July 2022 Wrestling Discussion

[Infinit]

From the looks of the TV, it's the latter lol

[Niners Fan in CT]

1 hour ago, Matt D said:

5:45 mark or so. We don’t see this sort of thing often :

 

 

 

that seems very stressful.. 

[Tarheel Moneghetti]

It will be interestingly to see how the company develops over the next year or two.  I think we’ll see small positive changes - announcers seeming more natural; changes in the lingo; experiments with pushing guys who are small, don.’t have a good look, etc.  I am not convinced the product will get noticeably better.  Maybe it will, but it’s really unclear who replaces Vince as the creative director.  Pritchard?  Trips?  Heyman?  I’m not too interested in those options or any of the others I can think of.  

I feel like Stephanie and Paul might course-correct and try to implement their vision of NXT on the main roster, but I’m hoping they don’t.  Super-Indy NXT worked well when the indies had a lot of untapped talent, but worked less well after Samoa Joe, Zayn, Claudio, etc. came and went.  Did anyone really want to see the Undisputed Era or Johnny Gargano pushed hard on the main roster?  I like Cole and Gargano more then most but I never thought that was going to work. 

Heyman has booked some quality stuff over the years but he’s also booked a lot of awful stuff.  Personally, I didn’t think the good stuff in ECW is worth sitting through the garbage.  I’m a big fan of his year in OVW and, to a lesser extent, his time with the Smackdown Six, but he hasn’t done a lot of booking since and that was 15-20 years ago.  Quite possible he’s out of touch too.  I thought his short time running Raw a few years back was bad.

It will be interesting.  I think Vince is probably done forever  with both management and creative, but he’s still the largest shareholder so until he sells, it is still his company.  I’ve come across quite a few companies in my job that basically catered to the wishes of the largest shareholders regardless of who was CEO and regardless of how determined management was not to be their puppets.  At least some of Vince’s vision for the company will probably remain intact until the McMAhon’s sell their shares or Vince dies,

I think the commonly is too profitable and too diversified to collapse anytime soon, but a sharp decline wouldn’t surprise me.  Vince has done a terrible, irresponsible job of preparing the WWE for a future without him in charge.

[Kang]

Bruce is now the head of creative.

[Kang]

Seems Max Dupri could be repackaged.  Some think the humiliation gimmick is over for him.

Kevin Dunn could be finished by next year, maybe forced retirement with severance package. Notable suggested replacements for Dunn could be J.Borash or Billy Kidman or few others I don't remember.

Smackdown does have its own people that don't always do what Dunn wants. Dunn leaving will effect Raw. My two problems with Dunn...is missed bungled moments on tv or he avoids the parts of the crowd that do react on tv to show part of the crowd that didn't sometimes.

[Tabe]

An hour-long feature on the Wrestling at the Chase show:

 

http://youtu.be/i1Ak7L9txlo

 

[Log]

I’d bet that Dunn (or whoever is directing) actually calls their shots. You need a human there too see that the shot is actually ready. You can’t take a camera if the operator has fallen down or the cable is bad and there’s no video.
 

Also, the director doesn’t punch the cameras, they call them. A technical director (TD) does the actual pushing of buttons. 
 

My guess would be that Dunn forgoes the usual, “Ready camera 1.  Take camera 1.” and instead, the camera operators are very aware of where they need to be and what they need to be on. That way, he can just do a “Take camera 1. Take camera 3. Take camera 2…”. 

[NoFistsJustFlips]

The joke is saying "Take camera 1" takes longer to say than they actually stay on any single shot. That's why I think it's possible he's mashing buttons without being able to call it. But you have a good point. He could just be directing verbally with a TD punching the buttons. Could just be they are so much on the same page he's punching the buttons as fast as Dunn is talking.

[Iron Moose]

6 hours ago, Matt D said:

5:45 mark or so. We don’t see this sort of thing often :

 

 

 

That was awesome, thank you for posting it

[BrianS81177]

In my anatomy/physiology class, the chapter this week is on bones. There actually IS an External Occipital Protuberance! I should have never doubted Gorilla Monsoon.

[Shartnado]

6 hours ago, BrianS81177 said:

In my anatomy/physiology class, the chapter this week is on bones. There actually IS an External Occipital Protuberance! I should have never doubted Gorilla Monsoon.

C'mon, he even clarified it to The Brain a couple of times: "It's that little lump on the back of your neck." There was nothing to doubt. I just felt mine with my fingers to make sure as I write this!

[cwoy2j]

16 hours ago, BrianS81177 said:

In my anatomy/physiology class, the chapter this week is on bones. There actually IS an External Occipital Protuberance! I should have never doubted Gorilla Monsoon.

I hope that when it's talked about in whatever textbook you're using, there's a passage that says, "a shot there will take the starch out of you in a hurry! Holy mackerel!"

[Ultimo Necro]

22 hours ago, BrianS81177 said:

In my anatomy/physiology class, the chapter this week is on bones. There actually IS an External Occipital Protuberance! I should have never doubted Gorilla Monsoon.

Will you stop!

[Cobra Commander]

On 7/23/2022 at 5:30 PM, BrianS81177 said:

In my anatomy/physiology class, the chapter this week is on bones. There actually IS an External Occipital Protuberance! I should have never doubted Gorilla Monsoon.

why would you doubt a man educated at one of Ithaca, New York's finest colleges?

[cwoy2j]

2 minutes ago, Cobra Commander said:

why would you doubt a man educated at one of Ithaca, New York's finest colleges?

So that's where the Terry Garvin School of Self-Defense is located.

[odessasteps]

14 minutes ago, Cobra Commander said:

why would you doubt a man educated at one of Ithaca, New York's finest colleges?

He transfered there from Outer Mongolia. 

[Gordi the former AEW fan]

On 7/10/2022 at 11:03 AM, DEAN said:

You know that Fuminori Abe RULES, right? Daimonji Sou is a Colega Pro regular, which means he's perfectly fine if you get him out of Colega Pro and in a normal promotion.

 

On 7/10/2022 at 11:41 AM, Curt McGirt said:

Well you should also know Yuko Miyamoto, even though he's always listed as 666 he's been in BJW forever and I believe currently All Japan. His scaffold and light tubes match with Takashi Sasaki is possibly the highest mark for a BJW death match since the heyday of Honma/Yamakawa. 

 

 

On 7/10/2022 at 6:28 PM, Kropotkin's Beard said:

Not the biggest BJW watcher in the world, mainly because I sub to so many other services that it is hard to justify adding BJW Core to the list. But of the stuff I do check out here's the guys who I'd say are worth keeping an eye on.

Dean mentioned Fuminori Abe but let me second that, Abe is fantastic. So is his regular Tag partner Takuya Nomura (he was a standout in this year's great AJPW Champion Carnival), similar violently stiff guys.

Daichi Hashimoto is Shinya's son & he's really found himself in the last couple of years, he was a little bland but he's a real force now who is almost always worth watching.

I'd also say that watch for Kosuke Sato, he's still at young boy status but he's a really good prospect.

And yes, for some reason Google translate keeps liking to insist Kodaka is Kitaka, and Kodaka & Miyamoto do still often Tag together. Miyamoto had a really good Scaffold deathmatch with Drew Parker earlier this year, I think on the 5/5 Yokohama BJW show.

As far as the deathmatch scene, Big Japan really has stagnated. It's all guys who were around a decade ago. Yuki Ishikawa is really the only younger DM guy worth keeping an eye out on. All their other younger talent like Ueki, Sakuda, Parker ends up in Freedoms.

As for why? These people are proper mad, they love doing deathmatches for some inscrutable reason. I remember an interview with Suzu Suzuki where she talked about wanting to be able to show off scars from doing deathmatches while wearing her wedding gown one day. And this is a girl (19 year old) who not only has the talent to be at the top of any joshi group she wanted to, she has the look too. But she really enjoys doing deathmatches. 

Takes all sorts!

 

On 7/10/2022 at 10:10 PM, Octopus said:

You deserve some good fun, @Gordlow! Have some fun watching light tubes and beefy grappling. I expect a write up and pictures.

I am "on a break" until the start of Secret Santo... but I feel I owe y'al! at least a mini road report after you gave me all that good advice. The advice was absolutely on point as well.

And I don't wanna let Octopus down. Enough unhappy octopi in the wrestling world today already.

Basically: I am glad I went. All the matches were good. It was nice to see some old friends again. Live pro wrestling is the best pro wrestling. 

BUT

Corona precautions are still in full effect over here. 

It is VERY WEIRD to sit quietly, clapping politely, while dudes are getting slammed into thumbtacks. It's sad to see old friends but not share drinks with them, to not chat with them or the wrestlers I know. to not embrace anyone. To not take pictures with anyone...

The wrestling - per se - was good, though. Often very good indeed. 

I woke up nice and early to catch the Death Before Zero Hour pre-show, and the PPV up until half-way through the Deeb vs Martinez match which is when I had to go and catch my train.

My free ticket was literally in the top corner of the arena, but those were still pretty good seats. It was in the small hall. nice venue. Good neighbourhood. I'd estimate about 300 people in attendance. Atmosphere was friendly and happy but subdued due to the Corona restrictions. 

You could get a picture with Okabayashi with a social distance screen between you and he... but non fan club members had to pay for it. I am willing to pay for pics with Joshi legends only, out of respect for tradition.

Every match had something for me to hang my hat on. 

Dark match was Dyna Mido vs a grouchy veteran. I met the Dynamite Kid tribute guy at the Matrix Charity Show party years ago. The match was brief and amusing, due to grouchyness.

The actua! first match featured my boy Quiet Storm, who very recently became the first gaijin to win the Osaka Pro championship. He is massive.

Next match featured my boy Ultimate Spider Junior. He's really fast and athletic. Nice contrast in matches. A fair bit of comedy in every match. I wonder if that's something BJW does in Osaka. Osaka=comedy. Spidey was supposed to semi-main in a Jr. Title match but Sekifuda got injured, if I understand correctly.

Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sekimoto vs (my boy) Shigehiro Irie & Takuho Kato was an excellent little match. Irie is great. Shinya's kid kicks REALLY hard. Sekimoto is even more massive than Quiet Storm.

Then there was a trios comedy death match! It must be an Osaka thing. Yukking it up between staple gun and cinder block spots. Ishikawa was in this one. Surprisingly, (spoiler!) he got pinned (if I'm remembering correctly).

TLC & Pushpin Death Match:

This was the weirdest match to watch without yelling.
Yankee Two Kenju (Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto) vs Abdullah Kobayashi & Jaki Numazawa ended with a piledriver from the top rope!  (Through a Japanese table)! That had echoes later! Thanks to Curt and Beard I was properly pumped to see Miyamoto and Kodaka. They were great. There was some thumbtack-based comedy, too.

Then there was a break and they replaced the whole ring canvas. That was interesting. 

UWA World Tag Team Title Match:
Eisa8 & HUB (c) vs Brahman Brothers (Brahman Kei & Brahman Shu) ,

Okinawa Pro vs Michinoku Pro (kind of)! Straight up comedy match. My first time seeing the Brahmans live, I believe. I guess we got this to make up for no Jr. Title match.

BJW Tag Team Title Match:

Astronauts (Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura) (c) vs Kazuki Hashimoto & Koji Kanemoto was f'n excellent!! They beat the hell out of each other! Just vicious strikes and really snug holds. Lots of hatred. Thanks to Dean and Beard and my friend Rod I was mentally prepared for this level of violence. 

is it racist to assume that every Japanese wrestler who kicks really hard and is named Hashimoto and works for Big Japan is related to Shinya? Because I was surprised that Kazuki Hashimoto is apparently not related. Good heavens, he kicks hard.

Fuminori Abe is my new favourite wrestler.

BJW World Strong Heavyweight Title Match

Yuji Okabayashi (c) vs Daimonji Sou was 20 plus straight minutes of Big Meaty Men Slapping Meat. These lads gave us a Main Event!

it was weird just to go home after the show. My wife was surprised that I came back sober. 

i got back just in time to catch Tana vs Naito (very epic G1 match that Rod saw live) and then I watched the rest of the ROH PPV.

And I have to say, that long Bricoes vs FTR match held me rapt for all three falls. Pretty impressive! What a match! what a day of wrestling!

 

 

 

Edited July 25, 2022 by Gordlow

[SirSmUgly]

I enjoy pics and posts of @Gordlowliving his best life. You are an inspiration, my man. 

[Octopus]

You have made me a very happy Octopus, @Gordlow

[Technico Support]

I finally got a chance to catch up on some old wrestling in my 80s WWF chronological nostalgia kick, starting SummerSlam 88.  I remember this as the last PPV before I started high school, as I am old.

What I remember most about this show, even watching it when I was 14, was how most of these matches were one-offs, completely unrelated to ongoing storylines.  As I think we discussed when I posted about Mania 1, this was clearly because house shows were still king as far as money was concerned, so you needed to save Rude/Roberts, for example, for the houses.  Aside from that example, I can barely recall who was in programs with who back then.

Because Jesse is reffing tonight's main, we have to suffer through Superstart Graham on commentary.  Take a shot every time he says BROTHAHHH and you won't make the last third of the show.

Rougeaus vs Bulldogs: am I right in my recall that somehow this match started the real life beef between these teams?  Like maybe the Bulldogs wanted to go over but the Rougeaus weren't having that and then we were off to the races?  See more in the Dark Side of the Ring thread as some people argued that Jacques was an immature shit while I argued under the legal precedent of "don't want none don't start none."  Anyway, when I think of "do a hot opener to start the show," my mind doesn't immediately go to "20 minute tag team draw."  I know this is MSG but did Vince really need to do a callback to those 80s house shows where Tony Garea and Mike Sharpe would kick off the show with a draw?  Fuck.  Honestly, the match isn't horrible and the heat segment, with Dynamite playing scumbag in peril, is good.  Just...a 20 minute draw?  Really?

Bad News vs Ken Patera: I assume Patera was using the Olympics Theme at this time and that's what was dubbed out.  Fun little brawl.  Brown is clearly angry about Patera's cultural appropriation of the afro.  Bad News wins with THE GHETTO BLASTER, which suffers from an awful, Dunn-esque camera cut at the point of impact, as I laugh to myself about how nobody under 40 watching this today knows what a ghetto blaster is.

Rude vs JYD: Every time I see him work, I'm struck by how damn good Rude was.  JYD, as I probably mentioned on the last show I watched, has fallen off considerably.  He still loves taking that "falling tree" style bump, though.  I legit LOL in my living room at Rude's JYD tights.  DQ finish as Rude strips to reveal Cheryl Roberts' face on his cock and ass and it's too much for consummate family man Jake to abide.  

Powers of Pain vs The Bolsheviks:  I remember when the PoP were put together as Paul Jones' answer to the Road Warriors, kicking off a hot feud that saw them break Animal's orbital bone during a power lifting contest, culminating in a scheduled series of scaffold matches.  PoP noped the fuck out of JCP rather than take scaffold bumps a few days a week, as one does.  Maybe that last part was kayfabe?  Who knows anymore?  Hey, remember when Baby Doll managed Warlord?  Weird.  Anyway, this is just a 5 minute squash to heat PoP up for something with Demolition and the upcoming double turn at Survivor Series.  Vince should have put Warlord and Barbarian back together for a brief run against Men on a Mission, as MoM vs PoP would have been a really relatable feud for kids from broken homes like me!

That's where I stopped during this session.  Honky Tonk has an open challenge next for the IC title!

Edited July 25, 2022 by Technico Support

[The Natural]

@Gordlow: Cheers for sharing as ever, my friend.

[Tarheel Moneghetti]

Twitter sez WWE put out a press release naming Triple H as head of creative.

Skeptical this is a great job for a guy with a heart condition.

[Phantom Lord]

1 hour ago, Tarheel Moneghetti said:

Twitter sez WWE put out a press release naming Triple H as head of creative.

Skeptical this is a great job for a guy with a heart condition.

Well  if Vince is gone, there goes most of the stress one would worry about.

[(BP)]

Vince was the real Heartbreak Kid. 

[Log]

There are a bunch of dignitaries from Ghana touring my workplace today.  No sign of Prince Nana, though.