At the time of this writing, the video game websites Giant Bomb and Polygon are for all purposes, buried in the dirt. Ushered to their demise by venture capitalists. Always existing on the opposite ends of the spectrum for my gaming interests. Giant Bomb always with podcasts and shows that make you burst out laughing and segments that find a way to sneak into the folds of your brain, popping up every once in awhile like a little treat. Polygon on the other hand was the more serious operation. Whether it be reporting, reviews, or general “geek culture”, I always felt confident Polygon would have me covered. And now in the same week both are gone in all but name, which will be corpse fucked for as long as their new owners get off on it.

My dog of eight years died last month, usually something like these sites I had been distant from for years wouldn’t fully impact me but it seems every small grievance I have with the world stings a bit more. As the video game media ecosystem collapses it continues in to focus that wrestling never had one. No one has made any money on writing about wrestling, outside of scoops. Dave Meltzer wasn’t making money on his thoughts on wrestling, if we are being generous you could say he made some money with his star ratings.

The closest we got to that was 411Mania. So many reviews on that site. Some terrible, others by TJ Hawke. Shoutout Dark Pegasus

EDIT: Rather than re-write that opening, Giant Bomb is now independent! Now I get to write this with a slightly more positive framing. No one is getting rich off wrestling writing, not enough people care to pay, I get that. But do what you can to support the people doing the work, who give a shit that what they do is good and is worth doing.

You probably know who most of these people and blogs are. That is fine, someone said in the Discord “Who the fuck is Simon” (added some spin on that) so I’m fully justified in everything.

Handwerk

One of the givens, Simon is on of wrestling’s best writers to the point there is not much to add to his praise. The biggest praise I can give I suppose is that I’m not sure I’ve seen someone get so blantly copied by writers starting up. He would be the first to tell you he doesn’t own the market of big year long projects but calling yours “A Year In Lists” is a bit much. There are also turns of phrase, or how he approaches matches that elicit the most passion from him that I feel like I see someone every other month trying to take their own stab in the exact same manner. Always a lesser version, something that feels like multiple generations removed even when they tend to be just some person who doesn’t understand how to the source material.

Where to Start

A Year in Lists 2010

Not picking Simon’s best pieces of writing. For those, go to the 2015 Royal Rumble or the Punk versus Cena match from Money in the Bank. Those go down as the best of the best of what we’ve got for wrestling criticism.

But, I think if you want to see what Simon can do with his writing and form, nothing hits quite like A Year In Lists, and you should start with the chronologically first in the 2010s to get truly started on his project capturing the decade that was. You get bite sized analysis (in comparison to some of the long form reviews leading up to list) and stories only Simon can weave. If you walk away thinking “I don’t know about all that”, Handwerk might not be for you and you are a rube.

Give Them Money

Fill up his commissions, make him review the best or the worst, you yield the power. It is $5 per match, use your money wisely.

Joseph Montecillo

Going to focus on Joseph the YouTuber for this but he has a personal blog that has numerous thoughtful reviews. But we’ll cover more of his writing in a minute.

It has been a true pleasure to see Joseph blow up. He joined the FKA Wrestling With Words Slack AKA The Wrestling Hive Mind because of specifically Psychology is Dead, the work that Quentin and others were doing. Sometimes a bit hard to fathom the guy who is posting with 30 other weirdos also has videos being watched by tens of thousands of people on a regular basis.

I’ve worked with video essayists for years in my Real Job and I never really thought it would be good medium to discuss wrestling through. So used to music videos or some dude freestyling a review on a Smark Mark Video DVD he had that came off like the mad draft of a 411Mania writer. And the writing we often got was straight forward match reviews, even when covering a show it was just a string of match reviews at the end of the day.

But Joseph through deep care for wrestling has carved out a niche springing up his own…is it rude to say imitators? Also not to say he was the first to do wrestling video essays or anything like that. But there is something about the breadth of what he would cover that I think was most striking

Where to Start

Walking The King’s Road: You need to start where all your favorite wrestlers watch. Hours of videos covering the big matches leading up to and in one of the most praised periods of wrestling history. One part history lesson, two parts critical analysis, every wrestling critic has wrote about this period of AJPW but no one has ever done it like this.

Give Them Money

Give to his Ko-fi, you can commission writing on matches, matches to cover on Twitch streams, or just give them money because they are doing gooood shit.

Big Egg

Colette and Joseph have done something admirable and taken a leap at an honest to god wrestling website dedicated to in-depth reviews. Both covered wrestling (and more) over at Fanbyte/FanFyte, Colette being the engine that made that machine go, there is clear experience at the wheel.

The thing that is always a treat is that the site doesn’t focus on just canon, the modern product, nor the obscure, it is hodgepodge of everything. And given that they aren’t doing 25 matches a week, matches come into sharper constrast next one another as you scroll through. Could be the Unbreakable Three Way, could be the equally praised RVD vs. Necro Butcher vs. Kendo Kashin. Both discussed with equal fervor.

Where to Start

**I Dunno, Man, Maybe I Don’t Get Wrestling?:** Colette at their peak of her powers. She puts into words something I will find myself straying to every so often, where she discusses how Guilia and Tam Nakano are “wrestling in a different tongue”. Not inherently a bad thing but she weaves into why it wouldn’t fit her palette.

Give Them Money

Subscribe to their blog, $7/month or $70/year. Support the work to keep them writing more and more.

Segunda Caida

Everyone says in some form or fashion all wrestling writers are inspired by DVDVR whether they know it or not but feels weird to say folks that wrote for DVDVR were “inspired”. More of an offshoot. And for over a decade, nearly two, Segunda Caida has been the standard bearer. Going to oversimplify this but the site for nearly 20 years has been Phil Schneider and friends. It carried over a lot of what made Death Valley Driver Video Reports a pleasure to read, good writing by idiosyncratic individuals.

Now, it feels less “Phil Schneider’s blog” and more a collection of talented folks. You can put your clock to it that at least every other day EricR or Twitter Superstar, Matt D. will grace you with something thoughtful.

Where to Start

**Complete And Accurate Black Terry:** This is cheating, sure, but I don’t think I could recommend anything other than a C&A from Segunda Caida. It is a form that folks have continuously tried to copy (even a half hearted attempt by Violent People themselves). The mission being to cover every available match for a given wrestler, this being Black Terry. The thing that I think most don’t get or appreciate is that it is never about completing the self-identified objective for SC, it is all about the journey. Whether they accomplish reviewing every Black Terry match, who gives a shit, but there is earnest attempt at giving everything they can a thoughtful look.

And have to pick Black Terry because 1) there is a ton there and 2) few wrestlers feel championed quite like Terry is by Segunda Caida. I think without SC the staying power of his legacy wouldn’t last quite the same. RIP

Give Them Money

You can’t. So you’ll have to just support through word of mouth. And they deserve the good words.

Brock Hates Wrestling

I won’t let the fact Brock Jahnke hates me keep from recommending his blog. Looking at the site, damn, I’ve been really reading this dude yammer for almost decade. It is good, nay, great yammering but all the same.

That isn’t fair, sure Brock’s best work is when he can stretch his legs, really luxuriate in a piece. What I appreciate most though is he doesn’t feel the need to go beyond what is necessary with his match reviews. With great matches where you get some heft. But you also have him sprinting through, a few sentences in and then you are out. Brock never feels bound by the expectation that he should be in the weeds on every moment or how he needs to create personal anecdote or an aside to bring a match into the broader context.

Where to Start

**Bluegrass:** Wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to recommend this to start. It is a deeply personal piece so going through something like that and then circling back to reading a hundred Misawa reviews, feels wrong on a level. But also it is one of the great pieces we have that is ostensibly about wrestling.

Give Them Money

You can’t. What is up with that? Afraid of the commission situation I’m sure.

Dragon Screw

The vibe of if DVDVR was completely dedicated to Japanese Sleaze. We always joke about Chris being in the indie lucha mines, to bless us with the riches of his Luch Roundup, while he is covered in soot. Jom is out here huffing Japanese indie fumes. Eyes red as shit, the gas too good to give up. He’s so high, makes me want to take a puff.

I get annoyed with myself because I feel I’ll find myself with the writing tick of “No one is doing it like [INSERT NAME]” and while true, is also lazy. What Jom is doing is covering a slice of wrestling I’ve never seen cover in such depth. By covering it solely it prevents the wrestling he discusses from feeling like a quirky sideshow. No, what Jom chooses to wax poetically about is the main course.

Where to Start

The Comprehensive RIKI OFFICE

You know how many times I’ve thought about RIKI OFFICE up through 2024? None times, never happened. You know how many times I’ve thought about it since I dug into his post earlier this year? Probably once a week. There is something magical about the way discusses the matches, the wrestlers, and sums the whole thing up.

Give Them Money

WHY CAN’T YOU?! Jom needs money for footage but I can’t make a donation. Come on now man, lets get it together.

ReverseViperHold

Jetlag baby. During GWE 2016 there wasn’t someone I wanted to hear from more. Every wrestler he posted for felt like a such a discovery. Similar to Jom in that he does not stay on the beaten path. His approach is a little broader than deep though. Often times moving around the Japanese indie scene, especially Joshi promotions, but also you’ll get CMLL and a grab bag of Gran Hamada matches.

His writing is like comfort food for me, in the vein of your Segunda Caida’s and DVDVR, where the writing is so quick, so snappy, hard not to gobble up.

Where to Start

**Takeshi Ono Documentation Project:** Sorry, cheating again. Like Segunda Caida, it isn’t about any singular Ono review, it is about the body of work. Ono is one of those dudes who has turned into one of the more notable shooters, behind Ishikawa and Ikeda. And it isn’t too far of a stretch to say a lot of that is the work Jetleg was doing.

Give Them Money

You can’t, everyone, put a Ko-fi link or something on your blog. It doesn’t matter if no one rarely gives you anything. Give people at least an option.

FujiwaraSmirks

Fucking hate Steph’s guts. He’s too young to be this good. I can’t help but read Steph and know he comes from the Brock, Quentin, and Simon school of writing but unlike so many of those jabronis, Steph Gets It. You see so many young writers either try to be funny or get lost in the moves. Steph finds a way to cut through to action. He manages to bring these key moments into sharp focus. I hope he writes so much more this year. But again, fuck Steph.

Where to Start

**The 1980 Project: Year-End Awards:** I’m a sucker for big project lists, sue me. Like I’ve mentioned and will mention, these sorts of lists are great at better understanding what the writer likes and appreciates while also getting a sense of their prose. And Steph covers a year that I feel doesn’t get discussed much. Folks will talk about the 1980s all day long but specifically 1980? That is a different ball game and while it wasn’t maybe up to Steph’s own expectations, I still look at it and consider it a feat.

Give Them Money

EDIT: You can give Steph money and you should think about doing that ya nerd

Spinning Wheel Kick/Corwo

Got to shout out Violent People’s own, Corwo for all the work he does. I’m not sure if anyone watches as much wrestling in a given year as Corwo. The computer is constantly looking through the dumpsters, not even for gems but maybe something still in the box from Five Below. Just something of any value.

Corwo is a good writer and year over year it is exciting to see him grow in that regard. Over the course of 2024 it feels like he found his voice more than ever. Like this recent Aja Kong vs. Senka Akatsuki review has me fired up.

In addition though, he provides incredible resources. The Joshi Wrestling Archive with him and Kadaveri is so stinking good. Over 1,000 matches linked and dated for you to dive into. He also provides modern Michinoku Pro news which is truly something for the freaks out there. Last but not least, the insane undertaking of trying to catalog everything on Wrestle Universe. Particularly helpful for early stuff from promotions.

Where to Start

**Corwo’s 2024 Year-End Awards:** You might have noticed, I like recommending bigger undertakings from folks. There is something but a big list that I think lets you get to the heart of what a writers gives a shit about. All the same for Corwo, especially love his Discovery of the Year section which is wrinkle compared to other folks, really puts you in the passenger seat for his wrestling journey.

Give Them Money

Right now I don’t think Corwo has a way to give him money. Until then, make sure to RT everything he does, share with a friend. The guy does so much for the community, he deserves the recognition.

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If I didn’t post about your favorite blog, shout them out. Do more of that, let them know their work rocks. Maybe I’ll do another one of these.