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JANUARY 2021 Discussion of Wrestling


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8 minutes ago, Matt D said:

 

That's not to say lists and projects aren't great, they are. But it should be the starting point, not the end point.

That is exactly what I am saying: Relying on lists is a stage a lot of us have to go through to get to the point where we understand our own tastes.

I feel like you think we are in disagreement here, but I don't believe we are.

Edit: Or maybe you think I'm accusing you of being a false connoisseur? That is absolutely not my intention. It's also not the case. You, my friend, are a certified pro wrestling taste-maker in my opinion. 

I also think that false connoisseurship is just a stage, it's neutral (hopefully moving toward positive) to me rather than negative. So even if I think someone is in that stage, it's an observation rather than an accusation. Most of us have been there.

Edited by El Gran Gordi
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5 minutes ago, El Gran Gordi said:

That is exactly what I am saying: Relying on lists is a stage a lot of us have to go through to get to the point where we understand our own tastes.

I feel like you think we are in disagreement here, but I don't believe we are.

No, we're good. Or at least, we're selectively good and passing like ships in the night elsewhere.

There is a part where I go back and get a tad hostile for people who underappreciated Demolition or refuse to watch the 5 minutes at the start of every John Studd match that are awesome before you get into the 15 that aren't and realize that there's something amazing to be found there or miss the beauty of the attitudes and character portrayals in lucha because all they care about are the armdrags and the dives and that can't possibly believe that Big Bossman has a better portfolio of matches in WWF than Dibiase does, actually, even if Dibiase was a "ring general" or that won't go on the Buddy Rose journey with me where you have to watch him week to week instead of just going for the big matches to see how he worked the same arena crowd against a range of opponents and.. I could go on, but that's not the point here. Because we're not going there. I'm lucky, very lucky, that I learned to see what I have and can enjoy what I can, and I'm always glad when someone else figures it out or helps me figure out something else I hadn't realized or encountered previously. Five years ago, I was quicker to bloody my internet knuckles with arguments like the above. The kids coming up aren't as entrapped in the same canonical quagmire and it makes things both easier and harder.

But on the points we're engaging on? We're definitely good and saying similar things. I was trying to support if anything.

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1 hour ago, Matt D said:

I go back and get a tad hostile ...

I get like that with people who insist on buying and drinking only the most expensive sake. The best wines are often (but not always) more expensive, but with sake higher price means more refined rice was used, which often makes for a less tasty and/or aromatic sake. The most delicious sakes are often very reasonably priced. It can get me all riled up when people refuse to consider that.

So it's totally off topic but all I'm trying to say is I get where you are coming from. 

It is a special kind of delightful, though, when someone does listen and you can share the joy you find in Kaze no Mori combining fruity with dry or Big John Studd combining giant with chickenshit.

Edited by El Gran Gordi
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List making is still good when the list-makers add context. Like, I read @Matt D's posts on a bunch of wrestlers that he then ranked on his GWE a few years back, and understanding the reasoning behind his list and the context of his own judging criteria was helpful.

Of course, that's a case where the community was quite knowledgeable about the subject, and you're right that too many lists are just clickbait time-wasters. 

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I will try to keep this a broad as possible, but what has always been true in pro rasslin' (and advertising and comic books and ketchup choice, et al) is if you get the consumers emotionally involved, you will have them hooked (not necessarily in a malicious manner) for the long term, whereas intellectual involvement, as well as attraction based on price or surprises or  practicality, will bring them in for a quick look but may not keep them. Many hours of good matches based on crazy moves is lesser than a well-booked show with wrestlers and feuds and stories that get your heart in it. We may not be able to use nationalism or regionalism or stereotyping or good/evil or bigger than life gimmicks as easily, but putting out spot-fests with ironic characters that the crowd identifies with is pandering nonetheless, and perhaps a less effective kind, bizness-wise.

- RAF

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Wrestlers In Places You Did A Double-take On When Your Back Is All Seized Up And You Forgot How Many Pain-killers You Have Taken Already Today Dept.---

I am trying to figure out what in Gojira's name is going on with this Nutsy Fagen Japanese TV show that has lived in my Amazon Prime streaming queue and I decided to hit the switch on - SENTOSHA: Battle Wheels - and as the warlord Chihara Junior is introducing the drivers defending Junior Castle to their cars, I blurt out "hmanoigaGREATMUTA!!!!!" as Mr. Keiji Mutoh gets assigned the Lincoln Navigator amidst his teammates of pop stars, minor sportsballers, comedians and TV personalities (if you are not a worker, thee Rev probably doesn't know you, celebrity-wise). Twenty minutes later, some fat guy (the comic relief, I assume) is eating spicy noodles and screaming. Is this a reality show? Improv? Competion? Comedy? Surely, like so many other TV programs from my brothers and sisters of thee Rising Sun it is an occult medley of all these things. Now there are pink ninjas, maybe nuns. Just go with the flow, RAF; as with much of life it is more important and pleasurable to smoothly survive and experience than to understand and categorize. Anyway, SENTOSHA: Battle Wheels, watch it so you can assure me this is not a couchdream.

WWMMD? (What Would Miamoto Musashi Do?),

RAF

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1 hour ago, thee Reverend Axl Future said:

Is this a reality show? Improv? Competion? Comedy? Surely, like so many other TV programs from my brothers and sisters of thee Rising Sun it is an occult medley of all these things.

They call them variety shows. Sensibly enough. I often ask my students questions like, "What kind of TV shows do you like?" and "Variety!" was a very common answer. It took me a while to figure out what that means in Japan. What it means is, well, Reality/Improv/Competion/Comedy etc.  Sometimes also Food or Quiz, for example. 

One of my young male students says he likes "Danger-tainment." SENTOSHA: Battle Wheels very much sounds like what that might be. 

EDIT: I long ago got used to having no idea what is going on. In my opinion, that is a key to having a happy life here (which I very much do).

Further EDIT: @thee Reverend Axl FutureI watched it. One of my students gave me a one-year Amazon Prime Japan membership for Christmas (how nice is that?) and SENTOSHA: Battle Wheels was indeed in my streaming queue as well. 

Even going in with your description in mind, and even given what I have come to expect from Japanese TV, that was a pretty damned near inexplicable and incomprehensible 35 minutes of cars not actually crashing into anything as the S01 ep01 of a show ostensibly, entirely, about people doing car stunts. 

Also, since I'm in Japan there were no subtitles (and I also can't remove the Japanese subtitles from English language movies and TV).

However, as you accurately put it: It is more important and pleasurable to smoothly survive and experience than to understand and categorize. And I also marked out for Mutoh, even though I knew it was coming.

Edited by El Gran Gordi
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Sorry if this breaks the no politics rule so feel to take this down. But Linda McMahon’s PAC contributed to putting together Trump’s event on Wednesday.

I will never click on one thing related to the WWE ever again.

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/01/09/pro-trump-dark-money-groups-organized-the-rally-that-led-to-deadly-capitol-hill-riot.html?__twitter_impression=true

 

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Can we please not do this? I apologize if I come across as sensitive for saying this, but can we just not? The current events of this country are embarrassing and we are constantly surrounded by this topic everywhere we go and some of us use pro-wrestling and this place as an escape from that and it sucks coming on here to come across that as well.

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WWE announced Superstar Spectacle for India. Will show Indian talent, and shot in Florida for now.

Will air on Sony Sports Network in India on Tuesday, January 26.  Republic Day in India.

Edited by D.Z
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1 hour ago, Edwin said:

Can we please not do this? I apologize if I come across as sensitive for saying this, but can we just not? The current events of this country are embarrassing and we are constantly surrounded by this topic everywhere we go and some of us use pro-wrestling and this place as an escape from that and it sucks coming on here to come across that as well.

I feel the same way as you do about wanting to get away from it. But, on the other hand, I think it’s worth knowing that one of the owners of the biggest wrestling company in the world was partly responsible for that bullshit.

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I don't think we should talk about it because the board policy is not to talk about it, not because we need an "escape." A lot of people are unfortunate enough to live through real life without having an escape from any of it, so I don't really believe that wanting an escape - "let me just live in ignorance for a little while," essentially - is all that important a need. 

 

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So what all weekly wrestling shows are y'all watching?

 

Monday-ROH on FITE

Tues-Impact on AXS,gets DVRed and I'm always a week or so behind.

Wednesday-MLW Fusion on Youtube and Limitless Wrestling The Road on IWTV

Thursday&Friday-Nothing

Saturday-Championship Wrestling From Hollywood either the Memphis Airings on Youtube or Zliving's late night airing of it.

 

I know about New South's Action Clash on IWTV Tuesdays,but man the commentary team is so bad it makes the show a pain to watch.

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You know, ever since NWA went away, nothing. I don't keep up with MLW anymore either. 

I've been watching stuff for Secret Santo and basically watching playlists of stuff from U.S. and Canadian territories in the '70s and '80s as well as European stuff from the '70s and '80s. 

I'm waiting to get the Portland set so I can dig deeply into that. I'm very excited about it. 

(EDIT: I know NWA is back, but I saw that first show with Aldis/Bennett and was left with little enthusiasm to see more. Combine that with key parts of the NWA roster getting picked off in the interim, and I'm not really as into it anymore. It's a shame, too, because I was loving what they were doing pre-pandemic.)

Edited by Smelly McUgly
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It violates board policy and seeking a momentary escape from the chaos doesn't mean you opt to live in ignorance, but I'm not going to debate that as it's meaningless.

Edited by Edwin
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50 minutes ago, bobholly138 said:

So what all weekly wrestling shows are y'all watching?

 

Monday-ROH on FITE

Tues-Impact on AXS,gets DVRed and I'm always a week or so behind.

Wednesday-MLW Fusion on Youtube and Limitless Wrestling The Road on IWTV

Thursday&Friday-Nothing

Saturday-Championship Wrestling From Hollywood either the Memphis Airings on Youtube or Zliving's late night airing of it.

 

I know about New South's Action Clash on IWTV Tuesdays,but man the commentary team is so bad it makes the show a pain to watch.

I've got a pretty regimented wrestling watching schedule right now.

Tuesday evening I have to get the French Catch reviews in to SC. Two shows a week which usually span from 27-47 minutes with a match to a match and a half in them. I tend to catch them Friday-Saturday-Sunday-Monday mornings depending on when the kids wake up and how much time i can eck out during work mornings.

Friday evening I have to get in SC's New Footage Friday reviews, which are usually 3 matches, but can be as much as a whole show. We did a full AJPW handheld show from 96 this week for instance (Misawa/Akiyama vs Sabu/Albright, Patriot/Kobashi vs Taue/Kawada, etc.). I usually catch these in the morning from Tues-Friday.

Every other night now (for the most part), I do the treadmill for 30 mins and watch AJPW from 89. All of it, so there are 2 minute matches and 25 minute matches and I try to fit it into 30 as best I can.

Then there's Secret Santo until we run out of steam so that's one more match a week I have to fit in.

And I can generally, during a week, fit in a little bit more when I'm giving a kid a bath or something. Not too much more though since Rule #1 is that wrestling doesn't get in the way of my family life. It's a pretty satisfying wrestling watching schedule though.

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34 minutes ago, Edwin said:

It violates board policy and seeking a momentary escape from the chaos doesn't mean you opt to live in ignorance, but I'm not going to debate that as it's meaningless.

You're right, there's nothing to debate. "Don't tell me about this company that is doing some harmful real-life shit because I can't take it right now" is absolutely a desire to live in ignorance. You didn't want to even know what Gregg posted for reasons of escape.

Not shitting on you because we all do it sometimes, and I'm genuinely sorry if you think I was trying to do so. I just don't think it's a relevant reason not to post something. I'll let it go, though. 

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I try to catch Dynamite live every week if I can. Other than that, my viewing has no rhyme or reason. Lately, it’s been Wrestle Kingdom, Paradigm Pro on IWTV, some Volk Han matches and some mid-00’s Noah on YouTube. 

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36 minutes ago, Smelly McUgly said:

You're right, there's nothing to debate. "Don't tell me about this company that is doing some harmful real-life shit because I can't take it right now" is absolutely a desire to live in ignorance. You didn't want to even know what Gregg posted for reasons of escape.

I guess you misunderstood me. When I said "I'm not going to debate that because it's meaningless," I was referring to seeking == living in ignorance. I wasn't referring to the article on hand.

1 hour ago, bobholly138 said:

So what all weekly wrestling shows are y'all watching?

I used to watch NXT, but that show feels dry and has felt that way for months, so I don't make a weekly thing anymore and will mostly just watch selective matches. Same with RAW, SD and AEW. I also watch selective matches from Japan.

Aside from that, I watch other things from past years I missed out on like the Finlay SmackDown run from 2006 that I missed out on and was incredible.

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