Al

When it comes to Jumbo Tsuruta, I'm not a tape trader and he never wrestled stateside in my lifetime (fan beginning in 1990 so I missed his AWA run). Even if I tracked down all his big matches, I don't think I could possibly make a fair comparison between him and Ric Flair. Does anyone else have trouble really comparing Japanese to US wrestlers, or do you feel your knowledge is well enough to make a fair judgment? On another note, picked up Greg Oliver's book on wrestling heels. It's well worth noting that we are in a golden age of wrestling books. When I was younger, you would see a book here and there on wrestling, if you were lucky. Now there are two or three shelves worth in a bookstore, everything from biographies, autobiographies, books on individual promotions (options included ECW and Stampede), etc. Say what you will about Mick Foley, but his autobiography in my view really blew the roof off the marketplace.

I really doubt they'll bury Savage. Warrior was such an unprofessional shit to Vince that it was inevitable. Savage may have some unsaid issue, but professionally he left on good terms. Why would they pick a dvd to bury him when they've never said a bad word publicly about him otherwise? As for Starrcade, it's interesting because most of the good stuff from 1983-87 has already been released on dvd. Honestly, the only really good Starrcade match I haven't seen on another release is Ric Flair/Vader.

That I certainly agree with. I think it is obvious that certain workers, such as Benoit, Dynamite Kid, etc., worked far longer than they should've been allowed given their physical states. It might well be a good idea for an athletic commission to require physicals for wrestlers like they do boxers before certifying them for the ring. Of course that would eliminate the possibility of doing 30 second "angle" matches, so it's tough to say.

That's great Bix. Can you quote any studies on the matter? Is there any research considering other people with similar brain damage, and their actions? All that shows is that Benoit had unhealthy brain tissue, and he was involved in a murder/suicide. Correlation is not causation.

This card actually just aired on 24/7. It was Savage vs. Honky with Jimmy Hart in a cage, and Sherri's first appearance as "Peggy Sue." I get the feeling Vince spent years looking for legitimate female talent after Wendi Richter departed. Not only did the Jumping Bomb Angels have a run, the Crush Gals made appearances, and even Bull Nakano and Dump Matsumoto did shots in Madison Square Garden.

WWE uses their photos semi-frequently in their shows. I wonder if PWI receives compensation for it.

On Loss's point, I grew up a WWF fan in the northeast, where of course they draw frequent criticism from smart fans for their half-speed, watered down product. I watch matches from Madison Square Garden in the 1970s and '80s, and you'd be at a loss to find the unsafe spots they use in a match. Even Slaughter/Sheik, the most brutal match the WWF produced in that era, is just two good bladejobs. You can make an exciting gimmick match without taking a lot of risks. Of course they had other problems in that era, namely recreational drug use stemming from working guys eight times a week for months on end. That's become better. I don't have a hard time watching the current product. Then again I don't watch much outside of WWE, so I don't see Ring of Honor and those type shows. The stuff with McGuinness and Danielson hearkens back to the days of Tommy Dreamer killing himself for ECW. Of course the irony of that is that Dreamer ended up with a cushier job than some of the workers who fled for big money in WCW. That's a side issue. I always felt that Benoit was a domestic issue first and foremost and that wrestling was circumstance. I AM more concerned with workers running a high-risk style that may leave them in constant pain or crippled later in life. (I was going to cite Harley Race, but he had vehicular crashes unrelated to wrestling.) I don't have a problem enjoying wrestling as long as the stupid behavior is cut out. Ladder matches for example, I think a good wrestling company should put them on the shelf for awhile. For a time they've been done every three months or more. That is too much, and workers are hurting themselves trying to top the last one and get over. Fans are not going to react to it anymore. Work looser. Fans know it's fake, you're not going to disappoint them if something doesn't look exactly right.

And it should be noted, that second fall was accidental and shouldn't have occurred in that fashion. I never for a moment have believed that the second fall was accidental, anymore than what happened with Rock and the Chairshots went any different from planned. Just Foley bullshitting people. Foley was suppose to go through the cage. Pretty clear from how they set up the chokeslam. The "shouldn't have occured in that fashion" more accurately could be described as "Foley stupidly thought he could control the bump through the cage more effectively". He was just a dumbfuck in thinking that. John That's what I mean to say. Of course the through the cage spot was set up. It just occurred far more violently than the participants anticipated.

So they don't care. That's understood. That said, Mick Foley got a huge reaction for falling off the top of the cage and then getting chokeslammed through it. WWE was smart enough to never do it again (without gimmicking). WWE is far more successful than ROH or TNA, and they've done it by creating characters people care about. With effort, any indy could accomplish the same thing if they really wanted to. And it should be noted, that second fall was accidental and shouldn't have occurred in that fashion. For all the crap WWE gets about drugs and steroids, it's worth noting that their policies on worker safety have been ahead of the curve. Toned down style, limited use of piledrivers, etc.

Somewhere I read that NBC cut the show from 90 to 60 minutes. Wish I had a source on that.

Vince can take steps, but most indy promoters operate so close to the margins that it would be financial suicide. Not that things should be that way, it's just the reality.

I do agree with the larger point though. Wrestling has become too high-impact for anyone's good. I bought that Ladder Match dvd a few months ago and I was hard pressed to find the matches as good as everyone thought. The only match that got better on second viewing was Undertaker/Hardy, and that was because it sold a story more than highspots.

Hey, if the complaint is that concussions effect your judgment (and lead to things like killing your wife and child), is the wrestler fully culpable in his decision to get back in the ring? Obviously the concussion is at fault, right?

In Texas the police were in on the trick. In the Dominican, they would point them at Roddy Piper for interfering. At least that's the story Dave Meltzer and Jim Cornette gave in a commentary on Wrestling Gold (Vol. 5). One question this answered for me though is whether it was a case of a wrestler shooting on Flair and the NWA covering it up. It wasn't.

I had no idea there was footage of this title "switch." The only thing that ever comes out of Jack Veneno is that he once won the title from Flair. Is he a wrestler of any note, or just a one-time Dominican star? Can anyone shed some light on him in general?

All of the wrestlers suspended for Wellness reasons as of late were using steroids that were popular in the 70s-80s and are very easily detected. I'm not saying doctors should run to the press after every blood test, but since steroids are illegal aren't they required to report that to authorities? I seriously doubt they are.

The HHH/Jericho faux title change is included in its entirety as well.

Most matches are shown in full, including Hennig/Flair, Bret/Kid, Shawn/Marty, Kid/Razor, Mankind/Rock, Bulldog/Owen. The stuff clipped generally isn't the classics anyway.

Great set. I can't complain about missing some stuff, cutting the history of Raw to nine hours is a daunting task.

There is no blood test to detect HGH, and that's what most athletes are using these days. So even a hospital test would not pick it up. If it did, I imagine it would fall under some kind of confidentiality agreement. I mean honestly, what kind of competent doctor would run to the press with test results if they showed steroid use?

No love for the Chief Jay/Don Kent shark cage match? Of course, that's not even in WWE's library anyway. No love for the shark cage match. Two guys fighting in a cage they can barely fit in? Interesting concept, but it's no wonder Big Time Wrestling went out of business two years later. I'm facetious of course. It was an awful match, and even Misawa/Kawada couldn't have made it watchable.

I'd note that this is a great forum for WWE in that they can showcase guys like Strongbow who wouldn't merit full dvds, but had some interesting career highlights.

No love for the Chief Jay/Don Kent shark cage match? Of course, that's not even in WWE's library anyway.

Just a theory, but perhaps WWE found out at that point they could get their hands on the Nasty Boys.