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WRESTLING ON THE INTERNET NOT FROM THE NOW


RIPPA

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WWE uploading one of the classics onto YouTube:

Among the moments..

5 elbow drops, a shoe shot that’s paused because as we recall from 1996 WCW, women’s shoes are lethal, Warrior talking to his hands, Warrior pinning Savage with a foot on the chest, and also a variety of crowd shots of Elizabeth that lead up to the big moment at the end where every crying woman in the arena got on camera

also a match with Bobby Heenan veering between neutral and heel commentator

a very sports entertainment sort of match

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Jun Kasai vs Maddog McCrea - BCW 4.28.17 

Not exactly my first death-match viewing, not really my first Jun Kasai match, but I'll still venture to say this was a good'un based on it basically ruled. 

From the opening moments, we see these two are technically sound. And by technically sound, I mean there's a freak'n beautiful DDT within the first minute that cements Kasai as the veteran, but this is almost immediately follow'd by a single chop on the outside that cements McCrea as not only a worthy, but a much larger, challenger (seriously, gotta see Maddog's reach on this one)...

The battling on the outside/through the crowd was I guess the carniest thing they did; blood was drawn seemingly for visual purposes but you can see these two are fighting a little different as the match progresses. When Kasai outwrestles McCrea for a german-suplex (where the thumbtacks were), he points to his temple to indicate he appreciates his own intelligence. And I get the feel he's not proud, smarmy smart, he's the punk-rock sort of smarter than people realize, and he's proud of the german-takedown, not the "on-the-tacks" shock-factor. 

I can't remember every spot of violence, but it was the usual tacks, doors, barb-wire'd, etc. This one was coincidently determine'd to be a classic: Kasai press-slams him F-U style off the top to the floor through a barbwire table that encapsulates him pyramid style when he decides to land in a seat'd position, and when he runs the ropes running over a flaming table, his foot catches fire for a flaming wheel-kick to the face. McCrea also kind of sandbags Kasai on a back body drop that just makes it look like he's not in Kasai's league just when we're ready to see him die.

Why was this worth watching for a smart-fan with an interest in wrestling-psychology? Because it ends when it's suppose'd to. The first superfly-splash doesn't work, but the second one had to work and it did. The finish wasn't fancy, wasn't the most violent part of the match, but there's a level of professionalism on display in this match that puts a higher balance on display. Kasai is charismatic as all hell, but McCrea strangely comes out of it seeming like The Crazy Monkey's larger Australian baby brother. For star ratings, I'd give it at least ***1/2 with a little shave'd off for the token brawling on the outside/blading for the sake of blading, and also it would have been a different story with more time. 21:12 (according to cagematch) is a good length for an exhibitionists style match like this, but I get the feeling each guy has deeper blood to spill for the record books...

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Is5OWiu09w&ab_channel=WWE

Taka Michinoku vs Pantera, Light Heavyweight Title, No Way Out 98

The LHW division will always be my favorite failure in WWE, I thought Taka was rad . Pantera breaks out some wild stuff like a leaping headscissors off the apron and tope from the apron through the buckles and more I don't want to spoil, plus he'll kick you in the spine and jump on your guts too

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WWA Bruiser Bedlam - August 23rd, 1986

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RZmDWHKXOM&t=5s

I was a few months shy of turning 8 years old by Summer 1986. I became a wrestling fan during the early stages of Hulkamania-era WWF, and by this point had also become a fan of Jim Crockett Promotions, AWA and World Class. All wrestling television was appointment viewing.

On a trip to see my aunt that lived in the halfway point between Detroit and Toledo, I came across an episode of WWA Bruiser Bedlam airing locally during this time frame. I can't tell you anything about the episode except that even at 7 years old, I identified this immediately as "minor league wrestling". 

The first match on this specific episode may also feature a brand-new contender for "big name wrestler that should definitely not be in a wrestling ring anymore" that wasn't "1992 Andre The Giant". Moose Cholak was a big name in the AWA and WWA throughout the 1960s and early 70s, but watching the 1986 version of him struggle to even go up the ring steps was one of the saddest things I've ever seen but I couldn't take my eyes off it.

What's even wilder is at this time, the newly crowned WWA Heavyweight Champion is a future star in his rookie year...SCOTT STEINER.

Sadly, no appearance of Steiner (or "Scott Rechsteiner" at the time), but sometime in the early 90s whoever owned the WWA library did put out a "Scott Steiner The Early Years" tape to capitalize. He is definitely still rough around the edges and you can tell he didn't have much to work with around him in that locker room, but sparks are showing already, including a very primitive attempt at a 450 splash somewhere in here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAuSmjy9BqU

 

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8 hours ago, No Point Stance said:

The great documentary 'Memphis Heat' is up on full on YouTube. I have no idea if it's been officially authorised for upload or not, so maybe jump on it now in case it's gone later.

Memphis Heat 2011 (youtube.com)

Those old carnies are really working in their interviews. I love this documentary. The channel hosting it has some good stuff on it. 

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Why did SMW use that high-ass hard cam angle that almost never switched to the ringside camera? That hurts watching their stuff so much. It's like a fan cam with no zoom.

Edited by Curt McGirt
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