Loss

I'm surprised The Rock vs Chris Jericho hasn't been mentioned yet. Perhaps it's because it was booked to make Jericho a superstar and that never quite happened, and perhaps it's because compared to other feuds, it was relatively short, but in a three month time span, they managed to produce two legitimate ****+ matches and one other very good one, turn Jericho heel and put him in main events, raise Rock's game and deliver some of the best banter we'd seen all year, if not in longer time. Highlights for me were Rock confronting a blood-soaked Jericho about accidentally hitting him with a chair and Jericho punching him, Jericho "accidentally" brushing into Rock and nearly knocking him over, Rock telling Jericho to stay out of his business while Jericho looks on at ringside while he's getting beat down by a group of heels, Rock telling Jericho he's just not that good and can't be a headliner, Jericho giving Rock a people's elbow, Jericho bringing Rock's belt nameplate to him since he won't need it anymore and Rock retaliating by handing him a chair for their rematch, Jericho and Rock playing the tag team partners who hated each other, Jericho attacking Rock out of frustration that Austin pinned him at Survivor Series which nearly put the entire company out of business, Jericho pinning Rock with the Rock Bottom on three separate occasions, Jericho gloating about beating Rock and Austin at ringside while sitting poolside with his belts and of course, the infamous "I am not a joke!" promo. Goodhelmet once said, and I agree, that this feud should have spanned the course of a year with them running the gauntlet and doing every imaginable gimmick match under the sun.

Next up, I'll be watching the Stampede discs you sent me so I can contribute to this.

The thing about Flair offering to drop the belt was an SK-ism, but it is true that Scott turned down a solo push more than one time.

I think that's the explanation I've been looking for. Thank you. I'm going to attempt rewatching some of the CMLL that left me cold initially. Considering that my favorite aspects of wrestling are typically the strong face/heel dynamic, crowd heat, intensity and occasional blood, and considering that most people who get really into the style are also people who are fans of Southern-style wrestling, I imagine I'll love it once I grow comfortable with it.

According to Konnan, Carlito is capable of much more that he isn't allowed to do. Apparently, WWE thinks they'd have trouble keeping him a heel if he did all of his highspots. Not that that makes him any better a worker, but his matches would probably have more heat if he was able to do what he wanted.

I don't doubt Flair was a kiss-ass and I'm sure he's told his share of lies. I just don't know if that has ever translated to sabotaging someone's career. Scott Steiner is a guy that has roughed up jobbers, thrown punches at front office people and gone into business for himself on live TV. I think he can only blame himself for his fortune.

Yes, and there's no reason for Steiner to be less than honest when Flair comes to him and asks him if he has a problem with him. But that's the route Steiner has taken. Of course, he has changed his story with Ric many times. He's also done interviews putting him over, so who knows.

OMG, the potential titles for a pirate wrestler comp are endless.

Thanks. I know you've talked about this era of lucha more than anyone else has, really, so this may be what I end up checking out first.

I think the Flair comments are a little much, especially when every time Flair has confronted him face to face on the issue, Steiner has said he was just working an angle to get over as a heel.

I loved WCW more than most, but by 2000 or so, it was a joke of a wrestling promotion until it got good again in the last few months. Even from 1998-1999, the top storylines were pretty horrible, but there were other good factors. Usually, people are referring to the point from the Fingerpoke of Doom until Russo was fired in late 2000. Probably the worst 20 months or so EVER for a wrestling company, although they still had a good product on the undercard until Benoit and company left. Point is, nearly everyone wanted a healthy WWF alternative and when WWE starts making the same mistakes that caused WCW to go out of business, it sets off red flags.

Happens all the time, especially with pseudo-main event/midcard guys like Benoit and Booker. Most of the booking for the last 2 years of Jericho in the company was his ideas as well. The whole Benoit/Angle feud in '01 happened because they both asked to be put in a program together.

Rey is 5'3". Eddy was only 5'6". Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho are 5'9".

It was probably Benoit or Booker's idea. I'm sure one of them wanted it. It's also a good way -- in theory -- to bring value to the US title, but only if they make it a big deal and put it in a main event slot on at least one or two Smackdowns while the series is ongoing. They should also have every finish booked before they start it.

I like that second Doc/Kobashi match more than a lot of people, if only because of the audience gasps anytime Doc tries to go for the backdrop driver. The '93 match was crazy overkill, but it served its purpose in getting a move over. This was pretty early in my foray into AJPW, so I don't know if I'd feel the same way now, though.

But do you think that was *just* because of size, or because the nWo were more intesting characters then Juvi and Kidman? I'd say it was both, most likely. I'm not saying they weren't over at all, but they were midcard over because they were pushed to be midcard over. Guys like Jericho and Guerrero got more heat than their smaller peers around that time because they had the total package of charisma and interview ability to go with their ability to have exciting matches, but the reason they never got a chance on top was that people internally said they were too small, a mindset that needs to go away now. There are many cases, however, of the promoters trying to get smaller guys over and the audience rejecting it. Think Austin & HHH v the Hardyz. The Hardyz were over and were a money-drawing tag team, but no one bought them going against Austin & HHH. Admittedly, the booking didn't help, but the fans expect a certain type of main event body that Matt and Jeff just didn't have, which is also part of the reason the feud was a failure.

Also, the huracanrana was being used as a move even before wrestling was worked. I do think all the wrestlers use the ropes too much, jumping off of them and doing too many running sequences. There's no law that says you have to avoid them or anything, but I like the way guys like Benoit or Regal think where they try to touch the ropes as little as possible when working a match.

Fans in WCW didn't buy the smaller guys. They chanted for the NWO when Juventud Guerrera was facing Billy Kidman on more than one occasion. You can't place 100% blame on the promoter, when part of what they're doing is giving fans what they want. Fans that don't even suspend disbelief when they watch anyway, yet complain about champs not being "credible" because of their size, is needless.

I don't think he's downplaying Austin's talent so much as he is saying that his ideas were implemented that day and that because they were successful, Austin became a star. Bret has said many times in the past that he wasn't a crucial ingredient in Austin becoming a star, that he would have anyway. Facts are that Bret did play an important role in helping Austin take off.