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WingedEagle

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Everything posted by WingedEagle

  1. WingedEagle
    Regarding Pedro/Backlund, I haven't looked at any numbers recently outside of what's been posted here. Was there any point from when Ivan won the belt until Hogan where the company drew substantially above or below a certain trend line? From the limited numbers here, certain big matches that would be expected to pop the house did so, but otherwise there was a decent floor below which things didn't really fall, and not with consistency. Coming at it from a devil's advocate perspective, how much credit are we giving or taking from these guys for keeping business at a certain level, or was there a similar trendline to the modern era where when business moves, you can point to it -- Punk in '11, Mania, Rock, Lesnar, Henry @ MITB?
  2. WingedEagle
    Giddyup. I think there's a very strong argument on both sides of this coin. The language differences can certainly set a high barrier that takes some time to cross. Announcers, promos and crowd reactions help us understand what and why we should care about things in domestic wrestling, particularly early when you're discovering and being introduced to something. I've never tried it, but wonder how a fan would approach let's say WWE today watching entirely on mute. I've got a deaf cousin who unfortunately isn't a wrestling fan but can only wonder how our views might differ on the same product, with or without closed captioning. Similarly, I'm just not into foreign films. I love reading and I love watching movies, but if I'm going to the movies I just don't want to read a book there, so I basically close myself off to that space. Its not necessarily reasonable but it works for me. Wrestling is different because as much as the audio makes a difference (and even if you don't speak the language you can certainly pick up on a ton of emotional cues from the announcers), its a primarily visual form. There's also something to Loss's point as well about people turning off a given style perhaps solely because of who's doing it or what's presented. I can't defend it as well thought out, but if someone for whatever reason can't get into two women doing their thing in Japan, they're obviously entitled. Perhaps its superficial, but you can't force yourself to dig something that just doesn't connect at all. Either way, let's make that pod a go and show AJ how to properly execute a Styles Clash!
  3. WingedEagle
    Chabadze working on top early, using his size advantage to control Fujiwara. A similar story to Flynn/Sano but here the big guy controls everything. After a rope break Fujiwara knocks him down with a slap and is thrown down into a choke as a reward for a rope break. Chabadze grabs a leglock and takes it down, but Fujiwara grabs one of his own and forces a tap. Cool showing for Fujiwara and nice preening afterwards, but not a great match. **3/4
  4. WingedEagle
    This was definitely inferior to their earlier match, but at least the slow stuff early on here served to establish their roles and strategies. Really hot finish with an awesome belly to belly into a wristlock for the tap. ***
  5. WingedEagle
    Pretty fast, smooth shoot style mat work. Malenko finishes with a cool pretzel-type submission. Good example of the style. **3/4
  6. WingedEagle
    I'd never seen this before and expected an above average WCWSN main event. Wrong. This was awesome, probably the best US tag match of the year. Just as good as the match was Anderson on commentary. He was calm, intelligent and put over everyone in the match. A voice like that makes the product seem like a big deal. Gordy would bump well here, but this was the babyface show as Windham & Rhodes were firing on all cylinders. Fast, crisp offense, almost working like a heavyweight RNR during their extended shine. Windham then plays face in peril for a while and excels at that, eating a ton of power offense. Terrific false finish on Rhodes after a Gordy piledriver, and again after a double running tackle. Great, great match. I don't know how I forgot about Windham & Rhodes being this much fun. ****1/4
  7. WingedEagle
    Barbarian is towing a truck with Cactus in in it. Foley is solid on the mic here even if he's not a star. Simmons/Barbarian needed an impact angle to establish it as a title match people could get invested in.
  8. WingedEagle
    Douglas promo talking about Magnum TA as his inspiration and model. Highlights of his debuts vs. Super Invader and Greg Valentine. Presented as someone who's a big deal. The Magnum comp could not have worked in '92.
  9. WingedEagle
    Sting taunting Rude early before a crowd that looks really hot as opposed to piped in noise. Was Paul E gone by now? Rude was a hell of a worker this year, selling like crazy and getting the crowd involved in everything he did. I thought this was a bit long and would've been better served cut down to 9-12 minutes. Huge pop for Sting's hot tag. Sting pins Anderson after Stinger Splash and his facebuster. With the time they gave it this could've used a more sustained finishing strech. **3/4
  10. WingedEagle
    Armstrong fines DWB $2500 for his attack on Horner. Cornette is out to say RNR got their one shot at the tag titles and his lawyers got an injunction preventing them from getting another title match as long as other deserving teams haven't gotten a chance. Good storytelling.
  11. WingedEagle
    Horner shows the marks on his neck from being hung and is coming for revenge. Then DWB & Ron Wright with beers talking about Horner beating on an old man. Horner is out for the attack, but Wright gets in the way and DWB breaks a beer bottle over his head and busts him open again. I like this formula.
  12. WingedEagle
    Clips of Garvin hung from the ropes by Orndorff. Says Orndorff shouldn't put his hands on his personal property -- his towel. Not exactly a compelling prop.
  13. WingedEagle
    Lawler wants to fight both Moondogs rather than hand over the belts with Jarrett not there. Moondogs win the titles when one dog hits Lawler with the bone. The Dogs attack him more afterwards with weapons. Dundee & Tom Pritchard are out to save Lawler. So strange to see Pritchard here at all, and still a face.
  14. WingedEagle
    JYD looks pretty good here. Clean shaven and young. He's bringing in Jim Duggan as his partner vs. The Blackhearts. Duggan delivers his standard promo.
  15. WingedEagle
    Moondogs attacked Lawler & JYD at an outdoor show with a ferris wheel in the background. Onto a match where one dog hits Lawler with the bone and Spot pins him. This feud feels like its just about lost all its steam here.
  16. WingedEagle
    Typically great video package on Backlund with clips of him in the ring, with the belt and celebrating with fans. Bob says he's making a comeback and his goal is to become WWF Champion again. Say what you want about the character, but it was produced to have him look great. Ramon promo talking about Savage losing his gold and machismo.
  17. WingedEagle
    Bruno talks about disappointment with what's happened in WWF and how he's pleased about the change in direction at WCW.
  18. WingedEagle
    Not much to add here that hasn't been covered. This is about as well done as a basic match can be. Dustin looks good working on Jake's arm, and you can see the potential for him to be a top babyface. Bruno's commentary is the worst thing going here, as I've never been a fan of his interviews in podcasts and its no more tolerable here. I loved Jake faking the knee injury, which I think was also pulled off by Arn earlier in the year, and perhaps also against Dustin. Definitely not enough of that by heels these days. Jake's performance here is really heel 101 with his mannerisms, timing, interaction with the ref and overall presentation of his character. Its a damn shame he flamed out in WCW so quickly. ***
  19. WingedEagle
    Studd Stable with Dutch talking about their interference in tag title match. Wright with a promo about Horner winning last week, who's out wanting a title shot b/c he won the non-title match. Wright calls him a liar and DWB nails him with a chair, cuffs him and hogties him with a noose. Drags him to the ring and hangs him. Horner bleeds from the mouth. Fuller is awesome on the mic and this is a great angle putting good heat on DWB. But I'm not sure there's anything that'll have me look at Tim Horner as a meaningful figure.
  20. WingedEagle
    This is how a manger gives a promo. Says he hasn't been back to MSC for 7.5 years and can't come back until Eddie Marlin lifts his suspension. Talks about Money Inc, Nasty Boys and then the Howard Hughes Connection. Promises a video every week until he gets rid of Lawler & Jarrett. The Dream Warriors promo is garbage, but who cares?
  21. WingedEagle
    Perfect's act feels like its jumped the shark here. Might just be because its side by side with Flair, but he's almost cringeworthy.
  22. WingedEagle
    The crowd is almost deadly silent after Hase's intro and the Steiners don't seem to have their working shoes on other than to throw around the natives a bit, and even that is lacking here. Quite the fall off from '91, as this may be one of the least interesting matches on the set. Loss hit the nail on the head with the Steiners feeling like yesterday's news. I don't know how the work from their WWF run will hold up but it'll at least be different. **1/4
  23. WingedEagle
    I'd never seen this bump before. Pretty crazy to see him hit this here and eat basically the same thing 5 years later. Chono looked pretty pissed afterwards.
  24. WingedEagle
    Wow. I did not realize it was looked upon that fondly other than maybe as an example of Takada as a draw. This was another enjoyable offering from UWFI but far from anything great. We get the simple story of Takada's working on the ground for a submission vs. Albright's slams. Nice setup for the finish with Takada taking things this time around. ***1/4
  25. WingedEagle
    Did they actually have plans for a long term Warrior reign on top here? Flair cuts a pretty funny promo about Warrior's veins cramping up.
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