Comments that don't warrant a thread - Part 3

[Coffey]

That is a super awesome gift! Be sure to share a picture of it once you have it.

 

Will do. Think I'm going with just the three as I might not be happy with the fourth. Artist said he has some backlog so it might not be in time for Christmas, which is fine.

[EvenStevenBooking]

Probably old, but seeing Bret in green is odd:

 

 

 

 

I like Orange Taker though.

 

 

[fakeplastictrees]

Did someone touch up those photos or are those the actual colors? If so, why?

[PeteF3]

Apparently that's from the making of the In Your House game (with Mortal Kombat-style graphics and gameplay). I'm guessing there's some reason that green and red would scan better.

[Sidebottom]

Yes that was the reason Pete. Green, red and blue are key colors for contrast. I seem to remember something about them not working well with each other though from my old school days. An example of red apples on green trees comes to mind but I'm not sure. Mr Vidage would be most disappointed in me.

 

Anyway, there are a tonne of those photos online from the same set of different wrestlers, quite cool.

[Lee]

Basically you use a chroma key to eliminate the blue and green (green is generally chosen because blood is red, ergo skin tones are generally have some shade of red in them). The blue backgrounds would be keyed out and replaced with the game background (i.e. the crowd animations), and the ropes and turnbuckles would be lined up with the ring in the game (so the wrestlers would be stood at the same place in the game and to avoid things like Bret being taller than Undertaker etc.)

 

The reason Bret wears a green singlet is so they can capture Bret doing his moves once instead of twice (which would be marginally different animations and require more memory), and then chroma key his singlet colours on after the fact (as in he would have different colours if two players both picked him, one shirt would be pink, one would be black, etc.) Also the reason his singlet is green rather than blue is because if you filmed him against the blue background and keyed out the blue, you would see the ring and crowd through his shirt, and that part of him would technically be invisible. Same as if they filmed against a green background, his outfit needs to be a different colour to it.

[pol]

Have CMLL trios always been so formulaic? I've only been watching for about 6 months but in that time I've come close to concluding that the average TV trios are barely worth bothering with; it's the same rudo beatdown, same técnico comeback in almost every single match.

[soup23]

Have CMLL trios always been so formulaic? I've only been watching for about 6 months but in that time I've come close to concluding that the average TV trios are barely worth bothering with; it's the same rudo beatdown, same técnico comeback in almost every single match.

 

This is generally the case, but I think that falls with most wrestling, no? The great stuff rises above and transcends the trends but the formula for most of the meat in generally there and it is up to the viewer to decide which style they generally prefer.

[anotherspammer]

Thecubsfan has some yearly win/loss totals somewhere on his site, and the biggest takeaway is that tecnicos almost always win. It makes some sense - they're "tecnicos" because they're better wrestlers, rudos will opt for a DQ or quickly submit if things aren't going their way, etc. So, don't expect much variety in CMLL in terms of how matches are laid out. Rudos win when they are facing guys lower on the card than them, or to set up future matches.

 

I don't watch a ton of current CMLL, but I definitely scan the matches that show up each week and will watch any that have matchups that catch my eye. For example, last week Guerrero Maya Jr. and Rey Hechicero were on opposite teams, so I made sure to watch that just to see those two work together.

[Matt D]

Really, most CMLL trios are either an A-B-A (shine-beatdown-comeback) format or a B-A-C (beatdown-comeback-reset) one. The value isn't necessarily in variation so much as it's in how deeply they build anticipation for the comeback and how well they pay it off, or in how fun the work is in either the primera or the tercera depending on where most of the sequence is.

[pol]

I don't think my problem is so much the structural similarity, more that they barely even resemble an actual match until the técnico comeback begins (which itself is usually so rushed that it comes off as cheap). Those rudo beatdowns are so tepid most of the time. And you see the same spots over and over; I really never need to see the 'técnico missed dropkick into getting stomped on by all the rudos' spot again.

[elliott]

For some reason I was curious how old Batista is, so I went to imdb to find out. There I learned that Smackdown episodes have titles as if it were a typical sitcom. Some of the names include:

Taking a Stand

The Host is Here, Brother

Deal With It, Fella

YEStle Mania

Shield-nanigans.

Wall of Flesh

USO Crazy

Wee, Wee, Wee, All the Way Home

No Time for Love

 

Just wanted to share because I think that is hilarious.

[stomperspc]

Regular, televised CMLL trios are their own unique match type. However, I tend to think of them as a cross between job matches and competitive TV singles matches. They are designed to get guys into matches on TV while also protecting them, which was the main purpose of squash matches. However, they are obviously more competitive than that with wrestlers of equal stature (in terms of placement on the card) on both sides of the match. So instead the guys are protected via the trios format (ie. guys can lose without getting beat), the 2 out of 3 falls rules allows both teams to get at least one “win”, and the acceptance by fans that rudos will have often lose by getting themselves disqualified.

 

The advantage over squash matches as that they can build up feuds and have guys that are feuding interact with one another. The advantage over the current WWE TV format of competitive matches and guys trading wins is that the wrestlers tend to be a little better protected in the 2 out of 3 falls trios format. It is sort of a win-win unless you are looking for unique, above-average matches. For better or for worst, that’s not the focus. The opening match guys generally try harder but they are opening match guys for a reason usually (still learning or just not very good) so that limits the number of great matches that will come out of the openers. The upper card, regular TV trios aren’t necessarily concerned about being blow away matches but like Chad said, I think that’s probably been the case throughout history in most promotions when it comes to TV matches.

[anotherspammer]

The RAWs and Smackdowns on Hulu have episode titles, but I'm not sure when that started. I only noticed in the Spring. Do the episodes on the Network? If so, how far back? I wonder what poor intern had to go through and name every episode of RAW in 2001 or whatever.

[pol]

Regular, televised CMLL trios are their own unique match type. However, I tend to think of them as a cross between job matches and competitive TV singles matches. They are designed to get guys into matches on TV while also protecting them, which was the main purpose of squash matches. However, they are obviously more competitive than that with wrestlers of equal stature (in terms of placement on the card) on both sides of the match. So instead the guys are protected via the trios format (ie. guys can lose without getting beat), the 2 out of 3 falls rules allows both teams to get at least one “win”, and the acceptance by fans that rudos will have often lose by getting themselves disqualified.

 

The advantage over squash matches as that they can build up feuds and have guys that are feuding interact with one another. The advantage over the current WWE TV format of competitive matches and guys trading wins is that the wrestlers tend to be a little better protected in the 2 out of 3 falls trios format. It is sort of a win-win unless you are looking for unique, above-average matches. For better or for worst, that’s not the focus. The opening match guys generally try harder but they are opening match guys for a reason usually (still learning or just not very good) so that limits the number of great matches that will come out of the openers. The upper card, regular TV trios aren’t necessarily concerned about being blow away matches but like Chad said, I think that’s probably been the case throughout history in most promotions when it comes to TV matches.

 

This is a great explanation, thanks. Doesn't make me like the matches any more but at least I understand the philosophy behind it a little better. It seems to me that CMLL affords its guys less opportunities to put on good matches than any other major promotion, which is frustrating.

[stomperspc]

 

Regular, televised CMLL trios are their own unique match type. However, I tend to think of them as a cross between job matches and competitive TV singles matches. They are designed to get guys into matches on TV while also protecting them, which was the main purpose of squash matches. However, they are obviously more competitive than that with wrestlers of equal stature (in terms of placement on the card) on both sides of the match. So instead the guys are protected via the trios format (ie. guys can lose without getting beat), the 2 out of 3 falls rules allows both teams to get at least one “win”, and the acceptance by fans that rudos will have often lose by getting themselves disqualified.

 

The advantage over squash matches as that they can build up feuds and have guys that are feuding interact with one another. The advantage over the current WWE TV format of competitive matches and guys trading wins is that the wrestlers tend to be a little better protected in the 2 out of 3 falls trios format. It is sort of a win-win unless you are looking for unique, above-average matches. For better or for worst, that’s not the focus. The opening match guys generally try harder but they are opening match guys for a reason usually (still learning or just not very good) so that limits the number of great matches that will come out of the openers. The upper card, regular TV trios aren’t necessarily concerned about being blow away matches but like Chad said, I think that’s probably been the case throughout history in most promotions when it comes to TV matches.

 

This is a great explanation, thanks. Doesn't make me like the matches any more but at least I understand the philosophy behind it a little better. It seems to me that CMLL affords its guys less opportunities to put on good matches than any other major promotion, which is frustrating.

 

 

Yea, I think that might be true, at least relative to the amount of TV they have.

[ohtani's jacket]

Trios matches have always been hit and miss with the overwhelming majority being average. That's why we're always on the lookout for hidden gems. Having said that, the modern guys don't have the same bags of tricks to draw upon to make the matches entertaining and tend to follow the match formulas rather slavishly. Great trios workers like the Infernales had dozens of ways to work a bout. Modern workers have a handful.

[Zenjo]

Also, been watching some 88-89 WWF and good lord do I still hate Brother Love. I thought maybe the gimmick was one of those things I'd appreciate more with the benefit of age and hindsight, but nope. Still terrible. Can't stand the voice, the red face or the dopey music playing in the background while they're trying to get major angles over. Probably my least favorite "talk" segment the WWF did and yet it was their central one of this era.

You may want to avoid certain chapters of the 1990 Yearbook in that case. I think that every single Brother Love segment made the set. It was a wonderful moment when the Ultimate Warrior ended the show.

[goc]

I don't think that gimmick works without the red face though. I just can't see normal non face painted Bruce Pritchard having the same effect in that role.

[Coffey]

I have got to stop staying up all hours of the night watching pro-wrestling for this greatest wrestler ever project. It's going to kill me! Educated myself tonight on The Destroyer and got bonus Mil Mascaras along the way. Can't believe the level of shit they were doing all the way back in 1974. Can't believe the quality of some of the video footage on youtube from that era either, honestly. Good stuff.

 

There was a spot in the first fall that ended with Mascaras having a high-angle Boston Crab on The Destroyer that I completely marked out for. 3AM marking out at a wrestling match from 40 years ago. THAT is pro-wrestling.

[Moonsault Marvin]

I like the way that the Destroyer can be doing high quality matwork or selling a hold in those matches with Mascaras and then have the crowd laughing with the things that he's shouting. He is able to do comedy but keep the match serious at the same time.

[Blehschmidt]

I know it was said previously that if someone died it deserved it's own thread, but in this case I think this is the right place. Brad Batten of The Batten Twins has passed away.

[TRMD]

I am extremely confused about GFW.

 

Have they even held a show yet? Are they going to have a weekly TV show that I can watch?

 

Are they going to be like TNA? Their own wrestlers who are there every week with storylines and PPV's?

[pol]

GFW will not exist as anything more than a name unless/until Jeff Jarrett can secure a national TV deal.

[Matt D]

Whatever it is, it feels really carny.