In a brand new joint partnership between Count Out and LWOPW’s Wrestling With Edwards, Scotty Edwards and Ryan Neitzey come together for the good of charity to see which wrestling fan can watch the most wrestling matches by the end of the year.
This is their story.
Ryan: Oh, boy, Scotty. What a month, right? I feel like this road trip has exhausted me to no end honestly.
Scotty: Man, this has been one heck of a month. I told you it was going to be crazy and it’s only the fourth month of the year.
Ryan: Totally agree.
*Ryan looks blankly at Scotty*
Ryan: I mean, I don’t agree with you! In fact, this month was incredibly easy for me and I nailed it. HAhahahahaHA!
Scotty: Whatever man. I knew you were going to shine and that is exactly what you did. I don’t expect credit from you but felt necessary to give you that.
Ryan: Call me Mastercard because I deserve all the credit.
Scotty: Ha... Hilarious. You shouldn’t be a comedian.
Ryan: You’re right! I should be a comedian! Let’s start with my tight 5. Hey, what’s the deal with the airplane spin? I’ve never been in an airplane that spins around. Not unless I have a barf bag.
*bassline plays in this distance*
Scotty: ...
Ryan: Tough crowd. *pulls neck collar*
Scotty: Alright so wrestling, yeah?
Ryan: Oh, yes. Right. Our wrestling match race where the person who watches the most matches this year and the loser donates to the winner’s charity?
Scotty: Yes, that is what I am talking about. Why not get to the best of the month for each of us?
Ryan: Let’s do it!
Ryan's Match 3 ~ WALTER vs. Tommaso Ciampa: NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, Night 1, 4/7/21 - 4.25 Stars
Longtime fans will know that I am a sucker for beef fights. By beef fights, I am of course talking about two meaty men slapping meat, thank you Big E. More than that, it’s good adding wrestling psychology on top of it. The beauty of this match is that on the surface it’s just about WALTER beating up your uncle, but how one chop from Walter can be the end-all. Walter is the big bad of the video game. He’s the guy you fight at the end of a giant, multi-leveled tower. He is not meant to be trifled with. And the treatment of an NXT legend at this point by practically swatting him like a bug showcases Walter’s Walter-ness to a tee.
Scotty's Match 3 ~ WALTER vs. Tommaso Ciampa: NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, Night 1, 4/7/21 - 4.50 Stars
The beauty of professional wrestling is that every match on a show can be so dramatically different. One can be this technical battle with limited strikes and the attempt to bend and break the other opponent. The next can be a story-driven match where the two opponents utilize what had got them there, including smack talk, debilitating offense, and an ultimate climaxing finish. And then there are the matches we call wars. That’s the best way to describe WALTER versus Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT United Kingdom Championship. “The Psycho Killer” returned on this special night, bringing everything he had to the unbeatable WALTER. Whether it was chop, strike, or devastating move, this one was action from beginning to end. The finish may have been the best part, as the chest-shattering chop of WALTER to Ciampa ended it, marking one of the best matches in WWE all year.
Ryan's Match 2 ~ Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair: WWE Wrestlemania 37, Night 1, 4/10/21 - 4.25 Stars
It’s rare in modern WWE to have two wrestlers go out and have a match that you know and you can even see how badly they want this match. Banks previously has stated such about facing Bianca Belair at Wrestlemania. And whereas at one point in time, many people thought this should have been Banks vs. Bayley, the train moved forward and gave us a match that without a doubt will go into the history books. Top-down, the match was structured perfectly, showcasing Belair in all of her many athletic feats. Banks continues to be great in her move set but selling for Bianca. And of course, we have to talk about the hair whip. I know we all knew that move existed in NXT but I can’t remember the last time I saw the hair whip used. I feel like never on the main roster. I can, of course, and probably, be wrong, but if it was used for the first time at Wrestlemania, that is a masterful move in storytelling. This match is exactly what it needed to be and despite the high bar it had coming in, Banks and Belair blew past it with ease.
Scotty's Match 2 ~ Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Tsukushi Haruka: Ice Ribbon: Spring is Short So You Maidens Should Fight!, 4/24/21 - 4.50 Stars
Tsukasa Fujimoto is on an all-time run right now. Her matches are cannot miss every single time she defends the ICExInfinity title and that remains true here. As she faced her Dropkickers tag team partner, Tsukushi Haruka, you knew it was going to be special. The pace was extravagant, seemingly never slowing down but giving everything enough time to breathe in the process. Tsukushi came with every move one could imagine, hitting the champion with devastating forearms that would crumble anyone. But the greatness of Fujimoto shined through as it tends to every outing she has. The champion fought back and made her tag team partner know that it just was not her time yet. Ultimately, Fujimoto hit the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex to shut down Tsukushi once and for all. For my money, this was the second-best Fujimoto of the year and an ideal example of pro wrestling at its highest quality. Check it out.
Ryan's Match 1 ~ Daniel Garcia vs. Lee Moriarty: Limitless Wrestling: Suffer No Fools, 4/16/21 - 4.25 Stars
The match this month where I will yell to the rooftops to anyone that can hear me, Go watch this match. It’s on IWTV right now. Finish reading this, open a new tab, head to IWTV, and watch this match. Moriarty, many of whom have already pegged as a future star and arguably the MVP of the 2020 GCW Collective, against Daniel Garcia, a man I’ve seen people call a future Daniel Bryan and MVP of the 2021 GCW Collective, going one on one in a submission match for the Limitless TItle. I was scrolling through IWTV one day and saw this and was astonished I heard no one on Twitter talking about it. The match is amazing. It plays into the submission match perfectly in the sense that it was barely a submission match. When you hear that stipulation, for me, I conjure up images of Sabre or Regal. I imagine mat wrestling for 15 minutes. Instead, this was just a high-intensity, blood feud-esque match with ultimately, the best of the independents. To me, this felt like I was watching the 2008 Omega, Danielson match. Like you see this and think, these guys are the next big thing and in a decade, I will look back at this match with fondest and you should too.
Scotty's Match 1 ~ Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair: WWE Wrestlemania 37, Night 1, 4/10/21 - 4.50 Stars
What’s there to say about this match that hasn’t been said already? It was history-making, yes. It was emotional, absolutely. But what may not have been said enough is the greatness these two exhibited from beginning to end. Showing that raw emotion to start off before getting into the action is key to massive greatness in my opinion. It allows the crowd to appreciate it, understanding what is happening and gives the wrestlers the chance to put on a show. Sasha Banks solidified her spot in history with this match. Yes, the 29-year-old still has many years in her career left, but she is already one of the true greats in American history. This was another example of her greatness shining through. For Belair, it was a night of taking that “brass ring,” showing that the EST stood for something real. Banks and Belair delivered the best women’s match in the history of WrestleMania, and one of the best WrestleMania matches of all time. It was special and will be remembered forever.
The Race Stats:
Ryan: Oh baby, look at those matches from April! When a plan is made, a plan is done and I am your tail now. Tim Tebow baby!!
Scotty: I am impressed. Now, with the biggest wrestling month out of the way, we will really see who has what it takes to reach the finish line as the winner.
Ryan: And the answer will of course be me! As I said, I’ve got a little plan on how to overtake you. Mark my words, this time next month, I will be in the lead. MARK MY WORDS!!!
Scotty: Well bad news for you, I have a secret plan of my own in case things go south for my lead. Don’t you worry -- this will last until December. I have no fear until then as the clear babyface of this race.
Ryan: *jumps into a hot air balloon* I like to see you try, off to Jaappppaaannnn!!!!
Scotty: Here we go again... onto May I guess.
You can follow along with Ryan's List of 2021 Matches HERE and donate to the Atlanta Children's Shelter Foundation HERE
If you donate to any of these charities, let us know! Tweet at us and we'll shout you out next month!
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