Thomas Jay Hayes
-
Omega vs Okada IV: The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection
There are moments in art when the medium is transcended. Moments where the zeitgeist is shifted. Moments where everyone learns or is forced to expand their understanding. Nirvana’s Nevermind, Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight, and Banksy’s graffiti turned street art in Exit Through The Gift Shop all represent this idea. Examples of art executed at the highest level and as such, are inherently filled with risk. The payoff for this risk is usually critical acclaim, universal (for the most part) praise coupled with backlash from the old guard, and finally an unreasonable pressure to bottle this magic and produce it on command. In wrestling, there are a handful…
-
Kenny Omega & Will Ospreay: The Shadow Self
Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay are two of the best professional wrestlers alive today. Both of them combine otherworldly athletic abilities with an innate skill to captivate a crowd. When they wrestle, you want to watch. They also both have walked the path of the Gaijin in New Japan Pro Wrestling. As foreigners, they have gone to Japan, won over the not easily impressed audiences, and risen to the top of that promotion. For many avid wrestling fans, the idea of an Omega vs Opsreay match is a truly mouthwatering concept. Unfortunately for fans, they seem to actually despise each other. Both Ospreay and Omega come from humble beginnings in…
-
Jon Moxley (You Can Always Come Home)
Jon Moxley is a professional wrestler. At Forbidden Door, he recaptured the AEW (interim) Championship in what can only be described as a bloody banger indicative of the style he has brought to basically anywhere in the world there is a ring and fans. Since he left WWE he appears to be on a mission to bring “unscripted violence” to the world. Traveling to events big and small taking on whoever, wherever, whenever. His finisher is now called “Paradigm Shift” a Babe Ruthesque shot call that for the last several years has shown anyone with a pair of eyes his intent. To be the best professional wrestler on the planet.…
-
Walking Through The Forbidden Door
Thomas Jay Hayes headed to NJPWxAEW: Forbidden Door this weekend. Here he is giving us his thoughts and feelings on the weekend and what it means to be a wrestling fan. Sometimes, loving professional wrestling can feel like living on an island. “Oh that Hulk Hogan stuff,” says the woman who will not be calling me again. “Hey, The Rock,” says a family member before shifting the conversation to literally anything else. “You know it’s fake right?” No, I don’t, because I’m a moron and also have been living in a cave in the woods for the past twenty years. These are the types of conversations I am are used…
