JerryvonKramer

My feeling throughout was that Balor was trying to get back to a script and to his rehearsed spots.

Also just want to put over again how much I loved Corbin vs. Aires, in some ways that match was the highlight of this card for me.

Asuka vs. Bayley When I say I'm a heel fan, I'm not joking. I honestly am going into this match wanting Asuka to break Bayley's fucking nose and make Steven Graham literally cry tears into his Canadian blanket. A heel fan is born a heel fan, he isn't made, it's in his blood. I batted for Skeletor against He Man too. And Bayley as like the ultimate happy clappy gaylord fucking babyface is probably one I've wanted to get decked the most. In a way I've not really experienced properly since childhood when I rooted strongly against the likes of Duggan and Beefcake. There's just so much more at stake when the babyfaces are loved and heels are hated. Some pretty sound psychology here with Bayley trying to take out the kicking leg. This was a really submissions-orientated match for two women on a WWE product in 2016. They were actually more grounded than Zayn and Nakamura. Thought this was some fearless booking. Not quite Ivan in 1971 or Taker losing the streak, but pretty amazing that it's within that sort of vicinity. I just love that they can return to the fundamentals of booking because of the crowd dynamic. Unusually technical bout I thought, but some compelling work. ***3/4 And now Bayley is actually in tears, am I happy? You bet I am, ha ha. Heels 4 life. Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe This was a strong main event helped along by the blood and which created interesting things for Joe to play off. It was a very good match I thought, without being a great one at any time. Balor seemed a little wooden to me throughout this match, and doesn't seem like a very organic worker. He brought this down some for me because all he seemed interested in doing is getting to his planned spots. Joe was Joe, and even though I don't love him like some here, he knew what to do to make it as good as it was. ***3/4 This was a really strong card with almost no fat on it. Every match had significance and nothing was below 3.5 stars. I didn't have anything above 4 stars either, but it's pretty rare to get a card this solid from top to bottom. Talk of all-time card is obviously way overblown and I'd still take Mania X, GAB 89, Beach Blast 92 etc over it in a heartbeat, and probably from recent memory also NXT Brooklyn which felt like it had higher highs. But let's not detract from it because of overhyping: this was really good. I can't think of many cards that would have three matches at 3.75 and two at 3.5.

American Alpha vs. The Revival Some very solid old-school pro wrestling here. Everything has a sense of heft and purpose. Let down a bit by some overly cutesy stereo spots. But I thought they did really well to play this up as technical prowess vs. brawling. Also nice to see a spot in which the ref enforces the rules and the heels react. Felt it lost its way a bit down the finishing stretch, but this is good solid action. Hot crowd. ***1/2 I love Regal as a kind of modern Jack Tunney figure here. How can the basic storytelling be so much better in the angles on NXT than it is on the main show? I don't get it. But awesome little hype package going into this one ... Baron Corbin vs. Austin Aires Clear face and heel dynamics make me happy. The phrase "NXT Universe" does not. Corbin stamps on the wrist at one point and I was expecting him to follow up on that, but he didn't. No real offensive strategy. I do like the idea of his character though, hating the indie darlings? I've always been a heel fan and I'm supporting him here, ha ha! Wild Samoan style nerve holds? Thought this was Baron Corbin, not Baron Scicluna! I don't care though, I love how much this has killed the crowd. They are a proper wrestling crowd. And this is proper crowd control. I can't tell you how refreshing this is to see in 2016. His jawing, his methodical pace, his refusal just to do high spots. Bringing them up and down. This is good stuff in my opinion and if his whole deal is anti-indie, it's basically perfect that he works like this too. Perfect heel for this promotion at this time. I think I'm a natural fan. This match right here has authenticity in my view, a terribly elusive quality in a wrestling match for the last decade. I was hoping so badly for a count out win for Corbin here, I'd have popped so much if that happened. But I do appreciate how much they put over the mere idea of the count out being a real possibility. This match wasn't anything special really, I mean in the long view of wrestling history, it is just a match. But I absolutely loved the principles behind the match and what they were able to do here. It's just proof that those people who say you can't put the clock back are wrong. Fundamentals are fundamentals no matter what the age. And the crowds can be retrained. One of my favourite matches of the 2010s just for that. Don't just look at the rating for this one, I cannot stress how much I loved this match. ***1/2 (but for the concept and what it stands for in this context *****) Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn Nakamura's entrance is one of the most mind-blowing things I've ever seen. Has anyone ever had a "holy shit" chant just for walking down the aisle before? The atmosphere is just off the hook for this. Wow. It's something. It really is. I can only imagine what it was like in that crowd. Has to go down in history as one of the great moments, just amazing. I did think "fight forever" and "we want strong style" were two sycophantic chants too far from this crowd. Come on now, get a grip. But in general they were as hot for this as any crowd I can remember seeing. I did not really think that much of this match itself in terms of the body of the match. It was worked in that epic style and some of the near falls were effective, but this match wasn't about how good it is, it was about the crowd. And that moment of Nakamura'a entrance. Feels like one of the most special things I've ever seen as a fan. The match was there too. Nakamura'a aura and charisma on this show is up there with anyone I've ever seen. ***3/4 Quick break to make a tea, but this is a v. hot show so far. Not comfortable with "Thank you Sami" chants, but it is what it is.

Wait is over (with caveats)

http://placetobenation.com/titans-of-wrestling-59-interview-with-kal-rudman/ Johnny and Parv had a chance to chat with the legendary Kal Rudman: WWF commentator, star of The Today Show and The Merv Griffin show. Renowned philanthropist. Inductee to the Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame.

Critiquing repetitiveness in TV matches is one thing, but you're 'not supposed' to be watching house show matches. They were never intended for your viewing pleasure. Actually, they were. At least the ones I watched. Mostly shown on PTW. Standard twenty mins star vs. lower midcarder bouts.

Fantastic production job on this Kelly and a nice trip down memory lane. The origin story for the "Duke of Dorchster" name is awesome, and just one of many little stories I'd forgotten about. Let's hope we can get the band back together after Mania / GWE madness dies down!

One thing you guys discussed: I do hope that my arguments or anything I did didn't actually hurt Flair in any way as Timothy suggested here. That would make me sad. Although I've come to realise that the extent of that sort of thing is overblown. And from messages of quiet support I get and so on, I'm actually reasonably confident that the amount of people who would let something like my pimping negatively affect their view is a tiny, minuscule but visible / vocal minority. Maybe even no more than like 2 people, I dunno. It's the sort of thing that would make me want to never post again. But I like I said, I've come to think it is falsely overblown. Pete kind of hit it when he talked about "even when I'm right people don't want to give me the satisfaction". Y'know, I'm less like that than it might appear. Although I have noticed that in time my long-standing critique of Backlund has come to be accepted when so often some of those Titans shows were 3 on 1 beatdowns! Heh heh. Anyway, some people thought doing a five-part series on Flair was obnoxious. You know there was nothing stopping anyone else doing the same for any other candidate. It's just that the strength of feeling is very real with Flair. Just listen to how passionately Pete talks about him on this show. Podcast gold Pete! Anyway, great work on this fellas. I really dug the tone and vibe of this show. Just something different again from WTBBP and PWSS. And what's really clear on all of the shows so far and comes through strongly on this one, is that when you get to the cream, it's clear what has risen. Despite how different everyone is, once you're up in that top 20 or 30, it's the same names we all agree on. Just a wonderful thing to see / hear unfurl. Hope Pete has a blast at Mania. Also hope this show isn't lost during Mania madness cos it absolutely deserves everyone's time!

In fairness, I never thought Brody was worthy of the deep-dive. And that is probably down to the fact that I really do value the fact that it wasn't easy to be the NWA champion and usually it took a special talent. Don't forget that the NWA champ needed the majority of promoters to vote for him, it wasn't like one booker sticking the belt on someone. And so that takes a guy who can go into any town and work with any opponent. There's no way you ever get someone who can't work as NWA champ for that reason. And that's why Dory got a deep-dive treatment whereas someone like Brody didn't. Like canon isn't some nappy-headed thing. There's a reason why Dory is listed in so many places as one of the all-time greats and Tor Kamata or The Barbarian aren't. If you reject that entirely, you are basically rejecting the views of the rest of humanity, everyone who came before you. I've never been that arrogant to do that.

But what difference does it make who is doing the pimping? It's only a guiding principle to get to the matches and then you draw conclusions. My conclusion was that Dory had a very good career worthy of a top 100.

Timothy's #24:

Dory was put over by fans. Go over to Kayfabe Memories. Dave Meltzer at the end of the day was a fan. Larry M was a fan. What's the difference between Meltzer or Larry M and Dylan Waco?

Chad and I both had Harley ranked. I was #48, pretty sure Chad was something like #54. Pete had him ranked too. Not sure on timothy, I thought I heard that he did. So only Steven and Tim that didn't rank him. So far Pete and Timothy have not mentioned him. I imagine Pete will get to him judging by his list so far. I listened back to WTBBP part 1 yesterday when I was picking my dad up from the airport, and then listened to Pete and Timothy's show, so I might have this scrambled. I'll be very shocked if Pete at least doesn't list him. And given some of the guys Timothy has listed, I'll expect to see him on his list too. I thought Steven and Tim took well-worn party lines on a lot of their picks, and one such party line is that Harley is overrated.

Chad and I both had Harley ranked. I was #48, pretty sure Chad was something like #54. Pete had him ranked too. Not sure on timothy, I thought I heard that he did. So only Steven and Tim that didn't rank him.

Please imagine that the targets here are Steven and Tim. They deserve this.

It's not unusual.

Money Incorporated

Second this. I miss those days.

That was pretty cheeky!

When I was getting my English degree I was taught the ideas of charlatans like Freud and Lacan as if they were still considered respectable theories and that was it as far what I learned about psychology/neuroscience and how it influences stories. I think English academia's slow reception of science and welcoming environment for pseudoscience comes down from the heavy influence of post modernist philosophy and its claim that there are no concrete truths. Given the huge presence of third wave feminism at most colleges, that jells pretty well with finding female oppression or arguing for whatever bizarre theories you might need to get a paper out in academia's publish-or-perish field. I wish I could disagree with this, but I can't. I'd even co-sign it.

I've got to be the high vote on Ted!

Wonderful to hear Hase getting votes!