Watched the first disc of the randy savage dvd set tonight (again). Just fantastic stuff.
Isn't it amazing how that first match against the jobber isn't boring? You'd think a match back then that wasn't 2 known guys would be mind numbing but I think that's a testament to how good he really was.
I read somewhere that the match was only supposed to go 10 mins but Savage wanted to enjoy being at the Garden for the first time so he said screw it and stretched the match out closer to 20 mins calling it in the ring. And it was still good.
I'm liking what the WWE is doing with Daniel Bryan Danielson. He's a great talent and I want to see him at the top of the WWE chain which seems likely since John Cena is going to be winning the WWE World Championship at Hell in the Cell.
I'm liking what the WWE is doing with Daniel Bryan Danielson. He's a great talent and I want to see him at the top of the WWE chain which seems likely since John Cena is going to be winning the WWE World Championship at Hell in the Cell.
I am happy to see any ROH alum do well in WWE. Sometimes i still think about if things went down different and Sweet & Sour Larry Sweeney would have made it to WWE and gotten a good push as a manager.
Well...big news from TNA ( I still hate that name). Bischoff was sent home, they are returning to Universal and getting off the road, house shows will be starting again, and they will be doing something called TNA 24/7, which was a bit confusing in the news reports I read, so I'll wait until they officially announce and explain it.
It probably also means Hogan will not be coming back, which is a GOOD thing. ALL of the stupid decisions over the last few years have been from him and Bischoff. Going against RAW on Mondays, bringing in a bunch of hasbeens (Val Venus, I'm looking at you), going on the road for TV tapings. The Hogan era has cost more money, brought in no new viewers, killed off all of the home grown talent and given us little to nothing in return.
It probably also means Hogan will not be coming back, which is a GOOD thing. ALL of the stupid decisions over the last few years have been from him and Bischoff. Going against RAW on Mondays, bringing in a bunch of hasbeens (Val Venus, I'm looking at you), going on the road for TV tapings. The Hogan era has cost more money, brought in no new viewers, killed off all of the home grown talent and given us little to nothing in return.
Where do they go from here?
Hogan has/will not resigned with TNA. Rumor is he is going to be a part of Wrestlemania 30.
I counted yesterday and i have 530 wrestling dvds. I did not count how many sets/compilations that comes out to (the 40 disc 4 horsemen set is a big chunk)
I have decided over the next year (s) i am going to watch them all. I am going to switch companies woth each disc so not to get bored.
I tried to start with ROH Manhatten Mayhem 2005 but that disc no longer works. Looks like it suffered from heat exposure during a move...so 529 discs.
So instead i started with the WWE Top 50 Superstars of all time disc 1. What a terrible list. Hopefully the matches on the other discs save this. This is not starting well.
It probably also means Hogan will not be coming back, which is a GOOD thing. ALL of the stupid decisions over the last few years have been from him and Bischoff. Going against RAW on Mondays, bringing in a bunch of hasbeens (Val Venus, I'm looking at you), going on the road for TV tapings. The Hogan era has cost more money, brought in no new viewers, killed off all of the home grown talent and given us little to nothing in return.
Where do they go from here?
Hogan has/will not resigned with TNA. Rumor is he is going to be a part of Wrestlemania 30.
That's the rumor, but the only thing the site I follow is hearing is that he's asking for a LOT of money. (duh) He's probably completely done with TNA since they sent Bischoff home.
There's a Dragon Gate iPPV on this weekend (the Japanese home promotion, not the Dragon Gate USA spin off). Dragon Gate are probably second only to New Japan in terms of show quality and booking today, and it's in Osaka so you are also going to get the best wrestling audience in the world today too.
Watched the WWE produced War Games (disc 1) and Wrestling with Shadows. (discs 2 & 3 of my 529 disc collection to watch)
Wargames is pretty good but you can see the quality steadily go down year after year. The shockmaster winning it for his team as a low point. I shudder to think about what quality of matches i will see on disc 2.
Wrestling with Shadows is a fantastic time capsule of 1997 wrestling, the screw job, and for brief moments in the film how hot Sunny was back then.
After watching the first disc of War Games would you recommend it? I've been on the fence and it has been a long time since I've watched any of those matches.
Currently I'm waiting on my copy of the WWE produced Starcade to arrive. I remember loving some of those matches as a kid. Geez Vince pretty much stole that library from Turner.
After watching the first disc of War Games would you recommend it?
I would say buy it if you can get it on sale. The matches on disc one are generally pretty good and not on other dvd sets. Two of the matches (the shockmaster one and one with the nasty boys) are ok. Like any gimmick match set, they do get a little tedious if you watch several in a row.
I have not watched the 2nd disc yet, but the match listing looks like garbage. Mid to late 90's WCW, heavily focused on NWO.
The Starrcade set is great. It is a countdown of (i believe) the top 25 matches in Starrcade history. So it covers a lot of ground but there is a lot from the 80's which is all good.
Wargames is pretty good but you can see the quality steadily go down year after year. The shockmaster winning it for his team as a low point. I shudder to think about what quality of matches i will see on disc 2.
Please tell me it includes Shockmaster's introduction promo where he trips and loses the helmet!
Wargames is pretty good but you can see the quality steadily go down year after year. The shockmaster winning it for his team as a low point. I shudder to think about what quality of matches i will see on disc 2.
Please tell me it includes Shockmaster's introduction promo where he trips and loses the helmet!
Sadly, it does not. By the tine of this match, the glittered storm trooper helmet is gone. He is wearing a hard hat and way too tight button up shirt. Basically, he looks like an over weight electrician who gets to wear his own clothes instead of a uniform.
Watched disc 1 of a 4 disc Jerry Lawler in Memphis set and the WWE dvd release of ECW Barely Legal. (disc 4 & 5 of my 529 dvd collection to watch)
The Lawler disc was stuff from the mid to late 70's. The matches were mostly clipped house show matches against Jackie Fargo, Jack Brisco, and Robert Fuller. Some things i noticed: 1. Even by the low standards of pro wrestling referees, memphis refs were terrible. 2. If you wanted to work any where near the main event in memphis, you had to be able to throw a great worked punch. 90% of matches were punches. Lawler and Superstar Bill Dundee had great punches. Jackie Fargo had the greatest punch. 3. I do not believe the Jerry Lawler who worked in Memphis is the same Lawler who works in WWE. 4. Once of the things wrestling is missing today are characters like Handsome Jimmy Valiant (later the Boogie Woogie Man) who can sell tickets by just talking without a script. His accusing Lawler's old lady of having skinny legs was a high point.
The ECW show was good, but it just seemed like everything should have been just a little bit better. My only real gripe is that using traditional wrestling moves to finish matches after people have no sold things like ring bell shots is stupid. Things i noticed: 1. Terry Funk is one crazy tough sob. 2. If you tell me that Sabu is now crippled, i would say that yeah that sounds about right. 3. Paul Heyman is a genius just for getting the Sandman character over. Out of shape with no real promo or wrestling ability, but the right gimmick for the right audience.
Been watching WWF King of the Ring video on Netflix streaming. There are some great matches on the dvd set and a few stinkers (Hogan/Yokzuna). I forgot how great Goldust is/was. 2 dvds in and I'm mostly loving it.
Starcade 25 I just finished the first dvd and right now it's been a little tough. The Sting vs. Muta Ironman tourny match is great. I skipped Goldberg/Nash cattle prod match because it is/was such a garbage ending. Brian Pillman and Steamboat are amazing, and there was a great little match detween Stunning Steve Austin and Dustin Rhodes for the US Championship.
BattleBowl deserves it's own special write-up. The wrestlers didn't even understand the rules and it was ridiculous. Overall Battlebowl was a failure. But there were some great highlights Vader, Steamboat, Stunning Steve Austin, Rick Rude and Sting. These guys can wrestle, and once Ron Simmons had a little room he showed out too.
WCW had some fantastic wrestlers in the early 90s, but it just didn't have any direction. Sting may have been the best wrestler working at the time (Flair is still my favorite); it is hard for a lifelong Flair fan to admit Sting was so awesome, especially for a guy who grew up sorrounded by little Stingers. I was a late AWA/NWA and WCW kid growing up so this is a trip down memory lane.
CM Punk’s fans know him as The Best In The World and his status as one of the top stars in professional wrestling backs up that claim. He joins Marc in the garage to talk about his unorthodox rise to the pinnacle of his profession, the moment of total honesty that changed his career, and why he shares Marc’s loathing for preparation.
Starcade 25 I just finished the first dvd and right now it's been a little tough.
I plan on going through all 3 starrcade dvds over Thanksgiving weekend. I excpect discs 2 and especially 3 to be much better.
I justed finished TNA Bound for Glory 2007 and Shimmer vol 12. (discs 6 & 7 of my 529 disc collection to watch)
When I saw BFG 07 in my collection, i could not remember why i had bought it. It showcases everything (good and bad) about Russo TNA during this time.
The Good: 1. A tremendous ultimate x spot fest between Homicide/Hernandez and Low Ki/Elix Skipper. 2. Sting vs Kurt Angle who were able to overcome a stupid angle to have a good match. 3. Christopher Daniels vs Jay Lethal with no Russo stupidity 4. Awesome Kong destroying other women.
The Bad: 1. Multiple bad gimmick matches. A three way hardcore match that involved Raven & Black Reign (Goldust) in 2007, a terrible tables match between an old Dudley Boys and an even older Steiner Bros, and an overbooked absurd reverse battle royal that turned into a normal battle royal that turns into a singles match in which the winner wins NOTHING. 2. Don West - world champ of marks 3. Pac Man Jones involved in a tag title match.
Shimmer is a womens promotion based out of the chicago area ran by former ROH head announcer Dave Prazek. This dvd was the 2nd night of a tourney to crown their first champ.
The good: 1. The matches ranged from ok to very good. Not a bad match on the card. Everything was leaps and bounds better than any WWE diva match although not near the level of 90's Japanese women's wrestling. 2. Sara Del Ray (who is awesome) wrestles twice and has two very good matches. 3. A small but very smart crowd.
The bad: 1. There were not many but the few promos shown were terrible. 2. A couple of the matches went a little too long. 3. There were some botches. 4. The whole thing is low rent bingo hall type production.
Overall - skip TNA, and if you like women's wrestling - then shimmer is a must buy.
Just finished disc 1 of a 6 disc Midnight Express compilation. (disc 8 of my 529 disc collection to watch.)
This disc goes from 23 Nov 1983 to June 1984 from Mid South Wrestling. It does not have the pre Cornette ME from Southeastern wrestling.
The Good: 1. The very first opponents for the ME (at least on tv) included a pre ravishing Rick Rude. He was not as cut (or tan) as he was in his later WWF days but he was still in fantastic shape. 2. I wish pro wrestling was more accepted mainstream so that some academic would do a study on the popularity of the Rock N Roll Express. Saying they were "over" does not do them justice. This disc had 4 ME vs RNRE matches - tremendous. 3. Cornette promos are gold. The highlight was him saying Magnum TA was a frustrated sex symbol and Mr. Wrestling II was just frustrated.
The Bad: (I am really nit picking to find something bad with this)
1. The last Stampede Match with Bill Watts. From reading Cornette's ME book, i know that this made huge money in every territory town it went to but as a match it was not good. Watts was Hulk Hogan 2013 level immobile and could only throw punches that the ME had to walk into, making them look like goofs. Junkyard Dog (as Stagger Lee) sold a tennis racket handle shot to his throat for about 3 seconds and then he was just fine.
Overall - fantastic disc and it should only get better. I do not know if these Mid South matches will be on Youtube since WWE owns the MS tape library now. If you like 80's wrestling, this is worth searching out.
I watched the WWE doc. on the Road Warriors last night. It was interesting, but there were parts that were really glossed over. I wanted to learn about the split(s) with Precious Paul and more on the Japan days. Paul was such a key part of thier lives, I felt the split(s) needed to be talked about. Those guys were huge in Japan, and it is such a key part of LOD legacy. I understand why they skipped both the split(s) and the Japan legacy, but I thought they needed to be talked about.
Overall it was pretty good though (especially since the WWE has a lot of their footage). So if you have I few minutes I recommend catching it on Netflix
What did people think of the Survivor Series? I kind of thought it was predictable for the most part. Not much that was surprising. Not that it wasn't entertaining but not very surprising.
What did people think of the Survivor Series? I kind of thought it was predictable for the most part. Not much that was surprising. Not that it wasn't entertaining but not very surprising.
A Big Show/Randy Orton main event meant a no buy for me. I did read up on the results and only 2 things stood out:
(SPOILER ALERT - stop reading if you do not want to know a match result)
1. I am surprised that the internet did not explode after Bryan Danielson and CM Punk teamed up and won a match on one of the big 4 PPV's. 2. I hope the company actually follows through with the Orton vs Cena title unification tease. The two top title belt idea has long outlived its purpose.
I hope so as well but for the love of all that's holy. You know what's going to happen. Orton vs Cena and Cena becomes unified champ. Hell, they may even give him a new title or something.
I hope so as well but for the love of all that's holy. You know what's going to happen. Orton vs Cena and Cena becomes unified champ. Hell, they may even give him a new title or something.
I doubt it. They need the two titles because they are running two "house show" crews. They are also pushing VERY hard for a bigger money deal for their TV, and the fo0lks at SyFy want a title to be defended on Smackdown.
My guess is that it will be a smozz ending where HHH interferes and sets up HHH vs Cena at Mania.
2 Survivor Series Questions How was the actual survivor series match, Sheild vs Mysterio? and how was the Wyatt family vs. RoH Allstars? The WWE has some great "young" wrestlers
The RoH All-Stars make everything better. The other match was okay. For the love of the Ultimate Warrior! I do not want to see Triple H vs Cena at Mania. I guess the only positive thing about a match like that would be that hopefully that will mean that Cena won't have a title to defend.
Comments
It probably also means Hogan will not be coming back, which is a GOOD thing. ALL of the stupid decisions over the last few years have been from him and Bischoff. Going against RAW on Mondays, bringing in a bunch of hasbeens (Val Venus, I'm looking at you), going on the road for TV tapings. The Hogan era has cost more money, brought in no new viewers, killed off all of the home grown talent and given us little to nothing in return.
Where do they go from here?
I have decided over the next year (s) i am going to watch them all. I am going to switch companies woth each disc so not to get bored.
I tried to start with ROH Manhatten Mayhem 2005 but that disc no longer works. Looks like it suffered from heat exposure during a move...so 529 discs.
So instead i started with the WWE Top 50 Superstars of all time disc 1. What a terrible list. Hopefully the matches on the other discs save this. This is not starting well.
Thank Gawd.
http://www.ustream.tv/DragonGate
Of course the time difference makes it a lot easier to watch live in the UK than the USA, but it'll be VOD for a week too.
Wargames is pretty good but you can see the quality steadily go down year after year. The shockmaster winning it for his team as a low point. I shudder to think about what quality of matches i will see on disc 2.
Wrestling with Shadows is a fantastic time capsule of 1997 wrestling, the screw job, and for brief moments in the film how hot Sunny was back then.
After watching the first disc of War Games would you recommend it? I've been on the fence and it has been a long time since I've watched any of those matches.
Currently I'm waiting on my copy of the WWE produced Starcade to arrive. I remember loving some of those matches as a kid. Geez Vince pretty much stole that library from Turner.
I have not watched the 2nd disc yet, but the match listing looks like garbage. Mid to late 90's WCW, heavily focused on NWO.
The Starrcade set is great. It is a countdown of (i believe) the top 25 matches in Starrcade history. So it covers a lot of ground but there is a lot from the 80's which is all good.
The Lawler disc was stuff from the mid to late 70's. The matches were mostly clipped house show matches against Jackie Fargo, Jack Brisco, and Robert Fuller. Some things i noticed:
1. Even by the low standards of pro wrestling referees, memphis refs were terrible.
2. If you wanted to work any where near the main event in memphis, you had to be able to throw a great worked punch. 90% of matches were punches. Lawler and Superstar Bill Dundee had great punches. Jackie Fargo had the greatest punch.
3. I do not believe the Jerry Lawler who worked in Memphis is the same Lawler who works in WWE.
4. Once of the things wrestling is missing today are characters like Handsome Jimmy Valiant (later the Boogie Woogie Man) who can sell tickets by just talking without a script. His accusing Lawler's old lady of having skinny legs was a high point.
The ECW show was good, but it just seemed like everything should have been just a little bit better. My only real gripe is that using traditional wrestling moves to finish matches after people have no sold things like ring bell shots is stupid. Things i noticed:
1. Terry Funk is one crazy tough sob.
2. If you tell me that Sabu is now crippled, i would say that yeah that sounds about right.
3. Paul Heyman is a genius just for getting the Sandman character over. Out of shape with no real promo or wrestling ability, but the right gimmick for the right audience.
Both discs were a good watch.
There are some great matches on the dvd set and a few stinkers (Hogan/Yokzuna). I forgot how great Goldust is/was. 2 dvds in and I'm mostly loving it.
Starcade 25 I just finished the first dvd and right now it's been a little tough. The Sting vs. Muta Ironman tourny match is great. I skipped Goldberg/Nash cattle prod match because it is/was such a garbage ending. Brian Pillman and Steamboat are amazing, and there was a great little match detween Stunning Steve Austin and Dustin Rhodes for the US Championship.
BattleBowl deserves it's own special write-up. The wrestlers didn't even understand the rules and it was ridiculous. Overall Battlebowl was a failure. But there were some great highlights Vader, Steamboat, Stunning Steve Austin, Rick Rude and Sting. These guys can wrestle, and once Ron Simmons had a little room he showed out too.
WCW had some fantastic wrestlers in the early 90s, but it just didn't have any direction. Sting may have been the best wrestler working at the time (Flair is still my favorite); it is hard for a lifelong Flair fan to admit Sting was so awesome, especially for a guy who grew up sorrounded by little Stingers. I was a late AWA/NWA and WCW kid growing up so this is a trip down memory lane.
I justed finished TNA Bound for Glory 2007 and Shimmer vol 12. (discs 6 & 7 of my 529 disc collection to watch)
When I saw BFG 07 in my collection, i could not remember why i had bought it. It showcases everything (good and bad) about Russo TNA during this time.
The Good:
1. A tremendous ultimate x spot fest between Homicide/Hernandez and Low Ki/Elix Skipper.
2. Sting vs Kurt Angle who were able to overcome a stupid angle to have a good match.
3. Christopher Daniels vs Jay Lethal with no Russo stupidity
4. Awesome Kong destroying other women.
The Bad:
1. Multiple bad gimmick matches. A three way hardcore match that involved Raven & Black Reign (Goldust) in 2007, a terrible tables match between an old Dudley Boys and an even older Steiner Bros, and an overbooked absurd reverse battle royal that turned into a normal battle royal that turns into a singles match in which the winner wins NOTHING.
2. Don West - world champ of marks
3. Pac Man Jones involved in a tag title match.
Shimmer is a womens promotion based out of the chicago area ran by former ROH head announcer Dave Prazek. This dvd was the 2nd night of a tourney to crown their first champ.
The good:
1. The matches ranged from ok to very good. Not a bad match on the card. Everything was leaps and bounds better than any WWE diva match although not near the level of 90's Japanese women's wrestling.
2. Sara Del Ray (who is awesome) wrestles twice and has two very good matches.
3. A small but very smart crowd.
The bad:
1. There were not many but the few promos shown were terrible.
2. A couple of the matches went a little too long.
3. There were some botches.
4. The whole thing is low rent bingo hall type production.
Overall - skip TNA, and if you like women's wrestling - then shimmer is a must buy.
This disc goes from 23 Nov 1983 to June 1984 from Mid South Wrestling. It does not have the pre Cornette ME from Southeastern wrestling.
The Good:
1. The very first opponents for the ME (at least on tv) included a pre ravishing Rick Rude. He was not as cut (or tan) as he was in his later WWF days but he was still in fantastic shape.
2. I wish pro wrestling was more accepted mainstream so that some academic would do a study on the popularity of the Rock N Roll Express. Saying they were "over" does not do them justice. This disc had 4 ME vs RNRE matches - tremendous.
3. Cornette promos are gold. The highlight was him saying Magnum TA was a frustrated sex symbol and Mr. Wrestling II was just frustrated.
The Bad: (I am really nit picking to find something bad with this)
1. The last Stampede Match with Bill Watts. From reading Cornette's ME book, i know that this made huge money in every territory town it went to but as a match it was not good. Watts was Hulk Hogan 2013 level immobile and could only throw punches that the ME had to walk into, making them look like goofs. Junkyard Dog (as Stagger Lee) sold a tennis racket handle shot to his throat for about 3 seconds and then he was just fine.
Overall - fantastic disc and it should only get better. I do not know if these Mid South matches will be on Youtube since WWE owns the MS tape library now. If you like 80's wrestling, this is worth searching out.
Overall it was pretty good though (especially since the WWE has a lot of their footage). So if you have I few minutes I recommend catching it on Netflix
(SPOILER ALERT - stop reading if you do not want to know a match result)
1. I am surprised that the internet did not explode after Bryan Danielson and CM Punk teamed up and won a match on one of the big 4 PPV's.
2. I hope the company actually follows through with the Orton vs Cena title unification tease. The two top title belt idea has long outlived its purpose.
My guess is that it will be a smozz ending where HHH interferes and sets up HHH vs Cena at Mania.
How was the actual survivor series match, Sheild vs Mysterio? and how was the Wyatt family vs. RoH Allstars?
The WWE has some great "young" wrestlers
editors note: Now can be shortned to FLUW.
Sentence usage: FLUW, that fell flatter than the Shockmaster.