Matt D

There's a Steamboat promo from mid-April right after his nose got busted which is one of the best I've ever heard him give. He invokes young Ritchie and it's all pretty epic.

US Tag Champions Terry Taylor(The Taylor Made Man)/Greg Valentine vs Zenk/Bagwell WCW Pro (Chicago) 3/21/92 - Non Title match I love the idea of over the hill Valentine teaming with utterly irrelevant Taylor in his ridiculous post York Foundation Gimmick. In 1992. In WCW. Holding straps. This was a pretty fun match actually. Not a ton of Valentine, really, but his stuff looks good, both his hammy selling and his pretty stiff blows. I like 91-93 Taylor more than most people does. I think he's a little artificial in his heeling but sometimes that's not a bad thing. I wouldn't want it all the time, but he's practically mustache twirling while kicking out that gutwrench powerbomb during these years. Anyway, this has 3 FIPs, the second and third being pretty good, with the final one having a hot tag and a fairly interesting closing section. Valentine definitely still had something to offer even as late as 92.

Alright, I think interest has petered out a little bit over the last two weeks, and here I am dropping this one on you. I think it's an awesome match though, definitely the best thing I've ever seen Zenk involved in and one of the best non-straight up Southern Tag Formula stories I've ever seen in a tag match. Also, yeah, it's really something that only sort of works WITH Tom Zenk or someone very similar. I'll include my full write up from a couple of months ago later, probably when this poor bastard needs a bump, but I'll shoot out some talking points quickly. This is one of those matches where you really see Rick Martel, worthy champion, sort of like the Flair match and the Race match. Johnny's gone on a lot about how, when younger, he saw Martel as an equal to Flair and Hogan because the Mags told him so and this match is all about Martel being an equal to the two former NWA champs and Zenk absolutely and Zenk NOT being an equal to the Funks, most especially in their eyes. We get a ton of great character work: an opening segment with Martel and the Funks really wrestling as equals, the Funks taking HUGE liberties with Zenk, Martel coming in pissed and hitting some symmetry spots on what they did to his younger partner, the Funks desperately trying to calm their peer down, an impending sense of double-cross now that they know he's not of a like mind when it comes to such things, and Martel being prepared for it and responding with a ton of heat and fury. It was a really nice surprise when I first saw it and I hope that who does watch it likes it.

It's also the level of closed-mindedness. I think we can all figure out why someone might like RVD or yeah, even Davey Richards more than Lawler, but someone who feels that way seems to have a nearly impossible time figuring out why someone might feel the reverse.

That it was Benoit mattered. If it had been Glen Jacobs who did it, the situation would have been different. The internet is a terrible wretched place, and wrestling sites all the more so, but 97% of us were very positive about Benoit.

That's a pretty cool find. Honestly, if you trade out being a savage for being a deadman, he's basically working like early Undertaker. He sold for Lawler lowering the strap, which is mandatory, but otherwise he worked invincible until the end. Where was this, the Louisville Gardens? Early undertaker was fine and completely effective. I think the two Hogan matches in 91 are pretty fascinating to see how they put them together. You can fit an entire match formula around choking and it can still be pretty good. Honestly Calloway does pretty well for himself until after the face turn and the Nord feud when he gets stuck with Gonzales and then Hughes in 93.

That one is Dylan's fault. I refuse to let him say otherwise. He came up with some logic that it had to be represented and these aren't, of course, the 150 best AWA matches of the 80 but ... I don't know. I'm late to these projects. I reluctantly bought whatever he was selling on this one. anyway, I'll listen monday. This has been useful since I have a honed list of stuff to rewatch now.

He's really good in this one 1992 Nasty Boys match. Saggs looks really off though.

Watch more Mid South and Memphis and less 1992 wwf

We can look at Kamala at some point but who else?

Can we blame Flair for Crockett's shitty business decisions?

Next contrast Mark Henry and Kurt Angle and see what happens.

I think most of that is bullshit. It's easy to say on paper that you need to work the crowd. Very few people show that they know how to do it. The reason why "playing a role right" is such a touted thing right now is because so few wrestlers in the history of ever actually do it. If 95% of wrestlers showed that they get it, then it wouldn't matter. I think a massive minority ultimately show that. The concussion issue is something I will give though. But those are generally exceptions and you can figure it out through watching them wrestling. Terry Gordy, for instance, I would not judge on his late career. Also, wrestling is subjective. It's an art form, not a science. It's an art form, not a sport. Some people care the most about good punches. Other people care more about what a wrestler does. Some people care more about execution than others. For me, wrestling is symbolism. On the other hand, if someone throws a shitty punch but they're smart enough to realize that and not throw punches but do something else, then they can be just as good in the ring as someone that throws a great punch, ESPECIALLY if the latter is, let's say, Terry Funk and actually punching people. I'm not saying any asshole can throw real punches and have them look good because we've heard of really stiff guys whose stuff have looked like shit, but if you really punch someone, there's a good chance it'll look good. EDIT: Mark Henry is one of the best guys when it comes to playing a role, and we can go into detail on this again if we have to. The way he knows how much to give at what point in order to achieve the best reaction, when to allow a hope spot, when to cut it off, when to jaw with the ref. I think there's a fine line between theory and execution here. He's able to use his weight in a way that he makes his stuff look great and that he works like a big man. I've seen other big guys execute stuff very well, but execute it wrong for the role they were supposed to play. Likewise, there's the story of JJ Dillon going out and and having a great match to impress the boys but then get yelled at because he was supposed to work like a chickenshit manager. Hey! Johnny Polo vs Marty Jannetty on Raw is worked exactly like that. Levy works his ass off but he takes way too much of the match and hits way too much high end stuff (and he hits it well because he was so frustrated with his lack of wrestling at the time) and it destroys what the point of the match was supposed to be, which is funny when Vince talks about it a week later and his talking points have nothing to do with the actual reality of the match. Nine times out of ten, I'd rather see someone do the right thing poorly than someone do the wrong thing well. That tenth time is Crusher and Baron vs Freebirds. Obviously, I'd rather see someone do the right thing well. (Or what I feel is the right thing performed what I think is "well" because again, subjective). But all else equal, I'll take a guy with slightly better theory over a guy with slightly better execution anyday.

I think you learn a hell of a lot more about a worker watching him work post-prime than you do watching him in his prime. I realize that's an extreme notion, but for someone who thinks the most important aspect of a wrestler is knowing how to do the right thing at the right time, what he does when he can no longer use physicality as a crutch really shows whether or not he "gets it."

Was Brown the booker too?

That would easily be the most coherent thing Snuka ever said.

I really like listening to Levy talk about wrestling. You get the idea he really gets it. I don't really like WATCHING Levy wrestle.

I liked Andre+Baba vs Demos fine. Everything he does makes sense, has meaning and weight. It's smart, very self-aware wrestling.

The interview a few weeks before where Steamboat introduces the Ninja is awesome. "This is a man in black.. this is a master of the martial arts.. this is a..... NINJA!" It's almost more ridiculous than anything he did as the Dragon in WWF.

There's a super clipped but still really cool Ladd vs Bock match from the 70s you should watch. I think it's his 84 Mid South run that really showed me how good he was because he was 45 then.

Ladd is awesome. Crush was definitely a better big power move babyface than a heel.

"I do not enjoy wildman gimmicks. Now then, please pass the caviar." 2 .Nick Bockwinkel vs. Rick Martel (7/19/85) 4. Crusher Blackwell, Larry Hennig & Tom Zenk vs. The Fabulous Freebirds (8/22/85) 5. Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens vs. Greg Gagne & Curt Hennig (6/13/85) 6. Sgt. Slaughter vs. Boris Zuhkov (9/28/85) 8. Crusher Blackwell vs. Kamala (Bodyslam Challenge) (9/28/85) 9. Terry Gordy vs. Rick Martel (August 1985) 11. Little Tokyo & Lord Littlebrook vs. Cowboy Lang & Little Coco (7/18/85) I'll rewatch Gordy/Martel and the midgets match but not because I'm afraid of Johnny outing me as a midget hater.

I think he's going to say "Yes." That's when you kick out the print out of the note and hand it to him. I'm sure that's what he's always wanted.

The worst part of this project is that I now tend to call VON KRAMER "Parv." "What's the origin of the pound?" It was actually worth a literal pound of silver way back in Early Middle Ages Anglo/Saxon England. He's the one with the literature background. I'm the one with the medieval history Masters. I think you guys totally slept on Greg Gagne UNLEASHED in that match. I figured that'd come out even more in the group setting. He was the god damn Ultimate Warrior in that match. Parv Von Bockwinkel is a great gimmick. Though Johnny is the one with the maniacal laugh. Obviously I'm going to have to rewatch the midget match. thanks. It still had the best atomic drop of all time. There was a ladies tag I thought should have made it on the set, neither here nor there. I'll try to remember what it was. I couldn't convince anyone to watch it after I saw it. Ah: It was Richter/Grable vs Mcintyre/Martin. It's offline now. It was a fun spotfest at least as good as.. let's say Badd Company vs Midnight Rockers. I need to rewatch that too to see if it holds up. I love this Martel vs Bock. It's not my top match of theirs by any means, but the sprint nature of it just shows how both guys are so versatile. re: Martel. I think the issue with him is that he's better as a face. I think he still has some really good babyface matches in WWF. There's a match with Tama which is worth watching for instance. He's pretty cruddy as a heel though. There's some of his pre-WCW work with Don Callis online and I've been meaning to watch it. Hennig is the guy who had good matches as both a face and heel in AWA but that was completely neutered in WWF. I already decided I need to rewatch Gordy/Martel. It was pretty forgettable to me though I think I had a problem with the psych, especially of the final third. Finishes where the banned guys come back to interfere really piss me off. I tuned you guys out completely after minute #2 of the Zenk talk.

If we aren't going to get Punk/Brock vs Taker/HHH, then I want a Punk/Shield vs Ryback/Orton/Sheamus/Taker gimmick match with Maddox as ref and Heyman in a cage above the ring.