BillThompson

The more I think about it, the more I think they have decided to settle Bryan into Rey Misterio's spot. His current "guy who gets time to have a long match every week on SD" deal really put it into perspective for me. He's a guy who they can use to sell some merchandise, always stay over, headline some house shows on his own but never really run with him and always keep him in a botom of the top/top of the bottom role. Meltzer, I believe, has been reporting that Bryan is being protected because he's not holding up well body wise. Which, if true, is not a good sign and unless he changes his style Bryan will not be long for this company methinks.

Looking forward to it. And you jest, but I genuinely liked Messiah as a performer.

AIW's JLIT 2015 For what is considered the ultimate indy fed in North America, I'm not so sure they are putting on a more interesting lineup with their annual tag tournament. Actually think PWG stealing Gargano and Ethan Page for the 22nd increases my anticipation for this bad boy. I made this point on Twitter but I'm not sure if there are 3 wrestlers in the entire DDT4 (Gulak, Busick, and Sydal) that I'd consider clearly better than Little Guido in 2015. And not more than 4(Hero) on that entire card. While I think the percentage of interesting talent for AIW is bound to go down, I still think they have a good shot at surpassing DDT4 on overall, on paper quality and at the very least surpass that card in the intrigue factor. Is the independent intergender wrestling craze here to stay ? I mean how long can PWG continue ask male wrestlers to put over the Joey and Candice show ? The Joey & Candice team is why I quit watching PWG. Also the AIW tourny looks like another intergender deal , there are several women in the field. . I know I am old school but I think all of the intergender wrestling is going to have a negative impact on the business. I know some people enjoy watching women and men wrestle , but I think it is a very limited number. As long as Joe & Candice are super over they will continue to be booked together, against men.

Has anyone else here been following Bruce Tharpe's talk about NWA Classics? It's an over the top streaming service I am very much looking forward to.

Thanks

Just watched Flair/Eaton from 1990 (taped December 1989) and that's an excellent match I'd never been exposed to until now.

Didn't know where to ask this o I figured this topic would suffice. I'm big on proper labeling, it's an OCD thing I think. Either way, my question pertains to the TV show Main Event. I understand that it originally was called NWA Main Event. By 1990 was it still called that? I've seen it listed in some places as NWA orld Championship Wrestling Main Event and in others as WCW Main Event? So, in 1990, specifically for the famous Eaton/Flair match, what would the promotion be and the name of the show? I'm leaning towards it still being NWA as the promotion and Main Event as the name of the show, but I want to try and get this right. (Also, in the spirit of the new ways of the board I figured this could be the thread for general questions and comments about the NWA throughout the years.)

I'm okay with this as Fox has quickly become a wrestler I loathe having to watch. Besides, I'm sure they'll bring in another flippy dude to replace him.

A little of column A and B for me. I love watching wrestling; we're all here because we love watching wrestling. However, we're also here because of the discussions that spring forth from the watching. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't value wrestling as much as I do if I did not have an outlet to share my thoughts and discuss ideas and theories with others. However, I am interested in discussion, not proving that I'm right. When the discussions devolve into battles to prove who is right and who is wrong then I feel like discussion wrestling isn't worth it.

Who is your favorite working ace and why? I'll oblige and answer your question. My favorite working ace is probably Bret Hart. It came down to aura for him, and why I like his so much as an ace. His best there ever was mentality may have made him a bit of a monster backstage but the way he carried himself at all times he came across to a young me as the epitome of what a pro wrestler should strive to be. Then he had the matches to back it up.

I really wish WWF had truly gotten behind Vader in 1996. So much potential for a monster champ heel run, but they squandered over a pretty boy who liked to whine, complain, and leave a lot to be desired in the ring.

People thinking that the standards in what makes for a quality pro wrestling match have changed.

The VaudeVillians, love everything about their gimmick.

Don't quite have a top 5 as there's a lot I need to catch up on. However I think there's a clear #1 and that's Timothy Thatcher. We're only in April and he already has four matches I would consider MOTYC, and that's without checking out his WXW work yet. It's not just about that though, he's a guy at the top of his craft right now. I find everything he does interesting and dynamic, and he presents the complete package that I look for in a pro wrestler. The work is there, the high end stuff is there, the carry jobs are present, the top notch selling and bumping are present, he's charismatic (don't see why people think he isn't myself), and I'm excited every time a new match of his makes tape.

Wrestling is Dynamite Timothy Thatcher Chris Hero Getting to see an angle play out in long form in a satisfying way

You have made this point before about Tanahasi German , but I kept forgetting to respond. First off the German is Human Capture style with his arms not just waist locking but also locking the arms of his opponent at their side. This is key for two reasons. This suplex is in response to a person breaking free of the Dragon Suplex. This is a key set up move for High Fly Flow. If you are hit with a Dragon Suplex by Tanahashi your prospects of winning go down considerably. Thus it is reasonable for the opponent to struggle hard to break free of the Dragon Suplex. Since Tanahasi is the one of best modern wrestling strategists (DaWho5 would you back me up on that?) he counters with the Human Capture Suplex. Moving onto reason number two, the objective if pro wrestling is to pin a mans shoulders down for three. Knocking him out is just one way. A tight cradle or a bridging Suplex with your arms clasped to their side is also a great way. If you think about the chances of kicking out of Tanahashi Human Capture in reality is damn near impossible. The whole point of the move is not knock someone out, it is to pin him! The problem is he does not win any matches with it. That's a New Japan problem. Tanahashi's human capture Suplex is a brilliant counter that stays true to the spirit of pro wrestling. My wrestling pet peeve right now is people backlashing against Tanahashi because he is overpraised. Dave Meltzer & Co. can you please chill out so we don't have such a severe backlash against a great wrestler. Thanks in advance, brutha. The issue isn't him knocking a guy out, it's that he places a guy down like he's setting a glass of soda down on the table. Plenty of guys have used the Dragon Suplex, German Suplex, Straightjacket Suplex, etc. and managed to both hold a pinning position and make the move look like it carries impact. It goes beyond that though, because you have moves like his Moonsault where again, he floats onto the opponent in such a way that there's zero believability of that move causing any damage. I've already covered the strikes, but really when he throws his shitty Forearm strikes it's about as convincing as me winning a beauty contest. There needs to be some impact present, not knockout impact, but some impact so that I don't immediately think, "Well, that guy is a really shitty play actor." I'd also contest the whole Tanahashi being a great wrestling strategist, or him being great at anything really. I've actively disliked the guy since the moment I first watched him wrestle and find him to be an actively terrible professional wrestler. But, those are points for another topic. The objective is to pin the man. I have no idea why it matters how forceful the throw is in this situation. Does La Magistral Cradle have to be executed to wrench a person into place? I agree with you 100% that shitty or light strikes are awful and work against the match. I honestly can't think of a Tanahashi moonsault. If you are talking High Fly Flow, I think he hits that with pretty good impact, I love the urgency with which he gets into position for the move and how he doubles it up. What about his somersault from the middle rope, he fucking slams down on the opponent! I happen to not find his forearms as offensive as you do. They are not Misawa's but they connect. The only time I was taken out of a match of his was against Nakanishi and it was his stomps to the knee that clearly were not connecting. The fact you could immediately evaluate a wrestler on first sight is totally foreign to me, but more power to you, brutha. I'll post in Tanahashi microscope or GWE thread from now on. I've seen plenty of Tanahashi matches, and from the get go I didn't like what I saw. But, I gave him chnaces, and he kept bringing the same light as a father no impact offense. Add in his lackluster selling, bad timing, and inability to engage me and you have a guy who I feel comfortable in my assessment of.

You have made this point before about Tanahasi German , but I kept forgetting to respond. First off the German is Human Capture style with his arms not just waist locking but also locking the arms of his opponent at their side. This is key for two reasons. This suplex is in response to a person breaking free of the Dragon Suplex. This is a key set up move for High Fly Flow. If you are hit with a Dragon Suplex by Tanahashi your prospects of winning go down considerably. Thus it is reasonable for the opponent to struggle hard to break free of the Dragon Suplex. Since Tanahasi is the one of best modern wrestling strategists (DaWho5 would you back me up on that?) he counters with the Human Capture Suplex. Moving onto reason number two, the objective if pro wrestling is to pin a mans shoulders down for three. Knocking him out is just one way. A tight cradle or a bridging Suplex with your arms clasped to their side is also a great way. If you think about the chances of kicking out of Tanahashi Human Capture in reality is damn near impossible. The whole point of the move is not knock someone out, it is to pin him! The problem is he does not win any matches with it. That's a New Japan problem. Tanahashi's human capture Suplex is a brilliant counter that stays true to the spirit of pro wrestling. My wrestling pet peeve right now is people backlashing against Tanahashi because he is overpraised. Dave Meltzer & Co. can you please chill out so we don't have such a severe backlash against a great wrestler. Thanks in advance, brutha. The issue isn't him knocking a guy out, it's that he places a guy down like he's setting a glass of soda down on the table. Plenty of guys have used the Dragon Suplex, German Suplex, Straightjacket Suplex, etc. and managed to both hold a pinning position and make the move look like it carries impact. It goes beyond that though, because you have moves like his Moonsault where again, he floats onto the opponent in such a way that there's zero believability of that move causing any damage. I've already covered the strikes, but really when he throws his shitty Forearm strikes it's about as convincing as me winning a beauty contest. There needs to be some impact present, not knockout impact, but some impact so that I don't immediately think, "Well, that guy is a really shitty play actor." I'd also contest the whole Tanahashi being a great wrestling strategist, or him being great at anything really. I've actively disliked the guy since the moment I first watched him wrestle and find him to be an actively terrible professional wrestler. But, those are points for another topic.

This is a good point, and it's something I should have addressed in my original post. I'm not campaigning for stiffness, rather I just want moves that look like they connect with impact and do damage. Umaga is a great example, because from all accounts he worked super light. Yet, to the naked eye his offense looks like it makes heavy impact. His strikes are believable, his moves hit with power behind them. I never get the sense that Umaga is just setting a guy down, or that his punches are just tapping a guy. He works light, but he makes me believe that he's working hard or stiff. Tanahashi is the inverse, where he works light and is unable to convince me in any way that his offense isn't as light as it actually is.

Will's take on being the ace giving one a chance to be in more meaningful matches is spot on. At the same time I don't think it really matters to me if someone is an ace. I think the concept of the ace has been overstated to a large degree throughout the years. I mean, Shane Douglas was technically the ace for ECW for a few years, but I sure as shit never cared about what he was doing or thought his wrestling matches were worthwhile. For me it all comes back to the card mattering top to bottom, and the wrestlers and their performances mattering no matter their status in the company.

The seeming acceptance of moves that lack impact. This should lead into a big rant about why I think Hiroshi Tanhashi is a terrible wrestler, but I'm not going to do that. It's just, throw some fucking strikes that look like they actually hurt. Hit a German Suplex where it doesn't look like your gently setting your opponent down on a pillow. The concept is supposed to be that we're watching people compete against one another; when every move you execute is light as a feather and looks like it wouldn't hurt a fly you're really just making the business look bad. Yet people seem to accept this crap as being great. Number one though would be shitty gymnastics that expose the business. Johnny Gargano is one of the worst offenders when it comes to this, and AR Fox is catching up to him. I should never have to watch a sequence where you hold a Wristlock on a guy, walk the ropes, and then proceed to jump back and forth between the middle and top rope for a minute while the idiot in the Wristlock just stares at you. And people cheer for this shit, and think it's exciting. It's embarrassing, and watching it I want to throw up in my mouth at how wretched it is.

World Wrestling Network: Mercury Rising '15 (03-28-2015) Timothy Thatcher vs. Chris Hero Read my review of a fantastic match at Blue Thunder Driver.

Coming off of this weekend I now place EVOLVE Wrestling as the #3 indie promotion behind only PWG and NXT. The former top indie RoH keeps falling down the charts, but this isn't so much an indictment of RoH as it is a tale of how EVOLVE has started getting everything right. The only issue with EVOLVE (which is the same issue NXT shares) is that they are in actuality part of a larger whole. I think the World Wrestling Network is on the verge of becoming pretty big, for an indie at least, but I still like to differentiate between the promotions under that banner. Either way I think the Hero versus Grappler's Three storyline as well as the influx of new blood and tighter focus is what has led to EVOLVE progressing so rapidly. Basically even if you're like me and don't have much time for guys like Gargano and Ricochet then EVOLVE is a promotion you should be checking out. If you're like others and don't have much time for guys like Thatcher and Gulak then EVOLVE is a promotion you should be checking out. Gabe is doing a great job of presenting a varied promotion that is very easy to watch.

I'd say you're way off on the Mania match being 90% Brock. If anything that was a match split evenly down the line and I'd lean towards Roman being the better worker myself.

Speak of the devil, EVOLVE Wrestling: 40 (03-27-2015) Tommy End vs. Timothy Thatcher Read my thoughts on Blue Thunder Driver.

Current favorite wrestler to watch: Timothy Thatcher, by far. I find everything he does to be of the highest possible quality. From his vicious European Uppercuts all the way down to the way he can sell through his facial expressions. Match in and match out he manages to get the most out of whomever he's in the ring with, and he's consistently putting out MOTYC stuff. He's great, interesting, dynamic, and a lot of fun to watch while being as technically proficient as they come. Last fun match you saw: Chris Hero versus Drew Gulak, EVOLVE Wrestling: 38 (03-08-2015) Really fun match, a great bit of overall storytelling. It's the beginning of what I think is a fantastic angle, Hero showing how well he can work other styles, and Gulak showing why he's one of the best wrestlers in the world who doesn't get the recognition he deserves. Wrestler you want to see more of: ACH; I've only seen a handful of his matches, but he appears to be a guy who gets it. He's super over with kids, has a fun and energetic style, and is able to easily draw me into his matches. I'd like to see him wrestle a broader spectrum of matches to ge a better feel for how great he really can be. Last live show attended (if applicable/different from last time you answered): Haven't attended any since the last poll. Match you're most looking forward to watching: I'm working through the WWN Wrestlemania weekend shows presently and I'm really looking forward to Timothy Thatcher versus Chris Hero. The angle has played out swell so far, and I think these two could produce something special. Last fun interview/promo you saw: Not a promo really, but the CWA We Are Dynamite video that kicks off the 1990 Yearbook is a thing of absolute beauty. Last interesting thing you read about wrestling: Hmmm, lots. I really enjoyed our own Sammy D's (concrete1992) review of King of Indies. Last worthwhile podcast you listened to: Pretty much anything for the PTBN-PWO Network. Especially the Good Will Wrestling episodes leading up to WrestleMania this year. Most fun you've had watching wrestling lately: These EVOLVE shows, or Topgun Talwar in the early PWG shows. Talwar is super awesome as this out of control geek who has no idea how much of an overblown stereotype he actually is. The EVOLVE shows have been fun because it's an eclectic grouping of talent and the shows are kept to a time frame where I feel they are easier to digest. An interesting array of wrestlers, and I feel like this company has finally started to come into its own and is now the #3 US Indie behind only PWG and NXT, but ahead of RoH and the rest. And, in a sad attempt to spruce things up, two new ones: Favorite recent post on this board: Probably anything by Parv or Matt D, albeit for somewhat different reasons. Seriously though I don't always agree with Matt, but when he really digs into what he likes or doesn't like about a match I find him to be a fascinating read. Favorite thing about the wrestling landscape in the past three months (if you live in the past, then go with your past three months of time-traveling): The emergence of Timothy Thatcher and EVOLVE into something bigger than they used to be. Watching Thatcher gain new fans and blow away the myth that he's not over or is unable to attract reactions from the crowd has been a pure delight. Seeing EVOLVE put the pieces together and realize the company they want to be has been great to behold.