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Beast

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  1. On the Survivor Series 1996 podcast, Mick and Conrad have an atrocious sidebar about the Tyrus/NWA win that's gotten a negative reaction. It had nothing to do with the topic at hand and was a frustrating listen. Conrad kept harping on how he's non-political, and doesn't care about the politics of the fictional characters in shows he watches (using Tony Soprano as an example, although I'm not sure how that in any way compares to a Fox News talking head being the centerpiece/champion of a wrestling promotion). Foley basically agrees and keeps trumpeting how great and smart of a guy Tyrus is, and that being "right of center" doesn't automatically make him a bad person. Conrad also said he didn't understand how so many people could have a negative reaction when they clearly don't watch NWA (and said he's guilty of not being a frequent viewer himself). And encouraged fans to give it a shot before crapping on the use of Tyrus. Came off as totally tone deaf and unnecessary. I'm sure there's an interesting discussion to be had about the topic, but "Keep political opinions out of wrestling" doesn't work when the wrestler at hand shouts his opinions on a national TV channel that half the country finds abhorrent. Neither brought up Tyrus' sexual harassment allegation either...
  2. I'll be that guy; I respect the work here, but the match didn't do much for me. The submission work was rough and realistic, with both Anderson and Regal really laying into each other and selling the struggle of getting their bodies worked on. The crowd was with it all the way, which is what impressed me most. Had 1994 WCW been an actual logical professional company, they would have brought this back for a big rematch or at least done something for Arn off of it, but I don't think he really has another program until the Dustin/Stud Stable stuff months from this. As an overall match, I had a hard time staying invested. TV title time limit shenanigans are maybe my least favorite story for a match and the extended time only came in to play with Dundee and Regal commenting on it from time to time. Otherwise this was hold after hold with some well-placed strikes, which without variety and an additional storytelling component just ends up being a shaggy dog story like most of Regal's TV title defenses. I was looking for Anderson to show off his experience from having been in Regal's place years earlier, plus some fire as he tries to take Regal past his limit and get that title back. The working on the arm instead of Regal's taped up thigh deal is ludicrous. Yes it led to a big reaction when Arn finally went after it, but in what world would Arn Anderson waste 20 minutes before attacking an "open wound", especially when time is of the essence? I kept waiting for him to show some fire and focus on beating Regal at his own game, but he wasted almost a half hour playing into Regal's kind of match and then at the end didn't change anything up past finally doing a spine buster before getting distracted by Dundee even with seconds left. These are two of my favorite wrestlers and I enjoy the qualities they add their matches, but this went too long for me. I was hoping to see what everyone else here has, but I've seen both guys bring a much more nuanced approach to matches I enjoy more. I was fine sitting through it for so long because I expected it to make have a Japanese title match style final section where they're throwing bombs at each other, but had I had the sound off (and missed Tony and Bobby's fun interplay), I wouldn't have know they were so close to a time limit draw based on their physical expressions. Just not for me unfortunately.
  3. I listened to the Mankind and Ear episodes this weekend and was very impressed with Mick as a storyteller/interviewee. He's a very easy and likable presence and his career is so varied that I'm looking forward to seeing what types of stuff they'll cover. Even if they stay in the Attitude Era or ECW for awhile, Mick's experiences with so many wrestlers should make for interesting episodes. Although it's weird that his Vince impression sounds much more like HHH. First Conrad show to be in my weekly listens for at least a couple years.
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  7. Read through a bunch of Tom Taylor comics this month and INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US is so damn good. It's a tour through the DC Universe as a prequel to the video game of the same name (which I've never played). I guess it was initially released digitally and is collected into two huge omnibuses. Joker changes Superman's life irrevocably and he decides to end war, which slowly devolves into him becoming a benevolent dictator. Batman opposes, and all heroes and villains either choose sides or get caught in the crossfire. Each year is represented by 12 issues, and year two introduces the Green Lantern Corps into the fray, while year three focuses on John Constantine and DC's magic characters. I haven't read years four or five yet as Taylor steps down as the main author, but I will soon. He returns for INJUSTICE 2 anyways, so I'm curious enough to keep going and it's likely I'll eventually pick up a copy of the video game. I read a review that said this series (though not in the main DC continuity) featured all-time character moments for figures like Dr. Fate, Green Arrow and Harley Quinn, and that's absolutely true. Although it's the modern equivalent of an "Elseworlds" series, it rarely feels like fan fiction and the stakes feel truly real. Things are allowed to happen that would never fly in the main comics and it can be a brutally emotional read (although still full of humor and levity at times). I also read DCEASED and it's followups which are stellar alternate reality stories in themselves (DC version of MARVEL ZOMBIES). Taylor's NIGHTWING deserves all the praise it's gotten, but it's clear his bread and butter are these continuity free deep dives. I haven't read MARVEL DARK AGES or DARK KNIGHTS OF STEEL, but I look forward to checking them out.
  8. I can't think of too many other times that a match lost a crowd and the crowd was blamed instead of the wrestlers on here. As garretta said above, there may have been ways for these 5 to win the crowd over, but they stuck with whatever they had planned and it fell flat. Maybe if I watched this with the sound off I'd have enjoyed it more, but this IS uncomfortably awkward as is. I felt bad for all involved as they were clearly busting their asses, but again, why is it the crowd's fault for not caring? Now, this match shouldn't have been presented on PPV without a solid buildup and especially not in the middle of a card that was already suffering from lack of depth (meaning each match was 5-10 minutes too long throughout the night), but it didn't seem like there was even one moment that Morton, Gibson, Prichard, Del Ray and Cornette turned off the autopilot to reconsider what was happening and pivot towards a more successful match. To my ears it seemed like Del Ray's "gigolo" gyrating got a reaction, but it was brief and then back to spot, spot, spot; exactly what Cornette complains about today. ** feels more right than *** or **** and that's for the moves themselves more than anything else. I just don't understand why this match gets a pass when it's almost 15 minutes of talented guys failing to do what they needed to to win over a new crowd.
  9. Watching the first Superstars/Challenge in late '86, they are pushing Graham's return (with promos talking about eating tarantulas and such). Of course he got injured immediately, was gone for a year, came back briefly and then transitioned to commentary, but how crazy would it have been if he had a solid run in that period? He's challenging Savage in the latest clip I saw, so imagine him facing Savage, Race, Roberts, Kamala, Hercules, etc... at MSG/Boston/Spectrum in that phase of his career. Probably would have been like the never-ending Savage/Animal series of matches, only without Steele's built-in gimmick gaga to keep it entertaining enough.
  10. Really enjoyed this. My first Strickland match and he impressed. The commentary by Excalibur and Kevin Kelly sold the story of Strickland being done in by his need to try and beat Sabre at his own game, but Sabre patiently waiting for Strickland to make a mistake. It was a slower pace than the previous matches on the SuperShow, helping it stand out in a positive way for me. Biggest criticism I can give is that some of the holds, while looking effectively painful, required the opponent's cooperation in getting set up, but Sabre and Strickland were so great at telling their overall story that it didn't matter in the end.
  11. Absolutely fantastic. Similar story and ending as the preceding Philly match, but the body of the match is completely different. I love how they take the layout of the initial Championship Wrestling heel turn match and replace Bruno's hesitancy and care towards Larry with rage and competitiveness. It makes what could have been stretches of "rest holds" into something much more meaningful and entertaining. Plus both guys really play into the brutality and power of the stuff Bruno throws at Larry. Love, love, love how Larry is able to take control by brawling. Bruno seems so focused on cranking on the holds he refused to lay into for their first exhibition and Larry knows the only way he has a chance is to beat Bruno down with kicks and punches and cheap stuff. And the ending is magnificent. They end up outside where Larry slams Bruno's head into the mat (with an awesome sell job by Bruno) and then keeps beating on him as he comes back in. Eventually Bruno starts to "Bruno up" and Larry tries to recreate the circumstances of his control segment by running outside, letting Bruno follow and cheapshotting him again as he comes in. Repeat a few more times until Bruno finally catches Larry before he can leave the ring and starts his own beatdown. Unfortunately Larry gets his foot caught in the ropes and as Dick Kroll tries to separate them, he gets inadvertently shoved down leading to a DQ win for Larry. Perfect storytelling, especially to continue the feud for more MSG shows. Bruno gets a measure of revenge, but Larry sneaks away with the victory and the fans want to see him get his shoulders pinned so they'll keep coming out for this.
  12. Good stuff; lots of interesting pieces that kept me involved over the 25 minutes. The holds get more and more intricate and painful looking, and the high spots are placed well. This was one of the first tag matches I've seen where the tag outs genuinely feel strategic, in that the guy in control knows his partner is more rested so he may as well switch out. Every moment feels earned. Lots of big spots throughout, with the highlight being Dean dropkicking both Bulldogs over the top while Davey was about to press slam Dynamite onto Joe.
  13. Love this as a sequel to the first match almost a year earlier. Dynamite has had months to watch Sayama stay undefeated (I assume), and the rematch has real stakes with the vacant WWF Junior Heavyweight Title on the line. Dynamite comes out aggressive from the bell, Sayama matches him and it looks like it'll be a repeat of 4/23, only for Dynamite to switch gears and viciously attack the knee. So we get a slower more methodical match, but it makes total sense for Dynamite to try this game plan out. And it actually works, with Dynamite somewhat quickly hitting Sayama with an awesome looking cradle piledriver and far reaching flying headbutt, only to then stop the count himself at two to repeat. So Dynamite succeeds, but wants to really hammer home his superiority which ends up being his downfall as Sayama moves out of the way of Headbutt #2. Dynamite regains control with a Figure 4 but once Sayama reaches the ropes it's all over. Dynamite tries to put it on again but is repeatedly kicked off. Both men back to their feet, Sayama stops selling the knee as much, but lets call it adrenaline as he leaps over a charging Dynamite in the corner, grabs him in a rollup (with all of own weight on top of Dynamite's legs) and gets the victory. This truly feels like it's playing off at least the dynamic set up from the first match, with Dynamite trying new things and Sayama being prevented from hitting the same types of moves as the first time. I'm very intrigued to see how Dynamite reacts to his own hubris costing him both the rematch and a title.
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  15. My first exposure to this series, and I wasn't aware until after watching it that this was literally Sayama's debut as the Tiger Mask character in NJPW. Great, easy to follow story. Dynamite is wary of the fast paced kicks of Tiger Mask, and even when he's able to catch one, Tiger Mask still turns it into an enziguri. Dynamite tries to match Tiger Mask move for move, until switching game plans and going more aggressive. He clamps on some holds and eventually tries to tear off the titular mask. He lays in some clubbering blows, but Tiger Mask is always able to bounce back. Dug the nice selling of Mask's knee after getting out of a leg hold. A couple mistimed spots, but that's easy to forgive considering this must have been Sayama's first time under the mask, as well as against Dynamite. The ending sequence is spiffy, with Dynamite missing the headbutt, Mask throws him outside, Dynamite takes control and tries to bring Mask back in with a suplex which is reversed into one of the better German's I've ever seen. Mask gets the win, but Dynamite recovers and throws another kick. Mask responds in kind before the ref breaks it up and declares Mask the winner. Left me wanting more, especially to see if and how their feud evolves. A good taster of what was to come I imagine. Will especially be interested to see if Dynamite becomes more and more aggressive as he becomes more familiar with Tiger Mask.
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