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Made in gb
Assassin with Black Lotus Poison





Bristol

Hope it is okay to necro this thread rather than start a new one but I am currently watching Talk 'N Shop A Mania and it is the best thing.

Backyard PPV put on by Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Funniest wrestling-related thing I have seen since the Shockmaster debut

The Laws of Thermodynamics:
1) You cannot win. 2) You cannot break even. 3) You cannot stop playing the game.

Colonel Flagg wrote:You think you're real smart. But you're not smart; you're dumb. Very dumb. But you've met your match in me.
 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
-






-

I've pretty much given up on WWE RAW and SMACKDOWN, sticking only with NXT, and barely hanging on to that one.

IMPACT is as meh as it has always been, and ROH has been on shutdown since...March?

AEW is the only one that has managed to keep my interest for the last few months.

   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut





Listen to Cornette on youtube, man.
   
Made in gb
Fixture of Dakka







 Strg Alt wrote:
Listen to Cornette on youtube, man.


[Insert Simpsons "Old Man Shouts at Clouds" meme here]

2021-4 Plog - Here we go again... - my fifth attempt at a Dakka PLOG

My Pile of Potential - updates ongoing...

Gamgee on Tau Players wrote:we all kill cats and sell our own families to the devil and eat live puppies.


 Kanluwen wrote:
This is, emphatically, why I will continue suggesting nuking Guard and starting over again. It's a legacy army that needs to be rebooted with a new focal point.

Confirmation of why no-one should listen to Kanluwen when it comes to the IG - he doesn't want the IG, he want's Kan's New Model Army...

tneva82 wrote:
You aren't even trying ty pretend for honest arqument. Open bad faith trolling.
- No reason to keep this here, unless people want to use it for something... 
   
Made in gb
Assassin with Black Lotus Poison





Bristol

 Dysartes wrote:
 Strg Alt wrote:
Listen to Cornette on youtube, man.


[Insert Simpsons "Old Man Shouts at Clouds" meme here]


Yeah. I respect Cornette for his knowledge of the history of pro-wrestling.

But the guy is an ass. He still clings to the idea that the business can be exposed. It can't, it is exposed already and has been since the 90s. I don't think anyone gets put off wrestling by comedy spots like dick suplexes, or Orange Cassidy doing crazy stuff with his hands in his pockets, or a force chokeslam. I do think they get put off by people who rage about such things and act like such stuff degrades the "sport".

It isn't a sport, it is entertainment. If people are entertained by that stuff then it does more good for the business than an hour long iron man match of pure mat wrestling which bores everyone would do.

The Laws of Thermodynamics:
1) You cannot win. 2) You cannot break even. 3) You cannot stop playing the game.

Colonel Flagg wrote:You think you're real smart. But you're not smart; you're dumb. Very dumb. But you've met your match in me.
 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
-






-

Agreed!

I'm nowhere near as grumpy as Jim, and I happen to like Orange Cassidy quite a bit.

   
Made in at
Buttons Should Be Brass, Not Gold!





Vienna, Austria

Hello.


 A Town Called Malus wrote:
Hope it is okay to necro this thread rather than start a new one but I am currently watching Talk 'N Shop A Mania and it is the best thing.

Backyard PPV put on by Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Funniest wrestling-related thing I have seen since the Shockmaster debut



I've been looking forward to this one SO much, being a big fan of the Talk'n'Shop antics of Gallows and Anderson. I find them somewhat scary, but also some of the funniest guys on Earth.

So I watched the PPV advertised as "the worst PPV ever". Kinda looks like they achieved that. I'm not big on Georgia area wrestling, so I'm not all too familiar with many of the people there. Lateron I learned that the little guy in that awful hardcore/no DQ match was the owner of the bar they hosted the watch-along in, and that's the only reason why he was on the card.

I have to say that I laughed at the Social Distancing Royal Rumble. The highlights came in the end - the fight between Chico Luchador and Chavo Guerrero was just so much fun, and the Boner Yard Match was something to behold. So many fun little bits, so much chaos, so much improvisation. Really enjoyed that one. So overall.... I'm not sure how to rate that show altogether. I paid for it, so, following human psyche, I want to justify my expenditure by thinking it was worth it. If you're not a big fan of Gallows&Anderson and their brand of humour I think this is one to skip.



Now as for Jim Cornette - Yup, I agree with A Town Called Malus here as well. I enjoy listening to Cornette for the most part, but not necessarily his podcast. There are few people who can talk like Cornette and CAN be as funny as Cornette is, but I think his podcast is too much catering to ....well, the fans of the podcast. Who seem to enjoy to be of a certain mindset to define themselves as a goup. A few months ago I realized in which situations I enjoy listening to Cornette talking the most - when he's sitting down with friends and talks about Wrestling. In these situations they usually seem to focus on talking about stuff they like (even if it's from 20, 30 years ago) rather than crapping on last week's Dynamite.

Speaking of which - weird times indeed, aren't they. I still watch Dynamite each week and I enjoy it very much. No Smackdown for me, no NXT for me (weirdly. I used to watch NXT for a while, but somehow I lost interest. You get in there, you start to like people, they get called up and they just ...are there. At best. Not easy to get into the new people in NXT all the time), RAW I'll watch maybe once in three months if I hear something crazy happens (last time: RAW Underground debuting). With the new additions to the roster I'm more inclined to watch IMPACT. I also hear they're really good with the booking now and give consistently good matches, but still. Meh. Never watched much RoH weeklies, but greatly enjoyed the PPVs. Shame about NWA Powerr. I also would have been interested in WxW Shotgun(?), but that went away too.

I'd love to watch NJPW again, but I think they still do everything without english commentary, and I have to admit that I'm having problems following NJPW without that. Or rather I'm afraid of missing things. I hear they taped a weekly show now though, which might be well worth a watch.


Well, so much for the state of things with me.



   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






I’m getting frustrated with WWE at the moment.

They’ve got a load of talented wrestlers, and the women’s division continues to carry the show for me.

But they just ain’t got the writers. For me, they’re leaning too heavily on The Fiend angle. I don’t know what it is about that, but it’s just not ringing my bell. It may be that the scripted outcome is just so bloody obviously scripted, which takes any and all tension straight out of the match.

It’s not Bray himself. He’s not my favourite, but he’s still a solid performer.

   
Made in at
Buttons Should Be Brass, Not Gold!





Vienna, Austria

I really, really dig the Fiend stuff. The low point probably was Seth Rollins BURNING DOWN the Firefly Fun House, but that's being ignored. Eversince that (and before that) the Firefly/Bray/Fiend segments have been okay at worst and just brilliant at best (Firefly Fun House Match at Wrestlemania will be kept in mind as one of the best segments in WWE history I think). Now that they brought in Alexa Bliss the whole thing got a new spin, which I like. I'm completely opposed to the whole "omg Bliss is Sister Abigail" idea (because she's not and most probably never will be, because it would make no sense), but getting her in as another factor is really interesting.

I assume it will lead to a Bray vs. Fiend match, and I'm all for that to be honest.


But in general I'm with you there, Mad Doc Grotsnik. WWE is just not very fun to watch. Lately I watched RAW for the first time in a while, and the commentary was just grating to me. All the catchphrases, the taglines, the nicknames and the odd terminology they have to get in there makes it no fun. Over on AEW Jim Ross might forget a name here and there, but their commentary is bloody fun rather than distracting. And it's not like WWEs commentators are bad. It's just the constraints of the format that makes it less fun to watch. And I think it's the same with the writing. Several of the recently fired people mention how angles are at the same time constricted and over-written due to how many people have to give their OK on storylines, right down to wording in promos.

Maybe it's just a fan's perspective who knows nothing about the going-ons, but I think it comes down to this once more: Just let the Wrestlers talk. At the very least the top guys (Rollins, Lynch, Owens, Reigns, Bliss, Bayley, Banks, Charlotte Flair, Orton, McIntyre, Wyatt, etc.) are wonderful talkers. Some I think might struggle a bit without a script at first, but I think they'd cope well, others are just really good on the mic.

   
Made in gb
Assassin with Black Lotus Poison





Bristol

 Sigur wrote:
All the catchphrases, the taglines, the nicknames and the odd terminology they have to get in there makes it no fun.


What catchphrases? This is perfectly natural commentary!

My favourite parody of the WWE's commentary catchphrase fetish probably where the OSW Review guys replaced the name of every one of Roman's moves with BIG DAWG in their reviews of the 2018 Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/08/17 15:56:22


The Laws of Thermodynamics:
1) You cannot win. 2) You cannot break even. 3) You cannot stop playing the game.

Colonel Flagg wrote:You think you're real smart. But you're not smart; you're dumb. Very dumb. But you've met your match in me.
 
   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut





 A Town Called Malus wrote:
 Dysartes wrote:
 Strg Alt wrote:
Listen to Cornette on youtube, man.


[Insert Simpsons "Old Man Shouts at Clouds" meme here]


Yeah. I respect Cornette for his knowledge of the history of pro-wrestling.

But the guy is an ass. He still clings to the idea that the business can be exposed. It can't, it is exposed already and has been since the 90s. I don't think anyone gets put off wrestling by comedy spots like dick suplexes, or Orange Cassidy doing crazy stuff with his hands in his pockets, or a force chokeslam. I do think they get put off by people who rage about such things and act like such stuff degrades the "sport".

It isn't a sport, it is entertainment. If people are entertained by that stuff then it does more good for the business than an hour long iron man match of pure mat wrestling which bores everyone would do.


You don't think people are upset about stupid things like invisible grenades & dick suplexes? Lol!
Stuff like this is one of the many reasons why "modern" wrestling is worthless. And now I am going back to watch more 80s and 90s wrestling...
   
Made in gb
Fixture of Dakka







Well, I doubt anyone is going to be booking Joey Ryan any time soon - that was the dick suplex guy, right? - after wrestling's #metoo equivalent over the last couple of months.

Not sure on the invisible grenade - thought the "force chokeslam" was a well-worked spot for a small indy show, but it isn't something I'd expect to see in a big promotion.

If you think modern wrestling is worthless, but the 'roid-heads of the 80's are providing good wrestling, I don't know what to tell you, brother.

2021-4 Plog - Here we go again... - my fifth attempt at a Dakka PLOG

My Pile of Potential - updates ongoing...

Gamgee on Tau Players wrote:we all kill cats and sell our own families to the devil and eat live puppies.


 Kanluwen wrote:
This is, emphatically, why I will continue suggesting nuking Guard and starting over again. It's a legacy army that needs to be rebooted with a new focal point.

Confirmation of why no-one should listen to Kanluwen when it comes to the IG - he doesn't want the IG, he want's Kan's New Model Army...

tneva82 wrote:
You aren't even trying ty pretend for honest arqument. Open bad faith trolling.
- No reason to keep this here, unless people want to use it for something... 
   
Made in gb
Assassin with Black Lotus Poison





Bristol

 Strg Alt wrote:
 A Town Called Malus wrote:
 Dysartes wrote:
 Strg Alt wrote:
Listen to Cornette on youtube, man.


[Insert Simpsons "Old Man Shouts at Clouds" meme here]


Yeah. I respect Cornette for his knowledge of the history of pro-wrestling.

But the guy is an ass. He still clings to the idea that the business can be exposed. It can't, it is exposed already and has been since the 90s. I don't think anyone gets put off wrestling by comedy spots like dick suplexes, or Orange Cassidy doing crazy stuff with his hands in his pockets, or a force chokeslam. I do think they get put off by people who rage about such things and act like such stuff degrades the "sport".

It isn't a sport, it is entertainment. If people are entertained by that stuff then it does more good for the business than an hour long iron man match of pure mat wrestling which bores everyone would do.


You don't think people are upset about stupid things like invisible grenades & dick suplexes? Lol!
Stuff like this is one of the many reasons why "modern" wrestling is worthless. And now I am going back to watch more 80s and 90s wrestling...


No, I said that the people who do get upset about that stuff are the ones who actually drive away general audiences by living up to the stereotype of the delusional wrestling fan who still thinks it is real.

As for older wrestling being better? By all means go and watch 80s shows where the majority of matches not on PPV were jobber squash matches and the finishes on PPV were often double count-out, brawl to the back or no contest because neither wrestler was willing to lose clean.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
 Dysartes wrote:
Well, I doubt anyone is going to be booking Joey Ryan any time soon - that was the dick suplex guy, right? - after wrestling's #metoo equivalent over the last couple of months.


Yeah Joey Ryan is one of the much too long list of scumbags who have been operating in the business.

Not sure on the invisible grenade - thought the "force chokeslam" was a well-worked spot for a small indy show, but it isn't something I'd expect to see in a big promotion.


Exactly. Most big promotions are not doing comedy spots like these dick suplexes, force chokeslams etc. And yet that has not stopped wrestlings overall market from dwindling. It's almost like people doing stupid, comedy stuff for live crowds is not the thing "killing the business".

You know what has harmed the business? The backstage bullying gak that was enforced by those older guys like JBL, Bob Holly and Undertaker. That kind of hostile environment has done a hell of a lot of harm and I would posit is partially to blame for all of the stories of abuse and harassment that came out earlier this year by creating an environment where those older "locker room leaders" were able to intimidate and silence those newer people.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2020/08/17 18:11:06


The Laws of Thermodynamics:
1) You cannot win. 2) You cannot break even. 3) You cannot stop playing the game.

Colonel Flagg wrote:You think you're real smart. But you're not smart; you're dumb. Very dumb. But you've met your match in me.
 
   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut





@Dysartes:

Roidheads?! This getting better and better. Yes, a wrestler NEEDS to have body definition or else you could hire your neighbour to perform in the ring instead. It's one of the reasons to even attend a wrestling event because you simply DON'T see such people in your daily life. Therefore it has a certain circus vibe to it.

Or hire CM PUNK. No, forget this proposal. I bet your neighbour would have a better physique than PUNK!


Edit:
Wrestling problems of today? Here are just a few which come to my mind:

- ZERO Superstars.
- Scripting.
- Use of silly spots as pointed out earlier.


Bullying & Harassment?
Yes, it's bad but this happens EVERYWHERE where humans interact with one another and can't as a consequence be one of the main reasons why modern wrestling is losing it's audience.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/08/17 19:11:43


 
   
Made in gb
Assassin with Black Lotus Poison





Bristol

 Strg Alt wrote:
@Dysartes:

Roidheads?! This getting better and better. Yes, a wrestler NEEDS to have body definition or else you could hire your neighbour to perform in the ring instead. It's one of the reasons to even attend a wrestling event because you simply DON'T see such people in your daily life. Therefore it has a certain circus vibe to it.



And how many of them are still alive? Steroid and drug abuse was and is a massive problem which has cut short countless careers and lives.

Macho Man? Dead.
Rick Rude? Dead.
Big John Studd? Dead.
How many Von Erichs? Dead.
Curt Hennig? Dead.
Davey Boy Smith? Dead.
Eddie Guererro? Dead.
Elizabeth? Dead.
Hawk? Dead.
Sherri Martel? Dead.
Ultimate Warrior? Dead.
Yokozuna? Dead.

And so on.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/08/17 20:44:12


The Laws of Thermodynamics:
1) You cannot win. 2) You cannot break even. 3) You cannot stop playing the game.

Colonel Flagg wrote:You think you're real smart. But you're not smart; you're dumb. Very dumb. But you've met your match in me.
 
   
Made in at
Buttons Should Be Brass, Not Gold!





Vienna, Austria

@A Town Called Malus: To be fair, several of those have not died due to 'roid abuse. But of course in general I agree with you. Wrestling just used to be a lot more toxic (quite literally) a world to live in then than it is now thank god.


Concerning the #speakingout thing: I think Wrestling's probably especially prone to such abuse stuff due to several factors.


Anyway, I can see people getting upset about invisible hand grenades, Dong Style, etc.
I already get upset with all these wrestlers being so much younger and better looking and generally being better than I am. There's some stuff I don't like either, and there's some stuff I like about oldey-times wresting (recently watched a tag match between Rick Rude&Mr.Perfect and Ultimate Warrior&Texas Tornado. Made me understand why Mr.Perfect is so revered, made me marvel at what the Texas Tornado can do, gave me a glimpse into the magic that surrounded the Ultimate Warrior, made me appreciate Rick Rude). I'm not at Cornette-fan levels yet, but I could see myself getting real grumpy 20 years down the line.

Anyway, I think there's just a whole lot of space in Wrestling for all sorts of things. For every Orange Cassidy there's an MJF, for every Gentleman Jervis there's a Hangman Page. Just different things. Me, I don't like Darby Allin. Don't get anything from the guy, but you can't like everybody.


Wrestling problems of today? Here are just a few which come to my mind:

- ZERO Superstars.
- Scripting.
- Use of silly spots as pointed out earlier.


Fair points. As far as the first goes, I think that universally recognized stars everybody likes are just a thing of the past. Just like there isn't ONE blockbuster film a year any more everybody likes. Tastes have become too individualized or specialized for that. But I think there's plenty of superstars around. Reigns is a huge deal, Rollins is doing his best to be (and does a good job), Becky Lynch did an amazing job at being THE female wrestler and I think she was for a while. Charlotte Flair certainly is. Omega is a superstar (or was until about a year ago. Could be again in a heartbeat), I would claim that Moxley is, Japan has several superstars (Tanahashi's still around and a spectacle, Okada is a superstar, etc.

Scripting is a big problem in the WWE, that's true. I ranted about that in an above post.

"silly spots" aren't prevalent in the bigger promotions as far as I'm aware. Wouldn't work there either.


I don't mind 'rasslers to be bigger lads or lasses, with muscles and all. Doesn't have to look ridiculous (even though some of that should be there). I was kinda happy seeing Brian Cage in AEW. He looks like a 'proper wrestler', doesn't he. As I said above, there's a lot of space for everybody in the wrestling universe.

   
Made in gb
Fixture of Dakka







 Strg Alt wrote:
@Dysartes:

Roidheads?! This getting better and better. Yes, a wrestler NEEDS to have body definition or else you could hire your neighbour to perform in the ring instead. It's one of the reasons to even attend a wrestling event because you simply DON'T see such people in your daily life. Therefore it has a certain circus vibe to it.


If my neighbour has the skill to pull off the moves, I'd be happy to watch it.

When I watch wrestling, I'm not doing so because of the physiques. Sure, a wrestler needs to be in good shape, but I'd much rather they be healthy than abusing steroids, etc, in order to get to the "body-builder" level of shredded. Getting to a good point through genuine workouts like, as far as I know, Big E or Sheamus? Sure. Use a needle like (allegedly) Lex Luger, Ultimate Warrior, etc? No thanks.

Vince having an obsession with such hulks is a good chunk of the reason why we lost Eddie far before his time. I'd also argue it contributes to at least one of your points further down the post.

 Strg Alt wrote:
Or hire CM PUNK. No, forget this proposal. I bet your neighbour would have a better physique than PUNK!


Again - Punk could go in the ring, cut a damn good promo, and has definite charisma. I'll take him over the Warrior any day of the week.

Well, maybe aside from the Warrior's squashes of Honky and HHH - those were amusing.

 Strg Alt wrote:
Wrestling problems of today? Here are just a few which come to my mind:
e
- ZERO Superstars.
- Scripting.
- Use of silly spots as pointed out earlier.


I think "zero" wrestling superstars is pushing it, but we certainly have fewer becoming general household names than we used to. As much as a vocal chunk of WWE fans may dislike him, Roman is probably the closest as a current "main roster" performer to hitting that status in Western audiences - I'm not sure how NJPW or Stardom stars do in Japan for that sort of recognition.

Thing is, this isn't a new issue. John Cena is probably the last "Superstar" that people outside of wrestling knew about, and a chunk of that is thanks to the "You can't see him" memes. Before that, you're talking the likes of The Rock, Stone Cold and Chris Jericho, with The Undertaker before them. As wrestling has lost cross-promotional opportunities, it has lost the ability to make household names - it is no coincidence that a lot of the ones people do know are from the 80's when the Rock & Wrestling Connection was at its peak.

Scripting is definitely a problem for WWE, but I wouldn't argue it is a problem for wrestling as a whole. As far as I hear - and for better or worse - AEW aren't doing scripted promos, and they sound more natural and more believable as a result. Scripted promos can help talents who aren't as comfortable going off-the-cuff - if they get the chance to make delivering them look natural - but there are a host of talent in WWE I imagine would be just fine with a list of bullet points they need to cover.

I'll add onto your scripted point, when talking about WWE, with the infamous "banned words" list. Not using pronouns makes the commentary sound fecking ridiculous, for one thing.

We've already touched on "silly spots", as you call them - but how many of them do you see in the big promotions? WWE, AEW, even Impact - none of those are using invisible grenades or "force chokeslams". The closest you probably get at the minute might be Orange Cassidy, with either "the most devastating kicks in all of wrestling", or his hands-in-pockets spots. The kicks are tied to him being the King of Sloth Style, while the pockets help demonstrate just how good he actually is - could you manage a kip-up like that?

 Strg Alt wrote:
Bullying & Harassment?
Yes, it's bad but this happens EVERYWHERE where humans interact with one another and can't as a consequence be one of the main reasons why modern wrestling is losing it's audience.


"Main" reasons? Maybe not. I wouldn't be surprised if it were a contributory factor, however.

2021-4 Plog - Here we go again... - my fifth attempt at a Dakka PLOG

My Pile of Potential - updates ongoing...

Gamgee on Tau Players wrote:we all kill cats and sell our own families to the devil and eat live puppies.


 Kanluwen wrote:
This is, emphatically, why I will continue suggesting nuking Guard and starting over again. It's a legacy army that needs to be rebooted with a new focal point.

Confirmation of why no-one should listen to Kanluwen when it comes to the IG - he doesn't want the IG, he want's Kan's New Model Army...

tneva82 wrote:
You aren't even trying ty pretend for honest arqument. Open bad faith trolling.
- No reason to keep this here, unless people want to use it for something... 
   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






Sorry if it feels like a dog piling Strg Alt...

But Vince’s beef obsession is, arguably, leaving far better technical Wrestlers in the shade, whilst giving his beefs a big push.

I greatly enjoyed Kofi’s push. He’s a cracking wrestler, does solid mic work, has loads of charisma, and it was nice for him to get a break from the usual New Day shenanigans. He got heat, and deservedly so.... then it all just sort of petered out.

The Fiend is just taking too long.

What really irritates me though is that a decent chunk of the actual in-ring action is still satisfying to watch. It’s just the build up, feuds and even endings are feeling very tired.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Anyways. Time for so much needed levity in a thread, despite peeps disappointments being shared, albeit not for the same reasons.

WWE Network continued to kick ass. Me? I came late to Wrasslin’. Like, just in time to see Paige in her PPV debut. Hooked ever since.

So whilst I had a passing familiarity with the names, I didn’t see the classic era, despite living through it.

But with the WWE Network, I can do that. Have decided to kick off with the first ever Wrestlemania, and work through however many are on there.

And as Vince has bought up or bought out pretty much all his contemporaries, WWE is now the curator of all USA televised wrestling....well, this could be cool! If they can get those hundreds of thousands of tapes digitised and archived, WWE Network will become the world’s greatest wrestling museum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeHBauzInT0

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2020/08/18 08:13:03


   
Made in at
Buttons Should Be Brass, Not Gold!





Vienna, Austria

I'm very late to the party as well. I only started watching right after the split of the Shield, but been on board ever since. There's just nothing else like pro wrestling, is there. It's a soap opera, but more real. It's like theatre. Or circus.

I did have a WWE Network subscription, but eventually cancelled it when I realized I just didn't watch it. They got some cracking documentaries though and of course... well, ALL the wrestling. Really impressive.

   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






Pro-Wrestling. It’s combat ballet!

   
Made in at
Buttons Should Be Brass, Not Gold!





Vienna, Austria

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Pro-Wrestling. It’s combat ballet!







So WWE apparently built a Thunderdome. With DRONES and LAYZORS. And it's Smackdown-exclusive? Or for RAW as well? Either way, interesting. Not a bad move, at least not a stupid one.

   
Made in gb
Fixture of Dakka







I imagine it's for both brands, Siggy - they're moving RAW & SD out of the Performance Center into an arena in Florida (sorry, I've forgotten which one), though I believe they're prohibited from having fans in attendance until November, or something like that.

2021-4 Plog - Here we go again... - my fifth attempt at a Dakka PLOG

My Pile of Potential - updates ongoing...

Gamgee on Tau Players wrote:we all kill cats and sell our own families to the devil and eat live puppies.


 Kanluwen wrote:
This is, emphatically, why I will continue suggesting nuking Guard and starting over again. It's a legacy army that needs to be rebooted with a new focal point.

Confirmation of why no-one should listen to Kanluwen when it comes to the IG - he doesn't want the IG, he want's Kan's New Model Army...

tneva82 wrote:
You aren't even trying ty pretend for honest arqument. Open bad faith trolling.
- No reason to keep this here, unless people want to use it for something... 
   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






It’s definitely utterly bizarre watching it without a crowd.

I mean, the wrestlers and colour announcers are clearly game, but man it serves to show how much a hyped crowd adds to the whole shebang.

I’m massively impressed by the first Wrestlemania, and I can see just how much was riding on it in terms of WWE’s history. The crowd are going mental during the Hogan top card, and for good reason.

The rest of the card just can’t compete with the showmanship in that match.

Will do Wrestlemania 2 next, I think. Look to see how quickly it evolved, as for the most part it’s all oddly amateur.

   
Made in gb
Mekboy Hammerin' Somethin'





Dorset, England

I've got used to having no crowd now, I assume WWE does the same as AEW by having the lower card wrestlers around the ring?

I listen to a podcast called WrestleMe that goes through all the Wrestlemanias which is pretty fun.

Dynamite has been having some great episodes lately, although there has been too much comedy stuff in parts (I won't even try to defend Orange Numpty!) there has been a lot of cool matches and storylines. That Eddie Kingston match being the standout of course.

AEW: Dark has also been having some great episodes lately, showcasting some new talent and undercard storylines.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/08/18 20:31:14


 
   
Made in at
Buttons Should Be Brass, Not Gold!





Vienna, Austria

Hmmm, you may have a point there about AEW doing a bit too much comedy.

On the other hand, they got (at least in my opinion) a pretty good track record in terms of humour. However, some more serious stuff would work rather well I think.

   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut





@ Town Malus:

Steroid & drug abuse:
Have you seen the autopsy report of any of those dead wrestlers? No? I guessed so because it is highly unlikely that any of them died purely of steroid abuse.

Who took steroids too in the 80s? For example Schwarzenegger, Stallone & Hogan. Notice anything? All still ALIVE.


@ Dysartes:
Punk better than UW?! Ah, you can't argue about taste. I guess there is one Punk match on one of my DVDs and when you compare both of their entrances it's no wonder why I almost fell asleep when Punk moved into the arena.

   
Made in gb
Fixture of Dakka







 Strg Alt wrote:
@ Town Malus:

Steroid & drug abuse:
Have you seen the autopsy report of any of those dead wrestlers? No? I guessed so because it is highly unlikely that any of them died purely of steroid abuse.


Hard to find any autopsy report where steroid abuse is the sole cause of death, let alone just looking at wrestlers - they do feature as a contributing factor to a number of heart attack/heart disease cases, though. Curt Hennig and Davy Boy Smith being two examples, from memory, where they are mentioned as factors.

 Strg Alt wrote:
@ Dysartes:
Punk better than UW?! Ah, you can't argue about taste. I guess there is one Punk match on one of my DVDs and when you compare both of their entrances it's no wonder why I almost fell asleep when Punk moved into the arena.


If you're trying to claim that Warrior was a better wrestler than Punk then you're right - there's no accounting for taste.

Warrior is very much an impact player - a proto-Goldberg, if you will. A fairly iconic theme, lots of energy in the entrance - those poor ring ropes - ideally followed by a 2-5 minute match. Generally finish with a Gorilla Press Slam into the Warrior Splash, and you're done.

Was he good at that limited package? Absolutely.
Was he a "physical specimen"? Sure.
Was he, as we came to find out after he left wrestling, absolutely nucking futs? ...well, yeah.

Thing is, that's not all there is to being a professional wrestler. For one thing, there's promo work. I don't think anyone has ever managed to figure out what the Warrior was trying to say if you put a mic in front of his face. He didn't have the stamina to be able to perform a longer match, and he'd get gassed if he tried (see also Goldberg vs. Steven/William Regal, where a 10 minute match showed Big Bad Bill up). As noted above, the vast majority of Warrior matches would follow the template I gave above, without adding in new moves over time. He rarely, if ever, did "the job" if required, believing it'd harm his character.

Compare to CM Punk - Iconic theme? Certainly once "Cult of Personality" was used. Crowds definitely would react to the initial chords. Not so much energy in the entrance, for sure - though I always liked the "It's clobbering time!" shout. Great to exceptional promo skills, even if you discount the "pipebomb" - and pretty good on commentary, too. Stamina wasn't an issue - look at the Money in the Bank 2011 main event as an example, where he wrestled John Cena for 33 minutes. I'm not sure off-hand if he ever wrestled a one-hour Iron Man match, but he had the tank for it. I don't think you can say his matches followed a specific template, and his moves evolved over time - heck, he had to change his primary finisher when he entered ECW, and he added the Savage Elbow Drop after the Macho Man passed - and did a good job of it. And if he needed to do "the job" for a story, he would do.

If you look at most measures you'd use to look at how "good" a professional wrestler was, Punk would outscore the Warrior by a distance.

Warrior was good-to-great at specific role and match structure; Punk was generally great at a much wider range.

2021-4 Plog - Here we go again... - my fifth attempt at a Dakka PLOG

My Pile of Potential - updates ongoing...

Gamgee on Tau Players wrote:we all kill cats and sell our own families to the devil and eat live puppies.


 Kanluwen wrote:
This is, emphatically, why I will continue suggesting nuking Guard and starting over again. It's a legacy army that needs to be rebooted with a new focal point.

Confirmation of why no-one should listen to Kanluwen when it comes to the IG - he doesn't want the IG, he want's Kan's New Model Army...

tneva82 wrote:
You aren't even trying ty pretend for honest arqument. Open bad faith trolling.
- No reason to keep this here, unless people want to use it for something... 
   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






Different people look for different things in their Wrestlers.

Me? I can’t stand Brock Lesnar. Whilst I absolutely respect his athletic skills, and his MMA record, as a sports entertainer, I find him sorely lacking in the entertainer word.

Whereas I really, really like Roman Reins. Whilst I get he struggles to get over with many other fans, I’m not among them.

Similarly Bray Wyatt. I find he’s overused, especially in the Fiend angle.

The trick for a given company is to make the most of their roster, and find new and interesting angles.

The man I respect most in WWE? Seth Rollins. He’s an incredible Wrestler, and is so as both Heel and Face.

Then we have the wasted talent. Nakamura and Styles. Those dudes have serious levels of talent, and it’s seem the WWE just doesn’t know what to do with them.

   
Made in at
Buttons Should Be Brass, Not Gold!





Vienna, Austria

I like Brock Lesnar. He's perfect for the role. He's WWE's Bowser. And he can be really entertaining if he wants to, especially in recent years I feel. He basically carried the Royal Rumble this year and was fun between people running at him, and putting people like Keith Lee over.

Roman Reigns is good at all the things, that is true. The less WWE do with him the more he'll be over.

Wyatt -supergood.

Rollins has done great and when I started watching he was right up there as one of my favourites. Never bought him as a face, but as a heel he's class. I just don't enjoy him in the role of WWE's flag-bearer. It's unnecessary.

Agreed on the wasted talent. I think Styles is used really well actually, especially given how he wants to work a reduced schedule. Nakamura... well, he enjoys the surfing. Caesaro's always mentioned when it comes to underused talent, and I'm inclined to agree. Thing is that they got a LOT of people and not a lot of interest in storylines which aren't about the top guy or an attraction.



In the end - yup, everybody likes different things. And that's one of the reasons why there isn't ONE superstar these days. There can't be.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/08/19 16:27:32


   
Made in gb
Fixture of Dakka







Yeah, WWE have a bunch of talent on their roster that is under-utilised - or, worse, that get's "Vince'd" rather than pushed in a way that makes sense.

Take Chad Gable, for example - why is he being used as "Shorty G", in some form of basketball gear (or, as one YT channel describes him, as "a walking biscuit"). Use him as this generation's Kurt Angle, for crying out loud - though leaning face, rather than heel.

Nakamura, Roode, The Revival, Kairi Sane, Aleister Black, Ricochet - all great wrestlers who were really good in NXT, but have been wasted on the "main roster".

2021-4 Plog - Here we go again... - my fifth attempt at a Dakka PLOG

My Pile of Potential - updates ongoing...

Gamgee on Tau Players wrote:we all kill cats and sell our own families to the devil and eat live puppies.


 Kanluwen wrote:
This is, emphatically, why I will continue suggesting nuking Guard and starting over again. It's a legacy army that needs to be rebooted with a new focal point.

Confirmation of why no-one should listen to Kanluwen when it comes to the IG - he doesn't want the IG, he want's Kan's New Model Army...

tneva82 wrote:
You aren't even trying ty pretend for honest arqument. Open bad faith trolling.
- No reason to keep this here, unless people want to use it for something... 
   
 
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