twiztor

my good man, i already said that i don't pay close attention to retcons and relaunches and all of that. i have my headcanon and am happy enough with how everything fits together. i personally am not confused because i don't get bogged down in all of the changes. i largely subscribe to the Grant Morrison idea of "everything is canon" but also its opposite, "nothing is canon". If there is a Batman story where his parents were murdered by an unnamed mugger, i will go with it. If this mugger was Joe Chill, that's fine too. If they reveal said mugger was actually Clayface, i'm still good. None of that really matters. I'm just as likely to count Batman: TAS, the '66 Batman, or Detective Comics #631 (random number) as canon. I really couldn't care less if they're going by TEC #33, TEC #47, TEC #235, Batman (1989), "Year One", "Zero Year", "Untold Tales of the Batman", or a completely new origin. but your refusal to admit that all of these changes could be confusing is just crazy to me. you just keep digging your heels in, while continuing to recount all of the ways that the universe changed again, and which old stories "count" and which ones don't.

Beauregarde – BEAUREGARDE 1. I Got Something (3:06) 2. Super Star Super Star (5:28) 3. If You Got Soul (4:35) 4. Tomorrow, Tomorrow (2:47) 5. Everybody Ball (2:56) 6. I’m Talkin’ Time (4:27) 7. Testify (2:40) 8. Pass Away (3:13) 9. “I” (3:19) https://www.discogs.com/master/282180-Beauregarde-Beauregarde https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXe4diEfojg&list=PLxd59AxpBecKXVYzJODtBeaF0_UkvXCFo Ring Introductions: Beauregarde (real name Larry Pitchford) was a wrestler in the ‘60s and ‘70s, primarily in the Pacific Northwest. He was renowned for his ability to play a character and being eccentric (but then, what wrestler isn’t?) This album was released in 1971 and features Greg Sage of the Wipers on guitar. I think the first I’d heard of Beauregarde was when he passed away last summer and he was mentioned in the RIP thread. I remember thinking that I should check out his music, but alas, I never did, and promptly forgot that it existed. Fast forward to starting this thread and @Pete brought those memories back up. So here goes! The Match: “I Got Something” kicks off the album and it has a funky jazz vibe to it. That’s incredibly uncommon for an album this early in the decade. It’s smooth and draws you in. Beau’s lyrics are simple but his delivery is on point. “Super Star Super Star” is a sad song lamenting the loss of past musicians Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison. Whoa, this is a heavy and haunting song. It has a darkness around it that reminds me of “Superstar” by Sonic Youth, although the styles and genres are vastly different. “If You Got Soul” is a soulful song wherein Beau induces us to transcend racism and all unite under the auspices of soul music. I want to take this time to point out that the musicianship so far on this album has been varied and excellent all around. The organ on display in this song in particular really infuses the gospel sound into it, and I am better for having heard it. “Tomorrow, Tomorrow” takes us back to the earlier days of rock and roll and we get some fun brass accompaniment. It is fun and energetic. I am really loving the ride this album is taking me on. “Everybody Ball” feels like the first mis-step on this album. It is trying to be a dance/party song that is also walking that line of being risqué vs. innocent. Think of it with the attitude of AC/DC’s ‘Big Balls’, but inferior and without the charm. “I’m Talkin’ Time” gives Halloween energy right away, so you know I’m in. This song is kind of about the mysticism of time, which has its charms, but for my money, everything else about this song is more interesting. Why is there howling, and maniacal laughter, and other sound effects? I don’t know the answer, but I do know that this is pretty rad. “Testify” is not a return to the gospel sound that I was anticipating based on the song’s title. It is instead a raucous roller about a man who’s seen some shit and wants to spill. Beau’s vocals carry this, even with a pretty kick ass solo running through the middle. “Pass Away” is pulled along by the Bo Diddley Beat, and we get alternating Beau verses and guitar solos. It feels a bit like two songs that were mashed together. Both parts are good. “I” brings some of the gospel sound back and is a bit of an introspective take. This may surprise you to hear, but I liked this one a lot too. The Finish: WOW, this was awesome. Every song was different than what came before. I have heard dozens of singers that don’t have the presence, even after multiple albums, that Beau presents here. His range isn’t amazing, but the way he uses it really is impressive. And let me again praise the musicianship. Not a single bad song out of the nine presented. Standout Track(s): Super Star Super Star because I didn’t expect to feel such an emotional connection from this. I’m Talkin’ Time for surprising me, even on an album that I never knew what sound would come next. I have to rate this one the full 5 ringbells out of 5. Fantastic, top to bottom.

well that sounds a bit confusing. oh that's right. no confusion at all.

that "if" is doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Conrad's pushback on Bischoff's BS has dropped pretty sharply over the years.

i can get a version that has German commentary. i don't know if it ever got an English release.

I absolutely love that your question about dropped angles goes unfinished. Perfect. Gosh, give me some dropped angles that you are thinking of specifically because I wonder if I have rationalized the finishes to most of them through making assumptions based on the way the narrative has been presented so far. hahaha, i kind of wish that was intentional. "Who was the Hummer driver" i think is the one most people would point to, but IMO it was semi-solved by being Sid. also the "who gave DDP his money" back in 1995(? 1996?) i think makes sense if you factor the answer as DiBiase. Plays in doubly well with Page's refusal to join the nWo later. But i go back to the beginning of the Bischoff-Russo era. Was it Sid that was forced to vacate the title, but then he just disappeared from TV? Or really, the whole "New Blood" concept that never (at least to me) saw a satisfying conclusion. and i lot of them were smaller angles that nobody really mourns: Glacier's helmet that was stolen by Mortis & Wrath. there was a Raven/Piper tease at one point. bad dubbing La Parka. Hugh Morrus' dementia dad. Reno/Vito's sister girlfriend. Norman Smiley/Glacier.

Chubby Checker was ~18 when his version of that song released in 1960. He is now 83. His last major hit was in 1965. Yeah, i think it's safe to say that any influence he had is long past. EDIT: But i can't NOT share this bit from Wikipedia: "In 2013, Checker sued HP over a WebOS application using his name. The application, before being pulled in September 2012, was used to unscientifically estimate penis size from shoe size. The district court said that Checker's trademark claim survived HP's motion to dismiss, but his other claims were dismissed per Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act."

i can't answer your question, and i'm likely zooming too far out here to be of any actual use, but is this really surprising? 1) kayfabe is dead. nobody really hates heels, and haven't for some time. Look at someone like MJF in AEW. he's been a heel for the whole time, and he is still beloved by the fans. "He's our scumbag", etc. 2) we fully live in the 'instant gratification' world now. between things like 24 hour news networks, TMZ, and twitter, there is just as much (if not more) emphasis on being "first" than being "right" or even "real/legitimate". That's not inherently bad, but is a major factor in pretty much every aspect of our lives now. 3) WWE's increasing emphasis on MOMENTS has taught their audience what is important.

can't believe i forgot Goldberg. yeah, i can't stand that guy. Zero awareness of the business outside of himself. i especially hate that so few people see that he/his character ONLY works when he is squashing guys. Like, any time a run other than his first year in WCW is brought up as evidence of his one dimensionalness, it's just "they didn't know how to book him". If he's not squashing everybody in front of him, he has NOTHING going for him. I hold back from "anybody would be that over if you pushed them as hard", because Goldberg certainly had physical charisma and intensity, but practically no ring skills, no promo skills, no interesting feuds. also was a Hulkamaniac as a kid......until the Savage feud.

the '70s were ripe for a Karate gimmick. But he's really going to need a mullet as well.

AR Fox is credible? he has never won a singles match on AEW TV (although he did get some wins back on AEW Dark and has a few in ROH lately). Max Caster has been getting squashed for a couple of months now. I thought the Bowens return would be the end of it. Where is this leading?

one of the NWO dvds goes from the formation in Summer '96 through the rest of that year, a couple highlights from 1997, the botch of Hogan/Sting, and then skips all of 1998/Wolfpac/reformations and goes straight to propping up the 2002 WWF revival for WAY too long. now, don't get me wrong. Most of the '98 stuff is forgettable. The Wolfpac split never lived up the its potential and had no real resolution. The 1999 Fingerpoke of Doom is better left in the trash bin, as is NWO2000. But the 2002 WWF run is no great shakes either. But there's zero reason the doc should have been basically 50/50 WCW/WWF. This doesn't even really answer your question, i just wanted to vent about the shitty coverage the group got that was supposed to be a pretty comprehensive overview of them. I would've appreciated a better look at nWo Japan as well, but at least i understand why that was left off.

them using "who's the third man?" is both incredibly carny and still funny. Whatever this project is will be terrible and an abject failure. but i'm sure 71 year old Hulkster has one more run in him, brother! i only saw Black in AEW. I always felt he had potential, but it feels like maybe the company didn't want to go all in (no pun intended) with it? Like there was always something being held back. Disagree strongly on Low-Ki, who i wish would have gotten a more major run. I know he brought it on himself, but i would've liked to see it anyway. i am a medium voter on the Bucks. When they have the right opponents and match types, i think they can be incredible. But when they are in a standard match and ignoring tag rules just to do more flips and overcomplicated double team moves (or when Matt does his multiple Northern Lights Suplex spot), then i think they are the drizzling shits. for me? CM Punk. above average promo, who has flashes of absolute brilliance, but subpar athleticism. I don't dislike his character/matches/promos, but i don't think he belongs on top of the card either. Ric Flair. he was old before i started watching him. By the time i was an avid WCW viewer (1996), he brought nothing to the table except for the same tired match layout.

Smelly, Thank you so much for this nostalgic trip down memory lane. I was especially interested in how your memories lined up with a modern (re)viewing, and doubly so as it correlated to my original thoughts and rewatched thoughts. I very much appreciate your analysis. The parts that i found most enlightening to me were twofold. 1) the way you framed the action in the ring, as it relates to the story being told. You have a knack for interpreting the nuances much better than i do, so it was refreshing to read your insight. and 2) your ability to take a macro look at characters and rationalize SO much more than i ever saw. I believe your take on Ric Flair's devolvement into a crazed aging villain to be a fascinating take, and one that i never would have connected the dots for. I think i tend to see all of these things as individual events, or feud-specific, so longer term development (especially in this case, as it worked DESPITE the lack of an overarching story being planned) doesn't resonate with me. [And 3) the SImpsons references.] OK, a couple of questions: Which wrestler(s) saw your opinion change the hardest? Could be either positive or negative. Which moments, if any, were you looking forward to (re)experiencing, only to see your expectations not reflected in your actual enjoyment? Again, either + or -. Late stage WCW is known for dropped angles. Were there any that Now, for anybody wondering where to go next, the closest we ever get to large scale WCW successors are: Main Event Championship Wrestling (1 event, 2001) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU5k_AfQ8lA&pp=ygUmbWFpbiBldmVudCBjaGFtcGlvbnNoaXAgd3Jlc3RsaW5nIDIwMDE%3D World Wrestling All-Stars (5 PPVS, 2001-2003) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Joou3jumTC8&pp=ygUId3dhIDIwMDHSBwkJhAkBhyohjO8%3D NWA-TNA (2002-) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAmbK135FVw&list=PLHw9MIlgGbtBCdvogCcMy7gNHG2WzZWPa&index=1&pp=iAQB World Wrestling Legends: 6:05 The Reunion (2006) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEVLiN-bMEI

Heyman just seems to have a.... charm about him. He can seemingly feign emotional attachment to a concept for the sole purpose of getting you to form a real attachment to said concept. He's a fascinating speaker, and he is able to rationalize anything so that it can be twisted to fit his current narrative. i like catching bits and pieces of his public speaking forums/Q&As/whatever when they pop up on YouTube, and it is SO EASY to drift into a lull and believe everything he's saying. I honestly don't think that he believes he's lying. He's just telling a version of the truth that fits what he needs you to believe at the current moment. i find it fascinating from a psychological standpoint. edit: if Heyman said/did something lately or relating to the Roast, i have no idea. I am just speaking in general.