NintendoLogic

Oh, snap.

Is heel heat more important than merch sales?

All Japan has been getting quite a bit of buzz lately, so I've been giving them a look. Based on what admittedly little I've seen, Shuji Ishikawa looks like the best wrestler in the world. He's like Braun Strowman times ten. And he gets bonus points for using Battery by Metallica as his entrance theme.

Since I started posting here, I feel like my tastes have simultaneously broadened and narrowed. There's more stuff I like and appreciate on some level, but less stuff I absolutely love.

I realize that Japan is on a different planet when it comes to this sort of thing, but Muta in HUSTLE impregnating Yinling by blowing mist into her crotch seems worthy of a mention.

New #1 for 2017. All Japan is back. Believe the hype.

Putting Chyna in the non-wrestler category is a rather curious decision. Have Arn and Tully ever been on the ballot as a tag team before? It's probably the closest we'll come to having the Four Horsemen on the ballot, so they should get in.

Sinclair has lawyers and they dwarf WWE.

I think that WWE is more responsible than Meltzer for the current workrate fetish among hardcore fans. It's often said that the style of wrestling you're first exposed to is fixed in your mind as what wrestling "should" look like and other styles will always seem off. Well, if you started watching in the late 90s or early 2000s, you probably got your ideas of what good matches should look like from guys like Angle, Benoit, and Michaels. Modern WWE/NJPW/PWG is basically that style turned up to 11. At the same time, wrestling's decline in mainstream popularity meant there were fewer Lex Luger types getting into the business to make a quick buck. And the ones who did lacked the ability or charisma to present a compelling alternative to the workrate style.

Wasn't Akiyama the booker during NOAH's peak and downfall? Akiyama was. Misawa oversaw everything but Akiyama was the primary booker. I have no clue who did what when it comes to the Matsunaga Brothers. The brothers would switch around the formal titles they held with the company, but Takashi was the brains behind the operation.

Dave recently said that **** is the equivalent of a black belt and anything above that is additional degrees.

How can something be overvalued if more people are willing to pay for it? I'm not thrilled with the modern emphasis on workrate by any means, but the market has spoken.

You pretty much have to accept that finishers in WWE have magical match-ending properties that other moves don't. The problem is that non-finisher moves have escalated so much in danger and impact while the finishers remain relatively tame. There's a bit of a disconnect when guys are taking All Japan-style head drops and apron bumps only for the match to end on a DDT.

Fuck off.

I don't think you can kill Bayley any deader at this point.

I never thought I'd see the day when a Miz match would unironically receive "this is awesome" chants. Really good opening match, but that Jordan promo was so bad I thought it was an attempt to plant the seeds for a heel turn for a second.

Changed my top 3 selections for 1984, 2015, and 2016.

"That other woman" is Sara Amato, aka Sara Del Rey.

https://twitter.com/Maffewgregg/status/910946069567148032 I'm actually not sure if this belongs in the TNA thread or the GFW one. Either way, it's hilariously bush league even by their standards.

For me, it was Jinder Mahal before his current push. I thought he had a nice jumping high knee and double underhook suplex.

None of the Harts/Demos matches are all that good.

Don't get too excited. It looks like it's just a Smackdown house show. Here's the projected card: Booby Roode! Ricky Seamboat!

A random question just popped in my head. Who are all the guys who wrestled both former Blade Runners in singles matches? I've got Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, HHH, Rick Rude, and Sid. A very select group, obviously. Anyone else?

Yet more evidence for my argument that it's far easier to look good in a tag setting than in singles matches.

Wait, what? Did this actually happen?