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JUNE 2020 WRESTLING DISCUSSION


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30 minutes ago, For Great Justice said:

Was watching the muthaship last night and it struck me that in 20 years no one has stolen Roadblock’s backflip over the ropes from the apron finish. How a fat dude isn’t using they right now is beyond me. Like Otis needs to watch some Disney taping stat.

To each their own.  I always thought his tip-in splash looked awkward.  

 

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I've been watching a bit of 88-89 WWF last few days. 

Strike Force was my favorite tag team as a kid - and Tito vs Martel was such a great simmering feud when they split. You just loved seeing Tito get his licks in against Rick whenever that scenario could happen... and damn was Rick Martel good.

Demolition was a far better tag team than The Road Warriors. I never really understood the comparison other than they both had a Mad Max look... Demolition could actually work.

Greg Valentine vs Ronnie Garvin. They pulled zero punches. It's pretty damn awesome watching those two go at it. 

Bobby Heenan working in the 89 Survivor Series in place of Tully... if it's been a few decades since you've seen that - the little bits that Bobby does as a ring worker is phenomenal considering he's a fulltime manager. Arn Anderson absolutely owned that match... and I'm thinking he was barely 30 at the time. 

-- there's also a moment where Bret and Savage square off in their Survivor Series match... and they totally made it up to be a big deal. I don't really recall Bret being a big deal at that time - but damn was that a fun interaction.

Wrestling was so tight back then. A lot of people shit on the critics of today saying that it's an evolution of pro-wrestling and it's for the better... but when you actually go back and watch something from the late 80s damn near everything done had a purpose and it looked so much tighter and realistic. 

Edited by Wyld Samurai
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Who are the most influential wrestlers of all time in terms of younger wrestlers trying to copy a certain wrestlers "look"?

Summerslam `88 has Superstar Billy Graham on commentary - and the main event is refereed by Jesse Ventura featuring a match with Hulk Hogan. Fast forward 8 years and Hogan is full on Superstar, and 10-12 years later we have Big Poppa Pump. 

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38 minutes ago, Wyld Samurai said:

Demolition was a far better tag team than The Road Warriors. I never really understood the comparison other than they both had a Mad Max look... Demolition could actually work.

Part of it was because I really never saw the Road Warriors, but I never thought that Demolition was anything like them as a kid. In fact, I thought they were wrestlers trying to be KISS. 

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Mentioned previously how there are a few wrestling oddities if you look deep enough on Amazon Prime. Watched an episode of USWA from 1990 and "Best of Memphis 1986 Vol. 1" last night. A few thoughts (if this is in the wrong forum, I apologize) ...

USWA 1990

-- Billy Joe Travis was "El Kabong" Jeff Jarrett years before Double J. Classic Southern chicken-scratch heel who could cause a riot just by making a face. In one episode, he smacked Bill Dundee and Eric Embry with guitars and struck Chris Adams over the head with a bottle. Watching him, it's a bit of a surprise he didn't do more than jobber work in a major fed -- he could have fit as a tag team partner or acolyte of Jarrett in the mid-to-late 90s. (Given the fact that he died quite young, I'm curious if he had substance abuse or other personal issues that derailed his career. I recall watching him on one of the Bert Prentice MCW shows in the late 90s and he looked about 20-30 years older than he was in 1990.)

-- USWA 1990 had a very ... uh ... odd fascination with spanking women.

-- The video came from someone who recorded an episode from an Evansville, IN, TV station (the footage included weather alerts for the Evansville area that day). They were promoting a house show in Evansville that featured, among other matches, Steve Williams (Austin) vs. The Soultaker (Godfather) and a singles match with Master of Pain (Undertaker). Per Cagematch, the show had no Undertaker, and Austin-Godfather became a tag match.

-- There was a video package for Soultaker on the show. You could tell he was going to hit the big time. Looked green but had an above-average big man moveset.

 

Memphis 1986

-- An hour-long special that honestly didn't make much sense. Started with the announcement that Jerry Lawler lost a loser leave town match to Bill Dundee. By the end of the video, Lawler is back with no explanation as to why. Also, Dutch Mantel goes from heel and Dundee ally at the start of the vid to sworn enemy and Lawler ally at the end. Dundee and Buddy Landel mention that they booted Mantel out of their group but, again, we don't see that.

-- Dundee could be the closest equivalent we have in the U.S. to Atsushi Onita. Heel or face, he hides average workrate with off-the-charts charisma. 

-- Highlight was Dundee vs. Tracy Smothers (who was booked as the "rookie unknown' with a few wins under his belt). They go eight minutes with the story that Smothers is the first guy in a while who can go hold for hold, punch for punch with Dundee. Every time Smothers tries to get a consistent offense going, Dundee slides out of the ring to stall -- you don't see heel work like that these days.

-- During one of Dundee's stalls, a middle-aged man in the audience stands up and spanks his own backside towards the Superstar. A few seconds later, he GRABS HIS YOUNG SON (well, at least I hope it's his kid) and SHAKES THE TOT TOWARDS DUNDEE. Child could not have been older than five. Lance Russell actually calls the fan out and questions what he did. (Also have to wonder if the fan got, at the very least, a talking to by Russell or somebody else during an ad break).

-- Other highlights include a party outside the ring to commemorate Lawler being kicked out of town. Steve Borden (Sting) hands out cake plates to Dundee, Landel, Mantel, etc. Jim Hellwig (Warrior) looks confused.

-- A Blade Runners squash sees Sting go for a jumping elbow on his prone opponent, only for Sting to lose his track of thought, land on his feet, then try the move again. Fans give him grief.

-- There's a video package of Dundee getting a legal injunction to block the distribution of a "Best of Jerry Lawler" highlight video (!?!?!) We're then taken to a "courthouse in New Jersey," where the injunction is lifted. One of Dundee's lawyers is played by soon-to-be NWA owner Dennis Corraluzzo. I presume he had a company that produced and distributed Memphis footage?

-- The video ends with the "Bill and Buddy Show" incident, with Lawler and Mantel destroying the Bill and Buddy set and a massive brawl breaking out in the ring. Maybe I was seeing things, but I swear Dundee started tearing his own business suit to help Lawler. 

 

 

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5 hours ago, hammerva said:

By the way if you see RIP Robert Fuller trending, it isn't what you are thinking.  It is actually much fucking worse 

Are you saying it’s a trap, and I’ll  see his big studd?

Edit: Oh I see.

Edited by LoneWolf&Subs
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8 hours ago, AxB said:

Babyface World Champion Drew Galloway/ McIntyre defending the Title on a PPV, against vicious heel Bobby Lashley. WWE Backlash 2020, or Impact Slammiversary 2016?

EDIT: Looking at the Slammiversary 2016 full card. The only people on it who are still there are Eddie Edwards, Mahabali Shera and Rosemary (Crazzy Steve left and came back; Gail Kim retired but still works backstage). Meanwhile you've got loads of NXT wrestlers, or Covid-released WWE talent, and a few NWA and AEW people. And Jessie Godderz, of 'Why is nobody using the obviously marketable Jessie Godderz?' fame.

Best part is that Impact showed the finish in their throw back segment last week. Why can't we get shit talking Lashley in WWE? I mean I know why, but it would be nice.

Hell Shera left Impact and was at the Performance Center for a little bit before getting released. Crazzy Steve left, was rumored to have signed with WWE but then didn't or the offer got pulled.

I don't know what Godderz is doing, but I'd be down for a BroManz vs. Brezango feud on NXT.

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On 6/12/2020 at 11:49 AM, RIPPA said:

Is there a source beyond the IRISH INSIDER~!

Good to know rovert still lurks the board.  He tweeted a screenshot of this post yesterday while crying over his lack of clout.

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He claims he was banned from the board for, and I quote: "Being too pro-Meltzer".

I'm fairly sure he was actually banned for "Being too much of a twat".

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7 hours ago, Wyld Samurai said:

Who are the most influential wrestlers of all time in terms of younger wrestlers trying to copy a certain wrestlers "look"?

Summerslam `88 has Superstar Billy Graham on commentary - and the main event is refereed by Jesse Ventura featuring a match with Hulk Hogan. Fast forward 8 years and Hogan is full on Superstar, and 10-12 years later we have Big Poppa Pump. 

Yuji Nagata.

I can’t remember anyone earlier rocking the kickpad / trunks combo that has dominated the 2000s and beyond.

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For a long time, wrestlers were all clean shaven. Then Cactus Jack got over as a crazy guy by having a beard, and now so many guys have beards that someone could base a whole gimmick around being the guy who doesn't have facial hair.

nb: This argument is stupid. Hogan had a 'tache gimmick, and Savage had a beard before Cactus did. Foley is super influential though.

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2 minutes ago, mattdangerously said:

Was anyone rocking jorts and t-shirts before Raven? Because that definitely became a thing for a while.

Probably guys doing a country boy gimmick. But likely not as part of the grunge or parallel cultural look. 

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If we're talking strictly influence on others look...

Would Raven be the guy for casual shorts and tshirt during wrestling? I mean what I remember of the 80s and early 90s watching wrestling on TV was either trunks (flair, dusty) or singlets (steiners), or pants (Bret, rude).

But now shorts and denim shorts especially? There's Cena, Homicide, at times B Boy, Balls Mahoney, Axl, etc. Shorts and denim jeans are, what little I've seen of american deathmatch indie feeds, part of the dress code with maybe elbow pads. So would we say that's the influence Raven had on that look or is there someone else (I'm sure there is) before him. 

I know denim and a tshirt might be customary for a wild all over the arena brawl, but I'm not talking one off feud ending matches (slaughter Patterson's bloody brawl might be the one in my head). More like tshirt and shorts was their wrestling gear, all the time, match after match, and not just for blow off matches.

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26 minutes ago, AxB said:

For a long time, wrestlers were all clean shaven. Then Cactus Jack got over as a crazy guy by having a beard, and now so many guys have beards that someone could base a whole gimmick around being the guy who doesn't have facial hair.

They should bring back the "Hair vs Hair" stip, but with beards.

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