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Al

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Everything posted by Al

  1. For women, Moolah/Richter on MTV is probably as important as anything besides Burke/Byer. By that standpoint, I would look at any matches that aired live nationally in the '80s. Hogan/Andre at Main Event, Hogan/Piper before Wrestlemania. We take for granted how rare it was at one point to see live wrestling on national television.
  2. What's tricky about honoring Snuka is that the murder allegations aren't some new revelation. They were well known by insider wrestling fans for at least the last 15-20 years. Snuka made appearances at the 2008 Rumble, Wrestlemania XXV, etc., and people cheered. If WWE felt comfortable enough trotting out Snuka on those occasions, then it's difficult to backtrack and admit something they already damn well knew.
  3. Thesz/Leone. Wrestling' first $100000 gate.
  4. I suspect in 10 years the various streaming sites will have so much of their own exclusive content that you have to pay the same prices as cable to see everything you want.
  5. I don't think Fritz and Doris having sex counts as a match.
  6. I'm surprised WWE hasn't inducted a Brit yet. William Regal seems like an obvious candidate.
  7. I feel alienated from the current fan base of just about anything. Anyone who markets to my preferences isn't looking to make a lot of money. But I do find it amusing to see hardcore fans now pine for wrestling that a previous generation of hardcore fans absolutely despised.
  8. The LA Coliseum is good for packing in sheer numbers, but I have to imagine it makes an awful wrestling venue. There are seats more than 500' from where the ring would be. The layout of the venue would prevent almost all of the crowd noise from resonating.
  9. I think it's as simple as the American and Japanese wrestling worlds interacting far more than American and Mexican wrestling. There's a long history of wrestlers like Brisco, Race, the Funks, Thesz and others going to Japan. Mexico never got the NWA heavyweight champion.
  10. Wrestling is odd in that being different, be it as an African American, Asian American, dwarf, giant, etc. is a clear asset. Wrestling will welcome the dregs of society into its locker rooms, and a promoter would see that diversity and proclaim their lack of racism. But at the same time, those minorities are often portrayed in extremely narrow stereotypes. Everyone thinks Jim Harris is a wonderful person, but he dresses up as Kamala and no one bats an eye. Antonio Inoki goes to Texas in the '60s and becomes Tokyo Tom. It's a reminder that racism and hate aren't always hand in hand. People don't hate minorities. They're just...narrow.
  11. When they ask how my child under 7 views WWE programming on a scale from 1-10. She's two. She doesn't know what wrestling is. (Except for that weird wrestling episode of Dinosaur Train.)
  12. Got one today as well. Essentially: -Who are your favorite superstars? -What is your opinion of each brand (rating 1-10) -Sort the divisions (singles, tag teams, cruiserweight, women) in order of interest -How often do you watch? -How often do you engage on various social media platforms? -What types of programming are most important? -How do you view programming? (I.e. Smartphone, tablet, streaming device on tv) -Demographics
  13. Do you think the HOF would benefit from a system where they take a set number of inductees? Say, one historical inductee, one Mexican inductee, etc?
  14. Some other quick takeaways: -Pedro Morales at 54%. That bodes well. -Volk Han lost a large percentage in his "final" year. That's unusual for HOF votes. Most candidates in their last years get a little boost. -Jimmy Hart did gain 10% more votes this year. I find it interesting to see the 1980s peripheral WWF stars filtering in (Albano, Okerlund). -Cien Caras if my math is right missed by as little as three votes. -Merging the Europe/World groups didn't seem to result in any detectable voting difference as a group.
  15. This week is the HOF issue. I thought it might be interesting to look at the ballot and see who is likely to get elected. HISTORICAL There are about two dozen candidates here, most of whom are similar as far as the merits of their candidacies. You have a lot of candidates that wouldn't look out of place, but none that stand out as obviously deserving. The problem in such a group is that votes get spread out and it is hard to form a consensus. Last year's top vote getter in this category was Enrique Torres (37%). Unless Pedro Morales gets a large percentage upon his return to the ballot, probably a shutout. MODERN Last year's vote getters ranked: 1. Daniel Bryan (54%) 2. Sting (51%) 3. Edge (44%) 4. Curt Hennig (30%) 5. Junkyard Dog (29%) 6. Sgt. Slaughter (23%) 7. C.M. Punk (22%) 8. Randy Orton (15%) 9. Ultimate Warrior (13%) New to the ballot: Kerry Von Erich Randy Orton was the only one to wrestle a match in the last year, unless Sting/Rollins slipped through the timeframe. Sting and Bryan retired. Bryan is probably a mortal lock as far as these things go. Sting jumped 18% last year. I doubt Edge will get in this year, but if he were to get about 50% he would probably get in eventually. I doubt Kerry gets much more than 20%, if that. Down ballot, it'll be interesting to see if Orton/Punk have any upward momentum in their second year. JAPAN The closest last year were three foreigners, the Sharpes and Volk Han. It's Volk Han's last year. He only gained 1% last year, but maybe voters will give him an extra look. With Nakamura off the ballot, there might be enough votes to push the Sharpes into the Hall. After those candidates, the highest vote getter last year was Minoru Suzuki at 36%. Yoshiaki Fujiwara is new to the ballot, and his vote total will be interesting. (And since Han and Suzuki rank high, that could bode well for a shoot wrestling pioneer.) MEXICO Last year Perro Aguayo Jr. rode into the Hall. Los Misioneros de la Muerte and Villano III both finished with 56%. A small nudge upwards gets them both in. Cien Caras has been stuck at 54% the last two years. Caristico is new and could be a first ballot inductee. WORLD Rollerball Mark Rocco got 42% in Europe last year. No one in this group looks immediately likely, so it'll mainly be interesting to see how the dynamics of this new (or adjusted) group works going forward. NON-WRESTLERS I think Gene Okerlund (58% last year) and Jim Crockett Sr. (57%) get in. Bill Apter and Jerry Jarrett are floating close behind. I doubt Chyna gets a significant vote here.
  16. Disney owned Miramax, so they distributed both Pulp Fiction and Clerks.
  17. Remember, these are people who are paying good money to see Goldberg wrestle in 2016.
  18. The "brand loyalty" stuff was forced a decade ago and it feels forced now.
  19. Wrestling Observers hit late Wednesday or Thursday. The HOF issue was out this time last year, so I expect it any week now.
  20. Best case scenario: they don't use all the cruiserweights every week on Raw but need to keep them active. Hence the additional show.
  21. I'd love to revisit a time and a place that presented pro wrestling live on a weekly basis. That's something we can't duplicate with technology today.
  22. I imagine in practice it would be a vote for one slot, among a group of five choices (or so). They wouldn't give the public carte blanch.
  23. Selling the vote is never great, but still better than letting fans vote on a humanitarian award using twitter hashtags (referring to MLB's Roberto Clemente award).
  24. Who are the great draws who are not in? Great Gama, Danno O'Mahoney, JYD, Big Daddy, maybe Morales, Steve Casey, the French Angel? Probably some international draws like Axel Dieter and Jan Wilkins, though I don't know many specifics.
  25. Daniel Bryan was at points considered both the best performer (by the WON readers), and the most popular performer in wrestling. I don't think there's a comparable wrestler not in the Hall of Fame. Mistico if forced upon a decision is probably a Hall of Famer. But there are three "50% or else" performers in the Mexico category I would stump for first. I don't dislike Mistico, there are just other factors in play.
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