anarchistxx

Maybe include the Hart Foundation collection as a cut price extra, leaving more room for other things on the main set?

Attacking an established roster member for no reason other than to gain heat is such a lazy way to introduce new characters, so it fell a bit flat for me. They should have gone the full way and had some satanic ritual or overblown promo/segment, or at least a vicious backstage attack. Throwing Kane into the steel steps and posing doesn't seem a very creative way of debuting, especially since every major heel stable since Nexus seems to have had the same 'attack random wrestler for no apparent reason' introduction. Why not invent some back story or give some motivations?

Is this the one where Dump gets her head shaved at the end? Great match I recall. Is it on AJW Classics? I have the full set somewhere and wouldn't mind revisiting it.

Hokuto/Kandori gives it a run for its money with the massive blade job. Dump/Chigusa is more downright vicious though, and the crowd makes it.

I'd say 2012 NJPW is probably thought of as the closest thing to 90s AJPW since 2004 NOAH. I think Puro is general is thought less of by the real diehards these days, who seem to prefer to explore 80s stuff and the territories and lucha and dislike the epic and spotty style of a lot of it. But among new fans, modern NJ seems to be to them what AJ was to tape traders in the 90s e.g. by far the best in ring wrestling product on the planet, at least for the heavyweights. Practically everyone is an 'internet fan' now though, so you can't really summarise the tastes, whereas in 2000 it was a select group of hardcores who generally all agreed on what they liked and were far more limited in terms of what they could watch. Views are far more diverse now, due in a large part to availability. It's the same in a lot of things. Consensus, zeitgeist defining alternative albums are very much the exception now, because there is so much music available and so many diverse styles that people like.

Well if clean just means a pin or submission, however obtained, then yeah he did go over clean all the time. 'Clean' has traditionally meant a definitive victory without cheating or interference, which is something he saved for big feuds or when he wanted to bury somebody (usually under the pretence of 'putting them over' bu having them put up a hell of a fight before losing to the mighty ace). He wasn't rolling all the faces on Raw every week during his heel run, not without the trusty sledgehammer or interference from Flair etc. As I said, the story doesn't ring true. If anything it sounds like Trips, knowing his reputation, is trolling the writer for whatever reason.

Bit boring just to roll out a list without comments, but everybody else has and I don't have time to elaborate at the minute: Holy Demon Army Briscoe Brothers Sabu/RVD KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji Crush Gals I haven't actually seen too much Midnight Express/Rock 'n' Roll Express stuff, except for the hyped matches against each other. Not seen a whole lot of 80s NWA or JCP either, whuch is kind of a golden age for this stuff. Amazing nobody else picked the Crush Gals, are AJW Classics out of fashion? Have the DVDVR sets got round to covering it yet? Just the whole period is fantastic, with the ridiculous heat for the matches, all the singing interludes, great singles, great tags.

I am a bit skeptical about that story. For a start, HHH didn't often go over clean as a heel, unless it was the definitive match of a feud. There was usually a ton of overbooking, ref bumps, sledgehammer shots, interference and generally screwy finishes to keep the strap around his waist. for month after tedious month. I can't see him blowing his top because he is losing by DQ on Raw, depending on who he was facing. Hilarious article though.

Doesn't help that they are all faces either, the crowd doesn't really know what to do. CM Punk got the biggest pop by an absolute mile though out of the six guys, still surprises me how over he is.

This opening segment on Raw is exactly what is bad about WWE promos and characters. Stilted, forced and totally scripted beyond belief, with the mandatory embarrassingly bad jokes and terrible lines that make you wonder who is getting paid to write this shit. There is nothing that comes across as natural. Even someone like Daniel Bryan who has genuine charisma and likability comes over badly, seeming like he is just reading off a cue. There is no honesty or believability in the words. Doesn't help that they have to get the WWE buzzwords and jargon in to force down people's throats - the phrase "Money In The Bank All Star Ladder Match" must have been repeated about six times, no doubt we will be told shortly how it is trending on Twitter.

Anybody know if this is likely to air in the UK?

Edge has/had a lot more natural charisma and star power that The Miz. He looked cooler, and the Lita thing really helped propel him to that level. Also, Edge had been a regular since 1998, had been mixing it with main eventers since 2002, so his title push in 2006 didn't feel premature, especially given the shocking way it unfolded. And yeah, he was booked pretty much perfectly in that period, from the Matt Hardy feud to the 'live sex' to the Foley stuff. Miz not only looks weedy and unthreatening, he has no cutting edge or cool factor either. He isn't particularly impressive on the mic. His finisher wasn't especially spectacular or over. His in ring skills were average at best. He looked like a guy playing at being a wrestler. There was nothing about him that screamed 'top guy', and the booking didn't help. I don't see any real comparisons with Edge.

Can anyone summarize how Rob Naylor made his rise from enthusiastic smark to beloved WWE employee? It seems a completely unique turn of events. He always had that all encompassing likability that is so rare in a message board poster. I don't watch NXT, has he been on television at all?

Not to everyone's tastes, but my suggestions would be: - Samoa Joe v Necro Butcher (IWA, 2005) - Dudley Boyz v Hardy Boyz v Edge/Christian (WM16, SS00, WMX7) The first is short, violent, shocking and ridiculously entertaining. The others are just high octane, fast paced, dangerous, spectacular matches that non-fans seem to enjoy very much. Maybe put on a couple of Dragon Gate sprint tags as well, they are always entertaining to non fans. That PWG four way with Kota Ibushi and others from 2010 is fantastic. Lethal/Joe v Homicide/Low Ki is the best ROH match I can think of. Maybe Kobashi/Sasaki if you are looking for a crazy main event epic Puro match, might go a bit long though.

True, but that isn't the point. The point is that there is a 'World Series' where only two countries have entrants.

Pretty sure they will have heard of billiards/pool, which is the same principle if completely different rules. In Australia they have pool tables in most sports bars as I remember.

Yeah, I haven't been watching the full shows especially. Just surprised me because the recent matches I have seen of Tanahashi he has been working these epic heavyweight main events and being pushed as 'the man', whereas my exposure to Devitt over the years has been of a talented midcard junior. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve it.

Some weird things in that interview. She seems totally desperate to stress her own genius intelligence, how she had a unique connection with him, how Benoit would look up to her and saw her as a teacher and mentor despite her young age... "My ex brother-in-law Kevin Sullivan said to Nancy once “Your sister’s so smart, she scares the shit out of me. Let’s hope she uses it for good and not evil”" "When we would talk, as young as I was, it was like student and teacher. Books he should get, bands he would love, movies and TV that were a must watch!" " Nancy told me that she would take care of flying me down there and she also said that I was very tired and stressed out and needed to unwind and do something for myself. They then suggested that a house be built for me on the acreage right by their own home. Chris was actually stoked about it." Almost seems like she was supported by Chris and Nancy. She reminds me of Janice Soprano in this interview for some reason.

Snooker is a lot more international now. It certainly isn't as embarrassing as the 'World Series' of baseball.

RVD as a base for Mark Henry or even Ryback would be ridiculously fun, he bumps for simple offence so well and those guys are also good at making conventional stuff look emphatic. They should also throw him in some wild six man tornado tags with The Shield, he thrives in that chaotic environment. RVD is all about, a. how motivated he is b. how he is used If you expect him to work twenty minute standard wrestling matches it will probably be boring. Give him a sprint or something where he can go off and be creative, it will be more interesting. They should also bring back that arrogance he had to his character that they phased out from about 2002 onwards. Once you make him the usual smiling WWE face he loses the edge that made him popular in the first place. He is naturally a conceited, laid back character so it is a lot more natural when he plays himself on television.

Hard to believe he is only 32. That means he was twenty when he was ripping it up on the indie circuit in 2001, which seems absurd. He always struck me as a bit older. Anyway, the guy had tons of presence and charisma, but it might be for the best that he gets out now. He was never going to be a major guy in WWE and his ego wouldn't have accepted a jobber spot. He burned his bridges elsewhere. A career change might be good for him. Still expect to see him back in a year or less though.

Can't believe Devitt went over Tanahashi.

I wonder if they do things like putting Daniel Bryan against a massive sports game in the knowledge the ratings will be low, and they won't have to listen to calls to push him anymore? I doubt Randy Orton is getting any of the blame for the slump.

What an utterly strange roster they have. Would love to see The Bucks v London/Kendrick though, is it available anywhere online? Are Kendrick and London teaming regularly now? Them against the Briscoes would be really fun.

The amount of AWA I have got round to watching would probably struggle to fill ten discs, and it was all in 2005/2006, so I'm not really in a position to comment.