AWL News Flash!

Goodbye Chikara

AWL 320 postponed

I'm postponing the Season 16 Finale by 1 week.  There's a more important video I need to make between now and then that is going to take time and emotional energy that will not leave me with the resources to finish AWL 320 in time.  I'm sorry and I will post that video to this blog so that you can all see what I mean and hopefully why this is so important to me.

Thank you for your patience. 

WWE Releases

As many of you may know, WWE has released dozens of wrestlers and backstage staff in the last 24 hours.  As of this writing, the list currently stands as:

- Drake Maverick (James Curtin)
- Curt Hawkins (Brian Myers)
- Karl Anderson (Chad Allegra)
- Luke Gallows (Drew Hankinson)
- Heath Slater (Heath Miller)
- Aiden English (Matthew Rehwoldt)
- Eric Young (Jeremy Fritz)
- EC3 (Michael Hutter)
- Lio Rush (Lionel Green)
- Kurt Angle 
- Sarah Logan (Sarah Rowe)
- Mike Chioda
- Primo (Edwin Colon) 
- Epico (Orlando Colon Nieves)
- Rowan (Joseph Ruud)
- Mike Kanellis (Mike Bennett)
- Maria Kanellis
- Zack Ryder (Matthew Cardona)
- No Way Jose (Levis Valenzuela)
- Rusev (Miroslav Barnyashev)
- Deonna Purrazzo 
- Aleksandar Jaksic
- Dave (Fit) Finlay
- Lance Storm
- Mike Rotunda
- Shane (Hurricane) Helms
- Scott Armstrong
- Pat Buck
- Sarah Stock
- Shawn Davari
- Billy Kidman

This is total BULLSHIT!  WWE is sitting on half a billion dollars of cash reserves.  This is an obvious move meant to placiate mark stockholders who don't realize that talent costs represent a LUDICROUSLY low 10% of expenses.  In Japan, WWE would be called a "black company" and well deserved.  I hope some good comes of this.

Speaking of which, and moving back into continuity, will any of these talented wrestlers make their way to the AWL?  The answer: Maybe.

All AWL footage through Golden War 2020 has been filmed and is in the proverbial can.  As for what happens afterwards, I have no idea but it's certainly possible and I'd be lying if I didn't say that there were names in that list that any booker would be drooling to have on their rosters and I'm no exception.  Hopefully some of them will make it to the AWL Dojo or preferably the AWL Arena.

Until then, please support independent wrestling and your favorite wrestlers directly if you can.  Stay safe, stay healthy, and remember: We're all in this together.

Notice for future AWL episodes

(The following post is half in continuity and half out of continuity.)

                We have officially run through all the footage shot before the current viral crisis became a thing.  While I COULD just keep filming in the normal AWL Arena (since computer generated characters can’t actually get sick) it’s become weird and distracting seeing a whole bunch of people crammed into an audience like that.

                Therefore, in response to the current pandemic, all AWL events are being moved to the AWL Dojo until further notice.  This will be the first time ever that cameras will be allowed inside the Animated Wrestling League’s training facility.

                Furthermore, there will be no human fans allowed at AWL tapings until the current crisis has past.  Instead, the audience area will be filled with state of the art Japanese robots programmed to react to professional wrestling matches as human fans would.  We expect this will go a long way towards minimizing the spread and risk of the disease.

                Unfortunately, WWE 2k19 does not allow me to create an empty arena OR to dim the crowd lights to the point the crowd cannot be seen, so they’re robots now, OK?

I'm sorry.

I've been a terrible wrestling promoter.  Despite having a card on most of my videos that advertises this site, I haven't updated it in months.  The usual excused apply, illness, work, deep seeded emotional issues, that sort of thing.  But I'm going to make it up to you right now.  The next hour will see the second half of AWL Season 15 posted to this site with the 2020 New Year's Tournament to follow.  In a week, the Contractual Obligation Rumble will make it's unfortunate return.

Once again, I'm sorry.

No AWL this week.

Sorry fans, but I'm sick as a dog right now and will not be able to work on a show for this week.

AWL 243: Rise of Darkness

OK, first and foremost, jet lag SUCKS!!

Now, let's get back to business.  AWL 243 has been available on the YouTube for about a week, but here it is for anyone who only reads the blog:




I'll post the card for AWL 244 in a few minutes and the actual show as soon as it gets uploaded to YouTube.

AWL 241 AND 242 because vacation Wifi access sucks sometimes!

A week of news in a day or two.

OK, as you have probably noticed, it's been an interesting real life week here at the Animated Wrestling League.  I learned that almost none of the videos this season weren't being shown on Dailymotion so I've moved back to YouTube and all the seemingly random blocks and take downs that being on YouTube brings with it.

Going forward, this blog will still be the main site for the AWL.  With that said, let's get on with the news:

                The AWL Commissioner has had it with Dr. Jigoku and his abuse of the mad sciences.  Therefore, this week will feature a 4-match series of the AWL vs. The Augments!  The matches are:

Ganba vs. Project-Z

                After losing to the…reanimated…wrestler formerly known as Jack Butcher, Ganba wants another shot at him.  One thing I’ve learned about The Japanese Megastar over the years, it’s that he always learns from failure and comes back stronger.  We know Project-Z has limits to his endurance, perhaps Ganba will be able to outlast him.

HAKAISHA! vs. Project 鉄 2.0 (#2)—Non-Title Match

                HAKAISHA! inserted himself into this feud when he attacked Dr. Jigoku after AWL 227.  Infuriated by Jigoku’s desecration of his former friend, The Japanese Destroyer is firmly on Team F*** The Augments.  (No, that will never be a hashtag.)  This is a non-title match, but victory for Project 鉄 2.0 would likely result in an increase in rank.

Luke James, Doombunny, & Azteckaizer NEO vs. X-Drone—Trios Match

                The fight against the augments has united an odd collection of allies.  The AWL All Stars, The Destroyers of DOOM, and 新時代.  Members of each faction will unite against the hivemind of The Augments.

Dragoness Q vs. KoroshiMACHINE 1

                Last but certainly not least, we cannot forget the Joshi Division.  The undefeated Dragoness will represent 新時代 against the fembot of the Augments.  While Dragoness has already qualified for the Joshi Championship Ladder Match at Golden War 2018, KoroshiMACHINE will take a much-needed step towards qualification if she wins.  With only one slot remaining in the ladder match, every match counts!

                Further matches may still be announced for AWL 229, please stay tuned to this blog for all the news and information on the Animated Wrestling League.

No Episode this Weekend

Due to the chaos coming out of the Fukumen World Tournament, there will be no broadcast of  GWM WrestleMAX this weekend.  The fact that I've pretty much lost my voice has nothing to do with it nopenopenope.

Episode Delay

Due to real life commitments, this week's episode of GWM WrestleMAX is being delayed until next week.  I apologize for any inconvenience.  Taking this additional week will allow me to build a bit of a buffer so hopefully this doesn't happen again.

It's been a bad week.

I'm sorry everyone.  The AWL is going to be a day late or so.  It's been a very difficult week for me.  The primary reason should be obvious, but I don't want to go into it in this forum.  The result is that This week's episode is nowhere near ready.  Hopefully AWL Episode 193 will be posted sometime in the next 24 hours, but I can't promise that.

Please stay tuned.

One week hiatus.

Well, sadly there won't be an episode of the Animated Wrestling League this weekend.  I'd originally planned to get the next regular season episode out today but 3 episodes a week (technically 4 considering the length of the Tag Matsuri) is just more than I can handle.

Speaking of the Tag Matsuri, apparently there was an error in the video for The Empire's entrance.  But it cleans up after about a minute.  So please forgive the mistake, I'll try to fix it in future episodes.

The next episode of the AWL will be this coming Sunday (Japan time).

Thank you for you consideration.

--RyuSensei

Less than 24 hours to go!

OK folks, time to be honest. My real life has been crazy the last week or so. First of all, even though we do not celebrate Thanksgiving in Japan, I still had to deal with some unusual scheduling this week/weekend that severely reduced the amount of time I had to work on the show. HOWEVER, I have a loophole! The show will still be broadcast on November 29th, but American time rather than Japan time. (Yeah, copout, I know.) In the meantime, we have some final comments from the champion AND champion in the Title Unification Match tomorrow!

Capt. AWL (Editors note: You have NO idea how hard it was to pin this guy down) (Translated from Japanese):

FINE! You want a statement I'll give you a &%#ing statement! I have taken a long path to this day. I am a champion. I will be Grand Champion. And when I win this match, the truth will be revealed. When I am Grand Champion, you will get ALL the answers you have been looking for. I am the Past and the Future. I AM the AWL!

Dragon:

All season has come down to this match. 8 seasons have come down to this match. My entire career has come down to this match. But it's not about me. It's about the AWL. For the entire history of this company, we've never had one single undisputed champion. Weight divisions make sences in some sports, but not professional wrestling. The freestyle nature of pro wrestling means that on any given night, any wrestler can defeat any other wrestler. Even the biggest man can be taken down with a simple joint lock or submission hold. The strongest man can be knocked out with a well placed punch. The best technical wrestler can be surprised by an aerial move he's never seen before. When two men step into that 20 by 20 foot ring, anything can happen.

“Captain." From day one, you have had ZERO respect for anyone in this locker room and even less for the AWL and the fans. You haven't even had the common courtesy to speak to any of us face to face. I've never known a masked wrestler to do that. I've seen the faces of everyone from Matt Classic Sr. to Mr. Smiles. But you're just so special that you can't be bothered with the rest of us. That you're above locker room etiquette. That you're above respect.

You say you'll "reveal the truth" when you win? Well guess what, that's not going to happen. But as a consolation prize, when I beat you, I'm going to rip that mask off of your face and show the whole world what's so damn interesting about who you really are.

AWL 159: Dragon vs. Okada

AWL 159: Dragon vs. Okada 投稿者 AWLBoss

I apologize for the lateness of this episode.  Real life is (as per usual for the end of the season) demanding a great deal of my time and resources at the moment.  AWL 160 is still on schedule for next week.  Until then, enjoy the show!

Delay due to illness.

I didn't want to post this under the vain hope that I'd get the show up on time somehow.  But time to come clean.

Over the past few days I have been in and out of hospital with severe flu symptoms.  Most notably a hacking cough so strong as to induce vomiting.  Obviously, this means that recording audio for a wrestling show is not going to happen at the moment.

AWL 150 will be up as soon as I can, but that may not be for a few days.  I deeply apologize for the delay.

Shoot post

First of all, allow me to apologize for the lack of posts this week.  I've been working at a summer camp as part of my real life job.  As a result I haven't had the energy to do much more than come home, fall down, and fall asleep (Not necessarily in that order).  I should be able to get a "Commissioner's Weekly Address" tonight and this weekend's episode is already in the can and ready to upload.

In site news, AWLWrestling.blogspot.com has just passed the 10,000 view mark!!!  With the last 4 straight months clocking over 600+ hits!  I have no idea how many of these are real views and how many are robot BS sites like vampire stat but I choose to think that I'm popular.  Thank you to all of you.

AWL 137

AWL 137: HAKAISHA! vs. Ganba 投稿者 AWLBoss

OK, the video quality isn't very good.  I had to convert to an AVI file because for some reason Sony Vegas wasn't letting me use my usual MOV format.  I should have this fixed by next week but until then, please enjoy the show as best you can.

Arrrrrgh!!

There is now a dent in my wall suspiciously the same size and shape of my forehead.  I've now tried to render this week's AWL episode 5 times and every time (at the END of the multi-hour process) I get an error message and no file.  There're a couple more things I can try, but I don't think this thing is going to be posted tonight.

I'm sorry.  I'll get it up as soon as I can.