Laz

1. I'm actually split on Savage. If we're talking heel then we can't ignore the IC title run or his flying under the nWo banner, but we also can't ignore how little he added post- nWo. As a face he never set the box office on fire but some of the best moments of his career - Mega Powers, the snake bite, reuniting with Liz, and the wild antihero stuff pre-nWo - happened. He's a toss up to me. He played both equally well but the face turns wouldn't matter without the heel runs. 2. Ric Flair may be a god but he's a vengeful, spiteful, shitheel of a god. He's a heel more because you know you will never achieve what he has no matter how hard you work, he knows it too, and he won't stop reminding you. 3. His most entertaining stuff has all been from his heel runs - Nation, Hollywood - but subatomic's right: he's transcended. I guess I'm torn on him like I am Savage. 4. Angle plays heel much better than he does face, but it's hard to root against him because of how talented he is (at least to the casual fan, lest I be drawn and quartered for admitting I still love his work). '08 Angle in the build to LockDown and goofball trolling bastard for the first half of his WWF/WWE run were so effective that I can't vote for anything but him as a heel. 5. Foley walked that line between "smark" favorite and classic worker so well that he could turn from beloved face to psychotic heel on a dime during his peak in the '90s, but his ultimate legacy is defined by what he did post-KOTR '98 as a face. You can dislike him for being a whore for the business all you want but it's hard to fault the man or his passion or his results. 6. While I'm still high on his comeback years, much higher than most here, original DX HBK is something else. He's easy to hate. 7. Pro-Canada/anti-US Bret is some GOAT territory, and he had a few brief sparks of greatness in WCW (yes, I'm including the El Dandy promo). I've never been much a fan of his, truth be told, and I find him much easier to hate than I do Shawn because at least Shawn admits he was a piece of shit. Bret still plays the moral high ground when much of what he did was no better. I know this is based more off his real life persona than his one in the ring, but I can't separate the two when he seems delusional enough to think he was the character more than he was himself. 8. Bryan is a face through and through. Even his heel run in ROH just led to an epic face run against Morishima. It's really hard to boo somebody his size with that much skill who just comes across so genuinely likable outside the ring, even if he takes shortcuts and abuses the rules.

Also backing Jingus here. The way of teaching how to bump to new guys breaking into the business used to be under the guise of protecting yourself during a fall.

I think his rage is more blatant breaking of kayfabe in a "serious" show and old-timer never-were's refusing to admit the audience doesn't buy their shit anymore. Even something relatively harmless can aggravate you if exposed enough to it.

"Better looking than his wall-eyed friend" is how I forever will remember Ricky Morton.

There was a very entertaining Saturn/Raven match on that undercard, though. Maybe Saturn's highlight singles match in WCW. Also, Piper's face during his entrance and immediate barrage of eye rakes is a worthy sight.

Ether soaked rag is the one I absolutely hate the most. It's sound, in theory, but it always just comes off so poorly to me. At least the sledgehammer and guitars give you the basic "heavy thing being used as weapon" visual. Ether rags just give you somebody smothering a rag on somebody's mouth.

That was definitely a dream. Not just because you woke up, but because we all know Lawler does the Bathory method of staying youthful.

Roster: I'll probably say the ROH roster from 2006-2007. That gives me access to most of my favorite talent over the last decade and enough versatility to keep it fresh. This is including the CZW invaders that worked ROH shows as well as the imports. I'm picking Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, and Homicide as the primary ME guys; with Hero, Nigel, Aries, LowKi, and Daniels just below them; a tag scene that revolves around the Briscoes, KENTA/Marufuji, Styles/Sydal, Steenerico, Generation Next, and the Rottweilers; and the rest fitting where they may. Booker: A two-man team of Paul Heyman and Sheldon Goldberg, with Heyman there to do what he does best (accentuate the positives, hide the negatives, and hype everybody into a frenzy) and Sheldon to balance his crazier ideas out. Production: For whatever reason, I love the set up of the FMW ring from around 1999/2000. The extended apron is a must, at least, but maybe change the color scheme to match NOAH (that dull green with the black is subtle enough to not be distracting but different enough to catch the eye). An entrance set not unlike DragonGate's "two ramps turn to one" but saved for big shows, with a basic lighting rig and a multi-screen video wall will serve just fine for other shows. The cameras would be of standard modern quality, but with a slight hint of grain and color saturation added in post (think the MCU movies, where colors stand out but aren't too overwhelming). Instruct the camera guys to actually follow the action and not leave it to the talent to find them. Crew: Lance Russell on PBP, Mike Tenay to chime in under the "professor" schtick he did in WCW, and Jesse Ventura on color. Ring announcing by Fink. TV/touring: Run 2-3 "TV tapings" a month with an additional 2-3 "house shows," allowing the talent to accept smaller bookings on off days. Secure a weekly one hour block and edit the TV tapings accordingly, focusing on characterization, angle developments, and clipped matches to entice viewers to come out to get the full experience and offer full events on DVD/VOD. Have handhelds record the house shows in the event that a great match or moment happens, and toss enough story on there to further get the point across that you should come out to every show you can. That's not saying "swerve or surprise on every show," but keeping the air of unpredictability alive.

Just for the sake of argument, though, you should probably have an idea as to what the public thinks is sexy if you're going to push people on sex appeal.

That's the primary reason I usually rank that show so much lower than most. Trading a fairly well hyped match between Smith and RVD for the mediocre house show exhibition we got instead sours the whole night.

Currently active 5: Will Ospreay Kevin Owens (been in my faves since '07) Trevor Lee Joe Coffey Ricochet

That the (proven true) possibility of somebody not knowing somebody else escapes your grasp is hilarious.

It says something when it hasn't always worked for VKM, though, and he keeps going back to it.

Rumble '14 to WM30 is the obvious one. I also lost my shit when Punk beat Cena at MitB '11.

ECW had larger penetration in Japan towards the end of the '90s than during the middle due to the FMW deal alone, but FMW also wasn't a top dog.

All-conquering Superman babyface on top, rotating roster of heel challengers to try to take him down. EEEEVILLLLL authority figure (post-Montreal) who hates all faces, for some reason.

At its best, it had all the thrill of an important game/match in legitimate sports with the characterization and drama of movies/theatre. It's a middle ground between the two and, since I rarely watch real sport (only really when it's the Pats, Sox, or Bruins come playoffs), it gives me something to root for. I grew up watching action flicks. Arnold, Sly, yeah...but I really loved me some JCVD, especially his fighting tournament movies (Bloodsport, Lionheart, even The Quest). Wrestling, at its best, gives me that same feeling I had when I was 8 and wanted Chong Li to pay for nearly killing Jackson.

Grado. Specifically, his entrance. It's been so long since I've seen a crowd so unabashedly in love with a face that I can't help but smile.

How does an elevated Figure 4, which would affect the hamstring in addition to the knee and ankle, not make sense?

Reading your review of Benoit/Regal '00 makes me wonder if the bombfests we've had ad nauseum for the last 5-7 years has hampered our appreciation of just slightly older ones. Bombfests used to be the exception and not the rule, so they stood out more, but now they're everywhere so even good ones seem tired.

Agreed. I can pinpoint ROH really becoming a shell of its peak self to the HDNet start (Gabe may have shown a lot of burnout post-ROH/CZW feud but it got worse when they got TV). That way you sell the DVD to the hardcore fan by promising full and unedited matches but clip them down and highlight the characters/stories for the hour weekly episodes. It's likely a product of my age and exposure at the dawn of my teenage years, but I loved the ECW format. Clipping matches to show highlights but offering full videos of the events let viewers stay in the loop with the condensed version of events but also let them see the whole story unfold if they chose, and the FanCam stuff for "lesser" shows in the event of a great match/angle occurring, which would then be shown on TV, made it so that you felt it absolutely necessary to buy a ticket when they were coming around, even in the dying days. It was, and still is, quite a unique presentation (not even including the different camera angles or editing tricks) that helped cement the company's personality.

Everything you can say about fixing the product overall can be applied to the women. -Establish heroes and villains and reasons for them being so -Have reasons for feuds/rivalries beyond the superficial -Show us what motivates the talent to be here and not working a 9-5 desk job

I only stopped watching SmackDown after it moved to Friday night. That coincides with my being 19 and having a social life, meaning "fuck seeing Mr. Kennedy have a snoozefest with Batista, I feel like getting laid." I still hold Vengeance '03 in ridiculously high regard.

Really? It seems that most of the roster are supposed to be heels.

Weird. The boss has a favorite who consistently delivers.