Coffey

Yeah, but I can't see that section. I don't have the password.

I have just gotten into Hansen pretty big and this thread has been infinitely helpful. If, for nothing else, just giving me an idea of matches to seek out. Maybe I should get some DVDs made or something, because I am really digging his AJPW stuff. Another quick question: does anyone know why Bob Backlund turned WWE down in going into the Hall of Fame?

I can not say that he is my favorite wrestler, that would be premature due to not seeing enough of his stuff, but Stan Hansen is one of my new favorites. I would not say that I just discovered him, I have known about him for awhile and seen some of his stuff, but lately watching his AJPW stuff (which I sought out because of the talking about his new book) and just wow, he is really good. Although I am not too terrible fond of stiff working, Hansen just has so much intensity and emotion, I could not help but admire his work. I really need to watch more of his stuff. A lot more, if I can get my hands on it. I plan on ordering his book now too. Maybe we need a thread for newly admired wrestlers or something of that ilk? I do not think I could list my favorites ever, that is too hard (although Muta is up there) but wrestlers we are currently on a kick with? That could be interesting. Do we already have something like that here? I know we have the "Guys you should like but don't" thread, but that is not the same thing.

Well, Luger had a lot of success early, so he probably was a prima donna that let a lot of that stuff get to his head. But in the last few years, he's went through a lot, like the death of Liz and him being confined to a wheelchair. I think he might have also found Christ; Nikita, DiBiase & Sting style. So perhaps he's just been humbled. Hard to say for sure.

I missed eight. One I had right, but apparently they didn't like my (proper) spelling... *sigh* So 52/60.

To be fair, last Thursday might have been the best Impact Wrestling show I have ever watched. I would say better than RAW, for sure. Granted you still have shit dragging it down, but just getting out of the iMPACT! Zone made a world of different. Robbie E & Eric Young are both pretty fun. The new Sting character is pretty fresh. You still have Beer Money and the like running around. Plus, Austin Aries is incredible right now. Maybe it was just like finding a needle in a haystack and the planets aligned correctly for just one week or something, but it was a good show last week. But see, this is kinda what they did and the reason why the angle sucks shit. If you "stick to your guns" you can't book on the fly to strike while the iron is hot. Punk caught fire. WWE pay a group of people to be creative. They should be able to shift gears and go with what is hot. Instead, they stuck to their plan and now the belt is on Del Rio for Mexico. Punk is, not an afterthought, but certainly not the next Stone Cold either. Which a lot of people thought he was heading in that direction. Now he's getting 'bombed by Nash and arguing over text messages.

The Rock spoiled that he was going to be at Survivor Series months ago on Twitter anyway. It's probably just WWE subtlety trying to go along with it since the cat is out of the bag anyway. I highly doubt he'll have a match or be officially advertised for the show. Instead you'll get shit like Lawler on RAW saying "Survivor Series is going to be electrifying!" *wink, wink*

It'll probably just be a run-in, Rock Bottom.

I was never a fan of Benoit's either. He was kinda boring. It takes more than just in-ring technical skill to entertain me. Although he did have some matches that I dig, like his Rumble match with Angle. I never liked Eddie Guerrero until he went to WWE either, and I've always hated Mysterio. (I love The Undertaker though)

Fourthing Akira Taue. I never got the love for that dude. Even in some of those great matches, like the Misawa/Kobashi Vs. Kawada/Taue bout, he was the worst part about them. He's just...awkward.

Several of the "critically acclaimed" wrestlers on the top Indy shows (is that an oxymoron?). More specifically: Davey Richards, Eddie Edwards, Claudio Castagnoli, Chris Hero & El Generico. I do really like Kevin Steen though! I actually can't watch ROH anymore because I dislike the Kings of Wrestling, American Wolves and All-Night Express so much. They're just so boring and repetitive. There was a discussion in a thread here somewhere, maybe in the Comments That Don't Warrant A Thread section, where posters were talking about fake-epic matches. Remember that? Davey Richards is the fuckin' MASTER of that shit. I really hate the state of U.S. Indies right now.

I seem to remember him slamming Earthquake on a table to get a countout win. There was a lot of back rakes, chair shots, etc. throughout his babyface run too. Are we just talking about from a kayfabe stance, or what? Because him kicking out on the 3 count against Warrior at 'Mania 6 was pretty shitty too.

Last night to me, felt like the first time C.M. Punk was using someone elses material. It just felt like the same old tired shit that John Cena does (which he did himself later too, can't resist those bad breath jokes!) I know that Punk is really good. I know that he's a "smark darling" (for the last of a better phrase). But as a top babyface, how long until internet fans turn on him? When the WWE machine is behind a wrestler and basically saying "OK, cheer this guy." It makes it seem less "cool" and it sours some fans. Not just that, but how many different ways can Punk say "by the way, STEPHANIE MCMAHON~!" until people stop giving a fuck? Throw in the fake throwing up and it's heading off a cliff.

I think my biggest problem with WWE is that I still look at them as the "top dog" as far as companies in the pro-wrestling industry are concerned. The wrestlers themselves, all look at reaching WWE as "the top", so to speak. I mean, they have worldwide exposure, a long-ass history, are a publicly traded company, etc. When people think of "wrestling" they think of Stone Cold, The Rock, Hulk Hogan...all WWE (or WWF if they're older fans). Much the same way people think of Tylenol for aspirin. Yet, despite WWE having the stigma of being the pinnacle of the business, everything about the show(s) say otherwise. You have rookie, green wrestlers splattered all over the show(s) (especially the women). You have people like The Great Khali or David Otunga receiving various titles. You have booking dictated by either vindictive natures or purely because of ego, instead of doing what is best for business. There's politics and petty "rules" running rampant. A "wellness policy" that is a complete joke. WWE needs a legitimate competitor, just to kick their shit into gear. However, more so than that, we, the fans, need an alternative, until WWE gives us something more than one C.M. Punk promo per show, or a Mark Henry .gif or sound byte. Maybe this could have been its own topic, but I feel like complaining about WWE is old hat.

On the same note, the smaller guys are portrayed as being underdogs as much (if not more) as the big guys are portrayed as being monsters. Look at our continual Rey Mysterio example: He's a Royal Rumble winner & 3x World Champion but is somehow still the "underdog" when in matches against even midcarders. It is obviously based solely on size in the kayfabe setting. The weight divisions point has already been made but there are some people that will continually point to one or two examples from MMA to defend small guys until the end of time. It always happens. Bottom line is size matters. Anyone that's ever been in a real fist fight can tell you that. You can't use extremes from both sizes. Put two men of equal skill together but have one be bigger. That shit definitely plays. Anyone can be knocked out. Flash KO's happen. Anyone can get caught and get tapped out. But in like a bar fight setting, you're probably not worried about a rear-naked choke or a cross armbar. In a wrestling setting? The idea is that you're in a ring, you can't very well "run" and unless it's the gimmick that the guy can tap someone out (like Taz's gimmick) then the size matters. That's why the Bam Bam Bigelow/TAZ feud in ECW worked!

Eh, it's a work. Size should matter. I remember how unbelievable I always felt it was when Rey won (using Loss' example). I think it's OK when it's two monster running into each other and one has to be better (because he's getting the push). But there's a right way and a wrong way to do it. Hogan/Warrior I think was the right way. Goldberg/Wraith was the wrong way. You don't want it to completely kill the credibility of either man.

Christopher Daniels has always sucked. Watching a little bit of TNA tonight was a friendly reminder.

Yup, still ruining promos in 2011.

I'm sick & tired of the ridiculous "What?" chants in WWE. I realize they will never go away.

Good riddance. What could Matt Hardy bring to the show, honestly? Name value obviously means very little in TNA, and you can fill your roster up with people like Austin Aries instead.

Edge didn't get the news about not being able to wrestle until after seeing his doctor after Wrestlemania, so the match played out as planned.

I hate the whole idea of Money in the Bank too. Just the whole scenario, where winning a multi-man ladder match equates to basically being able to win the title whenever you want. Now there's TWO a year too, instead of it just being a Wrestlemania gimmick match, it has its own Pay-Per-View. Because he's Mexican and they're going to Mexico. Rey Mysterio also has his World Title rematch, so I'm sure he'll be involved too.

Alberto Del Rio is really an interesting WWE case. They had enough faith in him to let him win the Royal Rumble. But it seems like something in-between The Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania gave them cold feet, or something, because he lost in the curtain jerk at 'Mania. Del Rio then kept cutting the same "it's my destiny!" promo but people stopped listening because he just lost every big match. Then he won Money in the Bank, cashed in his briefcase and won the title. So he goes from new heel dominating people on Smackdown, to winning the Royal Rumble, to de-pushed superstar, to cheap World Champion cause they're going to tour Mexico? It just seems really short-sighted to me. Punk caught fire and could have been massively over and instead they're worried about short-term with Mexico? If Del Rio was going to cash-in anyway, why let Cena put his foot on the rope? Why do they keep throwing so much shit into the same bowl? We go from John Cena Vs. C.M. Punk to John Cena Vs. C.M. Punk featuring Johnny Ace, Triple H, Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Alberto Del Rio & Kevin Nash.

At this point, I'm curious what it would actually take for people to consider Punk buried. A Lita style "selling her box" segment?

Mistico has more grace than Hunico, that's for sure. Even if he's not especially "crisp" in all of his execution. Granted that's why I really dislike the Lucha style. It always looks sloppy to me.