C.S.

For Roku users, a tip I found on Facebook: As you know, several of the Legends of Wrestling shows are missing from that section on Roku. But if you type "Legends of Wrestling" into the search section, ALL of the shows will come up. I've tried it and it really works. (This did not always work. I tried it before, early on, and nothing came up. But it does work now.)

I didn't know that. Either way, I can't hold that against Styles, because WWE commentary is the same way now and it's terrible compared to Styles's *ahem* style.

I watched the "infamous" ECW episode with the Sandman/Dreamer cane angle and Shane Douglas throwing down the NWA Title. I believe it was the first episode of ECW I ever saw. I was completely blown away at the time. Revisiting it 20 years later (holy shit!), it's still fun, but the production values were much worse than I remembered (not that they were ever great, even then) and the main event - while enjoyable enough - is certainly no classic (it wasn't one then either though). The highlights of the show - the Dreamer/Sandman angle and Shane's speech - still hold up. The Doink/911 stuff was and is fun, but gimmicky names like "Paul E. Dangerously" and "The Tazmaniac" really stuck out like a sore thumb. Of course, both of those would be changed going forward. This show marked the birth of "Extreme." Dennis Corralluzo and Tod Gordon both came across looking like shady carny promoters after the Douglas title throwdown. Heyman, oddly enough, always seemed much more "sincere" (ha!) and was a much better fit for the on-camera figurehead role. Also, maybe it's just over a decade and a half of hearing commentators talk about everything BUT the match, but Joey Styles seems amazing to me now. He actually focused on what was happening in the ring, called the moves, explained their effects, etc. It was probably Jim Ross Lite at the time, but it's a breath of fresh air compared to today's commentating style. Even more impressive is that he did it all by himself. Styles was and is a really underrated commentator. The only flaw I could really pick out for this particular show is that he seemed to SCREAM through everything. That might have been a byproduct of ECW's lousy acoustics though.

He must have liked it well enough, because he more or less kept it going with The Quebecers when neither of them really needed to be "mounties" at all. But they weren't mounties. Their theme music explicitly said so! LOL!!! I can't believe I forgot about that epic theme music. Thinking back on it, I really loved The Quebecers. They were smooth in the ring and entertaining out of it. Also, they beat The Steiners at a time where a win like that actually still meant something.

Well, Mountie did eventually spend a night in jail.

He must have liked it well enough, because he more or less kept it going with The Quebecers when neither of them really needed to be "mounties" at all. On WWF shows.

Agreed. DeMott - of all people - has no room to talk. Hugh Morrus as a name/gimmick was the drizzling shits. Maybe with a different name, it would have worked. He seemed cool enough in his WCW debut (on WCW Saturday Night) against Macho Man as "The Man of Questions" (a dumb name too, but miles ahead of Hugh Morrus or Hugh G. Rection). Maybe I'm guilty of taking these stupid Countdown shows too seriously, but every one of them (that I've seen) has been plagued by unnecessarily nasty potshots. It's one thing to lightheartedly poke fun at wrestling's silliness, but some of the talking heads are downright mean-spirited. Daniel Bryan, sadly enough, comes across as one of the smuggest assholes of the lot (I love him otherwise) - but he's far from alone in that. Edit: My stance on Bryan isn't because of this episode alone. He has come across badly in other episodes too.

It's ironic because everyone would have been singing Disco's praises if that had been a WWE gimmick. Years ago, when Honky Tonk Man was hyping a mystery man, the big internet rumor was that it'd be Disco. No idea how much merit that ever had, but it was out there. It ended up being Rockabilly (Billy Gunn with a new, atrocious gimmick). So are any number of successful gimmicks on paper (Undertaker, etc.). Jacques made it work. You can't deny that.

I watched the Countdown episode, Infamous Gimmicks, last night. I'm assuming these were filmed a year or more ago, because CM Punk was a talking head, Bryan's beard wasn't as bushy, and people like Matt Stryker also added their two cents. Vince Russo was there too. Daniel Bryan once again came across badly, calling The Mountie a stupid gimmick. These sorts of talking head appearances do him no favors whatsoever. I hope someone behind-the-scenes has worked with him on improving that aspect of his performance since these were filmed. The Mountie and Disco Inferno were both on this list, which I found a bit unfair. Say what you want about those gimmicks, but both Jacques Rougeau and Glenn Gilbertti embraced those characters and made them work. In contrast, it's obvious that Terry Taylor's heart was never completely into the Red Rooster (I can't blame him, but still). He did try though. A.J. was cute, the way she sweetly liked some of the more horrible gimmicks. Miz recalling JBL comparing him to Rooster was interesting. JBL was a selfish prick who went into business for himself back then instead of doing his job as a color commentator of getting the characters over (my opinion, not Miz's, LOL - and I generally like JBL). Even Piper on commentary did his darndest to make the Gobledy Gooker sound special. at #1 was a strange choice. I don't think he'd even make the list at all if the poll happened today or a year from now. I was expecting Bastion Booger to be #1 (after seeing some of the people who #3, #2, etc.), but he wasn't on the list at all.

Sure, but you could say that about any match, really. Look at all of the countless WCW matches that were great (lucha, cruiserweight, etc.), but had either no build-up, no follow-up, or both. That stuff matters. It's what makes a good match great and a great match legendary and remembered for years to come.

I fully expected Doink to beat Crush, to be honest. Back then, the WWF seemed to have an unwritten rule that the "new wrestler" always won his first big PPV match/feud.

He admitted it on one of the Legends of Wrestling roundtables. When they were all going around naming their picks for worst wrestling celebrity ever, J.R. chose Lauper. I was surprised. It made him look really out of touch, and he usually isn't.

Well, don't forget, The Miz beat Cena at WrestleMania a few years back. Mine: Undertaker beating Triple H at WM17. This was before "the streak" was really a thing, and H was on fire at that point. Certainly not a shock on the level of Taker/Brock this year, but I was surprised. Christian beating Jericho and turning heel with Trish was another unexpected moment for me.

One Man Gang died?!?! NO! When???

Great piece! Thanks for sharing. I am still in shock.

Watched this last night. Fun mix of kayfabe and reality. I kept wishing they would do this for other people who participated in WrestleMania weekend. Oddly enough, Ultimate Warrior was one of the first people who came to my mind. Brie Bella is such a contrast to Bryan. So smooth and composed. I hate to make this comparison because it doesn't quite fit, but she reminded me of Robin Givens. Not necessarily in a bad way, but she came across as really slick and manufactured. Maybe it's just because Bryan is the opposite: so awkward and easygoing. But I'm not implying that Brie is using Bryan like Givens used Tyson - after all, they were together even when Bryan had nothing going on - a point I found interesting. Another thing that struck me was how well-liked and respected Bryan is. Even in such a political atmosphere, everyone seemed to be rooting for him to succeed. I don't know if Cena was being sincere or just "saying all the right things," but I want to believe he was giving us his honest thoughts. The problem with Cena is - no matter what, even without trying - he always carries this vibe of being the head quarterback/prom king, and that makes him hard to relate to. Bryan is the opposite, which is another thing that makes him so special.

Punk bitch move by Aries. Probably why he'll forever be an indy guy.

I don't understand all the backlash (in general, I mean) for Bray losing to Cena. Bray, as compelling as the character is, simply isn't ready to beat someone like Cena. It's not logical or believable yet. When someone who isn't quite there yet wins a big match, the result and match are soon meaningless because the outcome doesn't have the desired effect - Booker T beating Scott Hall, Shelton Benjamin beating Triple H, etc. Yes, part of that is due to follow-up, but timing is everything, and it's not Bray's time yet.

I watched on the Roku. Had some repeats and video quality issues during the Bryan/H match but it was flawless otherwise.

Agreed. It's possible Hudson asked not to be interviewed and just wanted to attend the show "as a fan" (be there for her husband). Regardless, they definitely should have emphasized her presence a whole lot more. I didn't even realize she was there until I saw your post.

Agreed that they should have been given more prominent positioning, but there's no way Hudson was even close to being the most famous person in the building. A few years ago, maybe - but certainly not now. Hulk Hogan and Mr. T are both more well known than her, and that's just for starters. But I don't want to turn this into another Hogan/Taker/Molly Ringwald thread. Edited to add: Now that you mention it, the seating in general was weird. Randy Orton was not in the front row (he's the World Champ) but Daniel Bryan was (a good sign...I hope). Several other examples of that: DiBiase seemed to be way in the back... I could go on and on, but I can't remember the other instances.

Always liked him too, but he did get stale a few years into his WWE return. Like someone else said, it doesn't help that he changed absolutely nothing about his character and was also oddly protected with very few losses given his lower card spot. The X-Pac/Road Dogg/Tori version of DX was a complete waste of time, and X-Factor (his stable with Albert and Credible) sucked hard too. I'll probably get criticized for this, but Lightning Kid had no credibility with me whatsoever. Awesome in the ring, yes, but he seemed like a little kid outside it. His promos at the time were horrendous. He was supposed to be a heel, but he came across like a small child play-acting the role of a tough guy to impress the bigger kids. WWE got it right by making the Kamikaze Kid/Cannonball Kid/The Kid a jobber and the 1-2-3 Kid a scrappy underdog babyface.

J.R. claimed he wasn't drinking - he said any word-slurring and the like was because of his Bell's Palsy - and I'm inclined to believe him. After all, he doesn't have a history of inappropriate behavior and public intoxication - Flair does.

I think Flair was intentionally being a dick to Foley - we've seen that before in past Legends of Wrestling roundtables - and I was really rooting for Mick to snap and put Ric in his place. But my heart did go out to the Nature Boy after he broke down and started crying. It also dawned on me while watching that Mick Foley never got a proper retirement - I realize injuries and circumstances played a part in that - but he deserved a much better send-off. Instead, he's been marginalized for the past several years. The best example I can think of is him being added to some Cena PPV match - one of many in that match - and treated as almost an afterthought.

Three-part series on WrestleMania written by J.R. I'm reading through it now. Nothing too earth-shattering yet, but it's a fun look back. http://msn.foxsports.com/buzzer/wrestlemania-part-1 http://msn.foxsports.com/buzzer/wrestlemania-part-2 http://msn.foxsports.com/buzzer/wrestlemania-part-3