Pre-show notes:

- Comments, shares, likes, what-have-you are really appreciated. We want to keep building the community, and not just get comfortable talking about wrestling in this weird oasis we’ve built where Damian Sandow is the coolest guy in the room and CM Punk has a bunch of problems. Share this with your family, friends, people you’ve never met, and (as a last resort), those people you know from the forum. You know the one I’m talking about.

- Thanks as always to Casey/THESTINGER of Hammerlock Dialectic for GIFs, which make their triumphant return to this week’s column.

- Follow us on Twitter @withleather, follow me personally @MrBrandonStroud and like us on Facebook.

- There’s a thing about CM Punk punching a dude near the end of the column, but don’t get excited, I didn’t write much about it. If you’re here for the first time, welcome, and try to like wrestling when it isn’t mainstream-awful!

Regardless, please enjoy the Best And Worst Of WWE Raw for October 8, 2012.

Read the rest of this entry »

Pre-show notes:

- Follow us on Twitter @withleather, follow me personally @MrBrandonStroud and like us on Facebook.

- Comments, shares, likes and Facebook pokes or whatever are appreciated. Sharing the column with new eyes every week to ensure I never go a week without someone reading one line of one column in two years of columns telling me I’m a smark-mark who doesn’t know anything about wrestling is the most important thing in the world to me.

- Re: The Best And Worst Of King Of Trios, it might not be happening. I know, I know. I’ve done this thing since becoming a full-time blogger where I turn everything fun I do into work. I can’t watch wrestling without it being work, I can’t watch TV without it being work, I can’t travel, etc. Every time I sit down to write about Trios I remember how great it was, and how much fun I had, and how little I want someone on a forum somewhere linking it and calling me gay slurs because Mr. Touchdown isn’t 6-foot-5. I may end up keeping that for myself.

- If you’ve only bookmarked the Best And Worst tag, consider looking at the rest of the site from time to time, would you? Sure, the sports are real (why would anybody like REAL sports), but I’m still writing about them, and if you put up with my Kofi Kingston opinions here, maybe you can put up with my thoughts on Rampage Jackson or whoever somewhere else.

Anyway, please enjoy the Best And Worst Of WWE Raw for October 1, 2012.

Read the rest of this entry »

Pre-show notes:

- If you guys don’t mind clicking the like button on this post or sharing it on Twitter, I’d be greatly appreciative. Comments are also appreciated, especially if they have something to do with anything in the column, and not just what you think of John Cena’s pink shirt.

- Follow us on Twitter @withleather, follow me personally @MrBrandonStroud and like us on Facebook.

- Subway is a terrible restaurant.

- I wasn’t able to watch Night Of Champions, so the existence of that report is pending. Not a lot happened, honestly, that wasn’t indirectly recapped by this column. I might just call it and prep myself for a massive Hell In A Cell report. Or I might skip that too and just start reviewing Kaiju Big Battel DVDs. Regardless, tons of writing in here, so enjoy.

The Best And Worst Of WWE Raw for September 17, 2012, is after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Pre-show notes:

- Be a pal! If you read and enjoy the column, be sure to click the “like” button, share it with your friends on Twitter and drop me a comment below. I’m like [ ] this close to doing Best And Worst Of Impact reports, so if you want to see those, nudge me in the right direction.

- I was at this show live, so this week’s report will be a little different. More on that inside. All of the pictures contained inside (and that one of Ziggler’s LIVE ASS ROLL) were taken by me, so if you want to use them or share them somewhere else, go for it, just don’t be a dick about it. Toss me a link somewhere.

- We’re organizing our first With Leather/Best And Worst Of WWE Raw Column Appreciators Club live meet-up! If you’re going to be anywhere in the area of Easton, PA in September, consider stopping by CHIKARA’s King Of Trios to watch Meng wrestle Ebessan and hang out with me, Destiny, THESTINGER, prestigious wrestling blogger Tom Holzerman and the rest of the crew at a still technically unapproved UPROXX network event. RSVP on that page and be our friend. I’ll make you a sandwich.

- Casey made a few GIFs for the report but I dug the live DIY approach as I was writing it, so I didn’t use any. A big thanks goes out to him anyway, because he’s awesome and works too hard for the amount of credit I give him.

Please click through to enjoy

Read the rest of this entry »

Pre show notes:

- For those of you that may not know me, my name is Danny Boy Downes (not actual legal name). I’m a college graduate turned UFC fighter turned UFC writer turned back up blogger for pro wrestling. While it’s been a hell of an adventure, it does mean that my parents fail to acknowledge anything I’ve done since I won the 8th grade spelling bee.

For the record, I want everyone to know my commitment to deliver you fine people the Best and Worst of Money in the Bank. This weekend was my bachelor party trip down to Kansas City and despite a massive hangover, I still decided to get things done. Some of highlights include: explaining to someone that you’re not really supposed to call the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum the “Negro Museum.” and my drunken best man decided to yelling at 4:30am that, “Bob Backlund would chicken wing the shit out of Verne Gagne.”

- Be sure to leave a comment on the report and click the “like” button. Not only does it help the people at With Leather, but it will make up for the lack of love I get from my family

- Thanks to Casey for the pics and gifs.

- Follow me on Twitter @dannyboydownes, check out my articles on ufc.com and UFC Magazine and read some of my other reviews here.

On to the wrestling!

Read the rest of this entry »

Is that Hulk Hogan back there?

Pre-show notes:

- Before you read this week’s report, make sure to stop over and read The Best And Worst Of WWE No Mercy 2012. You guys are always bugging me to do pay-per-view reports, so get over there and comment/like/share and what have you. If you don’t read that, you won’t know what’s going on on Raw! Haha yes you will

- Thanks to Casey of Hammerlock Dialectic for maximum Gif-age.

- Follow us on Twitter @withleather, follow me personally @MrBrandonStroud and like us on Facebook.

- If you just tune in to With Leather for the wrestling reports, make sure not to miss With Spandex episode 6, where I talk to WWE Superstar Derrick Bateman. I’m trying to get the podcast over as a thing, so help me out.

Because I promised you two columns this week, enjoy the Best And Worst Of WWE Raw for June 18, 2012. A single tear.

Read the rest of this entry »