G. Badger

I think the issue is that some wrestlers get lazy as they get popular OR some try to go for moves that they can't physically pull off but no one has the heart/guts to tell them. With the guys mentioned above, I don't think anyone in the locker room is going to say to Tenryu, Maeda, Sabu etc., "hey man your big move looked like shit tonight." This is especially true if they are at the top of a promotion. From a business standpoint, I'm not going to pass up a big star just because a move or two looked awkward either. So why do wrestlers with less than stellar execution make it big? We as fans make those flubs or idiosyncrasies part of the character. I have consciously done it with Manami Toyota for instance. Or Marufuji is another one...attributing a gaff to his or her in-ring character OR out of the ring personality. All in all, we like these wrestlers. Their persona is so engaging and we can overlook or even incorporate their mistakes into who they are. Hell, we do this in our day to day lives. Think about stuff a loved one says or does and how you may brush it off because of 'who' they are and what they mean to you...

If using the internet to check out an unfamiliar person or promotion, I'll try to find a match with someone familiar in it. A known quantity or 'control' that I can use to compare against. One that keeps coming to mind is an Indy match with Cedric Alexander and AJ Styles. AJ is the control...how does the promotion frame him? How does Cedric (the person I want to learn about) work with AJ? What level of offense, selling, drama etc are they bringing? So on and so forth... But sometimes, its worth just jumping into the unknown as well. A lot of my enjoyment from wrestling anymore is just being surprised. If I can be surprised then, I'll give someone a second look. That's true of contemporary wrestlers/promos as well as those from the past.

I would want to travel back in time to be able to catch a great feud build or a notable string of shows... sort of to be a "regular" for a month or two. I would like to go back for any of the NJ vs UWF stuff in '86. Fujiwara or Maeda vs Fujinami in singles, tag, or elimination would be a must. In that same vein, I love to be able to have witnessed Riki Choshu & co. vs Jumbo & Tenryu from the mid 80s. Even the 01/86 match by itself would suffice! I remember being surprised by this match, which is odd since its considered a classic. I never thought much of Choshu so, my expectations were low. This match totally changed my views. My top pick would be to see the Jumbo vs Misawa feud. It would be great to see stuff from 06/90 up to the final tag league match of the year. That was just an great string of matches they put on. If I had to pick one, I'd go with their 10/19 6-man match. I was spellbound. I felt like I could have watched that match forever because the pacing and intensity was near perfect for the stage of the feud and the length of the contest.

The Sheik vs Abby match is from 12/1980 according to a comp that I have. As crazy and out of control as this match was, there is a follow up tag match that was pure pandemonium. Abby & Tor Kamata vs Sheik & Mephisto, I think during the RWTL, could be wrong on that though. Anyhow, it's a fantastic follow up to the singles match. The parts where they are brawling through the fans looks like a riot may break out. The fans are going absolutely nuts!

When I think of excess in pro wrestling, I think of ultra violent death matches. I like a good barbwire or thumbtack match in the right setting or context but, I find nothing appealing about a light tube razor wire match where the winner has to powerbomb the opponent into a tray of salt. That's too much! It's not wrestling anymore...and frankly it's not even entertaining. To take it more mainstream, I would say many gimmick matches where climbing is involved can be excessive. There is a fine line between a good cage match and contrived goofiness.

I would have to go with strong style since it can be a bit of a hybrid of the other styles. I'm thinking of 80's NJ specifically 86-88 with the UWF guys in the mix. It struck me as a faster NWA style with shoot elements and the Jr's. incorporated a bit of lucha as well. So, I feel like the style could lend itself to surprises. Conversely, I don't care for most 90's strong style matwork as it just followed the pattern of apply the hold, work towards the ropes, milk the drama, and rope break.

Greetings, I've been a fan of PWO since probably the '96 yearbook was being worked on or before. Finally I have gotten around to becoming a member! Thanks for having me! I'm 32 and would call myself a fan of wrestling since '98. I watched a good deal of the Monday Night Wars unfold and then go out with a whimper. I was a big fan of ECW and that helped me get into buying BJW & IWA death match tapes...oh those days of tracking issues and wacky audio! Anyhow during my college days, my fandom took a back seat to other things but, was kept alive by my old ps1 copy of WCW vs the World and the occasional free WWE ppv in the student center...and said death matches. After graduating and having to move back home with the folks for a couple years, my love of wrestling blossomed. I got into TNA wrestling which let to ROH which eventually led me to puro and joshi. This would be about 2007-2009. To speak about present, I've been watching mid 2000s NOAH, AJPW from 2011-2015, and 2004-2006 ROH & TNA. Thanks to the Good Shit posts by Supersonic for the latter! Generally speaking though, my favorite period of wrestling is 86-90 Japan and I am most passionate about puro & joshi. Anyhow, I look forward to sharing and big thanks to everyone who's kept PWO going!