Ryan Faulconer

Does Dolph Ziggler always wrestle like a bad wrestling video game? They had a huge stretch of move after move after move after move. They sold nothing until the finish. It probaly would have continued ad nauseam if they hadn't been halted when they found themselves in a corner.

Dolph Ziggler last night delivered the definition of a spotfest against Cesaro. It was as bad as the bad version of the SATs/Whipreck students matches from fifteen years ago. Move. Bump. Move. Bump. Move. Bump. Move. Bump. Counter. Move. Bump. Move. Bump. None of the moves meant anything when they finally slowed down near the end. I use the term "slow" almost sarcastically because they were still going 100mph into the finish. Cesaro actually seemed a little blown up at the end. I've seen a lot of his US indy matches over the years and I don't remember him looking so gassed at the end of a match. A bunch of guys doing highspots is not a spotfest by default. Most of the time the MPro/ or Dragon Gate signature match is built up by matching feuding sides. It might only be one wrestler on each side feuding but there are stories being told. I don't even watch Dragon Gate at this point but they do have their way of working. The singles matches in DG felt like that Ziggler match when they are at their worst. At their best it is more like that short Angle/Mysterio match from 2002.

I always enjoy listening to these shows even though I couldn't sit and watch an entire PPV in real time. We don't get the WWE Network here yet so every mixed reviews convince me that I'm not missing anything. Is it just me or is there always a very audible difference between the way Phil and/or the Segunda Caida podcasts sound and the way Goodhelmet/KrisZ/Johny Sorrow and the Place to Be podcasts sound? I guess what I'm trying to delicately ask is...Why does Phil usually sound like he is underwater? Hearing Scott and Phil on the same podcast sounds like two sides of the same story that have almost nothing in common with each other.

Paul Heyman is Emperor Palpatine. John Cena is supposed to be Luke Skywalker but he acted more like Anakin.

I always enjoy these shows and was really looking forward to this one. What's going on with the show cutting out after playing for a few minutes? The show skips to the next show on the list. I have to go back to the current show and find my place...only for it to cut out again and reset to the beginning again. Edit: I just realized that this wasn't a new episode. I've heard it before and enjoyed it so there is no need to fix any playback problem.

Has anyone here heard of a wrestler named Ron Soo (that's what he is listed at on match lists). I've found only match results with him listed as Ron Su. He worked in Michinoku Pro back in 1998. He wrestled almost EXACTLY like Hideki Nishida or Masato Yakushiji. He actually looked better than Yaskushiji doing all those Rey Jr. spots from the mid-90s that blew our minds while simultaneously winning our hearts.

I always thought KICKWHATMSTUNNER was a CRZ creation. He used to have running gags like that. Raymond Stereo is the one I remember the most. Another myth is that all luchadores are high flyers or cruiserweights or wear masks. People in the wrestling business probably still think that those three adjectives are the same as saying "luchadore" or "lucha libre". Regarding Blackman and Shamrock again...People to this day talk about their 1997 days like it was really their rookie year. I hear it on podcasts to this day. "Shamrock was still finding his comfort zone..." and "Blackman was still very green here". It is strange seeing "Blackman" listed in all these Universal Wrestling (Hamada) Federation and other lucha shows. I've seen THAT Blackman wrestle so I know the difference mentally. Still...reading about "Blackman" in lucha settings paints a funny mental image.

It has been a long time so forgive me if this was mentioned earlier. Steve Blackman was not a rookie when he showed up on WWF TV in late 1997. I remember him specifically from Stampede wrestling in the 1980s. Ken Shamrock wasn't a rookie either.

There is also Corino's PWF that aired some episodes from...somewhere up north. I can't remember if they aired more than one after it debuted on the APN ten years ago. The IWA Winnipeg from the mid 90s that aired for at least a year back in 2001-2002 would be awesome. I wonder if there are any tapes left from International Wrestling (Montreal) to convert from whatever hamster-on-a-wheel format they used at the time.

IIRC Canadian Netlfix has more WWE content than the WWE netork VOD. If Americans had to use Canadian Netflix there would be a volent uprising of some sort in protest.

Years ago TNA did some funeral skit for Team 3D. At the time I thought it clicked on every level. Team Canada sat in one of the funeral chapel pews banging hockey sticks like they would during a pep talk from the coach at intermission time. GdI were in TNA for the X Cup. Shocker and La Parka (the original one) wrestled for a nationally televised promotion in the last ten years. Shocker wasn't 2001 Shocker but the effort is appreciated. I think Tiger Mask IV had a run just before everyone says his talent fell off a cliff. There was some point where it looked like Jarrett was turning babyface. He cut a really subdued promo that felt "real for wrestling". I came away from it thinking that I wanted to see more of Jarrett as a babyface. The Stroke is probably the worst finisher in wrestling over the last ten years. It always looked like the bump was taken on the knees first with no real forward momentum or the face first bump that the move is meant for. The women's division usually looked a decade ahead of whatever WWE was doing with their female wrestlers at the time. Ayako Homada seemed to be getting over and that would probably never be allowed to happen in WWE. If you asked me back in 2000 if Ayako Hamada would work for a televised American promotion I would have called you delusional. The Beautiful People weren't very good in the ring but that gimmick was another thing WWE probably would never develope like they did. The angle went to hell with babyface turns and whatnot but it is TNA...They are so brave for evening trying. I just saw the Harris/Storm Texas Death Match the other day for the first time. It was really really great. I'd say it is at least on par with the various streetfights with Jimmy Jacobs/Colt Cabana/BJ Whitmer/Homicide/etc. I watched it the same day that I saw Bryan/HHH and Brock/Cena and I probably enjoyed the TNA match the most. Samoa Joe was awesome. He was better in ROH...but TNA Joe was still awesome...for awhile. What the heck was that face tattoo supposed to be? What's with wrestlers having phallic looking tattoos? Okay - Joe's wasn't a real tattoo but I remember it happening a couple of other times over the last fifteen years. I think Scott Steiner's and Brock Lesnar's are permanent.

Easy, easy... she looked great. She did look great. It wasn't meant as much of a dig. I just thought that was a skirt. She wore a shirt and tie and still managed to show cleavage. 1999-2000 Stephanie is my preference. She looked like the pretty girl at university who gets the best grades but also dates the best looking dude while running the student union and playing on one of the varsity teams. Her voice dropped lower and she buffed up with HHH. Couple that with the implants and I was getting Chyna flashbacks. Anyway...I thought my Shield comment would get the replies All of their finishers look worse than the wrestlers that they copy from. Ambrose's move doesn't even follow the laws of gravity. He's a great charismatic guy that they can use in any role. I always liked Rollins in the Age of the Fall too but he does make a better babyface. Reigns could be The Rock or he could be least of the Anoia family currently wrestling.

I just watched Bryan/HHH and Shield/Wyatts from EC last night. Bryan/HHH was the best approximation of an ROH style match I've ever seen in WWE. HHH using a bunch of new spots hurts the drama when you know that 99% of the time finishers get the win. Probably my favourite HHH match ever...and it wasn't until the 2 Man Power Trip that I started to dislike him as a rule. As the match kept going I was having this weird sense of deja vu. It felt like I'd seen Bryan wrestle someone like HHH in ROH/PWG/EVOLVE/DGUSA but my usually excellent memory can't think of anyone who resembled HHH's gameplan/moveset. It was like Jimmy Rave and Eddie Edwards sinned against humanity and gave birth to some HHH-looking abomination. The selling was a lot better than at least half of Bryan's opponents before he was signed. It really isn't much of a surprise that Bryan ended up with some big injuries after Mania. He did some dives that Great Sasuke would have reconsidered and stopped short on. On the night of his WrestleMania moment he was wrestling like there was no tomorrow. What the heck was Stephanie wearing at WrestleMania? Did she feel she needed to "outskirt" Lana? Not many women her age (my age too) would think of wearing something like that. Kids in the first rows would have seen where babies come from if she had to lean over more than 45 degrees. Shield/Wyatts was a little disappointing. I was thinking it would blow away the Bryan/HHH match but I actually liked the Mania match more. The Shield always had some goofy offense. They didn't bust out all of their odd-looking trademark moves in that particular match though. For some reason I thought it was a texas tornado match. When things settled down into a tag format I was confused. I'm not sure which would be a better match but it is too late now for that street fight/texas tornado style to compare it with. I thought the match was really good but the build up was better than the match from my experience.

Upon further review it looks like we don't even get Rogers as a cable provider here in Thunder Bay. There is no way I will put money down on a premium cable channel-only-style network. $9.99 (or is it more?) every month for what amounts to WWE Vintage (a classics show that airs weekly in Canada) is never going to fly with the wife. She doesn't mind the wrestling. She doesn't even mind the stuff she can't understand like the Japanese/Mexican/indies. There is no channel on its own that is worth paying that much for. A reduced Netflix is one thing. At least with Canuckified Netflix there are options at any time. The WWE Network can eat my ass.

I was so disappointed when I signed up for Netlfix for the first time two years ago. The Canadian Netflix has a lot to choose from but I'm guessing it is nowhere near the selection that the US has. WWE Network Canada having a reduced selection like Netflix never occurred to me until a couple of days ago. I think we are all hoping that WWE Network in Canada doesn't end up with one third the number of titles offered like Canadian Netflix offers. Maybe we will also get stuck with some sort of Can-Con quota. I don't know if WWE owns any of the Canadian tape libraries. Will Canadians be able to watch WWE Network on video game consoles? It sounds like all we get is the channel while saying nothing about the streaming menu of shows that is available in the US.

It all boils down to the fact that wrestling is overexposed. Moves would mean more and storylines would be more memorable if there were seven promotions with one hour of TV a week. In reality we have one promotion with seven hours of first run TV every week. How can anything mean anything. It is the same with news coverage. Everything is repeated over and over and the audience becomes apathetic towards what they are watching. If Storm means that today's wrestlers do too many moves he is just speaking against the current generation not living up to previous generations' accomplishments. Every older person feels that way about the youth that don't follow in the footsteps of their predecessor's. The good ol' days were not as good as they seemed. The last WWE angle I felt emotionally invested in was the night that Daniel Bryan turned back babyface against Bray Wyatt in that cage match on RAW. What led up to it didn't make a lot of sense but the comeuppance still resonated in ways that great moments are impossible to put into words. Actually the faceoffs between The Shield and the Wyatt Family before they fought at Elimination Chamber really felt meaningful...and they didn't even get physical. Before that was the reuniting of Goldust and Cody with their father and the subsequent chase for the tag team titles. That was more than I thought I could use as examples.

I'm surprised to see Ambrose using Nigel's goofy rebound/jawbreaker lariat. I know it wasn't the main reason for his retirement but the constant arm injuries were definitely something that plagued Nigel for the rest of his career. He shouldn't mess his career up just because of one VERY polarizing move. Ambrose said on Colt's podcast that he doesn't like overkill finisher styles of wrestling and that's why he wasn't a great fit for Dragon Gate USA. He sounded like he thought he was "smarter" than other wrestlers who work that style. Destroying your body for the crowd pop after a signature spot doesn't seem all that different as far as wrestling philosophies go.

Not sure I follow, all of Dean's matches have been built on heels targeting his injuries. My memory might be foggy but from what I remember the match had like zero heat. I'd put the blame more on Orton for that - he didn't even get any heat posing as the first double champion months back. Orton vs. Ambrose just felt like it was wrestled backwards. I'm usually better at putting these things into words. THAT match though...it just felt like they weren't getting anything over. I haven't seen the match more than once. It isn't really vital to rewatch really...but my initial take on the match was that Ambrose was wrestling with a heel's offense and Orton was looking more sympathetic. It's just one match. My eyes may have been playing a trick on me that night. Now I need to watch ten hours of lucha and six of michinoku pro or toryumon as penance for putting that much thought into a TV match featuring Randy Orton

Ambrose still wrestles more like a heel than he should. That match with Orton a few weeks ago was really awkward for me to watch. Each wrestler was playing the wrong character. All of Ambrose' offense was perfect for a heel.

I don't think any wrestling program can touch 1999 WWF but then late 1999 WCW came along and I had to reevaluate how I saw the world...of wrestling at that time. 1999 ECW was (with one hour a week on TNN) the best wrestling out of the US in 99. It didn't start out too well but by late fall ECW had stopped airing all of Anarchy Rulz on TNN and hit a groove with the arrival of Hidaka and Tanaka as regulars. 1998 WWF was better than 1999 WWF. Around October of 1998 the Attitude was starting to wear thin and I started to enjoy most WCW shows more than whatever WWF was throwing out there. There were still some good moments in 98 but as an overall package the WWF had peaked around SummerSlam. The gimmicks were becoming confusing and overdone around the time Yamaguchi-san wanted to choppy choppy Val Venis' pee pee but it wasn't until the RAW when Undertaker wanted to embalm Austin alive that I really lost confidence in the WWF to tell any good storylines. It was a shame too after the Dr. Austin skit was one of the greatest skits during the Attitude...or any other WWF years. WCW had more to enjoy on a match-by-match basis if you checked out WCWSN and Thunder and Worldwide (maybe even the Pro too if it was still around). The booking in WCW was so half-assed though that it made watching most main event feuds pointless. Most midcard feuds felt that way too actually. The WWF on the other hand put maximum effort out there every week but they were clearly running on fumes creatively around the time the WWF Title was held up. The writing wasn't always stellar before Oct. 98 but it at least felt fresh. From then on it was recycling/redoing/reinventing previous ideas. They were digestable the first time around but the second and third storyline cycles of 98 it just made me feel silly for putting up with it the first time around. I couldn't enjoy the payoff to the Survivor Series after sitting through a $29.95 episode of Monday Night RAW. There IS a happy medium between the boring as hell WrestleMania IV tournament and the extremely rushed go go style of the Survivor Series' tournament.

I hope the Ascension has improved a lot since their match with Billington and Cahill. If they haven't they are going to bore everyone to tears should they ever get called up.

It could be said that HHH wasn't capable of cutting 20 minute promos either. It is hard to hold that against WWE for not pushing guys based on that criteria.

Nip Up and stuff piledriver/stuff powerbomb always sounded like misheard names for what is a kip up and a spike piledriver/spike powerbomb. They were called those names almost unanimously until sometime during the Monday Night Wars. The fact that it probably started (definitely did but not sure when) during commentary on a WWF or WCW show allows it to share the blame with the internet on that one The "E" What is that supposed to mean? I know what it means but it literally makes no sense at all. Nobody called it the "F" before the name change. Maybe some people called it the "Fed". Nobody ever ever ever called it "The Entertainment". "I'm so sick of how the "E" pushes SuperCena down our throats". Okay "SuperCena" is another one I didn't think about until just now. That internet catchphase is just as bad as DDP's Hollywood "Scum" Hogan. I think if the internet wrestling fans can do one thing right - we should be able to display more wit in our conversations than DDP. Am I right? It is different on a podcast where a podcaster's tone and inflection can help fill in the blanks that the awkward wrestling dictionary gives them. The use of a lot of buzzwords really makes it hard to tell what someone's opinion is really trying to say - in written form. It just ends up sounding like a play-by-play rundown. I've been on the internet reading about wrestling since 1997 and never heard the term "shine" until I listened to an episode of Where the Big Boys Play in the last ten months or so. I'm not complaining but it just seemed to pop up out of nowwhere overnight. The use of "control segment" wasn't used much ten years ago. Now it is everywhere. I have read people call the backwards rolling pin many things over the years. The worst was someone calling it the Ocana Roll. I'm guessing that during the this fifteen or so years of the internet's popular existence English teachers/professors must take turns laughing their heads off and pulling their hair out.

I could write a small book on what was wrong with HHH during his main event stay. The story in most of HHH's feuds didn't make a lot of sense. He wrestled matches that were almost always much too long. He was a musclehead that didn't work within his own limitations. He didn't bother to work around or with his opponent's limitations either. As a face he would rescue other faces like Kendrick and London...and then hit the stone col...I mean the pedigree - which as a move lacks the excitement and unpredictability that Austin and his finisher always had. Austin did the same thing but HHH was not Antonio Pena's new Steve Austin who and wasn't supposed to be exactly like Austin's babyface character. That could be more of a criticisism for WWE and their myopic view of how their top bread winner should act like. Austin broke the mold. I know this is a minor thing but it bugs me every time HHH has a big match. His signature prop was too dangerous to use the way a sledgehammer should be swung so he used some cumbersome and unorthodox motions whenever he used it.

The first two torneo cibernetico matches from CMLL in 1997 were both two of the longest lucha matches I've ever seen. Neither feels like close to an hour of wrestling. They are - without any hyperbole - super duper fantastic. Negro Casas/Black Warrior/Felino/Mano Negra/El Dandy/Scorpio Jr./Silver King vs. El Hijo del Santo/Shocker/El Texano/Mr. Niebla/La Fiera/Dr. Wagner Jr./Mascara Magica (3/18/97) Ultimo Dragon/Negro CasasAtlantis/Shocker/El Dandy/Mascara Magica/La Fiera/Brazo De Oro vs. Felino/El Hijo Del Santo/Dr. Wagner Jr./Black Warrior/Satanico/Scorpio Jr./Silver King Kevin Quinn (4/18/97) Chikara has put on some ridiculously long cibernetico matches over the years. I've only seen 2009 and 2010 so it is probably unfair for me to judge but...it looked like they intentionally wanted to go longer than the longest CMLL cibernetico. Then they go and do later ones that are 70 or more minutes. In CMLL it works. Matches that long from the Chikara experience level is just goofy. I did enjoy the 90 minute Hero/Punk match at the time. That's not really anything I want to go back and see again now. The 70 minute Bryan Danielson/Austin Aries match and the first Samoa Joe/CM Punk 60 minute draw were actually pretty excrutiating to experience in real time. They had nothing going for them other than the novelty of the time limit and the ROH show wanting to make up for wrestlers not being at that Dayton(?) show. A story going around back then was that Bryan wanted to do some sixty minute draws for the first two falls - IIRC. There's something like a five minute rest in the middle of the Aries/Danielson match. The mid match angle was just the crappiest icing on the crap cake. Danielson is great and all but that match...was overreaching by a LOT.