khawk20

In-ring instincts is something that I remember coming up a lot more among the wrestlers that talk about him, which, for those guys, would be something at least equal to if not above athleticism, I think.

The Ultimate Warrior-Papa Shango voodoo angle made me turn off TV wrestling for several years, and I was the last guy that I ever thought that could happen to.

Add Vince winning a town as another form of killing it. As Vince took over in the Midwest from Verne, there were instances of markets with monthly shows with local angles and interviews being turned into markets with generic TV and maybe 3-4 house shows a year (sometimes less), with cookie cutter matches that went around the horn. Winnipeg is the example closest to me and the first one that I always think of. Vince killed it for wrestling after January of 1986 quickly. It was a case of Vince wanting it badly to hurt Verne and the AWA, but once he had it he didn't seem to care about sustaining it and it's fan base. The Twin Cities were similar to this, not the same but with a similar effect as Vince slowly pushed Verne out through the 80's.

I type mine out and put them in specific Word files...a "big" list, divided in to several categories, and several individual category listings. Example: 4413 WWE 24/7: WWWF Champ. TV October 15th, 1977 40 min EX- Butcher Vachon vs. Bob Markus, Mil Mascaras vs. Johnny Rodz, Stan Stasiak vs. Johnny Rivera, The Golden Terror vs. Lenny Hurst, Bob Backlund vs. Bill Swift, Chief Jay Strongbow & Peter Maivia vs. Ali Baba & Baron Mikel Scicluna. I have also started an Excel list that is just disc number and title, but it will take a long time to finish it as I did not do this from the start. It's more of a spare time project.

One big difference is sound quality. If my TV is on an HD channel at, say 15, if I watch the same show on an SD channel I have to crank the volume up to at least 25 to get the same levels...and it's not as good even then. And honestly I find a difference in watching footage on an HD channel even if it was produced before HD was around.

Do they air it in HD in the US? ESPN Classics Canada (which will likely carry this) is only in SD, which absolutely blows.

I have a list kicking around of Stevens footage that I can PM you if I can find it. I did one for Barnett some time ago as he was looking for a comp. I didn't end up making it, though. The one thing about Stevens that has been universal in wrestler commentaries about him was that he was a complete "night off", and one of the easiest guys to work with, ever. Another thing that comes up constantly is his impeccable timing in the ring, and his remarkable instincts in the ring. So, while it doesn't necessarily translate in the available footage, the words of his colleagues do mean something, especially when they are almost universal. And yes, wrestlers do BS about everything, but I never get the sense that praise for Stevens is like that.

I sit here wondering how I did not know this existed until right now. Awesome.

Martel vs. Race from '78 or so (a tv match that was more a squash than not IIRC) comes to mind but not much else offhand.

Mike Jackson? Steve Lombardi?

I don't know for sure. Blackwell had so many health problems in that time frame that I imagine the injury was legit, but Blackwell-Hansen was probably booked (or held onto after he got hurt that time), hoping that Blackwell would be ok to go and Hennig was the backup plan if he couldn't go.

I'd find another example, JVK, the whole Super Clash show is mic'ed very badly and you can't really get a good indicator of crowd reaction from any match on that show. Short of being there I have no idea if the crowd was into it or not. the crowd could have been hot for the whole show, or not, but what we're hearing is not any kind of indicator either way.

The thing that I don't like about it is that Mero beating Windham in a wrestling feud would somehow be equated as evening things up for him "slitting the throat" of Sable.

Still seems like way too much for the time frame, IMO.

False. Has to be. Slitting Sable's throat? Not a chance.