Comcast, Amazon (later would buy MGM in 2022), Sony, and Hasbro again were speculated to buy Lionsgate, and there were rumors that a combined CBS-Viacom would buy out the studio, with Vice Chairman Michael Burns implying in an interview with CNBC that Lionsgate, CBS, and Viacom all merge.
- Google was eyeing Epic Games before starting their own cloud service called "Project Stream", later named Stadia, which lasted until 2023.
- Endeavor, All3Media, ITV plc, DHX Media, Lionsgate, Sony Pictures, and Fremantle were all in the running for Endemol Shine Group. Banijay would merge with them two years later.
- Univision was speculated to be bought by ViacomCBS in articles like this, before Televisa (sort of) came in 2 years later, to form TelevisaUnivision.
- Before Viacom re-merged with CBS, there were rumors of the latter entity buying Starz from Lionsgate.
- Before ViacomCBS kicked in, the bidders for a 50% stake in Miramax were the second incarnation of Viacom, Lionsgate (which had the home video rights to Miramax, at least in the United States), and Spyglass Media Group, who had been the owner of The Weinstein Company's library a year ago. Spyglass was the first to exit talks, followed by Lionsgate a month later. After two months, Viacom went out of the discussion until the re-merge with CBS Corporation meant they would resume buyout talks with Miramax.
- ViacomCBS was also speculated to buy Discovery pre-announcement of the Warner Bros Discovery deal two years later.
- Continuing on with the post-merger 'nundrum, ViacomCBS was also rumored to buy Sony Pictures and even Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
- Xerox planned until 2020 to buy out Hewlett-Packard for $33.5 (later $35.0 in the second bid) billion. Hewlett-Packard indicated it would make its counteroffer for Xerox.
- Microsoft not only (and this was very publicized) tried to buy Tiktok, but almost tried to buy out Capcom, Nintendo, and even Warner Bros. Games.
- Apple and Netflix were rumored to buy Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
- Take-Two Interactive was going to buy Codemasters for $994 million and assign it under 2K, before being trumped by Electronic Arts with a billion-dollar bid.
- ViacomCBS initially planned to sell Simon and Schuster to Penguin Random House but ended up in a blockage two years later.
- Before that announcement, News Corp (HarperCollins) and Vivendi (Editis) were said to be the other bidders for S&S.
2021:
- Comcast had some plans to buy Activision Blizzard, at least according to Puck.
- In a better-known attempt, they considered spinning off NBCUniversal and merging it with Electronic Arts, which sadly never materialized.
- Comcast was speculated to merge with ViacomCBS after the announcement of the Warner-Discovery deal, which would only get churned down to SkyShowtime for specific regions.
- Bagdasarian Productions has been reported to have put itself up for sale for about $300 million, with Paramount Global (who has home entertainment rights and Nickelodeon aired the latest show) being the most likely bidder.
- Microsoft was interested in acquiring Zynga before it was sold to Take-Two Interactive Software.
- Microsoft was also seriously planning to buy out some of over a hundred developers and nine publishers, and also considered Sega, Square Enix, and IO Interactive in an April 2021 slideshow given out this year's ruling by the FTC on ActivBliz.
- Lionsgate was planning for as long as into the next year to buy STX.
- Fox Corporation and News Corp were going to merge, only to get called off.
- There were the marathonical rumors of Apple, Disney, and even Amazon buying out Electronic Arts.
- The Washington Post was looking to buy Wordle before The New York Times Company became the buyer.
- Playtika tried to buy Rovio for $813 million before Sega Sammy took the helm.
- Comcast was speculated to buy out World Wrestling Entertainment before Endeavor Group came in.
- They were also rumored to buy the remaining 67% of Hulu from The Walt Disney Company, until it became the other way around.
- Legendary, Fremantle, and GoDigital Media Group were bidding to buy Entertainment One from Hasbro until Lionsgate won the bidding.
- In the finale of the Simon and Schuster sale, the other bidder besides Kohlberg Kravis and Roberts was News Corp's HarperCollins.
- Paramount Global planned to sell BET to people including Byron Allen, Shaquille O'Neal, and 50 Cent, until deciding that the networks were a core asset.