SomethingSavage

Excellent write-up. His offense has really become hard-hitting, snug, and just nasty at times. His high-flying is HEAVY - packed with impact and weighted with serious force. It's a popular praise for guys like 2 Cold Scorpio - and rightfully so. But I definitely think it also applies to Kash, especially in his later years. It looks less like he's carefully executing dives, moonsaults, and kicks - and more like he's throwing his body & limbs around with malicious intent. It brings a sense of energy & urgency that lends itself to a "fight" feel and is certainly appreciable when he can do it without legitimately maiming his dance partner out there.

I thought it was RVD busting up Kurt, at the point when they were going all in on Angle versus Austin.

The fans are just celebrating their fandom. Seems incredibly stupid for WWE to take offense to that stuff. They never miss an opportunity to romanticize the Attitude Era, how over everyone was, and how hot the crowds were - but a crucial piece of that puzzle was allowing the fans to express themselves (the signs, the chants) and more importantly - the INTERACTIONS. I know the catchphrases and sing-along style promos reached a point of overkill eventually, but early on? The fans were eating that stuff up. And it's practically come full circle. Some of these fans are BEGGING for interaction. They want to be included. They want to be involved with the show. When they're outright ignored or bored to tears, then yeah. They "hijack" or cook up chants to entertain themselves. Why not cut it off at the pass and address it head-on? That's all Rocky was doing. The guy's a pro. He's from a time, a place, and an era that EMBRACED that stuff. There's a reason those guys were so over. They weren't standing in the ring, reciting monotonous dialogue for twenty minutes. Rocky's got a lot on his plate. I could easily see him rolling his eyes at this and just being passive aggressive enough to let WWE know they can fuck off if they expect him to "dial it back" whenever he shows up to give them a rub.

The fans are just celebrating their fandom. Seems incredibly stupid for WWE to take offense to that stuff. They never miss an opportunity to romanticize the Attitude Era, how over everyone was, and how hot the crowds were - but a crucial piece of that puzzle was allowing the fans to express themselves (the signs, the chants) and more importantly - the INTERACTIONS. I know the catchphrases and sing-along style promos reached a point of overkill eventually, but early on? The fans were eating that stuff up. And it's practically come full circle. Some of these fans are BEGGING for interaction. They want to be included. They want to be involved with the show. When they're outright ignored or bored to tears, then yeah. They "hijack" or cook up chants to entertain themselves. Why not cut it off at the pass and address it head-on? That's all Rocky was doing. The guy's a pro. He's from a time, a place, and an era that EMBRACED that stuff. There's a reason those guys were so over. They weren't standing in the ring, reciting monotonous dialogue for twenty minutes. Rocky's got a lot on his plate. I could easily see him rolling his eyes at this and just being passive aggressive enough to let WWE know they can fuck off if they expect him to "dial it back" whenever he shows up to give them a rub.

I never really feel like the criticism that, "they don't run angles" is even remotely accurate. In fact, I think an argument could be made that their angles stand out BECAUSE they're used sparingly. They feel like they matter - and thus - they actually MEAN MORE due to that. If the majority of the matches are ran as exhibitions - with an overarching story of wins and losses to rise up the ranks, and that's it - then even the simplest of angles, used sparingly, can work up a reaction. Since at least 2012 or 2013, PWG has actually executed "angles" better than just about anything ROH has done in years. And that's pretty incredible, considering that they really only hold 8 to 10 shows per year. In the last few years alone, they've done a MUCH better job with El Generico's sendoff, Adam Cole's heel turn & subsequent run, Roddy Strong's heel turn and subsequent run, Kyle O'Reilly's ascension as a singles star, and yeah - even the mixed tag match with the Bucks against Candice & Joey was actually the payoff to an incredibly fun story they'd been telling for awhile. They offer *some* variety here & there, but I'd be lying if I said there's an abundance of it. If the "go go go" tempo isn't really your thing, then it's probably not something you'd stick to watching. The style can be exhausting, especially when they cram a card with matches that aim for the same thing over & over again. It happens. I will say this though - PWG is consistently FUN. I have casual friends & former roommates that I can't convince to catch a WWE show (outside of every year's Mania and RAW the night after), but I've had no problem on selling them on a few PWG DVDs (and Lucha Underground) in the past year. So they're clearly doing something right to catch people's attention. There's a buzz around 'em for good reason.

Ugh. Yuck. The last thing in the world they should be worried about right now is "muddying up the waters with yet another convincing challenger." At this point, they should be jumping at every opportunity to muddy those waters and saturate the field with every fucking challenger they possibly can. They won't convince people to care until they get some "convincing challengers" on the board and established. This idea of cutting guys off at the knees or coasting from one show to the next isn't a luxury they should be afforded at the moment. It just isn't. What was suggested here wasn't a bad idea for Ambrose, by any means. A short title reign to spike his momentum and put some buzz around the guy before Mania is hardly a poor decision. Back in '99, Foley was MADE as a main event act in these months leading into Mania. He got there by getting the belt (more than once, but even just once would have done the trick) and then having a major program with The Rock. It was merely a means of killing time until Austin versus Rock could go down on the big stage, but what you're suggesting is that they shouldn't run programs like that - because it might run the risk of "muddying the waters" with other challengers. That suggested scenario could have served as a trial run for Dean. The idea of him winning both belts in a single night could be a big talking point that could catapult him for months. A one-month program with Trips could eat up time until Mania, but it could also elevate Ambrose for the short term - in the sense that Hunter would have his eyes & focus on Ambrose for the month. The bromance with Reigns means that it all still plays into the bigger story arc of Reigns versus Hunter in time for Mania anyway, and so I don't see how it muddies anything to be honest. A one-month reign for Ambrose wouldn't change the reactions for Roman in the slightest. Those fans will still chant for guys who haven't been seen on WWE television in two years if they want. Besides, aren't they just muddying the waters anyway by booking the Fastlane main event the way they did? There's next to no chance of Roman coming out of that looking like an ass-kicker. All signs point to Brock being distracted and Roman pinning his best friend again in order to get the ticket to Mania. That means he only really overcomes ONE of the two obstacles set in front of him, and it comes by way of him beating a guy that's more popular to a lot of fans. That's not exactly presenting him in the best light.

The 7 Levels of Hate program between Colt Cabana and Adam Pearce over the NWA World Heavyweight Championship was tremendous. The interviews, the vignettes, the twists & turns in the saga itself - everything was just executed extremely well. I've written more extensively about it here in other threads, but yeah. It would have felt right at home in any territory back in the day, with each guy getting a run as champ - dropping in for a few dates to ignite a new angle and move the story arc forward. Overall, from beginning to finish, it's a really compelling rivalry. Even when they hit political roadblocks along the way, they manage to get things back on track up until the final match in the series. In terms of the in-ring performances, both guys bring the goods. I'm far from the biggest Colt fan, but these are the matches I'd point to as a prime example of Cabana functioning at his best as a complete package. He seems to know when, why, and how to bust out the comedy shtick - or when to absolutely ABANDON it altogether. His fiery comebacks are great. His moonsault is one of the most spectacular "fat guy flattens bad guy" spots. On the other end, Pearce isn't shy about busting out some surprisingly daring dives. He dishes out jumping piledrivers. It's just good stuff - presented with a sense of struggle and urgency with both guys fighting like it counts. The feud really opens itself up & embraces all the old-school tricks of the trade. It is a total tribute to a different era of wrestling, yet it never comes across like a couple of guys playing the parts - which is a line we see crossed with similar stuff, in my opinion. Instead, almost everything is used to maximum effect. You'll see a stretcher job. Fireballs are thrown. A babyface's trust is broken. There's betrayal and a slow march towards the payback. It's A LOT happening, but it's all given time to resonate & really breathe. And, to be absolutely honest, the premise of the 7 Levels of Hate - a different gimmick match in a different part of the country for a different promotion - is just a cool freaking concept in my view.

Would they though? I don't know. My nephew is right around that age range, and I think it'd be a stretch for him to consider Owens at Brock's level right now. Owens has been booked fairly well (only since TLC or so) as a wrecking ball, but it's not exciting enough. Nothing stands out or sticks with you. Plus, in his matches - they've JUST recently stopped doing the Even Steven 50/50 stuff with him. It reminds me of how they thought they were REALLY heating up Bray last year in time for the Mania match with 'Taker. Maybe in their eyes it was heating him up. But really, they just put him over Bryan once and Dean Ambrose a bunch of times. The Bryan thing was slightly surprising, but it was more about Bryan coming back to lose than Bray getting over on him. And the Dean losses didn't feel like they really meant anything. Fast forward to Owens now, and it feels very similar. Maybe they THINK they're strapping a rocket to him, but I don't get that impression at all. Doubt many of the younger fans would either. Could it be done in time for Mania? Maybe. But this isn't the way to do it. It's a mild approach to a guy that could use a MAJOR overhaul. They need to go all-out and aim for another Henry Hall of Pain scenario. Have the guy just murder wrestlers and bystanders alike. Let him rack up a body count. Struggling through 10 or 15 minute matches against Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler on TV every week - just to go to a bullshit finish so nobody looks worse (or better) by the end of it - isn't going to get him there.

I've been doing a re-watch of '97 WCW and WWF on a week-to-week basis since sometime last year. And I *just* saw that segment a few months ago. I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it went down on a PPV - SuperBrawl or Uncensored maybe? Somewhere around that time frame. ... ... ... Modern wrestling needs a new Mean Gene. Absolutely unafraid to push buttons in interviews, telling fans to get their parents permission to subscribe to his YouTube channel, plugging his Twitter feed, constantly making crass comments on the air, and just generally wandering to ringside every now & then to catch a "scoop" as soon as a match is wrapping up.

Omega is an odd bird. I almost feel like he's regressed as a worker since coming into the Bullet Club. You call it bad instincts, and I think that's a fair way of assessing it. The guy falls back onto bad habits A LOT - especially the goofball comedy, and it's almost like he has no sense or gauge on when or how to do that stuff appropriately. I've seen good Omega performances, but it's almost strictly when he's surrounded by superior workers. I won't say that a few exceptions don't exist, but they'd be few & far between. What sucks is that the Cleaner gimmick has/had potential to be something unique for him, but the act has just been really standard stuff. The best thing I can say about his title reign is that it gave way to KUSHIDA's moment feeling like a big deal. And honestly, that feels like the only way to justify it being so damn long. I want to be optimistic about his transition to heavyweight. But there's a lot of things working against him. This recent run has been very blah, and retreading over a retread by becoming the replacement for AJ (who replaced Devitt) as the leader of the Bullet Club isn't exactly going to feel like a fresh start for ANYBODY in that role. But I'm willing to give it a chance & see what they do with it. I will say that the initial angle with the big post-match turn was executed very well. Felt like a big deal and sparked some interest around Omega - at least for me - for the first time in a long time.

Holy fucking shit. That intro song is crazy catchy. It's FIYAH. It's nerdy wrestling fandom meets baby-making bedroom beats. Just needs more Ginuwine.

I'd agree with a lot of that. One that that struck me while watching Kingdom this year was that there are too many belts at the moment. With the addition of the Never Open Weight Six-Man belts and the continued usage of two sets of tag belts, it's just too much. When everyone's a champion, then who REALLY feels like a champion - ya know? Ibushi's ascension is definitely something that has me excited for this year. I'm actually anticipating the fallout from the talent exodus in general though. I'm eager to see who they elevate and what they do to create new stars. I don't think it's going to be a big dip in quality like some others have talked about, but it really does come down to their selection and presentation of the guys moving forward. Ugh. Omega as a top guy... I don't know. Where do you stand with him now, Pete? I remember your comments and thoughts on him last year around this time being more in line with my own - so I'm just wondering if you've turned a corner on him since then or what. It seems a bit strange that they're stripping the IC Title off Nak and *not* having him put over Omega on the way out. That seemed to be the direction at first, but I guess they've opted to keep Nak strong and take a detour to get the belt onto Omega eventually. It's a weird situation though.

Really looking forward to hearing this one. Since I first heard Tim on some of the old Wrestling Culture shows, I've always found that his tastes and preferences remind me A LOT of an old friend & former roommate of mine. I mean, if you lined 'em up and asked them the same series of question, I feel like they'd serve up the same answers at least about 90% of the time. So I'm curious to see what makes his list here. Equally interested in seeing how much crossover & diversity there is with the Big Boys Play lists. Should be fun.

Downloading now & looking forward to listening. Some of this shit is knee-deep and DARK, so here's hoping the gang brings a few light-hearted laughs along the way. I didn't see the Lex piece from Confidential in real time, but I *do* remember it getting a lot of talk on message boards at the time. Hell, truth be told - I think I still haven't seen it to this day. I know that sounds strange, but ya see so many things in clipped form or just in pics - I definitely remember seeing a mugshot from that story, but I don't know if I've ever seen the actual video of that stuff. The Melanie Pillman interview still makes me cringe to this day. I've been doing a re-watch of the old Raws and Nitros from '97 this year, and yeah. It absolutely STILL holds up as one of the most uncomfortable things to witness as it plays out. I honestly think I've got pretty thick skin when it comes to things, and for a business that actively celebrates cons, deceit, and magic tricks - it takes something really scummy to shake me like that.

Would Goldberg be an option to face Taker or work a program with someone? I know there's been talk and rumors of TNA expressing interest in getting him signed to a deal, but I don't know how realistic that is or if he'd even consider working with such a low-profile company when he could likely strike a short-term deal with WWE instead. Admittedly, Goldberg isn't a "WWE legend", but he's recognizable enough. It wouldn't take much to reintroduce him and put him over huge via video packages. He's beaten a Who's Who list of top guys in WWE canon. Run clips of that, run clips of his WCW dominance, and bring up the fact that he beat Brock in his last match there. Boom. Done deal. Off to the races.

Just as a supplemental post to stir up some discussion, I thought I'd throw out a list of names that come to mind... During those early days, guys like Haku and Andre might get some consideration. I don't know how much Andre would get by on his strength and intimidation at THAT point of his career, but it's probably worth noting. Taker is another guy that held that "real tough guy" rep with most of the crew. It's easy to envision him carrying the strap - perhaps through those lean years. Does a red-hot Shamrock get a shot on top? The "World's Most Dangerous Man" thing was a pretty big deal for him at one point. Even strictly in the Super Fight realm, Ken was never the smoothest or most skilled guy - but he had crazy strength and the incredible intensity to make up for some of that. Angle almost seems like a lock upon his arrival. In more modern times, what about a guy like Swagger? Are his amateur credentials enough to warrant a decent run? Other favorites - Regal, Finlay, etc. - could make for fun talking points also. Here's hoping you guys get around to this (or something similar) during a slow week or whatever.

Back in the day, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship was almost exclusively held by "hookers" and shooters - out of worry and fear that a challenger or promoter might go into business for themselves and pull the old double-cross. Buddy Rogers might be the first real exception, but the belt was mostly given to guys that could legitimately fight their way out of a screw-job. How about building a title lineage for the WWF Championship with that same approach? Begin with the Hogan era and move forward. Would Hulk still get his shot? Or would he just be a special attraction, with the belt staying on someone else? Does Savage even get to sniff the title picture? Bret? What about the Rock? Moving all the way up to modern day, is Brock keeping the belt for awhile? Or do you think the belt is "safe" on Triple H or John Cena? I realize it could turn into a real chore, but I actually think it's a pretty fun topic worth discussing. There are plenty of REALLY over acts that I think would have to be used strictly as draws and special attractions - without ever getting a real run as champ.

DownNDirty has a bunch of SMW TV episodes up. https://www.youtube.com/user/DownNDirtyTN/feed

It's up on their YouTube channel. The audio is a little wonky. I think I need to seek out more Jason Kincaid. I really dug him in Traditional (TCW) a couple of years ago, but I haven't seen a whole lot of his recent stuff.

I didn't realize that Bennett and Maria were leaving after the Tag Title deal at Final Battle. I'm not a "news and rumors" guy by ANY means, but I stumbled across a bit this morning that mentioned how both of them have signed with TNA.

I can't imagine wanting to WATCH a podcast. Maybe that's just me. I do a lot of my listening via my phone or on the go anyhow. Podcasts get me through trips, tasks, etc. Enough free time to sit down and watch stuff is usually reserved for Netflix or actual TV shows. I just don't think it'd do anything to attract new listeners. To me - in my view - the audio is more readily & easily accessible anyway.

The casting of Owen had me cracking up, but putting Murdoch and Buck in there as the bandits sent it up to another level. That's just aces. Really dug the title lineage game. Hope to see it return sometime soon. It fell off a fucking cliff towards the end there, but 'twas all in good fun.

Yeah. Hollywood had some REALLY good television for awhile there. My viewing fell behind around the time the Vermin stable was introduced. It sucks that they stopped putting their shows up for free on YouTube. Last I checked, some of their old stuff was still up there though. The 7 Levels of Hate angle with Pearce and Cabana from that period is one of the most underrated feuds to happen in the last ten years or so. I don't think that's even a slight exaggeration either. I kept up with SAW for awhile, too. Call me crazy, but the show loses a little something since it's been taken out of the "Saw Mill" background. It may seem superficial, but the high school gymnasium look takes a lot away from it once you've seen them in that setting. I really dug the Ring Warriors brand for the VERY short time it was around also. I guess it's technically just gone on to become a different "promotion" under a new name or whatever, but I don't know. Haven't seen anything quite it like produced since then.

An in-depth profile piece for Hogan sounds awesome. I'm especially intrigued by some of his more "obscure" challengers from that first reign and the loops he worked with a lot of those challengers then. Hogan's incredible aura and presence, the gradual streamlining of his in-ring "formula", the numbers for some of those title defenses, etc. would give ya a truckload of material to look at. The "Battles of Backlund" show Kris put out with Exile awhile back springs to mind as a somewhat similar project. Either way, these Piper shows are tremendous and much appreciated. Definitely wouldn't mind an entire spin-off series devoted to similar things.

I still remember REALLY liking a lot of Piper in '96 and '97 WCW. I might be in the VAST majority on that, but hey. I'm okay with that. The interviews weren't what they used to be, but he'd still rattle off a winner here & there. "What's a Horsemen? Do the Horsemen ride mares..? Do they ride STUDS..? What IS a Horseman? How can I TRUST a Horseman?!" Good stuff. Oh. And I thought the Piper/Flair vs. Outsiders match from GAB '97 was probably better than it had any right to be. I won't deny that Flair was the worker out there, but Piper's performance as the outnumbered & overwhelmed face in peril is pretty damn good. The Slamboree six-man also speaks for itself. Again, obviously there's not a TRUCKLOAD of gems in the WCW run. But I don't think there was anything truly dreadful from his arrival up until the Havoc cage debacle. The SuperBrawl deal with Hogan was cheesy and definitely a letdown in terms of a main event match, but man. Both guys were so fucking over that it hardly put a dent in any of my enjoyment at the time.