Log

Wait! What?

It's funny, I've never really heard anybody talk about his "incredible mind". Everything I've ever heard about him points to him only looking out for his own interests. I could very well be wrong, but I swear that I've heard reference to him having the capacity to be a good booker or something. I guess it's just more that he's this highly regarded guy, but stuff you read from when he's alive doesn't really support that.

Myth: Bruiser Brody had this incredible mind for the wrestling business. Ok, so I've read stuff here and there indicating that Brody had this great mind for the business, could've been a really good booker, etc. (Don't ask me where I heard, this. I just seem to recall hearing something to this effect.) Anyway, from reading the WON recaps here, it seems like Brody did what was good for HIM, but not neccessarily for business. He refused to job, even when the program called for it (vs. Blackwell). He's known for leaving territories high and dry, etc, etc. I'm not doing a good job of wording this, but maybe what I'm getting at is the question as to whether or not the circumstances of Brody's death have led to him being looked upon a bit more fondly, than if he was still around? I mean, reading these old recaps, it comes off as Brody was as big a mark for himself as anyone ever.

I'm a journalist, and I'd smack Stossell around given the chance. At the end of a good newscast, we always say "Well, we fooled em today." I've always thought that a good reporter can make it sound like they know what they're talking about on any given subject, so yeah, Dave's right here.

Isn't he the little fat guy from my old Michinoku Pro tapes? Damn, I loved that guy.

Poor guy. Too bad he never amounted to anything.

That confused me at first, too. Then I realized that he was referring to himself and the Lakers as winners, and then listed a bunch of other dudes and the Celtics as "the rest". I've seen a ton of Flair promos, many of them quite odd. Especially stuff where he elbow drops his sport coat, etc. This was the oddest I've seen.

That's what really hit me with this match. It had all the feel of a uh, normal-sized championship match. I'm just getting used to the difference in Lucha championship matches, mask/hair matches, etc. This was totally a championship match just performed by minis.

I stand by my theory that Punk will win MITB every year from now on. That way, when the wellness stuff pops up, they can just shoot the belt onto thier straight-edge guy, and that's that.

I'm kinda in the same boat as a few of you guys. I don't really have any friends that are into wrestling. A couple are, but we just get together for Wrestlemania and stuff. Everyone who knows me, knows that I love this stuff. They don't get it, but they don't really care. My wife just found out that I communicate with people online about it and am participating in stuff like the Memphis poll, and she thinks it's "cute". She calls it my nerd project. Everytime I have wrestling on in the house (and that's a lot) she asks how I can watch it so much. I honestly have no clue why I like it. I just do. I'm really into music, too. I could probably go on for a while why that is, but not with wrestling. I'm just fascinated by everything about it. I thought my answer to the question posed originally would be "not very highly". After thinking about it, though, I probably do regard it pretty highly. It's really probably my #1 hobby. I spend a lot of time reading music reviews etc online, but a lot more time reading about wrestling. I used to be embarrassed by it. Now I kind of realize that I have a beautiful wife, a nice house, I'm well liked by my co-workers and friends...so who cares.

I like how Ross covered for this by saying something to the effect that Dustin just couldn't avoid Austin's clotheslines. I really dug this. I'm really starting to get a new appreciation for Larry Z. I loved him consistently being mad about the ref's "slow" count. I just love watching Barry and Dustin wrestle...just so natural (no pun intended). You can just tell that they were born into it. I guess my main criticism is that I'd like to have seen Windham's hand come more into play. You know, have the heels work it over or something. Nothing big, but it would have been nice.

I really think this belongs in the wrestling myth busters thread. Or maybe I'm just odd and I was the only one who thought it was batshit awesome on a first viewing (and it was the first Misawa/Kawada match I ever saw). I argued pretty heavily during the Mid-South set that if you want "wrestling that requires context to understand", the Duggan/DiBiase uber-stips on a pole match is probably the best example of it I've ever seen. Without the setup it's some 10 minute clusterfuck, with it... it's amazing. And that really the 94 Misawa/Kawada context arguement looks awfully silly put next to something like it. I don't need "context" for athletic exhibition. I do need it for "guys in tuxes fighting a pole match". I was already watching the athletic exhibition because I happen to like that shit to begin with. To get me to watch "two guys in tuxes fighting a pole match", and not only pop for it, but be blown away by it... that's a much bigger accomplishment. And requires a lot more context to make happen. If I were to put together a list of the top 100 matches I thought needed "context" to become "good", Misawa/Kawada 94 wouldn't crack the top 100. Hell I doubt it would crack the top 500. But I was always of the opinion All Japan's appeal (for me personally) was the raw athleticism. I didn't need that sold, which is good, beause they never did much to sell it. It was just (as someone once described it) "guys in trunks and boots, and they just wrestle". The wrestling had to stand on it's own merit because there wasn't anything else. Once that athletic level eventually dropped off (along with running out of new shit to do)... well, people can see where it's at now. And in hindsight that was probably an inevitable consequence of going that way. I find most American-style wrestling requires far more context for me to enjoy, because not that some of the matches aren't great, but there's a lot more going on aroud them. Which is probably why it's hard to get back into it once one has been out for a while, "do I really want to go through learning all the backstory, again". Maybe that's just me. While the match can definitely be enjoyed on first viewing, I don't think it'd hit that "greatest of all time" stuff without the context.

YES! YES! YES! Always wanted to see this.

What was up with this? Obviously, things didn't work out with the Bulldogs and NWA, but I've never heard this story.

I don't think that most recent fan run-ins have anything to do with kayfabe. Alcohol is a much bigger factor.

I don't really get what you're saying here. The wrestlers use moves to tell the story, but they're not the actual story. A story always begins with characters and a theme. After that, you plot it out. Whenever people get carried away about All Japan finishes, it always seems like they're describing the plot and not talking about the story. Even if you can find a trope to describe the finish, I think it misses the point, because that trope is specific to the match. If it weren't specific to that match, then it would come across as a cliche or a parody. The most important thing in wrestling stories is not how the wrestler won the match, but why the wrestler won the match. Ok, gotcha. It's not so much that the Bulls beat the Celts in triple ot, it's the fact that it wasn't supposed to be that close of a series, and there's already been like 4 ot games. Something like that.

ok...my turn... To be the man, you have to beat the...heroin charge? I was looking at Velvet Underground lyrics hoping for a somewhat obvious Flair joke, but I got nothing. So I guess that you just don't know...yes, and I guess that you just don't know..... When I'm rushin' on my run, and I feel just like [Ric Flair's] son.

I don't really get what you're saying here.

I actually have to agree with this one, as much as the Bretmaniacs hate to hear it. When you even have Scott Keith busting your balls over your FIVE MOVES OF DOOM~! (in almost the exact order every time) then yes, you do have a repeatable approach. Which wrestler doesn't have a "repeatable approach"? I mean, doesn't everyone kind of have their moveset and their favorite spots? I think Bret just get's shit for it because of Keith's thing. Bret's was pretty recognizable because (like you said) he would often do it in the same order. But most guys kind of have their thing, and use it every match.

So, how'd the whole "Japanese fans are all quiet and respectful" stuff start? I've been watching some 80's NJ and AJ, and those fans lose their collective shit. Same with some of the big stuff from the 90's. I mean, aren't they pretty much like all fans in that they'll sit on their hands for something they're just not that into?

So, with Ricky Steamboat being in the spotlight this week, it got me thinking. What led to him leaving the WWF in 88 or 89 or whenever it was before he showed up as Eddie Gilbert's tag partner? He was IC champ, then in the WMIV tourney, and that's all I remember. So my questions are: 1)What led to him leaving? and 2)What'd he do in the meantime?