The Thread Killer

I loved the part in Episode 18 (I think) when Bahu and Steven were discussing Hayabusa's time in All Japan. Steven asked Bahu how Hayabusa got along with the wrestlers in AJPW, if there was any tension in the locker room because of competition between FMW and AJPW, or because FMW was seen as "garbage wrestling." Bahu said no...Hayabusa and Misawa were actually drinking buddies, and Hayabusa got along with everybody except for Kawada, which was fine...because nobody got along with Kawada.

My pleasure, brother. I was hooked on that podcast for a good long while, I was listening to episodes in order, and then watching the matches on YouTube. I kind of stalled out around episode 19, which covers the first six months of 1998. I'll probably pick it up again soon, but I took a break. I was burning out on FMW after doing nothing but listening to that podcast and watching the matches non-stop. But I want to start up again, and eventually catch up. They're on episode 28, so I'm not too far behind.

Hayabusa got the idea for the mask in Mexico, but the colorful harem pants and waist sash are definitely a rip-off of Sabu. Sabu and Hayabusa were apparently friends and interacted in FMW when Hayabusa was a rookie before he went to Mexico and changed his look, but as I said - Sabu was reportedly less than pleased when he saw Hayabusa's new look upon his return, which borrowed heavily from Sabu...without asking, I assume. You know how touchy most wrestlers get regarding so-called "gimmick infringement." The History of FMW podcast is really good, but if you're going to get into it, I highly recommend that you watch the YouTube version. They have video and photos to go along with the narrative which is very helpful. It's pretty much a fact that nobody knows more about FMW than Bahu, so you can't go wrong there. His co-host is a guy named Steven Ayy who is an American expatriate who lives in China now. He is a huge deathmatch fan who runs his own website and seems to have an impressive knowledge of the deathmatch scene in Japan from FMW up to now. The format of the podcast is that he interviews Bahu about the history of FMW and they cover it in 6 month increments, episode by episode. Steven has a pretty serious speech impediment (he stutters) which tends to draw the episodes out a fair bit. (I am not criticizing the guy for stuttering, I actually admire him for doing a podcast with a speech impediment.) The problem is that Steven comes across as pretty damn disorganized and he always sounds like it's his first episode and he's nervous as hell - there is a lot of "ummming and ahhhing" there are long gaps in the narrative, you can hear him rustling papers, and he loses his train of thought regularly - it's pretty much the podcast equivalent of college radio. Plus, his answer to everything Bahu says is "cool" and that gets old pretty quickly. I can't imagine sitting through that podcast without the visual aids provided by the YouTube version. They clearly put a ton of work into that aspect of it anyhow, so to listen to just the audio version would be to get half the story.

Yeah, Hayabusa and Sabu both had killer gear. Sabu had a ton of it too, he seemed to have owned an outfit in every possible color. In his History of FMW Podcast, Bahu claims that Sabu was really pissed the first time he saw Hayabusa in his new gear when he came back from Mexico, because he considered it a rip-off of his gimmick, but eventually he got over it. I know they were pretty good friends still after that, but it's true Hayabusa kind of aped Sabu's look.

i don't know why, but it has always really bugged me when guys wrestled in street clothes - especially if they mixed it with wrestling gear. Like IRS was supposed to be an accountant who was so into his job he didn't even bother changing into wrestling gear - aside from the giant elbow brace he wore and his wrestling boots. Or like that goofy gear Low Ki was wearing last time I saw him in TNA, with the Hitman suit. Just a weird pet peeve of mine which I can't even explain. The only exception I ever had to that rule was guys in ECW like The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer who would have just looked weird wearing spandex singlets.

From what I understand, the main reason Anthem bought into TNA/Impact originally was to provide original content for The Fight Network. I had heard that it wasn't so much that they wanted to own a Pro Wrestling Company as it was they wanted something cheap to fill large gaps in their programming schedule. I tend to believe that theory, because I have The Fight Network, and it is packed with old TNA "classic" content and current Impact content. (Counterbalanced with old UFC stuff, which I hear they are losing soon.) There was a point in the past when TFN had a wide variety of Pro Wrestling content from all over, but now it seems to be a mix of TNA/Impact, old UFC and infomercials. If Anthem did sell Impact, they'd either have to make Impact continuing to air on TFN part of the deal, or they'd have one hell of a big hole on in the their programming schedule...especially if it's true they're losing the UFC stuff too as part of UFC moving from FOX to ESPN.

I'm not sure how my fragile ego factors into this, one way or the other. I don't know who "Casey" is, nor do I care. I don't subscribe to the Observer, Torch or PWInsider. I just think it's sad how you're trying to convince everybody in this thread how important you are and much you know. I get the impression that it is important to you that people acknowledge that. Do yourself a favor. Take two steps back and objectively look at this statement you made: "Endless wrestlers follow me on Twitter...I am well connected with this generation of Wrestling talent and promoters. Casey Michael and I broke more signing stories in Pro Wrestling over the last 4 years than anyone." Even if your statement is true, if you're being honest you have to admit that the fact that you felt the need to make it, comes across as a cry for help. If you can't see that? Well then, by all means...enjoy your important status. You earned it. You're a very important person on Twitter, who knows all sorts of very important things, and all sorts of very important people and I am duly impressed.

Oh man, Mean Gene and Super Dave in the same day. Two entertainment icons from my teenage years gone at the same time. What a horrible day.

I get the impression that they are not going to do a TNA episode for a couple reasons. Bischoff has said in the past that there is still ongoing litigation between himself and Dixie Carter regarding his time in TNA...I believe if I am not mistaken that he left TNA being owed a fairly sizable amount of money. I am pretty sure he is suing Dixie Carter and Panda Energy for that money, so he can't comment about TNA too much while the lawsuit is going on. Secondly, I distinctly remember him saying that he doesn't have anything positive at all to say about the business side of TNA or his time there, but he really liked the talent and many of the people who worked there behind the scenes, so he doesn't want to speak ill of the company while they are still functioning. It's one thing for him to dish dirt on WCW since that company is dead and buried, but I know he has said he doesn't want anything he says about TNA to reflect negatively on the guys who still work there.

83 Weeks continues their strong run of shows discussing the Starrcade PPV's which took place during Eric Bischoff's tenure in WCW. They have already covered 96, 97 and 98 over the past few weeks. This week they went back and covered Starrcade 1994. I thought it was a really strong episode, and Eric really went into great detail (or "going into the weeds" as he calls it) regarding a number of issues. They discuss Eric's duties as "WCW Executive Producer" and how at around this time there was a lot of political maneuvering behind the scenes between Bischoff and the then President of WCW, Bob Dhue. They really go in depth about who Gary Juster is, how Eric buried him in his book, and why Bischoff cancelled all WCW House Shows to save money at the apparent objection of Juster. Conrad gets a tad snarky about Eric burying Juster since he has met him and likes him, and Conrad tries to call Eric out about it, a bit. Interestingly, Eric fires back with a claim that he knows Juster was leaking info to Meltzer. They talk about WCW attempting to grow their business internationally while their domestic house show business is dead. He gets quite animated and talks at great length about The Honkytonk Man and his release, rebutting Honky's version of his WCW tenure and claims that he quit. They review the Starrcade 94 PPV in depth, including a frank discussion of Hulk Hogan's friends getting WCW jobs - particularly focusing on Jim Duggan, John Tenta and especially Ed "Brutus-The-Barber-Brother-Bruti-Butcher-Man-With-No-Name-Zodiac-Booty-Man-Disciple" Leslie. They have an interesting discussion about the Alex Wright/Jean-Paul Levesque match, with Eric giving some interesting feedback regarding who looked like a bigger star in that match, and who was responsible for their push. A highlight is the discussion of the Mr. T. vs. Kevin Sullivan match. I particularly enjoyed the exchange when Conrad says he wanted to punch Bischoff in the dick after watching that match, and Eric shoots back and says he should punch his Father-in-Law in the dick - he was on the booking committee at the time, and besides - Flair's dick is a much bigger target. Eric ends up acquiescing and agreeing to be pushed down a small flight of stairs, due to how bad this match was. Two of the most interesting things about this episode to me were the fact that Bischoff (in his own words) "puts over" Dave Meltzer a fair bit, until he loses it at the end regarding what he claims are inaccuracies regarding Meltzer's reporting of WCW's financial loses in 1994. Also, I know I have discussed this at length at PWO but I think this bears repeating - I was really struck at how much more self-effacing Bischoff is when compared to Prichard. Maybe it's a "gimmick" but even Conrad grudgingly admits that he expected Bischoff to defend the Main Event much more than he did. Conrad was obviously expecting a real argument like the one they had over Starrcade 96 and 97 Main Events. Instead, you get a shockingly contrite Eric Bischoff who claims this is one of if not the worst shows WCW ever did under his reign. He also really gets into the details of Hulk Hogan's level of influence over the booking of his matches and selection of his opponents. He makes some interesting points - namely that while Hogan undoubtedly did use his influence to get his friends booked in Main Events, in Hogan's "defense" he legitimately thought the matches would draw. Eric makes the point that if Hogan thought working with his friends was going to hurt the bottom line - especially if it would affect his ability to draw money long term, he wouldn't do it. To me the highlight was the discussion of booking at this time (done by a committee of Ric Flair who replaced Dusty Rhodes, Terry Taylor and Kevin Sullivan) but more specifically I found it really interesting when he went into great detail regarding a series of targeted focus groups they ran which helped him determine what the fans wanted to see. There were a couple of negatives about this episode. Eric mercilessly flogged the 83 Weeks Patreon deal to the point of absurdity, and he also kept going back to a labored analogy comparing himself to a puppy and Conrad to an Alligator which was really quite goofy and just didn't work. When they are discussing shows which Bischoff knows are pretty much indefensible, he tends to try to paint himself as a victim of Conrad's criticism which isn't a great look for him. However, all in all this show encapsulated perfectly what I have been on about recently - how good 83 Weeks is, and how it is so much better than Something to Wrestle. Anybody else hear it, and if so what did you think?

I agree with you. I'm glad I'm not the only person who thinks that. I've said that here and elsewhere, and had people argue with me about it, but I swear it's true. I've said Bischoff is now doing Prichard's show better than Prichard does, and boy does that upset the Prichard fanboys, but I stand behind my statement. I think it boils down to three reasons. Firstly, Eric seems way more enthusiastic about his show than Bruce does about STW. It feels like Bischoff cares more about the quality of the show, whereas Bruce just wants to keep cranking out the same old crap. Eric overanalyzes his answers and goes on and on about even the smallest issues, whereas Bruce usually resorts to either a "Fuck Meltzer" or a tired Vince impersonation. I just get the impression Eric is having way more fun doing the show, and frequently get the feeling Prichard doesn't even want to be there doing his show some weeks. Secondly, as big of an egotist as Eric can be, he will freely admit when he was wrong about something. I listened to the episode about Halloween Havoc 98 just last night, and at one point Eric basically says that the show sucked, and he can't defend it. I get the feeling if it was Bruce, he'd spend his time deflecting, ripping Meltzer's review as a distraction, and then resort to his tired old "the match might not have been great...but we were telling a story" line. I laughed my ass off when Conrad asked Eric if Hogan/Warrior 98 was the worst match in WCW history, and Eric said it might be...but he wasn't going to commit to that because they produced a lot of bad matches and there might be something worse out there. Bruce will admit at times that something sucked, but very rarely will he cop to his responsibility for it...and I very very rarely ever hear that level of honesty out of him. Finally, I think it comes down to the relationship each guy has with Conrad Thompson. I think it's pretty clear that Conrad and Bruce are good friends, and because of that Conrad won't call Bruce on a lot of his bullshit. He'll do it sometimes - he especially loves to needle Bruce about defending Triple H - but he doesn't go after Bruce anywhere near as much as he does Eric. Sometimes it feels like STW is a show where Bruce and Conrad review the shows to talk about how great they were, but the purpose of 83 Weeks is to rip WCW apart. Of course, you can make the argument that the WWF put out a better product than WCW so it's harder for Conrad to find things to criticize Bruce for, but I don't think that's the case. Let's remember, they spend most of their time discussing the Attitude Era (especially lately) and that is some prime Russo content, which Prichard was present for. Bischoff wasn't around for the majority of Russo's tenure in WCW, but Conrad doesn't hesitate to rake him over the coals for a ton of it. The two recent 83 Weeks shows about Starrcade 97 and 98 are a perfect example. That shit got plenty heated - especially when they talked about the Main Event of 97. I'm not saying I bought Eric's explanation/excuses, but I am saying that (regardless of whether you think the arguments were "worked") you never hear Conrad go after Bruce anywhere near as viciously as that. He used to, but not anymore. The only times I remember Conrad getting that pissy with Bruce is when Bruce tries to downplay the impact of ECW. Lets be honest, Bruce Prichard was out of the business and pretty much an afterthought when Conrad Thompson pulled him from obscurity and helped make him "relevant" again to the world of Pro Wrestling. (And I cringe at using that term.) Bischoff (while failing at his own attempt to have a podcast) seemed happy to be divorced from the business and has a lot of his own independent ventures which keep him busy. I don't think Eric needs Conrad as much as Bruce does, and maybe that's why the relationship and dynamic seems so different between them. Whatever the relationship and personal dynamics differences are, the end result has become 83 Weeks being a way better show. And I for one was not expecting that at all. I went into it with an open mind, but a year ago I never would have guessed that Eric Bischoff would be able to work this whole podcast gimmick better than Bruce Prichard. Oh well. At least Bruce is still much better than Tony Schiavone.

I enjoyed the Dynamite Kid episode from last week with Dave Meltzer.

83 Weeks and Cornette's Drive-Thru are pretty much the only podcasts I still listen to regularly, (although I am still working my way through The History of FMW.) Don't know if anybody around here caught the episode of 83 Weeks from a couple of weeks ago where they covered Eric's time in the AWA? I thought it was pretty good, and kind of interesting. Apparently, much to their surprise, that episode has turned out to be one of the most popular topics they've done so far. It seems to have caught them a bit off guard, since they didn't think many people cared about the AWA, and they assumed that most of the listeners would want to exclusively hear about WCW and the run of shows where WCW beat the WWF in the ratings. Then this past week, they covered Starrcade 96. It was a good show, but nothing too noteworthy - except they ended up touching on something which encapsulates why I have come to prefer this show and pretty much stopped listening to Something to Wrestle. Conrad starts by warning Eric he's going to be quoting Meltzer about the state of WCW's attendance, ratings and revenue in 1996 and basically says he knows Eric is going to complain about it. Eric argues with Conrad, and says he thinks Dave Meltzer does a good job of reporting on and covering the business aspects of WCW, and he trusts that information - he just doesn't like it when Meltzer reports stories when he is getting worked by his sources, or he editorializes. So Bischoff doesn't end up disagreeing with any of the stuff Conrad reads off from the Observer about WCW's business. Later, Conrad reads an item from the Observer about WCW being in talks with Tatanka (?!) about coming in. This time, Eric loses it and yells: "You see? NEVER HAPPENED." He claims that he had never even met or spoken with Tatanka until just recently, when they met at some convention. Whether it's true or not, Eric claims that the Tatanka story is total bullshit. Later still, while they are reviewing the actual PPV, Conrad reads Meltzer's review of the show - specifically his criticism of Roddy Piper's pre-match promo. Once again, Eric gets a bit touchy and claims that of course Piper's promo was rambling and nonsensical - because he's Roddy Piper. He even discusses how his and Dave Metlzer's opinions of what make a "good match" are different from his, since Meltzer focuses on the match quality and the moves, whereas as the promoter Bischoff was focusing on the "story" and business end. I don't always agree with Eric Bischoff, but these types of discussions are the reasons I still listen to this show. Bruce Prichard just dismisses every single thing Meltzer ever says and every story he reports, automatically out of hand. There isn't any discussion about why, there isn't any justification, it's just "Fuck Meltzer" over and over again. He refuses to give Meltzer any credit for anything and his repeated Meltzer bashing (along with what appears to be his own growing disinterest in his own show) has made Something to Wrestle almost unbearable at this point. At least Bischoff, gives Meltzer credit for accuracy in covering the business as a reporter, he just disputes his sources and his editorializing. At times he can resort to falling back on "Fuck Meltzer" too, but most times (if pressed) he is a lot more even handed and fair about it, and at least explains and justifies his reasons for having issues with Meltzer and the Observer. I don't think the enthusiasm factor can be overlooked, either. Every time I have tried picking up STW again lately, it sounds like Prichard is bored and just going through the motions. A few weeks back, Conrad and Eric did a show focusing on Eric's first year with WWE. Eric got so into the discussion and the details of the negotiation and his debut on Raw, that they had to split the episode in two. You might argue that Eric Bischoff just likes the sound of his own voice and there certainly is some truth to that...but I always laugh when Conrad asks him a question and then Eric takes 15 minutes to answer, going into detail and meandering off into side-topics. At least he is still enthusiastic about the show and the topics they cover. This show has been going for 10 months now, and in my opinion it has gotten better with time, unlike Prichard's show which has run out of steam. Although next week they are covering Starrcade 97, and Eric is already warning people that he and Conrad really get into it. I am betting it will be over the infamous Nick Patrick slow/fast count.

I can't imagine getting too seriously angry with you. We've been posting on the same messageboards for a scary amount of time, you were back at Rantysylvania from the very start, weren't you? I at least remember you from WDI and that was what...15 years ago? Also, I just read my original response to you and the first thing I thought was...

I have to admit I'm probably just being bitchy because I've been dealing with same damn flu for over a week and it won't go away. I have a wicked cough and recurring fever and it seems to be making me crabby. Well...crabbier than normal. Stuff I usually shrug off or ignore seems to be getting under my skin for some reason. I chewed out a clerk at Staples earlier today, which is not at all like me. (The kid totally deserved it, but I usually don't bother arguing in those types of situations.) No offense to anybody here if I was being abrasive. Especially the French!

I can try that. How many words was your post?

You would have to do that in order to make an all women's show work and be taken seriously. We all saw what happened when they gave the Cruiserweights their own show on the Network. It got treated as an afterthought. I don't know enough about the ratings breakdowns, but I think the men's and women's segments do pretty much the same ratings now, don't they? I don't see any good argument against giving the women their own show, provided it doesn't get treated the way 205 Live did/does.

I am well aware of the fact that entertainment has always made political statements, I watched Star Trek and read Comic Books. Also, I'm not an idiot. But thanks for the history lesson, all the same. If you don't think the amount of political rhetoric from the entertainment industry and media in general has increased over the past few years, and if you don't think it's reasonable for somebody to want to have a place where they don't have to hear about politics all the damn time, then I don't know what to tell you. I agreed with the original poster "WrestlingFan." In my opinion, it would be nice to come to place called ProWrestlingOnly, and read the thread which is supposed to be discussing WWE TV for that week, without having to ALSO hear about what some dumbass politician in a country I don't live in thinks about climate change. I like KawadaSmile, but I don't really care about the political situation in Brazil. Hell, I don't care about the political situation in America either, for that matter. I'm Canadian, we have our own problems, which I also don't care all that much about. But maybe for fun, next week I'll start the WWE thread, and title it: "WWE TV 12/3 - 12/10: JUSTIN TRUDEAU IS STILL NEGOTIATING REVISED TRADE AGREEMENT WITH TRUMP."

I'm starting to think there is nowhere you can go anymore to escape hearing about politics and people's opinions thereon. Can't go on Social Media, can't turn on the Television or watch a movie, and now you can't even go to PWO. Entertainment used to be escapism, but not so much anymore.

Did anybody else listen to Jericho's interview with Ricky Steamboat from last week's show? It was recorded on that cruise that Jericho hosted a few weeks ago. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Nothing groundbreaking, but I had no idea Steamboat wasn't a fan of Dusty - or of how Dusty was booking him in JCP, at least - and that's why he left and went to the WWF. It was fun hearing Jericho gush about Steamboat and I always think it's nice when guys as big as Jericho don't mind admitting what big fans they were and who influenced them. I am curious to see if the live interview he did with Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler on the cruise will end up being broadcast on his show at a later date as well.

Yeah, I agree with you. During the Regal episode when they previewed the SS98 show, Conrad was talking about what a great show it was and was praising the "storytelling." I almost fell off my couch. I can actually remember ordering Survivor Series 98, watching it and thinking the show was shit - especially the stupid "swerve" ending. When a show is so bad you can remember how much you hated it 20 years later, you know it sucked. This episode of STW is doubtless going to end up as the ultimate example of Prichard's tired old "We were telling a story!" line. I can live a long happy life without ever hearing that line again as an excuse for crappy matches. You and others who have mentioned this are right - STW seems to be permanently stuck in 1998 and are mining that year for every last pebble. It seems to me like they are running out of content.

That was also the night Vince told Bret he could no longer afford his contract and telling him he was free to negotiate with WCW, setting the wheels in motion for the Montreal Screwjob and the birth of the Mr. McMahon character. Didn't happen on screen I know, but it was that night, backstage at MSG.

I hope this thread gets a lot of input - especially from other PWO members whose opinions I respect - so I can cherry-pick what to check out from 2018. Otherwise I may end up missing out on seeing the good stuff that actually happened during the past calendar year, because I don't have the time, patience or resources to wade through a ton of crap just to find the decent stuff. The aforementioned NXT matches stood out to me, as long as you mute the sound so you don't have to listen to Mauro Ranallo. But sadly, I can't make any recommendations of my own. I saw one or two of the "big" WWE shows in 2018, and most of the NXT shows. I watched a bit of Impact. Aside from that, 99.9% of my wrestling viewing over the past year has been matches from the 90's, in either All Japan or FMW. Having said that, I can't imagine much beating that Almas/Gargano match.

Yes, that is what he says he was yelling. "Youth." As I recall, he claimed at the time he started doing it, he was young and was doing it as a way of making a rebellious statement. Here is an excerpt from a review of the Stan Hansen episode of "Back to the Territories" with Jim Cornette. The review was done for 411 by PWO's own Mike Campbell.