El-P

A lot of what I read here is not ageism at all. It's valid points. And yeah, older pro-wrestling as probably never been appreciated more than before.

Come on. The biggest show of the year is built around nostalgia and old fuckers.

What is your level in Japanese at this point Dan ?

This is so right ! Ozaki's nemesis : Dynamite Kansai Ozaki's archenemy : Chiggy Megumi Kudo's nemesis : Combat Toyoda Megumi Kudo's archenemy : Shark Tsuchiya

No matter how Corgan is an egomaniac, how the current Pumpkins are irrelevant, I love the fact he's a true pro-wrestling fan at heart.

Flair's nemesis : Steamboat Flair's archenemy : Hulk Hogan Ricky Steamboat's nemesis : Ric Flair Ricky Steamboat's archenemy : Randy Savage Randy Savage's nemesis : Hulk Hogan (way too many times on the same side of the track despite real-life loathing) Randy Savage's archenemy : Ric Flair Raven's nemesis : Sandman Raven's archenemy : Tommy Dreamer Misawa's nemesis : Kobashi Misawa's archenemy : Kawada

(should be moved into the August folder, sorry about that)

Raven vs Sabu (TNA 04/08/04) An ECW dream match that never happened before. And it's a chance it happens in 2004 in TNA, as Raven is a much better in-ring worker at this point, plus the setting doesn't encourage the ridiculous excess of the original house of hardcore. Although I admit I would have marked the fuck out if it happened back then. Anyway, this is a very good brawl with all kind of gimmick spots that they deliver well, with nice counters and some bloodletting, Sabu paying tribute to his late uncle (the whole feud was about a so-called promise both Sabu & Raven made to the Sheik of never fighting each other, which was neat, you can see again that Raven was booking his own stuff) by using a spike at one point. He also badly fucks up his left knee on a table spot and still does the triple jump moonsault perfectly (yeah, Sabu the blownspot machine is a ridiculous urban myth by this point). Back and forth beating the shit out of each other until Raven gets the win, not after Sabu did kick out of the DDT, to Raven's great facial reaction. Hell, his face after he won was terrific too. I obviously love both guys but they did deliver a very good bloody brawl here, not going overboard with stupidity, making chair shots looking much more bruta than they actually were for instance (you can see Raven protecting himself and Sabu throwing chairs strictly vertical toward his body, so nothing real bad can happen). These veterans are still better than 95% of the roster and they bring tons of character to their work too. Really enjoyed this.

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.