JerryvonKramer

http://placetobenation.com/titans-of-wrestling-45-mid-atlantic-in-the-1970s-part-2/ Parv, Pete, Johnny and Kelly return to Mid-Atlantic to look at the late 70s, which is a story of two men called Rick. On the docket tonight: Ric Flair vs. Steamboat (06/15/77) (TV title) Ric Flair promo on a private jet Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (3/12/78) (Andre as special guest ref) Flair, Ernie Ladd and Big John Studd promos Greg Valentine vs. Jimmy Snuka (1978) Boris Malenko and the Masked Superstar (1977) Ken Patera vs. Ricky Steamboat (1979) Iron Sheik vs. Ricky Steamboat (falls count anywhere, 1979) Masked Superstar face turn (1980) This show: - Steamboatmania is running wild in North Carolina - Flair's development as the best promo in the business - Andre defines "Disney-chic" - Johnny gurgles with Professor Malenko - Comparison of Steamboat and Bob Backlund as top babyfaces

So I started watching Wahoo stuff today and Ladd's amazing performances from 1973 in Chicago came totally out of left field for me. See here: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/30645-wahoo-mcdaniel/ The key thing that stood out was the level of his bumping and his speed and agility, which for a man his size is really quite outstanding. Reminded me a bit of Curt Hennig. He seems to have slowed down A LOT by the time we see him against Bruno and others in 1977. This is one of those things I wasn't especially looking for, I'm looking at Wahoo, but it leapt out at me. Ladd in the early 70s seems to be a totally different proposition from Ladd in the late 70s and beyond. "Promises Promises".

Seconded request. I think a lot of us have seen a handful of Breaks matches and think he's awesome, but not entirely sure where to go after that. I am shortlisting guys to prioritise. Breaks is one of them.

Great contributions by Dylan, Kris and cm funk. I wonder how much St. Louis might have been a place that Verne might have really cracked. They never liked Vince's presentation there, the more cartoony stuff. It was a proper wrestling town, and Verne for all his faults, loved that style of proper technical wrestling. He might have given it to them too, plus Bruiser was a big guy there and he had him, but I don't know how important getting over in St. Louis actually was in the overall scheme of things. HOWEVER, if you watch any WWF TV from 1984, Vince does make a pretty big song and dance about running shows there and having Hogan defend the belt there. Name-dropping of St. Louis is all over those TNT shows, but I don't know if that actually meant anything to anyone beyond Vince, industry insiders and people from the St. Louis area. I do agree that Verne lacked the killer instincts of Vince, I'm just saying that IN TIME, in a Vince-less environment, he would have grown. He had cable and he had some means to expand. I think he was more likely to do it than any of the NWA promoters. Although I do agree that creatively Bill Watts is the only one who'd make a product actually good enough to go national -- famously he outdrew JCP and WWF when they all had the slots on TBS and that was purely through having the better TV. What was Verne's relationship with Watts? We're getting into stupid "what if" territory now, but what if Verne and Watts joined forces? AWA roster on its own didn't have all the tools, but add it to Watts's roster and all of a sudden it's not looking too shabby.

Wahoo McDaniel vs. Ernie Ladd (6/30/73) "Promises, Promises". What a fucking dude. I think this is Luce on commentary, suggesting this is from Chicago. Ladd sells big for Wahoo to start, who throws a few big chops. Wahoo targets his offense on Ladd's leg. Headlock, up to a vertical vase. Wahoo really cranks on this headlock, it's a proper CRANK. Ladd takes over on offense. Send Wahoo in for the ride, Ray Stevens bump in the turnbuckle. These two guys really slugging it out now. Backdrop by Wahoo. Elbow drop. That gets two. Ladd has given Wahoo a hell of a lot here. Gut punch by Wahoo sends Ladd 360 (DiBiase bump), Another big chop and Ladd goes flying. Ladd has been working this match like a 7-foot Curt Hennig! Reverse knife-edge sends Ladd 360 over the top rope. He tries to get back in and goes to the trunks. Brawling on the apron now as neither man can get back in. Another 360 bump by Ladd back into the ring. Jesus Christ. Ladd lurks behind the ref and suckers Wahoo with a punch which earns him a DQ. Apart from the fuck finish this was awesome. Ladd, man, they Big Cat could fly!! He bumped huge here which is amazing for a man his size. Wahoo was intense on offense too. ***1/2 Wahoo McDaniel & Dick the Bruiser vs. Ernie Ladd & Superstar Graham (5/25/73) Still in Chicago, this is from a few days earlier seemingly. Superstar Graham looks cool, and him and Ladd as a team are swank as hell. Story here is that Bill Watts was injured in the previous match against Ladd and Graham, and so Dick the Bruiser has agreed to tag with Wahoo instead. Winner gets a shot at Ray Stevens and Pat Patterson for the belts. Ladd and Graham seem to want an immediate DQ win, ha ha. But ref isn't having it and Bruiser unloads on Ladd who goes flying. Wahoo goes after Graham. Collision spot for the heels. Lateral press by Wahoo on Graham, but he's not the legal man. Bob Luce is a trainwreck on commentary and he's doing my head in. Bruiser grabs Ladd by the nose. Graham in. Bruiser grabs him by the nose too. Dropkick by Wahoo on Ladd. Shoulder charge by Graham but runs into a slam by Wahoo and a dropkick. Graham comes back a bit. He is pretty stacked to be fair. Front facelock by hi on Wahoo. Ladd in. Great little stomps by him. I love that Ladd, despite being so big still works like a stooging heel. It's a lot of fun. Wahoo in and he gives a big tomahawk to Graham. Masive chop gets three for the first fall. Second fall and Bruiser pounds on Ladd. Oh, an advert. "Haggerty" is selling a car. Thankfully, that was brief! Bruiser sends Ladd into Wahoo's fist. Chop by Wahoo on Graham's arm. Heels manage to turn it around. Wahoo has colour somehow and Graham bites the cut. Ladd in. Little Baron-style punches out of the headlock. Goes for a cover but Bruiser breaks it. Wahoo bleeding a lot here. Ladd with another stomp. Graham in with stomps. Elbow smash by Graham. Cover gets the second fall. Luce has got to shut up soon, he's SO annoying. Graham vs. Wahoo in the third fall now. Big boot by Wahoo allows him time to make the tag. Ladd tries to sneak in but Bruiser with a mule kick. Snapmare over the top by Bruiser on Ladd. Collision spot again. Big clothesline by Wahoo. Full armdrag and twist. Ladd is isolated. Chop by Wahoo and Ladd is busted open badly. Another big chop by Wahoo. Elbows now, three, four, five. Chop on Graham. All four men in and yet another collision spot. Faces have just totally guzzled the heels here. Bruiser brawls with Ladd outside. Bruiser gets back in for a count out win. CHEAP and lame as hell. I HATE Bruiser, he's so shit. This match was bogged down by the presence of Bruiser, who is like carrying a lump of metallic shit, and Graham wasn't any great shakes in the ring. Juice from both Ladd and Wahoo though. A bit of war dancing at the end, including one by Bruiser. I said it before: if Bruiser had been a wrestler in the 90s, he'd have been the Sandman. I don't like Sandman much either. AWA tag structure leaves a lot to be desired too. It goes something like this: Shine ... shine ... shine ... finish. Boooo. **1/2 Wahoo McDaniel & Bill Watts vs. Ernie Ladd & Superstar Graham (5/5/73) Okay, so weirdly this set has had the matches in reverse chronological order so far. Graham gets the worse end of the start with Wahoo and eventually tags out. Ladd eats a dropkick. But then he comes back. Graham in for some double teaming. Graham rams Wahoo's head into Ladd's boot. Comes back though. And Watts comes, while Wahoo steals the first fall. Back drop by Wahoo on Ladd. Watts in. Head into the turnbuckle. Hip toss. Watts gets his head stuck between the ropes, his neck is copletely stuck between the ropes. Shaky leg sell and everything here. Match has to be stopped, heels win by forfeit. This was just an angle really, but a weird one. Watts is injured just by accident. Weird. Oh no, Wahoo wants to continue 2 vs 1. It's 1-1 in falls. Chop suey on Graha by Wahoo. Ladd comes in. Chop mayhem by Wahoo. Goes for the pin. Slam by Graham. Punch by Ladd. Elbow is enough for three by Graham. *1/2 More Wahoo later.

What was his actual plan Dylan?

Loss, the reason I mention Verne is because by all accounts the AWA were gearing up for expansion as early as 1982. Verne was not like the other NWA promoters, remember that he'd already "gone rogue" and gone to war in Chicago and elsewhere and come out on top. He ran a rival World Title. So in effect, Verne was a bit of a lone wolf compared to all the others. I don't know where the AWA would have made incursions first. I think LA and the West Coast was there for the taking following the demise of La Bell and Shires. He had guys like Ray Stevens and Bockwinkel on the books who were big names in that region. Hogan, if he'd kept him, would have gotten over there. Verne also had the TV. He got that ESPN slot fairly early on. He also had major towns like Chicago and the Twin Cities to rely on, which Watts didn't really have. In an environment with no Vince, I think in time the AWA would have start to grow.

Not to go too far off topic, but I think there's a very good argument to say that Verne would have.

Dory Funk Jr Top 5 on youtube: [Tags] Dory Funk Jr. and Dick Murdoch vs Seiji Sakaguchi and Michiaki Yoshimura (12/12/71) Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk vs. Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta (03/13/75) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvM21VY8zN4 Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr vs. The Sheik and Abdullah the Butcher (9/19/78) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRhvlleY9m0 Terry and Dory Funk Jr. vs. Nick Bockwinkel and Blackjack Lanza (09/21/78) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOg11LXw6yw Terry & Dory Funk Jr. vs. The Sheik & Abdullah the Butcher (2/3 falls match, 07/15/79) [singles] Dory Funk Jr. vs. Jerry Brisco (01/07/75) Dory Funk Jr vs. Mike Graham (08/13/81) Dory Funk Jr. Jerry Lawler (3/30/1981) Seek out if you can find them: Dory Funk Jr. vs. Horst Hoffman (12/15/75) Dory Funk Jr. vs Jumbo Tsuruta (12/18/75) Terry & Dory Funk Jr. vs. Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta (11/30/79) Dory Funk Jr vs. Billy Robinson (03/07/82)

Jack Brisco Top five that you can find on youtube: Jack Brisco vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (01/30/74) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdukmRFkiZE Jack Brisco vs Giant Baba (12/2/1974) Jack Brisco vs. Giant Baba (12/05/74) [v. rare, I uploaded, ****3/4 for me] Jack Brisco vs Bill Watts (09/13/75) [Watts himself on commentary, v. funny] Seek out if you can find them: Jack Brisco vs Antonio Inoki (08/05/71) Jack Brisco vs vs Terry Funk (03/26/76) Jack Brisco vs. Roddy Piper (07/07/82) Jack & Jerry Brisco vs. Jimmy Valiant & Bob Orton, Jr. (12/6/83)

Since Dandy has been touted as being "better than Arn Anderson", I need to give him proper consideration. Other than the matches Gregor outlines, is there anything else that is "must watch" from him? It would be good to get five bonafide "classic" performances from him to get me started.

Don't want to nitpick, but Denucci probably drew as much money in Australia as Foley did in his whole career. He was also a staple headliner in North East secondary markets in the late 60s and early 70s before settling into the Gatekeeper role most people know him for. I'd be interested to see, adjusted for inflation, who drew more money in their career, Denucci or Foley. I don't think it's a slamdunk for Foley, Dominic was huge in the Aussie WCW. That's not nitpicking. I did not know that. Interesting. I suppose I should have picked another wrestler who trained people that I thought didn't draw money. What about The Unpredictable Johnny Rodz? Over to my boy Kelly here, but as Java Farook he was at least a headliner in LA, and a fairly sizable star. People forget that New York was a major pay-day territory and that guys like Denucci and Rodz, who settled into midcard and JTTS roles as homesteaders, had actually "made it" to an extent. As in, they didn't have to travel the country anymore looking for work. Working the opener at MSG might have got them the same amount of money as headlining in some other places. Why do you think they stayed there 15+ years? It was a cushy gig. Tito Santana also told us that Rodz was a real leader in the locker room; he was an important part of Vince Sr's setup.

Don't want to nitpick, but Denucci probably drew as much money in Australia as Foley did in his whole career. He was also a staple headliner in North East secondary markets in the late 60s and early 70s before settling into the Gatekeeper role most people know him for. I'd be interested to see, adjusted for inflation, who drew more money in their career, Denucci or Foley. I don't think it's a slamdunk for Foley, Dominic was huge in the Aussie WCW.

Since the pictures of Alice have caused such a great deal of offense, I've taken them down and edited the OP.

To explain the picture, I'd never seen her before, only heard her. And somehow seeing her face made her even more annoying. Apologies if it has hurt anyone's sensibilities ...

Two thirds of the way through Jack and Jerry on tape now, (see here). And one match at ****1/2 which I thought was awesome vs. Jimmy Valiant and Bob Orton Jr from 12/6/83. It has Japanese commentary but is actually a Crockett match, which I hope will make that set. From what I've seen so far, the Briscos were a very good face team but a GREAT heel one when they can turn up their viciousness, dictate the offense, and be proper dicks in the post-match. I'd put them up against most teams from the 80s truth be told, they have everything: psychology, selling, offense, heat, intensity, innovation. You name it. Jerry is a really good worker too. The sizzle to Jack's steak. This tag stuff has actually helped Jack's case rather than hindered it. They work a tremendous pace. Just as it looked like Jack was slowing down, he becomes a tag worker and picks it right back up again. I also think turning heel gave him a new lease of life. Locking a lock for my Top #25 at the very least at this stage. I'm also starting to think about Jerry as a top 100 guy. I've seen a few very good to great singles matches with him, incuding one vs. Dory Jr., I just wonder what else he has out there. Might be hurt for footage. But he's been great in the tag team, especially after the heel turn.

You clearly haven't heard it.

Jack & Jerry Brisco vs. Road Warriors (Texas Tornado Match) (08/23/83) This from Georgia. Road Warriors still heel, Briscos still faces. JR is on commentary with Animal, both kayfabing, this was for WWE 24/7 seemingly. Ref is Scrappy McGowan. Warriors hadnt been wrestling for six months here. Hard to call action here, but I didn't think much of this. The Roadies at this point kinda worked like The Warlord, all chokes and big man "holding" spots. Briscos sold for them, but there wasn't enough motion really. They did this neat Irish whip spot where Jack would whip a guy into Jerry's double boot in the turnbuckle, but they didn't have much to work with here. And then we get a non-finish because the Briscos grab some chairs and chase the Road Warriors off. The Funks had a MUCH better match with the Road Warriors in 86. This was nothing. ** Jack & Jerry Brisco vs. David Von Erich/Dory Funk, Jr. (circa 1982) This is from the random David Von Erich heel run in Florida that I came across during my Dory watching. JIP, Solie on commentary and we have Jack working over David's leg with his usual assortment of sweet knee drops. Dory in and headlock takeover. Solie is excited to see two former NWA champs in the same ring. Think about the FAMILIES involved here too. Dory and Jerry now. Snapmare. Dory dumps Jerry. David with a bit of heeling on the outside. Back in and a big knee lift by David. Jack in. Big south paw. High back body drop. Gut punch. Inside cradle. Dory in. European uppercuts. Armdrag takeover. Fullarm drag and twist. Bodyslam. Brisco with a slam. SWEET arm drag. Arm bar. Jerry in with a double axe-handle on the arm. Shoulder smash by Jerry. Rolling cradle by Dory. This is some good pro wrestling. Arm drag by Jerry. Jack in. Lefts. Dropkick, but Dory hooks the rope. Spinning toehold! Figure-four by Jack! Solie NEVER neglects to mention that Dory won the title with the spinning toehold, ha ha. Dory goes for a slam but Jack blocks it and falls on top for a near fall. Doubleunderhook suplex by Jack, but Dory covers and David assists the pin by adding leverage to Dory's leg. This was a cool match. Action between the Briscos and Dory was top stuff. ***3/4 We get an interview with Jack and Jerry now. They are talking about a tag tournament. Jerry says it is sanctioned all around the world from region to region. There's eventually going to be an East vs. West style tournament. Jerry starts to list teams: "You've got Adrian Adonis and Jesse Ventura ..." "You've got you're errr, Pat Patterson ..." "You've got Tony Garea, up there, and errrr, his partner" Ha ha ha ha. Jerry is not a natural promo. Solie mentions this tournament means they might be wrestling in Japan or India or anywhere! Jack talks now. Jack wants to win the world titles. That was from Florida. We switch to Ray Stevens now with Bob Caudle. This looks like an episode of Worldwide. "What do you know about the Briscos?" Stevens: They are full-blooded Indians out of Oklahoma. Jack Brisco's reputation speaks for itself, he was the world champion! And his brother, a tremendous wrestler who has wrestled all over the world. GREAT, I mean a great tag team. Caudle says we have a tape of them in action now, so let's roll of the tape: Jack & Jerry Brisco vs. Rick & John Davidson (2/17/82) Yay, a jobber match! I don't recognise the ring announcer, he's young. And bad. I think it's Bruce Tharpe who then goes to join Solie on commentary. He's no Coach John Heath! This is from Florida by the way, but seeingly shown on Worldwide. The Davidsons are dressed like Hillbillies. Fireman carry takedown by Jack. Full armdrag and twist. Fireman carry takedown by Jerry. Jack in with an elbow drop on one of the Davidsons. Arm drag. Arm bar. Other Davidson in. Shinbreaker by Jack. Jerry with a kneedrop on the "quadracepanmourus muscle" as he tags in. Hamstring snaps by the Briscos now. Jack catches the other guy on the tag. Abdominal stretch. All four in. Snapmare by Jack. Figurefour, other dude tries to break it but Jack catches him in an inside cradle and pins him while still in the figure four. What a guy! Fun little squash. **1/2 Jack & Jerry Brisco vs. Jay & Mark Youngblood (Hi-Lites) (8/19/83) Promo before this. Jerry: Ya know, Virgina, VIRGINIA, home of the eternal losers, where you've got two cry babies from North Carolina. That makes the Brisco brothers come all the way across the country right into their backyard. Johnny Weaver got in our way. Boogie Woogie Man got in our way. Jim Nelson got in our way. Poor little Jay Youngblood got in the way. Steamboat you went out and put 25 grand on his head ... Wow, Jerry is SO much better as a heel it's unreal. Jack says nothing. These highlights of the match look GREAT from the finish. Jerry must jump about 15 feet across the ring off the top at one point. Tremendous Mid-Atlantic pace set by the faces. Mark Youngblood is more pudgy than Jay, and looks shitty. But we only get a couple of minutes, so no rating. Jack & Jerry Brisco vs. John Bonello & Vinnie Valentino (Sept 83?) This is from right around the same time. This is an arena match, so looks like Worldwide. Caudle on commentary and he puts over Jack Brisco's NCAA credentials and his background. Then puts over Jerry's AAU accomplishments. Fireman carry takedowns to start. Jack with a snapmare. Kneedrop. Bodyslam. Backbreaker! Tag, Jerry in. Butterfly suplex! Cover but Jerry pulls him up on 2. Jack in. Boot to the gut. Vertical suplex! Jerry in. Hamstring snap. Figurefour! Forget about it. Loved watching the Briscos tear this jobber a new one. Superb heat sequence, even if that's all there was to the match. **1/2 Jack & Jerry Brisco vs. Gene Ligon & Brett Hart (aka Barry Horowitz) (Oct 83?) Still Worldwide, but this time David Crockett on commentary too with Caudle. Chinlock by Jerry to start. Jerry is toying with Hartt. Jack in and he is vicious with his knee lifts and punches. Jerry in, Snapmare, leg drop. Double armbar into a pin. Gets two. Jack in. Back suplex. Knee drop. Figure four, forget about it. There's a brace on Ligon's head. Jerry with an additional knee drop, tries to break his leg. These guys are COOL AS FUCK. Could watch the Briscos ripping through these jobbers all day. **1/2 Jack & Jerry Brisco vs. Johnny Weaver & Bob Orton, Jr. (Oct 83?) I don't have exact dates for these matches. I might look them up later. This is from the Mid-Atlantic TV show from the studio with the flags. David Crockett on commentary with Paul Jones. Jerry and Orton to start. Amautuer stuff. Weaver in. I think he's wearing a neck brace or something in there. He's also about 106 years old! Armdrag by Weaver. Jack is selling the shit out of that arm. Fairplay to Weaver, as old as he is, he looks like he can still go. Orton in. Forearm smash. Flat back bump by Jack. Jones mentions on commentary that Jack Brisco was very upset with Ricky Steamboat for calling him "bald eagle". Ha ha, he is thinning on top. The fans have been chanting "bald eagle". Double backdrop by the Briscos and Jerry in with an arm drag roll over thing. Pin attempt gets two. Big lefts by Jack now. Chinlock by Jack. Want to pause he to comment on just how great Brisco is at working this chinlock. He wrenches it in. He shows intensity and aggression. Orton writhes around and flails his arms. This is how to make matwork, a really basic submission hold, engaging. Back up to a vertical base. Snapmare. Jerry in. Kneelift. Weaver with the hottag!! BULLDOG by Weaver on Jack. Sleeper!! David Crockett is about to orgasm. Jerry makes the save. Flying knee thing by Orton (looked like a dropkick but caught with knees). Orton gets the figurefour on Jack. Legdrop by Jerry! Weaver and Jerry go at it. All four men in. Ref has DQ'd the Briscos. Briscos dump Orton. They grab the aged Weaver in his neck brace. SPIKE PILEDRIVER!! AWESOME! What a pair of total dicks. Loved this one. Great TV match and Weaver was no slouch in there either. ***3/4 Jack & Jerry Brisco vs. Jimmy Valiant & Bob Orton, Jr. (12/6/83) Randomly, this is from All Japan. Valiant is throwing chairs everywhere to start and Orton is also having fun. Briscos don't want to get in the ring while this chaos is going on. Jerry starts to brawl with Orton and Valiant sticks a chair into his gut and dumps him. This is not a "wrestling chair" that folds up but one of those firm plastic chairs with meal legs. Looked painful. Valiant and Orton double team Jerry after Valiant dumps Jack. Outside the ring, Valiant grabs another chair and nails Jack with it. Orton has a chair and lays out Jerry in the middle of the ring. Valiant rolls Jack in. Briscos still have their jackets on, this has been a mugging! Japanese fans are responding to Valiant well. Standing choke by Valiant. Slams Jerry into Orton's knee and lays out Jack on the apron for good measure. Orton now, BIG backbreaker on Jerry. Awesome backbreaker. Knee drop. Big right. Goes for a snapmare but Jerry blocks. Turns it into a choke. Elbow smash by Orton. Jack wants to come in but the ref stops him. Jerry in for the ride into Valiant's fist. Splash by Orton for two. Finally Jerry gets a tag and levels Orton with a big left and a bodyslam. Loudly booed by the crowd. Briscos even heeling it up in Japan. Another big slam. Cover gets two. Irish whip into the corner. Abdominal stretch. Jerry in with a chin lock in the camel clutch position, what I would call "the Rick Rude chinlock". Big lefts now from Jack and he dumps Orton to take some cheap offense by Jerry on the outside as he provokes Valiant. Good classic tag psychology here. Valiant has "FM 100 Means Music" written across his ass. Orton back in and Jerry with a flip pin thing. Jack in. Jerry in. Wow, this is a cool spot! Shinbreaker by Jerry onto Jack's knee. That is some cool offense. Orton sells this leg really well. Figure-four by Jack. Orton reverses it but Jerry comes from the top to kneedrop his brother out of it! Man, that must have hurt everyone! Orton's leg seems damaged, Jack sells the shit out of his leg too. Orton tries to get to Valiant but Jerry grabs the leg from the outside and wraps it around the post. Twice. Valiant leans over, but Jack is back now and cuts him off. Hmmm, hold on, is that Chad Champbell cheering?! Hold on a minute: this crowd is not Japanese!!! Must have been one of those weird deals where AJPW were covering a Crockett card because Jumbo or whoever was there. Tommy Young is the ref I just noticed too. Crowd wild for this hot tag now. And Valiant slips off the apron! Suplex by Jerry. Orton has been a terrific FIP here. He FINALLY makes the tag and Valiant is a house of fire. Unloads on the Briscos. Double noggin knocker. Sleeperhold on Jerry.Broken. Sleeper on Jack!! Crowd is wild. Jerry comes over to break. Boogie Woogie dance in the face of clubbing blows. Jerry is possessed here. Cover only gets two. Jack in with a bit left. Goes for another buy Valiant blocks. Through the legs. Orton in! Rabbit punches. Jack is on easy street. Dropkick by Orton. Big bodyslam. Splash from the second rope! Cover gets two because Jerry breaks it. Jack goes for a small package Two. Double bodyslam by the Briscos, and that'll do it for three. They hold their fingers up and the crowd boos. Fantastic match that needs to make the Crockett 80s set. Perfect southern tag structure and psychology, and man there was some WORKRATE on display here, espeically from Bob Orton Jr who carried the lion's share for his team. They worked around Boogie Woogie well to maximise his heat and usefulness and work around his limitations. Perfect chaotic shine for him. Jerry is a nasty little shit too, he's a great heel. And Jack is Jack. Have been VERY impressed with the Brisco Brothers as a heel team, and Bob Orton Jr looked absolutely terrific here. Hidden gem of a match for me, hadn't heard of this one talked up anywhere. ****1/2 Jack & Jerry Brisco vs. Dave Barbie & Gino Carabello (Fall 84?) This is WWF now and Vince is on commentary with Bruno. Weird change of pace. Seems like all the Youngblood & Steamer stuff is on the final disc. Bruno hilariously buries Dave Barbie. "I don't know about his stamina cos I've never seen him in there long enough". Bruno always buried the jobbers, lol. Carbello tags in. The double team him. Bruno: "Did you see the way Barbie was punching there. He's a big strong guy, but he doesn't get his weight behind it, so those punches are not as effective as they could be". LMAO! Kneelift by Jack. Snapmare. Kneedrop. Jerry in. Snapmare. Knee drop. Back suplex. Fairplay, the Briscos worked a hell of a pace compared to most people in 1983. Jack in and an inside cradle. Two count. Elbow smash by Jack. Bodyslam. Jerry in. Flashy pin. Two only. Butterfly suplex (Bruno: "that's a double chickenwing suplex"). Jack in. Dropkick by Jack. Jerry in. Double Oklahoma stampede. Figure-four and that's all she wrote. ** Next time: the long match vs. Murdoch and Adonis and as much as the Youngblood and Steamer stuff as I can get through.

I've reported that post to the moderators! Oh ... wait.

Except nothing she says is funny, insightful, entertaining or ... anything at all? She's a total fucking waste of space and almost everything she says is grating. Comedy Dave was at least easy listening.

I think mine is Alice Radley from Jim Cornette's podcast. She might just be the most unwelcome presence on any form of media I've ever come into contact with, like worse than Scrappy Doo or fucking Batmite, or Jar Jar Binks. I genuinely hate her and resent her presence. This has nothing to do with the fact that she's a woman, and everything to do with the fact that she's fucking clueless and has no right calling herself a wrestling fan, let alone co-hosting a show with Cornette. I have NO idea how he can tolerate her. All-in-all, I can't think of anyone associated with wrestling that I dislike more than this woman. At least Strongbow drew some money and got some heat. At least Vince Russo momentarily popped gates and had an impact (for better or worse) on the industry. For anyone who has listened to this show: is there anyone you dislike more in wrestling than Alice, and why? For everyone else: who is your least favourite person and why? EDIT: Oh and this just occurred to me, please leave the Benoit / Invader #1 / Snuka shit out of this. For the purposes of this thread, I mean: APART from that stuff.

I would like "Top 10 matches" packages for certain candidates. Enough to give us a flavour of someone. Maybe 10 is too much, it might be off-putting. FIVE even. Like, I've seen enough John Cena now to know that he's capped at about #80 for where he could be on my list -- he might not make it, but he's a 80-100er for me. I know his strengths and weaknesses, I've seen what I assume to be his very best performance. It's not perfect that I haven't seen all his matches ever, but I reckon I only need to see a few more matches to have seen "enough" to make a call. It would be great if someone could put together a youtube playlist or similar for guys like Akiyama who are just completely unknown quantities to me. It's difficult. As with everything one's enthusiasm rises and falls like waves, work, other interests and life also get in the way and can change momentum. But ALL of us here know that whether it's in 1 week or 2 months, there WILL be another wave. Since projects like this happen only every 10 years, it would be a shame for anyone who has a real interest in wrestling and footage to miss out on voting. NO ONE can be truly comprehensive. I'm slowly trying to do my bit to at least get certain 70s guys looked at and thought about, but I wouldn't want anyone not to vote because they hadn't seen 20 Jack Brisco matches.

One thing I'll say is that seeing how many people have moaned about production things here in some small way justifies the many hours I've put into post-production on countless podcasts over the past couple of years. As a maker of podcasts, there is nothing quite so annoying as "technical" or "sound quality" comments. They are the very worst, in fact. And so I've put that work in to do my best to mitigate against them. And still sometimes things can be rough around the edges because there are limits to the technology we use, and sometimes I don't always have time to fiddle about getting all the audio levels exactly right. Some people take criticism better than others, but since we all have real jobs and real lives and put this content out for free, sometimes people could also have a bit more patience. Especially with a show like this which is brand new. I'm sure Matt, who is producer here, will fix all of these things in time, but appreciate that it does take time. Sorry if this came off a bit rant-y. I'm not saying no one should ever leave negative reviews, I mean I've been plenty critical of other podcasts before. I'm just saying that with stuff like audio issues, no one knows about them more than the guys who have recorded and put out the show. It's almost like the least constructive thing that can be said, because if they could have fixed it, they would have.

Karl, the run is just too short no? Beyond Tully, he has the best of seven series, the matches with Ted DiBiase in Mid-South and the Wahoo match. What else would you say?

Week 11 (Mar, Week 3) Pretty nothing week here, just getting through more of the first round tournament matches. Although Bruno made his long-awaited return. Challenge: Not a lot to say here. Dusty and Kamala did well considering they are outside talents who haven't been in New York for a while. I've jobbed out Kamala pretty hard here. The problem is that these shows are gaining my popularity in all the other regions of the US, but losing fans in the core North East market. There's not a lot to be done about that at the moment because I am short on stars who are really over in the area and I can't exactly book Bruno vs. Bruno. Mr. (Hiro) Saito was probably the wrong opponent for Bruno's big return. Tell you the truth I thought I was getting in Masa Saito and only realised it was the wrong one after it was too late. Anyway, at least that's the first round over. Wrestlemania is two weeks away. And there are SIX tournament matches to get on four TV shows. New England Live Show: I've decided to run some extra dates in Boston because that's one secondary market in which I need to increase in popularity. Very close to achieving "cult" status for the company, and it's New England going up more that will do that. Once I have "cult" status, the TV networks will start talking to me, as well as the PPV carriers. I might even see if I can push Wrestlemania back a couple of weeks to see if I can secure some PPV or close circuit income for it.