Matt D

Wrestling is symbolic. It's just a matter of training the fans. Selling is WAY more important than "execution" absolutely. Look at Blackwell selling Crusher's little pokey punches.

Rocky isn't an idiot. He wrestled Bret Hart. He wrestled Owen. He wrestled Benoit. He knows how to put on a sharpshooter. He 100% did the leg hug sharpshooter on purpose. Why? I don't have a frigging idea, but I refuse to believe he didn't know what he was doing. I DO believe that SID had no idea how to put the Crippler Crossface on right.

I don't buy it. Hell Anderson basically had a feud where the central thrust was the fact his opponent had just mastered the STF. Cena knows what he's doing and does it for a specific dramatic reason. Maybe he wants it big and loose for some visual reason. Maybe he does it for a laugh. Maybe it's because it really doesn't matter and it's all symbolic anyway. I just don't buy that there's not some element of causality there other than "He never figured out that he had a shitty looking move."

Cena's not an idiot by any means. He apparently has Arn Anderson as his personal agent. To me, if he's still doing the STF that way, there's a reason for it.

Do we have any clue what's actually in there that's not already available? Not that it's going to come on the market easily or anything but still.

Patera vs. Rheingans I don't think would have worked because I've never seen Rheingans as having any sort of drawing potential. Patera vs. Sarge in the same setting, for sure. I think it could have worked specifically in 84 in a lightning in a bottle sort of way. Actually, I was 3 in 84, so I'm just guessing, but looking at AWA tv and what I watched of the olympics on youtube in the last week, the US Wrestling Golds seemed like a big deal to me. I just think Turncoat Olympian vs Former Olympian and Current Olympic Coach would have worked with that specific crowd. It practically writes itself. With Brad, did they really give him stuff to do or did they just toss him out there on the idea that his credentials would be enough to draw?

From what I've seen, Patera as a Sheik. AWA was such a patriotic territory (But in a way completely different than mid-south). With the olympic build, if he didn't jump we could have gotten a massive Patera/Rheingans feud. I think he could have potentially been a huge babyface in 84 in AWA, if he did turn instead of Blackwell.

Hippie!

Part of me wants to see a never ending Paul Jones vs Bill Dundee feud.

The Greg/Hennig vs Bock/Stevens match is just nuts.

I get the glove because of the missing finger. But he doesn't seem to be working a Wellington gimmick so I have no idea.

It would be hilariously hypocritical if I targeted Ted Dibiase for not having great matches. Also i want to see the Patera/Tommy Rich feud.

The board being down has slowed me down a little, but I toss my comments in an e-mail to myself post match and then put them on later. I love the names of the AWA jobbers. Rooster Griffith. The Black Panther. The IRON DUKE~. Nacho Berrera. The best is how they made NO attempt to hide the fact Referee Jim Mitchell was the Iron Duke. They just called him something different when he was wrestling. Hilarious.

"Jossie wound up in the WWE's doghouse after making an ill-advised Kobe Bryant rape joke during a live broadcast of "Monday Night Raw" on July 30." I feel like 90% of the people who were reading that stopped taking the article seriously after reading the second paragraph.

Part of me wants to go back and watch a lot of HTM to see how smart he really was. The rest of me really sort of doesn't.

Dylan, what about Sid as a guy who was in a bunch of places on top of the cards? I mean he's in the Sting/Luger/Jake class, but he's still in that class, maybe?

Jake Roberts? Worked Dibiase and Andre in WWF when they were the top heels and then Savage when he was a top face (and main evented a lot of B/C shows vs Rude, no?). Had the big Mohammed Ali match in Mid South. Worked Sting in WCW. It's a stretch before and after that but I know he did some stuff in GA close to the top and then he'd work close to the top briefly in SMW and ECW?

I suppose I owe you a drink if it ever comes to that.

SO, I e-mailed JJ Dillon off his website on a whim in order to see his thoughts on the "Was Tully In On It?" question, and we now have a DEFINITIVE answer. Also, JJ is awesome for responding.

Is there enough Florida footage to make a set? Enough Southeastern/Continental? OR will these be tossed into the random Other 80s Territories? Those are the two that I think, just due to longevity and a few key players enough footage might exist for.

In the history of US wrestling, of insanely heated crowds and people getting stabbed repeatedly and riots and a couple of local cops as security, has a heel ever been killed by the crowd?

And that's the wrong kind of heat? The wrong kind of heat is "Go away" heat. "We want to kill you" heat is gold.

Jack Hart vs Hector Guerrero from Florida TV from around then is too. Is there a pre-wwf Jack Hart comp anywhere?

I think he had a few Jr. Heavyweight titles here and there. Someone would probably know more. Vic DID make a tribute video though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iejOK2_uZyo

Mike Jackson is probably the best jobber of the 80s. If you ever get around to watching 84 Mid South TV, he's all over the place and is super solid.