Coffey

Wow, I even posted in the thread. My, I have done a 180 on Steen since a year ago. Coincidentally, I was specifically thinking of Jumbo & Liger & Dylan, in the very first reply, said Jumbo. So at least I know I'm not alone! EDIT: vvv I haven't even seen enough Tenryu to form an opinion of him. All I've seen from him has been garbage but he's been a broken down man in all of 'em.

Which speculative matches are you referring too? Because I know that I personally could not give a rat's ass about a John Cena Vs. Rock re-match, that's for sure. Nor a Brock Lesnar Vs. Triple H re-match. But Punk/Taker or Cena/Taker or Punk/Austin would all interest me.

Alright, well, I would like to list some, although I'll be taking the Flik approach & not trying to put them into order based on favorite, I'll just do it chronologically. Keep in mind that these are favorite matches, not best matches. Some matches were just really instrumental in my fandom during different points in my life. Especially ECW when I was in high school & still in mega-mark mode or when I was a child & a Hulkamaniac. I am never going to be stranded on a deserted island & if I were, I would not have any power or a DVD player & a television anyway! To be fair, I think this paragraph only exists as a defense mechanism anyway as no one wants to have their opinions be called out, but I highly doubt anyone is going over each list with a fine-toothed comb anyway. Hulk Hogan Vs. André the Giant; WWF (3/29/87) Hulk Hogan Vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage; WWF (4/2/89) Ric Flair Vs. Terry Funk; WCW (7/23/89) The Hulkamaniacs: Hulk Hogan, Demolition & Jake Roberts Vs. The Million $ Team: Ted DiBiase, The Powers of Pain & Zeus; WWF (11/23/89) Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake Vs. Mr. Perfect; WWF (4/1/90) Hulk Hogan Vs. The Ultimate Warrior; WWF (4/1/90) The Steiner Brothers Vs. The Nasty Boyz; WCW (10/27/90) The Ultimate Warrior Vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage; WWF (3/24/91) "Macho Man" Randy Savage Vs Shawn Michaels; WWF (4/14/92) Sting's Squadron Vs. The Dangerous Alliance; WCW (5/17/92) Bret "Hitman" Hart Vs. "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith; WWF (8/29/92) Stan Hansen Vs. Toshiaki Kawada; AJPW (2/28/93) Stan Hansen Vs. Kenta Kobashi; AJPW (7/29/93) Shawn Michaels Vs. Razor Ramon; WWF (3/20/94) Mitsuharu Misawa Vs. Toshiaki Kawada; AJPW (6/3/94) Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada Vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi; AJPW (6/9/95) Bret "Hitman" Hart Vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin; WWF (3/23/97) "The Franchise" Shane Douglas Vs. Taz; ECW (1/10/99) Rob Van Dam Vs. Jerry Lynn; ECW (3/21/99) Rob Van Dam Vs. Scotty Anton; ECW (7/16/00) "Stone Cold" Steve Austin Vs. The Rock; WWF (4/1/01) Eddie Guerrero Vs. Brock Lesnar; WWE (2/15/04) Samoa Joe Vs. Kenta Kobash; ROH (10/1/05) The Undertaker Vs. Shawn Michaels; WWE (4/5/09) The Undertaker Vs. Shawn Michaels; WWE (3/28/10) John Cena Vs. Batista; WWE (4/25/10) C.M. Punk Vs. John Cena; WWE (7/17/11) Kazuchika Okada Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi; NJPW (2/12/12) Kazuchika Okada Vs. Tetsuya Naito; NJPW (4/3/12) John Cena Vs. Brock Lesnar; WWE (4/29/12) Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs. Minoru Suzuki; NJPW (10/8/12) I will say that this thread gave me an interesting idea for a new thread subject, which I am way too lazy to write right now. Not necessarily guilty pleasures, but more smark darlings that you can't get into. There are a few guys that are universally praised that I can just not get into, no matter how much of their stuff I watch. They just don't entertain me & in some cases, bore the fuck out of me.

I think making a list for me, personally, would be way too hard. That being said, props to you both, above me, for being able to do so. However, just yesterday I was talking to a buddy of mine via e-mail & he asked me what my favorite Wrestlemania match of all-time was. We talked for a couple of hours & reminded each other of matches. Talked about Hart/Austin, Savage/Steamboat, Austin/Rock, HBK/Taker, etc. At the end of the conversation though, I was pretty sold on being able to say that my favorite was Warrior/Savage & I still believe that. Not just because of the work itself but because of the story leading into the match & the post-match soap opera. It really got me to think about the differences between wrestling promotions and cultures. I can't get that from Puro, as an example, because it's more of a sport & there's a language barrier. I was emotionally invested in the story that WWF had presented & it drew me in. So, if I were to make a list, I think I would have to have a way to include categories. Because although some of the best matches, bell-to-bell, that I have seen in my life come from Japan, sometimes it's not just the bell-to-bell solely that makes something memorable, fun & enjoyable.

Re-watched Richards/Elgin from ROH Showdown in the Sun. I mean, I know I was tipsy the first time I watched it but holy shit, on re-watch, yeah, that match is nowhere near my MOTYC list anymore. Not after the stuff I've seen from NJPW this year. UGH.

What do you mean what happened to him? He's still around. He wrestled Hirooki Goto on the iPPV. He's the NJPW Intercontinental Champion too.

Alberto Del Rio. Dunno how credible it is but it was apparently said on some lucha radio show, or at least that's what I read: Also if anyone watched the TNA PPV tonight Devon was revealed as an Aces and Eights guy. The only guy revealed. Also Jeff Hardy won the world title, Chavo/Hernandez won the tag titles, Tara's mystery boyfriend was some jobber from Big Brother & RVD won the X-title.

Yeah, I noticed that chick too. I was thinking "what the fuck is going on here?" then she got up & turned sideways to walk away & my immature man came out as I thought "holy shit!" cause that girl was stacked.

I saw pictures this morning taken from the TNA Hall of Fame ceremony for Sting & I just shook my head. I'm not sure if it could have looked anymore amateur & bush league if they tried. Think of The Iron Sheik at a convention signing $5 autographs, like that scene from The Wrestler. It looked like that type of venue. At least the roster dressed up for the occasion. Also, the TNA Bound for Glory Pay-Per-View is tonight. Supposed to be their biggest show of the year, their Wrestlemania if you will...and it looks terrible. Rob Van Dam Vs. Zema Ion? Wow...someone is going to die.

Yeah, I can't top this.

Who can forget his cameo in Highlander: Endgame!?

Dave has flipped his gourd.

Yeah, this is how I feel. I think it's in my top five right now (this year) but that's more due to there not being a ton of great stuff this year & me still being a little behind in my watching. I liked Brock/Cena more than it, for example & definitely both Okada/Tanahashi & Okada/Naito. I do think I liked it more than Richards/Elgin though. No way that's a 5-star match but if it rejuvenates Dave's love of pro-wrestling again, great.

Best way I can explain Tanahashi is that he looks like a rockstar that would not look out of place wrestling a main event style in a WWE ring. I wouldn't even know who to compare him to. He's a hybrid of several different people, I think, but naming names would either not do justice to Tanahashi or be too high-praise & a slight against the people named. It's sort of like that, if it makes sense.

New Japan has been great all year, I would say the best promotion in the world, and Okada's entire run was a ton of fun. I still have him as Wrestler of the Year and 3/5 of my MotYC are from NJPW.

Well that certainly seems tame. This is what is supposed to take him out of ROH?

No offense, but does anyone give a fuck about Tammy Sytch? Why do they keep putting her on camera? I can't imagine her Shoots sell like hotcakes.

It is probably going to be Eric Bischoff. Abyss/Park will be the "mole" & Bully Ray will turn on Sting.

Well, that's the case for everything in wrestling. Russo isn't unique there. Yeah, that's what I meant. It's just going to be weird, so the few in this thread that got up-in-arms (maybe that's an exaggeration) over a comment or two of positivity in the direction of Russo should probably brace themselves. I foresee polls in the future asking absurdity like "who is the best writer/booker ever?" with Russo winning...

The longer Vince Russo is away from professional wrestling the more fondly he will be remembered. In a few years, there will be a whole new generation of fans talking about how great he was & how much of a genius he is. Rose-colored glasses, nostalgia & all that.

The Godfather is one the greatest movies of all-time & expecting anyone in professional wrestling, Vince Russo or otherwise, to even come close to being able to tell a story that well is ridiculous. If they were that great of a writer, they would not be in wrestling in the first place. So I think expectations are either too high or that was a terrible example to use. Although I know I'm reading into it more than the point that was being made, and I do get the overall point, I just think using the Godfather was silly. Here's a question: what are the greatest stories ever told in wrestling? If we're trying to talk about what great is as it pertains to wrestling, let us first define where the bar is at. Because even all the best stories I can think of had stupid and silly parts to them.

What is the Rey Mysterio, Jr. story that Dave Meltzer is referring to?

Anyone not watching WWE Night of Champions LIVE needs to download it tomorrow just for JBL on commentary. But Dolph Vs. Orton is pretty damn good too. JBL is SO GOOD.

So how long until "this is not a part of tonight's entertainment" is worked into an angle, the same way they did it with the referees throwing up the X sign?