southofheavy

I think a big part of the reason why Joe looked like the Samoa Joe of old is that he...didn't work like the Samoa Joe of old. He cut out the running around and concentrated on smacking the crap outta the guy in front of him. Nia Jax looks better every week and Baron Corbin is putting it together. Excellent show.

Say "vintage" one more time, Cole. See what happens.

I really, REALLY want The Mechanics to make the finals, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Crews is going to have his best showing yet, and Breeze is gonna be a big part of that. Asuka is going to kill and kill again and it is going to be glorious. 'Nough said about Bayley/Sasha 'til after the match. It's gonna be a good one. Super stoked.

And, oh man, if you haven't checked it out, World Pro Wrestling is AWESOME. It's main event-level matches from a bunch of different promotions - JCP, UWF, WWF, AWA, Central States, World Class, and more - all thrown into one show. And there's a TON of stuff from that show that was never shown anywhere else. Flair & Morton in a cage, 25 years before the WWF released that Horsemen set? Yep, that's here. The Midnight Rockers in a match from the night Hansen forfeited the AWA title? Yep, that's here. And tons more. TRACK THIS SHOWN DOWN. Well, goddamn. Thanks!

Eva Marie is actually getting better. Can't run the ropes with a shit still, but the character work was good. LOVED the Control Center. I'm stoked to see the quarterfinal matches, and a big part of it is the promos. Letting the guys actually look into the damn camera while they talk makes a huge difference. It's funny how the little things that happen in NXT get so much accomplished. Enzo and Cass nailed their promo, and Joe was money, too. That little slap on the belt and Balor's subtle reaction just might be a little foreshadowing. Maybe a loss to Enzo and Cass sets up an angle? Asuka's debut was cool, but it was the end that totally made it. That smile? Dana and Emma are dead. The only thing that could've made this episode better was a Wilder/Dawson tag team match. I was really hoping their tag tournament match was on the show. Wilder's Arn Anderson tribute act fucking rules.

I'm currently working through the Horsemen set and '97 Nitros on the Network. Some questions regarding the Horsemen set. There are quite a few matches with Japanese commentary and graphics. Some of them seem to be from house shows while others look like they were on Worldwide. What's the story on that? Are these from some sort of Classics show, or did JCP/NWA have some sort of deal with All Japan to show some of their matches on TV during the 80s? Just curious, and regardless, it's pretty damn cool. I had no idea these would be on the set.

the old metal snobs i used to occasionally socialize with would say "Pantera is real metal?" LOLZ. As opposed to? Slayer, Exodus (I'm thoroughly amazed "Toxic Waltz" hasn't been used), Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Venom, Bathory, Mayhem, Death, Morbid Angel, Dying Fetus, Exhumed, Suffocation, Disgorge, Skinless, Cryptopsy, Anaal Nathrakh, etc. As far as real metal goes, post-Cowboys Pantera has far more in common with crap like Trapt than they do Carcass (and I like Pantera). The sentiment, though, is accurate. ECW's use of modern music helped them stand out and there's no excuse to not ask the talent what they listen to or at least have the music department pay attention to the charts. Agree with the hate of video game entrances. Dana is one of the best examples of why it's terrible, her little dance routine done a dozen times in the course of a minute or two. Of course, she's also terrible all around, but that's another issue. I've always felt that black metal and wrestling are way more compatible than black metal would like to admit. Way I see it, I don't think mainstream music is where ANYONE should be looking for entrance music. There really isn't anything current on the radio that's actually worth a damn. WWE's insistence on using awful, generic radio rock wouldn't be any different than them using awful, generic country, hip hop, or pop. It really is not that hard to find good music, and damn near the whole history of recorded music is available without having to pay for it. Make the music fit the character and make the music memorable. It's as simple as that.

I haven't been participating in the GWE at all, but I've been reading most of the threads and this one's got me thinking. What exactly did Punk execute well in the ring? I'm gonna hafta fire up some of his matches from various points in his career to nail down the stuff that he did well. Seems he should've stuck with a far more simple, direct moveset, but he came up in an era where athleticism and intricacy reigned supreme, especially on the indies. That is so not Punk's bag. He's not an athletic dude. I've seen footage from a training camp Liger did and Punk is struggling. He was a scrawny, lanky kid that didn't play sports. In another worker's hands, Punk's moves could have been graceful or athletic-looking. It's not that he's gumpy or clumsy. With some of his stuff, his body just doesn't have it to jive with what it should be doing or what he thought it actually looked like, if that makes any sense. Tell ya what, though. That piledriver on Cena in that one post-Mania RAW match? GODDAMN.

Ouch. That's pretty fourth grade, right there.

What the hell prompted this, anyway? ROH is coming to Dearborn, MI next month. I'm gonna check it out, as I haven't been to a show in ages. If NXT was running in Detroit the same night...I'd probably go with NXT. I'm just way more familiar with it. I haven't watched any ROH in a fortnight, aside from Briscoes promos.

I honestly had no idea until reading the above post that Jimmy Del Ray was Jimmy Graffiti. Now I know why I was like "Man, this Jimmy Graffiti guy ain't no slouch" when I was burning through Nitros on the Network. RIP.

So, ahh, that Watchlist thing. Yeah. I saved a bunch of stuff. Twice. It doesn't work.

A hipster. Maybe it's a gimmick being done on the indies somewhere, but I haven't seen it. Ironic mustache, V-Neck t-shirt, a vintage wardrobe drenched in irony, rides to the ring on a fixed gear...you get the idea. Whenever his spots get over, he stops doing them. Whenever his entrance music stops being obscure, he changes it. Chokes his opponents with his scarf, gets the win by hitting people with his bike lock or a can of craft beer, etc.

They were running all kinds of six mans and tag team matches last year when The Shield, The Wyatts, The Rhodes, and The Usos were tearing it up. TV was ruling real hard then.

The main booked itself. If only they'd get out of their own way... Dean getting on top of the cage at the beginning was cool. Noble and Mercury had no business being out there. The dual stretcher spot went waaaaaay too long, and we've seen worse bumps not elicit that type of response from medical professionals. Let 'em work their way into the cell and punch the shit out of each other. Trying to convey hatred through gigantic bumps and moves isn't as effective, though they at least used the damn cell to hurt each other. Dean should've gone over, THEN do the Wyatt stuff if you're not gonna let him have the moment. Don't have him materialize outta the ether in the cell, either. Mystic wrestlers in 2014 isn't something I'm opposed to. But Wyatt's a cult leader, not an invincible zombie or a vampire or a voodoo priest.

Also, I'll say this: I've read a lot of gripes about the Network, and I think they're all valid. That said...the Network is still pretty goddamn awesome.

I've had it since day one. There are times when I go a few weeks without using it at all, but it's in pretty regular rotation. I'm on a bit of a break from it right now, as I just got a puppy, along with work, band, and school commitments. Also, I kinda wanna watch some different stuff other than Nitros and NXT. Gotta get off my ass and get a new set from goodhelmet.

2004 - 2008. I was reading about them for a while before 2004, but I know Midnight Express Reunion was the first DVD I bought. All the hype on Danielson, Joe, Punk, Generation Next, and Low Ki was just too much. The following summer, I moved just north of Detroit and literally months after that, RoH was running at a venue that was about a fifteen minute walk from my house. I went to every single show they had there, I think. That was some of the most fun I ever had as a wrestling fan. The roster was absolutely killer back then, and outside of a few missteps, the booking was so on point. I really, really wish there was another super indy around now, touring and kicking that much ass.

Gotta go with the IWGP belt. That's what ten pounds of gold should look like. I haven't watched RoH in many moons, but they're doing something right with that belt. I'm surprised it looks that good. The WWE belt is an atrocity. The one Brock's carrying is better, but that one in the picture needs eight volume knobs turned all the way to the left.

Hey, now. "...And Out Come the Wolves" kicks just as much ass now as it did when I was in high school.

I don't think anyone would really miss the diving headbutt. The crowd seems to love those dives, though. I'm not sure if the Toyota dropkick is part of what lead to his injuries, but I noticed a while ago that he pretty much dropped the subsequent kip-up altogether. That set me to thinkin' he was a little banged up. He's a smart wrestler that can come up with other, safer spots and get them over. If he ever comes back, he really needs to.

Vintage. I want to cave Michael Cole's teeth in.

I'm a massive Ambrose fan but I don't get this. What makes you think the audience wants Ambrose over Reigns? I just got done watching this past week's Raw, and judging from that show alone, I gotta eat some of my words. Reigns had a very solid promo, though the "asses and attack" bit ain't all that hot. The crowd is clearly behind him, and they're loving the fact that he's stepping up to Cena. I gotta check out that Bad News Barrett match from Smackdown a couple weeks ago, but Reigns is more ready than I thought. As far as Ambrose goes, you're right in that his singles matches so far are getting some quiet reactions. The Rollins match won't. I said in a thread here not too long ago that I think he's the kind of guy that needs a feud. Maybe part of the reaction on Monday has to do with the fact that the audience is pretty apathetic towards Orton. That said, the crowd eats up his promos and his interactions with Rollins. As for why I'd hitch my wagon to Ambrose right now, he's the better promo, the better character, and a better wrestler than Reigns. If Reigns is more over, Ambrose isn't all that far behind. Either way, it's clear that the audience wants new guys on top.

Pretty much everything that needs to be said has already been said here, but they should slow burn this push a little more than they are right now. I like the fact that he's getting in Cena's face. And I'm pretty alright with a win over HHH, seeing as how The Shield already decisively beat Evolution. But Reigns is not ready to be the guy right now. He needs some house show runs against veterans that can teach him and make him a better worker. He's entirely competent on the mic, but he's not gonna drop hammers like Ambrose. He needs a lot more time to find himself as a worker and a character, and they need to wait until he does. That said...the audience wants Ambrose right now. And if I were in charge, he's the one I'd hitch the wagon to.

Ouch.