tholzerman

Caprice Coleman vs. Jason Collins, Scenic City Invitational Night One 8/7 ACH vs. Lance Hoyt vs. Ricky Starks, Inspire Pro Wrestling Undeniable 2/15

THIRD TIER Goldust vs. William Regal, Superstars 8/27/10 Mickie James vs. Tara, Impact 12/9/10 The Miz vs. John Morrison, RAW 1/3/11 Madison Eagles vs. Manami Toyota, King of Trios 2011 Night 3 Sheamus vs. Mark Henry, SummerSlam 2011 Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose, FCW 9/18/11 Rachel Summerlyn vs. Jessica James, ACW Guilty by Association 6 2012 Hallowicked and Jigsaw vs. the Briscoes, ROH Homecoming 2012 Sara del Rey vs. Mickie Knuckles, AIW Girls Night Out 5 2012 Drew McIntyre vs. Zack Ryder, Superstars 3/10/12 Kevin Steen vs. Eddie Kingston, Chikara Hot off the Griddle 2012 Randy Orton vs. Kane, Extreme Rules 2012 Frankie Tucker vs. Derrick King, 5/25/12 from an unknown show somewhere in the Deep South, I reckon (or maybe Indiana? Kentucky? I don't know) Jessicka Havok vs. Athena, ACW Queen of Queens 2012 Fred Yehi vs. Najassism, PCW 7/7/12 Joseph Park vs. Bully Ray, Impact, 7/12/12 Fred Yehi vs. Davey Richards, PCW 7/20/12 Sara del Rey vs. Hailey Hatred, AIW Girls Night Out 7 2012 Willie Mack vs. Sami Callihan, Battle of Los Angeles 2012 Drake Younger vs. Mustafa Saed, SPW 9/16/12 Leva Bates vs. Kalamity, WSU Full Steam Ahead 2012 Sami Callihan vs. Davey Richards, PWG Failure to Communicate 2012 Kahagas vs. Damien Wayne, NWA Houston 11/9/12 Team Orton vs. Team Ziggler, Survivor Series 2012 CM Punk vs. Ryback, RAW 1/7/13 Young Bucks vs. Kevin Steen and El Generico, Battle of Los Angeles 2013 Mike Cruz vs. Vordell Walker, Vintage Wrestling WrestleBrawl 4 2013 Kyle Matthews vs. Vordell Walker, RPW 1/20/13 ACH vs. Prince Ali, AAW The Chaos Theory 2013 Arik Royal vs. Cedric Alexander, CWF-MA 1/26/13 CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho, RAW 2/4/13 AR Fox and Samuray del Sol vs. Inner City Machine Guns, All Star Weekend 9 Night 1 2013 Frank O'Rourke vs. Drew Gulak, Wrestling Is Respect 2 2013 Sami Callihan vs. Matt Hardy, 2CW Living on the Edge VIII 2013 Ricardo Rodriguez vs. Zeb Colter vs. Big E Langston, RAW 4/29/13 The Colony vs. Devastation Corporation, Chikara Aniversario Never Compromise 2013 Sheamus vs. Antonio Cesaro, Main Event 6/5/13 Christian vs. Daniel Bryan, Smackdown 7/12/13 Eddie Kingston vs. Eric Corvis, Wrestling Is Cool Cool Party 2013 Alberto del Rio vs. Cody Rhodes, Main Event 8/14/13 Sami Zayn vs. Jack Swagger, NXT 9/4/13 John Cena vs. Damien Sandow, RAW 10/28/13 Damien Sandow vs. Dolph Ziggler, RAW 11/18/13 The Shield vs. Big E Langston and the Rhodes Boys, RAW 1/20/14 Piage vs. Emma, NXT ArRIVAL 2014 The Usos vs. the Wyatt Family, Battleground 2014 I watched alot of wrestling in the last five years

SECOND TIER Portia Perez vs. Allison Danger, SHIMMER 30 2010 John Cena vs. Batista, WrestleMania XXVI 2010 Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, WrestleMania XXVI 2010 The Osirian Portal and Drake Younger vs. the UnStable, Chikarasaurus Rex 2010 EL Generico and Colt Cabana vs. Kevin Steen and Steve Corino, ROH on HDNet 11/1/10 Sheamus vs. John Morrison, Survivor Series 2010 Eddie Kingston vs. Akira Tozawa, King of Trios 2011 Night 3 CM Punk vs. John Cena, SummerSlam 2011 ACH vs. Matthew Palmer, ACW Beyond Good and Evil 2011 Robert Evans vs. Portia Perez, ACW Guilty By Association 6 2012 Mike Quackenbush vs. Green Ant, Chikara the 13th Hat 2012 Mike Posey vs. Kyle Matthews, NWA Pro South 2/10/12 Portia Perez vs. Rachel Summerlyn, 2CW Girls Grand Prix 2012 ACH vs. TJ Perkins, SLA Gateway to Danarchy 2012 Midnight Sensations vs. Fusion DS vs. the Flatliners, ECWA Super 8 2012 Robert Roode vs. James Storm, Lockdown 2012 CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho, Extreme Rules 2012 Dash Chisako and Sendai Sachiko vs. Meiko Satomura and Kagetsu, Chikara Aniversario Horse of Another Color 2012 Super Smash Bros vs. Young Bucks, PWG Death to All But Metal 2012 Gran Akuma vs. Icarus, Chikarasaurus Rex 2012 El Hijo del Bamboo vs. Sexxxy Eddy, ISW Grand Theft Ottawa 2012 Mark Angel vs. Drew Gulak, Beyond Wrestling/SLA Double Trouble 2012 Allysin Kay vs. Mia Yim, AIW Girls Night Out 7 ACH vs. Mark Angelosetti, Chikara Ring of Wax 2012 Fred Yehi vs. Jimmy Rave, PCW 8/24/12 TJP vs. Sami Callihan, Battle of Los Angeles 2012 Team Sendai Girls vs. Team ROH, King of Trios 2012 Night 3 2013 Royal Rumble Match Fred Yehi vs. Corey Hollis, PCW 2/2/13 Jessicka Havok vs. Athena, WSU An Ultraviolent Affair 2013 Elimination Chamber Match, Elimination Chamber 2013 Biff Busick vs. AR Fox, Beyond Wrestling Studio Taping 3/10/13 Young Bucks vs. Dojo Bros, All-Star Weekend 9 Night 2 Ayumi Kurihara vs. Mercedes Martinez, SHIMMER 53 2013 CM Punk vs. the Undertaker WrestleMania XXIX 2013 ACH and TaDarius Thomas vs. C&C WrestleFactory, ROH Border Wars 2013 Hell No vs. the Shield, RAW 5/27/13 Ophidian vs. Amasis, Chikara Aniversario Never Compromise 2013 Daniel Bryan vs. Ryback, RAW 6/3/13 Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins, RAW 6/10/13 Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus, RAW 7/8/13 World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match, Money in the Bank 2013 Sheamus vs. Alberto del Rio, RAW 7/27/13 Estonian Thunder Frog vs. Drew Gulak, Wrestling Is Cool Cool Party 2013 Samoa Joe vs. Willie Mack, CWFH House Show 11/3/13 Kimber Lee vs. JT Dunn, Beyond Wrestling Tournament for Tomorrow Secret Show 1 2013 Rhodes Boys vs. Rybaxel vs. Real Americans vs. Big Show and Rey Mysterio, TLC 2013 John Cena vs. Randy Orton, TLC 2013 John Cena vs. Damien Sandow, RAW 1/13/14 Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt, Royal Rumble 2014 AR Fox and ACH vs. Inner City Machine Guns, DDT4 2014 Drake Younger vs. Chris Hero vs. Kyle O'Reilly vs. Johnny Gargano, DDT4 2014 Mickie Knuckles vs. Jewells Malone, WSU Mutiny 2014 Danny Cannon vs. Jay Freddie, Beyond Wrestling Feeding Frenzy Secret Show 1 2014 Eric Corvis vs. Hania the Howling Huntress, Beyond Wrestling Feeding Frenzy Secret Show 1 2014 Elimination Chamber Match, Elimination Chamber 2014 Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton, RAW 3/17/14 Team Tremendous vs. Candice LeRae and Joey Ryan, WSU Secret Show #4 2014 Barbi Hayden vs. Portia Perez, Inspire Pro In Their Blood 2014 Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn, NXT Takeover 1 2014 Antonio Cesaro vs. Dean Ambrose, Smackdown 7/25/14 Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins, SummerSlam 2014 Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins, RAW 8/18/14

Chronologically, of course FIRST TIER 2010 Royal Rumble Match The Colony vs. Lince Dorado, Pinkie Sanchez, and Tim Donst, King of Trios 2010 Night 2 Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler, Bragging Rights 2010 Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler, RAW 10/25/10 Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler, Smackdown, 10/28/10 2011 Royal Rumble Match Young Bucks vs. Kevin Steen and Akira Tozawa, DDT4 2011 1-2-3 Kid vs. El Generico, King of Trios 2011 Night 3 John Cena vs. CM Punk, Money in the Bank 2011 Johnny Kidd vs. Johnny Saint, Chikarasaurus Rex 2011 Night 1 Sara del Rey vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Chikarasaurus Rex 2011 Night 2 Mike Quackenbush vs. Eddie Kingston, High Noon Damien Sandow vs. Richie Steamboat, FCW TV 1/29/12 Kana and Lufisto vs. Hailey Hatred and Kalamity, SHIMMER 45 Athena vs. Mercedes Martinez, SHIMMER 45 Ayumi Kurihara and Ayako Hamada vs. Hailey Hatred and Kalamity, SHIMMER 46 Ayumi Kurihara and Ayako Hamada vs. Ray and Leon, SHIMMER 47 Gunner vs. Kyle Matthews, DSCW 3/30/12 ACH vs. AR Fox, AIW Straight Outta Compton 2012 Matthew Palmer vs. Rachel Summerlyn, ACW Peace, Love, and Anarchy 2012 Sara del Rey vs. El Generico, Chikara Hot off the Griddle 2012 Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus, Extreme Rules 2012 John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar, Extreme Rules 2012 Rachel Summerlyn vs. Jazz, ACW Queen of Queens 2012 William Regal vs. Dean Ambrose, FCW 7/15/12 Super Smash Bros. vs Future Shock vs. the Young Bucks, Threemendous III 2012 Spectral Envoy vs. Team ROH, King of Trios 2013 Night 3 The Shield vs. Daniel Bryan, Kane, and Ryback, TLC 2012 Chiva Kid and Arik Royal vs. Trevor Lee and Ric Converse, National Pro Wrestling Day 2013 Shaun Tempers vs. Kyle Matthews, A Nightmare to Remember III 2013 John Cena vs. CM Punk, RAW 2/25/13 TJ Perkins vs. Samuray del Sol, All Star Weekend 9 Night 2 2013 William Regal vs. Kassius Ohno, NXT 4/12/13 Daniel Bryan, Kane, and Undertaker vs. The Shield, RAW 4/22/13 Sami Callihan vs. Jessicka Havok, WSU King and Queen of the Ring 2013 Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton, RAW 6/24/13 Antonio Cesaro vs. Daniel Bryan, 7/22/13 Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk, SummerSlam 13 Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena, SummerSlam 2013 Antonio Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn, NXT, 8/21/13 Daniel Bryan vs. Dean Ambrose, RAW 9/9/13 The Rhodes Boys vs. The Shield, Battleground 2013 The Rhodes Boys vs. The Shield, RAW,10/14/13 Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton, RAW 12/16/13 Antonio Cesaro vs. William Regal, NXT 12/25/13 Mickie Knuckles vs. Kimber Lee, WSU Secret Show #3 2014 LuFisto vs. Athena, WSU Mutiny 2014 John Cena vs. Antonio Cesaro, RAW 2/17/14 The Shield vs. the Wyatt Family, Elimination Chamber 2014 Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro, NXT ArRIVAL 2014 Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H, WrestleMania XXX 2014 Charlotte vs. Nattie Neidhart, NXT Takeover 1 2014

There are only two ring announcers in my mind. Howard Finkel and Gavin Loudspeaker/Louden Noxious. Everyone else is just background.

Current Favorite Wrestler To Watch: Mickie Knuckles. She's certifiably insane, and the best part of both WSU secret shows I've been to this year. insane personality, great veteran instincts Last Fun Match You Saw: The four-way from DDT4 '14. I watched hte DVD Sunday, and that match was so innovative in its layout that I didn't mind the typical indie fighting spirit shit that was won't to happen when Gargano, O'Reilly, and Younger get together. Wrestler You Want To See More Of: Danny Cannon. I loved his secret show match from Beyond Wrestling. He had such a great energy in his one match, I wanna see if that carries. Last Live Show Attended: Chikara's You Only Live Twice. I don't know if you know, but my name was mentioned in a positive light during the actual show Match You Are Looking Forward To Watching Soon The Most: Since pairings for BOLA haven't been announced yet, and since Chikara hasn't even begun to name trios, I'm going with Lesnar/Cena at SummerSlam. Their first match was so fresh and edgy. But since that isn't even official, I'm going with LuFisto/Mickie Knuckles at the next WSU show. That match will be crazy, even if Knuckles is a bit hobbled right now. Last Fun Interview/Promo You Saw: RAW Monday. The Stephanie McMahon portion of the opening promo was excellent, especially her dancing and lip synching to John Cena's theme. Last Interesting Thing You Read About Wrestling:This love letter to the indies by Danielle Matheson was p. cool Last Worthwhile Wrestling Podcast You Heard: I haven't listened to any podcast in like two or three months, to be honest. Most Fun You've Had Watching Wrestling Lately: Probably the Chikara show. But Chikara shows are religious experiences for me.

A fresh distribution method. The 50s had network television. Rock 'n Wrestling had PPV. Monday Night Wars had cable TV. The next boom, if there is one, will be when the over-the-top delivery method reaches critical mass.

Yes, it can. Give characters who have capacity for charismatic speech time, and let the workers wrestle. AJ Lee (if she ever comes back) is a tremendous character who actually got over. Paige, Emma, Nattie, Charlotte, Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Naomi can work. Alicia Fox can do both. Kharma was a phenomenon when she was on the roster. Getting women over isn't rocket science. Fans want to cheer them. It's the sexist cacophony from the announcers and the limiting narrative that keep women behind.

As much as I ignore the business side of things when I talk about wrestling, I'd be foolish to say drawing was overrated. Companies have to stay open in order for the stuff I'm interested in like wrestling, promos, and the artistic side to happen, right? So it's really, really important. But, it's not the only thing that matters, and I do think people oftentimes have agendas when designating who or what draws.

Doink as a top heel would have been money in WWE. Matt Borne could work, and that character was so innovative and creepy. They pulled the trigger on a face turn for him way too early.

I agree in a bizarro universe where WWE and wrestling fans weren't racist as all get out.

I used to hate Randy Orton, but sometime around the beginning of summer last year, when he was putting in work in Shield six-man tags, I started to warm up to him. Then he turned and joined The Authority, and he put in the best character work that I've seen from him since I came back to wrestling in 2008. His snively little entitled shithead character as "Face of WWE" was brilliant, and when he was kissing ass to stay on Trips' good side, he found his perfect role. I like him okay now that he's just in the background. It's funny how he's taken such a backseat since headlining WrestleMania, but I enjoy him now.

Evan Bourne. Dude was red hot for a period of time in 2010, and people were going bonkers for him. He could have been the next Rey Mysterio. Part of his decline was probably size bias. Part of it was WWE's asinine 50/50 booking. Part of it was because he liked pot too much and got hurt too much. But man, that dude should have been in mains consistently.

So when you checking out some lucha there TH. When they add 24 more hours to the day.

My list right now is exclusively modern wrestling, concentrated in America, because that's where my habits are. 1. ACH - if ACH is on a card, I'm probably gonna check it out. He's not just a high-flier, but his acrobatics are so awesome that I need to see everything just to believe it. 2. Kyle Matthews - Dylan got me into watching more Southern wrestling, where I discovered Matthews. The next bad match he participates in will be his first. 3. Akira Tozawa - He rarely wrestles in America, and when he does, it's for goddamn Gabe, but he's the most expressive dude in the ring I've ever seen. 4. Daniel Bryan - Obviously he wasn't going to stay on my must-watch list forever because as he's more valuable to WWE, the less he wrestles. Plus all his stuff is pretty much available now, right? Still, if Bryan's wrestling on Main Event or Smackdown, I'm going out of my way to make sure I watch those shows. 5. Athena - She's always been one of the better competitors on a given SHIMMER weekend, but she's been on a warpath since she got back from injury. Great brawling, good technical skills, super fire.

Standards do change. It's an invariable fact of any sort of sports or entertainment medium. A power hitter in 1988 and in 1997 in Major League Baseball would have shockingly divergent thresholds for output, but the objectives and strategies to win have always remained the same. You can watch a game from 1988 and not be lost. Or 1968. Or 1962. Or 1927. At heart, baseball, is baseball, and whether the ball is live or dead, juiced or toned down, the objective remains the same. Okay though, that's baseball, which is a sport. Wrestling is athletic entertainment, but the objective has remained the same for the last 100 years or so. Two (or more) men enter into a match to tell a story. For example, I watched Starrcade '83 a couple of months ago for the first time. Matches finished with superplexes and flying body presses off the top rope, moves that would be used as transitional spots today. The variety of moves used in the matches was limited. Punches, kicks, and scoop slams ruled the day. But despite movesets being less than robust, each match felt like it could have happened in the modern era, especially the bloody violent Dog Collar match between Roddy Piper and Greg Valentine. That's not saying all the matches were good. Quality varied from each match, but the point is all of them could have happened on RAW (except the Dog Collar match for obvious reasons) and they would not have felt out of place. That show was probably the earliest wrestling show I've ever watched, but I also happened to tune into shows like WrestleManias I and II, the first Royal Rumble, and scattered, various matches here and there, and the template was the same. The most complex move I saw outside of the innovative stuff pulled off by the Jumping Bomb Angels was Jake Roberts' DDT, but each match still had a theoretical hook. Basically, the modes and norms stay the same, but the various standards for moves, acceptable violence against NPCs (especially women), and blood are the things that change. Basically, those things are dressings. You're always going to get people who look at the trappings and the historical oddities and claim those are the important things. Those points of view always make me laugh, mainly because anything that's easily changed obviously isn't part of the DNA of wrestling. It's all about engaging the viewer through the art of faux-fighting. It's always been that way. So whether the match finishes with a side headlock or a 630 senton, the main thing isn't the list of moves that got there, but the progression, the execution, the selling, and the hooks. Standards change, yes, but as long as you can recognize what those standards mean in the long term and know that you look for what the standards mean within the structure of a wrestling show, you'll be able to view a match from 1940 the same as one from 2010 despite the cosmetic changes.

Even if Dusty had/still has the book, I can't imagine NXT running with no agents or subordinates.

NXT seems to be better booked than WWE anyway, so that's definitely a factor in the disconnect between the two worlds. NXT Emma was a nuanced, self-absorbed yet naive character who couldn't help but be lovable in her airheadedness. WWE Emma is "wrestler's girlfriend #2982" biting off Santino's gimmicked finisher. Any wonder why the latter might not play as well in front of any audience, let alone one that's as expansive as the WWE's is compared to Full Sail?

I actually think if they wanted to find a formula that might have a snowball's chance in hell of appealing to a more wealthy demographic they should do the exact opposite. Turn up the misogyny, run with racism, go batshit with homophobia, transphobia, et....but make it all part of a transparently fake "evil" that to be overcome by a complex, but interesting, "babyface." Of course the key here is that you can only do this with much better writing, you would likely alienate a lot of current fans, and it very well could backfire. But making wrestling a live action Breaking Bad, or something that hipsters could feel comfortable fetishizing to the same degree is the only way I could see a wealthier demographic pulled in. Which is another way to say I think it's impossible. Well, Zeb Colter is fine, but you and I both know that he's not the problem. When John Cena and The Rock are feuding over who can call hte other one a girl in the most demeaning way possible, or when the announcers flat out mock anyone who isn't a white, cis, straight male, there's the bigotry that is ugly and unneeded. basically, if the heels were the only bigots on the show, I'm not sure the first point in my reply would really have applied.

1. Cut the misogyny, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and general bigotry. It shows. 2. Continuity and logic are important. 3. Highlight the "higher brow" celebrities who like the show. I could probably rattle off a bunch of other reasons, but yeah, perception means a lot.

I liked their matches at SummerSlam and Extreme Rules. The Wrestlemania one was a bit dodgy. That's coming from a single viewing of each though. I didn't see the SS or ER matches. I was speaking more from the builds from all the matches, which were the worst THIS BUSINESSings in recent WWE. No one in that feud except Lesnar came off looking good to me, not even Heyman. the cage match at ER is, IMO of course, fantastic. Well worth watching. I don't care much for HHH matches but I really liked that one I do have odd taste though. I think Taker-HHH at WMX7 is a masterpiece so..... I love the Taker/HHH X-7 match as well. It's the only good match they had at a WrestleMania.

I liked their matches at SummerSlam and Extreme Rules. The Wrestlemania one was a bit dodgy. That's coming from a single viewing of each though. I didn't see the SS or ER matches. I was speaking more from the builds from all the matches, which were the worst THIS BUSINESSings in recent WWE. No one in that feud except Lesnar came off looking good to me, not even Heyman.

Sloppiness is fine as long as the wrestlers work it into the match. What I hate are wrestlers scrambling to get into position to take a move, selling something that doesn't hit, or executing on a move so poorly that it looks like they're working impaired. Besides, the goal is to have the match look as realistic as possible, so some bumps in the road are to be expected. Just as long as the competitors sell appropriate/think on their feet/etc.

I resent the Triple H feud. Otherwise, Brock's return has been better than I expected, so yeah, he should grab that cash, son.

RAW and most weeks NXT is appointment viewing for me. Smackdown is expendable. I feel like RAW and NXT contain all the storyline stuff that one needs to watch in a given week for WWE because they're the main shows for each brand. If you wanna catch the best wrestling, you kinda have to watch everything, but sometimes, I don't get the chance. The Mrs. dominates TV on Tuesday, and I watch Agents of SHIELD anyway, so I don't get to catch Main Event live. It's hard to carve out time to watch replays AND get in all the required indie viewing I try to have too. In short, it's a brilliant time to be a wrestling fan because of all the content companies are producing, and you don't need to watch it all to be a knowledgeable fan.