Steenalized

I'm in the same boat. Once it goes past 30 my interest drops off quickly. I love a good sprint, particularly between heavyweights, but I'd say your standard/ideal main event on a major show should be about 25 minutes. Plenty of time to lay out the story but not so long that it becomes unbearable.

No singing, just a mix of ring announcing and overall MCing the event. He's extremely charismatic and has a great voice for announcing.

Gavin was the stand out performer at the Chikara show I went to a few weekends ago. Thought he was actually really, really good.

Don't know if I buy that about her, Rose, Bo, or anyone else who's getting called up. They've been saddled with gimmicks that took time to get over in NXT but grew naturally. On the main roster, they get thrust in front of everyone without 99% of people knowing where their character came from. Of course that makes them look bad, but it shouldn't be a sign that they lack what it takes to get over.

That was my reaction. A tiny (and I mean tiny) but very in-shape guy who has workrate in spades and is definitely willing to throw his body around. Fun in the four-ways I've seen him open the show in, though I can't imagine a protracted match going well. When I saw him in January or February he was even dressed just like Davey.

Surprised at the Danny Cannon love here, I just pegged him as a new Davey Richards based on AAW dark matches/undercards that he's done. Any match recommendations from those promoting him?

You can, you just probably shouldn't because it certainly looks like you're about to shoplift.

Current Favorite Wrestler To Watch: Probably Dean Ambrose. I haven't had any time to watch much wrestling over the last month and a half, but I've loved what I get to see of him lately, both in ring and out. Last Fun Match You Saw: The six-man tag at Raw last night, Usos + Sheamus vs. The Wyatts Wrestler You Want To See More Of: Ambrose, he's getting me very excited. Last Live Show Attended: Chikara "Diamonds are Forever" in Chicago. Awful. Terrible. Match You Are Looking Forward To Watching Soon The Most: To beat a dead horse: Ambrose/Rollins Last Fun Interview/Promo You Saw: Aside from Ambrose last night (sorry), probably Terry Funk cutting a promo from the double cross ranch in '85, where he pulls up in a pick up truck then talks about what an athlete he is/ Last Interesting Thing You Read About Wrestling: Nothing stands out Last Worthwhile Wrestling Podcast You Heard: The latest Voices of Wrestling podcast this morning and the latest Wrestling Culture podcast yesterday. Both excellent. Most Fun You've Had Watching Wrestling Lately: It's been a dry summer. I enjoyed Raw last night.

Sounds like it. Looking forward to the shoplifting gimmick

Of course this is purely anecdotal evidence from a 20 year old memory, but growing up in Chicago as a 5 year old at the time, I'd say that wrestling was still very popular here. Not Attitude era big and it probably fell out with adults, but wrestling draws well here. Plus it was at a brand new stadium as the United Center opened less than two weeks before, so that had to help.

I'm guessing it's the thought that guys aren't competing at their physical best since they can't train the way that they would on PEDs. That would make for a less entertaining fight, maybe?

Sometimes. If/when I go back to my mom's house, I'll sometimes search the basement and the mountains of junk down there to see what I can find. There are at least a dozen boxes of VHS tapes down there. Most of them are family gatherings and home movies, some TV, some boxing matches and NFL games, and then there are probably a couple dozen PPVs from about 94-98. Mostly WWF, some WCW. A guy my dad worked with was a wrestling fan, so he'd get the PPVs, tape them, then give me a copy. When I find one I'll usually watch at least a bit. Kind of a moot point since they're all on the WWE Network in much better quality, but you know, nostalgia.

Again, I'd love for you to go back and point out where I ever ONCE stated that less fatty looks equated to better wrestling potential. If anything, all I said was that taking EITHER body image to the extreme was detrimental to the overall performance of an athlete. And it is. Again, that's not some kooky social construct that just recently popped up in our culture. That's science. I'm sorry you disagree with biology, bro. I really am. I actually pretty much stated ALL of that myself. So I appreciate you agreeing with me, since I sort of fail to see just WHO you're arguing with at this point. Because, again, all I ever pointed out was how the body runs off of excess stored energy. That's it. Never even specifically spoke about Hero, other than to say that this one particular picture of him - which I never saw before today, so I can't say that I've fairly even seen him compete in THAT shape - is not the image of a fit & healthy guy. And it isn't. I know that there have been spindly-armed, potbellied wrestlers in the past. I know they've had outstanding matches and been promoted as legitimate ass-kickers. But where did you see me dispute ANY of that? Oh. You didn't? I'll carry on then. Tell you what though. If you really and honestly believe in your head that carbs, glucose, and (as a DIRECT result) body fat has nothing to do with maximizing peak performance and having "gas in the tank" - then talk to MMA fighters sometime. Chat with a strength coach. Talk to a power lifter. I dare you to speak with someone from a real combat sport or anything REMOTELY athletic outside of the pro wrestling bubble. In the real world, that's how this stuff works. Hell, AMATEUR wrestlers and PRO cage fighters - the closest things to being cut from the same cloth as pro wrestling - have literally KILLED THEMSELVES trying to master the perfect formula and cycle to time their diets just to be in top form. If glucose really plays no part in peak performance, then why the hell do you CONSTANTLY hear so many of these MMA fighters talking about how the slightest adjustment in their diets or training before a big fight has made all the difference? It's hardly a throwaway assumption. Just for the record, I really hold no preference on the matter. If a guy can perform and entertain me, then I really couldn't care any less what he looks like. When potbellied Hero snaps off a crisp rolling elbow to the jaw, and his opponent sells it like it's nap time? Then I'm all over that shit. Does it matter to me that it came from a guy who looks like he spends 75% of his time in a rocking chair on his front lawn with a cold beer in one hand & a bag of Funyuns in the other? Nope. Not in the slightest. To the first point: "I said he isn't maximizing his potential as a performer with a gut like that. And he isn't. The fuel in the tank is only half full when you look like that." That is to say, Chris Hero having a less fatty look would mean he is closer to fulfilling his wrestling potential. It seems like you're arguing you have to be at 100% peak physical condition to maximize your "wrestling potential", which like Dylan said, is close to say work rate has a one-to-one relationship with good work. Your point, and I'll grant you you're not the one who first posted the picture and made a topic about it, also looks like it includes "Chris Hero got fat and that makes him a lesser performer because it's unprofessional/it looks unathletic/it looks unappealing/people might think he isn't taking wrestling seriously." Okay, it's not the image of health and fitness. No one thinks it is, but it also doesn't mean he's in bad shape and thus unable to wrestle. Which brings it to the ultimate point: who cares if he got heavier? Also, not to just brush aside your points about MMA/combat sports and what not, but I that is an entirely different event aside from pro wrestling. I don't get what your ranting is about there, since obviously prize fighters have to be in elite shape. I've had amateur boxing matches and even in three three minute rounds being in the better shape of the two guys is half the battle. But this is PWO, so I'll leave this aspect of the conversation to rest.

Your point is that he looks too fat to "maximize his wrestling potential," which is nonsense. There are plenty of guys who are/were fat and were great wrestlers and plenty of guys who look like a million bucks that can't wrestle worth a lick. You can run marathons and still look awful, you can look lean (but healthy) and gas out fast. His work, as far as anyone has mentioned, has been unaffected. The argument that he's squandering his potential is baseless, pure conjecture because you think a lean-muscle aesthetic is preferential. Generally, I'd agree that it *is* preferential. But that isn't a reason to doubt Hero or act like this is a big deal, particularly because Hero has definitely been heavy before.

No one is claiming Hero looks like he's about to be on the cover of a fitness magazine or that he's the picture of (as Bill would point out, the societal construct) of health. But having a gut doesn't mean he's going to blow up 5 minutes into a match. It doesn't mean he suddenly isn't a good wrestler. It's a nonsense argument to say otherwise. Hero doesn't need to be at 12% bodyfat to maximize his wrestling potential.

Paige is terrible on the mic. AJ gets the same treatment as everyone else nowadays. She's automatically a face if people are interested.

If appearances don't matter, you're saying you'd get the exact same enjoyment out of Kawada if he wrestled his entire career in a chicken suit. I'd get more enjoyment out of that probably too. Especially when he does the thing where he grabs the head and kicks a lot. Wasn't the difficulty in eating vegan on the road why Daniel Bryan stopped strictly adhering to it?

I don't know if it'll get that big, but I can certainly see it happening. Ambrose's return got a huge pop and he was the best performer last night by a country mile. Reigns is very over too though, so I don't see the fans turning on him any time soon.

Twelve years and a drug policy will do that.

Dick Murdoch can go fuck himself I guess. Murdoch looks like an ass kicker. Hero doesn't, which doesn't really work when your gimmick is that you knock people out. I think there's a big difference between fat guys who drink beer and guys who just look out of shape. I see a lot of people being up Dusty as a counterpoint to Hero, but even in his later days Dusty was a big dude. Yeah he was fat but he had big arms, shoulders, etc. Hero just looks weak. He might be a great wrestler but you run the risk of making it look like anybody can do this job when you put people who look like that on TV. This aesthetic argument I do get. Hero's KO gimmick probably looks better when he's lean or if he bulked up.

Kinda scary how fast that happened, but why should I care if he can still perform? Remember how much better Big Show is when he's only billed as 500lbs? Less weight, more conditioning, more conditioning? Better matches. Big Show is about seven feet tall and has huge weight swings that are going to massively effect mobility. Hero has shown he can still perform even when he gets heavy. Not saying that there's zero effect, but looking fat doesn't mean you can't go out there and put on a show. Like someone said, Dick Murdoch, and scores of other great wrestlers at that, can go fuck themselves, right?

Kinda scary how fast that happened, but why should I care if he can still perform?

Vader got my vote, but there are obvious issues as lots of people pointed out. I'd add that if I were running a territory, I'd rather have Andre.

You can say Wendy's is better than McDonald's when it comes to burgers and food, just like you can say WCW in 1992 was better than WWF in 1992 when it comes to wrestling. Promotion, advertising, previously built up consumer bases, those are important if you're looking at a business perspective. Business and product discussions are not one in the same. The discussion of WWF vs. WCW can involve business numbers, but if you do you're changing the conversation.

Orton can have good matches in the right situation. His series with Christian in 2011 was genuinely good. He's had a couple good matches with Daniel Bryan in the last 14 months or so (albeit, as many dull matches as good ones). But other than that, no one has had as much go away heat with me as Randy Orton over the last decade. Terrible promo, usually a boring wrestler, worse character. I agree so much with the artificial comments and the Meltzer mention. Orton doesn't seem like a superstar. Cena seems like a superstar, obvious. Batista carries himself like a superstar. Orton doesn't.