Brotherly love.

Tomorrow I hop on a plane to attend my younger brother’s bachelor party weekend.  An entire weekend.  I hope this old man can keep up with my spry little brother and his crew of young bucks.  Anyway, I’m going to do my best to give him a proper send-off as a single man before he marries his lovely bride-to-be.  I’m so proud of him and all he’s achieved, and as we’ve grown up we…

Nah.  I’m not going to do that mushy stuff now.  I’m not going to embarrass him on the internet with flowery words of praise and brotherly love.  I’ll do that in-person on his wedding day with my best man speech.  Instead, I’ll show my little brother how much I love him by telling you all how much amazing freaking professional wrestling I’m willing to miss this weekend in order to celebrate his upcoming marriage.

Let’s start with the mainstream stuff.  NXT TakeOver Brooklyn 2.  If it’s anything like last year’s show in Brooklyn or all the other TakeOvers, this one is going to be off-the-chain.  The three title bouts are going to be the standout matches of the night.  No one is stealing the show from the marquis matches.  The Revival have surprisingly become one of my favorite tag teams, but Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa have chemistry and charisma and holy crap did you guys see their match against each other in the Cruiserweight Classic?!  Bailey vs. Asuka is going to be a solid, entertaining match, no question there.  I hope Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura will be as brutal as they’re building it up to be.

I’m not as excited for SummerSlam as I am for TakeOver, but I am on the edge of my seat for Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins.  Rollins is hands-down my favorite mainstream wrestler and I can’t think of a more appropriate and exciting opponent for him than Balor.  I was there when Balor lost the NXT championship to Samoa Joe, and even in defeat that man has the ability to ignite a crowd.  This match is going to be something special.

Meanwhile on the independent scene, my favorite wrestling promotion is having its first-ever live broadcast on their own subscription service!  I’ve spoken at length in the past about CHIKARA and how much I love their brand of professional wrestling.  Part comic book, part serial drama, part traditional pro-wrestling, CHIKARA has everything I love about the fantasy and the athleticism of this wonderful form of performance art.  Superheroes, spirit dragons, ants, fighting princesses, serpents, magic medallions, demon gods, and a Russian party czar (cuz he knows where the parties are).  “No One’s First and You’re Next!” on Chikaratopia.  Check it out if you like your pro-wrestling slightly absurd and completely entertaining.

So yeah.  This is what I’m willing to miss this weekend to celebrate family and love.  But that’s what you do for family.  You make sacrifices.