The Daily Chinlock

Paul ” The Nitro” Skivers

Good Morning and welcome to another edition of Sunday Mornings with the Nitro. It has been a very interesting week to say the least and we begin with two legends who have passed away this week.

On Monday, we lost the original Assassin Jody Hamilton, who passed away at 82. As the Assassin, Jody was one of the most feared masked wrestlers in the world for the past 4 decades. He formed the Assassins with Tom Renesto in the Georgia Territory in the early 1960’s and they dominated many top teams that came through the area and they continued that dominance in several other territories until Tom’s retirement in the Mid-1970’s . Then, the Assassin continued the tag team with numerous partners including Hercules Hernandez and accumulated many tag team titles. As a singles competitor, he was a top contender for the NWA World Title to champions from Lou Thesz to Dusty Rhodes. He was also a great promo guy with his straight to the point attitude in a poignant way that would intimidate anyone including fans. After his retirement in 1987, he would become a trainer of many athletes and even trained his son, Nick Patrick to be a referee in WCW. His notable work as a trainer was at the WCW Power Plant in the early 90’s. I would like to thank the Assassin for his many contributions to the world of wrestling and no one was even able to take off his mask in his career.

Then, two days later saw the passing of one half of the Midnight Express- Beautiful Bobby Eaton at the age of 62. This was a sad day for all of us who are fans and especially those athletes that ever came to meet Bobby as he was one of the nicest guys in the sport of Pro Wrestling. Inside the ring, he was a true professional who knew what to do and when to do it without any flaws. He was a superb tag team wrestler as one half of the Midnight Express in their many matches with the Rock n Roll Express. I would highly suggest you listen to this week’s edition of the Jim Cornette Experience as Jim made an emotional tribute show to his friend and it was a fantastic tribute. I send my thoughts and prayers to Jim and the family and friends of Bobby Eaton for this passing. Enclosing, I would also like to thank Bobby for his many contributions to Pro Wrestling.

Now, let us move to something a little more positive and that is the month of August is shaping up to be possibly the moist historic month in the history of pro wrestling. With the recent signings of CM Punk and Bryan Danielson to AEW, as well as the upcoming shows in the New York area and Chicago, this will be “must- see TV” as AEW is poised to take over the top spot in the World of Pro Wrestling not only because of the signings, but also for the new television program, AEW Rampage to debut this Friday on TNT that will definitely give Smackdown a run for its money. I am looking forward to seeing how AEW will be doing once August is over.

On the other hand, the WWE is in trouble even with Summerslam nearly selling out Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, they have been releasing talent at ta rapid pace and it is more than likely going to be on sale by the end of the year. With this possibility likely to happen, the question will be how the WWE will be looking and operating under new ownership. This could be something positive in them getting an edge on AEW or this could be the first time that the WWE will be the number 2 organization in the world. Who knows what will happen? We will all be watching with anticipation over the result.

That will do it for this edition of Sunday Mornings with the Nitro. On a final note, I will have next week’s column up this Friday Afternoon with predictions for Summerslam. Until then, have a good week and see you on Friday!

Paul” The Nitro” Skivers”

(Disclaimer: The followig opinions are those of Paul “The Nitro” Skivers and not those of WWE, AEW or any other pro wrestling company or affiliation.)

I have been a fan of Pro Wrestling since November 1985 and have always been a proud fan. However, recent events have made me concerned about this great sport from the integrity of Pro Wrestling to the safety of the athletes themselves. In this column, I will address these subjects.

First, in a recent interview on the Colin Cowherd show, Nick Khan who is the president of WWE made the following statement about WWE back in April after Wrestlemania that was making the rounds this past week. He was quoted as saying this about whether WWE is a wrestling company:

” It is not a wrestling company. In fact, we do not use that term here. It is sports entertainment. That is why we call it World Wrestling Entertainment.”

First off, the mere notion of saying that you are using the term “Sports Entertainment: when the word “Wrestling” is in the company name is ridiculous. In my opinion, this is implying that pro wrestling is fake, which I have stated in the past is totally untrue. What this company is presenting on television at the end of the day, no matter how stupid their show can get at times, is professional wrestling. This sport is where highly trained professional athletes perform wrestling manuevers at a high skill level to compete and entertain the audience in a sports oriented way. So for Mr. khan to imply without saying the word fake and calling Pro Wrestling as Sports Entertainment is stupid and inept. I implore Mr. Khan not to use that term again. Pro Wrestling is real and it is a sport at the end of the day.

Now, let us focus on the safety of the athletes by bringing up two news items that made me concerned about safety. The first is a recent tweet from Joey Janela, who competes on the independent circuit as well as AEW. He was quoted as saying this on his Twitter account 5 days ago:

“Have you ever wanted to be a “fan plant” at a wrestling show? Incite & encourage a riot after a disappointing result of a professional wrestling match? Well boy I have some news for you. We are accepting applications at @GCWrestling.” (I will not be posting the email address to apply for it.)

If this is not the stupidest idea that I have ever heard, seen or written about pro wrestling, then I do not know what it is. This is suggesting that fans should be violating the rules of being in attendance at the matches by a person possibly throwing objects into the ring or even jump the guard rail to enter the ring for enhancing an angle?! Really?! All this is doing is inviting a lawsuit against the company and bringing a lot of negative press to pro wrestling, which it is truly not needed. Joey needs to really think about what he says or even offers before putting it out on twitter. I implore the fans to not even apply for this stupid position. If you want to be in the action, then go to a wrestling school and put in the work and time and become a pro wrestler or for any schooling to work in pro wrestling legally. Let the fans be the fans , but keep it behind the guard rail.

Finally, let us talk about the No Rules Match on AEW Dynamite this week between Nick Gage and Chris Jericho. I am totally shocked that AEW would take such a dangerous risk by putting a death match like this on television. This is putting the company at risk from losing sponsors(Dominos Pizza has already started pulling ads from the show) to the fans being put at risk(shards of glass was seen flying near the audience at ringside. Even more shocking is TNT allowing this to air on prime time television. This is nothing more than a desperate attempt to gain more ratings, which they do not need to do in the first place. Tony Khan, AEW President and Owner has stated that this would be the only time that this will air, however what makes you think that you may not do this again. I feel that this death match concept does not need to happen on prime time television and should not be held in any major arena. The only thing it will do is cause a chance for a severe injury to any wrestler involved in the incident, let alone a loss in revenue with lost commercial advertisers for your show. The bottom line is that the Death Match does not need to happen at all in Pro Wrestling.

That is it for Sunday Mornings with the Nitro for this week. Have a good week and see you next Sunday.

Paul” The Nitro” Skivers

Good morning and welcome to another edition of Sunday Mornings with the Nitro! The winds of wrestling are going in an interesting direction this week as the summer continues to roll on. So grab a cup of coffee and get ready to look back at another week of action in the world of pro wrestling

Let us begin with the desperate state of the WWE in obtaining main event bouts for Summerslam. So desperate that they are bringing in Goldberg yet again for a bout with Bobby Lashley. Really?! What good is it going to do for Bobby Lashley to beat Goldberg. Not much, since Goldberg is too old to compete at a level that would be acceptable by the fans. This will be a short match to say the least and would not provide any momentum moving forward for Lashley for the rest of the year. As far as Oldberg goes (oops, I mean Goldberg), it is time to stay retired and when asked next time by WWE to come back to just say NO!

Another person making a return to John Cena, who challenged Roman Reigns for the Universal Title at Summerslam. But, Roman said NO and accepted the challenge of Finn Balor for a match. This is the right thing for Roman as John Cena has nothing to offer to the fans, maybe with the exception of the WWE Universe(which I do not have any desire to be a part of). However, John has probably not added anything to his skill set and is probably going to provide a boring match. Good move on Roman to say No and maybe it is time for John to go back making movies in Hollywood!

Let us move on to a prediction that I want to make right now. By the end of 2021, AEW will be the number 1 organization in all of Pro Wrestling. They took some major steps this past month with their debut in the New York City area at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in September for an episode of Dynamite as well as a two day extravaganza in Pittsburgh. Then, they just signed Daniel Bryan and possibly CM Punk to contracts to join AEW. This is a big deal because these two are still in the prime of their careers and they can have great matches with stars like Adam Page, Jungle Boy, etc. Finally, this will bring their viewership to a very high level for Dynamite and their new Friday show premiering in August. In closing, refer to this column at the end of the year if this prediction comes true.

That will do it for this week’s edition of Sunday Mornings with the Nitro! Have a great week and I will see you next Sunday Morning!

Paul ” the Nitro” Skivers

Good morning and welcome to another edition of Sunday Mornings with the Nitro. Thank you for joining us as it was a busy week with fans beginning to return to the arenas for the action. So, grab a cup of fresh coffee and get ready to look at what is happening in the world of Pro Wrestling. But first, a statement that I must address to the fans.

This past week on AEW Dynamite, a fan tried to get into the ring for no reason whatsoever, except to be stupid. As far as I am concerned, it is very dangerous for anyone to jump the guardrail and try to get into the ring. These wrestlers consider it an invasion of their work space and these are highly trained athletes who know what they are doing in the ring. So please, do not attempt to jump the guardrail and get in the ring as you will be putting your own health in your own hands. Thank you!

Moving on from that important message, let us talk about predictions for WWE Money in the Bank, which is next Sunday on Peacock and pay-per-view: (Editors Note: As of this writing, Bayley was injured on Friday with a torn ACL and is out for 9 months. Therefore, the Belair vs. Bayley I quit Match is cancelled and Bianca will defend against Carmella this Friday on Smackdown.)

Main Event: Mens Money in the Bank Ladder Match- Participants: Big E, Kevin Owens, John Morrison, Ricochet, King Nakamura, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Riddle

This ladder match will come down to McIntyre and Big E, who seems to get a big push as of late. Which star will be more beneficial financially and ratings wide to get more viewers as the WWE goes on tour. I can tell you that Ricochet, Riddle, Morrison and Owens will not play a part in the end.

Winner: Drew McIntyre

Womens Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Liv Morgan, Zelina Vega, Almost Superhero Nicki Cross, Naomi, Alexa Bliss

I am going to hope that Liv Morgan wins this match as she has worked hard since her partner Ruby Riott was released by the WWE last month. She deserves a chance to get a Womens title match against Bianca Belair. Another possible favorite is Nicki Cross as her superhero gimmick is getting over well.

Winner: Liv Morgan

WWE Championship Match: Bobby Lashley w/MVP vs. Kofi Kingston

This is a throw away match as Kofi had his time as World Champion and is settled down as a tag team wrestler. As for Bobby, he may use this as a tune up for his next big match at Summerslam(possibly against John Cena) and is just too dominant as a champion at this point.

Winner: Bobby Lashley

WWE Universal Title Match: Roman Reigns w/Paul Heyman vs. Edge

This will be the match of the night as both men have plenty of momentum headed into the match and it will be heated. It will come down to how Edge will counter the interference of the Usos and you know it will happen when Roman gets into trouble. I am going out on a limb and say that their will be an upset in this match.

Winner: Edge- New Universal Champion

On a final note, the fans returned to the arena this week with AEW Dynamite in Miami, Florida and they did a great job. The main thing that I got from the fans is their brutal honesty which is so refreshing to see since the promotions were more closed door policy when it comes to creative. I would encourage the fans to keep up with the honesty as you have the ultimate power to make or break any star or angle in the promotion.

That will be it for this edition of Sunday Mornings with the the Nitro. Have a great week everyone and I will see you next Sunday Morning.

Paul ” The Nitro” Skivers

Good morning and welcome to another edition of Sunday Mornings with the Nitro. It is near the halfway mark of 2021 and this week, I would like to give you my top 5 moments of the half year. So, grab a hot cup of coffee and away we go!

5. Omega vs. Moxley- Barbed wire fiasco from Feb. 2021. This is a perfect example of why AEW is the number two promotion in the world and may be declining after this year is done. From the liberal use of the barbed wire to the light “poof” of the “explosion” in the end, this will just an embarrassment to both men participating in this fiasco.

4. Roman Reigns beating Daniel Bryan and Edge at WrestleMania in a triple threat match. Roman has proven to be the most dominant heel in the WWE thus far this year and was impressive in beating two top stars at the same time. It was an impressive site to see and proves that Roman is becoming marquee player in the hierarchy of WWE.

3. Bianca Belair beating Sasha Banks for the Smackdown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania. The thought that these two women became the first African American women to main event WrestleMania is an awe inspiring moment to say the least. Also, this was a passing of the torch type of situation as Sasha gave Bianca a the fight of her life and Bianca rose to the challenge proved that the EST of the WWE is the new leader of the women’s revolution along with Rhea Ripley.

2. Dark side of the Ring- Season 3. This season of Dark Side of the Ring thus far has been tremendous from Brian Pillman to the Dynamite Kid and they will be back in September for the second half of the season. Each show diced deeper into the personal and professional struggles of each subject and showed that wrestlers are human beings at the end of the day with flaws like the rest of us. I am looking forward to the rest of the season to see if this continues.

1. Fans returning to wrestling events. Just the mere sight of seeing fans returning to see the matches is a sign of life getting back to normal after the pandemic. The response and excitement from the fans are the true thermometer of what is working and what is not working with the stars and angles of pro wrestling. I am very curious to see how the fans will respond when pro wrestling goes back on tour in mid- July.

Well, there is my top 5 moments of the half-way point of this year? What is your top 5? Let me know in the comments section below this post. I am going to be taking the week off for some much needed vacation. I will be back July 11 for the next episode of Sunday Mornings with the Nitro. Until then, have a great week and Independence Day!

Paul” The Nitro” Skivers

Good morning and welcome to another edition of Sunday Mornings with the Nitro. Thanks for joining us as we look at what is going on in the world of Pro Wrestling. So, grab that cup of coffee and let us begin by talking about “Lilly”.

For those that do not know, “Lilly” is the creepy doll of Alexa Bliss that has so called mystical powers and does bad things when she gets angry or does not someone. The sentence that I have just written sounds ridiculous, but it is the explanation that the wrestling fans are supposed to believe. In my opinion, “Lilly” is the stupidest concept in the history of Pro Wrestling, let alone professional sports. It is just as worse as Rocco, the puppet that Paul Ellering had when he led the Road Warriors down the aisle in 1992. I believe that “Lilly” will destroy the career of Alexa Bliss as she will forever be stereotyped to this gimmick unless she leaves WWE and reinvents herself somewhere else, like AEW. As far as “Lilly” goes, WWE needs to throw that gimmick in the trash like the rest of the failed gimmicks in the past. “Lilly”= Give me a break!

Kenny Omega will be facing a unique challenge that could turn into a major upset in the form of Jungle Boy in two weeks on Dynamite. Kenny is taking this challenge so lightly, just like he did Orange Cassidy and we know how close he came to losing the title if it wasn’t for the interference of the Young Bucks. If I was Jungle Boy, I would approach this in the same cool manner that he did this past Wednesday on Dynamite where he only needed to say one thing and then he dominated the fight with Omega afterward. In closing, an upset could take place and we may be seeing Jungle Boy as the new AEW Champion if Kenny does not take him seriously.

After last week’s cuts from the WWE, you can see the effects from those that are affected in their careers. A good example would be Liv Morgan as her partner Ruby Riott was released last week by the WWE. Liv is now involved in an angle with Carmella, where she got a victory after suffering a loss last week to Carmella. But, the question is where does Liv go from here? She stated that she wants the Smackdown Womens Title, but she is being seen as lower mid-level talent and used as a filler for time on Smackdown and WWE creative is not going to have Bianca Belair lose her title anytime soon. I hope that they have something more exciting for Liv to be a part of in the near future, but I am also not going to hold my breath for “Creative” to do anything remotely steering in that direction anytime soon.

Finally, Hell in a Cell will happen next Sunday on the WWE Network on Peacock. From the looks of things, this will be another useless pay-per-view where the Reigns-Mysterio match has got no heat while Roman’s problems with Jimmy Uso has become the focus of this situation. As far as Drew vs. Lashley goes, hopefully this will be their last bout in this feud as this situation has fizzled out and has become stale, like the boring show that Raw has become these days. I will have my predictions for this event next week in this column.

That will do it for this week on Sunday Mornings with the Nitro. Have a good week and see you next Sunday Morning!

Paul ” The Nitro” Skivers

Good morning and welcome to another edition of Sunday Mornings with the Nitro! It has been an interesting week, so have a cup of coffee and get ready to look back at the week and we start with some shocking releases from the WWE!

This past Wednesday on their website, the WWE announced that they released more talent and some of the big notables that I want to discuss are Brawn Strowman, Alestar Black and Ruby Riott.

Brawn Strowman was at the end of his run in WWE and needed a new change. Unfortunately, WWE “Creative” had decided that Brawn was a lost cause as far as any other angles for him to be involved and have blown several opportunities in the past to push Brawn to a lengthy reign as champion in the WWE. I feel that Brawn will be going to AEW under a new name. It would be a refreshing start for Brawn in a new company.

Allestar Black had a unique gimmick and entrance in the WWE, but he had little chance to stand out in a crowded roster of the WWE. However, I believe that Allestar would be good in MLW to work out some new wrinkles in his character and face some quality competition. Then maybe in a year, he can join AEW as this new character. Only he can decide what becomes of his own future in pro wrestling.

Personally, I feel bad about Ruby Riott being released from the WWE as she was getting a somewhat push in the reunion of the Riott Squad with Liv Tyler and came close to winning the WWE Womens Tag Titles. With that being said Ruby should go to AEW as her alter ego, Heather Lovelace. I feel that she will shake up and thrive in the womens division which will benefit her and everyone that she works with in AEW.

As far as the WWE goes, they have won the race towards being the most inept and stupid creative conglomerate that I have ever seen in my life. “Creative” is giving us the same crap and it is going to blow up in their faces since they get on the road and the fans have to look at this crap. I would not be surprised if some of the fans scream “REFUND”. The WWE needs to get their act together now or they may be the number two organization in the world as AEW takes over the top spot!

Moving on to Dr. Britt Baker and whether she is now the face of Womens Wrestling at this time. From the looks of things, the answer is Yes! Dr. Baker is becoming the alpha female in AEW and is the talk of the wrestling world. She had an outstanding match with Hikaru Shida at Double or Nothing and will probably be a candidate for Wrestler of the Year at the end of 2021. As far as the future goes, it is up to the good doctor to set the pace and she will set an excellent pace to advance the Womens Division in AEW!

We are at the end of this edition of Sunday Mornings with the Nitro. Have a good week and see you next Sunday Morning!

Paul” The Nitro” Skivers

Good Morning and welcome to the latest edition of Sunday Mornings with the Nitro on this Memorial Day weekend. So on behalf of all are armed forces that protect our freedoms, let us have a cup of coffee and give thanks for their service. Thank you. Now, let us begin with this week’s column.

The Ultimate Warrior certain had a week as both his specials looking back on his life on the A&E Biography and Dark Side of the Ring on Vice. After watching both shows, I noted a major difference in their approach to the Warrior. On the A& E show, the producers decided to make a more palatable and fluffy piece on the Warrior by having his daughters and wife on the show telling about how the Warrior was a good husband and father and that he found peace in his life before he passed away. Even though they mentioned some of the troubles that plagued the Warrior during his career and immediately after he left wrestling, but the tone was less hostile and more of his journey towards inner peace.

Meanwhile, the Dark Side of the Ring got right to the point and was unfiltered in their story of the Warrior with his first wife giving her account of life with the Warrior while he was on the rise to being a superstar and some of his peers like Jake Roberts and Jim Cornette gave a true account of how the Warrior got heat with nearly everyone in the WWE, including Vince McMahon, but they gave respect towards the end over his life and ended on a high note.

I personally enjoyed the Dark Side of the Ring take on the Warrior, because it was unfiltered and had no political crap that sometimes is prevalent in these biographies of wrestlers. As far as next week’s show on Dark Side of the Ring on Jake Roberts and Grizzly Smith, this will be a strong piece on a very scary topic of how bad the family life was like with Grizzly Smith and I will leave it at that.

Before we continue on, I would like to recommend the new podcast “Off Her Chops” with Cassie Lee and Jessica McKay( formerly Peyton Royce and Billie Kay- The Iconics). They have a very funny, highly energetic show and proves that they have the great personalities that would be a major asset to any company(Attention AEW: Please sign these two great stars!). Give them a listen today!

Now, let us take a look at AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view which is tonight live from Daly’s place in Jacksonville, Florida:

AEW World Title Match- Triple Threat Match: Kenny Omega vs. PAC vs. Orange Cassidy

I see this bout going two ways. Either Kenny will use interference as usual from the Good Brothers and Don Callis to get Kenny the win over PAC or we can see Orange Cassidy win the title by beating Omega since he is getting a major push towards the title. Either way, someone will come out victorious and unfortunately it will not be PAC, SO, I am slightly headed towards the Orange Cassidy scenario in this instance.

Winner: Orange Cassidy- New AEW Champion

Stadium Stampede Match- Inner Circle vs. Pinnacle: If Inner Circle loses, then they will split up permanently.

I am going to get to the point on this match since I never liked the Stadium Stampede match as it is the stupidest concept of this decade. The writing is on the wall as the Inner Circle will lose and split up, but only for a brief time as this group needs a break. They will probably get back together in about a year and challenge the Pinnacle who will be the top faction by this time next year.

Winner: Inner Circle

AEW Womens Title Match- Hikaru Shida vs. Dr. Britt Baker DMD

This will be the match of the night as it is a clash between Shida, who has been a fighting champion for 1 year battling the hottest female wrestler in the world right now who wants to establish the Era of DMD. I believe that this will be the coronation and the start of this era as the match will be intense and solid.

Winner: Dr. Britt Baker DMD- New AEW Womens Champion

AEW Tag Team Title Match- Young Bucks vs. Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston

Based on the promos and angle over the past few weeks, you would think that Moxley and Kingston would win the belts, but I think that it will be another screw job finish so that the Bucks can retain the title and inflate their egos even more than they are now.

Winner: Young Bucks

Casino Battle Royal- Winner gets AEW title shot anytime within one year

I feel that the wild card(mystery entrant) will end up winning this event.

Winner: Wild Card entrant

AEW TNT Championship Match- Miro vs. Lance Archer w/Jake Roberts

This is a typical battle of the big men, but Miro is getting the push as TNT Champion, while Archer has been floundering in the lower mid-cards for over a year. I feel that AEW will not have Miro drop the TNT title this soon and probably will have Darby Allyn feud with him over getting the title back real soon.

Winner: Miro

Darby Allyn/Sting vs. Scorpio Sky/Ethan Page

I feel that Sting may be doing the job for Sky, who is looking for a push as the “Future of Evolution” and for Page, who has the potential to move up in the card. Sky and Page could be an interesting tag team in AEW.

Winner: Page/Sky

The American Dream Cody Rhodes vs. Anthony Agogo

Cody is using the American Dream gimmick for one night, but he will have to out wrestle Agogo, who has that boxing background. It will come down to experience and Cody will have the edge in this bout.

Winner: Cody Rhodes

Hangman Adam Page vs. Brian Cage

This should be a good opening contest as Page is looking for revenge for a defeat at the hands of Cage several weeks ago. Cage wants to do this on his own without Team Taz helping out and that may be a factor in the end as an angle could develop where Cage will be ousted from Team Taz.

Winner: Hangman Adam Page

Well, that will do it for this week. I hope everyone has a good week and I will see you next Sunday Morning on Sunday Mornings with the Nitro.