WRESTLING ON THE INTERNET NOT FROM THE NOW

[Hamhock]

2 hours ago, Cobra Commander said:

Barry Darsow might be the closest thing wrestling had to a character actor

Darsow also got to do the “test out new character, revert to previous character for several weeks, then officially debut as new character” thing, sadly now lost to the Internet era (along with “TV taping title win hasn’t aired yet, so your team keeps challenging at house shows until it does”, which he also did).

Edited May 18 by Hamhock

[Cobra Commander]

I had thought for years that Darsow didn't use the name "Pain Stewart" because the golfer died, but Payne Stewart was still alive when they opted against that gimmick name

[odessasteps]

I thought someone used it on the indies or was Chip Fairway the only golder gimmick until Kerwin White? 

[zendragon]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uGHLdt7dB4

ROH American Dragon v Proud Canadian Lance Storm

[Doragon]

AJPW 1975

PWF Heavyweight Championship

Giant Baba (c) vs Dick the Bruiser

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

AJPW didn't always have those pro wrestling style turnbuckles, here is the cylindrical typical ones found in old wrestling dojos. The current AJP in recent years shifted to the current shoot pads.  

VPW2 has the 90s AJPW style pro wrestling turnbuckles, but colored all in white like in link.

[Curt McGirt]

I'd have to watch it but I'm pretty sure Cactus vs. Sabu is the match they had at a casino where Foley kept trying to break this bottle over his head, until Sabu had to tell him "Please, stop hitting me" 

[AxB]

No, that's a different Sabu vs Cactus match. The unsmashable bottle match was in ECW in 1995, but it was one of those ECW "Night before the Arena show" matches.

Also, it was Sabu failing to break the bottle over Cactus' head, not the other way around.

[Curt McGirt]

Thank you. I think the detail about the casino match I was missing was them doing a piledriver on a game table which did not get over with the management at all. 

[Cobra Commander]

from the 4/29/96 Nitro posted on YouTube today, gotta love how they had one cop hanging out keeping an eye on Regal/Bruiser just in case things got out of hand... also they got a pretty healthy crowd out there to watch it

[Doragon]

The Inoki-Ism split from NJPW, and from the first IGF show...

IGF Toukon Bom-Ba-Ye 2007 in Sumo Hall

Josh Barnett vs Tadao Yasuda

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ4QvF8n38k

I remember some workers in NJPW criticizing the lack of Strong Style in NJPW. Nakamura changed into one of those Strong Style savior gimmicks, he then became less stoic though after another excursion, which goes against Strong Style. Seemed bit cartoony MJ cosplayer.

One part of old Inoki-ism was the different style fights, so Wrestler vs Boxer for example.  The meaning in Dark Ages 00's NJPW is different, so MMA and Wrestling messed up together, maybe with weird booking too. 

What is "Strong Style" isn't consistent, and many fighters and wrestlers have and expressed their own meaning. Even NJPW isn't consistent with what is Strong Style is. Guys like Tanahashi don't care much about what Strong Style is, so subtracting Inoki Ism is what he and crew in the back really did years ago.

There still were remmants of old NJPW elements, but some of those still faded away over time. There were more heavyweight submission finishes around pre 2012 in NJPW. Submission finishes in the hw division becames rare exceptions from after.

 

[Doragon]

WCW Slamboree 1998

WCW Tag Team Title 

The Outsiders (c) vs. Sting and The Giant 

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

[Doragon]

WXO episode 1 from 2000, only 3 episodes were made. It was supposed to be family friendly fed, long before WWE PG. Ted DiBiase was the CEO and CFO of WXO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yPdVHooGf0

Sometimes i want to post the weird things. This wrestlecrap link goes into better details, https://www.wrestlecrap.com/inductions/wxo/

[The Green Meanie]

WWE Vault released some entertaining Andre The Giant footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvakIWf4zAw

Most interesting segment to me was Giant Baba(!) being introduced to Phoenix, AZ to a silent crowd: "They all have no idea who he is."
 

[The Green Meanie]

3 hours ago, DragonZombie said:

WXO episode 1 from 2000, only 3 episodes were made. It was supposed to be family friendly fed, long before WWE PG. Ted DiBiase was the CEO and CFO of WXO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yPdVHooGf0

Sometimes i want to post the weird things. This wrestlecrap link goes into better details, https://www.wrestlecrap.com/inductions/wxo/

Wrestling With Wregret also did a great episode about it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0vU3VI5cbI

[zendragon]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q9s2otedmE

Savage and Bret Hart v Flair and HBK

1. Certainly makes me believe that Savage should have stayed an active competitor into 93 and beyond

2. Bobby Heenan and JR are on commentary which is neat and they kinda work together. Makes me wonder what if RAW ended up being JR and Heenan instead of King?

3. They have a spirited debate about the attractiveness or not of Sherri. JR claims we would say "no thank you" to any hypothetical advances from Sherri but judging by his Horny Tweeting I'm sure an unmarried JR in 1992 would have fucked Sherri through a brick wall

[Hamhock]

1 hour ago, zendragon said:

Bobby Heenan and JR are on commentary which is neat and they kinda work together

Totally agree; also remarkable that this is dubbed commentary of a taped match (from mid-1992; Ross isn’t in the WWF until March 1993) and they make it sound in-the-moment.

[Mister TV]

6 hours ago, The Green Meanie said:

WWE Vault released some entertaining Andre The Giant footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvakIWf4zAw

Most interesting segment to me was Giant Baba(!) being introduced to Phoenix, AZ to a silent crowd: "They all have no idea who he is."
 

Andre taking a back body drop from Jerry Blackwell was pretty impressive. Is Dusty speaking French? I was always jealous of the kids at TV tapings who could run up to the ring for an autograph or even climb up on the apron. Always love the interviews with random fans from back in the day, everyone is either embarrassed, drunk or terrified of the camera. Giant Baba is dressed like the main bookie in my old neighborhood! Watts wearing Andre's sports jacket is such a brilliant thing to do, everyone watching Mid-South knew Bill Watts was a HOSS, and he looked like a little boy wearing his dad's clothes. 

[Doragon]

Raw, May 16, 1994

Sumo Match

Earthquake vs. Yokozuna

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ-DaoGmguk

[The Green Meanie]

4 hours ago, Mister TV said:

Always love the interviews with random fans from back in the day, everyone is either embarrassed, drunk or terrified of the camera.

Interestingly enough, one fan said "Hulk is going to lose, retire, and make a movie." He wasn't entirely wrong! WM III was about two years before No Holds Barred which was Hulk's first movie since Rocky III in 1982.

I also loved the lumberjack-looking guy "Let me tell you what's going to happen here", proceeds to say one sentence, and then they cut him off. I wanted to hear what he had to say!

I can remember they released some footage from Wrestlerock 1986, and the crowd segment for that was GOLD. Those folks weren't from Minnesota at all!

[Doragon]

AJPW

Kawada Vs Takayama 7-17-99

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdj6wVek8sY

They fought each others in singles matches 4 times i think. Once in UWFI, twice in 90s AJPW, once in NOAH during 2010. 

[Doragon]

17 minutes ago, DragonZombie said:

AJPW

Kawada Vs Takayama 7-17-99

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdj6wVek8sY

They fought each others in singles matches 4 times i think. Once in UWFI, twice in 90s AJPW, once in NOAH during 2010. 

The 30 min draw NOAH match 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnDnxIA-uPQ

[odessasteps]

TIL Leslie West from Mountain played on the Demolition theme. 

[Cobra Commander]

20 minutes of Earthquake dark matches: https://youtu.be/00KQGR2NuDg?si=Vsk_wX8rm2ZrgAf-

John Tenta with a killer belly to belly.

interesting managerial pairing/music for him in the second match as he looks like he could be part of a flannel tag team/trio with Ottman and Mike Shaw

and his 2001 dark match

[Cobra Commander]

some words from mid-1970s Ernie Ladd (from the IWA 50th anniversary DVD): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__taNqo3gPc

[Cobra Commander]

Take your pick-

2 hours of Vader matches: https://youtu.be/RASDnascrrs?si=sT7xTbigyzAbynpo

or…

Hulk Hogan and Giant Gonzales: https://youtu.be/o1cfq9b4cdo?si=zUv-Ro7KQwEOJycp