The Thread Killer Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 It illustrates All Japan head dropping at its worst. I'm curious Will. Did you dislike the "head dropping" style because it was dangerous to the workers, or did you feel that those moves were being done at the expensive of more sound, mat based psychological wrestling moves? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 I was listening to a Honky Tonk Man shoot last night, and apparently Dr. D David Schultz came up with Wrestlemania. According to HTM, Schultz and Hogan were on the road together and during one night of conversation helped along by illicit substances he told Hogan about an idea he had about a big wrestling show called Wrestlemania. He even said that they should have celebrities like Mr T involved. As the story goes, Hogan went to Vince and told him of this brilliant idea and he obviously liked it. Unfortunately the John Stossel incident happened, and Vince didn't want to book Dr. D on what was his make-or-break show, so he ended up being left off the card of a show he came up with the concept with (and he probably would have been in the main event since he was Piper's flunky before he slapped Stossel and got replaced by Orndorff). Allegedly, that made him snap and it's why you didn't see much of Dr. D again after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 It illustrates All Japan head dropping at its worst. I'm curious Will. Did you dislike the "head dropping" style because it was dangerous to the workers, or did you feel that those moves were being done at the expensive of more sound, mat based psychological wrestling moves? I disliked that sort of thing, but not really for the reasons you stated. The problem is that earlier in the decade, AJ was all about using what they had at their disposal to engage the audience in a story, and later, it just became about pulling them in through headdropping, which just felt cheap compared to what they were doing before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Metal Maniac Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 I had always been told that the Ganso bomb was a botched powerbomb, because the spot as originally planned was that Kawada would go for a powerbomb, Misawa would attempt a rana counter, and Kawada would block the rana counter, lift Misawa back up, and powerbomb him. But since Kawada's arm got totally fucked doring the match, he simply didn't have the power to lift Misawa from that position, and, with no other option, he just dropped him. I mean, doesn't it seem kinda silly that they'd use a head-drop like that without it even being the finish? That is, of course, assuming I remember all this stuff correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 It illustrates All Japan head dropping at its worst. I'm curious Will. Did you dislike the "head dropping" style because it was dangerous to the workers, or did you feel that those moves were being done at the expensive of more sound, mat based psychological wrestling moves? I actually enjoy the head-dropping when watching wrestling. However, I understand how it hurts the product. Inevitably, what happens (and we see it on the indy circuit all the time) is that wrestlers feel the need to create some new devastating maneuver. Why does Kobashi need the Diamondhead or Burning Hammer when he has won more matches with the Lariat? Why does Kawada need the Ganso Bomb when he has the Brainbuster and Powerbomb at his disposal? I can understand Misawa breaking out the Tiger Driver 91 in a big match to put away an opponent. That doesn't bother me. Dr. Death was breaking out backdrop drivers in the early 90s and they were killer. It isn't the head dropping that bothers me but the feeling that these guys started doing them for the sake of doing them, instaead of having to include a new weapon to put away a more powerful opponent. It bothered me that the Backdrop drivers that were used as a deadly weapon in the early 90s were used with regularity in the late 90s as transition moves. As for the Ganso Bomb, in the match, I actually liked the use of it. It was used as a counter and a dangerous one that fit within the context of the match. IT could have been the finish but with Kawada, you aways got the feeling he always needed to do more to finish off Misawa (since Misawa had always gotten the best of him) that I didn't mind that either. I have more of a problem with its use in the Muto matches where there was no respect for the move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dangerous A Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Another bad thing with the head dropping was how it conditioned the audience. In late 90's AJPW main event matches, the auduence would soon not react to anything until the head dropping began. It does take away from building a match. Misawa vs Kobashi from 6/11/99 is a prime example of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Local Jobber R Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Who owns the Mid-South/UWF video library? If Mr. McMahon owns it then I demand a best of the Freebirds DVD set featuring them working the 80's territories from Mid-South, WCCW, AWA, NWA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Who owns the Mid-South/UWF video library? If Mr. McMahon owns it then I demand a best of the Freebirds DVD set featuring them working the 80's territories from Mid-South, WCCW, AWA, NWA. Bill Watts' wife owns the Mid South library and sells it through UniversalWrestling.com. As far as your demands to WWE, I don't think Vince posts here (unless he's savagerulz ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Local Jobber R Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Ahhhhh hamburgers. Freebirds ruled back in the day too bad their best work can't be sold to the masses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 I'd argue that the Freebirds' best work was in World Class, which Vince doesn't own either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bruiser Chong Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Who owns the Mid-South/UWF video library? If Mr. McMahon owns it then I demand a best of the Freebirds DVD set featuring them working the 80's territories from Mid-South, WCCW, AWA, NWA.Bill Watts' wife owns the Mid South library and sells it through UniversalWrestling.com. As far as your demands to WWE, I don't think Vince posts here (unless he's savagerulz ). It's too bad that they charge fairly ridiculous amounts for VHS tapes. As an aside, how's Barnett able to sell his Mid-South set? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Surreal Moment of the Night: listening to an Abdullah the Butcher shoot interview. Voice does NOT match the body. I don't know what I was expecting him to sound like, but that wasn't it. It's a mindfuck to hear this mellow sounding voice coming from a dude who's famous for stabbing people in the grill with forks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Rajah/Observer: It took much more than Shannon Moore's talent to make a return to the WWE. His girlfriend Julie Drozdov, who is a wardrobe employee for WWE, has been constantly speaking to Johnny Ace to rehire Moore. Ace blew her off each time, which resulted in her to take a different direction and approach Vince McMahon about rehiring Shannon Moore. Those present at the TV taping where she approach McMahon, said that she gave the ?pitch of a lifetime? in telling him what Moore could bring to the table. In addition, she explained that Moore had recently went over AJ Styles and was being pressured to signing a contract with TNA, so if WWE did not pick him up, he would be with their rival. The signing of Moore is believed to hit Jeff Jarrett hard, as he pushed for his TNA debut as a favor to Drozdov. Moore will be placed on the SmackDown! brand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Surreal Moment of the Night: listening to an Abdullah the Butcher shoot interview. Voice does NOT match the body. I don't know what I was expecting him to sound like, but that wasn't it. It's a mindfuck to hear this mellow sounding voice coming from a dude who's famous for stabbing people in the grill with forks. It's surreal, but not all surprising if you realize what Abby's been up to these days. Abby owns a restaurant in Atlanta, and is reportedly courteous, kind, and accomodating to the customers. A real gentleman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 WWE has re-signed Kenzo Suzuki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dorian Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 Didn't the guy do some real martial arts fighting to basically get the WWE to sign him back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thread Killer Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 Is anybody credible reporting this? I know that some guy known as Glensoe has been making the rounds of all the boards spreading this as "news" but he is notorious for posting fake news items. He even got banned for it at TSM. Not that I care anyhow, because I've never even SEEN Kenzo Suzuki, nor do I wish to, but I'd just be careful how much weight I put in this until somebody like Meltzer reports it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted March 29, 2006 Report Share Posted March 29, 2006 I was listening to mp3s and it occured to me how well the music from Cowboy Bebop would work as wrestling themes. I can just imagine someone leaving ROH using "Blue" as their theme for their last match with the company. Considering the average ROH audience, they'd get the significance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest savagerulz Posted March 29, 2006 Report Share Posted March 29, 2006 What's Cowboy Bebop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted March 29, 2006 Report Share Posted March 29, 2006 What's Cowboy Bebop? It's an anime show that put Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block on the map. It's one of the best written shows (animated or live action) most people have ever seen. The song "Blue" was featured in the last part of the last episode, which (trying not to be spoiler-riffic here) featured someone going to a higher place. It's the perfect song for someone leaving for the WWE, and I'd wager there's a high enough crossover between ROH fans and Adult Swim fans for it to get over. Especially if the final match was a bloody brawl, and the guy leaving just limped to the house mic to say his farewell speech. "Bang." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bruiser Chong Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 I may have discovered the worst announcing combination of all time. While watching a Houston WWF arena show from 1987 (the one in honor of Paul Boesch), I had the displeasure of sitting through two hours of Bruce Pritchard, Mike Mcguirk, and Duke Doherty. Absolutely brutal. Pritchard's about as non-descriptive as can be when he's not in red face and proclaiming how much he loves us. Mcguirk is so out of her element it's not even funny. Her comments don't extend past occasionally pointing out the most obvious things and then asking Pritchard for validation on said comments. And Duke is just painful on the ears. He sounds like a sleazier Gilbert Gottfried with a sore throat. It's odd to hear the vanilla Pritchard go back and forth with this guy who's so clearly in character. The quality of the card doesn't help, either. We've got such gems as Kamala/Sika vs. JYD/Tony Atlas. And remember, this is mid-1987, which makes the latter team especially tough to watch. Then there are epics like Steve Lombardi vs. Sam Houston is an unusually long opener, Hercules vs. Bruno, and Brutus Beefcake vs. Johnny V. There's also this odd sequence where Fink gives this long intro for Andre to come out, which he does, only to come halfway down the aisle and turn back around. I know he had gone through back surgery and they weren't promoting him as wrestling on the card, but it was a pointless segment. The only redeeming elements are one of those early Ted Dibiase segments where he finds a way to avoid giving an audience member money and a decent OMG/Hulk Hogan match. Dibiase and Duggan hook up for a match later on the card, and Pritchard surprisingly acknowledges their history, albeit, ambiguously. The match isn't that good, but it does feature the only time I've ever seen Dibiase connect with that famous spot where he goes to the second rope and falls back with an elbow. That's actually the spot that wins the match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 According to Meltzer, WWE will now be using the name "Rick Flair" because they are in a legal battle with Crockett over the term "Ric Flair" Priceless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest savagerulz Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 Nice to see it being done back to the WWE for once. This whole trademarking and name stuff always amuses me. It's not half as important as everyone makes out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 Wow, was Flair billed as "Ric Flair", with that spelling, even in 1972 when he debuted? That's really going back pretty far. And I wonder what the legal issue is - if Crockett is wanting royalties for all the money made off of the name Ric Flair by WWE. This could be big, or it may get taken care of fairly easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 Some people are calling this an April Fool's joke by Meltz, but if it's not, the question remains how was he able to use the name Ric Flair during his first WWF run? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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