flyonthewall2983

Maybe not exact to Harley’s physicality and mannerisms but I could see casting Gene in a role that reflects the kind of guy Harley was as a champion, and the level of creativity he brought to the ring. As well as the business side of what he did and perhaps too the aspects of his character only those who knew Race could speak to.

I would say that in 92 up until the casket match he was intimidating. I was 8 and this my only exposure to him but I have no doubt he was surely intimidating before. I liked the matches he had respectively George “The Animal” Steele than 20 years later with Umaga, where he paid it forward the sell job Steele had done for him leading up to the brief run he had with Hogan in between the Orndorff and Andre feuds.

I had no idea he interviewed Oswald, until The Iron Claw movie was released and it was mentioned somewhere and I watched the footage. Lee wasn’t to thrilled to be talking on camera I could tell as much.

Video says October 5, 91. Probably shown on Prime Time after he won the Rumble.

Still on HBO max, too. I have only seen it once, but the further along I think about it the more disappointed I am. The entire story is such to me that diluting it for dramatic purposes makes the whole thing less dramatic. It’s perhaps this way with a lot of movies but if someday something is made with the authenticity of Oppenheimer that within what makes it great is also that it is as detailed about these events as possible. It is a lofty comparison as since he hasn’t cast either Cena, Batista or Dwayne yet that it’s a safe bet Christopher Nolan probably doesn’t like pro wrestling. It’s just that to me this story as a whole and how and where we have gone since the 80’s, with wider awareness of topics like suicide and abusive families in America. How it is reflected in the audience for wrestling is maybe too close to the bone to get at, but could still be dramatically interesting to approach. The screenwriter David Koepp mentioned writing the Forest Whitaker part in Panic Room for as if it was for Bogart. If I can do some crossing over with the “Wrestler=Actor” thread, Lee J. Cobb would have been perfect as Fritz. 12 Angry Men and particularly the tv production of Death of a Salesman, and those characters in the mold of an old man using his children to chase dwindling glories would be certainly at the center of the way this story could be told. And without the kinds of exaggerations even Oliver Stone got away with a few times. A long time ago. Do we as Americans need to see our former Disney stars beat with belts or scolded for not being brave enough to take their own lives? The Letterboxd reaction to the movie itself is a little more satisfying still because despite it being overwhelmingly positive they do recognize from it the themes I am going on about. One just straight up asked how much worse was it and I sent a link of Meltzer’s Kerry obit from 93. It is such an amazing piece of writing that I still think about the optics of the Mavericks/Lakers game not being at full capacity with the Celtics not far behind, because of the Texas stadium show. To the lingering question, I don’t know but within the spectre of potentially or obviously abusive men in power, whatever cultural wake up call is needed might be too late now. I do have hope for some greater resistance to the rot of previous generations in favor of nothing but love. Any good art should strive along with that in mind. To that end this movie does that, but more as a reflection of the myth rather than a plain look at the truth, itself compelling enough for me to go on like this about.

Aprops of the MMA talk, I highly recommend this

Good chance this phrase has been thrown around in mainstream media more in one weeks time than maybe ever. The reaction from the outer circle of even the most fairweather of fans have expressed opinions on it. But I am less interested in that then what something like this means now. Around a decade ago REM broke up. It felt so weird for a big band to announce it as they did that it felt like in no such time nobody else went about it, like perhaps what happened when more and more people in America divorced their spouses. When such connection is lost, and new expectations form of what was lost in one respect engages in something new and still relatable. I wasn’t a bonafide Hulkamaniac but the turn in 96 sure stunned me to think immediately that this guy is kind of throwing away his image for an angle. Before I waffle around too much on the topic, I’ll just ask. Of all the great legendary or otherwise underseen heel turns, which one were you wrapped up in the most? I think when Crush turned in 93, was devastating. Easy to look back and point where his push went awry, specifically the Doink angle (making the kids cry, brah). But the way, after Yoko laid him out and putting him out of action for months, and how Vince, Randy and especially Bobby Heenan were selling it in the booth all those weeks leading up to the betrayal was fantastic storytelling.

A WCW Vault channel went up today, lot more than this on there

The F bomb, clearly scripted, is as key a moment here. How almost therapeutic that moment was in light of speaking truth to power, was amazing to watch even as just a instagram reel because the crowd just erupted for that response. It reminded me most of Hogan’s “Hell No” to DiBiase in 1987, and serves to remind me how much things have both changed and stayed the same.

Except I wouldn’t call AEW an empire at all

I was there. First PLE since being a fan starting when the hype for WrestleMania 8 began on a local level. It is a show not widely remembered as a great WM, but lot of us still remember it. I saw two separate fans wearing ring attire from that show while walking around yesterday. Went with my brother and with really awesome seats we were rather blown away for almost the entire show. I have not been to a live WWE event in over a decade, and while the shows I went to in the previous two decades had decent crowd response this was on a different level the kinds of which I have not felt since the late 90’s. Women’s Rumble was great, piling up and almost dizzying in how many great spots there were. The tag team match really did feel akin to night and day as far as the reaction but I liked the pace of it, though maybe not how it ended so much. The title match had the big fight feel it has been building up to, the passion within given the more visceral spots lifted my already healthy respect for both men. Cody’s a tremendous figurehead, while Kevin I respect the hustle and also the fact his aura is that if one if the Ghosts of Christmas Past was an attitude era mark. The Men’s Rumble felt like it went by pretty quickly, to start with at least. Cena was my pick to win but I should’ve suspected it would have been Jey, given how hot the crowd was for him even on the cold Indy streets. Plus John felt a bit absent in plain sight (ikyk) for some of the match long enough, to cast doubt on his chances.

Doubtful they could book it but I would love to see them do the HOF at the Sphere

This is the place to do it

I feel privileged to say I heard Jesse Ventura call a WWE title match as it happened. For so many of us he is the voice of this industry, and hearing him do what he did best and behind such a superb heel as Kevin Owens is, was more than nostalgia but something truer to why this stuff is worth giving a damn about. Even now, maybe more than ever now we do need this spectacle as part of American life to distract or reflect what it is we hide from, even ourselves.

Linda is on Trump's transition team

5 John Does have sued Vince, Linda and WWE in connection with the ring boy scandal

Kind of funny to think how deep he would be in MAGA if he were alive today. I take no pleasure in anyone’s death but it feels so obvious to the twisted values he spat out for so long. And honestly, the Heenan comments crossed personal lines with me so fuck him forever. Not meaning to stir up anything here but I was reminded of what he said once again.

When Triple H “married” Steph at the drive through, I think

I hope he writes a book. I would probably re-read every page twice at some point, to break down his vernacular. Which is to maybe admit that deep down there is some actual genius at work, though utterly depleted by what has become so far his downfall. He is beyond redemption, to a great many of us, who even still follow the product. I hope lessons are learned from this. That’s really all I can say in addition to what’s gone on so far. But in what I have watched of the product lately, I have a strong sense of this roster being a real squadron of not his vision alone, but the experience of those who had to pay in blood. He had to pay in the court of public opinion, over and over again and crucially now when his close approximation to the highest echelons of American politics has also coincided with these damning charges as to just how ghastly and perverse he has conducted himself. And how that affects his legacy forward.

I’m betting there is going to be footage even interesting and otherwise unseen by older fans. In light of recent findings elsewhere, it wouldn’t be too hard to believe Vince filmed everything.

He could have hit Joe Torre with a video camera and they would have still loved him.

Is “Paulie” Heyman?

More familiar with him in mid-late 90’s WCW when he was brought in to pacify Hogan with the Dungeon of Doom. His match with chris benoit in Baltimore was a really fun brawl that for awhile I didn’t get tired of watching over and over. But a few years ago I found this clip of him in Florida, leading up to his heel turn. It is kind of a masterclass of buildup with all the charm of territorial wrestling at it’s disposal to help move the story along. It’s also kind of disturbing to watch. https://youtu.be/_e1BPPzuhvg?si=InkjEH2lIAWaEmBt

Seth Rollins telling CM Punk that this is his company, as an off-miked but fully in frame moment was a particular highlight for me. Need more guys saying the quiet part loud these days.