Matt D

No one's ever been happier to see a Nikolai Volkoff vs JYD match.

Where's Ken the Box?

Watch some Nick Bockwinkel, you heathen.

I suppose it's ok to lose Slater when you start your next show with Flair standing there. Disappointing on the results, but I suppose we're just spoiled with what we have elsewhere. Thanks.

Are there results anywhere? I just saw the Slater turn and I want to see how the tournament after that went.

I think the most important thing is definitely Bret becoming the new Pat Patterson.

The Laugh-in speed cuts between promos (ending with the Austin/Nightmares/Ash/Welch/Brown stuff) on the 8/31 show was really novel. The Stud Stable promo about Fuller turning on Armstrong was great. They go on for five minutes about how much they love to watch the footage on their VCRs. "THAT IS EXCITING STUFF THERE!" This has definitely been the best episode of Continental yet. It's fun how much of a "World's Best Von Erichs" feel the Armstrongs have. Slater coming in as their friend feels just like how the Freebirds were introduced. I really like the Nightmares finish where one's pinning the guy and the other goes off the top with the diving headbutt across the ring. The one pinning the guy then sells the impact of the blow by making it seem like he got knocked a foot up into the air.

What we know (or think we know, mainly from Dave): 1.) The footage was not part of the initial terms of purchase of the NWA. 2.) With that in mind, they redesigned the site and were once again closing in on Roku. 3.) What's for sale wasn't necessarily the footage but the rights to use it(this isn't clear?). WWE tried to outright buy the footage last year but the price was way too low. 4.) Late in the game, potentially due to Corgan's desire to have something to show people to tell them that THIS IS THE NWA (like Race vs Funk), the right to use the footage became part of the deal. 5.) The money hasn't changed hands yet. Most of us are on either an extended subscription or a reoccurring one, so they really should notify us in one form or another. I think it could honestly go either way. They have to convert the reels anyway. If they're going to do that, this is an okay way to potentially get some money back while it's happening. It's also a way to build up some good will and maybe brand. I think it's too early to really say that the service is done and over with. Corgan's a guy who bought all that Chicago stuff (pictures/programs/etc.) with no ready way to make money off of it because he valued it. He could be someone who appreciates the history of all of this and wants to keep getting it out there. I still can't really overstate how unique and cool the footage is, years and years of full cards of Arena footage with high VQ and commentary from periods where we barely have any outside of MSG/Portland/garbage tapes, etc. It's all the more impressive when you get back into the 70s where we have even less. You learn so much about a region, wrestlers, in wrestling itself from watching week-to-week arena footage in from of the same crowd. We just don't know.

The fans coming unglued for Johnny Rich's return is the absolute definition of how you can basically get anything over if you push it as important for weeks on end. Basically putting over Tommy Rich over three guys is a hell of a way to get him all the more over too. I love the sort of Memphis way they keep the storytelling going. Rich wins a check, he then puts half of it up against Fuller.

Not really. There have always been "workrate" (before it turned into an ugly word in the mouth of our brand new crowd of retrohipsters) territories and promotions where doing as little as possible wasn't gonna fly. Hence the differences between Memphis, Mid-south, Mid-Atlantic, AWA, New York, 80's New Japan etc... Doing what is necessary, depending on the context and what you want to achieve. I'd say "as possible" can be flexible. You stick to the spirit of the thing.

What's sad is if Rip can't somehow make money off of this, even if it's through managing some old school sort of protege. Even Vader was able to manage that, and he can barely figure out how to use Twitter.

Part of it is that we've been around this circle so many times. It's a spectrum. One of my bugbears is reading 80s Observers and see Dave basically shitting on "the old tricks" for the sake of workrate. Another is my feeling that everything should have meaning and a third is the primacy of fiction over sport. A fourth would be efficiency. When you combine all the things I value in wrestling, you get a picture that is very different than what's prevalent now in a lot of places (but not all places or not all situations and far more with younger wrestlers, sure). I think the point of pro wrestling is to achieve as much as possible while doing as little as possible, endowing everything with meaning, purpose, and consequence, sustaining it over time, and creating compelling narratives that touch hearts in the process. That to me is the craft of it. It's the art of pro wrestling, of manipulating a crowd. It's a screenplay, directing, and acting over special effects and costumes. You can have a sci fi movie with special effects and costumes that still has a great screenplay, directing, and acting and more power to it. You can have something devoid of special effects that doesn't have a great screenplay, directing, or acting. But if you have a narrative that focuses so much on the special effects over the storytelling, then there are inherent problems with that. We've been around this circle so many times.

I wish we had more of him in ring. He's phenomenal here: I'm still holding out hope that we get the Jay Youngblood and Tiger Conway Jr. (78 and 80 respectively) matches from Houston. But uh, we'll see.

I think Orton should lean into this and start being more of an outright troll on screen.

I think it's easy for him to see the value in Funk vs Race or what not, as a tie to the history and grandeur of the NWA. I hope he sees the value in continuing to allow out (steadily) the undercard matches.

Look at Ambrose? They've basically made him into babyface (not even heel) Doink because of how toothless everything is.

Hopefully nothing changes. There's nothing even close to it in wrestling fandom right now. Not even a tiny bit.

I want him commentating on 205 live.

I mainly listen in the car. I can make it through Between the Sheets, Space City, and whenever Stacey and Elliott post a new pod in a week, basically. And that's on 1.5x speed. I'm full up.

A better verb would be "Ziggling."

Do you disagree? I love the show. One of my favorite podcasts. I just find it puzzling that the same people bash it every week yet continue to listen. Must love punishment I wish there was simple adware free place where all of the newsworthy/interesting bits from Prichard/Tony/Jericho/Ross/Bischoff/etc.'s podcasts could just posted quickly by someone in quick list form. I don't have hours and hours to listen to this stuff but I'd be curious if we learned something new about a production meeting Bischoff had with Tony about Glacier or something (I don't know). I could absolutely see people try to listen to something like Bruce's show for new information and not necessarily entertainment.

The long squashes are something to get used to. I liked how the Bill Ash vs Walker match ended. Obviously, as the new Jr. champ, Ash had to win somewhat definitively, so he had to cut off the babyface comeback somehow. A rope reversal is a pretty normal way to do so, but I liked that he did a dropdown after that to set up his head drop finish. It was a little savvy, technical thing you don't usually see heels do in that part of the match that made him stand out as a guy who sort of deserved the belt. Also, T.Buff is amazing. Austin Idol calling the feud/battle royal between the babyfaces and the Tennessee Stud Stable "WAR GAMES, BABY" was interesting for 85.

When I'm casually listening, Bob Armstrong sounds a lot like Steve Austin with just a slightly different accent. It throws me. I loved him explaining what a Small Package was in the least meaningful way possible. I'm still getting used to the studio set up, the way they'll do a lot of promos and things in the middle of big matches (not sure if that sticks). Two episodes in, I was more comfortable with the Southeastern format (though I'm not saying it was necessarily better, just more familiar). I can't get enough of Tommy Rich shouting "FIRED UP" for no reason. The Flame shooting promo remains the best, most striking thing.