Ricky Jackson

Basically, the context was that "one of the biggest wrestling stars" told Dave he felt the Rock was getting screwed by the Mania build and should refuse to job to Cena on the day of the show, or something to that effect. Edit: Yeah, what Nintendo said.

A moment of silence in memory of the departed...

Actually, far more than you would think. First off, the ratio of women to men at UVic is about 60-40. In the class I attended, I would say it was 65% male. The next year, for the class I lectured, it was seriously closer to a 50-50 split. Most of the students in the class had little to no interest in wrestling, though. In the class I attended, there were only about 3-4 hardcore fans, including myself, out of 20-25 students.

So which one of you guys is lecturing here? I took a class at the University of Victoria in 2007 called Pro Wrestling as Theatre. We looked at wrestling history and compared match set ups and angles/gimmicks to Italian comedy improve theatre, ancient Greek theatre, 19th century melodrama, etc. It was a dream class and super fun, and I took it just for the hell of it, because it didn't tie into any of my degree requirements. I was of course the star pupil of the class The prof and I became good friends, as we share the same geeky interests in wrestling, comics, movies, and music. The next year I even gave a guest lecture (I talked to the class about the importance of the NWA title in the territory days and played the Flair vs Steamboat Chi-Town Rumble match).

Cena has clearly been the face/top guy/ace of WWE since at least 2006. In 2005, it was a 1 and 1-A situation with him and Batista, but Cena got the prime Raw spot, which he has never relinquished. I would say HHH entered his Part-Time Legend phase after the Batista feud. He's had a few runs where his programs were pushed harder than Cena's since 2005 (DX reunion, feud with Orton), but overall it's basically been Cena's show for 6-7 years.

I know it may seem like I'm obsessed with this, but including Inoki in a "Biggest Star in Wrestling" poll is OK (which makes no fuckin' sense, but whatever), but he's not good enough to be considered Japan's Best Ever Wrestler? Or Giant Baba? ????????????????????? These damn Observer polls bother me more than they should.

Here's something to speculate for the hell of it: What modern celebrity would have the impact of a Mr. T or a Mike Tyson as far as being involved in major angle/match? Of course the key is to match them up with the right wrestler, like Hogan/Piper with T or Austin with Tyson. Off the top of my head, I'm going to offer up Tim Tebow. I think there would be some interesting possibilities with him and Cena as a you-either-love-them-or-hate-them team.

The "Get it?" campaign was a complex intellectual statement that worked on multiple levels.

They can hate Mr. T all they want, and some of it is likely justified, but his involvement with WWF made the first Mania a mainstream story in a way it could have never been without him (would there have even been a first Mania without him?), and probably opened a lot of media doors for Vince and co. (was the SNME deal with NBC made before the first Mania or after?), not to mention the effect T's involvement had on the box office.

All I know is I first became interested in wrestling because of Mr. T's involvement in WWF in 85-86. I was a kid and a huge A-Team/Rocky III fan, so I watched Mania 2 (funny, it's one of my least favorite Mania's as an adult), discovered this wrestling thing was basically a superhero comic come to life, and have been a lifer ever since. I'm sure many 80s kids were turned on to wrestling in a similar fashion.

This was a good episode, but the panel really lets Nash off easy when he starts to bullshit and spew out revisionist history, especially when discussing his run as booker. For example, when the subject of his Starrcade match with Goldberg comes up he states "We had to end the streak", implying the streak was somehow bad for business and bad for Goldberg. I thought the panel would jump all over him after that comment, that at least someone would ask "Why, Kevin?" or "What the fuck are you smoking?", but nobody says a thing, and Nash never explains why he thinks the streak was bad for business. I've never heard this "We had to end the streak" argument before, does anybody know what the hell he was talking about?

Forget about Orton...Why was Inoki on the list ? Why?? WHYYYYYY???????

Well yes, Orton sucks, but at least he still, you know, wrestles in 2012. Every pay per view match had on PPV in 2012 was no less than good. What is the argument for him sucking? I wold say the same about 2011 also. My argument is he sucks as a babyface, promo, and his angles are usually boring. In ring, he's nothing special in my book. He peaked about four or five years ago as an interesting character. He's kind of like Robin to HHH's Batman when it comes to overrated WWE stars.

Well yes, Orton sucks, but at least he still, you know, wrestles in 2012.

Awesome. I'm drinking a Harp out of my Guinness variety pack right now, but no wrestling...yet. Anyway, I wanted to post this from Dave's site: OK, maybe I've missed something recently, but why is Inoki included on this list?

Warrior vs Savage from Mania VII is also (way, way) better than any HHH match. Probably Warrior vs Hogan from VI as well.

He was a far, far better heel in a way that HHH and his delusional, fake "I'm the new Flair/Race" pose could never approach in a million years.

Finally watched this, and yes, it is awesome. The final ten minutes in particular are great and Murdoch really shines as the star of the match, selling, bumping, using a freakin ringside telephone as a weapon. My only complaint is the ref (short old guy I've never seen before) sucks ass, and for once Gorilla's criticism is warranted. The ending leaves you wanting to see a cage match or street fight type rematch, but, as far as I know, this was it for the two teams, and I think Jack called it a career only a few days later. Fantastic. Edit: OK, so according to Cawthon, Jack Brisco wrestled for the WWF until at least 2/28/85, and the Brisco's wrestled Adonis and Murdoch in several cities after this match (including 1/12/85 in Philly. Has anybody seen this one?) but never again at MSG. In fact, the night of the next MSG show, 1/21/85, was the same night Adonis and Murdoch dropped the straps to Windham and Rotundo in Hartford.

This is all based on various bits and pieces I've read over the years and not an ounce of first hand knowledge, but his peak was probably the late-60s to about 1974, and based on drawing big crowds in several major territories alone, he has to be near the top. His time on top in Toronto is legendary, as he didn't run out of gas as a draw for at least five years, and I've met several non-wrestling fans over the years who grew up in Ontario during the time and his name is almost always the first mentioned when the word "wrestling" comes up. He also had a hot run in Detroit during this time, of course, but also in New York (where he was eventually banned IIRC), LA against Blassie, and huge matches with Dick the Bruiser in Indy and Detroit. Based on a lack of footage, it's tough to say how "Viscerally Hated" he was by crowds, but he had to be doing something right as a heel to draw all that money for so long.

From the wrestling I know best... Piper at his 84-85 peak. Orndorff in 86. Savage after the turn on Hogan/Elizabeth (actually, turning on her probably made him more hated than anything) Bret Hart in the USA in 97 (or Austin in Canada--I lost my voice screaming at him at the Canadian Stampede PPV) Or any heel from the old days that was stabbed or had to fight their way back to the dressing room after the end of a match.

Then why not just bill him as "The Greatest Wrestler Who Ever Lived"? That should sell some tickets. Or would that be going too far?

Harts vs Steiners 1-11-94 is pretty damn good, despite the lackluster commentary

How about... Vince, Shane and Steph

I know he took his lumps on this board already, but Lance Storm being billed as "The Icon" is so wrong.