Bix

Whether or not you think they suck is not the point. That the critical consensus shifted from Queen sucking is the point of the exercise.

Not to speak for Kris or Will but I meant it as being proof of how good Dusty was week to week that it didn't stick out as amazing in context.

Yes? Duran Duran, like Queen and the Bee Gees, were loathed by critics in their heydays. Critical response to all three bands has done a 180 in subsequent decades. I don't entirely disagree, but it's at least a little disingenuous to make wrestling out to be completely unique in that regard. Music has had everything from Sid Vicious, a bassist who couldn't play, to manufactured boy bands, autotuned celebrities like Lindsay Lohan before her life spiraled out of control, and so on. Acting has ton of random pretty people trying to get by on their looks to make money. As long as there are performance arts, there are going to be performers who aren't that good who are in it for money.

The "the wrestlers didn't think about it this much" talking point just isn't true. Yesterday I interviewed Ricky Steamboat for the second time and both times he had incredibly detailed explanations of his process with ring psychology, and not in the B.S. way that Raven does where it doesn't resemble his actual matches. Everything he mentioned, I could think of an example from his career of him doing exactly what he said. He even went into his psychology of working a body part and why he always worked the arm. Maybe it's not everyone, but a guy we all recognize as one of the best thinks that way. The only reason we're resistant to calling it art is because calling something art is considered a pretentious act for whatever reason. Call it folk art, call it pop art, whatever. It's just that societally, saying "this is ART, maaaannn" has been branded a certain way. We can all agree that music is art. Is it really THAT different for a 2015 wrestling fan to say "Hey, this heavily improvisational form of entertainment can be a really fun artform!" compared to, say, the slow recontextualizing of bands like Queen, The Bee Gees, and Duran Duran from junk pop music to genius innovating critical darlings (and rightfully so in all three cases)?

Of course he does. If you were trained by Ric Flair, which you couldn't be, because only Stan Lane was trained by Ric Flair, then why wouldn't you constantly brag about being trained by Ric Flair? Like Stan Lane, the only wrestler ever trained by Ric Flair.

(Had trouble getting a new topic to post until now) http://davidbix.com/the-trade-marks-episode-3-the-rise-and-fall-of-dvds-w-kevin-kleinrock/ For the third episode of The Trade Marks, Dylan and I are joined by Kevin Kleinrock, currently the President of Masked Republic (which owns LuchaShop.com – Use coupon code BIX to get 10% off all items!) and formerly the Vice President of XPW and Big Vision Entertainment to talk about the rise and fall of DVDs in pro wrestling. We cover a ton of relevant topics including lots of background on VHS and the home video market, what the move to DVD improved for everyone, the mainstream DVD boom, how WWE helped condition fans, ROH and Smark Video Video’s places in the market, how getting indies into retail worked, the collapse of the DVD market, and what the future holds. Lots of great discussion here.

http://davidbix.com/the-bix-show-episode-6-josh-watko-on-wrestling-memorabilia/ Josh Watko of JW’s Wrestling Memorabilia joins me to talk everything wrestling memorabilia, including lots of action figure talk covering rarities, AOL’s old WWF action figure message board, and more, vinyl records, autographs, oddities like press kits, home videos, random trinkets, holy grails including the George “The Animal” Steele “Mine” stuffed animal, and much more. Lots of fun going over decades of collecting experience. Make sure to check out Josh’s blog and Twitter account for tons of cool pictures and stories.

It really wasn't remotely deluded to expect something BETTER, though. Being at least as good as Classics on Demand and/or Classics Online in terms of the trickle of archival content, possible hidden gems showing up, etc. isn't THAT high a standard to aspire to. Especially when Classics on Demand was killed when WWE Network was launched (though it had slowed down quite a while before that).

There's some talk about this in the Village Green Preservation Society. I'm of the opinion that it never took place and was just a typo on someone's list. It definitely took place.

Wait, which Super Dragon are we talking about? Seriously though, I enjoyed a lot of his work over the years but he always felt like a guy with a rep enhanced by the mystique of most of the pimped Revolution Pro matches never showing up on tape.

That's no excuse for not adding the shows already fully edited for Classics on Demand and/or Classics Online (like a few years of WCCW), though.

There were at least a couple handhelds he claimed to have shot that he didn't (just like RF with the JCP Philly shows). He had them, he just wasn't the guy who shot them.

You mean ROH Superstar "Towel Boy" Eric Tuttle.

For me, at least live, nothing live tops the guy I saw incessantly chant "SHOW YOUR TITS!" at April Hunter at an indie show. I know what you're thinking, it was an ECW bullshit chant, what makes this guy stand out? Well: 1. He was the only person chanting. 2. Later, he was telling everyone within earshot that he was disappointed others didn't join in. He calmly explained that he figured that since she had posed for Playboy, if enough fans chanted "SHOW YOUR TITS," she would comply. Meanwhile... Is the thing with autograph seekers buying wheelchairs to cut in line limited to wrestling or something that happens with everyone in that world?

Don't forget Canvas Cavity.

http://davidbix.com/the-bix-show-episode-5-kris-zellner/ Wrestling historian, Exile on Badstreet podcast host, and all-around good guy Kris Zellner joins the show to have a loose, sometimes disconnected conversation about old newsletters and other elements of wrestling fandom like radio shows, tape trading, the early days of the internet…and whatever tangents we go off on. Longer episode than usual, but this was a LOT of fun.

http://davidbix.com/the-bix-show-episode-4-sean-wheelock/ Sean Wheelock, the voice of Bellator MMA, joins the show to talk about growing up as a wrestling fan in Kansas City in the ’80s, including seeing Ric Flair’s first NWA World Heavyweight Title win live at Memorial Hall. We also talk about MMA, including topics related to “Is This Legal,” his book with Art Davie about the creation of the UFC, as well as intersecting topics like the effects of the death of kayfabe on pro wrestling, shoots and double crosses, what pro wrestling moves work in reality, and more. Sean is a lot of fun and I can’t wait to have him back on. Also make sure to check out Let’s Get it On, his podcast with the dean of MMA referees, “Big” John McCarthy. P.S. I know some listeners aren’t big MMA fans, but there’s a good bit of wrestling content first and most of the MMA content here has pro wrestling overlap.

Me too. I have zero problem with them plugging actual merchandise but it comes off so ridiculous for them to beg for their ~8% of my Amazon purchases when smaller shows need that so much more.

http://davidbix.com/the-trade-marks-episode-002-may-be-flammable/ After some updates/follow-ups on topics from episode #1, like the status of FWE, WWN Live woes, and the WrestleMania bootlegging lawsuit, we look at everything going on w/ Pro Wrestling Tees including WWE sending a C&D, their new MMA brand, and their past takedowns sent to fan art print sites, then finally we go over the Doug and Tommy Gilbert’s lawsuit against WWE & ESPN. Time Stamps: 0:01:58 FWE Update 0:08:39 WWN Live pricing and customer service issues 0:29:15 WrestleMania 31 bootlegger lawsuit 0:43:24 Pro Wrestling Tees: WWE files C&D/launching a MMA brand/NJPW-related takedowns 1:13:20 Doug & Tommy Gilbert sue WWE & ESPN.

Would think he was cleared and then symptoms returned. Well according to Punk being cleared by a WWE doctor pretty much meant you made it to the building under your own power. There doesn't seem to be much short of hospitalization that would prevent getting cleared. Also, and not to come off as another armchair doctor, it doesn't seem like anyone who's gone in for alternate treatment for neck issues ended up coming out ahead. The "Muscle Activation Techniques" treatment was for the elbow problem. The neck problem was handled via surgery.

It's 2015, why are you reading a site that buries the credit for the source of a news item at the very end where most people will miss it while going out of its way not to mention the source in the text?

If I had to guess, though, they must have been waffling on her return before it was finalized, since she's been completely edited out of Daniel Bryan's book, even the spots where she has to be talked about (18 seconds angle, 3-way feud w/ Kane & Punk). Maybe that changes in the final version that hits stores in July now that they've ended things on publicly good terms, though. They clearly didn't book her as someone who was leaving, so there seems to be more to the story of her brief comeback than we know.

Pretty sure Ross would've been a subscriber approximately that early. I believe the period where Bill Watts told everyone to subscribe was a little later, but Dave was already trading tapes with Joel Watts by early '85 at the latest. What would 1985 Dave have even said about Flair that would be an issue?

http://davidbix.com/the-bix-show-episode-3-doug-gilbert/ Doug Gilbert, who’s been everywhere from Memphis to Bill Watts’ UWF to WCW to the Savoldis’ ICW to the Global Wrestling Federation to ECW to the WWF, joins the show this week. We cover everything from the Brad Armstrong Memorial Show to growing up in a wrestling family to who he learned from throughout his career to why Lance Russell is the best wrestling announcer ever among many other topics. There are some technical issues thanks to cell phone reception that hold us back for a few minutes, but that’s over with quickly and it turns into a really awesome conversation. I didn't get to link it on the site yet, but the show is also available via TuneIn Radio now.