thee Reverend Axl Future

Ugh, this is why I default to unorganized indy shows. To make a long story short, the first time NXT came to Philly it sold out quickly and tix went on StubHub for big bucks. The second time I really wanted to go, but tix sold out again in an instant, 6+ weeks or so before the event. I checked periodically but prices remained high. Four or five days before the show, prices started dropping. The ringsides remained unavailable but all the others went down, even to below face value. I got two tix with great sightlines for original price (plus those ridiculous fees). On the day of the show, prices went down even more, and there were scores of folks smart enough to wait outside until the card started and get in for free to fill empty seats. Lots of ringside seats were comped by the venue or for the workers, and not filled with fans of NXT. My conclusion is the same as RIPPAs. For the second show here, the fans snagged the seats they wanted, and all the others were bought by resellers. There was not a great demand after the initial sale, so they started dumping them. The event sold out but it was at least half of the seats were bought by pro/semi-pro ticket brokers, who offered them at the last minute below net cost. I think the seats would have been a SO with the walk ups but this vulnerability to the brokers (who I think often have an "in" to get seats in bulk below retail), as well as the annoying on-line buying rituals and exorbitant tafiffs, makes my senior-sense activate. old & in the way, RAF

If wrestlers got bonuses for stories that others workers tell about them on the Network or the YouTube channel, Ryback would be well compensated. If I hear another story about him eating at a buffet, or not knowing how to order at Panera Bread, et al. The man is a constant source of (be)musement to his co-workers. Incidentally, what wrestler do you think that other workers tell the most tales about, publicly or to each other?Dusty? Andre? Flair? Funk? - RAF

Is there some sorta Javascript I can implement that will automatically "like" any/all Nakamura .gifs? The man can do no wrong. - RAF

Ima manage an indy team, thee TEXT HERE EXPRESS, and the audience just cues up that video on YouTubes and watches it on their sell phones when we come out. Makes it kinda odd for run-ins, tho'... keepin' it real low budget, RAF

Mmmmmm... Jericho Rub.... - RAF

How about a ,gif of Bret Hart from last night, the one timw he was animated at ringside, jerking his head in response to the "Nattie" chants? I was afraid he was having another youknowwhat... - RAF

I am very unmotivated to go, but I walked by a poster for a lucha show at the 2300 (nee ECW) Arena tomorrow 5/1. It seems to feature lotsa psuedo-stars which could be festive, but to get a $25 ticket and stroll to ringside seat seems too much doing for my one day off this week. I suck. - RAF

From the 04/28/16 F4WONline update: "Jeannie Williams, who used the name Jeannie Clarke and Lady Blossom as a manager in pro wrestling in the 90s, and was married to Chris Adams, Billy Jack Haynes and Steve Austin, has an autobiography coming out on 5/4." Can some brave soul read this and give the high points here, so I am not tempted to do it myself? This resonates with the possibility of great sordidness. - RAF

I liked Al Snow in SMW, but even as a reliable hand, he did not translate to the big arenas at all for me. His many deficiencies were exposed. However, that ECW "Head" run was incredible. He ably filled the spot that Heyman literally created for him, proving that if you present someone as being over, they get over. Sheer textbook booking... - what do you want?, RAF

I don't want to get bad juju or a kina hora by quoting my own post from earlier in the thread, but it was a trade paperback or mook, almost textless, with pictures of the major gaijin workers from the 50s thru the 80s. I can recall Bull Ramos, the Sharpe Brothers, the Destroyer, Dick the Bruiser, Dusty, Brody,,, What was cool about it was it had the posed studio publicity shots on one page, and action shots on the other. If I recall correctly, it had photos from several feds but I don't recall if they were all from one magazine or it just was a general historical book. I got it maybe 9 years ago. I have looked on Amazon, eBay, Google and various import book sites but to no avail w/o a title or publisher or more details. Thanks for helping a bruddah out. - RAF

For this you needed a recipe? Sorry for the orientation, Photobucket is all wonky on me lately. - RAF

So, was DBryan tiny Jack Lemmon, and Team Hell NO just a post-mod rasslin' "The Odd Couple"? The mind reels, Neil Simon as booker. Alexa Bliss can get a "Sweet Charity" gimmick. Austin and Foley reform as The Sunshine Boys Express. Watch Finn Balor and Asuka try to get to the arena in the pre-show skit "The Out-of-Towners". Kevin Owens bunks with Bayley and Izzy, hilarity ensues but can romance be far behind? Watch "The Goodbye Gimmick". It's the cards. He washed the cards., RAF

So I visited the Kinokuniya bookstores in NYC and nearby NJ a couple weeks ago, looking for my long lost "gaijin wrestlers photo" book (see previous whinging post in this thread). Not only was my quest unfulfilled, but I was told in a quite matter-of-fact manner that they were phasing out most Japanese wrestling content from their stores. I guess they need more room for soft-core cosplay books, Pusheen phone charms and ALL THE U.S. BOOKS YOU CAN BUY ANYWHERE ELSE that they are stocking their stores with. I was overcome with mono no aware at this news, and still am. - RAF

Team Long Pig. -RAF

This is great. It is also a refutation of the "wrestling is just a TV show and the wrestlers are actors" mindset. - RAF

People also cry at sports events, as well as express other emotions. There are more differences between acting/movies/TV and pro wrestling than there are similarities, although they are closer these days than in the past. Traditionally, wrestling is more about emotions than intellectual involvement. In the Venn diagram, where thespianism and rassling overlap is entertainment, but the rest is different. However, this is a meaty topic worth debating... - RAF

That might be sports entertainment, but that ain't wrestling (let alone rasslin'). I don't want to admire someone for playing a role (that's what the aforementioned TV actors are for), I want to see a bigger than life wrestler that lives the gimmick, who can suspend the crowd's disbelief enough to make children cry, women scream, and men get furious. I don't want to admire only his (or her) cleverness or ability in the ring but also his character. I don't want to respect his craft, I want him/her to get my emotions all riled up and bring me to the brink of believing. Peeking behind the curtain makes this harder. The wrestlers being complicit in the unmasking, especially with a crafty winkwinknudgenudge, makes it nearly impossible. Yeah yeah, the good old days, whatever BUT it wasn't always the same thing and I still seek out the instances when it isn't. they are out there, RAF

Meta-shoot-troll-reverse angle: duh!!?!! -get with it, RAF

Dem thighs... - RAF

The little icon gimmick that appears in one's tab or bookmark for DVDVR - get rid of that generic shite, make it, like, Dusty's sploch or Abbie's boot or KNagasaki UK's third eye or something... - RAF

Change is scary, and the colors are scary, and everything is different. HOLD ME, DEAN!! - raf

Austin cracking up is the best. - RAF

No, it really, really doesn't. One of the most pointless and irritating spots ever, if you ask me. (Not that anyone did.) I could not disagree more. The criss-cross has a rich and storied history and we must respect it's traditions. In my view, thee first quarter of thee match is up for grabs, silly/comedy spot-wise. - RAF

After the previous posts, I read that as Shaska and was real confused. I eagerly await my Sasha Watley mash-up shirt. - RAF

Ah, grasshopper, you see: it's an ironic tattoo of a belt! Taadaa, King of Hipster Hill!!!! - RAF