MFoy

Hey everyone. I just posted a new episode of my podcast, in which Steven Graham and I give our lists of the top 10 ECW matches. Apologies for the background hum while I'm talking. My mic has never done that before so I don't know why it happened. I tried to minimize it in post without making my audio too low. Hopefully it's not too annoying. http://www.thecubsfan.com/2015/02/23/list-em-and-learn-episode-7-these-aint-no-holograms/ Direct download: http://thecubsfan.com/jvstw/List_Em_and_Learn_Episode_7.mp3

For anyone who's enjoyed my podcast in the past, there's a new episode up where Alan and I run down our lists of the top 10 WCW matches of the 90s. http://www.thecubsfan.com/2014/12/15/list-em-and-learn-episode-6-life-affirming-life/ Thanks! Matt

Apologies for the weird audio at the very beginning.

Justin Shapiro and I count down the top 10 WWE PPVs starting from 2000. http://www.thecubsfan.com/2014/10/05/list-em-and-learn-episode-5-looking-up-at-the-stars-ratings/

I just finished a new episode of List 'Em and Learn, counting down the top 10 WWF matches of the 90s with Joe Gagne and Alan4L. You can find it here: http://www.thecubsfan.com/2014/08/10/list-em-and-learn-episode-4-ladders-and-laundry/ Thanks guys!

I'm psyched to listen to this. This was the first WCW PPV I ever watched live (on TV, not in the arena).

I'm perfectly willing to admit that my Sopranos ranking is due to weird personal hangups.

Episode 2 is up. It's not wrestling-related so I'm not going to start a thread for it, but I figured I'd make mention of it here: http://www.thecubsfan.com/2014/06/24/list-em-and-learn-episode-2-a-lot-of-sand-the-top-10-tv-dramas-from-2000-2014/

I 'd say that if any show has lots of heel and face turns, it's Game of Thrones.

I think The Cubs Fan put it on the Justin Shapirshow feed for now.

I started a new podcast which is going to be based on making top 20 lists of various topics. It won't always be wrestling-related, but this first episode is. It features Alan4L, Justin Shapiro and me running down top 20 lists of the best United States-based workers from 2002 through 2014. Alan and I both have our own lists, and they probably won't align to the tastes around here, but I think it might spark some fun debate. It's the first episode, so please excuse some less-than-ideal audio quality. Let me know if you end up checking it out, because I'd love feedback to both the topic and the podcast itself. http://www.thecubsfan.com/2014/06/03/list-em-and-learn-episode-1-episode-1-part-1/

I should probably add that this sort of style is mostly a takeoff of Lucha Libre, which I have seen my share of and am familiar with, but of which I am not a big follower. I do think that the hybrid of the Japanese, Lucha and American styles that you see today best fits what I'm describing, but I'm sure that plenty of traditional Lucha matches would work in this argument as well.

Another thing that makes these types of matches impressive is the fact that unlike other athletically impressive shows, wrestling matches aren't meticulously choreographed on the vast majority of occasions. Sure, they plan out spots and try them out, but they don't rehearse an individual match over and over and over again, except in very rare instances (Hogan vs. Warrior I). The fact that these sorts of intricate spots can be come up with and executed without that sort of choreography makes wrestling a unique art form.

I'm one of those people whose answer was "it can't," and thus didn't post, but thinking about it more, I think the main thing that wrestling has to appeal to people with discriminating tastes is the way that it combines such a wide variety of talents and showmanship. A wrestling match combines incredible athleticism with thoughtful layouts and amazing timing. If you look back at mainstream articles written about wrestling during the 80s and even the 90s, you'll see a much more negative attitude taken toward wrestling and the wrestlers themselves than you do today. You'd often see the authors of said articles refer to the wrestlers as lowlives or some similar term, and mock its fakery and scumminess. While you sometimes still see that sort of stuff from older commentators, wrestlers for the most part have a lot more respect from the mainstream than they ever did, as far as their talents are concerned. These people still think wrestling is stupid and aren't interested in watching it, but they recognize wrestlers as talented athletes. The sorts of matches that really build on that notion are, to me, the fast-paced super innovative spotfest-type matches. As wrestling fans who have seen all kinds of wrestling for many years, we might watch a Dragon Gate match and see the lack of selling, or the overkill of big moves, but for an uninitiated viewer, it seems like the most incredible physical performance imaginable. A dragon gate trios match involves six incredible athletes working together to produce this often impeccably-timed run of incredible athletic feats, all with a level of stakes and emotional audience investment that you don't get from something like, I don't know, Cirque Du Soleil. It's not just Dragon Gate either. The Young Bucks vs. ReDragon match from last night's ROH show would have impressed the shit out of almost anyone who hadn't seen wrestling before. Even WWE has had matches like this. A non-fan who sees this wouldn't nitpick the selling. They'd merely be in awe of the performance, which is multifaceted even in a spotfest.

I definitely have noted that Game of Thrones features a lot of heel and face turns, and have described them as such.

I'll be there on Saturday too. I'm excited but slightly concerned about it being too long and burning out the crowd.

I would add ROH vs CZW from April '06. I think I liked it more than cage of death.

I liked Hogan vs Michaels a lot.

It doesn't fit your criteria exactly, but Bryan vs Michaels is a dream match to me.

Well cahoots is at least applicable outside of wrestling. Is workrate used in any other context?

What are some practical, real-world things that wrestling taught you that you still find useful now? I learned a lot about geography from watching wrestling. By the time I was 8, I knew 4 cities in Tennessee, and a bunch of Japanese cities that I wouldn't have heard of, otherwise. I learned subtle differences in regional American cultures and accents too. To this day, I have a much better grasp of American geography than a lot of people I know, especially considering that I don't travel very much.

We did another episode. You can find it here: http://www.thecubsfan.com/2014/04/24/justin-shapirshow-episode-8-30-talk/ And here's Justin's preview: "Whatshisface follows up with Matt F (Royal Pains) to see how things ended up working out with Daniel Bryan at the wrestling matches. Hope, euphoria, fear, doubt: these are all words that could appear in a list of examples of emotions. JMFDM also appraise Wrestlemania in an historical context and then, on a lark, end up hastily rebooking the territory for the last 29 years to verify whether previous Wrestles Mania lived up to their perceived standard in our popular new segment, Guest Booker: No One. A show so check it out."

As least for me, the problem isn't Kane as much as it is that Bryan's program is already third from the top, immediately after his big win. It continues the bad habit of not really giving the new babyface the ball, much like with Punk and others before him. I understand the extenuating circumstances, but if Bryan's not in the very top program after Extreme Rules, then they've already dropped the ball with him.

Honestly it depended on who he was wrestling in 07. When he first came back in May he was definitely positioned as a heel but he wasn't heelish at all in his June match against McGuinness. He was definitely 100% babyface by the Morishima match in August.

As far as Danielson goes, I almost feel like his 07 was as good as his 06. Granted, he missed the first third of the year, but from his comeback in May until the end of the year, he had a hell of a run, and he actually changed up his style a bit from what he was doing in 06. His 04 was pretty great too, with his match against Joe in October being one of the most underdiscussed matches of the decade in my opinion. I know Cena gets a lot of talk around here, but is there anyone else who contends for US worker of the 00s besides Danielson?