El-P

Bingo. Well, it has always been fake, but, yeah.

Dixie Carter has a funny eye ? Never noticed.

RVD's finest moment. Sean Oliver's reaction never fail to crack me up.

RVD was the most carryable awful worker (meaning his attributes could be mixed to get a spectacular match if you found the way like Jerry Lynn, Tracy Smothers or later Bob Holly did) , but an awful worker nonetheless. By the end of my ECW watch, I couldn't handle watching a minute of RVD anymore. And yeah, you can spot all those awful indy workers inspired by him. Seems like a nice enough guy though and quite idiosyncratic, which is why he was so popular too.

I think it's actually the RAW from South Africa, later in the year.

AJ Styles vs Michael Shane vs Kazarian (Ultimate X match - 07/28) The Ultimate X has been a winner gimmick thus far. This is probably the best one thus far to. Terrific match. Kazarian & Shane are a tag team of sorts, dressed with the same bright color that I'd call Constructicon Green. So early 90's, so good. So the dynamic is simple at first, one tries to keep AJ on the ground while the other goes for the belt. Then of course AJ has to fight both at the same time, until finally the bodies are split becuase of both selling and the fact that at one point, obvioulsy, the two heels fuck up and get at each other. Then selling and big spots prevails so it make sense no-one would simply jump to make a save. The dynamics are so much varied and interesting than in a stupid ladder match that had been bastardized into a stunt show over the years. And there is a share of unbelievable spots here, but they make sense in the context of the match. And they are sold. All three guys really shine here, although AJ is, yes, phenomenal working the ropes (he and Kazarian do a Style Clash from up here that looks insane, well done guys). The ending has an interesting twist too, as both heels grab the belt and fall down at the same time, so they end up… co-champs ! Hey, it might be stupid, but then again, it can also work like a reversed Freebird gimmick, plus the execution was so good and it's a new idea that goes well with the result of the match, so why not try it ? Excellent, maybe great match, and without a doubt a TNA MOTYC for 2004.

Here's one for you : Enzo Amore & Cass are basically Kid Kash & Dallas doing a NAO routine, while Enzo is way worse than Kash was in 2004 (sloppy but decent at times) and Cass is about as good as Lance Hoyt at that time (Test wannabe).

Uh, yeah. I love Kobashi, but really this isn't a reason why he's been great, at all. That being said, the Kojima version is infinitely worse.

The best quote about that is Rick Martel talking about stupid Booker T giving him a concussion. "You have to convince the audience, you don't have to convince me." Then again, it's more about bieng reckless (and sloppy) than stiff here. Still, it's a great quote. Then, there are difference of approach. Mid-South & Texas were snug territories, to keep it US based. Japan has its own culture about stiffness, and all in all it's not more ridiculous than say, luchadors doing stupid little slaps on the chest and doing ridiculous basic sequences that look 100% collaborations. Plus, working stiff doesn't mean working dangerous. When it's done right. Good worker can work stiff and be safe. Then again, looking like it hurts when it doesn't is an artform. Great punches are a lost art, kinda. I love great worked punches. Lawler's are a thing of beauty. Then again, if you're going back to an era when kayfabe prevaled, Lawler throwing a hundred punches to the face of his opponent in one single match was stupid as fuck since there was obviously no bruise on the opponent's face in the end. There's a reason why closed fists were forbidden in pro-wrestling. A heel throwing one in the back of the ref was much better work than Lawler regular punch barrage (which is one reason I'll never suscribe to the Lawler = great worker argument, this and the no-sell comebacks as a babyface). Then again, in the modern era, seemingly everyone throws a hundred punches a match, and I wish they'd look like Lawler's. If I were a worker, I'd rather work with Lance Storm than Toshiaki Kawada. As a fan, I'd rather watch Hashimoto than RVD, both of whom were "stiff", one in a great worker way, the other in a reckless, stupid and dangerous way. Apparently, Meng could be light as a feather and you could simply not feel him at all. He could also throw mean chops. But a crowbar would just hit hard because he doesn't know any other way. Then again, Terry Funk's answer to Mick Foley when Foley asks him about his punches was that he pretty much laid them in. So there. Not one answer. Stiffness is just like everything else in pro-wrestling. It can be great. It can be stupid. It can be safe. It can be dangerous.

There's a paradox lying somewhere though. You don't control a translation and there's always the risk of something being lost in it. If you're fluent, it means you're able to pass whatever message you want to with the upmost precision. If not, then you're simply not fluent. Hell, I don't consider myself *fluent* in English. So yeah. Then again, sports men... well.

Makes sense. All you need is practice on the oral skills (comprehension & production), but if you're not taking course and/or living in the country where the language is spoken, it's hard. Even then, you can easily get by in Paris with only speaking English for instance, as long as you don't have to deal with the administrations.

English also happens to be the easiest language to learn. Japanese is not (well, for Korean or Chinese, it's probably easier than English, closer at least for Koreans, but still, English is not a complicated language to learn and talk in a way you can get understood).

I take Matt Striker in LU over anyone else in WWE expect the French announcers who can make almost any shit product watchable because of their chemistry and lack of WWEism.

"When the seagulls follow the trawler..."

As a language teacher, I gotta say, 15 years in a country and using a translator, yeah, it's kinda lame.

Styles is a Trump supporter ? Damn. That's extreme.

Not only that, but still lusting over Kurt Angle as a potential shooter in 2016, really ? Pro-wrestlers are still an insecure bunch it seems.

That's how you should be able to cut a promo in 2016.

Shinya Hashimoto vs Takao Omori Hash. Damaged goods after the godawful career killer feud with Ogawa, but still, not a lot of guys had *that* presence. Maybe Choshu. Nah, Hash was even greater than Choshu. This is as simplistic as it gets. Omori is blonde, which means he's an asshole. That's how Japan works. Omori is a dick but he's NOAH's dick and he'll try resist and take down Hash with simple lariatos. Hash kicks him hard. Stiff, to the point. How to get the most in less than ten minutes. Gotta love fucking "strong style", before it became a tagline for smart ass fans and indy announcers. Gotta love Japan. And Hash is puroresu in its purest form. Very good short match.

For most guys, having a very good match is an accomplishment, it takes the most of what they can deliver. For these two, having a very good match meant they left a lot on the side for later. Yeah, sure Kobashi was Kobashi, with everything awesome and goofy about it. Still. Not sure about those new white on white tights for Akiyama though, and Kobashi would soon change for the classic black with prints NOAH Ace tights. This was foreshadowing of things to come, and very promising. Akiyama being kind of a dick was a major change compared to his All Japan character. Time to grow up, young padawan.

"Wow, dude, Misawa was a selfish booker, he always put himself back in the mix" Yeah. Right. Watch this, ignorant fools. Who else as the boss and booker of a brand new major promotion does the job in 20 seconds to a submission hold, and sells it for minutes afterward on the mat, just so he tries to make a new star ? Misawa sure tried hard. He was kinda banged up, as was Kobashi, but damn, I had not watched any of these guys since Misawa died, and yeah, oh yeah, I remember why they are considered some of the greatest ever. Taue and Akiyama were super solid there too, actually looking better than the All Japan Ace & Heir in what was a very good, hot match with everything done to build Jun as the upcoming Man, and get some focus back on submissions. NOAH was such a fun promotion when it started.

I always was curious about a Raymond Rougeau shoot interview (he had been the voice of pro-wrestling for me for years in my earlier fan days) and finally here it is. Fantastic stuff. One of the smartest and by all account nicest guys in the business :

A few thing from Glen Gilberti's Guest Booker. First, although I don't agree with his way of looking at things concerning Russo, he comes off like a genuine and likable guy, with a true love for old-school wrestling too. Second, he gives the straight story about the infamous "Disco booking ideas" that have been around, apparently to the highest of places if you believe his last (and pretty funny) story. _Bill Ding, the evil architect, was a Terry Taylor idea, he says (like Hugh Morrus, as Taylor loves these kind of wordplay). _The Alien Invasion was his, but obviously a joke, and a pretty funny one, especially for the idea of the Canadians being Martians, Mike Tenay being an honorary Canadians because of ove hockey so much, and where the whole thing leads in the end. _And as far as The Invisible Man, it's actually a pretty funny comedy undercard idea and built in a pretty logical, conceivable way (without giving it away, it's all about heels making a gullible "simple minded" character believe that an Invisible Man is actually there) Glen takes some credit for the Lance Storm booking in WCW, which would be the best thing under Russo's regime in WCW (as far as getting a guy over). It's odd that this guy never was hired in WWE in any capacity. I mean, they made fucking Simon Dean an agent. Nova, for fuck's sake. Gilberti milked a low undercard comedy gimmick for like 5 years, made it work way more than he had the right too, got over and delivered a few solid matches in the process. And his work in TNA, if you put aside the ill-advised push against AJ Styles and first weeks teaming with Sanders in awful angles, is totally to his credit too, with lot of good mic work again.

Great job. Kayfabe-wise, awful work though.

Stop making sense Matt. It's unbearable for some people "around these parts". Well, the last I've seen the Ryback was the Kalisto matches earlier in the year. He didn't strike me as particulary good in these either.