fakeplastictrees

Its amazing that places like this and DVDVR have been around for as long as they have. I normally don't pay attention to 'time' when on messageboards--but fuck! Amazing. Thank you for providing this space.

Oh yeah. I know these cities are offering more money--its just disappointing to me from an 'aesthetics' standpoint. Toss in the fact that I have never been to a Mania (and really haven't been excited to even attempt to go to one in over a decade), I would hate if a 'Mania Loop' develops with Mania cycling out the same ten cities or so over the course of 20 years.

I am disappointed by this news, even more so when Orlando was announced. It seems WWE has a hard-on to keep Mania in same areas. I am curious as to why WWE hasn't tried to run the L.A. coliseum again for a Mania.

I'd love to be on!

I have always enjoyed the KOTM matches. What I think hurt TNA was the fact that the matches were so low budget. From the shifty looking cage to the suspect (and only one) plastic ladder--it just made for a very cheap presentation. If KOTM had a WWE budget (multiple ladders and 4 cages on either side of the ring) it would have made for a better visual. The action in the ring was always good and this match is a good example (as in the first Final Deletion) of TNA having good quirky tendencies and not the bad ones that have lead them on the brink of closing its doors on so many different occasions.

According to a live report sent to PWTorch: Lively family crowd, although not as lively as the crowd on Monday from Madison Square Garden. This is probably due to a lesser attendance, there were more sections in the upper bowl blocked off here than at The Garden for the Smackdown brand. The attendance was nothing close to the packed house that was in the same building for Summerslam weekend.

First, I want to say that I love this board. I've been a member for a long time and its a good place and space to be involved and active. I really hate to say this, as I've seen what it did to DVDVR, but perhaps we need to begin to crack down on the personal asides that are derailing threads. I don't mean the posts which are trying to understand a deeper subtext within pro wrestling, but rather the personal attacks on posters and the conspiracy theories leveled at these posters. The MIS forum was/is a good idea, but I don't think people know when to carry a conversation into MIS or when to start a conversation in MIS vs. the other areas of the board. The whole "Lucha vs. Puro Relevancy" discussion is definitely MIS material (in my book) and the thread turned into that as the conversation moved from People Don't Like It/Media Quality is Poor/etc. to discussing the inherent biases we all have when absorbing art. At times, I feel this place can get really meta and it comes off as Bischoff making a "Sid & Scissors" gaff to no heat and only confusion. Again, I am not talking about the actual wrestling discussion or the cultural analysis applied--just the references to some random posters stance on an empty arena match talked about 3 years ago being a talking point that carries on for 3 pages. Its hard to police without coming off like a bad guy and at times completely unreasonable, but there has to be a middle ground between "I think your opinion is stupid and here is why!" vs. " Oh you think that Sevilla/Mohicano match from 98 was top ten MOTYC? I am sure your mother is REALLY proud of you! You will be off this board in 3 months flat!". I have also seen people start 'making points' within a thread that no one else is talking about or bringing up (again--not knowing when to take it to MIS). This provides for a good laugh from me, but I can see others finding it frustrating. Loss, as much as you might beat yourself up at the current state-of-the-board, trust me-- it is far from a descent into madness that some places have become. PWO has not become a parody of itself with people trying to get his/her gimmick over--and that has to count for something. Overall I think you and the Mod team are doing a good job.

I agree. I knew Styles would be I.C. and US champion, but if his and only title thus far being the top championship pre split? Amazing. The fact that he has been able to fill in his promos, etc. and become an all around character/worker/wrestler makes it all the better.

When talking about TNA the word 'competition' is used very loosely. With HHH having a bit more influence within WWE, guys like Aries, Young, Joe, Roode, and Styles haven't been buried at all. None were hired to 'teach a lesson' or anything weird like that. Styles getting a huge pop at Rumble and maintaining the reaction post Rumble in less smarky towns tells me that his ten years or so of being on Spike definitely helped his profile. Styles was the guy that even die-hard WWE fans knew, so it would have been very weird (and complete waste of money) to bring him in and send him back to Florida work a small(er) arena. Styles and Hart are not apples:apples when breaking down metrics, however, the comparison would be one of the closes to the feelings of initial WCW stint.

AJ Style being brought into WWE and put in NXT would be like WCW bringing in Bret Hart and putting him in the U.S. title scene almost immediately. Styles being on NXT wouldn't be the big "FU" that Vince is notorious for giving the competition.

Overall the women have been positioned pretty well. Everyone has a character and motives outside of looking hot, being a bitch, or acting completely crazy. The women have real goals and are not getting into matches and feuds due to not being chosen for Playboy, wanting to bang 'Wrestler X', or just wanting to 'do the grind' and be an overall exhibitionist. Its good stuff. Between the two brands, Smackdown has the weaker roster on paper but are delivering in spades every week. If you would have told me earlier this year that Carmella would be one of the best female characters on WWE-- I would have laughed in your face.

Should be fun! I will take a listen tomorrow at work! Keep them coming...

Katarina Waters, based on her Facebook page, is a HUGE Bernie Sanders supporter. A democratic socialist.

To be fair, DVDVR turned into madhouse where a lot of members were constantly talking about banning each other . It was mob mentality.

Finally got around to listening to episode 16 today. An enjoyable listen as always.

The bigger problem with Warrior is that his style is pretty much a face style of wrestling. Can you imagine a heel Warrior running down to the ring all pumped up and squashing his opponent in 10 seconds? He would have to walk to the ring, play a chicken-shit heel (in some respects), no signature Warrior comebacks and no selling. I can't see it getting over. Heel Warrior would get all the wrong kinds of heat.

The CWD started off rough, but its starting to come together. TJP appears to be getting lost in the shuffle as his personality isn't really connecting at all. In the 'Nice Guys You Want to Root For" category, he is four tops (the first thing being Rich, Cedric, and Jack)! The top guys all have depth and purpose and I feel like TJ is keep in the upper card of the CWD to have a 'good hand' around. Someone who is not completely over, but is over enough that when Kendrick or whomever pins him--it logically setups a top feud/championship match. The Club ripping off the Dusty Bear's head was absolutely awesome heat. I wanted to see them get their asses kicked (especially Anderson). Cody's reaction on Twitter was less awesome and another example in a long list of uncomfortable markish behavior exhibited by pro wrestlers at times on social media. Braun Strowman is a top five guy when we consider guys who benefited most from The Draft. Hopefully, he continues to put all the pieces together. I am not 100% sold on him as an in-ring worker that gets me excited for his matches. However, with that said, he damn sure has the in-ring presence, mannerisms, etc. down solid.

This might be something to discuss in another thread, but I just can't see these rumors being true. Ultimate Warrior would be DOA if he were a heel. Russo, to this day, receives a lot of flack for turning Goldberg heel. I cannot imagine that even a coked out Vince would dream up heel Warrior. It just wouldn't work without killing his character dead. I cannot think of a worse WWF guy to turn heel in that 87-91 period.

The simple racism argument doesn't have much explanatory power because it doesn't predict the things about Mexican culture that are enjoyed by wider American society. I'm a foreigner who's been living in California for about 10 years now. I find that the white people I know love Mexican food (and go out of their way to find 'authentic' Mexican food) but have no love for Mexican music at all. There might be an explanation for both of these things in terms of racism, but the same boilerplate argument of "racism, therefore…" clearly can't explain both opposite opinions about Mexican culture. Of course it isn't that simple -- and I'm guilty of it myself. I'll wait in line with any other waxed bearded, rolled denim and chambray shirted white guy to have a carnitas plate from a food truck in front of the Broad, but if I hear horns and an accordion blaring from a 96 Mazda B-Series, I'll roll my eyes along with everyone else in line. I don't think race is the ONLY issue, but we are all guilty of racial discrimination and to hide from it gets us nowhere. I have Mexican family members and grew up in a community that was at least half Hispanic, and I struggle with the foreign-ness of the culture contstantly. My point is that this is a nuanced and difficult to parse issue, but to those who think they can dismiss the racial element because they are too enlightened to be racist -- check yourself. This is interesting. Thanks for sharing. I know most of what I am about to cover was covered earlier in some way. I believe that one's proximity to a culture, and the assumed and actual knowledge that comes with it, makes a person appreciate aspects of that culture less when compared to the romanticizing another culture outside of the day-to-day experience of that person . This isn't to say that someone living close to the Mexican border or even in a country with heavy Euro-colonist roots/history would appreciate Canelo Casas more than someone in The Highlands of Scotland. However, the quantity of the exposure I assume would play in one's cognitive dissonance (though to a minimal application) when seeking out pro wrestling. This is the case in our choosing/appreciating other art forms. Within the subtext, sometimes people don't want to deal with what they deem as a unique culture and all of its (perceived and real) trappings and just want to watch something 'cool' where the experience doesn't expose or show something deeper within the conscious that causes a person to 'learn'. This would be the case when trying to 'unpack' Fantasma de la Quebrada's early 90's AAA work.This mentality of course essentially creates an echo chamber of entertainment. I believe, more-often-than-not the majority,if not all, I wrote plays within the subconscious on such a small scale that no real deeper truths can be ascertained without (as mentioned earlier in the thread) making logic jumps that more-often-than-not will vilify people for acting on the same every-day same non-consequential consciousness that enjoys The Amboy Dukes over Gordon Lightfoot. I am not sure enjoying Ciclon Ramirez late 80's work requires a different standard for thinking/enjoyment. I agree with a lot of what Stro has written on this subject and totally believe in Kierkegaard's philosophical application of opinions constructed by mass media as it relates to the Puro-Classic narrative set online in the early 2000's. With all that said,to ignore cultural biases and structural framing that goes into loving a particular style of wrestling over another would be ignoring the cultural biases and structural framing within pro wrestling itself.

Everyone in the crowd is wearing a jacket or coat. Looks like the coldest it got that month was the mid 40's (Fahrenheit) or so. I wonder how WWE kept the ring warm that night. The cat is out-of-the-bag for WM29, but there is nothing within The Big Event setup that looks sophisticated enough to keep anyone warm.

The contest ended in controversy with some of the audience chanting 'bullshit' and others cheering. Miz Girl, Black Guy with Glasses at Mania, and other well known reactions were expressed and felt across the country. Jill Stein wanted the refs to review the footage--but it all checked out. HHH has just pinned Booker T at WM19.

ESPN should grow some balls and run a 30 for 30 on the racism, sexism, etc. in wrestling. The glorification of an overt racist like Flair is amazing and sad at the same time. Not sure why people like to sweep that stuff under the rug or why they would be considered 'hit pieces' when they do come out. But yeah--I would like to see that from ESPN with interviews from Teddy Long, etc. providing real first hand encounters of Flairs and the likes.

Pro wrestling hasn't been 'extreme' in a long time and I am glad that this type of stuff is being phased out. With pretty much everyone, in The States, turning their backs on Styles...it might be time for him to consider TNA's lackluster offer if he wants to stay anywhere near semi-relevant pro wrestling.

From a combination of rumors and reports, it looks like Mania is going to be: HHH/Rollins Cena/Styles Shaq/Big Show Lesnar/Shane McMahon The annual Battle Royale

My favorite line from Raw this week came from Doc Gallows: "A grown man crying over a toy sword. This is exactly the problem." That made me cracking up more than it should have. Overall a good episode, just hate the return of 'we have to do it for the brand!' trope as WWE hasn't laid out a reason for any of these guys to be loyal to either of the brands at this point.