khawk20

I think with Hogan's schedule, having him come in and do a two or three match program in an area was sometimes impossible, so he'd come in for a month to pop the crowd with what turned into a throwaway chellenger. Rude is the primary example in my mind, though there are others (One Man Gang, Killer Khan, probably some I've forgotten). In Rude's case he didn't really lose any of his heat because it was a one-off title match and losing to Hogan wasn't going to derail a heel much if at all in that regard. No doubt the payoffs were better, but I think Hogan's overall schedule (wrestling, media, celebrity stuff Vince would have been getting him involved with) accounted for a lot of the one-offs.

I always felt Backlund could drop the strap at anytime, to almost any challenger he was wrestling. All-American Boy Wonder vs. Super Monster Heel/Evil Wrestling Genius always left an element of "what could happen" on the ring apron, and Bob leading or dominating matches against his opponents never dispelled that vibe. Hogan, on the other hand, I never felt could lose to anyone he was thrown in with. You had to learn to enjoy his matches for what they were and what was going to happen pretty quickly to make the match work in your head. The better a heel challenger did against Hogan, even in defeat, was something that could elevate his status moving forward after the Hogan series. The Savage series in MSG is a good example. No matter how well a heel challenger did against Bob, I don't think it ever helped them get over after the series was completed. Look at all of Greg Valentine's series' against Bob, where the title even got held up once in 1981. I don't think those matches did anything to elevate Greg after they were done in the eyes of the fans as he was just another failed challenger. A lot of that is the ladder-style of booking during Bob's reign (climb to the top and challenge, lose, then climb back down and lose to Pedro, Putski, et al before leaving). The design was for the heel to be at his peak when he challenged Bob. Same thinking wasn't in effect so much with Hogan because nobody really expected a challenger to beat him. After the Hogan challenge, guys could still be strong against the level below Hulk. Given that they were keeping everyone for long periods of time in the Hogan era, it was the only thing they could do. The Bob-Style ladder wasn't really feasible.

Flair wrestling and execution of moves and spots looks effortless while being smooth and subtle. Bret's wrestling and execution of moves looks effortless with an "in-your-face" smoothness to it. I say this thinking not just of their signature spots, but their presentation as a whole. It's one of the things that initially attracted me to their matches throughout their career. The smoothness of their wrestling, although presented differently, is the common factor. Especially/mostly from their "prime" years. My brain is inclined to throw out everything after 2000-ish when making this comparison...they were both different guys by then, obviously.

Who cares how Meltzer rated it. That is one of the greatest matches I have ever seen, American or otherwise. Well, that's sort of what the question was. What matches did Dave not give 5 snowflakes to that he probably should have. Given how much you love the match, if it didn't get 5 stars it would end up being one of your answers.

Given it's placement in the DVDVR AWA Poll, what about the Bock-Hennig draw? I confess to being unsure of how Dave rated it at the time.

I'm with you on both.

I blamed those pummelings more on him being fat and out of shape with no reflexes to speak of left in the tank. I won't dispute the leg kicks slowed him down some in his later bouts, but his speed was already noticably less after his sabbatical from boxing during the Vietnam war. He was already losing steam by that point.

What's the format like?

All those leg kicks caused his Parkinsons?

Every AWA match he ever actually watched would be my guess.

Is there already a thread from the past asking for everyone's worst finish of all time? If not that would make a good companion to this thread. Everyone has matches they've watched that were going along fine until the finish, which on occasion completely ruins all the good that came before it.

What years are considered Slater's prime?

That one sounds...frightening.

There is something to be said for a 4 minute match that feels like it went 20 or 25 minutes. If it feels long and torturous but isn't actually long, that says something.

Biggest concern is whether or not there is a chance that stuff is lost in the move. That would seriously impact this board and a lot of information could be lost. I'm averse to change as well and I find this board configuration works excellent for me.

YOU KIDS SHOULD HAVE THAT TV OFF WHEN YOU'RE DOING YOUR HOMEWORK!!! IF I TRIED THAT WHEN I WAS A KID I'DA GOT A GOOD WHIPPIN'!!! signed, Old Man Shaking His Fist From His Front Porch

Does anyone have a review of the Backlund-John Studd match from January of 1983 at MSG kicking around? They built Studd up at that point to be a real monster, to the point where Monsoon was talking like it was almost certain that the match would mark the end of Bob's title reign, literally right before the match begins. While Monsoon might have done that at other times, this specific instance (I can't remember who was at the mic with him, maybe Patterson) seemed to paint a picture of the demise of Bob in a really definitive colour. It seems to me that a match described like that should have been one that saw Backlund sell like a madman for Studd. All I remember right now is that it's relatively short and Backlund "got lucky" and won. No MSG rematch so it was a one-and-done for whatever reason. IF Bob sold to the level that Monsoon et al seemed to expect him to sell, then it gives a reference point for a Bob match that Parv might have expected Bob to wrestle more often than he did. IF Bob turned in a performance that sold less than the build for it, that lends creedence to Parv's argument about Bob in the role as Champ. I think it's worth a look if someone can find it, for the purposes of this debate.