dawho5

I think that's one of the things that made Bryan stand out so much. He somehow makes all the pre-planned sequences work for the crowd.

So "technical wrestler" is some kind of catch-all term then? I won't say this for me at all times in my wrestling fandom, but I hate the idea of classifying wrestlers into groups like that. Is Rey Misterio, Jr. a high flier despite being good at suplexes when he's not way undersized and a capable striker? My feeling is that everybody has their own constantly evolving skillset as a worker and it's futile to say they are this,, that or the other. Roughly speaking, Sheamus, Ambrose, Reigns, Barrett, Harper, Wyatt and Cena are all "brawlers." But they all have different aspects of wrestling they excel at besides brawling as well as different weaknesses. So it's hard for me to throw them into a grouping together and call it good. At best it gives you the idea that they spend a lot of time engaged in fisticuffs during a match. Great podcast to listen to. Not sure about all the logic bombs, but I'm willing to ignore those.

My guess is he'd be fine. As long as people get the idea of what you're talking about it's usually okay.

RVD vs. Kroffat in All Japan 1995 stands out to me as a carry job, but it's less one-sided than you think. Kroffat provides a structure for all of RVD's highspots complete with logical setups. He beats up on RVD to make sure the fans pop for his offense. But RVD has to hit those spots right and with the right kind of emotion to get the crowd behind him just the same. If he misses big too often or is completely listless when he gets his time to shine it's all going to be for naught. And I have my doubts that it's even embarrassing in 1995 for RVD to need somebody to lay a match out around his highspots. I would imagine most "veteran vs. young guy" carry jobs are as much the more experienced guy teaching the younger guy some tricks of the trade during the match as they are anything else. We've all been in the position as the younger or less experienced person who has to learn the ropes. I know when I was learning different things at my current job there were days I was "carried" by the people around me that had been there a while and knew a lot more than I did. So I think that in a lot of cases it's just a part of the business that the worker who grasps the concepts better is calling the shots a bit more in an attempt to both put on a better match and teach the other wrestler more about what they are doing. It is to the benefit of everyone involved, so I hardly see it as a bad thing.

I loved the Lance Russell interview. Whoever said that nice guys finish last has obviously never met Lance Russell, who seems like he could be the most amicable guy you've ever heard talk. Oh, and the years of wrestling stories would be cool to hear too.

If this is the segment that started the show, I'll just say that the Bryan promo here and the crowd for it was possibly my favorite thing I've watched from 2014 that's not Shield vs. Wyatts. For a guy with no charisma who couldn't possibly be a main eventer because he is at best a B+ player, this guy gets some serious crowd reactions. I did love Bryan starting another "YES!" chant after Triple H told him and the fans how powerless they were and stalked off.

I was really impressed with the match layout and execution here. Bryan avoiding the majority of Triple H's attempts at arm work early until HHH had gone to the leg and tried an early pedigree to take his mind off it was great. The one finisher kickout was so well-placed and did so much for the match that they didn't need more. That's something that I think the WWE main event style needs to have more of is smart usage of finisher kickouts. I do wish the announcers had highlighted the fact that HHH was using the YES LOCK on DANIEL BRYAN rather than say things like, "He's using a crossface!" or "Imagine if Triple H could ake the submission specialist tap out at WrestleMania." Both of these are perfectly acceptable reactions to a submission that might end the match. But this was the submission Bryan had been beating people with for the last few years. Didn't detract from the match too much, so it's not a big deal. I would agree this is a standout Triple H performance. The sore loser reaction fit well with the way he had portrayed corporate HHH for months as well.

Having watched all of these matches recently I was excited for this one. I think the Kawada v Misawa match is right in the middle as far as their encounters go. The lack of excess vs. inclusion of more filler than usual (as per the style at this time) was an argument I was having with myself after re-watching this and at least it was well-executed filler. The Baba tag is great for all the reasons you mentioned. I love seeing Baba matches come up because he brings something so completely different to the table than anybody else can. Hansen vs. Baba is still a better matchup than Kawada vs. Baba. I watched a version of the MVC tag that cut off the first 2/3 of the match and clipped to the finish. My thinking was that if every MVC match had been presented that way I'd be much, much happier with them as a team. And that last match is my #1 or 2 desert island match on any given day. The other one it flip-flops with is Tully vs. Magnum. I take that to mean I love a good war more than most other kinds of wrestling matches. I have always had this theory that the Kawada kick right before the Hansen lariat left him a bit loopy and that was also partially responsible for the flying out of the ring. If you're looking for best lariat ever watch the April Kobashi match that is a handheld from a house show. THAT lariat will make you wonder how sane Kobashi ever was. I never questioned the guy's toughness, and I've seen him take a Vader moonsault where Vader missed and landed on his head. Without moving. You'd think that when you saw vader falling and figured out he was gonna land on your head, you'd call an audible. I thought the lariat in the 4/93 match was actually a crazier spot than that for a variety of reasons. The match before it is certainly great and worth your while, but that lariat is something I'll remember over any other spot I've ever seen.

And yet it is still my favorite 90s All Japan singles match. I know it's not the best match, but I still love it more than Misawa/Kawada 6/3/94 and the two major tags. It has a lot to do with both being my favorite wrestlers.

I did like how they used the Wyatts to strengthen the bond between the bickering Shield members despite Bray going after Cena. The match was all kinds of chaotic great, but I liked the PPV match more. I did think the chaotic brawl fit the way the rivalry had developed to this point, expecially with the Shield pushing things in that direction from the start. They were down one and the Wyatts had proven they could play the Shield's game, so throw something different at them. I want a third match between these two teams with a focused Shield, but I know I won't get one.

Damn you TG for picking one that I whiffed on. I forget the match, but when Fuchi starts counting along with the ref on a Jumbo cover and whoever it is kicks out Fuchi is more amazed than Jumbo, that moment made me so very very very happy. Masa Fuchi is some kind of wrestling genius that can make a match better even when he's not in it. In a country at the time where they didn't use managers.

Ted vs. Tenryu was a really fun match and I thought both did their parts to make it what it was. I think a lot of Ted's problem in tags was similar to the one experienced by everyone they paired with Hansen. Hansen is such a force of nature both in-ring and character wise that it was hard for any westerner to stand out in any way as his partner. They all ended up being cowboys like Stan and not...themselves. Hell, it even happened with Gordy when he was Hansen's partner. I don't know if it was intentional or his partners just weren't able to step out of his shadow while being his partner.

I love both. I agree with Parv about having to feel the wrestling to analyze it well. It's why I like watching wrestling so much and prefer that to talking about it. I just let it take me wherever it's going. Talking about the ride is just the cherry on top.

If I spent the next year not working and watching wrestling I'd still be far behind. But I suppose that means I'll never run out of wrestling I want to watch.

I have so many wrestling regrets. My biggest is letting my fandom lapse instead of trying to find new promotions to watch or different watching projects to keep me interested. Looking at everything that is available now I get this feeling I won't ever get to watch all the things I really want to.

I think that's one of the reasons why Rey is so highly regarded. He is a tiny dude compared to most WWE guys but he always seemed believable beating big guys when it happened. I think it does take a certain amount of presence and know-how for the smaller guys like Rey or Bryan to do what they do and have the overwhelming support they get. Where you take a guy like Ziggler and put him in that spot and it just wouldn't work because he wouldn't make you believe what he was doing as much.

I have never liked this match type. But this match worked all the way up until the Wyatts showed up. Christian's constant climbing of the cage when people try to pick him up out there is such a great chickenshit heel tactic. The dichotomy of Christian's character during the match is really fun, going back and forth between cowering and picking his spots to be a complete vicious bastard. Sheamus and Cesaro going right at one another every chance they got makes me want to track down every singles match available between the two of them. Orton hiding in the pod was the first thing he's done that garnered actual heel heat and not "we like Daniel Bryan/we don't like you or your constant push" heat. Cena wrestling smart was a nice touch given that he'd been in this kind of match before. Have I mentioned Cesaro comes out of this match looking like a BEAST? I really wish the WWE had booked Orton strong enough to beat an Injured Bryan once it came down to it. Explain to me why you need Kane to be involved unless you're unhappy that your fans seem to be forcing you down a road you don't want to go down. And maybe if you have Kane piss Bryan off enough it's the most logical thing booking wise for Kane to be his next feud after the Mania win (which you're not overly happy about giving him.) So all those internet smart fans are going to have a tough time arguing with that program given their love of "logical booking" once you give them their precious Bryan win. This is the kind of thing that drives me nuts about the WWE. They can book really smart when it comes to getting themselves out of things that end up being necessary despite their not wanting them. But when it comes to setting up good feuds for midcard champs or hot acts to keep their momentum going, they seem to be clueless. I say seem to be because it is my firm belief that much of the "bad booking" that keeps midcarders shuffling around while the current guys are fed to the old guard is absolutely intentional. It is done under the guise of poor booking but accomplishes everything the WWE seems to want. I have a hard time thinking that it's in any way unintentional.

Besides Bryan followed by Rusev I think Cesaro is the best of the new crop of guys as a Cena opponent. I also think that a lot of the commentary hit on things I have thought about Cesaro's character. He's very much a face archetype. Hard worker obviously, but with the hyped up super workout freak thing it's hard to hate the guy. And he's billed as the ultimate competitor, which is also a very face attribute. So why does he keep getting booked as a heel? The match itself was fantastic. Cena running into a physical freak like Cesaro ought to be saved for major PPVs. If the WWE was smart they'd take advantage of Cena's tweener status and turn Cesaro face with a big Cena feud.

I loved this match so much. If there is a better WWE tag match in the 2000s I'd be surprised. I do have to say that I think it's the exact moment where the WWE decided both groups needed to be broken up. As over as both these teams were, I have to wonder at what reason they needed to break up the Wyatts so soon other than fear. They had been teasing the Reigns singles push forever and this was only another step in reaching that goal. I thought this match was a nice departure from Ambrose being the whipping boy of the Shield. Rollins would be great as a face in a main event tag program based on what I saw here. Love the match, hate the implications for the Shield given what came before it. And of course Wyatt is about to get the Cena kiss of death after the main event. I'll just have to watch this and the Raw match every so often to get my fix.

Hansen starts really kicking that stuff into gear in the 94 CC for sure with the rib injury. Then he falls off a cliff in 95 with the Misawa and Kawada TC matches that are not very good at all. Best you get after 94 is his 99 run through the RWTL with Taue as the fan favorite team with Burning (Akiyama and Kobashi) coming in as the bullies trying to keep the vets from winning in the final match. Which is possibly one of the most glorious Hansen matches you will ever see. The tag match against the MVCs on 4/18/91 is also a tremendous Hansen performance you should not miss. Spivey, Gordy and Williams are in the match and fine, but Hansen is on a completely different level. The first time I saw Kawada's tights go to black & gold was 9/30/90. If you go back to the Tenryu days of All Japan he wore zubaz, which is a little trippy when you see it at first. Gordy's singles matches are not great after 1990 for the most part and I've always wondered why. I like him a lot more than Doc during the 1990-93 time period for sure. He had a good singles match with Misawa on 6/1/91. It could be that Hansen was always casting such a big shadow that it was hard for Gordy. He may have been better off doing more of the Hansen out of control brawling, but they had that guy. Williams and Gordy were more technician/brawlers with a lot of weardown holds (that they sat in endlessly) and I wonder if that wasn't a little bit because of Hansen's status and style. Spivey is actually really good in tags in 1991. I would take a Hansen/Spivey tag over a MVC tag in 1991 any day of the week. Spivey holds up his end well enough, but is still a level below most everybody in the matches he's in. But he's not taking the lion's share of the offense and killing the match in the process *cough Gordy and Williams *cough*.

I don't care for CM Punk the wrestler in the WWE. He's certainly a great promo, but for me the WWE is all about execution and working your gimmick around the script. And Punk's execution in-ring is not great. Don't get me wrong, it's not Kofi-level sloppy, but I can't put him up there with top tier WWE guys. Speaking of Kofi, I used to like watching him way back when I watched the occasional RAW/Smackdown in the early 2000s. I have never liked watching Masahiro Chono wrestle. I will qualify that by saying that I've never seen any of his pre-injury work. I have yet to care about a wrestler's sins outside of the ring enough to not watch their matches. Jake, Benoit, Carlos Colon, if somebody praises a match of theirs I'll probably watch it and not even think about the horrifying things they did. Not sure if my ability to separate their work from their personal demons is good or completely heartless. I think Japanese wrestling has been in a slow decline since the early 2000s. The emphasis seems to be on all of the wrong things. When I started watching Monday Nitro, I would venture a guess that half of my reason for watching on a weekly basis was the luchadors. The other half had to be the Nitro girls and the hope that I could stumble on a Sunny segment while WCW had nonsense on TV. I was old enough where you'd think I would have discovered porn, but instead I did wrestling. When I think about how my wrestling fandom has developed from that point it becomes less sad that it's true. Not all the way less sad, but enough.

Sheamus?

Masa Fuchi bending Kikuchi's legs and neck in an attempt to touch Kikuchi's heels to the back of his head, or just Kikuchi taking a beating from Fuchi in 1990-93 The Shield (add Shield vs. Wyatts to this as well) Daniel Bryan taking a hot tag Any well-executed Southern tag in any promotion ever That moment when you come back to a worker you hated years before after they had time to improve and you realize they are really great When two workers blow a spot and it adds to the match in ways that the properly executed spot never would have Goldust as face-in-peril or a hot tag That moment in the Daniel Bryan promo right after Rumble 2014 when Steph asks if the fans all came there to see Daniel Bryan. I know that they expected that response going in, but Bryan's enjoyment of the moment was all over his face. Revenge never seemed so easy or justified. Stan Hansen And lastly, Toshiaki Kawada bodyslamming a guy and kicking him in the back. Or Kawada in general, but that last thing more than a lot of the rest. His knee drops are pretty glorious as well. And when he stops early match when the other guy is fired up and goes over to the ropes to stretch. Cool off, will ya? Seriously, love this guy.

yeah, every time the WWE puts up some kind of hashtag to discuss a match or whatever it might be my mental response goes something like, "#gofuckyourselfWWE." Watching anything from lately makes me wish you had video game type options where you could turn off the announcers volume and certain graphics and just watch some good wrestling while listening to crowd reactions.

So would there be the argument that a career midcard guy doing a bunch of good to very good TV matches could compare to a company ace that had some very good to great along with just as many worthless matches/angles? Does how well a wrestler performed in relation to their card position come into the equation at a certain point?