Michael Sweetser Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 16 hours ago, Patrick B. said: One of my local indies brings in the midgets on a semi-regular basis, even though Beautiful Bobby Dean and Little Kato do essentially the same match every time. The fans eat it up. I read that as "Beautiful Bobby Eaton" and now I really want to see Eaton work a midget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted May 9, 2016 Author Share Posted May 9, 2016 Or at least someone could form a Mini Midnight Express 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick B. Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I'm shocked that HASN'T happened yet. One of the local rasslin groups had matches at the St. Louis Cinco De Mayo Festival...they wrapped up RIGHT before it started pouring down rain. Fastest ring breakdown I'd ever seen that didn't involve the cops being called and Gary Jay asking if I could give him a ride home. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technico Support Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 19 hours ago, MonteCarl said: It's crazy to me to think of an 11 year old kid starting to watch wrestling today. To that kid who is 11 and watching today's product, the Attitude Era is farther away to him as the Bruno Sammartino Era was to me when I first started watching in the mid-80s. Those Bruno and other early 70's matches seemed ancient to me when they'd pop up on the occasional Coliseum Videos. That's what really gets me. I started watching in 1985 and even the wrestling 10 years ago at that time felt ancient. Hell, watching Coliseum's "Best of the WWF" tapes (fuck yeah I said TAPES), when they'd show a match that was even 5 years old, felt completely alien. Considering that, it's sad to see them fall back on draws from 20 years ago nowadays. Imagine if they brought in guys from 1965 to pop an audience for Mania 1. Or just consider, no way in hell Vince would be bringing back Bruno to be a draw at, say, Mania 4. Yeah, they'd put him and old stars in undercard spots like Bruno and Morales in the Mania 2 battle royal but I remember, in the buildup to it, that their presence wasn't noted as a huge draw. I'm hoping they really do commit to this "New Era" but I get the feeling they'll be calling the stars of the late 90s as soon as Mania rolls around again. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricksilver Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 On 5/8/2016 at 10:50 PM, madsplash said: At least you guys have something. I've been on the board for 16 years and no one knows who I am. i do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nature Boy Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 1 hour ago, Technico Support said: That's what really gets me. I started watching in 1985 and even the wrestling 10 years ago at that time felt ancient. Hell, watching Coliseum's "Best of the WWF" tapes (fuck yeah I said TAPES), when they'd show a match that was even 5 years old, felt completely alien. Considering that, it's sad to see them fall back on draws from 20 years ago nowadays. Imagine if they brought in guys from 1965 to pop an audience for Mania 1. Or just consider, no way in hell Vince would be bringing back Bruno to be a draw at, say, Mania 4. Yeah, they'd put him and old stars in undercard spots like Bruno and Morales in the Mania 2 battle royal but I remember, in the buildup to it, that their presence wasn't noted as a huge draw. I'm hoping they really do commit to this "New Era" but I get the feeling they'll be calling the stars of the late 90s as soon as Mania rolls around again. In the mid 70s - mid 80s, "Happy Days" was a top show and its entire draw was 50s nostalgia. Nostalgia has always been a big draw in American culture. The wrestling example is bad because the business changed a lot even 1980 - 1985. The WWWF was a regional company so Bruno would not have been a good nostalgia act for non-Northeast fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(BP) Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 We've also been in an unparalleled nostalgia funk culturally for a long time. Everyone roughly in WWE's adult demos want the 90s back in general, not just in wrestling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zakk_Sabbath Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 19 minutes ago, (BP) said: We've also been in an unparalleled nostalgia funk culturally for a long time. Everyone roughly in WWE's adult demos want the 90s back in general, not just in wrestling. I'm definitely guilty of this, but I also remember a LOT of 70s nostalgia with my parents when I was growing up in the 90s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technico Support Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I'm sure nostalgia is a big thing with every generation, but at some point you have to move on and stop telling your audience that things were better two decades ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTTW Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 11 minutes ago, Technico Support said: I'm sure nostalgia is a big thing with every generation, but at some point you have to move on and stop telling your audience that things were better two decades ago. Things probably were better 20 odd years ago when anything felt possible and they had direction for characters, not just the brand. Austin would be DOA in todays era because that character doesn't look good for a publicly traded company. Ditto for the Rock. Ambiguously gay work rate Shawn would be Ziggler today. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spritenaut 32 Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Who would be Mantaur? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Bray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spritenaut 32 Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 <shrug>. I'm ok with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattdangerously Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 51 minutes ago, DTTW said: Austin would be DOA in todays era because that character doesn't look good for a publicly traded company. Ditto for the Rock. Ambiguously gay work rate Shawn would be Ziggler today. In today's era, Austin could have just stayed as Stunning Steve, and had a decent midcard career for a few years. HBK would probably be fine, since I assume he'd still give Vince those funny feelings in his swimsuit area. Rock would be Umaga'd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTTW Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 2 hours ago, mattdangerously said: In today's era, Austin could have just stayed as Stunning Steve, and had a decent midcard career for a few years. HBK would probably be fine, since I assume he'd still give Vince those funny feelings in his swimsuit area. Rock would be Umaga'd. And notice how none of that screams millions of dollars in box office draw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyld Samurai Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I don't get nostalgia for the characters... I get nostalgia for the ability. Foley, Austin and HBK could go. Ziggler can go but he's a cross between a poor man's HBK and poor man's Curt Hennig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRGoldman Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 7 minutes ago, Wyld Samurai said: I don't get nostalgia for the characters... I get nostalgia for the ability. Foley, Austin and HBK could go. Ziggler can go but he's a cross between a poor man's HBK and poor man's Curt Hennig. There are more good workers on today's roster than the entirety of the attitude era. Dolph Ziggler is not one of those good workers. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyld Samurai Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Hence why he's a "poor man's". It is a different style today. That hurts the artform a ton for the WWE. But look back at how Austin wrestled before the injury and tell me he wasn't infinitely a better ring performer than most of the guys on the current roster who just do over exaggerated done to death spots. Cena had it called out on him back at ONS 06. Even look back at the lower card guys back theN their matches made sense and their offense made sense. Not like Apollo Crews who needs his opponent to flip over after the gorilla press slam so he can do a standing moonsault for a pinfall attempt. That's absolutely horseshit by anyone's standards. All Apollo has to do is invert the Press slam so he automatically falls on their back. Guys like Regal, Orndorff, Double A and Larry Zybisco sucked? It's not nostalgia for their characters... it's nostalgia for the fact that their shit look good, made sense, and could get the crowd involved without shortening their careers or looking like morons with blatant assists to their opponents offense like Kalisto needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cristobal Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Austin was better than Cena. Godfather, the New Age Outlaws, and Test were not better than Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Cesaro. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRGoldman Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Any time someone has rose colored glasses about the Attitude Era and the overall talent of the roster, I implore them to go back and watch any of those Royal Rumbles. They were thin. Cristobal, was Austin better than Cena? He was cooler, for sure, but I would say that Cena had a better best match, the better top 5 matches, a better peak year, has had better matches with bad opponents, and a better stretch of TV matches with his US Title Open Challenge thing. Austin had a ton of memorable moments and made Raw appointment television, but I'm not sure I agree with the case that he's a better in ring wrestler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cristobal Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Austin before his body broke down was absolutely a better in-ring wrestler than Cena is today. Even later he used what he could still do to maximum effect. I'm not knocking Cena, either. Steve Austin is pro wrestling. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go2Sleep Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 I'd say Austin was better personally, but when you're comparing two elite guys like that, it's pretty much all gonna come down to personal taste. Still, does Cena really have a match better than Austin vs. Bret at WM 13? And I'd put Austin in 2001 against any year for Cena (07 probably being his best). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spritenaut 32 Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 I'm not sure there's a right or wrong answer, but, for me, l'd definitely take Cena over Austin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRGoldman Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 I would say that both the Umaga match and the Bryan match are better than the Bret match. I would listen to arguments about the Dude Love match being better than than the Bryan match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsplash Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 Cena also had the Money In The Bank match with Punk, Extreme Rules against Lesnar, and the series with Owens. I really can't think of any Austin matches I'd put above those or the aforementioned Umaga and Bryan ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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