Jkeats

Really? I thought it was February 1986? When the belt "changed" hands at Starrcade 1985 it was still the globe belt. He didn't reveal Big Goldie on television until February (maybe taped in January) around the time of Battle of the Belts 2. Yeah I think you're right. It states online that the belt was created in 1985 but at Starrcade it's still the dome belt. I thought maybe he debuted it in December but I think you're right. Either way, it was much earlier than I remembered it being.

I've always marveled at how Jim Ross can criticize people and situations but takes such great offense when fans or wrestling site writers make the same criticisms. Here's his latest admonishment of fans and writers regarding Piper's DUI: Ross can call out young wrestlers for listening to iPods or playing video games, making them sound like an addendum to the Seven Deadly Sins, but God forbid someone call out a wrestler for drinking and driving.

I had a similar mish-mash when watching Will's Horsemen set. I could have sworn that "Big Goldie" came into play in 1987-88...I just never really thought of it. I was really surprised when Flair debuts it in 1985.

I agree. I also liked how the feuds were multi-faceted. It wasn't just Flair feuding with Dusty. He was also feuding with Magnum and then having heel-heel matches with Nikita. Then Garvin and back to Dusty. Same with Tully and the Andersons. The one thing that struck me was that it's mid 1986 and they are JUST starting to use the term Four Horsemen. They had mentioned the Horsemen before here and there and even went so far as "three Horsemen" when Ole leaves for a bit. The group didn't actually seem to become a "thing" until around this time period, where they referenced (and were referenced as) the Horsemen the majority of the time. The stuff with Morton was even better than I remembered it, especially with the WPW matches and handhelds. EDIT: Cornette's comments about facing the James Gang and how he is prone to fainting had me cracking up

I would beg to differ that he is actually in his prime now, both as a worker and as an act. His character now is completely different from anything else being presented and he's been a part of some of the best matches and, without a doubt, best feuds of the past two years, as Goodhelmet mentioned. I also find no coincidence in the fact that his stuff stands out so much because he is doing classic wrestling angles and storylines. His stuff is what wrestling is at it's best. He's staying clear of the variety show, over the top aspects that is plaguing RAW and just sticking to the basics.

Yeah I've always enjoyed Jericho's work. Even when it's not "great", he was always a guy I enjoyed watching. I loved his WCW heel run with the Cruiserweights. I can forgive matches not being great or being sloppy in places if the characters are strong and the context is fun. His debut on RAW was one of my favorite "moments" in wrestling. It just had such an aura of being a big deal...we don't get that feeling anymore. I've seen him live a couple of times, most notably in a very good match with Sabu in ECW at Extreme Warfare and then the next night against Scorpio at the Arena. I have Will's set but I haven't even cracked it, yet. It's one of those things I keep putting off (and that Horsemen set ain't helping any!). It's one of those sets I know I have waiting for me and it will be a lot of fun whenever I break into it (like secondcoming's Austin set). As for 2009, he just seems to be going back to basic, old school storytelling that makes sense and builds logically. He's also subscribing to that Boris Malenko adage of "if everyone is shouting, talk quieter...if everyone is talking quietly, shout". He's going in such a different direction with his character and doesn't come off like the basic WWE cookie cutter wrestler. He may be the best performer in the company and if he's not, he seems to be the one who understands how to get stuff over the best.

Yup that is the one. Just a war. Reminded me a lot of the Lawler-Dundee LLT match from 83. They just tore into each other and both men looked exhausted by the end of it. I'm really starting to gain a new respect for Garvin. Tully, on the other hand, has always been one of my favorites and this just reinforces that.

I'm watching the 4/86 Morton-Flair handheld match and I have to say...it's, as the kids say, fucking great EDIT: Also, the Garvin-Tully National Title match on the same disc (disc 13) is a freakin' WAR!

I know, right? Even though this is the time period I grew up in, with wrestling, I never paid much attention to Ole. But ever since seeing that "big turn of 1980" promo he cut on Dusty back in Georgia and reliving all of this Horsemen stuff...he's a hell of a promo. Completely believable and a bully. When he's screaming "She likes it! She likes it!" when Magnum (forcibly) kisses Baby Doll and tears her dress, I just wanted to smack him. He was like that little dog on the old cartoons "hey Spike, whattaya wanna do, huh Spike?! Huh Spike?!" Someone made a comment once about how there is always that progression of people coming out for the save. It makes it look like the enhancement guys locker rooms were closer to the ring because they always hit first Houston is really good in his role. He has a couple of really nice matches and plays that "rookie in over his head" role to perfection. Probably because he was I was thinking the same thing. If you really watch those promos, Tully thinks Baby Doll is a 10, treats her nicely, compliments her when everyone else is calling her names, actually seems to care about her. Dusty, on the other hand, insults her, drags her around and bullies her. Magnum forces himself on her and then tears her dress. Odd sense of good guy/bad guy. Although, when the Tully-Doll break up happens, he is a TOTAL heel on her. If you ever check out the Macchia comps there is a Dusty promo during the time he comes to WWWF to fight Graham. He is cutting a promo about the match and says "it's gonna be an all day affair! Bring your lunch! Black people, bring your fried chicken! Chinamen, bring your Chinese food!" There goes my hero, watch him as he goes...

Yes it's from the same classic that gives us "and when I come to Philadelphia I'm gonna come on you like no one has ever come on you before..." and ends with "because this is professional wrestling where men are men and the boys sit on the side and watch what's going on!" And then he gets the crap kicked out of him by the Andersons.

There are some classic Dusty "What the hell is he talking about?!?!?" kind of promos (so far my favorite is the one hyping the barbed wire match where he says America was made by barbed wire, keeping varmints out) but two of my favorite quotes so far: Ric Flair: "I got a letter from a woman who didn't want me to talk about my clothes, my cars, my women, my looks...don't you understand that one of the problems of the world today is lack of communication?!" and from the wisdom of Tully Blanchard: "Wrestling is like a chess game between two men...(pause)...or four if it's a tag team"

Am I just imaging it or do I remember the name Strike Force coming directly from the feud with The Islanders? For some reason I remember them coming up with the name during an interview on Superstars saying they were like a strike force storming the island, or something to that effect.

Well said. That's a burden I wouldn't wish on anyone.

Yeah there's not much more that can be said other than it's a tragic event and a sad day in wrestling.

The word is that they didn't name WWE as co-defendants because they didn't want to deal with Jerry McDevitt digging up dirt on the situation. The Torch stated: "The potential exposure of more information against Chris Benoit could be too much for the family to endure two years after the Benoit family tragedy." No idea if that's true or not.

Heh. Man, talk about a sharp career downturn...he crashed hard.