February 2022 - Professional Wrestling Omnibus Discussion

[Just Dave]

1 hour ago, Hagan said:

Yeah - the weird reflexive dismissal of that writer bringing forward a legitimate hurt as not being equivalent or as legitimate as the issue between Dax and Michaels was really unfortunate to read. Something doesn't have to be equivalent to something else to have value or importance.   

Fwiw, FTR didn't have a promo on that Raw. Some folks went back and looked.

[odessasteps]

3 hours ago, Hagan said:

Isn't the takeaway that wrestling, by and large, is filled with people that most of us probably wouldn't want to actually be friends with in real life? 

 

Just like the board.

[John E. Dynamite]

I've never watched any GWF before. I just watched Jerry Lynn vs. Lightning Kid 12/27/91 and I'm kinda fucked up by it.

First, the production values are absurd. Great pre-match graphics. No hard cam but two or three very well-edited handhelds. BIG ring, well lit. Solid commentary, perfect mix. I love Joe Pedicino, I had no idea. Did any part of GWF's downfall have to do with the fact that this stuff was too good? Like they couldn't afford it or something?

But what's got me really messed up is how ahead of its time the match is, for better or worse. It's a 2/3 Falls Match with that pretentious "gotta use your finisher" stip. Commentary is using insider words like "psychology" in such a wink-nudge kinda way... Waltman is so "natural babyface trying to work preening heel". Lynn is so "white rice superworker over with the boys". The workrate quality, the high-concept match type, the orchestrated story beats vs. the total lack of hatred, showing the modified pinfall rules w/ commentary not missing a beat, every spot being hit clean, the "subversive" finish, Lynn's terrible promo at the end of the episode... yeah, I'm blown away. This is the earliest of this kind of "mark vs. mark" match I've ever seen and it's so simultaneously commendable and detesable. It's so babyface Kenny Omega vs. heel Matt Jackson in 2015 PWG that I kind of want to die. And they *perfectly* performed what they were going for.

This isn't a Post a Bunch of Matches thread so I'll spoiler the video, but what is an earlier, better example of an athleticism-first match so schooled in the smark mindset? At least in the US? Because I don't know how many I've seen. 

Spoiler

 

 

Edited February 23, 2022 by John E. Dynamite

[Guest Stefanie Without Stefanie]

24 minutes ago, John E. Dynamite said:

First, the production values are absurd. Great pre-match graphics. No hard cam but two or three very well-edited handhelds. BIG ring, well lit. Solid commentary, perfect mix. I love Joe Pedicino, I had no idea. Did any part of GWF's downfall have to do with the fact that this stuff was too good? Like they couldn't afford it or something?

Global ran out of money really, really fast. Like it wasn't long after this match that both Waltman and Lynn were gone because they stopped flying people in. The commentators for that era of Global were Craig Johnson and Bruce Prichard (yes, that Bruce Prichard). Joe Pedicino was just behind the camera at that point. Craig Johnson was the gimmick name of Jon Horton, who also did commentary for lacrosse. I think he was a local at that point but can't quite recall why they stopped using him. I will say that I have worked with Jon a couple of times, and I would 100% not be surprised if he quit once they stopped using someone he was loyal to, like Scott Hudson (who also worked for Global for a time and would have been a fly-in from Atlanta), but I can't say for sure if that's why he stopped working there.

Edited February 23, 2022 by Stefanie the Human

[Dog]

As an 11-year-old just getting into wrestling, Global was my easy #2 favorite promotion after WCW. WWF could stick it, brother.

[username]

4 hours ago, SirSmellingtonofCascadia said:

I sort of think less of the writer going "You made fun of me once" in response to a podcast where a dude is telling his story. His response naturally paints FTR Guy as a hypocrite, which is a shitty thing to do when a guy is talking about how he felt when someone was shitty to him. 

If the writer wants an apology, he should reach out, or hell, make a post about it that isn't a direct response to FTR Guy. "Why are you complaining when you were mean to me?" is a bad look, IMO, as unpopular as that might be.

 

I mean... I think it paints the guy as a hypocrite because he's basically saying he is a hypocrite. I have no idea how either of these two are like in real life but I've been in several situations where I've seen someone I've known to be an asshole go through the whole "someone was awful to me, look at how terrible they are and think better of me" and when you know how they are really like... you get hot. The fact writer guy basically immediately popped off about this when there is no real other ulterior reason to do so suggests there is something real to him there and hence I get why he went about it this way. I don't know if saying it publicly is all that helpful but that also goes for both of them. Whatever was up they both felt wronged enough by someone else to hold onto it for years and need to publicly vent it, I can't sit here and pretend to know the ins and outs of either situation (I assume HBK was a prick as I do that for every situation involving HBK) so I just hope it at least took a weight off of each of their shoulders.

[SirSmUgly]

30 minutes ago, username said:

 

I mean... I think it paints the guy as a hypocrite because he's basically saying he is a hypocrite. I have no idea how either of these two are like in real life but I've been in several situations where I've seen someone I've known to be an asshole go through the whole "someone was awful to me, look at how terrible they are and think better of me" and when you know how they are really like... you get hot. The fact writer guy basically immediately popped off about this when there is no real other ulterior reason to do so suggests there is something real to him there and hence I get why he went about it this way. I don't know if saying it publicly is all that helpful but that also goes for both of them. Whatever was up they both felt wronged enough by someone else to hold onto it for years and need to publicly vent it, I can't sit here and pretend to know the ins and outs of either situation (I assume HBK was a prick as I do that for every situation involving HBK) so I just hope it at least took a weight off of each of their shoulders.

I don't agree that FTR Guy was telling that story to say, "Look at how bad they are and think better of me." I think he was just telling a story on a podcast about something that affected him.

And if FTR Guy is a hypocrite, so are we all, I guess. It's irrelevant here. If Writer Person's ex-SO pops up on Twitter to post about how Writer Guy made fun of them for how they dressed once, it wouldn't mean that Writer Person is a hypocrite because people are insensitive sometimes. 

Which is my issue in the first place. Writer Person's post is meant to call out hypocrisy, but you can be sure he's just as much of a "hypocrite" because he is human. It's the circle of life, &c., &c.

Edited February 23, 2022 by SirSmellingtonofCascadia

[The Great ML]

11 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

There's a reason Akeem clotheslining the hell out of Shawn Michaels at WM5 ...

I believe he irritated Akeem.

He certainly did, he almost decapitated him.

[The Natural]

11 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

There's a reason Akeem clotheslining the hell out of Shawn Michaels at WM5 is my favorite Michaels moment. Fuck Shawn Michaels

 

12 minutes ago, The Great ML said:

I believe he irritated Akeem.

He certainly did, he almost decapitated him.

For everyone's viewing pleasure:

Fuck Shawn Michaels.

[The Natural]

This.

[paintedbynumbers]

11 hours ago, AxB said:

 

Lady Frost is awesome!  When Sam Adonis was booking his lucha show in Beechview he asked me to pick 2 ladies for the ladies match. I went with Lady Frost Vs Raylynn.  The girls brought the fight into the bounce house.  Was a really fun match.  Watching LF grow as a performer has been great.  

[paintedbynumbers]

10 hours ago, John E. Dynamite said:

I've never watched any GWF before. I just watched Jerry Lynn vs. Lightning Kid 12/27/91 and I'm kinda fucked up by it.

First, the production values are absurd. Great pre-match graphics. No hard cam but two or three very well-edited handhelds. BIG ring, well lit. Solid commentary, perfect mix. I love Joe Pedicino, I had no idea. Did any part of GWF's downfall have to do with the fact that this stuff was too good? Like they couldn't afford it or something?

But what's got me really messed up is how ahead of its time the match is, for better or worse. It's a 2/3 Falls Match with that pretentious "gotta use your finisher" stip. Commentary is using insider words like "psychology" in such a wink-nudge kinda way... Waltman is so "natural babyface trying to work preening heel". Lynn is so "white rice superworker over with the boys". The workrate quality, the high-concept match type, the orchestrated story beats vs. the total lack of hatred, showing the modified pinfall rules w/ commentary not missing a beat, every spot being hit clean, the "subversive" finish, Lynn's terrible promo at the end of the episode... yeah, I'm blown away. This is the earliest of this kind of "mark vs. mark" match I've ever seen and it's so simultaneously commendable and detesable. It's so babyface Kenny Omega vs. heel Matt Jackson in 2015 PWG that I kind of want to die. And they *perfectly* performed what they were going for.

This isn't a Post a Bunch of Matches thread so I'll spoiler the video, but what is an earlier, better example of an athleticism-first match so schooled in the smark mindset? At least in the US? Because I don't know how many I've seen. 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

GWF  is one of my guilty pleasures.  About 10 yrs ago I went and bought a 90+ disc set off of someone on Crazymax and it's still not enough for me.  I used to watch them every day after school and then the Monster Trucks would follow.   Funny I connected with Chaz Taylor and talk with him usually once a week.  He just put out a classic GWF shirt for sale.   If I'm not mistaken Demolition AX was one of the early bookers for GWF.  

[Hagan]

Yeah - Global is very much a leave the memories alone but I loved it and remember it fondly. The Patriot was the babyface babyface who every babyfaced. 

 

[paintedbynumbers]

4 hours ago, Hagan said:

Yeah - Global is very much a leave the memories alone but I loved it and remember it fondly. The Patriot was the babyface babyface who every babyfaced. 

 

I hate to make this sound shitty but with all the talk about Brock being booked dominant. What about the Patriot?!  He was the North American champion, the TV Champion,  didn't lose for a long, long time.   He was like the Hogan of GWF.    As a kid I kept praying to see Dark Patriot unmasked!!

[Dolfan in NYC]

Might as well post this before it gets deleted.  A person who claims to be an investor on Wreddit has posted an elaborate explainer on what "Control Your Narrative" actually is:

Quote

Hello, before I begin, if you take this with a grain of salt, I don't blame you. That being said, I created a separate, anonymous account because I don't want to get fired. That being said, I want to share this with you because I'm a big wrestling fan.

Long story short, I'm a correspondent for an investing firm that'll be one of the many investors for CYN. CYN, like many people predicted, is a wrestling promotion that was sold to us as "Bringing Wrestling Back to the base that made it famous in the first place". Since it was a new investment, we needed more information. Here's what we know so far:

Many right-wing affiliated groups and organizations are investing in this (Dan Bongino, Mike Lindell, MULTIPLE supplement companies, crypto firms etc). We also believe Trump is somehow involved, but it was never confirmed. Reason being is we got a glimpse of their touring schedule and New Jersey seems to be a major area they are going to want to perform in, though that could just be because of Pro-Wrestling's popularity in the state in-general.

The idea that was sold to us was a Fight Club inspired wrestling promotion. Ultimately, it will have a set of rules all wrestlers will abide by, but everything is free reign. There is no booker. Very much a "brotherhood" mentality. Expect many "cancelled" wrestlers, though we were told Teddy Hart, Alberto Del Rio, Court Bauer and Brett Lauderdale weren't allowed near CYN. Expect outside athletes from the Bodybuilding and Powerlifting circles to show up.

I believe Brian Cage is hopping to here. They told us a "Big AEW name" was leaving just to come here. I think they were blowing smoke up our asses with the "big" name.

Tessa and her husband are expected to appear. We were told it would be LGBTQ friendly, but the company wouldn't "pander" to certain audiences just because it was a certain month. They consider that "corporate and disingenuous". Very anti-corporate atmosphere.

The Big Thing: They have a major deal with Rumble. I'm not sure if this is the "TV" Deal, but their deal with Rumble is ultimately why our company threw money at this thing. The general consensus among the firm is this will be a great investment for a niche audience, or a giant dumpster fire.

I've bolded (what I think are) the bigger points.  Again, this is unconfirmed, but boy that's really specific if it's not real. 

[Curt McGirt]

You forgot the best part

4 minutes ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

I created a separate, anonymous account because I don't want to get fired.

[The Natural]

 

[Cobra Commander]

cut to Vince realizing that they got rid of Rusev before he could be used as a Russian stand-in again

(meanwhile, Kozlov is with Impact as a Russian commentator?)

[John from Cincinnati]

3 hours ago, Cobra Commander said:

cut to Vince realizing that they got rid of Rusev before he could be used as a Russian stand-in again

If that shitty instinct occurs to them, just promote Ilja. 

[Cobra Commander]

What’s the going rate for tank rentals these days

[Log]

10 hours ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

Might as well post this before it gets deleted.  A person who claims to be an investor on Wreddit has posted an elaborate explainer on what "Control Your Narrative" actually is:

I've bolded (what I think are) the bigger points.  Again, this is unconfirmed, but boy that's really specific if it's not real. 

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...

[AxB]

If the CYN blacklist doesn’t include Scurll, Ryan, Starr, Banks, Blanchard et al, does that mean we can expect all of them to show up? Because Racists & Rapists Wrestling might struggle to find an audience, or buildings willing to host the shows.

[(BP)]

I get why they don’t want to associate with Teddy. By the end of the year I’m reasonably sure he’s going to Jinx himself by accidentally admitting to a murder because he forgot one of his cats was lav mic’d.

[Log]

49 minutes ago, AxB said:

If the CYN blacklist doesn’t include Scurll, Ryan, Starr, Banks, Blanchard et al, does that mean we can expect all of them to show up? Because Racists & Rapists Wrestling might struggle to find an audience, or buildings willing to host the shows.

You know what really scares me?  It's that they may actually not struggle to find an audience.

[Dolfan in NYC]

...