Beast

Love the themed SNME's like this and Oktoberfest. Again, such a stacked card with three potentially awesome matches, plus a high caliber return and debut.

Richeyedwards assigned me American Dragon vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi from New Japan (10/24/04). Was interesting to see these two in their only singles encounter, and before they hit their primes. Wrote it up here: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/29541-hiroshi-tanahashi-vs-american-dragon-njpw-toukon-series-102404/?p=5828261

Assigned this for match trades: Can't even say this is Danielson and Tanahashi "Before They Were Stars" because they were already highly thought of in 2004, but it's interesting to see how far each has grown since. This has a cool feel throughout of two guys who know how good the other is and is taking this title match very seriously. Danielson had a tiny bit of that heel schtick he'd grow to use later on and Tanahashi is already a great seller, making Danielson's various holds look like they could actually finish this if he kept them on long enough. They start by trading hold for hold before Danielson goes for broke with a dive to the outside (where he nails his ribs on the guardrail) and Tanahashi follows with a suplex to the floor. They progress on into actual moves and Danielson starts cranking on some major submission holds. I was able to pick up that Tanahashi's finisher at the time was a dragon suplex due to how Danielson struggled to get out of a full nelson earlier on in the match. They'd been feeling each other out, but when that full nelson got put on, it became a competition. Latter half of the match felt like anyone could win and there was some nice moments where they each fought for pins and reversed. Danielson reversed a small package and it would have been a completely believable ending at that point. Not much more than a cool curiosity and it's a shame this remains their sole match against each other.

Here's my reaction to my assigned match - http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/39056-kazuchika-okada-vs-satoshi-kojima-njpw-g1-climax-072717/?p=5826928 Was a great choice by WingedEagle.

This felt like what the Flair 2008 retirement match could have been if WWE had paired him up with a younger wrestler. The opening taunts by Okada set the stage well. Even with the sarcastic claps, I wasn't expecting him to be so vicious right from the start. The dropkick to the outside followed by the draping DDT on the floor would have had me thinking this was going to be a quick victory for Okada had I been watching it live at the time. Instead, Kojima eventually makes his comeback playing off the "you still got it" fan reaction and is soon able to hold his own at times with Okada. It felt like Okada was baffled at how tough Kojima still was and that he thought that all he had to do was hit a big move and he'd be able to start prepping for his next G1 match. The finishing sequence was fantastic and I love the way finishers were used as compared to the WWE version of this type of match. Okada went for the Rainmaker right away and of course Kojima was ready. Then at the end we had multiple attempts blocked allowed Kojima to get his big moves in, only for Okada finally hitting it for the obvious pin. This is my first Kojima match, although I'm familiar with his legacy and I know that the fans were behind him throughout the G1 last year. I don't think he should have beaten Okada, but it's too bad he only won one match, seems like a wasted opportunity. I wasn't that impressed with his execution here, but both he and Okada had great character work. The reason I thought of Flair-Michaels is because this too at times seemed more like a play than a competition. I could see Flair facing off against Dolph Ziggler back at WrestleMania 24 and having a similar type of match. Okada did a great job making Kojima seem impressive and I also really liked the presence of Tenzan at ringside.

Thanks, really looking forward to this! I've been looking forward to tomorrow's Wrestle Kingdom for weeks. Okada's my runaway wrestler of the year and I think his 2017 is in league with the best year any wrestler has ever put together. From some quick browsing it doesn't look like you've commented on or perhaps watched a ton of modern NJPW, so I thought I'd point you to Kazuchika Okada vs. Satoshi Kojima (NJPW 7/27/2017) from last year's G1. Its not his best match of the year or perhaps even among the 5 I'd rate the highest, but its arguably the most different and interesting performance he put in all year. Well worth watching from his intro rather than the bell as its all part of the approach he takes on this night against a vet the crowd is eager to get behind. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5v20j5 That's perfect. I've heard so much about his amazing year and although I've watched a handful of modern New Japan, I haven't seen any Okada since that big Invasion Attack '13 match aired on AXS. Really looking forward to seeing his current prime stuff.

I found that WingedEagle said his favorite feud was Hogan/Savage so I'm giving him a match they had from a rare taped Detroit House Show at Joe Louis Arena (4/26/1986). It's on the Hogan Unreleased Archives DVD and at this link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x68f9g Features Ken Resnick's debut on WWF commentary and Jack Reynolds' last appearance.

Every time I watch this, I'm struck by how perfect the flow of it is. I typically don't like hardcore matches because of the waiting game in between big spots, but this felt organic and brutal throughout. The haphazard camerawork added to the chaos and Tony & Bobby were great selling the toughness of the competitors. There are specific moments that have always stuck with me, most of which have already been mentioned in this thread. The unfolded chair shot, the table suplex, Foley's trademark guardrail bump, Foley giving and taking the Cactus clothesline, the shovel out of nowhere, the table breaking early, the Nestea plunge, the shovel being thrown off the ramp onto Foley and the shovel to the face finish. This doesn't feel choreographed, but it's obvious much of this had to have been planned out. Final takeaway this time is that WCW's ramp setup led to a ton of memorable big show moments and it's too bad it never crossed over to WWE. From what i remember, this must have been near the end of the ramp usage because by the Nitro era I don't think it was ever around.

I'm interested.

I've got like 10 more weeks of TV to build up the event, but I've lost the motivation to write out longer recaps. I have no problem doing a post with quick summaries followed by my big show in January.

Meltzer just shared he put that WW match together with Pillman the night before. I wonder what other matches Dave had a hand in.

Agreed. This was the flip side of the McMahon arguments to me in that not only was I totally convinced by the Cena stuff, but it made me question why anyone would have him in their top 10.

I just don't get placing Vince McMahon so high on a list of Greatest WWE Wrestler, let alone at all. He was very rarely a wrestler and his matches were often terrible. Yeah, he was a great character, but as stated, more than wore out his welcome. JT totally lost me trying to defend ranking Vince over Bret. Even if you don't love Bret as much as others, he surely participated in more memorable moments and matches than Vince.

LOL, he went on a long, long spiel about the whole thing and that person cherrypicked one line out of context and now people are freaking out? He literally listed a ton of things about how f'ed up the Elgin situation is that is one of them. In no way was that the biggest takeaway he had from it. Give it a rest.

Didn't his Smackdown booking run extend into 2003, maybe even 2004? There was some good stuff in 2003, but not like late 2002.

2002 Smackdown is the epitome of this for me because there was a strong cast of wrestlers and characters who could be paired up in a variety of ways to make entertaining matches. The Smackdown Six, plus Brock as champ, plus the cruiserweights offered a lot of fun options. You could start with Cena's debut, Rey's debut, or Benoit/Eddy jumping from Raw but post-Summerslam seems right. I think this five-six month period afforded Heyman's booking a lot of good will later on well past it was deserved. I also really like the first four to six months of Nitro with the various debuts and Lex Luger having dream matches with Hogan and Savage. Plus the Horsemen-Sting battles and the debut of The Giant. Hogan, Luger, Sting, and Savage as the top faces is an amazing group, but then Luger also ended up aligned with Jimmy Hart and the Dungeon leading to his best character work since 1989. Add in Benoit, Eddy, Malenko, Sabu, and the NJPW guys at the end of the year and early Nitro is a great one hour show.

WWF TV Week #2 The show opens with Vince McMahon & Robert Fuller welcoming the TV audience to the Manhatten Center in New York City, and showing a replay of the end of the IC Battle Royal from last week with Bossman, Barbarian, Christopher, and Big Josh mixing it up as the final four. McMahon runs down tonight's card with Barbarian looking for payback against Big Josh, Bossman making his first defense against last week's runner-up, Brian Christopher, and the big main event tag to determine who will compete for the vacant WWF title in one week. Match #1 - IC Champion Big Bossman over the Brian Christopher in 8:42 with the Bossman Slam to defend his belt. - Bossman looks strong throwing Christopher around until Christopher hits a desperation eye poke. - Christopher controls for a bit using dirty Memphis heel tactics (including the unseen "foreign object) almost getting a surprise pin until the referee spotted Bossman's foot on the rope. - Finally, Bossman reversed a whip to the turnbuckle and caught Christopher with a big boot. Christopher was no more trouble and Bossman soon put him away to complete his first successful title defense. Fuller congratulated Bossman as Bossman declared he would be taking on any and all comers looking to serve some hard time. He wished his buddy Big Josh good luck against the vicious Barbarian before McMahon threw to a break. Returning from break, McMahon welcomes Sting to the desk to give some thoughts on tonight's main event. McMahon asks if Sting feels like he and Luger can work together well enough to defeat the mighty Sid Vicious. Sting declares Luger to be his best friend and even though Sid is a formidable challenge, he'll only have Scotty The Body alongside him as back up. Fuller presses on by reminding everyone that if Sting and Luger win they must face each other next week for the vacant belt. Before Sting can answer, Luger joins the booth and reaffirms his commitment to Sting. Luger says he's not worried about whether or not he'll have to face his good friend for the title as that will mean that at least the new champion is worthy. He and Sting double high five as McMahon sends us to the ring. Match #2 - The Barbarian over Big Josh in 7:36 with the Diving Clothesline. - Barbarian looked decidedly scary hitting Josh right from the start with powerful stiff blows. - Surprisingly, Josh was able to turn the tide and control much of the offense until he tried a German Suplex and Barbarian broke the hold, nailing a huge clothesline that turned Josh inside out. - Barbarian leaped to the top rope and as Josh got up hit him with a second clothesline with the same 360 result to win the match. As referee's checked on Big Josh, Fuller remarked at how scary it was that a wild man like the Barbarian was out and about in the WWF without any sort of management. McMahon called the WWF the "Land of the Monsters" and introduced a video package on another big man on his way to the federation. A vignette airs featuring the same gigantic man from last week defeating a series of Black Belt karate champions through sheer power, with none able to even budge him. The clip ends with a rapid-fire edit of the man hitting each master with a throw or chop. The man screams "Banzai" at the camera as the words "Kokina is coming" flash on the screen. Match #3 - Ultimate Warrior over Conquistador Uno in 1:48 with the Press Slam/Splash combo. - Conquistador Uno is way overmatched and is torn apart in a matter of seconds. - After the pin, Warrior picks him up and slams him over the top rope to the floor. - Fuller wonders aloud what would happen if the Warrior took on the Great Kokina. Main Event - Sting & Lex Luger over Sid Vicious & Scotty The Body in 13:13 to set up a match for the vacant WWF Title between Sting & Lex Luger. Sting & Luger started off hot with Sting rocking Sid with clotheslines and Luger stalking Scotty all over ringside. Scotty was able to lose Luger long enough to distract Sting allowing Sid to lay him out with a chokeslam on the outside. This left Luger all alone to be double teamed, with Sid beating him down until Scotty begged to come in for some cheap shots, Luger taking control, Sid blindsiding him, and repeat. Finally, Sting recovered and appeared on the apron for Luger to make the hot tag. Sting fends off Sid and Scotty until Scotty chop blocks him and Sting rolls outside. Luger is back up and clotheslines Scotty from behind and puts him in the Torture Rack only for Sid to break it up. Sid chokeslams Luger and goes for the pin, but Sting breaks it up at the last minute. Sting dropkicks Sid and is able to hit his trademark bulldog for a one-count before Sid throws him off. Sting sends him into the corner for a Stinger Splash but is met with a big boot to the face. Scotty is back up and holds Sting as Sid charges out of the corner with a clothesline, but Luger pulls Sting out of the way causing Scotty to get hit instead. Luger clotheslines himself and Sid over the top as Sting slaps the Scorpion Deathlock on Scotty for the submission victory. Following a final commercial break, Vince McMahon announced a loaded show for next week: The Ultimate Warrior in action The Barbarian vs. Lanny Poffo Big Bossman defends his IC Title against Dr. Tom Prichard Sid Vicious vs. Big Josh and in a huge main event for the vacant WWF Title, Sting takes on his best friend, Lex Luger Sid could be heard in the background yelling and throwing chairs as Sting and Luger head to the desk for a wrap-up segment. Fuller congratulated Sting for picking up the submission win and tried to provoke Luger by asking if that mean the Scorpion Deathlock was a better move than the Torture Rack. Luger laughed it off and reminded everyone that while Sting was incapacitated for most of the match, Luger was holding his own with Sid Vicious. There seemed to be a few seconds of tension between Sting & Luger (with McMahon looking panicked), but both men quickly smiled and hugged. Sting said he was looking forward to what could be the greatest match of his career and the show went off the air with McMahon reminding everyone to tune in next week to discover who would become the next WWF Champion.

Bossman vs. Barbarian at Royal Rumble 1991 is the epitome of what I want from that era of WWF. That said, I may have been keeping Barbarian strong in the Battle Royal for something/someone else...

WWF TV Week #1 The show opens with Vince McMahon & Robert Fuller welcoming the TV audience to the Manhatten Center in New York City, the new home of a weekly studio show. They build up the main event in which a new Intercontinental champion will be crowned in an 11-man Battle Royal, but first The Ultimate Warrior in action. McMahon shares that head matchmaker Jerry Jarrett is working on the World Title plans and they may be announced by the end of the show. Match #1 - Ultimate Warrior over the Brooklyn Brawler in 2:39 with the Press Slam/Splash combo. - Lombardi bumps like a pinball and makes Warrior look like Tom Magee. - Nonstop action by the Warrior as he brings it home before running out of breath. - The first step in building up Warrior as a solid upper mid-card babyface. Time will tell who he'll find himself feuding with. McMahon and Fuller groan as Scotty The Body joins them at ringside to steal some TV time. Scotty announces that he will soon have the WWF World Title around his waist. Fuller is incredulous so Scotty clarifies that he's aligned himself with the next World Champion, Sid Vicious! The Master and Ruler of the World glares menacingly at Fuller, then grabs the mic to reiterate Scotty's declaration. Sid calls out Sting, Lex Luger, and the Ultimate Warrior and promises that they will soon find themselves at his mercy. Sid then gets in McMahon's face and demands to be placed in the match for the vacant World Title, but McMahon is defiant and says he doesn't have that information yet. Sid slams his fist on the table in disgust and leaves as Scotty cackles and follows. Match #2 - Lex Luger over Buzz Sawyer in 8:27 with the Torture Rack - Pre-match, Luger walks around ringside slapping hands with all the fans while Sawyer barks wildly in the ring. - This is a hard-hitting match with Luger going toe to toe with the "Mad Dog" and Sawyer giving it right back. - Sawyer goes up top, but finds nothing, leading to Luger picking up for the submission victory. Luger stops by the announce table after the match and is congratulated by Sting. The best buddies respond to Sid & Scotty and announce they can't wait to step in the ring with the big man. They too ask McMahon who is getting the chance to win the World Title, but McMahon still doesn't know. A vignette airs featuring an exceedingly large, long-haired and bearded man in a typical sumo wrestling attire throwing other large men around a ring, culminating with him climbing to the second rope and squashing an opponent. The man screams "Banzai" at the camera as the words "Kokina is coming" flash on the screen. Main Event - Vacant IC Title Battle Royal - Big Bossman wins by throwing out Brian Christopher in 12:22 - A typical battle royal containing a mix of mid-card names, including The Dynamic Dudes (Douglas & Ace),Jim Neidhart, Dr. Tom Prichard, Crush, P.N. News, Big Josh, Brian Christopher, and Virgil. - Barbarian and Crush looked the strongest in defeat, each tossing 3 other competitors before Barbarian knocked him outside with a kick to the face. - The final four were Bossman, Barbarian, Christopher, and Big Josh. Barbarian threw out Josh, but was distracted by Josh trying to get back in the ring to continue to fight, allowing Bossman to clothesline him over the top. - Bossman then made quick work of Christopher to win the Intercontinental Title. Barbarian tried to get revenge, but was cut off by Josh who then celebrated in the ring with his fellow "Big Man". Following a final commercial break, Vince McMahon announced the lineup for next week, including: The Ultimate Warrior in action The Barbarian vs. Big Josh In his first IC title defense, The Big Bossman defends against Brian Christopher and in the main event, Sting & Lex Luger vs. Scotty The Body & Sid Vicious McMahon clarified the World Title picture as it pertained to next week's main event. Jerry Jarrett decided to determine the number one contenders through a tag team match, with the winning team facing each other for the vacant belt the following week. Fuller is shocked that that means the TV audience will soon see either Scotty The Body take on his new ally, Sid Vicious (in a one-sided slaughter) or Sting will face his best friend Lex Luger! The show goes off the air with McMahon and Fuller pondering the implications of Jerry Jarrett's decision.

Oh, well that's a pretty big gamble on the studios part. All the power to them and Cena if it pays off. I just don't think he's able to carry a film like that yet. Rock had Planet 51 in 2009 that also did lukewarm business. By 2016 he was doing Moana.

OK, but let's see if Ferdinand does any business. Was it an actual trailer or one of those pre-movie ads where they promote a movie or show with the actors pushing it? Of course, they're going to interview the lead, but it doesn't make the lead a big star. It's opening against Star Wars. If Ferdinand is a smash, then I guess that tells us all something.

Let's not overstate Cena's film career just year. The only "hit" he's been in was "Trainwreck" and that was little more than a featured cameo. Hogan is a household name for kids who grew up from about 1985-1995, whether or not they watched wrestling because those who did talked about him all the time. Same with Randy Savage and the Ultimate Warrior. Austin was like that from about 1998-2000, The Rock too, although The Rock eventually became an actual movie star. Even then, he wasn't much more than a 3rd-rate Arnold until the 2010's. It was him joining the Fast & Furious franchise that blew them both into superstardom. Cena is a household name for families with children who watch wrestling, but his outside appearances aren't enough to definitively put him over McGregor yet. Josh Duhamel hosted the Kids Choice Awards too and I guarantee both Cena and McGregor are bigger names than him at the moment.

It's still one big card, but I know in my case it's the storylines that will make it interesting rather than just posting "Sting vs. Luger" "Sid vs. Warrior" "Jarrett & Fuller vs. Moondogs", etc... Hence the weeks of buildup I'll be posting.

I'm planning 13 one-hour studio shows leading up to a supershow.

Championship Wrestling Episode #1 Preview Hosted by Vince McMahon & Robert Fuller Main Event - Intercontinental Title Battle Royal (Barbarian, Big Bossman, Big Josh, Brian Christopher, Crush, Dr. Tom Prichard, Jim Neidhart, Johnny Ace, P.N. News, Shane Douglas, & Virgil) Lex Luger vs. Buzz Sawyer The Ultimate Warrior in action plus appearances by Sting & Sid Vicious