Badlittlekitten

Hulk Hogan, HBK, Terry Funk, Abdullah, Onita, Chosu, Savage.

Dundee, Rey, Buddy.

Fuck, I'm getting goosebumps just by watching the entrance to the above match. I've seen all the footage before but I still find it stunning. In terms of raw emotional connection has their ever been a wrestler as over as Chigusa Nagayo?

New Day is the best act to come along since the Shield. I'm not just talking trios either. They're like a brief glimpse of light through the depressing WWE fog. I'm chuffed that these guys have sorta accidentally stumbled into something that works and works so well. Big E has finally been able to put forth his personality and is looking like a future star again, the once lousy Woods has miraculously morphed into Memphis Jimmy Hart and even Kofi's finally found something he's good at (obnoxiously flamboyant clapping). They're the only part of the show that guarantee a raised smile. Enjoy them before they inevitably get babyfaced. Positivity! By extension the PTPs have been hitting it out the park too. Young is legitimately one of the best workers in the world when he's left to go at it. Titus is the hottest hot tag since Bryan a couple of years back and is a great worker in his own right. Now there's a guy that could be a star if the company was arsed with that sort of thing. Only quibble is they got the belts too soon. Their crowd connection needs to grow a bit more. Apart from all that the best part of Raw was Sasha/Paige. It was their first real attempt to present a women's match as a serious thing and it worked. (Although the presentation outside the ring remains shitty. Is there a heel/face dynamic in the divas division or are they all simply pushed as 'catty bitches'?) Paige is so much better working the aggressive anti hero schick than the blue eyed underdog role they tried to lump her with early on. This was her best performance since the Emma matches. And they're keeping Sasha strong which is a good sign. Charlotte still stinks mind. Otherwise, Raw was shite.

Nothing to add, people got it covered. I enjoy angry Loss, complete with swearing, typos and all. Parties hit the core of their problems on the head - it doesn't seem like they like their full time roster very much. It's a constant uphill struggle.

A million hearts for posting this, can't get enough of it. Backlund tumbling from the ring doing his weird 'woah, woah, woah' thing is dumb Bob heaven. I wonder what was going through Vince Jr's mind during Backlund's breakdown. Graham was awesome in this too, i feel I should track down some more of his work. Good podcast as ever. That Cawthon guy has a nice therapeutic voice

Yeah, I liked the Backlund matches a lot less on rewatch. I love Bob and don't mind him doing his thing, but working on top vs Stan, the man, in Japan, it felt all wrong. As for Hansen, top 5 no brainer. Possibly as high as three.

I'm a Satomura fan and she might sneak my list (shame that Hojo match has gone, that may have swung it) but I don't think she's close to the level of Hokuto at any of those things except execution. Hokuto completely smokes her at selling. I mean it's annihilation. They're both great offensively in different ways. Meiko makes video game offence work. Hokuto throws flames and is pure joyous dynamite. I don't think it's crazy to put Satomura at the level of some of joshi stars of yesteryear. I'd put her a notch below Hokuto and her idol Nagayo myself. But she's an awesome unique talent in her own right.

You're right in the sense that WWE may have kept him had he had a ripped physique. I'd also wager they'd have kept him if he wasn't an uncharismatic drip, gut and all. You only have to look at the guys they're willing to push these days to see that ring work and playing your role effectively are more important than ever. And that's great cos in terms of shapes and sizes the rosters more diverse than its been in a long time. Is it fair that some guys have to work harder to overcome their look? Well no, it should be talent and presence that shines through. (Although I'm struggling to think of the last roided lug they pushed purely for appearance). But that's what it comes down to for me. I don't think Hero is particularly good in ring or at playing a role. In NXT he had a 'knockout' bruiser gimmick when his striking looked sloppy and sluggish. It was a bit of a jumble and didn't really fit. If 'internet dork' was his gimmick and he played a smart, sneaky heel that does lousy WOS cosplays it might have worked. If he clicked he'd be on tv right now.

Beyond the WWF there's always been guys breaking the mold and being accepted no matter their look. My problem with Hero is that he has no charisma, middling mic skills at best and I'm never sold that he can kick anyone's arse. There's a world of difference between him and say Owen's or Punk.

Hero wouldn't have been a star in any period. The gut is awful but if he had something about him he'd get away with it. Instead Hero looks like a guy that what would look at the floor and cross the street if a group of teenagers were walking nearby. Old school guys like Windham, Murdoch, Rhodes etc carried themselves like stars. A charismatic dynamo, a gruff old cowboy and the leery geezer at the end of the bar you wouldn't want to mess with. Ever since the beginning Hero's had the worst look of any major(ish) star I can think of.

Despite a couple of minor flubs from Ibushi early on I was really enjoying Shibata/Ibushi until that moment. Killed my interest in the match dead. Dylan's right in that they might as well have gone all the way in breaking the fourth wall and turned to the hardcam together and had a good chuckle over how ridiculous this all is. What's the point in continuing on at that point? Why sell anything? I can just about tolerate the tedious forearm exchanges in Japanese wrestling but this I'm not having. Fuck fighting spirit. You get bombed, you sell. Simple.

Roman Reigns. I won't rank him myself but I'd put him above a fair few of the nominees. He'll get a couple of votes.

Chubby nerd.

I thought he was pretty cool during his days as a Radical because he was a cult internet hero and he was different and I was young. I think he was hurt by being over pushed during the middle of his WWE run but I'm sure there's lots of good matches in isolation. Last time I watched Benoit was when he popped up in my early 90s WCW viewing. He looked decent, especially in the Clash Brad Armstrong match. He's somebody I'll have another look at down the line.

Oops

Watched the Angle rumble match recently and while it's not an all time classic it was enjoyable. Nowhere near as excessive as I feared going in. Not even as excessive as the last Cena match.

Didn't she get busted for coke? Love Bull, she'll rank either 3rd or 4th amongst the joshi stars. Don't even think I'm gonna rank Aja Kong at this point. Overrated bore.

Just watched Shibata/Styles. Geesh, that dtd/brainbuster was SICK! Love Shibata's roll through into the abdominal stretch. AJ's so watchable right now. Good match, three and three quarters. Crowd was pretty shitty for a first night.

Really enjoyed Orton/Sheamus and the tag matches. Felt like a break out performance from Titus and Young. Didn't bother with the rest of the card but with Owens/Cena fizzling out and Taker returning things look fairly bleak.

Coldly stalks the ring like Santanico slashed with Kandori. Amazing hair. Genuinely the coolest of fuck wrestler of all time. Her and Sato carried the AJW load before Jaguar. In a lot of great tags and an all time classic vs Nancy Kumi. Great offense, pulls out a lot of surprises. Cool as fuck. An all time favourite making the bottom of my list.

We'd have a women's division built around Sara Del Rey, Saraya Knight and Portia Perez in my dream world. I'd like to see Sasha be the game changer people think she is but I don't see it. Didn't happen for Paige.

I want Dean Ambrose's babies.