anarchistxx

The ROH vs CZW feud was pretty manufactured, there wasn't any particular animosity between the two companies. You did get a section of the fans who "turned heel" and started booing ROH style product and going crazy for the hardcore stuff, but again it was only for a few shows and it was more about the fans trying to get themselves over and be part of the feud rather than any real suggestion that Danielson wasn't a great worker.

This wasn't a serious thing - it was Danielson as heel playing up to a stereotype and playing with the crowd, and them loving it. The crowd were just playing their role as part of the gimmick and feeling like they were involved in the product. This sounds so counter-productive that I don't know what to think of this. It was just ROH back then. The heels never got any proper heat, aside from maybe Jimmy Rave. So they turned Danielson in a sort of 'wink, wink' sort of way, where he would play up to heel stereotypes and all the things ROH fans hated about the WWE product like 'rest holds' and berating the crowd, or his exaggerated "I have till five" stuff. So them chanting "Same old shit" to him was just a reference to that, and the desired reaction. All a bit embarrassing looking back, but still a touch above the "This is awesome" and "Please don't stop" chants.

I really hope this is a true story.

This wasn't a serious thing - it was Danielson as heel playing up to a stereotype and playing with the crowd, and them loving it. The crowd were just playing their role as part of the gimmick and feeling like they were involved in the product.

Fuck knows, just ended up chatting to him in there and was asking him about a lot of the US indie wrestlers I was into at the time. Probably coincided with one of Ki's many acrimonious exits from ROH, so wondered what went down.

I wasn't being confrontational really, just honestly amazed that someone had nominated him and wondered if someone would come and back it up. Things are subjective, but when someone is so far below the rest of the nominees incredulity is only to be expected. If someone nominates Kid Rock as one of the greatest artists of all time on a forum full of dedicated music fans, they are going to be met with astonishment and asked to back it up.

It's like nominating Nickleback for a 'Greatest Album Of All Time' list. People are going to be a bit incredulous.

FWIW Steve Corino really stuck up for Ki when I commented on his bad reputation in a dressing room once, and seemed pissed off at me for bringing it up.

The best Low Ki stuff is from 2004/2005 when he goes full on dickhead heel. Try and check out the 13/05/05 match with the Rottweilers vs Samoa Joe/Jay Lethal, it really is something special. One of the best FIP you will ever see from when Lethal was a brilliant sympathy face and then this incredible long post match brawl. The match with Lethal in 2004 from [i believe] Midnight Express Reunion is a classic as well, Ki torturing Lethal in front of his mother at ringside being a personal highlight. Haven't seen any of his stuff in years, liked a lot of the early indie hyped matches from 2000-2002 but seriously doubt any of it would hold up today. Someone needs to make a comp of that era.

The scary thing is it is completely feasible that the company plans to have Orton become a molten babyface and defeat Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania.

I did see a few of the pimped matches and promos from his TNA run and he still sucked. Everything about him from his look to his mic skills to his matches were average to poor. Probably easy to look decent when you are surrounded by the cesspit that is TNA, but he shouldn't even be in the conversation here. Who the fuck nominated him? Dylan?

It still might not appeal to the demographic. A lot of people who chant for Daniel Bryan are heavily into their wrestling - people who are heavily into wrestling stereotypically might not spend too much money on clothes and their appearance. They also might buy whichever shirt looks the 'coolest', rather than one that identifies theirn fandom for a particular wrestler. I don't think this is a major anomaly really.

Different people appeal to different demographics who have different spending habits. Iron Maiden could release a new single tomorrow and it would sell hardly anything, be nowhere near the charts. They could announce a gig at Wembley Stadium and sell 70,000 tickets. Conversely, Robin Thicke can sell over a million copies of one single but not sell out a 2,000 capacity 02 arena. The people who chant for Daniel Bryan are likely not the type of people who spend a whole lot of money on merchandise.

Misawa was beaten up and a decade past his prime, after working the most physical style in wrestling history for twenty years? This is really akin to saying that Kane had way better matches with Chris Jericho in 2002 than Ric Flair did. Just a case of Flair being in horrible shape and having little confidence, and Kane being carried to something reasonable. Nobody would use it to even play devils advocate on an argument that Kane is better than Flair. The guy was genuinely crazy and/or addicted to wrestling. How the fuck do you decide to go and work a match against a monster with a violent, loose style when you are in pain just brushing your teeth? Undertaker by most accounts did the same thing against Brock Lesnar, but at least that was a one time deal. Misawa was still working a reasonable scheduele at that point wasn't he?

Problem is that now, just about everyone on the roster has been groomed for a main event run or has failed at one or it has been aborted. They don't know how to create strong midcard characters anymore, so you get this awful cycle of guys being pushed to the moon and built up massively, and then they either bomb or are badly booked or the company changes their mind and they are jobbing a few months down the line. If you look at recent IC Champions like Ziggler, Miz, Axel etc these are guys who have been built as possible main eventers and booked really strong.

To put forward a fairly contrary opinion, I find Finlay really boring. The snugness and realism and grittiness is all pretty cool, but he has rarely if ever got me excited in a match or really involved where I'm losing my shit instead of just sort of sitting back and admiring it. Was bemused when people were calling him the best wrestler in the world circa 2006.

I honestly think I chucked three hundred DVDs or more in the trash when I went travelling, either that or they are in a garage decaying somewhere. Copied ones, but still. Sold all my commercial discs as well apart from Joe vs Punk II which had sentimental value and The Chris Benoit Collection which at the time I expected to be worth something one day as this was a few weeks after the murders. I'd lost all interest and was sort of thinking "time to put this adolescent portion of my life to bed and start doing more important things with my time", which I did for a while. But then I sort of got pulled back in the last year of university, professionally procrastinating to prevent work on my dissertation. Had a look for the discs once but to no avail. They aren't really necessary now with the internet but it was still convenient. I still have a spindle with fifty discs left though, mostly AJW Classics and some random stuff that has ended up there like a set of all the WON MOTY winners. Anyway, I'm rambling, but the moral is to think before throwing things out, and that Sean Waltman will thus likely not be reevaluated into making a place on my list.

Just typed his name into Google and one of the first five results reads "X-Pac Shares The Full Story Of His Torn Anus". Only in wrestling. I had a really cool three disc comp of his early indy stuff which I'd love to watch again but probably threw out with the rest of my unwanted discs when I figured I was done with wrestling. He definitely lost a step from 1998 or so onwards, not sure he would make my list.

I think 01/22/99 is the most underrated match in the Misawa/Kawada series. Maybe just the pure intensity of watching after the broken arm. Almost wish it was the first time he had pinned him 1 on 1 because the finish is almost cathartic.

I don't think Austin should wrestle again. The way he lost his last match was so graceful and full circle that it would ruin it a bit. Having said that, his style isn't based on huge bumps, so they could probably work around the injuries and reduce the risks significantly. If the company policy were different a bloody brawl might have been the way to go. CM Punk is a good shout as an opponent, it seems a natural fit and also [more importantly] Punk's offence is full of strikes and dives where Austin really wouldn't have to take a lot of neck and back bumps.

So easy to fast forward through Raw. Don't think I've seen a single minute of Bo Dallas or the dude with the entrance since they debuted, they left such a bad first impression. Feel so bad for Titus O'Neill wrestling a fucking bunny. Think I'll be avoiding it for the next few weeks/months again, such tedium. The worst thing is there is no end in sight for the three hours, despite them clearly not having nearly enough material to fill it. Zero sense of excitement or unpredictability or urgency.

He was always my least favorite of the AJPW guys. I remember arguing with Loss about him a few years back, with me saying his lack of emotion or reaction often took me out of the matches. He responded with "You just don't get it, he is stoic" to which I responded "I get why he does it, that doesn't mean I have to like it", no idea why I remember that exchange. Anyway, he has grown on me since then but it is pretty hard to watch him taking all the huge bombs given what happened, and I would still put him individually behind Kawada, Kobashi and maybe even Akiyama, despite the fact that out of all of them he likely has the most amount of great matches. Should probably watch some more Jun from the last few years, loved him in 2004-2007 when he decided to play the grumpy old bullying hoss. There is one tag match I remember where he is just an absolute cunt to one of the younger guys.

He suffers in that his biggest feud and best matches were with BJ Whitmer, probably my least favorite worker of all time. Terrible look, no charisma, dull style, bad on the mic, no presence, the absolute epitome of generic indy guy. I loved Jimmy with all the Lacey stuff, and ther MySpace videos etc, but really couldn't put him anywhere near a list like this, certainly not without seeing what he has done in the last six or seven years. Always figured he would get picked up by WWE as he had that hateable type aura that they could make use of, despite his size. In ring I don't see him as anything special, although he always had solid matches and was occasionally put in a position where he could have a MOTYC, usually involving gimmicks and props. He was/is actually a very solid tag worker, he and Whitmer had a very good match with Strong/Evans at Manhattan Mayhem. Just in terms of people mentioned in this thread, Necro Butcher and KENTA would be way ahead on my hypothetical ballot though.

Summerslam 2002 was pretty solid front to back. Angle vs Mysterio, Benoit taking RVD to his best match in WWE, Brock/Rock, Edge/Eddie, HBK/HHH is you like that sort of thing. I loved No Way Out 2001 at the time, the HHH/Austin epic that again people are split on, Angle/Rock which was probably the best Angle match to that point, Trish/Steph having a far better match than they had any right to, then a load of fun stuff on the undercard like the 4-Way for the IC strap. Loved Money In The Bank 2011, that was the event that got me interested again for a bit, no idea how it holds up though as I've not watched it since. The first ECW One Night Stand felt special at the time.

I wasn't so down on that finish. It just about protected everyone, other than perhaps Rolliins but then he is a chickenshit smarmy heel who doesn't really need to be protected. About the best way to keep Cena looking strong while not taking the belt of Lesnar. Sets up a 'rubber' as well if they are going in that direction. Might have felt differently had I layed down $50 for it though. The main event was decent enough, easily the match of the night but not really a MOTYC by my standards. The Divas match was the second best match, very fun and all three are strong characters right now. Thought it might have worked better if Nicki Bella had one the srap, she has three ready made title feuds with Brie, Paige and AJ that would keep the division strong until the end of the year. The opener was probably the third best match, although I didn't pay attention to Orton/Jericho or some other stuff.