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Where do we go from here?


Loss

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So here we are, about one month shy of four years from the time I started watching 1996. I have now viewed over 1200 hours of footage from 1990-1999.

 

My full attention from here forward will go toward completing the e-book, which includes lots of writing and watching a decent chunk of supplemental footage that I've identified. After I get fully in the swing of writing again, I'll have a better estimate of when the e-book will be released.

 

In the meantime, be on the lookout for:

 

- My Top 500 Matches of the 1990s countdown, starting at 500 and going all the way to number 1

- A new podcast series devoted to 1990s wrestling on a global scale, which will tackle a month at a time, starting with January 1990

- A 1990s wrestling blog, which will contain notes on supplemental matches and my thoughts on any 90s wrestling items that hit the wrestling news cycle (examples: Sting DVD release, Monday Night Wars series on the Network, library purchases and shoot interviews talking about the time period)

 

I credit this project for restoring my interest in wrestling, which was pretty low for about three years after Chris Benoit murdered his family. If you haven't made the trek through all of this, I encourage you to do so. You probably don't have to be as militant as I was, to the point that you give up watching just about anything else. But doing so is a great way to expose yourself (no, not like that!) to new footage and styles and also to remember why we all love this stuff so much, warts and all.

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I've loved following as you and others have gone through the 90s, and am having a blast doing so myself, even if I'm not able to maintain anywhere near that pace. Hopefully you pick up with the '00s in the fame fashion.

 

Any plans to add other content to the MDA? In the same vein as as the Japan Best of 2000s, could add everything that placed in WON MOTY voting for every year, all PPV / big show matches, use certain online lists or probably countless other sources to expand the base for that decade until those yearbooks are out.

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Yes, there are plans to do it, but it's a major undertaking creating all of those threads and I simply haven't had time. It will expand, but the expansion will be very slow.

 

It's my own fault in some ways that it hasn't happened faster. I'm so specific about how I want the thread titles formatted that I don't want to unnecessarily get frustrated with someone if they use "v." instead of "vs", don't include the date or misspell a wrestler's name.

 

As for the 2000s, this has taken a lot out of me. We'll see. There is definitely plenty I want to watch, but continuing at this pace when I'll be 35 years old next month with one child and a second one on the way will be pretty tough. It will all get watched but I'll be jumping around more, it will be slower, and I won't be watching anything outside the 1990s until the e-book is done.

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This has done probably more for *my* wrestling-viewing than it has for Loss. And like Loss it's come at the expense of most everything else, including modern New Japan, the '80s lucha set, and other stuff I'd really like to see. I wouldn't trade it for anything (wrestling-related...you know what I mean) though.

 

Before firing up the 1990 set my lucha knowledge was limited to When Worlds Collide and stuff I'd read on luchawiki and elsewhere, and my joshi knowledge was similar. Now I've seen almost all the major stuff from the first half of the '90s and can actually talk intelligently about both topics. I'm excited that I'm not even halfway through yet--sometimes I wish I was still reacting to things at the same time as everyone else, but I'd still rather have waited and started from the top.

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This has done probably more for *my* wrestling-viewing than it has for Loss. And like Loss it's come at the expense of most everything else, including modern New Japan, the '80s lucha set, and other stuff I'd really like to see. I wouldn't trade it for anything (wrestling-related...you know what I mean) though.

 

Before firing up the 1990 set my lucha knowledge was limited to When Worlds Collide and stuff I'd read on luchawiki and elsewhere, and my joshi knowledge was similar. Now I've seen almost all the major stuff from the first half of the '90s and can actually talk intelligently about both topics. I'm excited that I'm not even halfway through yet--sometimes I wish I was still reacting to things at the same time as everyone else, but I'd still rather have waited and started from the top.

 

 

I think you have taken the most enriching path overall Pete. There are a lot of times I wish I hadnt bounced around and went strictly chronological.

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Wait, so in addition to the e-book (which I'm excited for) you'll be posting on those topics in the first post shortly? That's awesome.

 

That's right. That's in addition to the e-book. The countdown will start after I check out some supplemental stuff and make sure I haven't overlooked something that belongs on the list. The matches will not have reviews though - those will be in the e-book. I will happily engage in conversations about why I ranked certain things certain ways though as I'm posting the list. To be honest, I still don't even know what my #1 will be.

 

That was the original idea for the e-book: to do a countdown of the top 500 matches of the 90s. But I felt in doing so, I was overlooking too many things that aren't quite at that level that still deserve mention. So the e-book will take a chronological approach while the countdown will just be a countdown.

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Did you have a flute of champagne when Tanaka-Awesome ended?

 

In all seriousness, the yearbooks have also sustained me through times when my fandom was at a lower ebb. I haven't always watched them with the same determination as Loss, Chad or Pete. But they're the most reliable entertainment in my collection. I honestly didn't think Will would pull off even one when he and Loss started kicking around the concept. And to think we now have a whole decade--it's impressive work by you guys. And Loss's reviews should provide a massive reference for years to come. I know there was nothing remotely likely this when I began digging deeper into the hobby.

 

I hope we surge on through the early 2000s, but no rush. After all, I'm still waylaid in 1998, with mounds of 2000s puro and old WOS distracting me.

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It's my own fault in some ways that it hasn't happened faster. I'm so specific about how I want the thread titles formatted that I don't want to unnecessarily get frustrated with someone if they use "v." instead of "vs", don't include the date or misspell a wrestler's name.

 

In this case, can you make sure you use Hiromi Yagi in your e-book? A million thank yous.

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I credit this project for restoring my interest in wrestling, which was pretty low for about three years after Chris Benoit murdered his family. If you haven't made the trek through all of this, I encourage you to do so. You probably don't have to be as militant as I was, to the point that you give up watching just about anything else. But doing so is a great way to expose yourself (no, not like that!) to new footage and styles and also to remember why we all love this stuff so much, warts and all.

Amen to this. It was firstly watching the 80's AJ set that rekindled my dwindling passion for wrestling, before launching myself into Yearbook viewing in February 2012. Seeing Charles' top 100 lists for each year gave me the inspiration to do the same. Having this structure and a goal in mind has really enriched the experience for me. I subsequently decided that I'm going to dedicate a 5 year period to 'doing' the 90's if you weel. Find all my favourite matches that I can within that time and come up with a master list. I'm thinking of a top 900 at this time although it's a long way away and could change. There are other decades of wrestling I've been putting off whilst concentrating on the 90's. My Lucha viewing post 1998 is practically nothing. And I keep meaning to watch more 70's material from Japan and the UK. But the past isn't going anywhere and I'll get around to it eventually.

 

I can't wait for the top 500 countdown and the e-book. Hopefully it will inspire more people to take the journey through the greatest decade of pro wrestling.

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Hiroumi bugs the hell out of me as well. :lol:

 

Then again I am totally anal about listings being in my preferred format. After every Yearbook is released I'll copy the listings onto a word file and for all complete matches I'll go about changing:

 

Muto to Mutoh

Otani to Ohtani

Masa to Masahiro or Masanobu

Jushin Liger to Jushin Thunder Liger

Yammamoto to Yamamoto

Removing all dots

Change all show names into the promotions initials only

 

Which you could argue is slightly nuts and a waste of time, and probably be right.

 

 

On another topic I am envious of Pete who has had the self discipline to watch everything chronologically. It's definitely the best path to take, but I could never do it without jumping between years.

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I praise your dedication to this project.

 

My issue with wrestling is that I become so unfocussed. I start with a 80's set, then I want to watch minis, then current day stuff, then all ppvs in order, then all ppvs from 95 instead, then just Muraco matches. It makes the complete narrative of wrestling really confusing to say the least.

 

I kind of want to pick something and go through it, for sure, but whether that's 80's, 90's an entire promotion, that is too hard to choose, so I just flip around things in the mean time.

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Just speaking for myself, I'll be receiving my 1990 and '91 yearbooks shortly, and my plan at the moment is to go chronologically by promotion. Start with the WWF, then go to WCW, then the USWA, etc. But knowing me, I'll probably end up jumping around for reasons of time, etc. It's nice to have a plan, but being a slave to one kills my enjoyment.

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