SPOTLIGHTS
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Into the Indies 11.02.10: Before & After III
(11.02.2010) - Ryan Byers
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| It\'s perhaps the most star-studded edition of I2I to date, featuring matches from the likes of Rey Misterio, Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, Sabu, and Samoa Joe, all taking place when they were Into the Indies! |
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Into the Indies 10.26.10: SMASHtober! (Part 4)
(10.26.2010) - Ryan Byers
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| I2I\'s month-long look at SMASH culminates this week with an examination of some of the early matches of the company\'s top stars. SMASH regulars Tajiri, KUSHIDA, and Starbuck are all profiled, in addition to guest appearances by the likes of Petey Williams and Black Warrior! |
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Into the Indies 10.05.10: SMASHtober! (Part 1)
(10.05.2010) - Ryan Byers
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| I2I begins its month long celebration of Japan\'s SMASH promotion, with this edition of the column featuring women\'s action on top, Tajiri making out with a transvestite and two high flyers trying their hand at a deathmatch! |
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Into the Indies 08.30.10: Before & After II
(08.31.2010) - Ryan Byers
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| I2I is back with the second installment of a mini-series of columns in which we take a look at foreign independent matches of wrestlers before they became stars and after their peaks. This time around, we\'ve got early matches from the careers of Sabu, Chris Jericho, and Lance Storm along with recent Japanese efforts of Raven and Corporal Kirschner! |
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Into the Indies 08.24.10: Happy IndyVersary! (Part 2)
(08.24.2010) - Ryan Byers
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| Part two of I2I\'s celebration of its fist year continue, as the top five matches and top five wrestlers in I2I history are revealed alongside guest match reviews from Aaron Hubbard and Steve Cook! It\'s more fun than you can shake a barbed wire cactus at . . . |
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Into the Indies 08.03.10: Beyond Wrestling
(08.03.2010) - Ryan Byers
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| From Japan to Argentina to Mexico to New Zealand, we now travel to the far off, mysterious land of OHIO to take a look at a unique promotion highlighting some true up and comers of the midwestern independent circuit. |
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Into the Indies 07.27.10: Before and After
(07.27.2010) - Ryan Byers
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| This week, I2I takes a special look at American wrestlers who have headed to Japanese indies before and after their primes, including matches from Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, the Iron Sheik, and more! |
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Into the Indies 07.13.10: Pro Wrestling from ARGENTINA
(07.13.2010) - Ryan Byers
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| I2I has headed south of the border to Mexico before, but now we go even further south of the border to Argentina\'s 100% Lucha promotion, where we encounter wrestling lawyers, bus drivers, and hockey players . . . wait, did I travel to Argentina or through a time warp to the WWF\'s New Generation era? |
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Into the Indies 06.15.10: Golden Ribbon
(06.15.2010) - Ryan Byers
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| Women\'s wrestling company Ice Ribbon returns to I2I for a look at one of their major shows, featuring crossover appearances by Jun Kasai, Kota Ibushi, and Munenori Sawa, as well as a performance by a ten year old and a performance by a thirteen year old that both blew my mind. |
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Into the Indies 04.27.10: HUSTLE Gets SMASHed
(04.27.2010) - Ryan Byers
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| In the wake of HUSTLE\'s demise, Tajiri and several of his compatriots form a new wrestling promotion featuring a variety of matches and a guest appearance by Tommy Dreamer! Will it have the legs that HUSTLE didn\'t? Time will tell, and it all begins with our I2I review of the debut show of SMASH. |
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Into the Indies 03.30.10: RJPW Keeps It Real
(03.30.2010) - Ryan Byers
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| Some people accuse TNA of being the seniors tour of US professional wrestling, but what happens when a bunch of Japanese guys who are the same age as Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan step into the ring? In this promotion owned and operated by the original Tiger Mask, we\'ll find out . . . |
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Into the Indies 03.16.10: Most Unusual Matches
(03.16.2010) - Ryan Byers
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| In an homage to one of my favorite WWF Coliseum Home Videos of all time, this week we track down some of the most unusual matches imaginable from the promotions that we regularly cover here in I2I. It\'s pro wrestling with octopi, identical twins, piranha, midgets, and the Necro Butcher! |
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Into the Indies 03.09.10: NWA On the Mat
(03.09.2010) - Ryan Byers
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| Taking a break from our steady diet of Japanese wrestling, it\'s time to take a detour through time and space to the early 1980\'s in New Zealand, including cameos from the Bushwackers and SAMOAN JOE~! |
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Into the Indies 02.23.10: Los Perros Del Mal
(02.23.2010) - Ryan Byers
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| For only the second time in its history, I2I heads south of the border for a little bit of lucha libre action, including the original La Park, Psicosis, Essa Rios, Damian 666, Halloween, Lizmark, and many more! |
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Into the Indies 02.02.10: HUSTLE\'s Grand Sendoff
(02.02.2010) - Ryan Byers
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| After several months, the shock of learning that HUSTLE is no more has finally worn off. As a result, I move on to the next stage of the grieving process, i.e. reviewing a ton of matches from the promotion\'s end. Names like Great Sasuke, Toshiaki Kawada, Yuji Nagata, Jushi Liger, Tajiri, and Rene Dupree are all featured. |
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Into the Indies 01.19.10: Shin-FMW
(01.19.2010) - Ryan Byers
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| What starts as a look at an obscure mid-1990\'s indy promotion leads to rare footage of early matches from current stars Masaaki Mochizuki , Kikutaro, and OKUMURA. It\'s further proof that you never know what you\'ll find when you head Into the Indies. |
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Into the Indies 01.05.10: Okinawa Pro Redux
(01.05.2010) - Ryan Byers
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| In the first Into the Indies of 2010, we return to the rings of Okinawa Pro Wrestling, where a man in a snake costume reminds me of William Regal and a man dressed like a mongoose reminds me of Zach Ryder. What in god\'s name am I talking about? Read the column to find out . . . |
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Into the Indies 12.29.09: Match of the Year?
(12.29.2009) - Ryan Byers
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| The mainstream Japanese media made a surprising choice when they went into the indies to select their 2009 puroresu match of the year . . . but does the bout they picked live up to its billing? Read on to find out. |
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Into the Indies 12.22.09: Nutsville X-Mas
(12.22.2009) - Ryan Byers
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| It\'s Christmastime in Japan, and the stars of BJW and Apache are using the holiday to enage in some of their favorite activities . . . namely slamming each other into thumbtacks and barbed wire. How can you go wrong with that? |
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Into the Indies 12.15.09: DDT Ryogoku Peter Pan (Part 2)
(12.15.2009) - Ryan Byers
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| It\'s part two of our look at the indy wrestling show that drew 8,500 fans to one of Tokyo\'s biggest venues. We know that the show did well on the business end of things, but does its quality match up? With Kota Ibushi, TAKA Michinoku, and even Masahiro Chono on board, the odds are good . . . |
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