sf2fanatic
Member
IMO The Reunion is worse than that
-
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May Wrasslin' |OT| Dontaku about Legit Shook
- Thread starter tm24
- Start date
A Pretty Panda
fuckin' called it, man
Best movie Rock has been in is probably The Other Guys. He's not really even in there.
A Pretty Panda
fuckin' called it, man
Dragonzord you change your avatar too often. I think I blinked and saw ETAHNAL once.
bean breath
Member
bean breath
Member
Didn't he beat Ryback?
Jobbing to Sheamus and Ryback is considered a push now
A Pretty Panda
fuckin' called it, man
I wish uncle Jesse was my uncle.
It's Moltar's favorite show besides CHIPS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cfHKmQ2ZzI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cfHKmQ2ZzI
John and Wai reviewed the May 21 2001 episode of Raw, featuring the famous Benoit/Jericho vs. HHH/Austin tag match. It has been called the greatest match in Raw history, and Meltzer gave it a 4.75/5. Fucking unprecedented for a match on Raw.
Anyways, by some divine miracle, this review coincided EXACTLY with my viewing of attitude/invasion era WWF. I watched the show last night, and the tag match for the first time in my life.
Honestly, it was fucking amazing. They way they built the Canadian Chris' up to the main event picture over the months leading into this Raw was sublime. Felt so natural. Jericho was a face for a while, and was super over with his promos, but Benoit turned from face to heel simply due to his in ring abilities. Little by little, the crowd started popping every time he got the cross face. That classic between Benoit and Angle at Mania 17 really solidified Benoit as a top face in the company, and their rivalry was a pleasure to watch.
Anyways, the two man power trip of Austin and HHH win the tag titles. Random, but sure. Austin has the WWF title and tag, Hunter has Intercontinental and tag. They want all the titles. So at Judgement Day the day before this crazy Raw, they set up a tag team battle royal for the number 1 contender for the tag titles. Jericho was in the battle royal and had a mystery partner that he wouldn't reveal until the match started.
It turned out to be Benoit. They teased a partnership between the two on some of the Raws leading up to the PPV, but this was a pretty legit swerve. Benoit had a major program with Angle that involved stealing his medals and rubbing them on his non existent testicles. So the Chris' won the #1 contenders match, the crowd popped huge and it was pretty awesome.
So this leads to the tag match. HHH and Austin, two staples in the main event, versus Jericho and Benoit, who at the time legit felt like Intercontinental tier guys, or at least a step below main eventers. It's always fun to see actual underdogs wrestle a juggernaut, and it just so happens that the two underdogs were possibly the best in ring performers at the time. Just amazing from start to finish. Crowd was going fucking crazy the entire match. I also love how there were no commercials back in these days. Commercials breaking up Cena and Punk's awesome Raw match from earlier this year legit pissed me off.
So then Jericho gets the Walls of Jericho on Austin. HHH breaks it up, and somehow tears his quad. Even watching it now, I almost missed it. It was one of those freak injuries I guess. Despite the severity of the injury, HHH basically walks it off with a limp and continues the match. Looked like he was just selling a kick to the leg or something. Insane.
Next, he lets Jericho do the Walls on the announce table. INSANE. I was fucking cringing at that point. Not an easy hold to take with a torn fucking quad, especially one as severe as Hunter's at that moment. Gotta give props to the dude for finishing the match.
So the Chris' win, crowd goes insane, Heyman goes insane, JR goes insane. Pretty much the Attitude Era in a nutshell right there. Wrestling was fucking exciting, and Raw was a party every Monday night.
The next night was a Smackdown taping. Vince, being the crazy fuck he is, books a god damn TLC match between all the top tag teams for the belts. A TLC MATCH ON FUCKING SMACKDOWN. Remember, at this point there were like 2 TLC matches in total. That match was MONEY, and to give it away not only for free, not only so soon after the Mania TLC, but on SMACKDOWN just blows my mind.
Of course, the guys treated it like a legit TLC match and pulled no punches. The Hardys and E&C did crazy shit off the ladders, and the Dudleys did their crazy table spots. Did I mention this was a fucking Smackdown taping?
So later in the match, Benoit does his headbutt to the outside of the ring and lands head first through a table. Turns out he legit fucked up his neck. In case you haven't kept count, here's Benoit's schedule over 48 hours:
1. vs. Angle at Judgement day.
2. Tag Team Battle Royale with Jericho at Judgement day.
3. Tag Match with Jericho vs. Austin/HHH at Raw
4. TLC match on Smackdown
are you fucking kidding me.
he continued wrestling on that bad neck and finally got surgery a few weeks later, which caused him to miss a year. dude was fucked in the head, clearly.
tl;dr That tag match was great, easily one of my favorite matches in Raw history.
Anyways, by some divine miracle, this review coincided EXACTLY with my viewing of attitude/invasion era WWF. I watched the show last night, and the tag match for the first time in my life.
Honestly, it was fucking amazing. They way they built the Canadian Chris' up to the main event picture over the months leading into this Raw was sublime. Felt so natural. Jericho was a face for a while, and was super over with his promos, but Benoit turned from face to heel simply due to his in ring abilities. Little by little, the crowd started popping every time he got the cross face. That classic between Benoit and Angle at Mania 17 really solidified Benoit as a top face in the company, and their rivalry was a pleasure to watch.
Anyways, the two man power trip of Austin and HHH win the tag titles. Random, but sure. Austin has the WWF title and tag, Hunter has Intercontinental and tag. They want all the titles. So at Judgement Day the day before this crazy Raw, they set up a tag team battle royal for the number 1 contender for the tag titles. Jericho was in the battle royal and had a mystery partner that he wouldn't reveal until the match started.
It turned out to be Benoit. They teased a partnership between the two on some of the Raws leading up to the PPV, but this was a pretty legit swerve. Benoit had a major program with Angle that involved stealing his medals and rubbing them on his non existent testicles. So the Chris' won the #1 contenders match, the crowd popped huge and it was pretty awesome.
So this leads to the tag match. HHH and Austin, two staples in the main event, versus Jericho and Benoit, who at the time legit felt like Intercontinental tier guys, or at least a step below main eventers. It's always fun to see actual underdogs wrestle a juggernaut, and it just so happens that the two underdogs were possibly the best in ring performers at the time. Just amazing from start to finish. Crowd was going fucking crazy the entire match. I also love how there were no commercials back in these days. Commercials breaking up Cena and Punk's awesome Raw match from earlier this year legit pissed me off.
So then Jericho gets the Walls of Jericho on Austin. HHH breaks it up, and somehow tears his quad. Even watching it now, I almost missed it. It was one of those freak injuries I guess. Despite the severity of the injury, HHH basically walks it off with a limp and continues the match. Looked like he was just selling a kick to the leg or something. Insane.
Next, he lets Jericho do the Walls on the announce table. INSANE. I was fucking cringing at that point. Not an easy hold to take with a torn fucking quad, especially one as severe as Hunter's at that moment. Gotta give props to the dude for finishing the match.
So the Chris' win, crowd goes insane, Heyman goes insane, JR goes insane. Pretty much the Attitude Era in a nutshell right there. Wrestling was fucking exciting, and Raw was a party every Monday night.
The next night was a Smackdown taping. Vince, being the crazy fuck he is, books a god damn TLC match between all the top tag teams for the belts. A TLC MATCH ON FUCKING SMACKDOWN. Remember, at this point there were like 2 TLC matches in total. That match was MONEY, and to give it away not only for free, not only so soon after the Mania TLC, but on SMACKDOWN just blows my mind.
Of course, the guys treated it like a legit TLC match and pulled no punches. The Hardys and E&C did crazy shit off the ladders, and the Dudleys did their crazy table spots. Did I mention this was a fucking Smackdown taping?
So later in the match, Benoit does his headbutt to the outside of the ring and lands head first through a table. Turns out he legit fucked up his neck. In case you haven't kept count, here's Benoit's schedule over 48 hours:
1. vs. Angle at Judgement day.
2. Tag Team Battle Royale with Jericho at Judgement day.
3. Tag Match with Jericho vs. Austin/HHH at Raw
4. TLC match on Smackdown
are you fucking kidding me.
he continued wrestling on that bad neck and finally got surgery a few weeks later, which caused him to miss a year. dude was fucked in the head, clearly.
tl;dr That tag match was great, easily one of my favorite matches in Raw history.
Cool, that art is from the Super Pro KO guy. It's a pretty good wrestling comic.
As I'm not about to watch Main Event, can anyone tell me how the new announce team is?
bean breath
Member
get your limited edition Wade Stark tshirts while you can beany
Digging deep into the Chikara rumours surrounding the iPPV this weekend. A lot of odd stuff going on along and a lot of chatter about what's happening behind the scenes. I'll spoiler it since it covers some real life gossip and Chikara is something that kind of loses its magic when you find out what happens when everything is unmasked, so to speak.
The big rumour is Chikara possibly going on hiatus or being replaced by the Wrestling Is brand. Quack is going through a divorce and it was his wife's family that helped financed Chikara over the years. So the belief is Quack's wife owns the rights to Chikara and the Wrestling Is spin-offs were created for everyone to jump over to if or when Chikara falls apart.
British Monsoon
Member
Lol, anyone read the recent internet rumours about CHIKARA? I normally wouldn't give that sort of thing much credence (although, I do love indy sleaze), but a few reputable posters on the Observer board have talked about some sort of 'real life' situation leaking this week that will have a big effect on CHIKARA, so maybe there's something to it, or to some of it, as the whole thing seems pretty wild. Basically, the rumours are threefold -
*edit ^, ah, I guess you read the same stuff I did, Jamie. I'll spoiler tag the rumours.
Observer notes;
LOL! Wrestelicious, baby!
Dory Funk Jr's a goddamn living legend, dudes crazy to be wrestling at his age.
Man, that had to suck for Ziggler, knowing he might has been partly responsible for Lawler's heart attack.
Haha, hopefully they'll finally realise that Hunter Gatherer's NOT a babyface, he's a 'legend' to wheel out and get a "hey, I remember that guy!" pop from the crowd. If people still gave a damn, they would have reacted better to the angle on RAW a couple of weeks back, just like they would have reacted better when Brock 'broke' HGH's arm. Instead, they chanted "you tapped out!".
That makes sense, as Samuray Del Sol & Sami Callihan have both been told they can work dates up to the end of July - both are booked for DGUSA & AAW on the last weekend in July.
firstly, that Quack's ex-wife owns some creative stake in the CHIKARA name and product, secondly, that rather than pay her he'd get rid of the CHIKARA name altogether and, thirdly, the reason their marriage ended was because Quack fucked his student Saturyne. The idea is that Sunday's iPPV will be the last CHIKARA show, but the promotion will continue in spirit through the various Wrestling is... promotions started within the past few years.
*edit ^, ah, I guess you read the same stuff I did, Jamie. I'll spoiler tag the rumours.
Observer notes;
LOL! Wrestelicious, baby!
Dory Funk Jr's a goddamn living legend, dudes crazy to be wrestling at his age.
Man, that had to suck for Ziggler, knowing he might has been partly responsible for Lawler's heart attack.
Haha, hopefully they'll finally realise that Hunter Gatherer's NOT a babyface, he's a 'legend' to wheel out and get a "hey, I remember that guy!" pop from the crowd. If people still gave a damn, they would have reacted better to the angle on RAW a couple of weeks back, just like they would have reacted better when Brock 'broke' HGH's arm. Instead, they chanted "you tapped out!".
That makes sense, as Samuray Del Sol & Sami Callihan have both been told they can work dates up to the end of July - both are booked for DGUSA & AAW on the last weekend in July.
Owen Hart vs Mo
Owen Hart vs Razor Ramon for the IC title
I'm the leader, leave us alone! featuring Colt Cabana and female Owen Hart fans
Owen was the best thing about WWF until 96. Razor gets him in the armbar 'Ow! I'm sorry!'
Owen Hart vs Razor Ramon for the IC title
I'm the leader, leave us alone! featuring Colt Cabana and female Owen Hart fans
Owen was the best thing about WWF until 96. Razor gets him in the armbar 'Ow! I'm sorry!'
AGREED.
There was much more mileage there. Hunico is a good wrestler that could've been a lucha in his own right. I hope Samuray doesn't get unmasked.
END OF MONTH FAVE FIVE:
1. Dean Ambrose
There's a reason Ambrose got the singles title and the others got the tag titles. Ambrose is amazing inside the ring, mostly because he's just different from what you get from everyone else. He looks calculated, has great ring pressence and just seems more fluid than most people do (with a few exceptions like Bryan for instance). I would be very surprised if Ambrose isn't winning one of the MitB briefcases this year.
2. Daniel Bryan
This was the month of Bryan finally breaking his losing streak. As great as his interactions with Kane were, losing the tag title and soon breaking off into singles is what he needed. He continiously took the pinfalls during his tag run and even though that sucked, they are turning it into a storyline where Bryan gets a mean streak along with his face persona. I know people are worried they are turning him face, but I'm not one of them. I mean, they couldn't manage it anyways, Bryan gets the biggest pops after Cena (but without the boo's). They are obviously building him up to look like a contender and I expect him to enter a feud with Ziggler and AJ over the WHC title next, no doubt winning it by SummerSlam, as he should.
3. Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns
Tag-team so two for one at number 3. Gotta love these guys. Rollins is just so much fun to look at in that ring. Him and Bryan going at it on Raw this past monday left me watching with the stupidest grin. Reigns is proving to be pretty fucking great as well, who knew? Great power moves and that spear of his is only second to Goldberg's. Well done on him from being the expected third wheel of The Shield to being just as enjoyable as the other two.
4. Big E and AJ (Honorable mention for Ziggler, due to obvious reasons)
Hey now, hear me out! Cheating again, but I love these as a group, so fuck it. Big E has benefitted from Zigglers concussion by getting to show he's far better at this big man wrestling thing than people gave him credit for. He works well with Del Rio and is very athletic for his size. Contrary to other big people he follows his moves quickly and is believable. Now that Henry is taking another break, definitely the best big man in WWE right now (sorry Kane, you're a close second). AJ on the other hand finally got a finisher that isn't a roll-up and even got two matches where she won cleanly. The backstage segments with Kaitlyn have been very enjoyable. I'm a bit worried they still haven't announced when their title match is taking place and are building that match on the WWE App instead of on the goddamn show, but Divas lol. Hopefully AJ's T-Shirt sales will open their eyes to put more emphasis on the women, because hot girls wrestling SHOULD BE A THING ON TV AND A THING PEOPLE WANT TO SEE! (ugh). Anyways. Ziggler would be on here, but he's not around so whatcha gonna do. Oh, one more thing: These three combined are the best people outside of the ring, their banter on Twitter and in the AJ WrestleMania Diaries for instance, how can you not love these guys?
5. Bray Wyatt
I would have included more NXT people on here, but it's a fave five and not a fave fifteen. Anyone not watching NXT is an idiot btw, for shame! Correct this now! Wyatt is the cream of the crop right now, he's not the best in-ring guy, but he does have a unique style and a unique way to go about his matches that matches his amazing persona. Just watching him sitting outside the ring in a rocking chair watching Harper and Rowan is great. He has this character nailed and he hasn't even debuted on the main roster yet. Lets hope the WWE Creative Team doesn't fuck this up by not knowing what to do with Wyatt.
---
What's more, with The Shield, Wyatt, Big E and once they figure out what to do with him: Cesaro on the main roster and guys (and girl) like Adrian Neville, Kassius Ohno, Sami Zayn, Paige, Corey Graves and Leo Kruger in NXT right now, WWE is literally on the brink of it's next boom period. I mean, look at that list of people along with the talent already on the roster (guys like Bryan, Ziggler, Joe Hennig, Sandow, Titus) how can the next five years not become utterly awesome. Not even this creative team can hold these guys back. WWE from 2007-2012 was in that weird transitional stage the WWF was around 1992-1995, where things just weren't that good outside of a few exceptions. But then suddenly all these new guys broke out and things became pretty great from the end of 1996 onwards to early 00's. That's what is about to happen to WWE. Sure, Cena will be around for another five years, but I can skip through that shit and stay for the guys mentioned above. Good times are ahead.
---
As for TNA bad and worse times are ahead. This company is going nowhere fast. Hulk Hogan and Sting in the spotlight is the WORST thing you could do in frigging nineteenninetynine and IT IS GODDAMN TWENTYTHIRTEEN ALREADY! What the fuck are they doing? The few talented wrestlers they have are being buried and even Bully Ray is wasted in the A&8's angle, because A&8's is one of the WORST stables ever, because it's literally a bunch of jobbers, two midcarders and Bully and it does nothing for any of the guys. Not even Aries and Roode are currently even remotely close to being in the fave five and it's all the fault of Bischof, Hogan and Dixie for NOT KNOWING HOW TO RUN A WRESTLING COMPANY. If they go out of business soon nobody will give two fucks because they ran it there. Sort it the fuck out TNA.
1. Dean Ambrose
There's a reason Ambrose got the singles title and the others got the tag titles. Ambrose is amazing inside the ring, mostly because he's just different from what you get from everyone else. He looks calculated, has great ring pressence and just seems more fluid than most people do (with a few exceptions like Bryan for instance). I would be very surprised if Ambrose isn't winning one of the MitB briefcases this year.
2. Daniel Bryan
This was the month of Bryan finally breaking his losing streak. As great as his interactions with Kane were, losing the tag title and soon breaking off into singles is what he needed. He continiously took the pinfalls during his tag run and even though that sucked, they are turning it into a storyline where Bryan gets a mean streak along with his face persona. I know people are worried they are turning him face, but I'm not one of them. I mean, they couldn't manage it anyways, Bryan gets the biggest pops after Cena (but without the boo's). They are obviously building him up to look like a contender and I expect him to enter a feud with Ziggler and AJ over the WHC title next, no doubt winning it by SummerSlam, as he should.
3. Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns
Tag-team so two for one at number 3. Gotta love these guys. Rollins is just so much fun to look at in that ring. Him and Bryan going at it on Raw this past monday left me watching with the stupidest grin. Reigns is proving to be pretty fucking great as well, who knew? Great power moves and that spear of his is only second to Goldberg's. Well done on him from being the expected third wheel of The Shield to being just as enjoyable as the other two.
4. Big E and AJ (Honorable mention for Ziggler, due to obvious reasons)
Hey now, hear me out! Cheating again, but I love these as a group, so fuck it. Big E has benefitted from Zigglers concussion by getting to show he's far better at this big man wrestling thing than people gave him credit for. He works well with Del Rio and is very athletic for his size. Contrary to other big people he follows his moves quickly and is believable. Now that Henry is taking another break, definitely the best big man in WWE right now (sorry Kane, you're a close second). AJ on the other hand finally got a finisher that isn't a roll-up and even got two matches where she won cleanly. The backstage segments with Kaitlyn have been very enjoyable. I'm a bit worried they still haven't announced when their title match is taking place and are building that match on the WWE App instead of on the goddamn show, but Divas lol. Hopefully AJ's T-Shirt sales will open their eyes to put more emphasis on the women, because hot girls wrestling SHOULD BE A THING ON TV AND A THING PEOPLE WANT TO SEE! (ugh). Anyways. Ziggler would be on here, but he's not around so whatcha gonna do. Oh, one more thing: These three combined are the best people outside of the ring, their banter on Twitter and in the AJ WrestleMania Diaries for instance, how can you not love these guys?
5. Bray Wyatt
I would have included more NXT people on here, but it's a fave five and not a fave fifteen. Anyone not watching NXT is an idiot btw, for shame! Correct this now! Wyatt is the cream of the crop right now, he's not the best in-ring guy, but he does have a unique style and a unique way to go about his matches that matches his amazing persona. Just watching him sitting outside the ring in a rocking chair watching Harper and Rowan is great. He has this character nailed and he hasn't even debuted on the main roster yet. Lets hope the WWE Creative Team doesn't fuck this up by not knowing what to do with Wyatt.
---
What's more, with The Shield, Wyatt, Big E and once they figure out what to do with him: Cesaro on the main roster and guys (and girl) like Adrian Neville, Kassius Ohno, Sami Zayn, Paige, Corey Graves and Leo Kruger in NXT right now, WWE is literally on the brink of it's next boom period. I mean, look at that list of people along with the talent already on the roster (guys like Bryan, Ziggler, Joe Hennig, Sandow, Titus) how can the next five years not become utterly awesome. Not even this creative team can hold these guys back. WWE from 2007-2012 was in that weird transitional stage the WWF was around 1992-1995, where things just weren't that good outside of a few exceptions. But then suddenly all these new guys broke out and things became pretty great from the end of 1996 onwards to early 00's. That's what is about to happen to WWE. Sure, Cena will be around for another five years, but I can skip through that shit and stay for the guys mentioned above. Good times are ahead.
---
As for TNA bad and worse times are ahead. This company is going nowhere fast. Hulk Hogan and Sting in the spotlight is the WORST thing you could do in frigging nineteenninetynine and IT IS GODDAMN TWENTYTHIRTEEN ALREADY! What the fuck are they doing? The few talented wrestlers they have are being buried and even Bully Ray is wasted in the A&8's angle, because A&8's is one of the WORST stables ever, because it's literally a bunch of jobbers, two midcarders and Bully and it does nothing for any of the guys. Not even Aries and Roode are currently even remotely close to being in the fave five and it's all the fault of Bischof, Hogan and Dixie for NOT KNOWING HOW TO RUN A WRESTLING COMPANY. If they go out of business soon nobody will give two fucks because they ran it there. Sort it the fuck out TNA.
British Monsoon
Member
End of the month already? This year's flying by.
FAVE FIVE
1. Kazuchika Okada
No surprise, but Okada's still in the top spot for me. The match with Suzuki at Wrestling Dontaku is probably the best thing I've seen this month, although it wasn't on par with the Tanahashi matches. Okada's in full ascendency at the moment and is cementing himself alongside Tanahashi & Nakamura as a real draw, he's only 25 years old, already a 2 time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, one of the most naturally gifted in-ring performers we've seen in years who is gaining in confidence at a startling rate, so it's going to be interesting to see where the next few months takes him and where the returning Naito figures into things.
2. Daniel Bryan
I've always loved watching Bryan wrestle over the past decade, but it's really been amazing to see how well the WWE audience is reacting to him these days. He is ridiculously over as a character, the crowd are solidly behind him and he's the best in-ring performer in the WWE today. Really can't wait to see what the future has in store for him and I hope WWE can capitalise fully on his talent.
3. Minoru Suzuki
Suzuki is just too much of a bad-ass not to include on the list. His match with Okada was awesome, definitely my match of the month and, in general, I very much enjoy watching him work. His style, his mannerisms and his charisma all blend perfectly with his superlative technical in-ring work, making him one of the most unique performers on the New Japan roster, or anywhere in wrestling today.
4. Dean Ambrose
I was never that high on Jon Moxley during his years on the indies. He'd had some GREAT matches here and there (vs Bryan, vs Davey, vs Jacobs) and was obviously a competant technical wrestler, but lacked a stand-out feud for much of what I saw. His stuff in FCW was what really made me a fan and, now, it's great to see him get to show that same sort of presence, intensity and ability in the WWE.
5. Daisuke Sekimoto
I really, really cannot get enough Daisuke Sekimoto matches. The dude is a freaking MACHINE and tears it up every time he wrestles, be it for BJW, All Japan or ZERO1, in singles matches or tag matches he's consistently amazing.
I think Wyatt is a perfect example of someone whose character work can overcome any negatives in his wrestling - he obviously enjoys the gimmick and has put a lot of thought into, not just what he says on the mic, but the way he carries himself, his mannerisms and reactions. It's less like he's just playing a role and more like he's adopted a complete persona, one which exudes a sort of dangerous menace and, as such, comes across as entirely believable. <net_wrecker>Now, let's see how quickly WWE can ruin it.</net_wrecker>
FAVE FIVE
1. Kazuchika Okada
No surprise, but Okada's still in the top spot for me. The match with Suzuki at Wrestling Dontaku is probably the best thing I've seen this month, although it wasn't on par with the Tanahashi matches. Okada's in full ascendency at the moment and is cementing himself alongside Tanahashi & Nakamura as a real draw, he's only 25 years old, already a 2 time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, one of the most naturally gifted in-ring performers we've seen in years who is gaining in confidence at a startling rate, so it's going to be interesting to see where the next few months takes him and where the returning Naito figures into things.
2. Daniel Bryan
I've always loved watching Bryan wrestle over the past decade, but it's really been amazing to see how well the WWE audience is reacting to him these days. He is ridiculously over as a character, the crowd are solidly behind him and he's the best in-ring performer in the WWE today. Really can't wait to see what the future has in store for him and I hope WWE can capitalise fully on his talent.
3. Minoru Suzuki
Suzuki is just too much of a bad-ass not to include on the list. His match with Okada was awesome, definitely my match of the month and, in general, I very much enjoy watching him work. His style, his mannerisms and his charisma all blend perfectly with his superlative technical in-ring work, making him one of the most unique performers on the New Japan roster, or anywhere in wrestling today.
4. Dean Ambrose
I was never that high on Jon Moxley during his years on the indies. He'd had some GREAT matches here and there (vs Bryan, vs Davey, vs Jacobs) and was obviously a competant technical wrestler, but lacked a stand-out feud for much of what I saw. His stuff in FCW was what really made me a fan and, now, it's great to see him get to show that same sort of presence, intensity and ability in the WWE.
5. Daisuke Sekimoto
I really, really cannot get enough Daisuke Sekimoto matches. The dude is a freaking MACHINE and tears it up every time he wrestles, be it for BJW, All Japan or ZERO1, in singles matches or tag matches he's consistently amazing.
I think Wyatt is a perfect example of someone whose character work can overcome any negatives in his wrestling - he obviously enjoys the gimmick and has put a lot of thought into, not just what he says on the mic, but the way he carries himself, his mannerisms and reactions. It's less like he's just playing a role and more like he's adopted a complete persona, one which exudes a sort of dangerous menace and, as such, comes across as entirely believable. <net_wrecker>Now, let's see how quickly WWE can ruin it.</net_wrecker>
British Monsoon
Member
Well, there's been all sorts of rumours about Quack being somewhat crazy/psycho/creepy over the years, but you never know how much is true. Here's the CHIKARA sleaze list, if you're interested;
http://pastebin.com/9YCXvGk1
"Quack got in the way of the medics when Lince Dorado headspike'd himself on the hall floor and had a seizure, because he didn't want them to unmask him in front of the fans."
:/
Yeah, around two or three years ago boards like CZWfans were filled with crazy rumours about Quack from typical carny pro wrestling stuff to ridiculous personal stories, some quite dark. Plus some wrestlers have publicly given their opinion but they were usually ignored because, again, it was difficult for us Chikara fans to believe he was like that.
One thing I can confirm is that Quack is hyper-critical about everything and has sent e-mails to the roster after shows pointing out every single flaw he sees in their matches and talking shit about the performances of their guest stars.
Big E so far is boring as hell. I didn't catch his NXT stuff so I'm not sure what he does there that's different. I'm not talking about his bad haircut or man-cups, but his moves and in ring style is just boring. More boring than Orton. So if he's getting a face push, hopefully it's not at the expense of somebody actually talented, like going over Ziggler.
But I expected him to return as a face, since it feels like they're going with some others like Orton and Bryan as heels, and also wiith how his "I lost my smile" type segment came across.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=59814985&highlight=#post59814985
But I expected him to return as a face, since it feels like they're going with some others like Orton and Bryan as heels, and also wiith how his "I lost my smile" type segment came across.
Big E. has a LOT more personality on NXT. He hasn't had a chance to showcase it on Raw yet. In ring, well, he's servicable at least. His match with Sandow was both his longest and best. Most of his matches are like 5 minutes tops, so he has had very few chances to actually show if he can wrestle or not.
Keyser Soze
Member
This reminds me to finish watching Duck Dynasty. Thank you!
LiquidSolid
Member
You realise the reason why you think Del Rio is boring is the same reason why others think Cesaro is boring, right? Shitty booking. You just happen to know what Cesaro's done outside the WWE, so you have an attachment to him. Just look at all the other quality wrestlers they've completely fucked up with over the years (Lance Storm, Kanyon, Davey Boy Smith Jr, Tyson Kidd, etc.). Good bookers can get anyone over.
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
Thanks for the Observer notes Boots! Much appreciated!
I wonder if he evens wants to come back. Well he needs to. Build up that nest egg for retirement dude. I think 40 is a good age to hang it up.
British Monsoon
Member
Some New Japan news -
Best of the Super Jr's spoiler;
!
Also, Gedo didn't join his tag partner Jado in the Best of the Super Jr's this year because he had to prepare Okada for his match with Makabe later this month, but Okada said that had Gedo been included he would have easily won the tournament, so he requested that Gedo be entered into the G1 Climax tournament! I'd kinda like to see Gedo vs Okada, lol.
Another match announced for AIW's Absolution VIII iPPV on June 30th;
Can't wait to see good ol' Tracy Smothers beat the shit out of Pierre Abanathy. God, I hate his face.
Best of the Super Jr's spoiler;
Prince Devitt defeated Ricochet in the main event today by using an Avalanche-style Bloody Sunday! Surprisingly, it's Taichi who is leading the tournament at the moment, but Devitt said that after he wins the Super Jr's, as he's already the Jr. Heavyweight champion, he wants to challenge Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Also, Gedo didn't join his tag partner Jado in the Best of the Super Jr's this year because he had to prepare Okada for his match with Makabe later this month, but Okada said that had Gedo been included he would have easily won the tournament, so he requested that Gedo be entered into the G1 Climax tournament! I'd kinda like to see Gedo vs Okada, lol.
Another match announced for AIW's Absolution VIII iPPV on June 30th;
Can't wait to see good ol' Tracy Smothers beat the shit out of Pierre Abanathy. God, I hate his face.
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
She is a great pick for the head of Nova Corps.
Dave must be having the time of his life working with the First Lady from Mars Attacks!
BillRiccio
Member
My non wrassling side is pretty bummed st this bit of indy sleaze considering CHIKARA is my favorite promotion. My wrassling side is just that much more exited for the ippv to see what the heck happens. I'm so conflicted.
British Monsoon
Member
Rumours continue about Matt Tremont contracting Hepatitis C and being forced to pull out of the Tournament of Death, but CZW have yet to comment on it - they say they're preparing an announcement, which was meant to be made yesterday, but have had to delay it. Although, they have announced the Sami Callihan will be at ToD - presumably in a non-tournament match as surely there's no way he's going to wrestle in a deathmatch tournament a month before heading to WWE developmental?
Meanwhile, Drake Younger will have his final ever deathmatch for wXw in Germany this Sunday! Glad to hear that as Drake has a lot of talent and a good shot at making a name for himself outside of CZW/deathmatch craziness.
Yeah, I know what you mean - CHIKARA is a pretty damn unique product in US wrestling, it would be a real shame to see some real life sleaziness get in the way of that. On the other hand, I'm all the more excited for the iPPV this Sunday, there's a lot of storyline-based intrigue there without all the behind-the-scenes rumours, but that stuff only adds to the hype.
Meanwhile, Drake Younger will have his final ever deathmatch for wXw in Germany this Sunday! Glad to hear that as Drake has a lot of talent and a good shot at making a name for himself outside of CZW/deathmatch craziness.
Yeah, I know what you mean - CHIKARA is a pretty damn unique product in US wrestling, it would be a real shame to see some real life sleaziness get in the way of that. On the other hand, I'm all the more excited for the iPPV this Sunday, there's a lot of storyline-based intrigue there without all the behind-the-scenes rumours, but that stuff only adds to the hype.
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
TBH Tracy Smothers still looks really great, considering his age and shit he's been through.
British Monsoon
Member
The guy seemingly hasn't aged since the year 2000. Looks exactly the same as he did on those IWA-MS shows back in the day, although if you take it further back he's starting to show his age;
Yeah, I remember a thread like that on DVDVR from years and years back. I wish I could find the Ian Rotten sleaze list, but I think it died with the CZWfans forums - shit was awesome, as there's none more scummy than Ian Rotten.
The CZW Follies wiki makes for some pretty great reading, though;
http://taimapedia.org/index.php?title=CZW_Follies
British Monsoon
Member
Loooool, holy shit - I totally forgot about this bump, CZW fans are fucking RUTHLESS;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCcEKldx09A
"ONE MORE TIME!", lmao.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCcEKldx09A
"ONE MORE TIME!", lmao.
BillRiccio
Member
Tracy was the most entertaining guy at the last AIW show. He had everyone in the building eating out of his hands. So pumped hes coming back!
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
My replacement for TVTropes today. Bootaaay bringin' the goods all day!
Dude's awesome, I love it.
At some point Vince will just build a 200 foot statue of Cena that breaths fire and repeats "REMEMBER ME" 24/7.