Mando

I wonder what crazy angles Heyman could have run with a "prime" Necro Butcher in '96 ECW?

Yes! Or Yoji Anjo!

Dylan I gave you kudos as we borrowed your "if not Backlund, than who?" concept from your guys' show and slid Diesel as WWF champ in.

I'd place a vote for Great American Bash '90: New Revolution. The Southern Boys vs. Midnight Express tag is one of my all-time favorite tag matches. The show ending finish/celebration is still a blast.

I'm really excited about participating in this. It'll be nice to both to revisit some great stuff with fresh eyes as well as get turned on to some awesome stuff I've missed over the last couple decades of watching heavily. It'll also be interesting for people years down the road to see what matches made the inaugural class, what got in the next year, etc.

I think a lot of modern stuff is overrated and the immediacy issue is a major factor. But years down the road a moderately pimped SmackDown! match from this past summer isn't going to be very relevant outside of its context as part of a bigger whole. That's why I think the Yearbook projects are a good idea similarly to the '80's sets because it's forcing the viewer to actively interact with the material and not just its reputation. We hear more about current WWE TV and its highs than the other 30+ years of their televised product because of its accessibility and as a result its importance/qualities get inflated vis-à-vis non-current stuff by the average fan. Also different opinions hold different weight and that topic was sort of broached on the show (in regards to the original tape dealers' recommendations being a template for what's good). Will said if someone claimed NJPW '14 as the best wrestling ever he'd disregard their opinion outright. But if someone like Dylan, who's seen a lot of stuff likes a particular NJPW event, his opinion is weighted accordingly due to his background as someone who's watched a lot. As an Internet fan I think it's important to seek out stuff from people who's opinion you respect even if you don't necessarily agree with it. There's tons of people writing stale Raw recaps and live tweeting just like a few years ago there were a bunch of sites doing long, dry play-by-play write-ups on every ROH DVD. But I tend to seek out guys like Dylan's opinion, because even if I don't agree with it, and often times I might not, I've developed a respect for it because I appreciate his dedication as a fan. That's kind of "smart fan" minutiae but when there's so much at our disposal you have to be selective. I like the point John was getting to toward the end about how now we'll talk about stuff like a wrestler's facial expressions, or promo ability, and we're less interested in narratives or ongoing stories. Personally I've tried to cut back on technical holdups and invest myself more in the overall picture. A decade ago when I was pouring over RF Video catalogues in Study Hall I'd watch wrestling and pick it apart, if a guy ran the ropes loose, or took poor-looking bumps, threw weak strikes, etc. to the point where who won and lost was of no consequence and I was caught up entirely in the performance aspect. While I still admire people who's performance choices are unique and catch my eye (like a Dean Ambrose) my interest has shifted toward enjoying wrestling overall and being less of a critic and more a fan. My curiosity is also piqued at talk of a possible show on the circuitous nature of fandom. And how the cycles have shorter shelf lives. There was an ECW period, an ROH period, a WWE revival, NJPW, but whereas ECW had maybe 4 years that were real hot, ROH 3, depending on who you asked WWE's resurgence was/is either under two years or still going, and from many New Japan's moment in the sun lasted less than a year (outside of the occasional well-received singular event). That's my ramblings post-listen but enjoyed the show and discussion.

I personally rate highly guys that get into their character/persona. Sometimes watching a mid-'90's WCW Saturday Night the most "fun" I get is determining which guys stay most consistently in character i.e. "man, that Executioner looked fearsome entering, had a real solemn walk, but then he started picking his pants up fixing a wedgie after every bump and resembled a truck driver in a silly mask". But Kamala was just great at it. A great early memory is seeing a local show at a junior high school gymnasium and Kamala getting eliminated from a battle royal by being tricked to exit the ring via a trail of fresh buttered popcorn. Classic.

For the first time in my life a couple weeks before Mania I just stopped watching all wrestling cold turkey. Stuff going on in personal life, focusing more on other hobbies/interests like cinema, etc. I've watched the WWF pay-per-views with friends but that was mostly it until going to an ROH live show in Cincinnati couple weeks ago. That kind of sparked my interest back and I've DVR'd the WWF/TNA TV and sort of skimmed through it (something I never would have done in the past). While I doubt I'll have time in the near future to delve very deep into my collection it is nice to know that I've got an obnoxious amount of CZW on a hard drive somewhere I've never seen.

Highs were the Young Bucks (Generation ME) vs. Motor City Machine Guns empty arena match and maybe a couple Low-Ki TV bouts. Lows were Planet Jarrett and taking Don West off TV.

Yeah as a young dad myself when he told his two girls during his HoF speech that the greatest thing he'd ever do was be their father I almost teared up. This is shocking. Him versus Savage may be my favorite 'Mania match of all-time. Wow.. that's all I can say. Rest in peace.

Pretty sure I read an article awhile ago that effective next year (or 2016?) WWE has effectively put the kibosh on other companies doing this.

For the first time in over 25 years I took a leave of absence from wrestling about a month back. This coming from a guy that watched every episode of every WWE, WCW, TNA, ROH, etc. etc. TV show(s) and every pay-per-view, etc. That being said, I'm quite looking forward to tonight, watching it at a friend's new house so should be a lively atmosphere and the card looks fun from my perspective. The 9+ hrs. of wrestling TV weekly and a lot of the match results seeming meaningless had me concentrating on my other hobby (movies) but leaves me feeling rejuvenated for the big show tonight. They've got an opportunity to have a feel good moment on par with Eddy and Benoit closing down WM over a decade ago. Nothing personal toward Undertaker, an absolute legend, but hoping Lesnar doesn't hold back his typically intense offense too much for the old man. Been away from the 'net but anyone waging guesses Punk being part of the battle royal or is likely a longshot? Maybe Sting will come out in point the bat at 'Taker. Ok enough rambling -- enjoy the show tonight, gang!

I'm confused -- I thought Bryan worked Swagger at the SD! tapings?

I've actually always been a big Viscera mark and in a non-ironic way. Always floated around my all-time top ten favorites. One of my favorite goofy memories I'll retain is actually an out of the ring one. During the late-Attitude era there was some sort of parking lot match on PPV between I believe possibly Steve Blackman and somebody. There were a bunch of other misc. wrestlers standing around them in a circle and Viscera kept reaching into this open car window and hitting this car horn that was the most ungodly, ear-piercingly loud horn I'd ever heard. And he just kept.. on.. hitting it. It got to be such a distraction that my friends and I who were watching live couldn't even pay attention to the match we were laughing so hard. The rest of the night (and on occasion even months and years after) I'd mimic him drilling that car horn randomly. I digress. RIP.

Ethan Carter III vs. Tommy Dreamer - Tables Match - TNA One Night Only: Hardcore Justice 3 In Lowell the town Jack Kerouac built. All-black ropes and dark venue make this feel seedy in a good way. Almost as an old ECW house show energy to it with a surprisingly raucous non-traditional TNA crowd. Dreamer getting atomic dropped onto a steel guard rail never gets old. Well maybe for his taint. Great pained facial by EC3 on a suplex on the floor. The did some faux C.W. Anderson/Dreamer homage spots including the finish which was a spinebuster by EC3 through a table leaned up against the buckles that had Tommy seeing visions of Dr. Sax. Really enjoyable opener to this PPV. Carter looked better than he has on TV due to a more relaxed environment allowing him to actually work in there and show some stuff and Dreamer seemed motivated and inspired.

Pimping 3MB vs. Uso's & Big E Langston - WWE Main Event 1/29/14. Unbelievable double dive/apron spear highspot with all six wiped out on the floor as a result. Got a lot of time and kept a great, athletic, high tempo pace. Really dug this.

Afa, Sica, and Ernie Ladd vs. Junkyard Dog, Andre the Giant, and Dusty Rhodes - Mid-South Wrestling - January '82 This was a "dream match" selected via courier post by rabid fans. So much damn talent and charisma in that ring the canvas could have walked into a bar and gotten laid. I've always firmly said every sell is a choice and by golly there's tons of interesting choices being made here. I love the way early Dusy's legs instantly get rubbery and wiggly during a couple Samoan headbutts. I've never seen this many afros in one match. Record-breaking. Oh, for fu*k's sake, Ernie Ladd just sold an overhead Andre chop like a frightened old grandma seeing a specter in the hallway. I'm losing it! You can see JYD and Andre chatting on the apron discussing their favorite local spots for brisket and collard greens. Ladd breaks up an Andre pin cover with a flying leg drop directly onto his mortal coil. Great stuff.

As my buddy Adam referred to a few posts above, we went to an HWA show last week feat. Ricky Morton, Necro Butcher, etc. Just posted our road report write-up of the event w/ a lot of pictures available here. Morton was a real class act and Whitmer for his bad rep as a worker online was cool as hell to talk wrestling with.

Cool pick for a microscope, OJ. Enjoyed reading through these.

Ordered TNA One Night Only: Tag Team Tournament a few weeks back. Finally got around to writing up my thoughts: 1. Petey Williams and Sonjay Dutt vs. Generation Me 2. Hot Shots vs. Aces & Eights 3. British Invasion vs. Dirty Heels Liked the opener. Probably one of the better ONO matches yet. It's simple, not groundbreaking, and while these guys are all known for flashy pizzazz offense, this felt like an actual athletic contest with some good back-and-forth, a fine alienation segment on Max Buck, and plenty of fluid sequences. Next some TNA veterans (Cassidy Riley and Chase Stevens) versus some rookies (Garett Bischoff and Wes Brisco) in what on paper appears to be a match fit for a Hermie Sadler UWF mid-card. Riley has sad eyes. Garret tripped trying to get in position to take a Cassidy armdrag. While Stevens was cutting his teeth on the circuit little Garret was on the set of Ready to Rumble drinking Shirley Temples courtesy of daddy. Wes looked like he dipped his face in sulphuric acid as a kid. Guy in front row in Baja hoodie that resembles Terry Funk's pinstriped trunks. Match wasn't terrible but hard to buy the Aces' control segments as Bischoff is not believable on offense. I always liked Doug Williams and Aries' match at ROH Death Before Dishonor: Night 2 (2004) so cool to see them competing again. Another strong entry in this show with good structure, Doug got a nice stretch on offense, and teamwork seemed emphasized with some nice saves and double-teams. Rob Terry offered least to the proceedings having his sole highlight being spat on by Roode. 4. Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez vs. Bad Influence 5. Aces & Eights vs. Magnus and Samoa Joe 6. Team 3D vs. Generation Me Watched the next match over two sittings so my thoughts are fragmented. I was surprised to see the faces go over. Chavo and Kaz did the weakest double-clothesline spot I've seen. I may be alone in thinking Chavo's TNA run was actually underrated. Magnus and Joe had a few borderline great bouts in NOAH (vs. Akiyama/Saito, KENTA/Maybach, etc.) but I found their TNA stint as a team unmemorable. Surprised the Aces ran so much offense considering they'd already had a match and their protracted leg work on Joe was insipid. Once the tide changed they put this to bed pretty suddenly. Team 3D is the last team to see action (at least inside the ring I can't vouch for backstage happenings) and they hop right in ready to get after it. Pretty straightforward affair, the Dudley's did show some ass, so that was cool seeing them eat some missile dropicks and whatnot, and Max Buck took a pretty nasty bump on a toss over the ropes to the floor where he collided with the apron like a hockey player getting checked into the boards. 7. Magnus and Samoa Joe vs. Dirty Heels 8. Team 3D vs. Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez 9. Team 3D vs. Dirty Heels Control segment on Magnus left him more isolated than Theodore in Her. Magnus is awfully in favor of Dixie Carter I'm wagering a guess he's trimmed her lawn both grass and pubes. Taz is a clown on commentary no surprise but I'd have loved to see him in his prime versus Aries. Brass knuckles shot gets them Dirty Heels the vociferous victory. D-Von in biker duds calls to mine Biker Boyz. Wonder who'll induct the Dudley Boyz into the WWE HoF? Speaking of hypothetical questions, wonder what would have happened if Aries wouldn't have flunked his WWE Tough Enough tryout? Would have loved watching Hugh Morris teach him the finer points of running the ropes. Heels versus heels final? All four guys are wearing all black making them darker than the stain on Yoel Romero's trunks at UFC Fight Night 35 (LOL). Bully Ray sells a fistdrop like a mix between Rod Price (the wrestler not Foghat guitarist) and Homer Simpson. More rule breaking spots than used condoms washed away by Hurricane Katrina. The brass knuckles come back to haunt Aries and he then eats a 3D like it was a baked potato with butter and sour cream. The crowd goes mild.

I'm going to try to prioritize my free time better to fit in more wrestling. Lately I've really been into movies watching/reviewing 1-3 per day over at Lettboxd. I've been staying on top of current stuff but I've got a ton of DVDs that I'd like to start putting a dent in. Also going to try to go to more live shows this year: so far I've got an HWA event tomorrow (feat. Ricky Morton, Necro Butcher, BJ Whitmer,etc.) and ROH in March (feat. AJ Styles) on the calendar.

This is more so for this week's TV recommendations. I just saw Kongo vs. Raymond Rowe from last night's ROH TV. It was the first match in this year's Top Prospect tournament. This was ungodly stiff. Felt like Gordy and Kamala fighting over the last slice of pizza in a Texas dive bar. Rowe was just throwing nasty forearm after forearm into Kongo's face and skull. You could see welts on these guys as this was coming to a close as they'd beat the hell out of each other.

The ROH strap was fun with a few gonzo floor bumps by Mark but the finish didn't come off good (to me or the crowd in attendance).

I'm seeing Ricky live later this month for HWA versus Tarek the Great (of IWA Mid-South) on the same card as Necro Butcher. Good times!

I really loved this. The Rhodes' have been consistent lately but this is arguably my favorite match yet of theirs as a team. I haven't thought much of Rowan previously but his clubbing on Goldust reached Hansen-levels of stiffness and I liked him showing more physicality. Spills to the floor often look overly protected but not here -- Rowan was rolling like a tumbleweed over the top and down the aisle and right after Goldust took a sick splat right on the floor. Enjoyed the pace and how physical it was. Great stuff for free TV.