puropotsy Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Dylan and I are joined by Kris Zellner and Will to discuss the AWA compilationn as part of the 80's Project. Wrestling Culture Episode 21- AWA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Really good show. Think this one and the last one have been my favourites of these so far. Can't wait for this set. I was probably the poster you were referring to who mentioned the ages of guys over on DVDR and it was interesting to hear you mention that you think Verne was still booking the older guys because they were still draws and because of the mindset of the fans in that territory. I have a slightly different theory: 1. He booked them because they made it seem less strange for him to still be in the ring. 2. He booked them because they could be trusted and he was paranoid. 3. He booked them because they were available. Vince wasn't going to be using those guys at that time and neither was Crockett. Even by 87, AWA must have seemed more attractive to some older guys (e.g. Wahoo) than Memphis or Texas. 4. He booked them because there was no one else. I'm not sure how credible this one is, but I'm guessing the best talent would have been hoovered up by Vince or Crockett. Hell, Vince even poached Boris Zhukov. Verne simply didn't have the creativity or nous to spot potential or create new stars. 5. He booked them because they were cheap. I don't have figures to back this up, but I'm willing to bet that Stevens or McDaniel in 87 weren't getting large pay packets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soup23 Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Another great show that got me pumped for the set. Will brought the opinions and venom, Kris brought history and perspective, Dylan brought sound arguments, and Dave directed traffic and inserted his trademark inappropriate jokes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Looking forward to listening to this very soon! The advantages to working from home speak for themselves. The disadvantage is that there's no commute, so finding time to listen to podcasts is a challenge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khawk20 Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Hell, Vince even poached Boris Zhukov. Zurkov being poached is one thing, but the most telling poach in terms of "Holy Shit!" to me was Brad Rheingans. Verne wasn't so bad at creating and moving talent upwards, the problem by then was he could only move them up *so* far given the scope of the AWA from 87-onward. Badd Company, the Nasty Boys, and even Kokina Maximus (aka Yokozuna) later on are all examples of Verne bringing in newer and lesser-known talent, seeing them grow as performers, and having to leave to expand their experience and star power. The bigger problem was these developing talents were often elevated faster than they would have been if the overall talent pool was deeper. The metamorphasis of Curt Hennig from 1984-87 is a good example of a performer given time to grow and being elevated when he was ready to carry the ball. Unfortunately, Hennig eventually had to leave to grow his star power, too...the field he was carrying the ball on was a lot shorter than in the WWF or WCW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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