Parties

Favorite two Muraco matches I've seen are: Bob Backlund vs. Don Muraco [Texas Death Match] (Madison Square Garden, 9/21/81) Junkyard Dog/Ricky Steamboat vs. Don Muraco/Mr. Fuji (Landover Cap Centre, 8/17/85) Both were on my ballot for SC's 50 Best WWF/E matches. Texas Death was in my top 10, the tag near the bottom of the ballot, but still very entertaining. Muraco won't make my list, but I haven't seen him have tons of lousy matches or anything. I realize this is faint praise that we aren't supposed to be using, but he's a better candidate than many of the other workers who have threads. Is the backlash people holding the gassed-up tie-die era of "The Rock" against him?

I’ve never bought the Reigns conspiracy theory. Let’s hold three thoughts in our heads at the same time. 1) They’re usually lousy at booking, even though they’ve proven they can at times be good at it. In their minds, Reigns going a win streak and having months of good matches doesn’t count as “a storyline”. Hence indulging Vince’s creepy child stalker obsessions. 2) They don’t want anyone on their roster - even the top babyface of the future - to get “too big”. “Too big” meaning he develops any sort of ego/backbone/resistance to what the company wants. Loss described this beautifully on a Good Will Wrestling about “fixing the WWE”. Vince/HHH are trying to prevent ever having to again deal with another Punk, or Lesnar, or even another post-2001 Austin. Recognizing their resentment of having to treat their workers like valued adults is crucial to understanding why “no one’s over” right now. "No one getting over" is entirely intentional. 3) Vince and co. are of the impression - wrongly - that in the ‘7 hrs of TV’ era, it’s impossible to book a title chase for longer than say… three months? And that those three months should always be Rumble to Mania? They feel the need to turn the burner down on Reigns until the end of the year. Barring disaster, they’re almost certainly leading to him winning the title in Cowboy Stadium. Possibly against Rollins, which is actually a pretty great culmination of a 1-2 year storyline (albeit one that would have been better if they hadn’t already wrestled in so many meaningless RAW matches). And helps legitimize Rollins as the top heel whose year-long title reign is ended in dramatic fashion by the new company ace/guy he screwed to win the title in the first place. It would have been better if they’d booked the Authority to be dodging Reigns all year and have him climb the ladder/seek revenge, but that may still happen post-Summerslam. And if they hadn't already wrestled so many meaningless singles against each on TV, but this company's hopeless in that regard and can't help but hotshot every viable match they've got (save the programs of part-timers like Lesnar, HHH, Taker, Sting). Only problem is that it would require Steph/HHH to depict at least some intimidation/fear of Reigns, which they've been unwilling to offer any babyface for years.

Smackdown has Rollins and Cesaro work each other twice, first in a singles and then a tag. Being worked like a dog on SD doesn't count as a push, and I generally think it's lazy booking when they have guys work twice after the first match is DQed, and makes the show look like it's being done on a lower budget than it really is, but it's become an almost weekly go-to move on SD. Instance #456 this year of Vince thinking most of his roster isn't good enough to be on TV, but at least Cesaro is for the moment in the group deemed worthy.

Before hearing the Isley Bros track, I chose to view this title as a Between the Buttons compliment to Exile on Badstreet. A show titled Goat's Head Soup devoted to Danielson and other epic rural beards throughout pro wres history awaits.

Even the 80s Joshi I've seen is limited to a handful (what's a handful: 15? 20?) matches, mostly random things from 79-81 with Yokota, Tsunoma, Sato, Ikeshita. Shooting around Youtube, I like what I've seen from all of them, and it strikes me as more of a Funks/Robinson/Baba style than anything where people are busting out swords and boxes. But I've also seen the two Dump vs. Nagayo hair matches and totally loved them, largely for the incredible crowd heat and post-match chaos, and because I found both to be so good in their roles. Dump seems to rely heavily on plunder, and certainly wasn't Billy Robinson out there, but obv. not everyone needs to be. I can get down with a weapons-minded brawler who eats people up. I have a love-hate fondness for Sheik and Abby carving people up in the Tag League. I just thought it sort of came out of nowhere in these Hokuto matches and didn't build to anything. Aja has some killer offense, but I often find myself bored during her 2000s matches that I've seen. Certainly not trying to gloss over context: I don't know the context of these matches. I'm making assumptions about who's a face and who's a heel, while recognizing that either/or dynamic may not apply. Kandori = Kawada? was a question, not a declaration. I may try to read up on them, but just to in good fun play devil's advocate: weren't you the guy who was asking why one should be expected to know the whole history of Cena's career to properly assess his Canadian Destroyer? (Or I'm wrong and that was Parv?) I don't speak Japanese and couldn't gather anything from the pre-match promos, or Hokuto getting on the mic to presumably tell her opponent to 'woman up'. But if there's key information to those matches that would change one's viewing of them, all the more reason for me to learn and keep watching. Re: melodrama, I had kind of the same thought: is it really fair for me to criticize any wrestler for being too passionate, or selling too much? It's rare, but I think it happens. I find Nakamura's shtick pretty lame for the same reasons, and he's universally loved. Same for Mayumi Ozaki in the 3 or 4 matches of hers that I've seen. Ditto the Rock, CM Punk, post-return Michaels, post-2000 Flair. Viewed in a more favorable light, I could say that each is playing to the rafters, and that their mannerisms could look very different live. But I'd be viewing Hokuto's quirks differently if I thought her in-ring work was better (in this very limited scope of 4 matches). If I was sold on her bell-to-bell wrestling, I'd (hopefully) go along for the ride on certain character choices. And in spite of all that, I definitely want to watch more of her. The ambiance of these matches is off the charts (the Kandori match in particular looks more avant-garde in its presentation than anything that anyone's doing now, 20 years later), and Hokuto has a unique charisma in spite of my criticisms. I don't think Hogan or Austin are top 100 workers either, but their stardom is undeniable, and Hokuto seems easy to watch in the same way that a big Hogan or Austin PPV match is easy to watch.

Akira Hokuto vs. Mimi Shimoda (AJW, 8/30/95) Did they not have count-outs in this promotion? Really dull match aside from Hokuto’s coolish surfboard variation. Otherwise this was just a heel who seems much higher on the food chain than the grinning, clapping babyface who gets mauled. Joshi at its worst often feels sadistic: one woman beating the hell out of another so that the recipient can prove she’s tough enough. Thank you m'aam, may I have another? Which isn’t to say that this isn’t also a dumb structure when it’s done by dudes with lighttubes in CZW. Almost spot for spot this was way too similar to the Toyota and Kandori matches, taking the worst from each (overelaborate and undersold high spots from Toyota, shrugged off limb work and reckless head drops from Kandori). Followed by the worst Diamond Cutter ever and kickouts of several more headdrop finishers. Hokuto’s Fisherman Buster at the end was pretty nasty, but otherwise the finish was never in doubt. Aja Kong & Bull Nakano vs. Akira Hokuto & Kyoko Inoue (AJW, 6/3/93) Nakano wearing a frayed Grateful Dead shirt throughout is already the best thing I’ve seen in a Hokuto match. Kong always hitting people with weird aluminum boxes seems roughly as lame as Tommy Dreamer hitting opponents with plastic garbage bins. Nakano was actually great throughout this: she had a peak Takayama vibe to her kicks and slams, but with more range of motion. Her segments with Inoue really worked as the two of them both showed a lot of fire. Good headlock from Kong, he said in search of praise. Nakano continues to look good when paired with Hokuto, even doing a good job of feeding herself for Hokuto’s subpar armbars. The spot of Inoue and a ring girl holding Nakano against the ropes so that Hokuto can hit her with a sword was terrible. If Iizuka, Yano, or Eric Young did that tomorrow, everyone would shit on it. Nakano's also really agile in taking Inoue’s offense, especially her headscissors. Inoue runs up the ropes and hits a falling back elbow that Shelton Benjamin couldn’t have done on the best day of his career. Felt like the tag format helped everyone here as they were able to have an entertaining showdown rather than trying to go out and have the Most Grandiose Experience in Queendom History. Really awesome finish to this. By far the best of the four big Hokuto matches that I’ve seen. I'll definitely be watching more Nakano after this, and probably more Inoue too. So far, not impressed with Hokuto at all. Almost everyone she been in the ring with has looked better than she does. She’s been built up to me as the Bret Hart or Flair of her division, but in these four matches she comes off more like Sting, or some HBK/Taker hybrid.

Except for when "awesome" NJPW sensation Rocky Romero does a variation on it that's 20x dumber than Ambrose's.

Aside from the Rockers at Mania (which is very good) - what else do they have in terms of must-watch matches? I'm generally less inclined to vote for teams who were only/mostly good in five minute TV squashes. Unfair to them given that they weren't given the push they probably deserved, but that's life, babe.

I've seen very little 90s Joshi. I love most of the 80s stuff I've seen, especially the '79-81 era. But even Aja Kong – often held up as the best of her era – has never done anything for me. In prepping for a top 100, I have a list of 20 or so “legend” workers going who are routinely held up as elite all-timers, but who I've never really gotten around to watching in depth. Hokuto is on that list. Akira Hokuto vs. Manami Toyota (AJW, 2/9/95) First five minutes of this are completely ridiculous by today’s standards. Of course Meltzer gives it five stars: it’s a Kobashi match on fast forward. Toyota very early on goes for a dropkick off the top rope to the concrete where her toes graze Hokuto, leaving Toyota to take a flat back bump from ten feet high straight to the floor. Yet somehow this leaves Hokuto devastated, while Toyota immediately springs to her feet to jump back into the ring. This improved once they got in the ring, but most of Toyota’s act still looked like total overkill. Nice sharpshooter from Hokuto, but I didn’t get why she was allowed to just remove Toyota’s hand from the rope after a clear rope break, then go right on applying the hold. Toyota was good at the Kobashi-Style wheelbarrow whirligig move. She applied it in a way that looked like she was grinding down on Hokuto’s head and neck each time they spun forward. That table not breaking actually made the dives look better than they would have. I can understand why Toyota’s been deemed excessive/annoying/etc: she has the goofiest moveset I’ve seen in ages. Almost everything she does here seems like it would obviously hurt herself more than her opponent. I really don’t mean to be so incredulous, but is this still a revered match, or one of those things that’s been dismissed as a product of its time? I can understand how this would have been deemed “epic” among 90s tape traders (weapons, excessive head drops, women more talented than Alundra Blayze), but as of now I much prefer Jackie Sato and Jaguar to this stuff. Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori (AJW, 2/4/93) This is a big improvement from the word go, though I could have done without Hokuto grabbing the mic and screaming epiphets ten seconds in. Kandori looks like a killer: is she supposed to be the Kawada to Hokuto's Misawa? (Is Toyota then some ghastly amalgam of Kobashi and Ultimo Dragon?) Hokuto's screaming-crying selling wears thin real fast. If I wanted to hear the sound of Louis Anderson whimpering, I'll go visit him at the local shelter. Kandori completely outclassing Hokuto early: solid elbow smashes, some very good throws, and a completely brutal leglock. Reversing a Tombstone while standing on a table is absurd, but at least the result came off as a potential KO. Halfway in, it feels like Kandori's having a badass fight while Hokuto keeps trying to take it in the direction of weak Attitude Era crowd brawling, in an effort to get in spots that reek of Okada. I appreciate that this is an unbelievable bladejob from Hokuto, and that she's selling the fatigue of it hard. That said, it drags down the match to have her resting on the floor, struggling to grab the railing for minutes at a time. It's just too long for someone to be recovering outside the ring, especially in a big time main event. I liked the submission counters in the middle, but Kandori again feels better at them. Turns out the world's best Kurt Angle is an small Japanese lady. (JK: Alexander Otsuka remains the world's best Kurt Angle.) Finish is both good and bad in that they both admirably sell exhaustion and are throwing badass strikes, but didn't totally work for me in that Hokuto's melodramatic overacting continued and the actual deathblow didn't feel decisive.

Corbin was def. who I thought of when I read that. Bo continuing to do his gimmick but just kind of letting himself go physically would be fun. "Just Bolieve" isn't that far removed from "Find me" or "We're here".

I'm not even sure what him changing his style to "modernize" or get with the times in the 90s/2000s would have looked like. Don't see him becoming a Flair/Funk guy doing tons of bloody hardcore brawls. Really wouldn't have wanted to see him as broken down vet jobbing to the likes of Sasaki and Nagata, and that's rarely how Japan works anyway. Stylistically the ideal might have been for him to leave New Japan earlier than he did (say 98/99 after his retirement into his NJ office gig) and become for BattlARTS what Hamada was to M-Pro.

He also has stuff like his incredible '06 match with Nishimura in MUGA that shows that he could still have a MOTYC twenty-five years past his prime. Especially given the style he worked, he's been incredibly durable.

Don't mean to derail this (awesome show BTW!), but as much a question for the guys on the show as anything: it was said here by Dylan (and I think others agreed) that Brock has not been a draw, and has in fact been a waste of money. Has a contract so steep it's actually offensive to your roster, has not improved ratings (they've in fact gone down), arguably hasn't helped the Network, doesn't work house shows, etc. He gets people talking on Facebook, but has that in his case translated into revenue? Which got me thinking: aside from Cena, is there anyone else who's been a true draw in American wrestling in the last 10-12 years? (There's undoubtedly been a thread for this, but I could not find it in searching.) I would think Rey, but I don't know if his draw was the same post-2006 title win once he started really getting plagued with injuries. You could argue the Hardys, given their popularity and ability to draw abnormally large crowds to indies. Plus Jeff being the only TNA star who's been over for years. Batista gets credit at times, but I don't know how much he moved the needle show-to-show. "Battle of the Billionaires" is always talked about as the money match of recent years, so maybe Vince? I'm sure there are people here who will pick Bryan and Punk, but I'd say Punk turned off casual fans and seemed to do weak business with everyone but Ryback, while the Bryan thing was huge but is sometimes dismissed as "just a meme" given that he allegedly didn't help buyrates/merch/ratings at all.

Yes. That and getting beat up in some kind of street fight in LA the weekend of Summerslam '13. But long before any of that, his planned MITB win was suddenly given to Swagger at Mania 26. Shortly after that his visa expired and he had to leave the US for a while to renew it, which they made into a storyline. He briefly held the tag titles with Cody later that year, but he was really done as an act they cared about by the end of 2010.

So: better or worse than that time a Bryan-Orton title match PPV main event went off the air with no finish because Big Show slowly walked to the ring and KOed each guy with one punch apiece?

Jesus, they're not turning him heel. He got the biggest babyface reaction of the night. WWE is just really bad at booking faces seeking revenge. I'm going to Summerslam and either won't see Brock at all, or will see him rehash a D+ match he had with a lousy, washed-up old guy. Have to imagine it'll be even better two years later!

His “advocate” Paul Heyman? If you're gonna dismiss all old-school wrestling/sports words, at least come up with a better crop of cheesy alternatives.

I like this Rollins-Lesnar hype video, even though they've already played it like three times since pre-show started. Tells the full four month story and makes Rollins look both chickenshit and credible, which is the correct character.

Charlotte being called “perhaps the most athletically gifted Diva ever” while fumbling a standing switch was something. I liked that the finish was booked in such a way as to keep Banks strong, and have you think she by all rights should/could have beaten the one who did win. Reigns-Wyatt was well executed in-ring by both guys. That doesn't keep it from being the wrong match, wrong feud, wrong back-and-forth "competitve" pace. Reigns needs to be Goldberg, killing people in squashes. Description above of Wyatt as "the cooler" who main eventers feud with when there's no room for the main event is correct. I don't know what his future can possibly be going forward, except possibly as a Kane-level guy who stays around for fifteen years having solid-but-meaningless matches and perhaps getting a perfunctory world title run a few years from now. Wyatt's routine has also really killed the heat in his matches, as people now expect screwy, lame interference in all of his wins. That amazing match with Bryan at Rumble '14 seems something of a carryjob now, though I do think Wyatt can be good as a tag worker and that him and Harper would work as dominant champs in that division.

Big E throwing Young so hard over the post that he hit the cameraman was awesome. Young had a good belly to belly, gutbuster, and backdrop suplex on the apron here. Solid defense that left both teams looking good. Everytime I think that Paige mic work is bad, I try to remember that she's only 22. Lynch and Charlotte were just as awkward, but the pinky swear was the capper.

Sam Mushnick props in a 2015 Stephanie promo. Public Relations is a funny thing, folks. “This is me reaping.” Goddamn I love Big E.

Good selling, slow pace. Liked the superplex a lot, and Orton gets credit for actually working like a face. Match had several strong points: not exceptional, but good. Actually sort of felt like a solid house show Bob Orton match. Went 18ish mins and sure felt like it, but I actually liked that they gave it time. Only real beef was that the sudden nature of the finish really didn't work for what had just happened. Your legs and back are destroyed, so you suddenly hit your finisher that requires you to leapfrog in the air and take a back bump.

R-Truth vs. King Barrett: Barrett should win, and I expect him to. Not sure what their reasons for shitting on Barrett have been, but there's no reason for Truth to win here. Sheamus vs. Randy Orton: This was just announced as the kickoff. Match only makes sense if it has any ramifications for the future, which it probably won't. Sheamus should win, but I actually think they'll give it to Orton given their usual booking of “guy holding prestigious title/award can afford to lose” and “face always wins first match in a feud.” Prime Time Players vs. New Day: No idea where they're going with this, and it doesn't seem like the tag stuff is booked more than a few hours before each show. Division has lost its mojo since that bad Chamber match. I see PTP retaining on the strength of Titus burying JBL on commentary. Dude's very entertaining and it seems like they've recognized that he can talk. New Day need to be kept strong in some fashion here: I'd like them to lose, but then beat down PTP after the bell in a way that warrants a blowoff with stips at Summerslam. Brie/Sasha/Charlotte: Charlotte wins to build her as Nikki's opponent, perhaps as soon as Summerslam. Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt: Like everyone else, I dread the idea that this feud could continue. I'm picking Wyatt largely to maintain a face/heel win balance, and because I think it gets rematched at Summerslam with Reigns getting his revenge and Sting in some ref/enforcer spot. I could even see Reigns getting DQ-ed here for kicking too much ass. Regardless: I predict this match will have the worse booking of the night. Allegedly this is where Sting shows up. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens: I think there's a lot more money in Owens vs. Cesaro at Summerslam, and really don't know why this Owens feud happened if he isn't taking the title. That said, the booking hasn't been in his favor recently. I hope I'm wrong, but Cena's the safe bet, leading to either Cena doing his traditional Summerslam clinic with Cesaro, or a three-way with the two of them and Owens. Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins – I again hope I'm wrong and that Brock wins it to build to a Reigns rematch. But it's too easy to book some kind of distraction, be it Authority or Taker. Rematch at Summerslam? Or god help us, Rollins-Taker? If Seth retains, they'll need to book something that leads to his SS opponent(s). I can't see HHH booking himself into a title match main event at Summerslam, which is another case for Brock winning, but I just don't think they're yet done/satisfied with Seth on top.

Wait...Sydal left on bad terms, but PJ Black and Hero didn't? And I'm convinced Baretta only lasted as long as he did was because they forgot he was on the roster. Pretty sure they don't care if he's used at all. And Galloway is a current TNA guy. Sydal got a bad rep for being a guy who "screwed up his career with drugs" and the Vince stigma around guys who are "injury prone". Probably unfair, but that was the knock. Hero is a guy who everyone in NXT loved, but who someone decided didn't have their idea of a good look for wrestling, and was red flagged from the moment he arrived for failing the medicals. Which has been a career mark against Hero, even if it's a BS critique against any wrestler, esp. in a company now pushing Steen this hard. Galloway is with TNA, which I'd forgotten as I don't watch the show. I certainly associate him more with Evolve given his recent role there. Plus I was just reminded that he had that really dumb incident where he lost a bar fight and showed up to the hotel at 5AM the morning of Summerslam '13 looking like hell. So sure, I could see them thinking he's an idiot. Plus the Terrell fight and the perception that he blew an incredibly big Vince-supported push on Smackdown. That said, he as much anyone in recent years is a guy who they missed the boat on. None of this changes WWE's more sweeping views of the landscape: they think TNA tarnishes most guys, especially someone like Aries who they've never liked. They resent that ROH got a TV deal and are doing things to mess with them. One of which is some kind of mild bankrolling of WWN. Sapolsky's a Heyman guy, and I'm sure he sees it as an ECW situation where they can pay him $1000 a week to serve as a consultant who emails them ideas while offering them a good pool of talent. My point was that I think Evolve is producing better young talent than ROH is right now: I have no idea if WWE agrees.

Is flagrantly stealing DX and NWO gimmicks and doing them really badly now considered savvy "meta" commentary? That's a low bar to set for modern wrestling. I will say that their act seems to work better live in front of hot crowds than it does on tape, in that when you're in the crowd, you can see the comedy and enjoy it as ridiculous. That said, their recent run in NJ has been horrendous, and I don't know what else they'd have to coast into a top 25 on.