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soup23

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Everything posted by soup23

  1. soup23
    I wish this would have had a bit more time but the action was again good punch/kick type stuff. The stipulation does sound a little dull but it is something they can build a show around and Hales sells it well. This has honestly propelled itself into one of the top 3-4 feuds of the year from an inauspicious start but i do wish Hales' side would have won here as it does seem like Lawler has the upper hand for the vast majority of it. (*3/4)
  2. soup23
    It is tough in this day and age to classify a casual vs. a hardcore fan because of how much information is available. Is someone that just looks on reddit hardcore? what about following Meltzer on twitter? I just don't think there is as much brainwashing by the WWE from a historical standpoint as sometimes it is lead to believe. We talk about how things get unfairly screwed from other promotions and bring up the example of the Chamber of Horrors on the latest WTBBP. That is one example where it happens. Saying the AWA was boring shit is uninformed and just following old opinions spouted out from decades past. However, we both watched the AWA set and I have watched a crap load of other 80's footage from a variety of promotions worldwide. Of all of that, AWA match quality wise was below the other promotions to me and they didn't have the angles/interviews by design. So therefore if ranking the promotions of the 80's they would finish close to last after watching the stuff.
  3. soup23
    Tito really put over Rodz as being beneficial to the underneath guys helping him out. He also didn't seem to fond of Hogan and Savage based off the interview. Good work P&P.
  4. soup23
    To expound on that last point, I think you are overselling the hype around Michaels on an in ring performer. Sure, plenty of times the announcers would talk about him as an ICON and displaying unprecedented athletic feats, but the commentary never got near as smarky as the ROH stuff you hate where they would outright say Shawn was the greatest worker of all time and compare him to contemporaries. I never begrudge Ross on commentary bringing up the great action you can only see in the NWA when watching Steamboat vs. Flair and the WWE when discussing Michaels never went beyond that. I also don't understand whether the streak ending and fans being shocked is being potrayed as a negative or positive. I don't see how it is much conditioning that when something happens with one result for over two decades, that the opposite happening will come as a surprise. That is basic booking 101. As far as the WWE centric history thing, I think that plays into more of a wrestling fans state of mind than a WWE conditioning ploy. The easiest example I can use is Scott and Justin. Neither are casual wrestling fans and will freely admit that WWF/E is their favorite promotion of all time. However, they also have watched Jushin Liger matches and the Japanese matches with the Steiners they considered great. Yet, that doesn't inspire them to seek out and devour Japanese footage of these guys. They are content watching predominately a style and era of wrestling they enjoy. Me, you and others here don't share that sentiment but it is not one where I don't see their side of the argument. Whether WWF/WWE has conditioned them to think that by buying the relevant libraries and having enough archival footage to appease fans of WWF/WWE if they are begrudged with the current product is a separate issue but I do think it is more a choice of the viewer than the mind trap you are presenting it as. The Monday Night War series on the Network has been shafted pretty much universally for WWF/E trying to overreach the true narrative of what happened during that era.
  5. soup23
    Completely disagree with this portion. Bruno was certainly marketed on commentary extremely hard and presented in a way to elevate his status. That takes nothing away from Bruno being able to perform to a high level much like I don't begrudge Hogan but Bruno would be a Dominic Denucci in the average wrestling fan vernacular and fans of that era if it wasn't for his extreme push/marketing at the time.
  6. soup23
    Couldn't most of those caveats you listed Parv be adjusted to fit the 1980 narrative though? Two examples: Instead of thinking of Michaels as GOAT, they thought of Bruno as a "folk hero". How many WWF Fans bought into the big face champion on top making the shocking results of Ivan in 71, Shiek in 83 and Twin Hebners in 88 more shocking. I do think there is a lack of conditioning now because fans will openly revolt against the product in a very vocal way (I.E. crowd reaction at Rumble this year). This seemed very uncommon in the past to the extent it has happened lately.
  7. soup23
    Parv, Aaron George and Andrew Riche
  8. soup23
    He heard the SummerSlam 1989 Rewind host and was thankful his close friend Steve Corino chose 1992 instead.
  9. soup23
    I guess Hogan made a deal with Bret as Bret gets pissed when Hogan attacks Sting with the belt. Sting vs. Hogan actually feels hotter in this match than it has in months and got a nice reaction. Warrior appears in a dust of smoke and "lays" out the entire NWO while Hogan is shaking in fear.
  10. soup23
    As shitty as WCW has been around this time, they still can do these emotional, heart tugging angles that just hit me in a way WWF can't. This was one of them. They weren't scared of the past which can hinder them in the case of Warrior vs. Hogan but it adds so much emphasis here. JJ does the best job he has in forever building up to the "you're afraid" line that gets ohhhs from the crowd. I loved Arn checking his hands and realizing he can't turn back the clock. Man I loved this.
  11. soup23
    Reading the title, I thought this was some parody in the vein of Gillberg. Then i remembered this did happen and I had the WCW magazine cover with it on. This was a big deal and a cool tie into mainstream for WCW.
  12. soup23
    Hogan has had a weird 1998 with all sorts of feud but nothing seeming as good and personal as the Sting one in 1997. Bischoff points to how powerful a pen can be proving that Eddy is under contract to wrestle and Warrior is not. Hogan calls out Warrior and he obliges. I really didn't realize Warrior came on this early and was this consistently on the shows. The NWO circles the ring and Warrior disappears in his dust cloud.
  13. soup23
    I was really hoping to like this since I know Loss didn't and I had been thinking we had been aligning too much on this yearbook so far. Unfortunately, I hadn't watched this match in about 5 years and the parts I remembered being good were the only good portions of the match: Kane being sent away, the legdrop spot from Taker and the stunner being put over as a big finisher. Otherwise, the concussion seemed to really rattle Austin and this never got going and was so disjointed. Austin works the arm to start and the crowd just dies. He then transitions to Taker's leg but this is quickly forgotten as they brawl through the crowd. Taker didn't really hit or go for his tombstone all that much and I thought the Stunner came out of nowhere. Also,Hebners slow count on the pinfall is atrocious and a blatant example of the referee trying to milk extra doubt into a match. (**3/4)
  14. soup23
    I thought this was pretty mundane for the first five minutes, but then The Rock starts working over the leg and the crowd gets progressively more invested and this turned into a great atmosphere where two stars really felt like they were being made. The climbing is drawn out and some of the spots are executed as flawlessly, but it was so refreshing for the WWF to give these guys this much time to tell and story and put themselves over. The finish is kind of cheap for a babyface win but they got away with it based on how integral Chyna has been in the overall angle. Rock looks really strong and HHH is escaping the shadow of HBK. I don't know if this was better than Shawn vs. Razor but it is right on that level. (****1/2)
  15. soup23
    I hated Gunn's promo calling Mick a piece of trash. The NAO pretty much squash Mick here and regain the titles. I know I have brought this point up time and time again but the NAO were really over for the intro and catchphrases and we have seen time and time again on this yearbook that they have rode the coat-tails of Attitude Era nostalgia and broke up before they could wear out their welcome. XPAC feels more over on this show. Kane hitting the sledgehammer to Mick is a dick move. (*1/2)
  16. soup23
    I go for this over the Dungeon match as it had just as much intensity to me and a longer length. The spots of shamrock being rammed into the cage and powering out of the Sharpshooter do wonders in getting him over to the crowd. The finishing sequence also made Owen look strong as he didn't back down from going into Shamrock's environment, he just got caught in a deadly submission. This is shaping up to be a great card at this point. (****)
  17. soup23
    How much wood could a woodchuck cut if a woodchuck could cut wood. Mick is starting to mix in the comedic elements but not to an eyerolling degree.
  18. soup23
    Finkel is brought out as a honorary DX member due to having his head shaved. I really liked this match as it was the perfect undercard affair and Jarrett did good with his cutoffs of Pac's offense like the Bronco Buster and utilizing the figure four. The finish was also nice with the guitar shot being appropriate payback for Jarrett to get his haircut. This was a great way to send someone away for a repackaged gimmick. (***1/4)
  19. soup23
    Shawn is unable to persuade Sable to tell him who here partner is. Instead they dance. Sable is a much worse dancer than Michaels.
  20. soup23
    Hales is starting to amount some impressive proof as the postcard from Baxter seems legit. I liked Lawler playing this up by wanting to believe Stacy but starting to see that the evidence was starting to swing towards Hales being right. This has now taken a nice detour from where the McMahon vs. Austin feud currently stands.
  21. soup23
    Neat to see these guys start out. There is some suspect spots mostly the result of Dragon Kid who remains my least favorite DG and Torymon performer. I thought the Crazy Max team really gelled and worked as good foils against Tokyo. Tokyo and Cima are allowed to take center stage at the end of this to set up their rivalry. Good stuff and a good intro to these guys. (***)
  22. soup23
    I really liked this and thought the mat work of Otsuka was incredible throughout. He was flawlessly mixing in nasty submissions that made me grimace watching at home. The match took on a furious pace and Ishikawa getting the choke victory felt well earned with him using some of his deadly strikes. My under the radar Battlarts gem for the year. (****)
  23. soup23
    Really liked this like most of the ECW videos. They do a great job of getting the vibe of the song to match the clips of the action they choose.
  24. soup23
    Sunny owns the mic and has all of the ECW hopefuls chanting lewd things at her. The Storm vs. Candido feud has felt really played out for some time now.
  25. soup23
    I loved Vince's reaction as he goes for the handshake and gets chokeslammed. I again think the visual was neat but some aspects of this angle including that randomly happening and Kane following Austin in the casket are a little too hokey for me. I may be in the minority but i stand by the fact that Michaels vs. Austin was a better build for me.
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