Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

Loss

Admins
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    46439

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Loss

  1. Loss
    Is it just me or is HHH suddenly much bigger than he was just a few weeks ago? Lawler conducts the interview. They are teasing DX dissension but X-Pac promises that they'll rip it up and be fine after the match is over. They are trying to capitalize on the random flashing, as this week they seem to have gotten some front row models to do it, which prompts others in the crowd to follow suit.
  2. Loss
    Welcome to Sunday Night Heat! Vince McMahon is on the show right away, presumably so that we know this isn't some B-show. Vince introduces his son Shane as the host of Heat. I guess we were supposed to forget this a few months later when Shane was a total babyface. Shane gets a full court entrance and is accompanied by two women, and I have no idea why.
  3. Loss
    These guys just beat the hell out of each other and crafted what has easily been my favorite match of the G1 to this point. Those kicks were brutal and there was a strong focus to this, with Yamazaki going after Hashimoto's leg repeatedly. Hash is so great as the credible guy who manages to still get over the idea that he might get beat. He manages to weather the storm from Yamazaki here - and it's a big one - before finally finishing him off with a brainbuster. This was hard-hitting and simple wrestling, which I love.
  4. Loss
    I'm hesitant to plop the 2006 version of this list in this thread only because I worry that looking at what names are listed and what order people are listed in might box people in, even subconsciously. On the other hand, I think everyone who got a vote last time around needs to at least have some discussion around them. So I guess it's necessary.
  5. Loss
    I think big matches are simply matches that are worked like they're big. A match can be anything going in, which rarely is entirely because the wrestlers involved did everything right or everything wrong.
  6. Loss
    I'd consider that a big match myself.
  7. Loss
    I think the time is right and I like idea of a really long time period to debate stuff. The original poll was in 2006 (can you believe that?) so the 2016 deadline feels right. I could see extending it depending on where we are at that point in time too. Someone needs to oversee it in the sense that they are responsible for keeping people interested, starting threads for guys who aren't getting named, keeping conversations on topic, tagging stuff to make it easier to find, etc. I have too much on my plate to take that on right now, but I do think you need someone fully entrenched in order to make this work.
  8. Loss
    Last few minutes. These two had a series in 1998-1999 that was critically acclaimed but was exactly the type of crap Joshi people have watched and not particularly enjoyed in previous years. I had no use for any of these matches when I watched them and thought it was probably better to spotlight stuff about which people will generally be positive in 2014. This finish is here pretty much only to show that we are aware this feud existed. But Kyoko was past her peak by this time and with very few exceptions, Lioness Asuka seems to have left her ability to work a no-frills, gimmick-free wrestling match in the previous decade.
  9. Loss
    Influence can be positive or negative, but I do generally speaking see wrestlers who impacted the working style enough that others thought enough of it to try to emulate them as good at their craft. It doesn't always reflect well on those copying, but it reflects well on the person being copied more often than it doesn't. I see it as a huge positive much of the time. It's wrestling and there are exceptions to everything. Tiger Mask clones like Liger and Sasuke are probably guys most of us would see as superior to the original. Indy guys doing third rate Misawa-Kobashi matches? Probably not so much. I define "big" as the ability to make me think something is at stake in a match other than pride. Wrestlers who can convey that winning their match is important and that they care deeply about it are usually wrestlers I like. While much of that is booking, it's also something that can be conveyed through heel cheating, desperation and particularly dramatic babyface comebacks. Midcarders making unexpectedly great showings in world title matches is another example. A wrestler digging deeper than normal from their offensive repertoire to pull off an upset falls in this category too. There's nothing wrong with being a strong TV match worker. In fact, there's plenty right about it. But there is a difference between wrestling a technically good match that fills TV time in a fun way and stops there, and wrestling a match that feels like it actually matters, whether it really does or not. It's an intangible quality that's hard to talk about in specific terms, although I'm trying. Booking makes the difference there much of the time, but bad booking can often be overcome by great workers.
  10. Loss
    Hales comes out in a neckbrace cutting a promo about how Hales has tried to destroy his pro wrestling dream. He gloats about Lawler getting attacked while Stacy is in the parking lot and seems distraught. Brian Christopher is out to confront Hales and Travis. He offers to take Lawler's place in the scheduled main event today.
  11. Loss
    Travis and Baxter attack Lawler in the control room and piledrive him on the floor. He sort of asked for that one. Stacy hits the ring to tell Brian Christopher what's going on, and they run away from their match to make the save. Who the fuck does anyone think they are walking out on a Kid Wikkid match?
  12. Loss
    Black and white recap of the Lawler-Hales angle from the week before. Lawler is hanging out in the control room this week. Television shows talking about their desire to draw television ratings is too meta for me. They tout their high ratings from the week before, and Lawler calls himself a fan-friendly promoter. He gives a rundown of today's matches, which makes today's lineup sound like a great show. Brandon Baxter, accompanied by Billy Joe Travis, interrupts and refuses to have the match. Finally, Lawler and Travis are going to have a piledriver match later in the show. Travis should not be talking at this point - I have no idea what the hell he is saying and his voice is shrieking.
  13. Loss
    I had to think on this one for a while. Until they start bringing the match home, this is pretty much all chops and strikes. It brought back memories of post-2005 Kenta Kobashi being so physically shot that he couldn't do much of anything else. But this was a step above that, even though I didn't love this as much as I expected to love it either. I'd call it a very good match, but it did still look like two guys past their peak trying to recreate something where the best days of the rivalry had passed. I know I'm in the minority opinion on that one, but this was pretty far below their 1993-94 series for me. Lots to love here, but kind of one-note.
  14. Loss
    This is a very poor man's version of Kobashi-Akiyama a week earlier, with Chono focused on Koshinaka's knee and taking the majority of the offense in this match. This is fine, but it's not particularly inspiring or exciting stuff. I am usually pretty quick to praise any match with focused limb work, but this is just two guys going through the motions and not wrestling up to the occasion of the G-1. The crowd finally gets into it when Koshinaka does a top rope German and starts railing off the big moves, but this didn't do much for me at all. I always love a good backslide nearfall and Chono is reliable for a good low blow in every match from 1995 on, but those are the only high points. Solid, but that's it.
  15. Loss

    Current WWE

    Loss replied to Smack2k's topic in WWE

    Interestingly enough, most of the time when intros aren't shown on TV, it's because a previous segment went over and they need to make up time.
  16. Loss

    Matches of the Month

    Loss replied to Loss's topic in 1998

    July: #1 - Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama (AJPW 07/24/98) ****3/4 #2 - Akira Maeda vs Yoshihisa Yammamoto (RINGS 07/20/98) ****1/2 #3 - Owen Hart vs Ken Shamrock (WWF Fully Loaded 07/26/98) **** #4 - Shadow WX vs Tomoaki Honma (BJPW 07/26/98) **** #5 - Hardy Boys vs Venom & Shane Helms (OMEGA 07/24/98) ***3/4 #6 - Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Muto (NJPW G-1 Climax 07/31/98) ***1/2 #7 - The Rock vs X-Pac (WWF Monday Night RAW 07/20/98) ***1/4 #8 - Hulk Hogan vs Goldberg (WCW Monday Nitro 07/06/98) *** #9 - Willow the Whisp vs Shannon Moore (Music City TV 07/18/98) *** #10 - Chris Jericho vs Dean Malenko (WCW Monday Nitro 07/27/98) #11 - Jerry Lawler & Bill Dundee vs Billy Joe Travis & Bulldog Raines (MPPW TV 07/25/98) #12 - HHH vs The Rock vs X-Pac (WWF Monday Night RAW 07/27/98) #13 - Hulk Hogan vs Diamond Dallas Page (WCW Monday Nitro 07/27/98) #14 - Goldberg vs Scott Hall (WCW Monday Nitro 07/06/98) #15 - Surge vs Willow the Whisp (OMEGA 07/31/98)
  17. Loss
    I've liked a lot of OMEGA. I even like the Hardys. But I'm not a fan of this at all. This whole segment goes 49 minutes, which is just insanely long for most wrestlers, much less these guys. This isn't the worst wrestling I've ever seen or anything, but while the 7/24 tag was charming in its overreach, this was nothing of the sort. These guys were really good, but they would have regressed considerably on the indy scene over the coming years without anything to reign them in. And so far, they seem like the least of the guys in their indy promotion.
  18. Loss
    In preparing for the 1999 set, I watched a couple of Tenryu-Muto matches (one from May and one from December) and loved both. Then I remember the really good Tenryu-Muta brawl in WAR in 1996. So these two really had some strong matches against each other through the years, but it's not really something people think of when recalling either guy's best opponents. This was another excellent addition to the series. They go for broke with the drama and big moves, wrestling like they are at the Tokyo Dome instead of Sumo Hall. This had small patches where things were a bit off, like Muto standing on the top rope for what seemed like an eternity and throwing the heat off for a few minutes, but what's good - that crazy Ace Crusher from the apron to the floor, Muto's leg work on Tenryu and the hot crowd - is more than enough to offset any flaws. A promising start to the G-1, even though the crowd hates the finish.
  19. Loss
    I can't wait to listen to this. I've been putting it off so I don't give the usual divided attention to it that I do to podcasts.
  20. Loss

    Gorilla Monsoon

    Loss replied to C.S.'s topic in The Microscope

    This thread has made me realize that I need to erase or at least put in their proper place whatever biases I have as it relates to 1980s WWF and give it a chance fresh when the time is right. Not all wrestling has to be presented like Jim Crockett Promotions, nor should it be. Because that was the first wrestling that really excited me as a fan, I think I have been subconsciously holding 80s WWF to that standard, which is appropriate in some cases but not in others. So I'm done with the Gorilla Monsoon argument until I dive into more matches he called with a fresh set of eyes. And I'll try to be optimistic. Who says these arguments never result in anyone changing their stand on anything?
  21. Loss
    From a philosophical point of view, I agree and I don't think it matters to fans. How would we know unless we were told anyway? I can see wrestlers having differing opinions on it. I remember Steve Austin said wrestlers once worked (meaning feeling out the crowd and improvising based on what is getting over and what isn't) and now they perform (come up with something pre-planned and execute it). With an example like Savage/Steamboat, it went off without a hitch and it didn't feel soulless or rehearsed or anything of the sort, so yeah, no harm done. But when HHH tears his quad in the DX vs Orton/Edge match at New Years Revolution 2007 and Randy Orton has no idea what to do since the match layout they planned in advance was out the window, it stands out. I don't think there's anything wrong with laying out a match in advance, but a great wrestler should probably be able to switch gears when the situation calls for it. Chris Jericho was so proud of his match with Shelton Benjamin at Taboo Tuesday in 2004 because he was put in a position where he had to call it entirely on the fly. But that used to be how all matches were worked, at least if you take the vets at their word.
  22. Loss

    Current WWE

    Loss replied to Smack2k's topic in WWE

    Since Jericho has mentioned it, all I want is for them to discuss the previous heat they've had. I know they've buried the hatchet, but it would be interesting to hear them talk about where it came from on both sides.
  23. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a password protected forum. Enter Password
  24. Loss
    Yes, the initial statement was incorrect.
  25. Loss
    Since Bix told me she was underage. We looked it up on Wikipedia and yeah, that was incorrect.
×
×
  • Create New...