Matt D

It's reality in the way a reality show is reality. Which is kind of like kayfabe in some ways if you were constantly shouting "It's kayfabe!" while keeping kayfabe. It's all very strange.

What a strange day.

I kind of like Horowitz and Bob Bradley more.

I don't know about Savage as a TV worker in 95. I think he was pretty crummy. He worked a lot of 8 minute matches that looked good on paper where he'd give his opponent seven of them, hit a bodyslam and then the elbowdrop and that was it. Rinse and repeat.

I shouldn't be surprised (and I'm not, really), but in reading the Meltzer bio, and in listening to his audio from a few days ago (and thank you Loss for pointing me to it), there are so many of Nick's thoughts on wrestling that Dave presents that line up not just with what you see in his matches, but in the elements that I feel strongly about as well. Intent is important to me, and even though with Bock, all I ever really had to go on was was the definite illusion of intent, it's very rewarding to know that it was really there after all.

And that's valid, I think. When you get to the top ten and their placement, the difference between the very best wrestlers ever becomes a hard thing to place.

I'm still not convinced on what to do with Satanico vs Casas.

He's in my top 6 I think

He's used the Springboard Stunner to set up the FU at least once. Kind of like the time he beat CM Punk by surprising him with a 'rana first.

For people as high on this, does anyone think that there is a better Wahoo match on tape? It's interesting how many wrestlers Bockwinkel has the best match with.

Remember a year and a half ago when all the talk was about how they were going to turn Bray at some point.

It's be funny if Kane turns on Taker to be the second member.

I think every single indy spot-laden tag team match should be 2/3 falls. That would let them hit some huge stuff, make it end a fall, do a bit of a reset and escalate again.

I liked the MX vs Poffo/Bracero tag. I think we were a bit spoiled by the Blanchard match. This was more about the MX getting a prolonged sort of heat, taking so long to get around the ring, jawing with almost every fan in the building, posturing, Memphis stalling. All of that made the clowning that they did suffer in the opening minutes mean more. I like how matter of fact Bracero was with his mannerisms. I half wonder if he didn't remind people of Cantinflas. I bet most of the adults in the crowd had seen Around the World in 80 Days as kids. Poffo, on the other hand, had this sense of connecting with a crowd where he made it feel like they were in on a private joke together. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. Maybe it depended on the heel. Here it worked though. The heat was super solid, with lots of quick tags and the usual tactics, but it didn't pay off as much as I would have liked. The come back was fine, even if it didn't really stand out. I thought Poffo's work in the shine where he was facing off against both guys was more impressive than his post hot-tag run. I wish we had seen Cornette a bit more involved in general, though. This was fun and I'm glad we have it, because it really shows us Condrey/Eaton against very different opponents than we're used to seeing them against.

re Martel. This story is from the Feb 13, 1995 Observer. he shows up at the end:

It'd be great if he interacts with Cornette.

They could pair her with Bo Dallas, then?

If that got any time at all, it could be a ton of fun.

About that I blame Travis Browne. No, really. This does kill any interest in Ronda at Mania, against Cyborg, etc. for me. "and 1" doesn't have the same punch as undefeated. I get why it might kill interest in a fight against Cyborg, but would it make you less interested to see her on Saturday Night Live, hosting? Because that's the sports equivalent of being at Wrestlemania.

The promos were pretty over the top. We must have seen a hundred of them while looking for things On Demand. "RONDA ROUSEY IS A ONCE IN A LIFE TIME ATHLETE. YOU WILL NEVER AGAIN BE ABLE TO WITNESS THIS." etc.

I am glad that Bock was able to do things like the WCW President role and president of the Cauliflower Alley Club. I thought it was unfortunate that his decline came even as the AWA set was coming out a few years ago, as like a far more secure in himself Buddy Rose, he didn't really get to see another generation learn to appreciate his work. I'm not sure how much that would have mattered to him, but it would have mattered to me to have a chance to let him know. He's my #1, the perfect middle ground between bumping, selling, targetted offense, and that damn smile of vicious glee that made you think he was enjoying himself in wrestling the match even more than you were enjoying watching him, which was saying a lot. He's the person I'm consistently most excited about whenever a new match or promo appears.

That was fun to read. Time's an issue right now, but I'll analyze the first Bock in Houston match you put up to the nth degree. Actually, I bet I'll do it for the next Lothario match too.

Absolutely. You can add in the fact that we've gotten and will get some really good looks at wrestlers we don't have nearly enough of, like Gino, Lothario, Spoiler, Wahoo, and even Stasiak and 70s Dale Valentine/Buddy Roberts, a bunch I'm missing and I'm sure some that we don't even realize are good enough to miss yet.

I am a little amused by the idea of a potential reputational risk of publishing my ideas, mind you.