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Who was YOUR Champion for July, 2021? This poll is closed. |
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 Shingo Takagi (IWGP World Heavyweight Champion) |
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25 | 25.77% |
 Miyu Yamashita (Princess of Princess Champion) |
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3 | 3.09% |
 Kenny Omega (AEW World Champion) |
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8 | 8.25% |
 Utami Hayashishita (World of Stardom Champion) |
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1 | 1.03% |
 Minoru Fujita (Super Asia Champion) |
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5 | 5.15% |
 Jake Lee (Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion) |
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0 | 0% |
 Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champion) |
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1 | 1.03% |
 Bianca Belair (Smackdown Women's Champion) |
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1 | 1.03% |
 Bobby Lashley (WWE Champion) |
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0 | 0% |
 Naomichi Marufuji (GHC Champion) |
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0 | 0% |
 Rhea Ripley (FORMER Raw Women's Champion) |
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0 | 0% |
 Charlotte Flair (FORMER Raw Women's Champion) |
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0 | 0% |
 Nikki A.S.H (Raw Women's Champion) |
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1 | 1.03% |
 Asuka/VENY (FORMER Beyond the SEA Champion) |
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1 | 1.03% |
 Ryo Mizunami (Beyond the SEA Champion) |
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0 | 0% |
 Dr. Britt Baker DMD (AEW Women's Champion) |
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3 | 3.09% |
 Rush (FORMER ROH World Champion) |
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0 | 0% |
 Bandido (ROH World Champion) |
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0 | 0% |
 Shun Skywalker (Open the Dream Gate Champion) |
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3 | 3.09% |
 Nick Gage (FORMER GCW Champion) |
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4 | 4.12% |
 Matt Cardona (GCW Champion) |
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37 | 38.14% |
 Drew Parker (BJW Death Match Heavyweight Champion |
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3 | 3.09% |
 None of the Above |
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1 | 1.03% |
| Total: | 97 votes | ||
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Despite being accidentally left off the first iteration of June's poll, once he was put back on there was no doubt from the first vote to the last that the midpoint of the year - much like the start - would belong to New Japan, and this time not to one of the usual suspects. Last month it was Shingo Takagi's time to shine, as for the second time in the history of these polls and the first since he joined New Japan, Shingo won the Champ of the Month poll. With over 45% of the vote, he was the clear frontrunner with nearest competitor Miyu Yamashita only managing just over a third of the votes for her respectable second place finish. This has been the story of Shingo in New Japan, always the bridesmaid but never the bride, perhaps at risk of going the way of Hirooki Goto as the perennial challenger who never quite wins the big one... except he won the big one! It is exciting times ahead with Shingo as champion, but will it be another 5+ year wait for his next Champ of the Month victory?             Eligible Champions are chosen on a combination of accessibility, prestige/notoriety and by overwhelming popular request. For promotions where lengthy periods of time pass with no title defenses, promos, appearances, shows etc those champions will be dropped from the poll for that period only, then return when once again relevant - for instance, Jun Akiyama (DDT) and Tsukasa Fujimoto (Ice Ribbon) did not defend their titles, and so have been dropped from the poll for this month. The monthly "None of the Above" option is a valid potential "winner" and has "won" the poll in the past, feel free to use this as a protest vote if you so wish. Now onto the eligible contenders for the month just gone, feel free to make an argument for/against any particular champion you think does/doesn't deserve the votes of other posters in this thread. Also... there are a lot of options now! After this month I will review those promotions who have failed to get votes so far this year and some of these may be temporarily dropped from future polls, to be returned as and when seems appropriate. Shingo Takagi (IWGP World Heavyweight Champion) - After his shocking (but welcome) win of the vacant title, Takagi immediately wanted to go after the 1st holder of the redesigned belt: Kota Ibushi. Unfortunately, Ibushi was suffering from aspiration pneumonia and could not wrestle (and as of this date is still not scheduled to wrestle) and so the big Tokyo Dome show looked like it was short of a main event. Luckily the once in a century talent and Ace of the Universe Hiroshi Tanahashi was there to step up to the plate, and in an almost 40 minute classic the two beat the absolute poo poo out of each other. Shingo ended up standing tall (ignore the silly ambush post-match by EVIL) to further cement with back to back victories over two of the absolute best wrestlers in the world in Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi. EVIL is in the way, Ibushi is somewhere down the track, and the G1 is fast approaching. It's a good time to be a New Japan fan, and an even better time to be a Shingo Takagi fan. Miyu Yamashita (Princess of Princess Champion) - Though she did not defend her title this month, Miyu is taking part in the Princess Cup, a large single-elimination tournament that includes every member of the roster (unless they're not in Japan) with significant historical ramifications for future title challengers/new Princess of Princess Champions. The month ended with Miyu being eliminated by Mizuki, meaning either Mizuki, Miu Watanabe, Shoko Nakajima or Miyu's best friend Maki Itoh are going to win and Miyu will likely need to defend her title against them. Plus, Mizuki surely has a claim to a title shot now as well. Kenny Omega (Impact World Champion) - Though he didn't defend the AEW Title this month, Kenny did defend the Impact title in a 25+ minute No Disqualification match against... ugh... Sami Callihan at Slammiversary. He also managed to avoid his biggest threat in AEW by cheating to win a team Elimination match to prevent Hangman Adam Page getting his earned title shot at the AEW Title. There has been no AAA Mega Title defense all year, though he will be defending the belt against Andrade El Idolo at some point soon. Utami Hayashishita (World of Stardom Champion) - A month after battling Syuri to a grueling draw that earned 5.5 stars from Dave Meltzer, Utami managed to hold onto her championship in much more unfortunate circumstances in the Yokohama Budokan as an injury to Natsuko Tora led to a referee stoppage. Utami now looks to win back-to-back 5 Star Grand Prix to control her own destiny as champion but the path ahead with a rematch with Syuri, a battle with her own tag team partner Tall Saya Kamitani and the ace of Marvelous, Takumi Iroha all awaiting Utami in her block. Thanks to GEORGE W BUSHI. Minoru Fujita (Super Asia Champion) - Cutting it close right at the end of the month, Minoru Fujita had his second straight month of title defenses when he defeated Shinno Hagane, and Gatoh Move's small but intensely devoted (and growing!) audience loved it. Jake Lee (Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion) - Jake Lee made the first successful title defense of his Triple Crown at Night 5 of All Japan's Summer Action series, defeating Shotaro Ashino. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champion) - Roman Reigns defeated Edge in a 30+ minute match at Money in the Bank. John Cena has also returned briefly to WWE and is pushing for a title shot against Roman as well. Bianca Belair (Smackdown Women's Champion) - With rival Bayley injured, Bianca's replacement opponent was Carmella, who Bianca beat clean in a title match. The next week, she faced her next challenger for the title.... Carmella, who she beat clean in another title match. Bobby Lashley (WWE Champion) - After a month of feuding with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods and claiming they weren't in his league and were jokes despite impassioned promos by Kofi, Lashley faced Kofi at Money in the Bank and obliterated him for 7 minutes until the referee called the match off. This is apparently so WWE can look to the long-term future benefit of the company by making Lashley's next opponent the 50+ year old part-timer Goldberg. Naomichi Marufuji (GHC Champion) - After defeating Keiji Mutoh at CyberFight Festival, this young 41-year-old upstart continues to battle against the older generation defeating Takashi Sugiura in Sendai and the next 50 something on his list of challengers is Sugiura's partner, the Gracie Hunter Kazushi Sakuraba. Thanks to GEORGE W BUSHI. Rhea Ripley (FORMER Raw Women's Champion) - Rhea Ripley finally had a chance to avenge her devastating loss to Charlotte Flair at the previous year's Wrestlemania. She claimed to have grown and learned a lot since then. She was wrong and got beaten. Charlotte Flair (FORMER Raw Women's Champion) - Charlotte Flair constantly says Rhea Ripley isn't as good as her and isn't in her league. Then she beats Rhea Ripley. This is the storyline. WWE: The World Leader in Sports Entertainment. Nikki A.S.H (Raw Women's Champion) - After winning the Money in the Bank briefcase, the former Nikki Cross (now calling herself "Almost a Super Hero") cashed in on Charlotte Flair after Rhea Ripley had laid the latter out, and won the belt. She then lost a non-title match against Charlotte the next week, and then claimed that ALMOST being able to beat Charlotte made her feel like a winner. She's the Champion. Asuka/VENY (FORMER Beyond the SEA Champion) - Unfortunately Asuka couldn't even make it past the first defense as Beyond the SEA Champion as her second world championship reign ended in the exact same way as her rule as Regina di WAVE did as the Queen of Queens fell once again to Ryo Mizunami. Thanks to GEORGE W BUSHI. Ryo Mizunami (Beyond the SEA Champion) - Fresh off excursion to AEW, the newly christened "The World's Aniki" immediately inserted herself into SEAdLINNNG's top title scene by defeating the company owner (and composer of Ryo's theme song!) Nanae Takahashi. Aniki was able to knock off Asuka in a fantastic match to claim the championship for the first time. A battle with Arisa Nakajima awaits her, but for now unfortunately Ryo has been admitted to hospital with COVID. Get well soon Aniki! Thanks to GEORGE W BUSHI. Dr. Britt Baker DMD (AEW Women's Champion) - The doctor's first defense of her title was against former champion Nyla Rose. It was a hard fought battle, made even harder by the fact that Britt apparently had a broken wrist for much of the match! But she prevailed in the end, as she always claims she will, and defeated Nyla to retain her title. Rush (FORMER ROH World Champion) - At Best in the World, Rush's 18 month title reign came to an end. That length is perhaps more impressive than it sounds, given the 10 month stretch between winning the title and his first defense thanks to COVID, but Rush's 4th defense was his final, as he was beaten after 16 minutes and is no longer the champion. Bandido (ROH World Champion) - Not even a month into his championship reign, Bandido has not had his first defense yet. Hopefully he will get it in sooner than his first PWG Championship defense, which he hasn't defended since winning it in December of 2019! Shun Skywalker (Open the Dream Gate Champion) - He left it till late in the month, but Shun Skywalker successfully defended his championship against Kzy at the Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival one the last day of July to remain Dragon Gate's Open the Dream Gate Champion. Nick Gage (FORMER GCW Champion) - Nick Fuckin' Cage, MDK All Day! The baffling (to some) but undeniable rise of Nick Gage as a beloved figure in Independent Wrestling continued to roll on unabated, with his most high profile match to date coming at the end of the month when he was hired as a mercenary by MJF to destroy Chris Jericho on AEW Dynamite. But the bigger story of the month was Gage's shock loss of the GCW Title to the most unlikely of opponents. Matt Cardona (GCW Champion) - The former Zack Ryder, dumped unceremoniously by WWE for "budget reasons" despite record profits, played off his reputation as a generic WWE wrestler and kind of goofy toy-loving "bro" to drive the GCW Audience insane for daring to step into the ring with their hero. When - thanks to ENORMOUS inteference - Cardona defeated Nick Gage, the crowd pelted the ring with whatever they could throw (much to Dave Meltzer's irritation) while a bloody, defiant Cardona escaped with the belt to cheerfully mock them from the safety of the Internet. Drew Parker (BJW Death Match Heavyweight Champion - Wales finally has a world champion and he went through Hell to earn it in an insane match with the former champion Takumi Tsukamoto at Korakuen Hall before immediately jumping on a plane to the United States to defend his newly won championship in a title vs title match against the GCW Ultraviolent Champion Alex Colon. With two deathmatch championships and a win over the newly crowned King of FREEDOMS, Violento Jack, under his belt, it might be safe to say this young Welshman is the top deathmatch wrestler in the world right now. Thanks to GEORGE W BUSHI. None of the Above - If you're overwhelmed by all these options and it is too difficult to make a choice, or you don't care for the options available, or you just want to see the results, or you want to pretend that it is an injustice that Trevor Handles the Utah Southern District Openweight Co-Champion (retired) isn't on the poll, then vote None of the Above!
Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 03:51 on Aug 1, 2021 |
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Aug 1, 2021 02:41
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 22:57 |
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Miyu did not defend her title, vote Minoru Fujita.
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Aug 1, 2021 02:42
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Shingo did defend his title, and against the Ace of the Universe to boot! Vote Shingo.
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Aug 1, 2021 02:43
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also pour one out for the uncrowned sword man, Shinno Hagane.
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Aug 1, 2021 02:45
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karmicknight posted:Miyu did not defend her title, vote Minoru Fujita. karmicknight posted:also pour one out for the uncrowned sword man, Shinno Hagane.
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Aug 1, 2021 02:46
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karmicknight posted:also pour one out for the uncrowned sword man, Shinno Hagane. The sword man is whoever wins the Zero1 Fire Festival tomorrow/today, because the winner gets a big loving sword instead of a trophy. There's too many good choices. I could vote Shun, Ryo, Drew or Naomichi, and need to watch matches from Shingo & Jake before I can vote.
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Aug 1, 2021 02:53
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shingo already had his turn, it's fujita's time now
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Aug 1, 2021 03:00
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Woo Woo Woo
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Aug 1, 2021 03:07
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You know it
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Aug 1, 2021 03:10
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THE FACE OF THE GCW UNIVERSE
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Aug 1, 2021 03:11
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if you don't vote for Zack Ryder, you suck
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Aug 1, 2021 03:27
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BrigadierSensible posted:Woo Woo Woo Benne posted:You know it
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Aug 1, 2021 04:30
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Voted for Shingo, but it was really a vote for the uncrowned king Hiroshi Tanahashi
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Aug 1, 2021 04:39
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BrigadierSensible posted:Woo Woo Woo Benne posted:You know it
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Aug 1, 2021 07:22
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Turns out that Shingo Takagi is cool and good and the best champ.
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Aug 1, 2021 07:31
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Really touch choice this month, for really good reasons. Marafuji came drat close as he's been on an absolute burn lately, but Shingo has it. That match with Tana was just something else.
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Aug 1, 2021 12:43
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Collecting action figures all fuckin' day baby Anyone who votes for Nikki A.S.H is banned
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Aug 1, 2021 13:11
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It’s a shame the weird scheduling split his two defenses into two months, but Shun Skywalker was out of this world phenomenal this weekend.
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Aug 1, 2021 18:19
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Write-in for Deonna Purrazzo. 
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Aug 1, 2021 19:13
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I started by locking in Miyu, then I scanned down... And then I saw Cardona and I switched my vote. And then I saw Drew Parker, and I switched my vote again. I can only claim to have seen the two GCW matches, but 
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Aug 1, 2021 22:10
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Pinwiz11 posted:I started by locking in Miyu, then I scanned down... What's annoying is the match where Drew wins the belt doesn't air until this Thursday, the 5th. But In the meantime, it's worth seeing the match he won to win the Deathmatch Survivor tournament because he's a masochist & it's good.
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Aug 1, 2021 22:48
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In terms of relevance and importance as the Ace of their respective divisions/companies and the quality of their matches and promos, Kenny and Shingo are well ahead of the rest of the pack with Roman in a distant third out of the wrestlers I've seen. (Which reminds me I need to get back into STARDOM, I totally forgot the 5-Star was here and Utami seems like she's crushing it as Champ). Miyu deserves a nod but I don't think a champ who goes out in the quarterfinals ought to get the nod as Champ Of The Month when she's up against what Kenny and Shingo were doing this month, and as amazing as Fujita's title defense was (and a great way to spend my first full episode of Gatoh Move) its just not enough to earn my vote. But then there's Matt Cardona and NICK. loving. GAGE. This is the story that has the wrestling world buzzing. Kenny's work building the Hangman match, the Elimination Tag, his title defense on Impact, they were all great content that reaffirmed Kenny's status as the most important character in wrestling right now. Shingo defeating the Ace Of The Universe in the drat Tokyo Dome after finally winning the big one and permanently cementing his Main Eventer status? That's incredibly important in the grand scheme of New Japan and by extension wrestling at large. But none of those things were true game-changers. The Gage-Cardona feud, and the simultaneous nobody-saw-it-coming crossover to AEW, took an indy fed that nobody was paying much attention to and made it the center of the Wrestling Multiverse basically overnight. That's a game changer, and when a Champ does a Game Changer, they're Champ Of The Month. My vote is going to MDK over Cardona, reserve the right to switch my vote if its going to make a difference in the poll outcome. Not to disparage Matt and everything he's done to find himself on the indy circuit, how brilliant his work in this feud was, or how well he's already carrying himself as the Heel Champion, but in my eyes Gage needs to get the credit for this moment being what it is. All those years of building himself into a living legend of Indy Wrestling and Death Matches culminated in both this title change, and when you throw in the instant classic he put on with Jericho main-eventing an AEW Dynamite, the nod HAS to go his way.
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Aug 1, 2021 22:50
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I'm drinking long island iced C's this month
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Aug 2, 2021 01:06
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Fun fact you can swap the names of the NOAH listing and the WWE listing and they still match, make coherent sense grammatically, and still sound horrible in both companies.
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Aug 2, 2021 01:38
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BrigadierSensible posted:Woo Woo Woo Benne posted:You know it
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Aug 2, 2021 01:40
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the zack ryder picture better be him all bloody
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Aug 2, 2021 04:14
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I would have voted for Cardona but I snuck Drew on to the oll just so I could vote for a Welshman so I'm doing that
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Aug 2, 2021 04:28
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A day into the voting and Matt Cardona has a good, but not insurmountable, lead. Could he shock PSP for the second time in two weeks by winning the monthly poll!?! Only time and votes will tell!
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Aug 2, 2021 04:48
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Voting for Shingo
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Aug 2, 2021 05:12
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mods i would like to change my vote for nikki a.s.h., almost a super hero, to matt cardona as giving her a vote and taking it away is in spirit with her character
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Aug 2, 2021 05:56
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KungFu Grip posted:mods i would like to change my vote for nikki a.s.h., almost a super hero, to matt cardona as giving her a vote and taking it away is in spirit with her character the pact is sealed.
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Aug 2, 2021 06:14
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We're at the halfway point and Cardona holds an 11 point lead over Shingo. It's far from over, unless you (yes, YOU!) refuse to vote. For whoever you want, it's a free* country! * Offer not valid in some locations.
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Aug 3, 2021 02:02
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i voted for shingo, please change my vote to zack ryder
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Aug 3, 2021 02:19
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i hope veny has a good title reign at some point because veny owns
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Aug 3, 2021 02:20
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3 days down, 1 to go, and there's STILL 11 votes in it. Vote!
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Aug 4, 2021 07:42
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Shun Skywalker's title defense against Kzy is my current MOTY, so yeah I'm voting for him. Dude's just 25.
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Aug 4, 2021 16:06
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Tato posted:Anyone who votes for Nikki A.S.H is banned
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Aug 4, 2021 16:43
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July was a month of 1sts. First 1st was that for the first time, GCW was represented as an option on the poll. Second 1st was that for the first time, GCW won the poll and had its champion crowned the winner for the month! 3rd 1st was that for the first time in his career, Matt Cardona was a viable option on the poll. 4th 1st was that Matt Cardona won! Sure, Drew Parker might have also had his first appearance on the poll too, but it was the most unexpected of wrestlers who became one of the 1st deathmatch wrestling champions to win Champ of the Month here in Punchsport Pagoda... and that deathmatch wrestler is... the Former Zack Ryder!?! Obliterating all the competition EXCEPT for Shingo Takagi - who successfully defended his title in an incredible MOTYC contender against Ace of the Universe Hiroshi Tanahashi - Cardona managed to beat fan favorite Nick Gage for the second time in a month, first taking his GCW title and then blasting far past Gage's own vote totals to pick up the win. Will these good times last for Cardona, who also managed to get featured in a Pabst Blue Ribbon commercial during AEW Dynamite at the start of August to play off some minor controversy regarding Dominos Pizza as well as exploiting Nick Gage (again!) by taking advantage of a promo Gage cut on the beermaker? Perhaps, perhaps not, but for now and forever more July 2021 will be remembered as the month that Matt Cardona was a big winner. Previous winners, click the picture for poll results (where available) for that month.                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 10:27 on Aug 5, 2021 |
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Aug 5, 2021 08:00
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It’s been a wild year for champions of the month and I’m lovin it baby
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Aug 5, 2021 08:11
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 22:57 |
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Yeah, and counting Impact since Kenny is their champion too, that's 5 different promotions represented this year already. Technically 6 if you count AAA, even though Kenny hasn't defended the belt once all year. The previous 2 years topped out at 5 promotions each, so I wonder if this year will break that mark?
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Aug 5, 2021 10:35
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