Superstar Sleeze

Brian Pillman & Chris Benoit vs Bart Sawyer & Buck Quartermaine - WCW Pro 01/13/96 The recently formed Four Horsemen had a healthy heaping of squash in this match, but it was the best type of squash: the type you work for. They actually worked a straight, short tag match that focused on heels dominating, but it still had a shine, heat and comeback. I think Pillman & Benoit looked better for it. I have been trying to get Brian Pillman's haircut from this era forever. Giving it another whirl on Saturday. This Pillman was so different from the one just 4 years ago. He works smarter and it able to use every heel trick to get his character over as volatile and violent. Ambrose has a lot of Pillman in him and he needs to continue learn from Pillman. Benoit is just a total prick and his offense is crisp as usual. They work Sawyer in a heat segment only for him to crawl through Benoit's legs to get the hot tag. Quartermaine is able to get a dropkick before being planted by a Benoit powerbomb. Benoit's powerbomb may be my favorite powerbomb ever. Pillman then dropkicks Quartermaine into a dragon suplex. This was a very high-end squash. Pillman and Benoit complemented each other well. They are total pricks, but different kinds. Pillman is off his rocker and focuses on tried and true heel offense like raking the face and cheating. Benoit is a violent prick with badass offense. They could have been a great tag team if Pillman stayed on. -------------------------------------------------------- Brian Pillman & Arn Anderson vs Steve & Scott Armstrong - WCW Worldwide 09/23/95 The freshly turned heel Brian Pillman does not have his Loose Canon persona developed nor the bitchin' hair he would later have. This is the first time Anderson & Pillman has teamed since Pillman aided AA against Flair at Fall Brawl '95. This is a competitive match, but the finish was never in doubt. There was some decent spots, but it felt a bit underwhelming and lackluster. AA is willing to give the Armstongs a lot at the beginning. They outsmart him and then he begs off into the corner saying "Are you insane?". He definitely went over the top in trying to sell the Armstrongs as a threat. Pillman did plenty of heelish things in the match, but he was not vicious as he would become. He worked more in the vein of a AA-style heel with lots of stooging like crawling away on his knees from Scott's chops. He did this leapfrog spot that with better execution could be awesome. He leapfrogged Scott and then expected to leapfrog him again and instead he lands on a well-placed Scott knee. With better execution, they could have really had something. Anderson get a blind tag and plants a knee in Scott's back. Pillman closes the gap with a wicked clothesline. Scott has one of the most jobbererfic looks ever with an awful mullet, plain blue singlet and a lanky, skinny frame. They do abdominal stretch cheating spot. This match feels like the best hits of Arn Anderson, but done at lukewarm. Pillman eats knees on a rocket launcher. Steve comes in and he looks and wrestles way better than Scott. He runs through the usual babyface comeback offense. He climaxes with a clothesline off the top. Pillman makes the save. Pillman hits Steve in the head with a kick while he runs the ropes and AA plants him with a DDT for the win. It is a perfectly good match and I love the best hits of The Enforcer. It just felt like Pillman was wrestling as an Arn Anderson clone and he could have be so much more. Also, I think the heels could have made the lowly Armstrongs earn more. They underestimated them then Armstrongs gain the upper hand and we get the freak out moment rather just out of the gate "Oh Shit!". I would not go out of my way to watch this match as Pillman would grow more into his own in this role and AA has had way better TV tags than this. --------------------------------------------------------------- WCW World TV Champion Arn Anderson w/ Ric Flair vs Brian Pillman - WCW Main Event 4/16/95 Flair has been reinstated and he back with his old pal, Arn Anderson. I found it amusing when Dusty speculated that Flair and Anderson may actually be family to explain their closeness. I was expecting Tony to say well they are cousins. Pillman had apparently been out for late '94 and was doing squash matches in early '95. He was being revamped as California Brian with the theme of Blonds Have More Fun. Cowabunga, dude! In some ways the booking is what I am really finding fault with in this match. He is still playing the plucky upstart against a champion just like in his Luger '89 and Flair matches. However, I think some fault has to be laid at his feet for how lukewarm this match was. In those matches, he was contributing to the match with a unique presence. In this match, he feels like he retrogressed to a vanilla challenger. Before, he was mixing aerial tactics, stiff chops and scrappiness to create a distinctive force in the ring. Now, he is just a hammerlocking, one early nearfall, reverse elbow-eating, Flair whipping boy on the outside, back body dropping, clotheslining, losing to an illegal sunset flip, generic babyface. Wright protests that Anderson had his hand clasped with Flair during the sunset flip. Flair and Wright spill out to the floor. In classic WCW fashion, they restart the match, but tell nobody. Flair intervenes and kicks Pillman during a cover to draw the DQ. I smell a rematch. Anderson looked fine here. It was just Anderson by the numbers. Anderson always looks like a star and a champion. I liked how he cheated early on and Pillman was still able to negotiate back into hammerlock. It was their best stretch. The best part of the heat segment was Flair's beatdown on Pillman. I can't believe how interchangeable Pillman felt in this. It may have been some rust and disenchantment with the system. Lets see what happens in the rematch. --------------------------------------------------------------------- WCW World TV Champion Arn Anderson vs Brian Pillman - WCW Worldwide 5/28/95 Who the fuck thought those hair extensions were a good idea for Pillman? Anderson has just helped Flair beat up the elderly Angelo Poffo at Slamboree, which sets up one of my all-time favorite matches, Flair vs Savage at GAB '95. Anderson is booked against Renegade at GAB and Pillman who continues to be totally directionless is booked against Alex Wright. When I first saw this series on paper, I had high hopes it would be as good as the Pillman/Windham series of '91. I thought this match was much better than the first match, but still didn't get to the place I feel like they could have due to an abrupt finish. The big improvement was in the heat and home stretch. The beginning saw Pillman use the headlock as his base, which was fine. Things picked up once The Enforcer hit a hotshot on Pillman. Both wrestlers worked hard from then on out and Pillman started to look like the Pillman of old. He was peppering in chops forcing AA to do cutoffs like hitting a swinging neckbreaker, which Pillman sold like a million bucks bouncing himself to the outside. They do the Arn-staple of the heads colliding in the corner. Arn attempts to hit a move off the second rope only for the Pillman to hit a dropkick on the button. I like when the babyface transitions by combining 2-3 spots together. Pillman is way more into this match and trying way harder to get the crowd involved. They blow a crossbody roll through, but Pillman makes it up with a sweet second rope bulldog and a great flying headscissors. The finish is lame as Anderson rolls to the apron and just snaps Pillman across the top rope. He at least has the courtesy to put his feet on the rope. Pillman was on quite a roll before the match ended abruptly. Anderson looked good was playing a great foil for Pillman. He made Pillman look good and when he went on offense he always transitioned in an underhanded way. They definitely put a lot more effort in this match and it shows. It is too bad they never got 20 minutes together. This series was pretty disappointing. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brian Pillman vs Jushin "Thunder" Liger - Nitro 9/4/95 This is the answer to the trivia question, "What was the first match in the history of Monday Night Nitro". It is a statement match and how WCW was going to distinguish itself from WWF: International talent, smaller talent, lots of action, no selling and botches. Pillman seemed awfully sloppy at times and was still a couple weeks away from the heel turn that would take him from missed prospect to cult legend. Liger is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, but he knew his job here: BRING DA MOVEZ~! Kappo Kicks, Mexican Surfboard (take notes, Das Wunderkind), Somersault Senton off the apron, superplex, top rope frankensteiner, powerbomb. They worked a tit for tat symmetry match, but Pillman was having trouble matching each of Liger's loves with his sloppy headscissors. Sometimes, Pillman was be too far pigeon-holed in that aerial light heavyweight role when he excelled at toe-to-toe fights with Flair and Windham. Pillman hits a tornado DDT and then negotiates a cradle to win. I thought Liger came off as the bigger star. Not only did he have the bigger moves, he was more expressive (he is masked!) and vocal with crowd (shouting "One more time!" for a top rope frankensteiner). Pillman looked like a guy who could not give a shit. His best move is his one stiff chop and splash to the floor. Still this match accomplished what it set out to do. It was totally different than the 1995 WWF product and heralded that American fans would have a choice in their wrestling products. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brian Pillman vs Dean Malenko - Nitro 01/22/96 Pillman is in full loose canon mode. I remember his stuff around this time where he was so focused on getting the gimmick over that the matches would suffer, but damn if this match was not a sweet little sprint. It has been his best TV match of the '95-'96 stretch in WCW. Early on, it is all about getting the Loose Canon over with the idiosyncratic behavior, jawing to the crowd and Malenko and inside comments "Im the real shooter because I got a Full Metal Jacket!" (a play off Malenko's ECW moniker). It does make Malenko out to be a bit of a chump because Pillman is controlling him at will. Pillman is actually pretty good on offense laying in some stiff chops and punches. Then he slaps the taste out of Malenko's mouth and Malenko is fuckin hot. The Iceman kicks some Pillman ass and Pillman sells and stooges for him. Malenko looked awesome in this match. Pillman had a great knocked out sell off a brainbuster. Pillman hits a tornado DDT and a huge chop. Malenko came back with a Tiger Driver for 2. Nitro really ushered in the emphasis on offense and getting in spots due to hyper-compression. Pillman uses the railing and some eyerakes to regain control. Pillman goes to the well once too often for a tornado DDT as Malenko throws him off. The Gutbuster get a big pop so Malenko follows it up with a drop toehold into a leg lace? Malenko sometimes just did not get it. Pillman unloads a massive forearm as Malenko falls his foot gets caught in the ropes and is pinned. The one problem is that Pillman fell off the apron and thus the ref plainly saw Malenko tied up. Ugh. Botched finish aside this was a fun Nitro sprint that was able to get over Pillman's character and showcase some great action. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brian Pillman vs Eddie Guerrero - Clash of the Champions XXXII Tony: "Given the actions that just transpired, I think it is safe to say you want Eddie to win." Bobby: "Oh no! I still like Pillman's style. Just keep him away from me." Classic Heenan. This match is infamous for adding the cult status of Pillman's Loose Canon gimmick. During one of his strolls around the outside, he decided to try to take off Heenan's jacket. Heenan, with a very fragile neck, was unnerved and explicitly said on air "What the fuck are you doing?" He composed himself and continued to be a proponent of Pillman. What is interesting is that before Pillman did that to Heenan, he kinda shoved Tony in the head. That sort of freaked the Brain out as he stated "Your head whipped back and forth" in a nervous tone. That comment could have been subtle foreshadowing. Was Brain in on the deal? The match was short and more focused on getting Pillman over as a character. I liked Eddie not backing down from Pillman's four fingers in his face. Pillman was a really effective heel. He cheats, cowers, and is proud of his Four Horsemen status. I don't know if everybody has to go as far as Pillman would with the cheating, but I would like some modern heels to actual be heels in the ring. An eyerake never hurt anyone. Eddie had some cool offense to pop the crowd like a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker or the tornado DDT. Also, he got his receipt for a Pillman slap with a paintbrush of his own. I liked how Guerrero and Malenko did not back down from Pillman and each had their own spots. They did not have feel like generic faces, but wrestlers contributing to a match. After a double leg takedown with the feet on the ropes did not work, Pillman hit a nice cross body and grabbed the tights for the win. You could only wish that there was no accident and that Pillman could have gotten 20 minutes with these guys because he was such an excellent heel. He was combining the heel tactics from his mentors, Flair & AA, with maniacal tendencies that created a unique blend of heel hitherto unexplored. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Brian Pillman & Arn Anderson vs Kevin Sullivan & Hugh Morrus - Nitro 2/5/96 The Dungeon of Doom & Four Horsemen had a loose alliance to destroy Hulk Hogan & Macho Man, but due to Pillman's shenanigans and seemingly his lack of respect for the Taskmaster there was a falling out between the two stables. The previous week on Nitro, AA was ready to dispense some tough love onto Pillman using a belt, but Sullivan & Morrus hijacked the segment and beat up the Horsemen. Sullivan whipped Pillman like the dog he is (love that phrase) to set up their infamous SuperBrawl Respect Strap match. The Horsemen ran them off and challenged them so we ended up with this match. I actually really liked WCW's booking at this time. I think this is the good version of shades of grey booking. You have Jimmy Hart managing Flair, Sullivan and Luger. However, Luger and Sting are pals and Flair's best friend Anderson is having issues with Sullivan. It is interesting and complex for wrestling booking. The Dungeon of Doom are de facto faces because Pillman is working his darndest to get himself over as an ultra-heel and Bischoff is pushing him hard on commentary as absolutely looney tunes. They feed Morrus some basic press slams. Pillman does his blind kick and AA takes over with a spinebuster. Things get really good when Sullivan and Pillman throw hands. They try to get it over as a shoot. The crowd comes alive. Sullivan hits his Tree of Woe. AA/Taskmaster pair off to outside and a mystery man hits AA with a broom. Was that ever revealed? Pillman takes Morrus' moonsault (his only move) and then gets whipped with the belt before escaping. It was a pretty boring match until the worked shoot between Sullivan and Pillman. It was a good angle to get heat on the "Respect" strap match for SuperBrawl. You really felt like Pillman was becoming a big deal in WCW. However, this would be Pillman's last week in WCW.

I gotta know, Brick, it is you and long-time forum poster, jdw in a flame-war. Who is calling this thing? Are you calling it as you go? Is it 50-50? God, I love Austin. :D I don't know what the straw was that broke the camel's back, but it is a damn shame. I enjoyed doing a podcast with Brick the one time I did. I hope all is well with him. When I was thinking about what I was thankful for, I gotta say this place ranks high up on the list. I love it here. Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! I am going to watch some wrestling now.

One of those people is not like the other. One of those people just does not belong. I am honored but I am a ways away from becoming that level of wrestling analyst. After calling me out a couple times, Matt, about the Colossal Connection matches, they are the best babyface Demolition matches because Eadie respects Andre enough to sell for him like a face in peril. Still no face Demolition matches come close to how good heel Demolition could be against the Rockers, Bulldogs and Hart Foundation. Do you agree that heel Demolition >>> babyface Demolition? To me it is not even close, but I would like to hear your thoughts on that. Probably best if you put it in the Demolition thread.

The problem with a WON-style HOF from my vantage is that the tag divisions were not used very effectively as box office draws in North America, but rather as springboards to singles success. Obviously there were tag territories like Mid-Atlantic in the 70s and it feels like the AWA was kind of a tag territory in the 70s, but for tag teams that I am familiar with and can watch I don't feel like I apply the same criteria to tag teams. Tag team gold is just not the end-goal in the post-Hogan world. It is just one of the stepping stones. Yes, most of this preface stems from the fact that I think Rockers are one of the best tag teams of all time and think they belong in the tag HOF, but cant justify it from a WON criteria point of view. On The Rockers, from what I have gleaned from the other threads on HOF and the Wrestling Culture podcasts on the WON HOF, I agree they should probably not go in because they do not have a money feud. They have a great blood feud with Rose & Somers, but no money feud. McMahon used them specifically as a midcard act to energize the crowd and to deliver great athletic matches to the fans. Just like any company, everyone needs to perform their role in order to make sure the company worked smoothly. The Rockers may have not been moving the needle at box office, but I have watched enough matches to know they were over like rover. I would still contend they are a Top 5 North American team of all time based off excellent work in a variety of matches that all feel very different from each other. The Rockers are truly amazing for excelling at a breadth of styles. I am going to write up the big review when real life stops interfering. I agree that they probably should not go into a WON-style HOF. Dylan, mind elaborating on why MNM would be a better overall act instead of the Rockers. They were pushed as the No.1 team on Smackdown and I remember some good matches with Hardys. Being the No. 1 team on Smackdown is pretty much the No. 1 team in the AWA in '86. Then add that the Rockers had 4 more years of kick ass matches. I don't even see how this is close. It is not like MNM was ever box office. British Bulldogs weirdly enough do have a better case than the Rockers in my mind because they are very influential. The WWE style feels very close to the style that the style the Bulldogs worked. Benoit modeled himself after Dynamite and Benoit had a massive impact on the workrate of the business. His style emphasized offense over selling, which is what we see on the Indies and how crowds react to WWE matches. It is all about offense. Demolition are mortal locks in my mind. From Wrestlemania IV-Summerslam '90, they ruled the WWF tag division at the height of the tag division's importance in that promotion. They did as both babyfaces and heels. They wrestled some great matches and were the actual box office draws of that tag division. You cant have a Tag Team Hall of Fame without Demolition. Hart Foundation is a no way for me. I would put the Bulldogs and the Rockers way ahead. Cold, mechanical work coupled with an almost non-existent 1988 & 1989 pretty much renders unfit. From there, the 1990 title run was a lameduck reign to get Bret even further over for his singles run. The 1987 run was just the Bulldogs feud and that felt like the Bulldogs were more the stars than the Hart Foundation.

So Im a little tardy to the party, but I thought I throw out my live thoughts. It was fuckin' cold that night! My Dad was dragging his feet saying he rather watched the Pats/Broncos, but ended up having fun. I thought the Garden was like 80% full with all the empty seats being around the hard camera. The balconies were pretty packed. The Miz/Kofi was just there. I understood the match they were going for, but I have seen so many people do tit for tat matches better than that. Zeb has gotten way better now that he is a bit more of a clown. At the beginning with the Del Rio/Swagger feud, he was a snoozefest. Now as a cranky old man, he is much better. I loved the opener and I would probably give it match of the night honors. Goldust was over like rover. We were chanting "We Want Goldust" at the outstt and "Goldust" once he got in. The eliminations were flawlessly booked. Ambrose got eliminated because he is over-aggressive and has a temper. Swagger's elimination was excellent babyface shine work that put over Rey especially. Cesaro made Cesaro look like a hot dog. He was focused too much on impressing us fans rather than winning a match and it cost him. The WWE has been surprisingly adept at booking heels against the odds and still making the match work. Reigns was of course the bigger winner of the match, but I thought this was some of Rollins best work. I like the curb stomp finish for him, but I would have liked to seen the flying knee, but I guess Daniel Bryan is using that now. My brother and Dad took a break for the Big E & Curtis Axel match. Then they gave me the phone call of a lifetime: Bob Backlund was right next to them!!! O FUCK YEAH! I raced up there and they said $40 for a picture. I didn't have any money, so I said fuck it and went to talk to him anyways. I am a tall dude, but Backlund is a big man still to this say. His handshake is a like a vise-grip, but he still complimented me on mine. (Dont like to toot my own horn, but I do work out my forearms for tennis TOOT! TOOT! Thanks for noticing Bob). Then I try to launch in about how awesome his matches with Patera, Valentine and Inoki were. Instead, he just wanted to talk about how he could still go in the ring. So what developed was this weird conversation where I was trying to ask him questions like what it was like to work with these guys and he would ignore me just talk about how we could kick everyone's ass today. I gave up and told him of course you could best headlock ever. Then I pantomimed how he would do a headlock. He finally smiled and said thats how to headlock. I wished him luck in getting back into the ring and that was a fan for life. He told me to stay in school. Well I finished that, but I am still paying back Michigan so I guess that still counts. O what a night! Something involving women happened, but who gives a fuck I just met Bob Backlund! I am a huge Ryback mark and I love Mark Henry. We popped huge for the entrance. The match was underwhelming and disappointing. The fans were getting restless. I know most people hear where down on the Cena/Del Rio match because it is lacked sizzle and that Del Rio is fucked as a character and I agree. However, this was the most fun match of the night for me. There was a 6 year old kid who is the greatest wrestling fan ever. I would watch the match and then watch his reaction it elevated the match. Eventually him and I against all the Cena haters in our section. It made for the most heated match from our perspective. I would not say this was molten heat, but it was definitely the hottest match of the night. Cena doing his Backlund tribute on the cross-armbreaker had me popping like mad and I rallied all the Cena supporters at that time. I just thought that was a great moment. I thought it was a very good Cena match who just has his extended comeback down at this point. It is my choice for second best match of the night. Punk/Bryan vs Wyatts was a weird match. It felt like Boston wanted to blow the roof off the place for Bryan & Punk but never got there. We seemed out of sync with the flow of the match. I like Harper a lot. He is up there with Reigns and Ryback as my favorite hosses. Punk was boring as fuck. Bryan was his entertaining himself. When people starting chanting "This is awesome", my Dad goes "What the fuck are these guys watching? Where was that chant for the last match?". My brother succinctly responded "Smart marks suck." It was a totally forgettable match. Orton vs Big Show was first met by silence and then mocked. They tried chanting a "This Match Sucks!" in our section which I dont know if that came across on TV. I didnt think it was a horrible match. I thought they wrestled a smart match, but not one that plays well with modern audience. Plus they blew the top ropehanging DDT, which never helps. It is a match that I would rate as average than a total turd, but hey average don't cut it on a PPV main event. They should have known better. Cena vs Orton seems dumb to me. It is played out. The Authority vs Internet Darlings makes way more sense. Let Cena fight some upper midcard heels like the Shield and the Wyatts while Orton faces Punk and Bryan. All in all, I had a fun night with my Dad and brother. I saw two pretty good matches and met BOB FUCKIN BACKLUND~! I'm a happy camper.

I MET BOB BACKLUND TONIGHT!!!!!! TONIGHT WAS SO FUCKIN BITCHIN!

My excitement for Survivor Series peaked when I first found out it was in Boston. I was really looking forward to the direction of the company post-Summerslam. However, in November I have found the storyline direction to be lackluster to say the least. I feel like all the heat from Summerslam and September has dissipated. First, Boston needs to bring our A-game to match that raucous Nashville crowd. I have not heard a crowd so pro-babyface in forever. They were even doing Uso callback chant. I was digging it. I think Boston crowds are in the top 5 WWE crowds and we definitely be there in force. Like I said in a post in the Current WWE thread, if I was not going to this event I would be perfectly fine with Randy Orton vs Big Show. Even though, the money is clearly in Big Show vs Triple H given the crowd reactions for their confrontations. I would still say this is a perfectly logical progression for the story of Big Show. In addition, if Orton loses, it could set up for a new heel ace or Triple H to come back under the guise "If you want a job done, you got to do it yourself." or if he wins, he gets a much needed win to further consolidate his position before dropping the belt to Punk or Bryan. Still, Orton vs. Big Show reeks of 2010 mid-card and I am just not terribly interested in this match-up. As much as I like Harper, the Wyatts do Jimbo-Diddly-Squat for me. I am excited for the match, but in a "This will be a great RAW main event" way not in a "PPV match" way. I think it is smart to pair the smark darling together as they have been/will be over like rover. It should be a good popcorn match. Cena/Del Rio got the much needed shot in the arm after Del Rio's beatdown two weeks ago. I think this will give them a good psychological base point to build off and it is my prediction for match of the night. The match I am most excited for is the Elimination match with Rhodes Family/Usos/Rey vs Real Americans/The Shield. I pretty much dig all 10 men in this match and I think it has a real shot of being match of the night on a shallow card. The Shield has been my favorite gimmick over the past year and I am pumped to see Cesaro for the first time since I saw him face Tyler Black at an ROH show in Detroit. No Ryback and Dolph Ziggler makes me a sad Superstar Sleeze. I really liked Ziggler's effort in the Sandow match and thought that was one of the best finishes they have had in a while in a gimmick match. Ryback is just a beast. At least, Roman Reigns is on the card. I love live wrestling and I will be hanging out with my Dad and my brother so it will be tons of fun. Realistically this is not one of their best cards on papers, but that's why they play the game.

Thanks for inviting me onto the show and I am sorry I could not make it. I shouldn't have to work nights for a while so let me when the next one is. You guys were hilarious and insightful as always. To the point about gauntlet style handicap matches, they were common in the 20s & 30s (probably earlier too) to match the world champions (Lewis, Stetcher, etc...) against up and comers (Londos and such) for them to prove their mettle and cheat gamblers out of money. Another version of this, which happens from time to time still, is set a time limit that the challenger would have to compete with the champion. Since wrestling used to be gambled on, they could book the non-obvious finish in these gimmick matches, which allowed them to cheat out all the gamblers of their money and build a star in the process. My reference for all this is Steve Yohe's excellent Ed "Strangler" Lewis biography, which can be found at Hisa's titles website, wrestling-titles.com. I agree with Pete's ranking of the Von Erich brothers. I went through a phase where I could not get enough Kevin Von Erich. He was such a friggin dynamo in there. I remember I watched a couple of his St. Louis matches against Patera and Murdoch (though Kerry may have been in one) and enjoyed the Von Erichs in St. Louis. Kerry at times was a better version of Lex Luger. As of now, I have Luger ahead of KVE, but that could change when I watch more Kerry, It is too bad we don't have the Kiel stuff because all of this stuff is really just a tease.

Cena has the best friggin' leapfrog ever. He has springs for legs. When are they going to book Cena/Cesaro into a program already.

They busted that spot out at Superstars taping here in Boston and we loved it. I actually forgot that spot and I think he should bring it back especially as a face now. I have enjoyed his mid-90s Randy Savage-inspired matches as no one makes the heels look better on TV than Dolph. I always thought those two had pretty good chemistry with each other. I think Kofi is useless with pretty much everyone else and I think Dolph never seems to reach his full potential, but together they always have enjoyable matches. I always associated "pinball" bumping with the style mentioned by khawk (Hennig, HBK, Flair) that is over the top. But John and other make a good point that is not really how a pinball works. A pinball is rapid fire bouncing off the walls. I hardly think ths thread will change conventional naming, but I think "trampoline" bumping is more accurate description of what is going on as someone pointed out already. Flair, Hennig etc... all felt as if they coming off a trampoline more so than a pinball clanging all around.

WWF World Tag Team Champions Colossal Connection vs Demolition - MSG 12/28/89 For my money, this is the best babyface Demolition match I have seen. I still would not rate it that highly, but it was decent. If this match was wrestled with 1984 Andre this could have been a great match up. Ax only seems to sell for Andre when wrestling face. Now there have been claims that Andre was a very effective worker at this stage, but how much was it actually his opponents making him look effective. Andre's headbutts and general offense looks like shit, but it is Ax & Smash that make it worthwhile. Andre understood his limitations and had a enough tricks to work around them, but he seriously needed to be carried. One of those tricks was his facial expressions and his charisma. At the beginning of this match, he has the most smug look on his face. "Be me guest, Haku, start the match it makes no difference we are going to smoke them either way", all in one facial expression. Smash starts the match for Demolition and after Ax's pitiful kayfabe performance it is probably for the best. Haku misses an elbow drop early and it's clubbering time, Tony! Haku hits a couple kicks to free himself to tag Andre. Andre misses the ass splash and the best part of the match begins. Demolition is relentless in their efforts to keep Andre at bay in their corner with clobbering. Andre just keeps swatting at them. There is such a great sense of struggle in this portion and how important it is for Demolition to contain Andre. That segment sums up the significance of Andre in the late 80s. Andre eventually beats back Demolition and tags in Haku. Ax gets an atomic drop on Haku, but cant capitalize due to his beating from Andre. Andre is back in with some choking and Haku misses his three-point stance splash in the corner. He eats an reverse elbow and here comes the Smasher. Smash is a pretty lukewarm hot tag. After basic hot tag offense, Ax drags Haku to the outside allowing Andre to headbutt Smash from behind and toss him out for the countout victory. Never turn your back on a giant, shaking my head. Demolition takes exception and they double clothesline Andre and then hit Demolition Decapitation on Haku, a portent of things to come? This match was Demolition's bread and butter: well-laid out, solid match that emphasizes everyone's strengths, but is nothing all that memorable. WWF World Tag Team Champions Colossal Connection vs Demolition - WrestleMania VI Pat Riley made a couple bucks off Vince with all this Three-Peat talk. Andre and Ax were effectively done with the WWF after this match and it is memorable for that more than being a good match. They had a very bare bones match to get the titles back on Demolition and turn Andre face for his final send-off. They do the melee start like at the TV title change, but this time Andre's heabutt is inconsequential. There is a super short babyface shine, before Ax takes heat due to a spike to a throat. Haku gets a two off a backbreaker. Andre chokes Ax out with the tag rope. Haku hits a shoulderbreaker for a 2. Ax gets his boot up in the corner. Smash goes through his usual hot tag offense. They double clothesline Andre. Andre is able to grab a headbutt from behind, but this time Haku crescent kicks Andre. Andre falls and does his trademark tied up in the ropes spot. Demolition hit a double hotshot and a Demolition Decapitation to a massive pop. Heenan gives Andre the bidness so Andre kicks his ass and then Haku's ass. Fools, if you think you are going to hijack Andre's ride back in that little ring. It is a pretty simple match, but it popped the crowd, got the belts back on Demolition and accomplished Andre's farewell so mission accomplished. Demolition is done! Final thoughts should be up on Thursday.

I needed some WCW and puroresu to clear my mind and I am ready to watch the last couple matches to finish this. WWF World Tag Team Demolition vs Colossal Connection w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan - Primetime Wrestling 12/13/89 Ax gets his ass kicked the whole match!!! ELEVENTY BILLION STARS~! I am just kidding. It is short, sweet and effective, but it is not going to change anyone's world. Andre in 1989 is WWF's version of a wrecking ball. Hey, that headbutt maybe not be coming that fast, but it has a lot of mass behind it. In the opening fracas, Andre headbutts Ax, which fucks his shit up the rest of the match. Pretty much Haku takes it from there beating Ax down and throwing him into Andre's head and there is plenty of double-teaming. They have a couple decent hope spots: Haku missing a three point stance and Ax hitting Haku with an atomic drop, but tagged Andre while up in the air. The finish is a crescent kick followed by Andre elbow drop. When Andre hits the mat, you best believe a 3 count is happening. I will say the fact that Demolition never let anyone kick their ass like this actually made the commentary point, "I have never seen Demolition manhandled like this" valid. It definitely builds suspense towards the Wrestlemania rematch, which would Andre's and Ax's swan song. Of course, a nice moment for Andre as he gets to win a title on his way out.

When you get a chance, Takayama/Nishimura G-1 Climax '02 & Hashimoto & Nagata vs Misawa & Akiyama from Zero-1, I download the files and it is just the audio. Takayama/Chono G-1 Climax '02 does not download at all. Thanks.

Couldnt get the rest of the G-1 Climax (later started to work) so instead I watched Takayama's GHC Title Defense against Misawa in '02. I have not yet reviewed the '01 match, but I did watch just a few days ago. I would say these matches are close, but I'd give the '02 match the edge due to better complete match pacing and a great story of the elbow versus size.. GHC Heaveyweight Champion Yoshihiro Takayama vs Mitsuharu Misawa - Budokan 09/23/02 The most in-demand puroresu star of 2002 continues his run of excellent matches against NOAH ace, Mitsuharu Misawa. Takayama won the GHC Title from Yoshinari Ogawa and was used as a high-profile transitional champion to Misawa to set up the famous 03/01/03 Misawa vs Kobashi encounter. In their match from 2001 to decide the first GHC Champion, I found the first half of the match to be sluggish before the dramatic home stretch seeing Misawa crowned as the GHC Champion with Emerald Flowsion. In this match, they cut a quick pace from the outset of this match and never really let up even though towards the end they did seem fatigued. This featured a great Takayama heel performance, which makes Misawa's famed extended comeback all the better. It all boils down to Misawa's elbow versus Takayama's size. Takayama started off dominating Misawa with an assortment of kicks that sent him out of the ring and reeling into the corner at different moments. Takayama boots him off the top turnbuckle. He sends him crashing into the railings before clobbering him with the big boot over the railing. Early on, it seems the size and power of Takayama will be too much for Misawa to handle. Takayama, cocky as ever, covers Misawa with one foot in the ring. They go back to a test of strength something Takayama had won early, but this time Misawa executes a fireman's carry out. During a Misawa chinlock, Takayama feigns choking so as to get the ref to break it. Takayama is fuckin awesome. Takayama dumps Msiawa out onto the apron only to be hit by a short-arm elbow and a running elbow over the top rope. A dropkick to the outside sets up Misawa's diving elbow, which looks particularly brutal given how Takayama lands and Misawa follows this up with another elbow from the apron sending Takayama through the railing. Misawa effectively began to use his elbow as his equalizer against Takayama. Takayama as devastating weapon of his own: the kneelift. He catches Misawa coming off the top with a wicked kneelift triggering big Misawa chants. Takayama hits a bridging butterfly suplex, never seen that one before, for two. There is a lame sequence of kicks that just kinda ends with a Misawa single-leg takedown. Here comes the Misawa offensive onslaught: roaring elbow, German, Tiger Driver, Frogsplash and facelock. Takayama throws him off on Tiger Suplex attempt. A roundhouse kick to the head ends a elbow versus boot exchange and gets two. Takayama just fucking unlodas with knees driving Misawa into the corner. He hits a dropkick to Misawa's face and another knee only to get two triggering more Misawa chants and causing a bloody lip. Takayama has proven he has bombs of his own that can counteract Misawa, but has not yet put him away. He signals for the German suplex; he hits it, but rolls through to hit another one and Misawa gets his foot on the rope. He goes for a capture German suplex, but Misawa turns that into a double underhook overhead belly to belly suplex (is there a shorter name for that. It feels like one of the IUPAC names for an organic molecule). You know they do a reverse tombstone piledriver spot in WCW. Well the try to do the same thing but with the Emerald Flowsion version of that and fuck it up resulting in a bloody nose for Takayama. They run through a sequence, but they seem blown up at this point. Misawa takes home with elbows and after a barrage of them wins his second GHC title. ***3/4 They lose a bit down the stretch, but it was a dramatic thrill ride as Misawa was able to vanquish the Bleach Blond Giant of Japan with his trusty elbow. Takayama laid a pretty damn good beating on Misawa. Those Takayama kneelifts were bitchin' as all hell. It is too bad they botched the Emerald Flowsion shot as it seemed to mess up their finish, but it was a very well built match.

Takayama in G-1 Climax '02 Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki - G-1 Climax '02 Sasaki is wearing a doo-rag because he has cut the most bitchin' mullet of all time off. Mullet > Doo-rag. However, I cannot deny he is rover like over like this crowd and they may have been able to get a little bit more out of him before transitioning into the Nagata era. Sasaki looks to power straight through the monster early with lots of stiff shots to the mid-section and head. This flurry overwhelms the Bleach Blond Giant look enough to hit a powerslam on the ramp and a brainbuster before a HUGE knee lift puts on a stop to that. The crowd even gasped for that kneelift. For all the love the lariat gets, the knee lift is just as badass. Takayama is his usual dickish self putting just one foot on Sasaki counting along. He hits a nice jumping knee on the ramp and then his jumping knee/butterfly suplex combo. A cocky Takayama lets Sasaki take a standing count only to eat a lariat, big mistake. Sasaki is able to apply the scorpion deathlock, but Takayama is too close to the ropes. They start trading wild forearms and this turns into a battle of the big boot versus the lariat. Some of those lariats by Sasaki were vicious and Takayama ate them like a champ. Takayama goes for the German. Sasaki blocks it and then throws Takayama to the ground on his jumping knee attempt. This time the lariat fells the giant. He signals for the Northern Lights Bomb and the crowd pops huge. It is academic as Sasaki picks up the points in this match. ***1/4 It felt like a really high-end TV match, just simple, but exciting spots strung together in a cogent fashion to advance the tournament. Takayama came off as a bigger prick in this match and someone you will root against from now. The big take home was just how over Sasaki was in this match. The home stretch is how they should have ended the Nagata match. Sasaki basically used Takayama's size against him when he threw him down and then hit his big finish to a nice pop.

Bleach Blond Japanese heel, who kicks ass, what is not love about my boy, Yoshihiro Takayama. I love how Takayama is one of the few native Japanese not afraid to heel it up. He is an arrogant giant that knows he can kick your ass and he still throws in an eye-rake. He is definitely one of those puro's wrestlers that gives off the badass aura even if Don Frye shattered that illusion. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Tokyo Dome 05/02 From winning the 2001 G-1 Climax to main eventing the 01/04 Dome against Akiyama, now Nagata defends the IWGP title against the shoot-style giant, Yoshihiro Takayama. Takayama just carries himself so differently from a typical Japanese pro wrestler and at 6' 5'' he looks and wrestles like a giant in his match. He does not outright heel it up, but just his demeanor and his methodical pacing seems to mock the IWGP Champion and the crowd. He is a giant playing with his prey, before he breaks it into submission. Nagata looks a lot better in this match than Mutoh match as he is bringing it to the Bleach Blond Giant rather than reacting. It is not as good as Tenryu/Sasaki in terms of cementing a new champion, but Nagata earned a lot in terms of credibility by taking a lickin' and kept on tickin'. There is an gritty struggle to start on the mat that is how much the IWGP Championship means to these two combatants. Nagata gets a couple early slams (overhead belly to belly and back drop driver), but neither phases the monster, who shrugs them off. Nagata goes for the back drop driver again only to eat a German suplex and a roundhose kick to the head that knocks him out. The only thing says Nagata is he rolls out of the ring. He does an excellent sell where he collapses on an irish whip. Takayama works an effective heat segment, just punishing Nagata with kicks. Nagata gets a hope spot in like a rolling heel hook out of a German suplex attempt, but Takayama cuts him off with a wicked kneelift. Then he starts to hulk-up, he kicks Takayama's base foot out from under him and roundhouse kicks him in the head to level the playing field. He slaps on his variation of the figure-4, but Takayama makes it to the ropes. Takayama hits a knee to the head and a slugfest breaks out. The punches are awfully weak and they punch each other at the same time. They get back up and slugfest ensues. Takayama whiffs on a roundhouse kick and Nagata hits two kicks to the head to win. ***3/4 They built the match up well with Nagata bringing the big moves early and Takayama established as this imposing tour de force he has to overcome. However, once they hit the Nagata Hulk-Up they lost me. The slugfests were a pretty lame to payoff the build. The build was David vs. Goliath and they paid it off with a toe to toe slugfest. It seemed too disjointed. Still, I like seeing Nagata as the champion bringing the offense to his opponent, which is a step-up from the Mutoh match.

I have not watched it in a long, long time, but I do remember actually liking it. When I first saw Mutoh vs Kawada that I reviewed above I thought it was that match, but definitely had not seen the Champion's Carnival until this project. The Mutoh/Kawada TC title change is not on Ditch's list. So I am torn as to keep watching more Mutoh and seeing what happened. He was really good in the Tenryu, Nagata matches and good enough in Kawada CC '01 match (Kawada carried the weight a little more in that one). It just seems strange that he falls off the cliff so quickly after 2001.

Keiji Mutoh vs Yuji Nagata - Sumo Hall 08/12/01 G-1 Climax Final The objective of the match was to get over Yuji Nagata as a hybrid MMA/pro-style wrestler through submission-style counter-wrestling, which was en vogue at the time. However, the match became so focused on Nagata's counter-wrestling that it seemed like he did not have any offense of his own. This whole match was run through Mutoh, which is a problem in fact in 2001 running a match through Mutoh is sensible especially since Nagata was just beginning his ascent up the card. However, Mutoh did not really fight from underneath rather he would string some moves together and Nagata would counter into submission. Nagata's offense never strung together combinations, but let Mutoh dictate the match. I am not trying to damn the style of counter-wrestler just that Nagata was miscast. We all know that Inoki was trying to force shoot-style/MMA-style down the audience's throats with Fujita as IWGP champion and his Bom-Ba-Ye. That all being said, I think they had a very strong match and the best match they possibly could have given the environment. Mutoh was compelling on offense, sold well for Nagata and they built to a helluva finish run. Nagata for his part did the best he could some of his submissions looked lame and some looked good. Once the more "pro-wrestling" finish kicked in, he looked way more comfortable. The opening chain sequence ended with Mutoh in a guillotine choke. Mutoh begged off into the corner and took a powder. It established Nagata as the "superior" ground wrestler and that Mutoh is now wary of mixing it up on the ground with Nagata. Mutoh gets in the ring, slaps Nagata and tries a double leg takedown. I like Mutoh trying to distract him with the quick slap. Mutoh goes for his handspring elbow, but Nagata counters into a crippler crossface. After a rope break, Mutoh executes a dragon leg screw after catching a kick. Mutoh may have been unprepared for the ground game, but he has countering the kicks all match and finally now is ready to execute Mutoh v.2001 Strategy. However, he goes for the figure-4 too soon and gets caught in a triangle choke. Imagine Dusty putting Flair in a triangle choke that would have been awesome. They stand back up and there is a really intense struggle as Nagata is trying to kick Mutoh;s legs and Mutoh keeps trying to wrangle his knee and finally hits a dropkick to the knee. Now the standard Mutoh leg work kicks in and he applies the figure-4. They do the sequence again and again, but when Mutoh goes for the figure-4 a third time Nagata connects with a kick to head and a weak-looking heel hook. Back up, Mutoh hits a frankensteiner into a cross-armbreaker and poorly reversed into Nagata's version of the figure-4. So far, guillotine choke, crossface, triangle choke, a heel hook and now a figure-4, but everything feels so isolated and no submission holding is having any consequence on the match. Whereas, Mutoh's work has been tight, connected and he has sold well for Nagata's stuff (Mutoh sold his figure-4 better than Nagata sold his). The finish stretch was the best part of the match for me. Mutoh hit his top rope frankensteiner followed up with a moonsault. He goes for a cross-armbreaker and this time Nagata has to get to the ropes because Mutoh finally has punished him so much. Mutoh goes for the Shining Wizard in the corner, but Nagata dodges. He hits a nasty German that folds Mutoh up like an accordion and then gives him the wrist-clutch exploder; only for Mutoh to pop up and hit the Shining Wizard. The place goes fuckin' nuts for that. They were sitting on their hands for the most part until that sweet sequence. Then they exchange some of wicked shitty kicks (why was Nagata given a shoot-style gimmick). He blocks the Shining Wizard and applies the crippler crossface to win the 2001 G-1 Climax. ***1/2 Nagata came off as so reactionary in this match. Mutoh was constantly moving forward and had a clear game plan. Mutoh was going to counter the kicks and use his knee psychology to win. Nagata just countered and never followed-up. I have not watched enough Nagata, but I don't think that was inexperience on the big stage as much as it was having a style foisted on him that did not suit him. It is actually a testament to both men that this match is so great given how far outside their comfort zone this was. I enjoyed Mutoh's performance a lot. He got Nagata over as a submission specialist while still making himself look strong. I liked the flash submission stuff as first, but I was hoping it would go somewhere. Like I said above, the finish sequence was great. It is not up with Mutoh's best stuff from the year, but it does demonstrate the year Mutoh was having: winning the Champion's Carnival, Triple Crown, Runner-Up in the G-1 Climax and headlining the Dome in October. He is right up there with Akiyama as hottest commodity in puroresu in 2001.

All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01 Slow and steady wins the race. One wrestling cliche that I feel is misappropriated for many wrestlers is "no wasted motion". In this match, there was no wasted motion. Every single move mattered, was milked and was given time to breathe. At one point, I popped for a dropkick to the knee like it was a frigging Burning Hammer. That is pro wrestling. On the surface, this match is about Mutoh's hyper-focused strategy: the knee, the knee, the knee and Tenryu's consequent retaliation. However, perhaps buried in this match is Tenryu's masterful performance working underneath and selling Shining Wizard from the first minute of the match to the transition to finish. That is pro wrestling. Mutoh comes out all guns blazing and is looking to end it early. Tenryu, off-guard, catches Mutoh's foot who uses it as a step stool to hit a Shining Wizard. He hits his backbreaker, but Tenryu powders before the impending moonsault. The headshot Tenryu suffers prevents him from mounting pretty much any offense in the first ten minutes of the match. When Tenryu is able to string together three moves punctuated with a powerbomb, Mutoh hits a kappo kick to the head sending him reeling to the outside. Mutoh follows up with a plancha and his knees strike Tenryu's head. When Tenryu is climbing back into the ring, Mutoh pounces at the opportunity with two dropkicks to the knee. A desperate Tenryu hits a brainbuster on the apron and a diving elbow through the middle ropes. That is the price you pay for the All Japan Triple Crown. Unfortunately, It is too little too late as Mutoh grabs his leg and dragon leg screws him off the apron and immediately hits a dropkcik from the apron to the knee. Tenryu does his best to try avoid Mutoh's relentless onslaught on the knees, but ends up in the figure-4. After a rope break, Tenryu lands a punch, then a dragon leg screw and then the Ultimate FUCK YOU Dropkick to the knee. I have never popped so hard for a dropkick to the knee. After all the NOAH matches with their constant strike exchanges, we get a shot basement dropkick exchange, which is bitchin'. Tenryu wins with a dragon leg screw and he get his own figure-4. He applies a Texas Cloverleaf, but his knee gives out. Tenryu, feeling in control now, is comfortable to start hitting his big bombs to put away Mutoh. SPIDER GERMAN~! and falling reverse elbow (a combo someone has to crib) get two. Mutoh gets his hope spot with an out of nowhere Frankensteiner. Tenryu blocks the follow-up Shining Wizard. He hits a brainbuster for two. Frustrated, he hits a top rope Frankensteiner for two. He goes back to the well one more time with the brainbuster and eats a knee to the head. He just collapses calling back to the initial Shining Wizard at the outset of the match. They square off once more, but Mutoh hits a bicycle kick and you can feel the end is nigh for Mr. Puroresu. Mutoh hits two Shining Wizards, but neither puts him down for three. Mutoh hits his trademark backbreaker/Moonsault combo to win the Triple Crown and become only the third wrestler to have won both the IWGP Heavyweigh Title and Triple Crown title (Vader and Genichiro Tenryu are the other two who preceded him). ****3/4 (I am not a huge fan of star ratings, but I need something to keep track of all these matches. With that said, I could see me giving this five stars) Mutoh and Tenryu delivered near perfect individual performances that intertwined to deliver one of the best matches I have seen from 00s Puroresu. Tenryu gave one of the best resilient, sympathetic underneath performances ever. Mutoh was on point with every transition making sense, his strategy was worked to a tee, and he sold well. The whole match Tenryu was hitting home run shots because Mutoh got him off-balance early and even though he recovered by giving Mutoh a taste of his own medicine. Mutoh was able to hit him in the head twice to finally set up for the finish stretch and still Tenryu did not go down without taking 2 Shining Wizards and a moonsault. The only criticism (you have to nitpick when you are trying to determine the best match of the decade) is that it is worked on the slow-side with lots of downtime. I can see other NOAH matches when put together as well as this plus the pace they work edging this out. I think this is a definite MOTDC.

I'm guessing he previously wrote a really big piece on him and wanted to shoehorn it into the book?

Victim of circumstance feels right to me. He just happened to be at the tail end of a great generation, while still being classed with that generation. I feel like if he debuted ten years later, he could be the flagship of NOAH now. Alas. Interesting, you bring up Nagata, but I always felt Sasaki was the Akiyama to the Three Musketeers. Technically in the same generation as the Musketeers but a couple years younger and not pushed as hard. They both had their semi-breakout years in 2000. Only for both to take a step back a bit and settle into a number two banana in a promotion type role, never really being an Ace again. Guess I never really thought of Nagata that way. I agree all the above does make it harder for Akiyama. I don't think circumstances make it an absolute fait accompli that Akiyama would be a second-tier player. It is the confluence of circumstances and not having charisma of other the Four Corners doomed him. He could do all the same moves as everyone else and he could have Match of the Decade Candidates like everyone else. From what I have seen, he just didn't have IT like Misawa, Kobashi and Kawada did.

When I first started watching puro back in 2006-ish, I, much like most, was all about Misawa, Kawada and Kobashi. I have grown to love Taue and how focused he is. Everything builds to Nodowa and he may be the greatest apron worker of all time with the great teases. His 1995 is one of the best calendar years in wrestling history. However, Akiyama was just someone who never stood out from the other four. He was good, but in a serviceable type way. In watching his matches for Ditch's poll, I have grown to like his in-ring work more from a lay-out and execution perspective. He is not as focused as Taue, but he tends to be more focused than Kobashi and less get all my shit in like Misawa. His attack on Misawa's neck on 02/27/00 and Kobashi's arm on 12/23/00 were some of the best parts of those matches. He was more willing to tie it up on the mat noted by his New Japan Dome tag against Mutoh and Hase. His submissions were actual finishers in All Japan as he polished off Kobashi on 08/00 with his guillotine choke. I think my major hang-up with Akiyama is I don't think he ever found his personality in the ring the same way the others did. We all know Misawa as the stoic Ace with the amazing extended comebacks, Kawada as the persistent "I think I can, I think I can" Number two with some of the greatest selling in wrestling history, Kobashi as the fiery bastion of machismo with flair for the dramatic, and Taue as the heelish fucker that is willing to claw someone's eye out for the win. Who is Akiyama? It sounds like a dickish question, but in Japanese wrestling without promos (for us at least) everything needs to be conveyed in the ring. The Four Corners of Heaven knew exactly who they were and what role they played. That is what made them so transcendent as opposed to the interchangeable wrestlers presented today. Maybe someone can flesh out who Akiyama is for me. Maybe it will come in time with watching more footage. Now, Akiyama's 2000-01 is so intriguing to me because from a booking perspective he strikes me as the absolute hottest wrestler in puroresu. Feb '00 - Pins Misawa Aug '00 - First NOAH show, chokes out Misawa, pins Taue and drops tag partner Kobashi with a back drop driver. That is a huge friggin' angle. The next night he chokes out Kobashi to win. Dec '00 - Kobashi gets his win back, but needs to use the Burning Hammer July '01 - Pins Misawa to win the GHC Title Oct '01 - Headline NJPW Dome show against Mutoh & Hase with Nagata Jan '02 - Pin Nagata headlining 01/04 Dome show Feb '02 - He pins Kobashi in a tag match against Kobashi & Misawa with Nagata April '02 - Drops title to Yoshinari Ogawa, WHAT THE FUCK!?!? Just like that Akiyama stops being the hottest commodity in puroresu. I know that he made his debut in 1992, but given where he was in the late 90s (solidly as Kobashi's tag partner against No Fear and a smattering of Triple Crown title shots) he had a rocket strapped to his ass and he was pushed to the puroresu moon. I think he made a lot of this opportunity. The Feburary 2000 Misawa is on my list for Match of Decade Contender. The 12/00 Kobashi and '01 Misawa matches are MOTYCs for their year. He had a super hot angle with Kobashi and worked outside shots for NJPW in a headlining capacity. This is where everything intersects. I don't think Akiyama was a very good heel in the ring and it caused a disconnect with the angle. The finish for 08/00 Kobashi match clearly casts him as one. He chokes out Kobashi, they are giving Kobashi CPR and Akiyama gets into a scuffle with the young boys and he kicks their ass. However during the ring action it just felt like another good to great NOAH match. Akiyama is a great wrestler there is no doubt about it. The booking launched him and he wrestled well enough to do the bare minimum. Most wrestlers could never even do the bare minimum. He take it that next step in my view to be in that next level. I have seen the '04 Kobashi match, but not in context. I look forward to seeing Akiyama more and trying to garner a better understanding of how he is. I think the "heel" turn hurt him because it is not who he is like Taue or Takayama being a natural heel and it felt foisted onto him. Also, why the hell did he drop the belt to Ogawa? I get setting up Misawa/Kobashi, but why not Takayama directly?

I may be misinterpreting Dyaln's question. I don't think he was asking why Warrior was profiled. I think Warrior is an essential person to profile in the history of the WWF post-1984. It is why Warrior got his own Interregnum Era? Usually Bret & Shawn get the sort of bridge era between Hogan & Attitude Era with Warrior being a failed experiment in the Hulkamania era. However, he recasts history as Hogan -> Warrior->Modern (New Generation, Attitude, and Now). Thus it does seem weird to me. That maybe another great formatting question. How did he break down the eras? Why is the modern era not further parceled into the New Generation, Attitude and Modern era? Why is Warrior treated as an interregnum era?

I wanted to ask a question about he chose to format the book and how that ties into the objective of the book, but first could someone confirm this is the actual table of contents (got this off the Amazon Sample Page): Goldern Era Hackenschmidt Territorial Era Gorgeous George Fabulous Moolah Von Erichs Terry Gordy Bruiser Brody Wahoo McDaniel & Chief Jay Strongbow The Spoiler Wrestlemania Era (Awfully termed) S.D. Jones JYD Andre Capt. Lou Savage Liz Road Warriors, Fabulous Kangaroos Rude Bulldog Perfect ULTIMATE WARRIOR (LOL, he gets his own era. Suck it Bret & Shawn!) Modern Era Attitude Era Crush (WTF) Bossman Owen Yoko Borga Pillman Kanyon Benoit & Guerrero Is that really the table of contents? If so, why did he exclude JCP/WCW wrestlers? (Arguments can be made for Roadies and McDaniel, but overall they were clearly neglected) What was he trying to achieve with this book? Is it supposed to be a survey of the colorful characters of pro wrestling or something more? How did he decide which wrestlers to include? What is the take home message of this book? What specific assertions about the tenets of pro wrestling did he try to convey in this book? Since the book reaches back to nascent carny period of wrestling at the turn of the 20th century, how does he feel the fundamentals of wrestling have changed? Obviously, the presentation has changed, but if you strip away the big arenas, all the production values has pro wrestling really changed from Gotch vs Jenkins or Gotch vs Hackenschimdt? Asshole question: When WWF gloriously rescued pro wrestling from the smoke-filled recreational halls, dingy bars and sweaty bingo halls in 1984, did all other pro wrestling promotions cease to exist? Based on the table of contents, I feel like this is supposed to be a series of vignettes aimed at childhood 80s WWF fans as they garner a little more insight of their favorites whilst feeling intellectually stimulated as the author masquerades as deep by connecting these vignettes to larger social issues. I gleaned that just from the table of contents. I could be totally off base so I would really like to hear his answer for the the intent of the book. The evolution question, he could easily side-step or miss the point and does not interest me as much as why he chose to do this book as a series of profiles.

Watching a lot of Misawa recently, any time he takes a head drop makes me cringe worse than just about anything else in wrestling right now.