WWF/WWE worst matches ever - a depressing journey

[Ma Stump Puller]

6 hours ago, Matt D said:

I don't want to give you grief for this. I think this is a fun project in theory, but in practice, you're basically complaining about stalling in every match. Sometimes just stalling. And I'd argue that stalling is a totally valid artistic choice and probably worked for the crowd in many of these matches, especially given how much the wrestlers were on the road. If Ventura has heat and he can get heat without working up a sweat, then he should be lauded for that. That's skilled pro wrestling. I guess I'd want to see more about the structural issues or why the stalling in specific didn't work for the crowd or didn't payoff well, etc. Or just... anything but "Another bad match full of stalling." That can't be any more interesting to you match after match after match than it is to me reading. There seems like there has to be better use of your time, maybe looking at bad matches in a style that you like a lot more to see why they might be bad. 

I'd hope you'd maybe come out of this with more of an appreciation for why stalling can be fun, but it seems like you're just getting more and more annoyed by it.

stalling is so effective as a heel tactic that it's even working people 40+ years later, who knew!

 

[tcg91]

16 hours ago, Matt D said:

I don't want to give you grief for this. I think this is a fun project in theory, but in practice, you're basically complaining about stalling in every match. Sometimes just stalling. And I'd argue that stalling is a totally valid artistic choice and probably worked for the crowd in many of these matches, especially given how much the wrestlers were on the road. If Ventura has heat and he can get heat without working up a sweat, then he should be lauded for that. That's skilled pro wrestling. I guess I'd want to see more about the structural issues or why the stalling in specific didn't work for the crowd or didn't payoff well, etc. Or just... anything but "Another bad match full of stalling." That can't be any more interesting to you match after match after match than it is to me reading. There seems like there has to be better use of your time, maybe looking at bad matches in a style that you like a lot more to see why they might be bad. 

I'd hope you'd maybe come out of this with more of an appreciation for why stalling can be fun, but it seems like you're just getting more and more annoyed by it.

Why would that give me grief? I've cited plenty of other factors that made some of these matches bad in my eyes. That said, stalling does seem to be the most common theme at the moment and that's probably because of the era and territory I'm covering.

I should also mention that I'm basing the list on a mix of my own memories and other people's thoughts, and there simply aren't that many reviews available for the early '80s. As a result, the selections are probably skewed a bit toward the "long, dull match" type. A terrible 5 minute All Star Wrestling match that nobody has ever written about simply isn't going to end up on my radar. Nor am I going to watch every single show that ever took place just to make sure I don't miss anything, so some imbalance is inevitable.

[tcg91]

Laurent Soucie vs Swede Hanson (5/22/82)
I had never seen Soucie wrestle before and he didn't seem terrible, but this didn't have a good structure and the crowd was dead, so it was kind of doomed from the start. They locked up a couple of times and traded armlocks; Hanson gave Soucie a clean break on a few occasions, before eventually getting tired of it and taking over with some strikes. Not only did the strikes look quite weak, but this never really evolved into Hanson having to switch gears because of Soucie's limb work; it just felt like an abrupt change of pace and made all the lockups feel like fillers. Hanson then no sold a dropkick and won with a cold backbreaker submission. 3/4*

[tcg91]

Vivian St. John & Peggy Lee vs The Fabulous Moolah & Leilani Kai (7/31/82)
This was not as bad as some of the women's tag matches I have seen so far, mostly because Vivian and Leilani tried hard at the beginning and the crowd was more involved than usual. However, the timing of several spots was completely off, some of the women were not very experienced, and Moolah wasn't exactly smooth either. They did a spot where Moolah hid behind the referee during an Irish whip, but she did it long before the whip even started, so it ended up looking silly, and the referee didn't even sell being run into. The finish was awkward as well, as there seemed to be some miscommunication during a pin attempt by Moolah on Vivian, forcing them to improvise with a sudden small package. 1/2*

[tcg91]

Salvatore Bellomo vs Pete Sanchez (7/31/82)
This went a bit too long and never reached the next level, resulting in an 11-12 minute babyface vs babyface match where nothing they did was particularly good or interesting. The most engaging element was Bellomo getting tired of the stalemate and teasing to punch Sanchez, but it never escalated furhter. In fact, things actually became a bit more choreographed, they started shaking hands often and the crowd wasn't very vocal during all of that. The flashy finish at least made sense, but this felt very flat overall. 1/2*