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JAN 2016 WRESTLING DISCUSSION... Last Try


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http://www.wesh.com/news/former-wrestler-chuck-austin-battling-prescription-issues/31508512

 

It's sad to see that he isn't doing much better these days. 

 

That is an awful headline, BTW. The way it's worded makes it seem like he has addiction issues, while the actual report is about pharmacy issues.

 

 

Oh it is.

 

I was referring to the fact that he hadn't achieved the goals mentioned in the first video. He still hasn't gained the ability to walk and is still in constant pain. It's a sad story really. 

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For the current list, trying to work out a theory for WWE and NXT, Face/Heel. (Note: The way I did it to check the Face/Heel is less "Who's highest on the card?", but a more matchup-based comparison of "If these two people fought in an important enough feud to guarantee one of them has to turn, which one would be more likely to turn?". So, for instance, if Ryback is the number six face in the list, then he'd probably be booed against 1-5 and cheered against everyone below him.) 

 

With that in mind...

 

WWE FACE LIST:

 

 

1- Brock Lesnar

Undertaker
Dean Ambrose
Roman Reigns
Neville
Ryback
Dolph Ziggler
D-Von Dudley
Bubba Ray Dudley
Kalisto
Jimmy Uso
Jey Uso
Kane
Mark Henry
Jack Swagger
Chris Jericho
Rhyno
Zack Ryder
Darren Young
Titus O'Neil
R-Truth
Goldust
Damien Sandow

 

WWE HEEL:

 

 

 

 
1- Triple H
Kevin Owens
Sheamus
Alberto Del Rio
Rusev
Bray Wyatt
Big Show
Braun Strowman
Erick Rowan
Luke Harper
The Miz
Big E Langston
Kofi Kingston
Xavier Woods
Tyler Breeze
Stardust
King Barrett
Konnor
Viktor
Fandango
Heath Slater
Bo Dallas
Curtis Axel
Adam Rose

 

WWE Divas (from "biggest face" to "Biggest heel"):

 

 

 

 
F- Becky Lynch
Natalya
Naomi
Brie Bella
Tamina
Alicia Fox
Summer Rae
Lana
Charlotte
H- Stephanie McMahon

 

NXT FACE:

 

 

 

 
1- Sami Zayn
Apollo Crews
Finn Balor
Hideo Itami
Chad Gable
Enzo Amore
Jason Jordan
Colin Cassady
Mojo Rawley
Bull Dempsey
Alex Riley

 

NXT HEEL:

 

 

 

 
 
1- Baron Corbin
Samoa Joe
Blake
Murphy
Dash Wilder
Scott Dawson
Elias Samson
Marcus Louis
Aiden English
Simon Gotch
Sylvester LeFort
Tye Dillinger
Angelo Dawkins
Sawyer Fulton

 

NXT Women:

 

 

 

F- Bayley
Asuka
Carmella
Liv Morgan
Billie Kay
Peyton Royce
Emma
Cameron
Alexa Bliss
Nia Jax
H- Eva Marie
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Chuck Austin is a very sad story. I really do think WWE should have compensated him regardless of who was at fault. 

I'm still watching 1999 WWF and one of the interesting things is watching as they try to integrate side show characters into storylines. They first tried it with Godfather, giving him the Intercontinental title. But it never took, because no heel could get heat on him. Nobody really cared after he brought the girls out, beyond popping for the avalanche in the corner. 

Droz and Albert actually did get some heat when they tried to pierce one of the girls tongues. It got a lot of heat and even Jerry Lawler was breaking character. But then she got saved and everyone danced. A week later it was back to being a comedy story. 

They have tried most of 1999 to get Chyna over as someone who regularly wrestles men, but it did not take. The obvious one being she was not very good in the ring beyond a few basic spots.

The second thing is the company was uncomfortable having her be hit by men. Which sounds funny considering the era, But it was treated like a big deal if she was hit on took a bump. 

Finally when she wrestled men, you realize she is not that big. Wearing flats, I'm not sure she was bigger than Kidman. So she can't dominate the matches and it looks weird seeing her working even matches. 

Her best role was being Triple H's bodyguard. I feel bad for her, you get the sense that breakup ruined her life. 

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What's the consensus on JBL's title run in hindisight? I hated it at the time as he was lower midcard and spinning his wheels with the whole APA reunion thing then got this jesus push out of nowhere when (IMO) he should've never been higher than US title (a title made for the character).

 

But going over some of his matches he really brought his A-game when he stepped up and didn't drop the ball once. The Cabinet were a lame stable but it is what it is.

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Chuck Austin is a very sad story. I really do think WWE should have compensated him regardless of who was at fault. 

I'm still watching 1999 WWF and one of the interesting things is watching as they try to integrate side show characters into storylines. They first tried it with Godfather, giving him the Intercontinental title. But it never took, because no heel could get heat on him. Nobody really cared after he brought the girls out, beyond popping for the avalanche in the corner. 

 

 

Looking back, that was one of the weirdest things about the Attitude era (or possibly that whole WWWF/WWR/WWE)  - how people were able to get signature spots over as big moves that would get a pop, even though the actual move they were doing was lame, routine and weak as hell.

 

If I do a little dance, stop and then do a kneedrop, that's a killer move. If I just jump up and drop a knee, that's just a generic kneedrop.

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Honestly Godfather's avalanche looked brutal. But he just could not break out into more than an over side character. Which is a good spot to have.

Goldust WWF run post WM 15 seems very strange. Like there were lots of things happening behind the scenes. He was given the Intercontinental title and seemed in line for a big heel push. Then Godfather won the title and he disappeared. GTV debuted as GDTV and the "D" was dropped the next week. 

Since he ended up in WCW, I guess there were negotiations going on. WWF probably could not imagine someone going to WCW voluntarily.

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Honestly Godfather's avalanche looked brutal. But he just could not break out into more than an over side character. Which is a good spot to have.

Goldust WWF run post WM 15 seems very strange. Like there were lots of things happening behind the scenes. He was given the Intercontinental title and seemed in line for a big heel push. Then Godfather won the title and he disappeared. GTV debuted as GDTV and the "D" was dropped the next week. 

Since he ended up in WCW, I guess there were negotiations going on. WWF probably could not imagine someone going to WCW voluntarily.

 

Or they couldn't imagine someone wanting Godfather enough to poach him away from them.

 

I never saw anything in Godfather to warrant so many pushes - other than he was supposedly tight with Undertaker.  Seems like I saw him in about a dozen and a half failed gimmicks over the years (Kama,  Soultaker, Papa Shango, etc.  Anyone remember Sir Charles?  His half-assed attempt to fuse Charles Barkley and some sort of royalty into one gimmick?  It consisted of him wearing a borrowed cape to the ring and doing a terrible Barkley impersonation.  If you missed this, you're one up on me). 

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He was a pretty big dude and decent in the ring. I thought he worked best as Kama, I enjoyed his squash matches and ppv matches with Undertaker and Shawn Michaels.

I think he did a good job working whatever gimmick he was given. He was super over as Godfather, even if he could not get above mid
card with it.

Believe me WCW would have taken Godfather in a second. WWF kept Tiger Ali Singh under contract. 

WCW had to be scared to release anyone after Vince turned Bossman and Debra McMichael into stars. 

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What's the consensus on JBL's title run in hindisight? I hated it at the time as he was lower midcard and spinning his wheels with the whole APA reunion thing then got this jesus push out of nowhere when (IMO) he should've never been higher than US title (a title made for the character).

 

But going over some of his matches he really brought his A-game when he stepped up and didn't drop the ball once. The Cabinet were a lame stable but it is what it is.

 

JBL is the wrestler I've probably done the biggest 180 on over the course of my wrestling life. I never thought anything of him as I was growing up and his title run fell super flat for me at the time, especially with Eddie not getting much of a run before hand. I think it was after he came back to the ring after his first stint announcing that I started to like him.

 

Looking back, he was pretty much always good or at least had visible talent. Yeah, he had some super lame gimmicks in the mid 90s, but he was a poor man's Stan Hansen in the ring and usually good for a fired-up promo. He actually had some fun matches with the pre-DX Outlaws and Kai En Tai even before he settled into the Acolytes. That wasn't even a good gimmick for him, but the chemistry with Faarooq was so good, it kept him afloat for years. The title run was jarring due to how fast his gimmick changed and how fast he won the belt, but his match quality went way up as he got to work longer singles matches with high-end wrestlers. Even though he adopted some cowardly heel tactics, his matches were still mostly high-impact brawling. The length of his reign combined with his mostly cheap wins made him the ideal guy for Cena to crush and launch his main event run. Then he spent the rest of his career as the perfect upper midcard heel with his perfected character and polished in-ring skills.

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I never thought anything of Bradshaw as a kid, but when I look back on his stuff, he was always pretty dope in the ring. Big, stiff as fuck Texan who big boots and lariats the shit out of dudes every week. From the Justin Hawk days, it's kind of hard to see why he never got the big push to begin with.

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I never thought anything of Bradshaw as a kid, but when I look back on his stuff, he was always pretty dope in the ring. Big, stiff as fuck Texan who big boots and lariats the shit out of dudes every week. From the Justin Hawk days, it's kind of hard to see why he never got the big push to begin with.

 

Bradshaw was always a guy that I bought could fight just about anyone in the world when he was in the Acolytes as a kid. He had that feel of "potential main eventer" about him for a long while to me.

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Mike Sharpe passing makes me sad. This is a guy who could've cleaned up in the territories. I remember going to smller WWF shows and there would be a SD Jones/Mie Sharpe match here and there and they always busted ass against each other

 

James

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Happy MLK day everyone!

 

 

www.complex.com/sports/2016/01/sunny-former-wwe-diva-uses-n-word-twitter?utm_campaign=complexmag&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&sr_share=facebook

 

 

:unsure::blink::huh:

 

Re: JBL

 

I didn't like it then and I don't like it now. JBL's title reign was much like JJ's TNA reign. A good hand who should be the 2-3 matches away from the main event, thrust in the main event for 'reasons'. I have always contended that if JBL was U.S. champion at that time and worked with the mid card Smackdown talent (Rene Dupree, Paul London, Billy Kidman, etc.) it might have been a god run to set him up for the world title (if WWE wanted to continue going in that direction).

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Always had a soft spot for Bradshaw and wanted him to get a singles push.  I just never expected him to be a World Title-level guy and didn't take Eddy's title loss nearly as hard as other people did.  He seemed destined to be the guy who would always be put back with Ron Simmons in the tag ranks.  He knew his role as a heel and played it well, though one's mileage may vary on his "workrate".

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Droz and Albert actually did get some heat when they tried to pierce one of the girls tongues. It got a lot of heat and even Jerry Lawler was breaking character. But then she got saved and everyone danced.

I've never seen this, but it sounds wonderful.

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RIP Canada's Greatest Athlete, the king of 80's WWF prelim wrestlers, Iron Mike Sharpe

He was in the WWF for ten years, which kinda surprises me. I remember hearing stories about how he was OCD when it came to cleanliness, and supposedly was locked in an arena one night after a show, because nobody knew he was still in the shower.

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I interviewed "Iron" Mike Sharpe in college for a fanzine I made. I sneaked into the locker room after some terrible indie show in suburban Philly somewhere. My first question: "What is it like being Canada's Greatest Athlete?" My second: "How is your wrist injury?" He kept in caharacter the whole time. (This was 1995 or 1996.) Perfect.

The same evening King Kong Bundy said to me that he was responsible for the death of Andre The Giant.

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Happy MLK day everyone!

 

 

www.complex.com/sports/2016/01/sunny-former-wwe-diva-uses-n-word-twitter?utm_campaign=complexmag&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&sr_share=facebook

 

 

:unsure::blink::huh:

 

Re: JBL

 

I didn't like it then and I don't like it now. JBL's title reign was much like JJ's TNA reign. A good hand who should be the 2-3 matches away from the main event, thrust in the main event for 'reasons'. I have always contended that if JBL was U.S. champion at that time and worked with the mid card Smackdown talent (Rene Dupree, Paul London, Billy Kidman, etc.) it might have been a god run to set him up for the world title (if WWE wanted to continue going in that direction).

 

Someone really needs to pull Sunny away from social media....

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