Ricky Jackson

I get that, coming after such a long and acclaimed run, it would kinda be ignored at the time. Honestly, I was only interested in checking it out to see JR Jr on a Cap book

I can see that. It's definitely a complete and total change from what came before. I was a big fan of Brubaker's run, although I stopped collecting comics around 2009. Obviously I didnt read this as it was happening. I didnt have high expectations going in, but I got totally sucked in as soon as I realized the story they were trying to tell. At this point in my superhero comics reading, I really love the idea of placing a long-established character in a completely foreign setting genre wise. When I was younger I would've probably been resistant to such radical change. But at the same time, the story is, at it's heart, consistent with themes that have run through Cap comics forever

I love the blindfold match, the whole Jake feud actually (building to just ONE singles match), Arrogance, "Yes, I am a Model", everything. The Model was such a fun heel gimmick. It was actually a great reinvention for someone who was pretty much a career babyface, totally sacrificing his entire arsenal to be a smug asshole with crappy offense. I'm of the opinion the Model run adds to his case. I know Matt and I will never agree on something like this, but if every list was the same it wouldnt be much fun

What do folks think about Remender/JR Jr's 2012-13 10 issue Captain America "Dimension Z" story? I powered through it this morning and was pleasantly surprised actually. I've always been a JR Jr fan and he's in full on Kirby New Gods mode here, especially with the Big Barda-inspired Jet Black character. A science fiction/cosmic/fantasy take on Cap is definitely unique and the story is actually pretty cool, mixed with flashbacks to his youth in depression era New York, and the end leaves him a man out of time again with his life totally turned upside down. Not sure if I'll continue with it, as JR Jr is done after #10. Really good stuff. Next up on my 2012 Marvel trip is Fraction's Fantastic Four and FF

I'm here for the comments. Post-Mania Year 2 for me. Hope everyone enjoys and unites in shitting on Braun vs Shane

Actually I was kinda low key hoping that interest was so low that comments would just be in the weekly thread

Start one

Yeah, that's something I've definitely noticed following from afar, particularly Cody being like "nah, I'm good" with trying to settle things with MJF

Damn, didn't realize JYD wasn't nominated last time, which is kinda surprising even if he is considered a poor worker, because interest in 80s wrestling was pretty high around here. Beyond his Mid South stuff, I would suggest looking into what there is of his Big Daddy Ritter heel run from late-70s Stampede. Highlights include one good bloody brawl with Paddy Ryan and lots of great heeling in matches and interviews

Loved Marvel GI Joe as a kid. It was really well done as far as fleshing out the characters from the cartoon

Final score according to Wikipedia 63-10-2 AEW in viewers 73-1 AEW in 18-49 NXT won the last week, but of course had a stacked show

Maybe my sole contribution to 2026 will be making sure Bob doesn't fall out of the top 100. I'll re-release Titans of...wait, never mind

Yes, that's Albano. Rocking the cut offs too, lol And yes, these are clips and not full matches. But if you compare what the restored footage is like compared to the original, with vastly improved clarity, it's almost like it's pro shot. And this was years before they televised Boston Garden shows, so historically it's very important. But it looks like this is all going to be moot. The total hasn't increased in several days and there is less than 2 weeks left to raise like 26-27k US

Welcome aboard! Flair vs Funk from Bash 89 is definitely one of my all-time fave matches

I know. How we ever figured out how to go online, let alone construct a message board full of thoughtful discourse about such a low, brainless, form of entertainment is beyond me

This was posted in the YouTube links thread, but since there are only 15 days left and a lot of $ still to be raised I thought I would create this thread to try and scare up some donations. I think this is a super worthy cause. Previously, the footage is of poor quality and with, let's say, questionable commentary. What has been restored so far looks so amazing. Kickstarter link here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mitgoji/1971-1982-pro-wrestling-super-8mm-film-hd-restoration?ref=project_link

Exactly. Just as an example, I looked at Hogan's record at the Spectrum from 84-87 not too long ago. Attendance for Hogan main evented shows fluctuated wildly depending on the heel. Savage and Orndorff moved the needle. Patera and Adonis did not. Hogan himself wasn't a guarentee for a strong house

That doesn't discount all the years the Sheik was a huge draw, most famously in Toronto. Rarely bellow 10k in MLG, twice a month for 5 years. Remove him from those cards and you dont have that attraction. The fans truly hated him and wanted to see him finally lose. Sure, TV made George. But he was still a draw. Not for a very long time, but he was the reason people were buying tickets, to see this outrageous character from TV. Rogers was a major draw at his peak on the early 60s. This cant be waved away as him being "just one of the first TV stars". Like the Sheik he was despised, but also for some, a cool heel. Doesn't matter, he drew. Graham was a reach, yes, as outlined. Still, I would contend he was a draw, with his unique for the time look and hip promo style, just not on the same level as the others I mentioned. His track record at MSG as far as being part of sold out main events was amazing if nothing else. Another one I thought of later was Ray Stevens in 1960s SF. I saw the numbers years ago in the WON and they were very impressive

The Sheik? Gorgeous George? Buddy Rogers? Superstar Graham?

I had Dusty at #7 last time. Cant remember if I was the high vote or not. Probably. I definitely was the high vote on Wrestling II, Slaughter, Bruno, and Savage

I meant specifically shoot fighting at the dawn of the 20th century. How sophisticated was it then? How many rules, if any?

Pointlessly bloated is kinda the only way they know how to do anything

The funny thing about the 2-3 hr matches was they were totally worked. Most shoot fights would last at most a few minutes, until one wrestler hooked another into submission (unless there were extensive rules limiting what one could and couldn't do). I think the reason promoters thought long matches were a good idea was basically from the belief that if you were going to get people to come out in droves for a big match that you had to make sure the length was comparable to other spectator sports, like baseball, boxing, etc. I'm also not sure when the concept of undercards developed. I think a lot of the early big matches were presented as stand alone attractions, though I could be totally wrong

I think the pro wrestling was a shoot pre-1920s (or whenever) claim is usually made by folks who haven't studied any of the history and just think that because wrestlers in the old days didnt have flashy gimmicks or do obvious worked spots in the modern sense, and matches went on for several hours, etc, that it must have been legit. I dont recall exactly, but didnt the late-90s doc "The Unreal Story of Professional Wrestling" try to push that pro wrestling was a shoot pre-Gold Dust Trio? That was on A&E and replayed weekly it seemed for years afterward, probably helping to spread the pro wrestling was legit myth amongst the masses. There were actual shoot matches from time to time, but they happened behind closed doors. The whole point of pro wrestling existing was to make money, either through marks or by gambling, and was much more lucrative when the results could be manipulated

There were a lot of successful stadium shows in the 80s, but there were several ill-advised ones (later Parade of Champions, later Superdome shows, even Wrestlerock) full of swaths of empty seats that looked bad on TV or in the mags