Mrzfn Posted June 17, 2019 Report Share Posted June 17, 2019 On 6/15/2019 at 9:59 AM, El-P said: Any words anywhere on that We The Independent thingy that is seemingly happening, involving people like David Starr ? Things are really getting interesting all around the industry... From what I understand it's a pro-labor movement to try to help wrestlers succeed independently or get fair deals if they decide to sign with a big company. Don't know any details beyond that and it could easily come to nothing, but I certainly like the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyonthewall2983 Posted June 17, 2019 Report Share Posted June 17, 2019 On 6/4/2019 at 3:56 PM, sek69 said: Here's an interesting story about Lorne Michaels of SNL fame that reads awfully close to another 70 year old entertainment mogul we all know and love. Hearing Harry Shearer talk to Marc Maron about his time on SNL with Lorne reminded me a lot of the CM Punk shoot on Cabana's show in certain respects Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted June 19, 2019 Report Share Posted June 19, 2019 Am I crazy or does it feel like MLW, ROH & iMPACT! are all three in trouble as promotions? All the news that I keep hearing about each that comes out doesn't exactly come off as positive. Low pay, bad contracts, bad ratings, the backstage Bully Ray & Beautiful People shit, low attendance, etc. iMPACT! apparently just lost Scarlet Bordeaux. MLW has the Twitter drama with Court Bauer, David Starr & Brett Lauderdale. ROH is dealing with the fallout of losing The Elite, the drama from the Bully shit & bad attendance. It's not looking good for some of the Indy promotions in the U.S. with AEW on the horizon. Smaller promotions like Wrestle Circus are going to be fine but would it surprise someone if by the end of 2020 MLW, ROH & iMPACT! were all gone? Between AEW getting on TNT & WWE signing up everyone to slap down in NXT (or NXT UK) it feels like the Indie scene in the U.S. is changing dramatically. There's a lot of non-WWE options for workers right now but I think the landscape is changing & the more people that come out talking about bad contracts that they're locked into, having to work second jobs, working for minimum wage, working an extra day for free and whatnot... it's a bad look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clintthecrippler Posted June 20, 2019 Report Share Posted June 20, 2019 I wouldn't be surprised if we just end up back where we were in 2005, where WWE was the monolith, TNA was a very distant but healthy (in retrospect) number two, and then it goes straight to buzzworthy indies like ROH, IWA MidSouth, CZW, and Chikara were then with nowhere in between. There may not be room - or even a point - to operating an "in-between" level television-based company. But the difference this time is that the buzz indies (GCW, Beyond, PWG, and more) seem better prepared and more motivated to cultivate and create new stars at that level to weather the storm. And with streaming services being so accessible now, it's easier to keep up with too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted June 20, 2019 Report Share Posted June 20, 2019 2 hours ago, clintthecrippler said: I wouldn't be surprised if we just end up back where we were in 2005, where WWE was the monolith, TNA was a very distant but healthy (in retrospect) number two, and then it goes straight to buzzworthy indies like ROH, IWA MidSouth, CZW, and Chikara were then with nowhere in between. There may not be room - or even a point - to operating an "in-between" level television-based company. But the difference this time is that the buzz indies (GCW, Beyond, PWG, and more) seem better prepared and more motivated to cultivate and create new stars at that level to weather the storm. And with streaming services being so accessible now, it's easier to keep up with too. A lot of indies have gotten flak for not preparing, but...I'm not seeing it that much? PWG pivoted a while ago. Even a group like AAW, which I see treated as the ur example of over-relying on the buzzy indie stars a lot, has been developing people for quite a while now. Beyond will be fine, and Uncharted Territory is clearly helping them build. GCW has been making a more obvious attempt than most (with the clear, concerted efforts to make certain people overnight) for quite a while and will be more than fine. (Shane Mercer has been a great addition and will probably break out even bigger after the Sekimoto match, for example.) Defy doesn't get nearly enough credit for the great job they've done mixing names with their own crew. On the indie scene right now, who is there really that did/does seem poised to go from "thriving" to "OH FUCK," exactly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted June 20, 2019 Report Share Posted June 20, 2019 CWF Mid-Atlantic kind of crashed and burned but that was a combination of getting rid of the booker and then having no idea who was going to beat Trevor Lee and then having him just vacate the title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clintthecrippler Posted June 20, 2019 Report Share Posted June 20, 2019 31 minutes ago, Mad Dog said: CWF Mid-Atlantic kind of crashed and burned but that was a combination of getting rid of the booker and then having no idea who was going to beat Trevor Lee and then having him just vacate the title. It also feels like in terms of "Southern" indie buzz that Southern Underground Pro, ACTION!, and the Scenic City branded shows has usurped CWF, though I admit that may be a personal perception bias just because I have the IWTV subscription. It definitely feels like some people are projecting the doom-and-gloom vibe that they have right now towards ROH, Impact, and MLW (a vibe that can be viewed as justified) and applying that to the entire indie scene as a whole, when the reality is that - as Bix said above - the rest of that world beyond the television-content companies seem better prepared to survive in a "big two" world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted June 20, 2019 Report Share Posted June 20, 2019 Yeah, even Chikara feels like it has a little momentum for the first time in years. They are branching out to other cities again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted June 20, 2019 Report Share Posted June 20, 2019 Lionheart (the British wrestler who got his neck broken taking a Styles Clash, not Chris Jericho) died the other day. All the signs point to suicide, which makes it especially awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Migs Posted June 20, 2019 Report Share Posted June 20, 2019 16 hours ago, clintthecrippler said: I wouldn't be surprised if we just end up back where we were in 2005, where WWE was the monolith, TNA was a very distant but healthy (in retrospect) number two, and then it goes straight to buzzworthy indies like ROH, IWA MidSouth, CZW, and Chikara were then with nowhere in between. There may not be room - or even a point - to operating an "in-between" level television-based company. But the difference this time is that the buzz indies (GCW, Beyond, PWG, and more) seem better prepared and more motivated to cultivate and create new stars at that level to weather the storm. And with streaming services being so accessible now, it's easier to keep up with too. I felt this the moment AEW announced - 2018 is going to retrospectively feel like 1985 or 1986. The consolidation is happening and in the way that AWA, World Class, UWF etc. limped along for a couple of years, ROH, MLW and Impact will. 2018 will feel like a golden year of openness in the way talent could float - you can already see that being choked out as the promotions who have contracts try to keep guys exclusive. There's just no reason for guys to sign in those places unless they don't really have an upward trajectory to WWE or AEW, and a lot of people there who do have that desperately want out. And yes, the streaming era and the strong indies will make this a more fun time to be a fan than in late 80s and early 90s, because guys will still have places to go outside the Big 2 and will be able to be seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteF3 Posted June 24, 2019 Report Share Posted June 24, 2019 Here I always thought that "James E. Cornette" was a WWF invention--I think Bobby Heenan even takes credit for it in one of the Heenan/Cornette Straight Shootin's--but going through 1985 Mid-Atlantic, Cornette referred to himself as such in one of his first live appearances on the show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted June 24, 2019 Report Share Posted June 24, 2019 9 hours ago, PeteF3 said: Here I always thought that "James E. Cornette" was a WWF invention--I think Bobby Heenan even takes credit for it in one of the Heenan/Cornette Straight Shootin's--but going through 1985 Mid-Atlantic, Cornette referred to himself as such in one of his first live appearances on the show. Don't remember who thought about that (Jerry Jarrett maybe ?), but it was a take on James E. Barnett, ma boy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarpetCrawler Posted June 24, 2019 Report Share Posted June 24, 2019 Really minor thing that while super trivial I find incredibly fascinating as I run the gamut on research into the WWF Rock'n'Wrestling era. All my life the conventional wisdom was that the first MTV WWF special was called "The Brawl to End It All" while the second one was called "The War to Settle the Score". Heck, that's even the name of the special on Wikipedia. And we've never really had an actual MTV broadcast of that event floating around anywhere to say otherwise. Recently I've seen MTV commercials of repeat airings from after the fact that have referred it it as actually "The Brawl to Settle It All". Not having any idea if that was just a hindsight name change on MTV's part, I've always been hoping to find footage of the original MTV airing to figure out the truth. With the help of Richard Land I've been able to confirm that the name of the show was always "The Brawl to Settle It All" and "End It All" was rather internet conventional wisdom that was accepted as fact. We've obtained a partial recording of that MTV airing where they refer to it as such numerous times during the broadcast. Just thought it was fascinating to see a minor but arguably important footnote in wrestling history was always recalled incorrectly all this time!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteF3 Posted June 24, 2019 Report Share Posted June 24, 2019 I recall "Brawl to End It All" being in the Apter mags and PWI almanacs and such as well, so that's probably where it originated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stiva Posted July 3, 2019 Report Share Posted July 3, 2019 So, Progress is running WALTER vs Eddie Kingston. Good news, right? Even better news is that it's happening over here in my city on Saturday and I have never bought tickets so quickly for anything in my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrzfn Posted July 3, 2019 Report Share Posted July 3, 2019 I haven't really paid much attention to PROGRESS lately but that match definitely got my attention. Might re-sub for the month just to see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted July 3, 2019 Report Share Posted July 3, 2019 On 6/24/2019 at 7:25 AM, El-P said: Don't remember who thought about that (Jerry Jarrett maybe ?), but it was a take on James E. Barnett, ma boy. It was supposed to be a wink-wink reference to people who knew Barnett was gay since the gimmick was Cornette was a sissy mama's boy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Enthusiast Posted July 4, 2019 Report Share Posted July 4, 2019 On 7/3/2019 at 11:31 AM, Stiva said: So, Progress is running WALTER vs Eddie Kingston. Good news, right? Even better news is that it's happening over here in my city on Saturday and I have never bought tickets so quickly for anything in my life. Will be the first Progress I have watched in a long, long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted July 5, 2019 Report Share Posted July 5, 2019 If we were to do another PWO GWE project, I would have both Terry Funk & Harley Race above Ric Flair. I was going to write this in an unpopular wrestling opinion thread but when I searched for that, it was from 2006 & was migrated from New Millennium Blues! Talk about a nostalgic blast-from-the-past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPS Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 On the recent Pacific Rim Podcast Fumi Saito mentioned one of Yoshiaki Yatsu's greatest matches was a singles bout against a young Nobuhiko Takada. I've searched online but come up empty, does anyone have this match that they could share? I'm a big Takada fan and really like Yatsu and would love to check this one out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted July 6, 2019 Report Share Posted July 6, 2019 It was one of the matches in the 5-on-5 gauntlet on 4/19/84. It's available for download on Ditch's website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPS Posted July 7, 2019 Report Share Posted July 7, 2019 16 hours ago, NintendoLogic said: It was one of the matches in the 5-on-5 gauntlet on 4/19/84. It's available for download on Ditch's website. Thank you, I forgot to check Ditch's site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted July 7, 2019 Report Share Posted July 7, 2019 17 hours ago, SPS said: On the recent Pacific Rim Podcast Fumi Saito mentioned one of Yoshiaki Yatsu's greatest matches was a singles bout against a young Nobuhiko Takada. Fuck me, that match... It's like the two greatest young wrestlers ever against each other. The whole 5-5 match is great, but they stole the show that day. Yatsu was awesome up until 86. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stiva Posted July 7, 2019 Report Share Posted July 7, 2019 On 7/3/2019 at 5:31 PM, Stiva said: So, Progress is running WALTER vs Eddie Kingston. Good news, right? Even better news is that it's happening over here in my city on Saturday and I have never bought tickets so quickly for anything in my life. This was fucking awesome btw. So, imagine my huge disappointment when the internet came out of the show talking up Devlin/Dragunov which was good fun but nothing I haven't seen a million times already on the indies. Both guys in the main had that untouchable charisma which really elevates pro wrestling. I'm beyond lucky that I got to see Eddie Kingston in North East England on his retirement run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted July 8, 2019 Report Share Posted July 8, 2019 Damien Sandow is making his return to the squared circle this coming weekend. His new gimmick: THE MILLENNIAL SLAYER. Are you excited yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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