Ship Canal

Honky Tonk Man. Now, don't me wrong, I like me some Blonde Bombers in Memphis and however dogshit much of his work was as the delusional sub-Elvis, there are a few genuinely memorable and satisfying instances of him getting his comeuppance which still resonate. But he has since managed to stand out even amongst the incredibly crowded environment of bigmouths for hire that clog up the oversaturated shoot interview market. While he's far from the only wrestler of his generation who makes me feel genuinely skin-crawly, and he's probably only as prominent in my mind because he's carved himself out a niche and if it wasn't him it would be someone else, the way in which he goes about expressing himself in those shoots just seems so incredibly aggressive, snide, mean spirited and bullying. He comes across as the kind of bloke who gets off on twisting the knife and revels in his own proclivity to shock and offend and these days I find that both boring as fuck and supremely pathetic. You can argue he's working us all and playing a part, sure, but I'm genuinely unconvinced a lot of that generation know where their characters end and their real selves begin any more as the Hogan/Gawker trial has only made more clear. Also, his HAIR freaks me out. I can't comprehend a quiff/mutton chops/shoulder length ponytail combination and I'm a man that likes to adequately comprehend a persons haircut because I'm riddled with anxiety and these things are important.

I for one would read the shit out of that

If this is edging into the territory that PWO was set up to avoid then by all means let me know and I'll delete it if its going to cause too much aggro in terms of politics, but Martin Shkreli is surely the worlds number one outrageous real life heelster right now... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5UVVS5eh4Y

The funny thing about that movie is that it is very clear that the Twin Galaxies people love Billy and don't realize that he is a giant tool. There is some sort of crazy hero worship thing going on with him, that just feels creepy from the outside looking in. No doubt its outdated and infused with as much fiction as fact... many documentaries are after all. But that shouldn't take away from the HoF level heeling that goes on therein. If memory serves doesn't he engage in some absolutely stellar shithousery straight out of the most nefarious of playbooks when he actually goes to the trouble of doctoring a video of himself beating Steve Wiebe's most recent score which he sends in via post just to make the whole thing even more preposterously moustache twirling? Its absolutely next level stuff. And the bit where he just turns up with his valet on his arm and saunters through the players in a transparent attempt to put Wiebe off as he closes in on his record too. Print the legend etc...

Hang on, Strike Force weren't nominated? I've got both Tito and Martel in my provisional list but I've not made a tag list simply because of time and other commitments... hugely surprised no one nominated Strike Force though, especially given I became a fan based almost entirely on people pimping them here.

Awesome, thanks mate!

Hey guys, Just wondered, there was mention made of a Jack Gallagher MMA fight during the Progress discussion... was that in reference to the shoot style Testuin tournament he was in or is that a full on MMA bout? If so, where can I find it? Cheers

WOW!!!

Amen.

Apologies for the cut and paste but drunk and tired, this is what I posted about him on the facebook group I set up for me and my mates to talk about wrestling... this has been a tough one for me, more so than I might have expected if that makes sense. Anyway: So yeah, been sad about this all day. Seems to me as has already been pointed out there is something especially poignant about this for a lot of people of a certain generation because Hayabusa was a lot of peoples first introduction to Japanese wrestling. I think wrestling is an artform and that makes that as valuable as a band introducing you to weirder music or a novel that turns you onto to new ideas about life, to be somewhat overblown but honest about it. And what a fucking amazing pro wrestler. People used to say he was like Sabu (before we'd seen many of his matches make tape) and we expected this clumsy fucking maniac who would be entertaining but basically pure chaos. And he was this dynamic, sometimes surprisingly smooth worker who just happened to have ended up in a major hardcore fed in Japan that was somehow the third biggest company in Japan at that time. It was just the nicest realization that this guy was an incredible wrestler. Guys are still ripping him off today and will be for years. Sorry for the rant but I loved that guy.

I'm currently working my way through the Memphis set right now, I'd absolutely love to hear a Memphis podcast!

I'm currently working my way through the Memphis set having seen pretty much all of his WCW run. I'm only at the end of disc1 but Sully has been solidly entertaining as a surprisingly stacked meat and potatoes kind of guy against the likes of Dutch etc. Nothing top outstanding really, other than the fact that in Memphis he seems to be sporting some unintentionally revealing trunks which display little slivers of arsecheek on either side which is something of a distraction. I believe the Devil in Florida comp is on youtube now, so Ill add that to the cramming list before Mania. I have about 11 places left fo fill but at this rate I doubt he'll make the cut. If I was doing a personal favourite gimmicks list though, he'd be a dead cert. Parv: Out of interest have you seen any of the Kayfabe Commentaries Sullivan DVDs? If not you'll probably enjoy them.

Whoa! A new episode of Wrestlespective!!??? WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE.

The disintegration of the Lawler/Dundee team as Dundee flips out an turns on, well, just about everyone in sight has to be one of my favourite bits of Memphis TV. See also Funk's one man invasion of the set in '81. Funk really makes you teeter on the edge of having sympathy with him... he's the kid at school who beat people up because they had to go home to parents or older siblings who beat THEM up, or the aggressive drunk at the bar you realize hates themselves so much more than anyone else ever could because they've fucked it all up and they'll never get it back.

King of the Mountain, anyone?

What a shithouse.

So good to see people recommending the Ricochet match. I love that match so much. The national anthems at the beginning and everything! Proper old school vibe.

Which Japanese wrestler will you rank highest? At this stage, probably Kawada. Which Japanese wrestlers do you expect to make your list? Short answer: loads Long answer: Akira Taue Shinya Hashimto Tatsumi Funjinami Akira Hokuto Bull Nakano Masaaki Mochizuki Kyoshi Tamura Dick Togo Great Sasuke Hayabusa Yoshiaki Fujiwara Hiroshi Hase Aja Kong Manami Toyota Jaguar Yokota Chigusa Nagayo Masa Fuchi Megumi Kudo Jushin Liger Jumbo Tsuruta Genichiro Tenyru Giant Baba Toshiaki Kawada Mitsuharu Misawa Kenta Kobashi Jun Akiyama Yoshihiro Tajiri Yoshiaki Yatsu Yushi Ishikawa Who was the best of the 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s to come out of Japan? 70's: I'm tempted to say Baba here based on my ongoing quest to get through Ditch's archive. 80's: Chigusa Nagayo. Yep, I think she's that good. Also torn between her and Fujinami and Fujiawara. OH FUCK I DON'T KNOW. 90's: Kawada 2000's: Kobashi. Not to everyones taste as he changes stylistically, but one of the definitive babyface champion runs. 2010's: Shinsuke Nakamura Who was your favorite Ace? Misawa. I didn't really feel like I used to get Misawa, but rewatching so much All Japan alongside the All Japan Excite podcasts has finally made me feel like I understand that stoic hero mixed with barely stifled boiling rage that erupts in massive fuck off elbows kind of deal he's got going on, and for me he's the ace. Plays his role perfectly, even if I like Kawada better. Who was your favorite top challenger? Kawada! Who was your favorite under the radar guy? Sekimoto Who was the best at their peak? Tempted to say Hashimoto just because I hate myself for not having Hash in any of the previous answers despite how much I love him Who has disappointed you the most? Probably Inoki, but then I wouldn't necessarily say I was disappointed as there is little hype for him round these parts anyway. More a confirmation of everything I thought when I first watched his stuff years ago.

I did not know that. For how long did the big two promotions not broadcast in Mexico City? Was it because their attendance was so good they didn't have to worry about TV or is TV a different deal in terms of importance over there at that time? Forgive my ignorance, lucha is one of my blindspots in some ways, even though I've watched a fair bit. Trying to work on that.

A bit of a divergence from best body in the sense of being most ripped or most realistically athletic, but hear me out on this: I kind of feel like in a weird way Samoa Joe, at his leanest, has one of the best fits in terms of body to character I've ever seen in wrestling. Big enough to be a seemingly legitimate beast, genetically predisposed to being big but holding it really well and making you believe that he was absolutely an athlete, not so oversized that anything overly flashy will seem unrealistic or at half speed... obviously he ballooned a bit in TNA but at his ROH peak and in his recent NXT run. Anyway, as you were, sorry for the mild derail there.

Agreed, but Bix acknowledging his own AJ/Darren Young joke bombing with, ironically, excellent comic timing made up for the absence of Dyaln going completely postal over the finish to the Rumble for me.

I don't think anyone has taken exception to your reviews? I was just responding to what Loss said and concurring.

Yeah, this. Was there anyone seriously entertaining the notion of AJ as the best in the world before the New Japan stuff? Even after he'd debuted in New Japan - and people forget this - the reaction was somewhat tepid initially. Indeed, many commentators/podcasters/writers etc seemed to feel that the Japanese audience wouldn't buy into this guy from this relatively two bit promotion with very little hype in Japan. Its really been since cementing his place as the man in New Japan and the title run there, combined with him becoming quite the globe trotting touring champ (in a pleasingly traditional sense) across the states and UK etc that have had people recently touting him as the best in the world. To the point that I don't think its really possible for anyone to rank him in their GWE poll without taking this into account. The last few years have been defining ones for him.

On the contrary Matt, Jay Strongbow and Steve Williams are late shouts for my #1 and #2

Shit, I was meant to add Dibiase in the last revision after having caught up on more of his mid south suff. He'll make it, fear not.