gordi

I want to toss Dick Togo's name out there. I'm definitely in the "Danielson is obviously #1" camp, but I think the 12 or so years of Togo we got might be good enough for a top 10 spot on the list.

If it turns out to be 35 mins edited down to 20 or so, that could actually be kind of fascinating because it would give us some insight into what Vince considers "Great."

Quick poll: which pro wrestling match do you think is likely to be better, DB vs AJ for the IC on tonight's SDL or the upcoming Greatest Pro Wrestling Match of All Time at Backlash?

Excellent topic idea! Hopefully I'll learn something here. My vote for best goes to Brazos vs Infernales from, I believe 1991. Sorry I can't be more specific off the top of my head. Hopefully the match is well known enough... (Edit: Pretty sure it's the one that was taped Nov. 22nd and aired Nov. 24th) My vote for favourite probably goes to another Brazos match, against Eddie, Chavo, and Mando. I'd like to see that one again! It's fun us for who is in it, but I remember it being pretty damned good as well. (2nd Edit:)

There are so many good wrestlers in WWE. I was just given an NXT match from 5 years ago on the Secret Santo thread over n DVDVR and the in ring stuff was absolutely first rate. The actual wrestling and the wrestlers were certainly not the problem. But I could not fully get into the match. All of the stuff around the match kept pulling me out. The unnecessarily frenetic and hyperkinetic camera work. Just let me watch the match! The commentary. When they were reacting to the stuff that was happening in the ring they were very good. But, there were so many points where they were obviously reciting prefabricated talking points with zero sincerity or enthusiasm. It was sometimes painful to listen to. The backstory to the match. They used to be friends! Then one of them turned heel on the other! This is personal! The fans. Can nobody cheer for the face and boo the heel? Chants can be okay in the right context, but can't we time them to match what's going on in the ring. Like, maybe, save "This is awe-some" for after an awesome thing has occurred? And so on. It was Sasha vs Becky. Tremendous heel performance from Sasha but the crowd barely reacted to it. The crowd wanted to get their shit in. All of that stuff kept pulling me out of it, and I truly wanted to just get into it and enjoy it. Then whenever I try to watch or even read about the current product there is just so much going on that keeps me from getting back into WWE. Never mind the F you booking. I'm talking about insane creative bankruptcy like having an interview followed by another interview followed by a run in to set up a main event tag week after week after week.having "the challenger has pinned the champion!!" happen again and again and again and again. It's obviously not the wrestlers that are the problem. The roster is stacked with talent. But it's like WWE is a big machine doing everything in their power to keep me and countless other pro wrestling fans from being able to just enjoy watching all those great wrestlers wrestle. But, they are still the biggest wrestling company in the world. I sincerely don't get it.

I've only seen the Stampede match. Twice. Loved it both times. It was like an early Zucker Abrahams Zucker production. So many creative ideas coming at you so quickly. Everyone showed some ass and everyone got to look cool. Such an entertaining break from grim reality.

So, kind of like this classic episode of Newhart:

I started shaving my head so long ago that my pro wrestling friends made jokes about me being a Russian. Then I moved away to Europe and when I came back to Canada in 2001 I got all the Goldberg/Austin/Howard Finkel comparisons. Now in Japan people sometimes call me White Mutoh (and sometimes also Stone Cold).

MattD just reviewed the Inoki vs Saito Island Death Match in the DVDVR Secret Santo thread. That brought his to mind: Both island death matches took place on Ganryujima. Ganryujima is apparently a bit of a tourist attraction. It's a small boat-shaped island between two of the main islands of the Japanese archipelago. We went to Shimonoseki once, to eat fugu. You can take a little ferry out to the island It was the site of a very famous Samurai duel, between the great swordsman Musashi and Some Other Guy (who was the head of the Ganryu school of swordsmanship, hence why the name of the island was changed from literally "boat island" (probably Funashima) to Ganryujima, as a memorial).. The story of the fight is that Musashi carved a wooden sword out of a boat oar, showed up 2 hours late for the fight, and brained Some Other Guy with a single swing of his wooden sword. You can see how Inoki, the greatest warrior of his generation, felt he should have a match there. There is a statue commemorating the samurai battle (which would be the monument that Hase was paying respects to). Apparently the draw for tourists is to stand on the island and imagine the fight. There are no restaurants or souvenir shops or anything. There is a storage facility for he Shimonoseki dry docks. According to Wikipedia there is also a walking trail. Anyway, we opted not to go. At the time, I didn't make the connection with the Island Death Match.

Well, I mean, he was a college dean.

I'd actually really like to get one of their jacket/hoodie things:

Do you not watch pro wrestling?

Once the crisis is over: Take 'em to a live show. If there is anything running within driving distance that doesn't actively suck, the live experience is 10 times more powerful at helping someone understand what is fun and what is great about pro wrestling.

Who are you to doubt el Brandi? She's a jam-up lady!

He's in The Big Doghouse