Niners Fan in CT Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Shoemaker is also the worst writer on Grantland which is saying something. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRGoldman Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Shoemaker is also the worst writer on Grantland which is saying something. I dunno, that's a pretty tall order. Molly Lambert is an awful, awful writer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstout Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Shoemaker's fine, technically, he just strikes me as a guy who has no knowledge base beyond what he's seen and grown up with. For a wrestling writer in a really high-profile position, he doesn't strike me as someone who knows much about wrestling. There's probably 50 people here who know much more about wrestling than he does and can write as well as him, with "massaging" from a copy editor. He just got the breaks and everyone else didn't. I guess long story short is don't hate the playa, hate the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niners Fan in CT Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I dislike his columns but it is made worse by the Grantland staff treating his word on wrestling as gospel. I fucking hate Greenwald but I can at least see that he has some qualifications. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Comedian Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Shoemaker is also the worst writer on Grantland which is saying something. I dunno, that's a pretty tall order. Molly Lambert is an awful, awful writer. I feel bad for those Grantland writers. I mean, imagine if you got a shot at writing for an ESPN-sponsored sports blog, but only if you pepper your paragraphs with long-winded footnotes because that's the gimmick of the overrated partisan hack they built the site for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 That network interview thing saying that Shoemaker knows more about wrestling history than anyone else was either hilarious or infuriating, friending on your mood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 That network interview thing saying that Shoemaker knows more about wrestling history than anyone else was either hilarious or infuriating, friending on your mood. I understand putting your own guy over, but considering Simmons is/was an Observer subscriber and has had Dave on the BS report, it's disappointing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LooseCannon Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Has anyone tried to get Meltzer's opinion of Shoemaker on a call-in show? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I think i sent in a mailbag question after the Grantland article about the network, but it was not used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aptaube Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 That network interview thing saying that Shoemaker knows more about wrestling history than anyone else was either hilarious or infuriating, friending on your mood. I just wish he'd be more forthcoming about the fact that he wasn't watching a ton of wrestling until he started doing "Dead Wrestler of the Week." I think his writing is solid from a liberal arts/drama criticism perspective, but it was super frustrating listening to him mansplain to Peter Rosenberg about Mike Quackenbush's time as a lovable underdog in ECW on their Cheap Heat podcast. Like, I'd never judge him for not having watched Chikara, but he looks silly talking about it like it's his jam when he's been thinking Mike Quackenbush and Mikey Whipwreck are the same person. Alas, his is one of a very few thoughtful, well-written wrestling columns on the web — at least that I'm aware of — so I read basically everything he writes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 His whole "reality era" thing that exists solely in his mind drives me nuts. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niners Fan in CT Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I just wonder how long he's going to shoehorn CM Punk into his columns. Say Punk doesn't come back for another year or so. Who is going to fill that void? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlfredoE Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 How the fuck can you not tell David and Kevin Von Erich apart? One wore a cowboy hat and the other wrestled barefoot! Now if they were twins like the Mulkeys, Coles, Gemelos Diablos, then yeah, I could see why you can't tell them apart....OR....if they wore similar outfits w/ matching masks like the Killer Bees. Yeah, that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aptaube Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 His whole "reality era" thing that exists solely in his mind drives me nuts. That, too. I feel that sometimes the theory is somewhat applicable and other times he is working backward and trying to push a square peg into a round hole. I also feel it doesn't accurately take into account all the winking at the camera that was being done during the Monday Night Wars era. I empathize with him, though. I imagine writing regularly about wrestling is hard because sometimes a given show has no deeper meaning or broader cultural statement and it is just a pro wrestling show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 One of my more favorite things is to tease Barnwell with the idea that one day Simmons will punish him and make him the wrestling writer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 I would remind everyone that Alvarez didn't know who Jesse Owens was but the last time that come up is was scary how many other people were pro-Alvarez on the topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I'm telling you, we need to put a curfew on everyone here under 30. When I was a kid, we lurked and learned. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Spanish Waiter Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 But I'm under 30 and Rippa said hes giving me my own forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kropotkin's Beard Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I'm telling you, we need to put a curfew on everyone here under 30. When I was a kid, we lurked and learned. It's really the under 25s who are dreadful. Those of us born in the 80s are alright. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LooseCannon Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 How the fuck can you not tell David and Kevin Von Erich apart? One wore a cowboy hat and the other wrestled barefoot! Now if they were twins like the Mulkeys, Coles, Gemelos Diablos, then yeah, I could see why you can't tell them apart....OR....if they wore similar outfits w/ matching masks like the Killer Bees. Yeah, that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petey Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I'm telling you, we need to put a curfew on everyone here under 30. When I was a kid, we lurked and learned. It's really the under 25s who are dreadful. Those of us born in the 80s are alright. Yeah! Screw the under 25s! (is 26) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Virtue Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I'm telling you, we need to put a curfew on everyone here under 30. When I was a kid, we lurked and learned. It's really the under 25s who are dreadful. Those of us born in the 80s are alright. Yeah! Screw the under 25s! (is 26) I remember in '97, I found a Wrestling Superstars magazine from 1985 and thought it was the holy grail. Or I'd go rent Starrcade '86 on VHS and be clueless I was missing at least 90 minutes of the full event! We didn't have wikipedia, we went out and learned it through hours of reading and watching (mostly because our friends were as clueless as we were) Alvarez talking about anything except WCW is horrendous (since I'd hope he had to do SOME research for that book) I'll get off my soapbox now, but I had to get that off my chest. I feel better now, btw I'm 28. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I suppose we could just do away with the obvious trolls instead. I'm flexible. There's just a correlation there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Virtue Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Also, I definitely took the late bus to the online message board/review party. I recall 1wrestling being awful on Netscape Navigator on school computers, and being flabbergasted that RAW was a taped show. I think the first message board I went to was CZWFans. *fashionably late to the online party* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Spanish Waiter Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I suppose we could just do away with the obvious trolls instead. I'm flexible. There's just a correlation there. I agree, Phantom Lad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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