Cross Face Chicken Wing Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Who are some wrestlers who you thought were better when you saw them live compared to when you watched them on TV? I've only been to a handful of live wrestling cards in my lifetime, but I'd have to say The Big Show is much better live than on TV. He makes me yawn on TV, but the two times I've seen him live, his massive size and how he carries himself won me over. The first time I went to Nitro, I had seats near the top of the upper deck and Show still looked like he was 10 feet tall and 900 pounds. When I saw him at Raw a few years ago, those open-handed chops he delivered in the corner echoed throughout the entire arena. Even in this day and age when wrestling fans feel like they've already seen it all, Show connected with me on kind of an old-school "special attraction" level when I was watching him as part of a live audience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stiva Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Before I'd opened this thread, I was thinking of Big Show and yeah, he's super fun when you see him live. I saw a Show/Eddie Guerrero main event on a house show and Eddie was also good for this. I was pretty close to the ring but he had all the selling and facials you needed for a bigger arena down perfect and he played to the upper deck just as well as us. I'd say a lot of "giant" workers can fall into this category; for all his faults, Great Khali is also a guy who was super impressive live just because of the aura he gives (or gave) off. Taker's entrance is the perfect example of WWE as a live production and his matches, at least from 2005 or so onward, were always exciting whenever I saw him. I think live wrestling as a rule, tends to be better live on TV, especially when you've got really good workers in there taking you on the ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidebottom Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Drew McDonald I've seen live several times, including at a WCW taping, he was always a stand out, although he bores me on tape for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Damien Sandow was incredible the two times I saw him live. The Divas as a rule have come across as better workers live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidebottom Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 The Divas as a rule have come across as better workers live. I was impressed to see the hair extensions of Maryse go flying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khawk20 Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Abdullah the Butcher was a lot scarier as a performer live and up-close than he was on TV. Dan Kroffatt looked like he could jump up to the roof in person. ...come to think of it, every wrestling event I've ever attended has always had me marvel at how small the ring looks in person as opposed to how it looks on TV. That in itself makes pretty much everyone seem like they're better live, because the space they are executing their moves and their match seems so much more confined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Abby is a great pic for this. Maybe the best possible pick. I was terrified of him after seeing him live Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisZ Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Road Warriors in their prime were awesome to watch live Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkdoc Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 i would throw in your kamalas & papa shangos & boogeymen for the younger crowd. not ashamed to say i was terrified when shango made the lights go out at a house show in late 92! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 I was terrified of Barbarian and Warlord when I saw them live in 1989 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Evans Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Currently, it's Adam Rose. HIs entrance and comedy is much better live than on TV. I agree with Dylan about Sandow. Maxwell Chicago is another one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJH Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 I agree on "special attractions" and more visual wrestlers. The main one that hasn't come up yet, and it's especially applicable to current WWE guys, is those whose execution is better: the difference between, say, Bryan and most guys on the roster is startling live, given the WWE's habit of cutting on the impact of most moves. I've found that there're only a handful of guys who don't look like they're play fighting (poorly). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 The entire 1996 G1 was better in the building than on TV, but the first night was just a mess on TV. They seemed to have the crowd mic'd poorly or something, but it really came across flat. It's possible that commercial tape had the mix better, as I don't see any knocks about the Choshu-Hash and Mutoh-Yamazaki in the YB threads. I'm trying to remember if by AAA match was better on TV than it was live... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shining Wiz Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 Not trying to be cute, but every wrestler I ever saw live was better than I saw on tv. Cornette was more annoying, Flair was crisper, Cactus looked crazier, Hogan was more charismatic, Cabana was funnier, Necr Butcher looked more homeless, and Low Ki was.......well, whatever Low Ki is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 I've only been to two live shows in my life, but I really dug the Crush Girls vs. Nagashima/Sato match I saw. Japanese wrestling with all of the nearfalls and escalating moves strikes me as something that's better live than on television. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 Sid received the biggest pop I've heard live at a house show in summer of 96. Not even close and I've attended shows with Rock and Steve Austin on them during the attitude era. Sid was nothing special when you saw him on TV but in person he had this strange charisma that people gravitated towards. On this particular show they had him come back out of the backstage because his reaction was so huge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidebottom Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 Damien Sandow was incredible the two times I saw him live. Was this in the indies by any chance? I've heard a few people say he was a hoot on the indies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 I probably never had more fun at a live show than watching sandow in 2000. We went to shows just to see him be hilarious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantherwagner Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 Pierroth Jr., Perro Aguayo (I imagine the dad too but never saw him live), Los Dinamita, Dr. Wagner Jr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eduardo Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 I saw Perro Aguayo Sr. work once and he had an incredible presence live. He was already pretty old, but he has so much charisma, and the audience just loved him so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.