2010 Pro Wrestling Thread

I'll bite on some of these, though I rarely watch wrestling anymore.

1) What are your thoughts on dog collar/strap/biker chain matches?
* I've always liked them within their context, to blow off a feud. The strap match is getting way overdone because they only seem to end one way (heel hits three turnbuckles, followed by the babyface, who then pulls the strap to upend the heel while hitting the fourth buckle).

* Best dog-collar match ever was Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.

* BTW: I really hate (mostly WWE) how everyone ends up with just one name anymore. I think it's stupid. "Kane," "Sheamus," "Miz," "Edge," ad nauseam. I liked it better when most guys used their real name, or a pseudonym that is coherent, along with a nickname.

* You never see guys like "The Hammer," "The Beast from the East," "The Man," "Hitman" anymore.

2) Your three favourite Intercontinental or US Title feuds of the 21st century?

* Really don't have any. Best US feuds involved Ric Flair, Roddy Piper and/or Ricky Steamboat back in the day. Intercontinental begins and ends with Savage-Steamboat.

3) What are your thoughts on Chris Benoit's time with the hoursemen?

* Benoit was a very underutilized performer. His mic skills began improving at that point, but the Woman (always hated that name) affair turned into real life and Kevin Sullivan was a booker, so you know how that ends.
* If I were doing Horsemen, I would have kept Flair, Tully and Arn together, and added someone like Greg Valentine or later, Chris Benoit. Luger, Windham, Sid and Mongo all sucked balls.

4) Thoughts on the Mega Bucks? Mega Powers? The feud?

* No comment. Always hated Hogan and always will. I loved Ted DiBiase until he became the Million Dollar Man, then I hated the gimmick. Way too much talent to be wasted like that.

5) Thoughts and memories of Brother Love
* Very annoying is what I remember. But, like Paul Bearer, they found a perfect guy to play the part.

6) How much have you seen of Lawler's work as a wrestler? How would you rate him?
* Lawler was a good worker and was one of the best on the mic. Obviously, when you run a company, you get to be champ 160 times, but that's the way it's always been.

7) Is there anything from previous eras of wrestling you would like to see implemented more often in the current WWE product?
* More cage matches -- with juice. Fuck the stupid cage matches with no juice. More wrestling, less tables, ladders and chairs. I remember when using the ringpost was a death move and instant DQ. Now it's not even a set-up spot. No more scripted interviews. More masked heels. Longer-lived tag teams. Longer World title reigns. Use the IC-US belts as the stepping stones they are supposed to be.
* Bring back the Missouri Heavyweight Championship so I can get a replica without having to pay $1,200 for it.

Cool When did kayfabe die as far as you are concerned?
* Sometime in my early teens (circa 1979-80), probably after my father died. I stopped believing in a lot of stuff after that.

9) Greatest WWE feud of the decade?
* Hmm ... Orton-HHH. Angle vs. Styles or Samoa Joe. They don't hold a candle to the feuds of old.

10) A rather strange question this, but if somebody you know who doesn't like wrestling asked you to show them 5 matches to sum up why you enjoy it, which ones would you choose? You can show them an extended video package of the feud which led to the match if necessary, so don't worry about them not "getting it" from the match alone.
* I couldn't answer this without a lot of thought, but off the top of my head: Any Flair-Steamboat match. Steamboat-Savage WM match. British Bulldogs as a tag team (or Dyno in Japan singles, for that matter). The Four Horsemen in their prime. Hart-Austin WM. Watching Eddy Guerrero's emotion when he won his first world title. For that matter, Benoit-Guerrero hugging after Benoit's WM title win. It doesn't get much better than that.

 

Kane and Edge have been around for a while, so I don't see the argument there.

And Miz is technically The Miz.

 

It started out as McMahon's way to forgetting these guys had a life before WWE. Then it just became retarded.

Back in the day, exception was the rule. Guys like The Stomper ruled. Now it seems everyone has a one-word name.

I often wondered how John Cena got away with it. Then I realize he used to be The Prototype.

 

McMahon is notorious for trying to give his guys stupid names. In Beyond The Mat, he tells Droz that he's going to debut as Puke. (Thankfully, I don't think they ever pursued that.) "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was originally The Ringmaster.

 

Oh, no, they definitely played that up when Drozdov debuted. IIRC, before his first match on Raw, they showed a clip of the time he vomited on the football while the opposing center was waiting to snap it during an NFL game, and they referred to him as "Puke" during the match. I think they gave up on it pretty quickly and started calling him "The Droz" soon after.

 

They actually did push him as Puke initially, though at the time it was because he was the third Road Warrior, joining Hawk and Animal, who had the single names forever. Austin's initial name was a bust because the tried to make him a boring technical heel, not immediately realizing what they had on their hands from his Hollywood Blonde/ECW days.

 

Those are more like bad gimmicks than bad names. Wrestling history is littered with bad gimmicks -- part of what makes the whole thing so much fun.

 

True, true.

The anonymous GM is getting "go away" heat tonight.

 

I remember initially, Hawk announced Droz as "Puke" in his Hawk voice. Sounded funny.

And Michael Cole may end up being the biggest heel on Raw at the rate this ridiculous anonymous GM thing is going. He was getting booed like crazy.

 

Meltzer says the TNA title changed hands tonight, I'm presuming on the TV taping.

Anyone have details? You have to have a subscription to see the Observer link. I stopped subscribing about the time Eddy and Chris died.

 

I just read the full results of the show, and there's no mention of the title changing hands or there even being a title match.

 

Here's an interesting piece. Morning Joe completly bashed Linda McMahon for exploiting violence against women, stating that her actions will play a large factor in her race for the U.S. Senate. Oh, brother. :

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