Loss

Haha, I'm laughing that you somehow ended up on that one. I don't think most people even remember that the New Years Revolution one even happened. I guess we should have been more specific.

So that it's known, after rewatching the full version of Can-Ams vs Kobashi-Kikuchi, I'm comfortable saying that it's as good as any match from the 1990s. I watched it back in December and wrote down some stuff since I was having computer issues at the time. I'll post it one day.

I believe it was in late '05 when Vince told all of his key people that Cena was now the #1 guy and to treat him that way. The odd thing about it is that Batista was actually the one groomed for that spot, and he was successful, but the JBL program took some of the wind out of his sails, and then he had an ill-timed injury.

The show was such amateur hour. Voting only takes place during a single commercial break. How fluky can you get? There was also a lot of filler. Are we supposed to believe they had a full week of training and all they did was run up some bleachers one day and then run the ropes? The whole thing looks like it cost them about $25.00 to make.

Pregnant pausing is a great way to describe that look people get when they look at the announce table that I absolutely hate. "WHOA, I JUST NOTICED THERE IS AN ANNOUNCE TABLE AT RINGSIDE! NOW I HAVE AN IDEA!"

And yeah, I know Daniel Bryan wanted to work a program with Heath Slater, which would have been great for him. He should work with Ziggler and try to put the moves on Lana, only to get completely rejected over and over.

I really love the idea of Cena being multi-lingual. God, replacing him is going to take years. I hope the weekly U.S. title defense isn't done, and that they are just selling his back injury right now, because that has been the best part of RAW since Wrestlemania.

For me, this begins and ends with Tommy Young in the Road Warriors vs Arn/Tully match at Starrcade '87.

I haven't seen the beatdown yet but wouldn't Brock manhandling J & J Security and Kane before Rollins throws some powder in his eyes and gives him an F5 before taking off running be a much better heat builder?

Before I die, I'm going to get more wrestling fans to admit that there is lots and lots of great music that doesn't have a hard rock edge, that synthesizers are a good thing, that pop that was made after the 1960s can be great, that songs by women are often awesome and that gay men have the best tastes in music, as even the bad stuff is good on a camp level. I'm stereotyping, I know, but pro wrestling's music sensibilities are too testosterone-driven and rock-centric sometimes. Sorry to take this off the beaten path. I should know better.

I don't know that there's so much bashing, but I have heard more than once someone say that Takayama didn't become great until 2002, so I guess even post-AJ.

Here's the best way I know to describe how I tend to think of star ratings in my head. I've never tried putting this in words before and this is being done quickly, but at first thought, this is how I'd describe my view. ***** - As good as any match ever; can reasonably be compared to any match in wrestling history ****3/4 - Just below the level of the greatest matches ever, but an all-time classic nonetheless ****1/2 - One of the best matches of its time; MOTYC if not quite an all-timer ****1/4 - Just below the best matches of its time, but great all the same **** - Great match, better than most matches during its era, but not an all-time classic ***3/4 - Borderline great match that has some minor flaw keeping me from putting it over the top ***1/2 - Very good match well worth seeking out - not one of the best matches of its time, but excellent all the same ***1/4 - Good match better than most good wrestling happening at the time, if only barely *** - Solid, better than average, has good qualities, but nothing remarkable - still worth seeing I don't bother going below ***.

I meant the song.

HHH in 1999 wasn't as nauseating as I remembered when I rewatched the stuff last summer, but he was still pushed far beyond the level at which he was over. I would say the same for just about every Jeff Jarrett heel run in the WWF and WCW, and Jarrett is a worker I like. But he was always pushed at a level beyond where I thought he should have been and he pandered for heat so much as a heel that it was a turn-off. I'd also like to mention Adam Rose here, not so much as someone overpushed but someone who I think fell off the deep end through no real fault of his own. He had some great vignettes hyping his debut, then he debuted and actually got a decent reaction. However, for reasons probably having to do with HHH-Kevin Dunn politics, the line became that his debut somehow bombed miserably (even though fans were singing along with his theme and everything) and he's never really recovered from that. Others: - Dino Bravo in 1989-1990, which was always implied had something to do with his mafia connections - The quintessential WCW undercard guys who were kept around forever for reasons I don't understand, like Bagwell, Van Hammer, and others (Some would put Johnny B. Badd in this category, but I wouldn't. DDP is probably in this group pre-1995) - Lex Express - The guy is so naturally smug and standoffish, and he was completely miscast in this role when he could have had a really great heel run - Scott Steiner in 1999-2000 (Sorry, not a fan, although I get why some liked him) - Big Show and Kane in this decade (I don't think either guy is horrible in the ring, but they are the types where lapsed fans who turned out will flip channels, see them on TV and think it's same-old, same-old and not bother to stop and watch) - Curt Hennig in WCW was living off his name and was too featured despite a few isolated good matches - Kevin Nash in 1999-2000 WCW Somewhat related, I think there are guys who had value but who Vince always overprotected who weren't necessarily his biggest cash cows, but were his personal favorites. To me, those three guys are HHH, Shawn Michaels and Undertaker, who were always more protected than Steve Austin, The Rock and Bret Hart.

I think that this is also a good place to explain some of the differences in style among the "Big 3" -- UWFi, PWFG and RINGS. UWFi is the closest to pro style. If anything, it's a more mat-based New Japan heavyweight style with shoot style rules. UWFi had some great matches, but it's more traditionally pro wrestling than the other groups. For that reason, it might actually be a good starting point because it's not such a drastic departure from the norm. They have tag matches and they also have cards featuring guys like Kawada, Tenryu, Chono and Vader. One of my favorite guys from UWFi is Takayama, which surprised me because it seems like the standard line on him is that he really didn't hit his stride until going to All Japan. Yoji Anjo is a great asshole. Others may see this differently, but PWFG always struck me as a group that got off to a hot start then fizzled out quickly. There isn't much PWFG I like after 1992, although there is definitely still some after that point worth checking out. But I think in 1991, which is when all three groups debuted, PWFG was easily the best of the three with the most interesting collection of talent and the best matches. Watch some Wayne (Ken) Shamrock in '91 and tell me this guy shouldn't have been the standard bearer of pro wrestling in America as the pioneer of an old yet new style that took wrestling in a really cool direction. RINGS is my overall favorite. Volk Han is a great worker, but my favorite guy is actually Kiyoshi Tamura, who I would consider the best wrestler of all time if he had a deeper resume and more longevity. As it stands, he's still near the top. Han is the craftier worker, but Tamura is so unbelievably technically proficient and has a knack for building drama. He really hit his zenith in 1996 or so when he made the jump from UWFI and had what is most likely my top match of the decade against Yoshihisa Yamamoto on 06/24/99, although he has a few others at that level too. Aside from Han and Tamura, I love Kohsaka, and I also really enjoy Yamamoto as someone who is much better than you'd expect since he doesn't *look* as athletic as Tamura and Kohsaka. These guys probably have the best cardio of any workers I've ever seen. Tamura works a single, fast-paced mat exchange with Koshaka in their 06/27/98 classic that I want to say from memory lasts about ten minutes without stopping. But technique is technique. What makes Tamura so good especially is combining his technique with drama.

I would also add here that Hamada's UWF is not an actual company name. It's a colloquialism that possibly originated with tape collectors in the U.S. The actual name of the promotion is Universal Lucha Libre. Since I've picked up on that, I've tried to start using that name.

You also don't like Power Station?? Oh, it's on. "Some Like It Hot" is awesome!

I don't think my criteria has to be everyone else's too, and I'm glad it's not, because the differing opinions make for interesting conversation. At the same time, if I really thought my opinions were wrong, I'd simply have different ones that I thought were right. The only objectivity is in consistency when comparing matches -- whatever criteria one has just needs to be relatively consistent. The idea of objective opinions is not at all what I was trying to say in my argument. As I said before, fairness is a better word.

If not Good Charlotte, then who?

Kind of an oversimplification IMO. 1. There were great wrestling matches 30 years ago too. 2. The schedule back then was a lot more brutal than it is now, which lent itself to more phoning it in, shorter matches, etc. 3. Today's wrestlers are better athletes because the world in general is more knowledgeable about health, fitness, etc. I realize I'm oversimplifying matters too, but all of those factors do make a difference in today's style and speed of wrestling vs. 30 years ago. Yes, they do. But to say it's all about the money is also false. There was a story a couple of years ago where an unnamed old-timer called Dave in disbelief after having quite a few WWE guys to his house after a show when no one knew what the house or attendance was when he asked.