2010 Pro Wrestling Thread

I don't dislike the shy, dorky Daniel Bryan gimmick. People are responding to the self-deprecating humor, and between that and the music, he has a unique character. And I'm pretty sure the last thing WWE wants to do is give someone a Chris Benoit character.

That first match in WWE against CM Punk will be interesting, whenever that happens.

 

This guy would advise against that.

 

I agree. I can't remember the last movie I saw at a theatre -- it's been at least 10 years.

But this looks like one of those movies that I would laugh my ass off throughout, then say it was one of the most stupid movies I ever saw on the way out.

 

What does Mike Awesome have anything to do with this conversation? He was the 70's man and was attracted to larger women.

I don't see why the WWE couldn't wouldn't want to turn him in to a Chris Benoit type of wrestler. Half of the wrestling fans wouldn't even put two and two together.

 

He was a tremendous wrestler in ECW who had a lot of buzz when he left (as ECW champion) to go to WCW. The 70s gimmick and the "ladies man" gimmick he had shoved on him pretty much killed his career.

 

I realize this is totally random, but I was watching old WCW shows on justin.tv last night, and saw one of the most surprisingly good matches. It was from an early 90s Clash of the Champions. Bobby Eaton vs. Ric Flair best 2 out of 3 falls for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Eaton was a babyface and was in the best shape I can ever remember seeing him in. He won the first fall cleanly after hitting the Alabama Jam. Flair won the second fall by countount after pushing Eaton off of the top turnbuckle to the floor. Eaton sold a knee injury brilliantly. Flair won the third fall by pinning Beautiful Bobby with the Figure Four. Eaton seemed to be getting a push as a successful "underdog" babyface type character. Eaton wrestled the first fall so well I found myself wishing that he could somehow pull off the shocker and win the WHC.

Anyways, it's one of my favorite matches that I've ever seen. I never knew Bobby Eaton could work so well. I'm 26 and mainly remember Eaton when he was out of shape and teaming with Steve Regal.

 

I've been watching that same stream every now and then. I can't get enough of the great NWA/WCW matches from the late 80's and early 90's.

 

I didn't watch the old NWA enough to know if Eaton ever got a serious main event push, but he's always had a reputation among the wrestlers of that era as one of the best workers in the business. I think Flair has even called him that a time or two.
From others' descriptions of him and his later role, he seemed like a reliable veteran who could work with anybody, sell things well and really teach the younger guys a few things -- sort of like the role Regal, Goldust or Christian play today.

 

One of the most underrated wrestlers of all-time: "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton.

Oh, for the days of tag teams the quality of the Midnight Express. Their feud with the Rock n Roll Express was one of the classics.

 

I do recall some of those matches. Their bouts with the Freebirds were always great to watch, too.

 

Maybe because the guy murdered his wife and kid, and then killed himself.

Just a hunch.

 

Individually, Eaton never got a big main event push, although he did have a good run as a contender and a brief holder of the TV title, back when it actually meant something.

He was considered an excellent worker, and Foley specifically cited him in his first book when he talked about those scaffold matches. Foley wrote that most guys were scared to death, but that Eaton would actually try to provide some action.

He also had a reputation for being one of the nicest guys in the business.

Well yeah, you wouldn't want him doing a throat slash with his thumb or diving headbutts off the top rope. But I would totally buy him as a shooter/wrestling machine type like Dean Malenko.

Instead, they're turning him into a comedy act, which sucks because they've already got Santino. And I was really excited during the initial Nexus invasion when he spat in Cena's face. I thought they were going to make him into a kickass force. Instead, he's dancing with the Divas. Like there was no one else to put in that role instead of a guy who consistently would work five-star matches.