I cannot remember how i got started. I just remember it was on during the weekends and i was hooked. WWF syndicated shows in the morning and Crockett on TBS at 6:05. My first memories of wrestling are from around mid to late 85 when i was 7. I remember the original version of the Horsemen and i clearly remember watching Wrestlemania 2 from 86.
I dropped out in the early 90's but i was back by 95. Since then i have sought out stuff from other territories and Japan from the 80's and 90s. I stopped following WWE around 2008. I stuck with ROH until early 2011. I still follow the news but i will only buy a dvd of the current stuff if the show gets a lot of positive buzz. WWE has been putting out a lot of classic stuff on dvd which i have been buying up.
I have no idea how young I was when I started watching, but I remember sitting on bed with with my brothers and dad watching the NWA on TBS. I grew up loving Prowrestling and have watched it with dad and my brothers my whole life.
Ric Flair was my first wrestling hero (he was Dad's favorite), and I loved it. I wanted to be the world champion when I was little and join the 4 Horsemen (or the RoadWarriors because they were awesome).
I was born in '88, i can't remember watching wrestling specifically when i was real young, but i do remember having some of the old toys (the almost rubber like ones that we're in a fixed position, with no articulation) and a toy wrestling ring. I remember a little bit of the Hulk Hogan cartoon. Something happened though, when i wasn't very old and i (think this is what happened) fell down a flight of stairs onto said wrestling ring, with the turnbuckle being driven into my ear. I remember having stitches and having a headband, and afterwards at the hospital with my cool "Hulk Hogan"-esque headband and being delighted, and hulking out and such. After that, my mom trashed my wrestling stuff, and it wasn't anything but a distant memory until about the year 2000 or so. My cousin had just got WWF SmackDown!2:Know Your Role. I had no idea what it was, and then we started playing it. I was immediately drawn to The Undertaker, this guy in denim and tattoos coming out to this heavy metal music with creepy little girls saying things "Are you scared?" riding a motorcycle. After that, I started watching fairly regularly. I don't recall my first episode of RAW or SmackDown. I think this was right as he was using "Rollin'" by Limp Bizkit as his theme. So late 2000, early 2001. I remember the 9/11 edition of SmackDown!, i remember stuff like Undertaker vs. Tommy Dreamer, Undertaker vs. Maven, and Undertaker vs. Jeff Hardy. One of my favorite matches of all time, Undertaker vs. Jeff Hardy Ladder Match for the WWF Undisputed Championship on July 1st.
Welcome aboard. You will offer a different perspective to the thread. Most of the people here are 80's Ric Flair disciples with maybe some 90's wrestling boom fans as well. It will be interesting to here the perspective from someone who started mainly with the 2000's.
There are only about 4 or 5 of us that post in this thread on a regular basis (this is the dark corner of CGS or in old wrestling terms - it is in parts unknown).
Welcome aboard. You will offer a different perspective to the thread. Most of the people here are 80's Ric Flair disciples with maybe some 90's wrestling boom fans as well. It will be interesting to here the perspective from someone who started mainly with the 2000's.
There are only about 4 or 5 of us that post in this thread on a regular basis (this is the dark corner of CGS or in old wrestling terms - it is in parts unknown).
Well. Muchas Gracias Senior Shazam :) Though I did start mainly with the 00's i consider myself a bit of a student of the medium. Does anybody play the WWE games currently?
Welcome aboard. You will offer a different perspective to the thread. Most of the people here are 80's Ric Flair disciples with maybe some 90's wrestling boom fans as well. It will be interesting to here the perspective from someone who started mainly with the 2000's.
There are only about 4 or 5 of us that post in this thread on a regular basis (this is the dark corner of CGS or in old wrestling terms - it is in parts unknown).
Well. Muchas Gracias Senior Shazam :) Though I did start mainly with the 00's i consider myself a bit of a student of the medium. Does anybody play the WWE games currently?
I bought WWE 2k14 but i have not gotten around to playing it too much yet. I also have WWE All Stars which is pretty fun.
Just have the PS3. I had not played any regular WWE games since the PS2 era. I am pretty impressed with what i have seen. I am really looking forward to creating a lot of wrestlers not in the game.
ah. dang. I have it for 360. It's a fun game. I've played the games fairly regularly. I take some issues with stuff like Create-A-Finisher and Create-A-Superstar not being touched really in years. The development team has gotten so lazy in that respect. Other than that, it's a solid game. I've downloaded a WCW roster from the Community Creations circa roughly '97, to play with in Universe.
My cousin had just got WWF SmackDown!2:Know Your Role. I had no idea what it was, and then we started playing it. I was immediately drawn to The Undertaker, this guy in denim and tattoos coming out to this heavy metal music with creepy little girls saying things "Are you scared?" riding a motorcycle. After that, I started watching fairly regularly. I don't recall my first episode of RAW or SmackDown. I think this was right as he was using "Rollin'" by Limp Bizkit as his theme.
First off welcome. We're always excited to see new faces.
Next. Smackdown 2 is one of my favorite games ever; I still play it. Always create your own wrestler and the easiest way to move up the card quickly is to create a payperview, then beat the guy right above you. There is also a great little cheat that can give you a few extra building points but at a cost.
Part3. You started watching during the short lived American Badass (which I am a fan of) stage of Undertakers career in "The Attitude Era". It was a great time to be a wrestling fan
There are only about 4 or 5 of us that post in this thread on a regular basis (this is the dark corner of CGS or in old wrestling terms - it is in parts unknown).
Back in the old forum I listed From Parts Unknown as my location. I love being a wrestling mark.
I remember wrestling sort of being in the background radiation of life, mostly because of those Cyndi Lauper videos and because I watched a lot of USA Network as a little kid (mostly for the USA Cartoon Express and occasionally Commander USA's Groovy Movies) and seeing a lot of ads for stuff like Prime Time Wrestling and Tuesday Night Titans, and then seeing Hulk Hogan in Rocky 3, but I think what really got me into it was (of all things) the cartoon Hulk Hogan's Rock 'N Wrestling:
Good as that show isn't, I loved it at the time and the "characters" captured my interest since they were based on real people. A week or two after that premiered, I heard about Saturday Night's Main Event on NBC and made my mom tape that for me, and from then on I was hooked for many years, mostly on WWF programming because it looked so much more professional and polished than a lot of the other wrestling shows I'd see on cable (though I did watch AWA on ESPN every now and then).
SNME aside, my favorite show in that early era was Prime Time. Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan made that show into appointment television, and oftentimes were more entertaining than the matches shown. I got to meet Bobby at a fan event earlier this year and wanted to tell him how much that show meant to me as a kid, but if you've seen him lately... the man's not doing too well, and it literally choked me up to see him in such rough shape. I was happy to shake his hand and plunk my money down for an autograph, though, and though his body may be failing him, you could see still see plenty of evidence of The Brain in his eyes and he seemed happy when I shook his hand and said "I'm a big fan, thank you for everything."
The photo he signed for me, BTW, was of him and Gorilla from the Prime Time days. How could it be anything else?
I have a Heenan question. His WWF stuff was tremendous both as a manager and on commentary. If you see old AWA stuff with him and Bockwinkel - just great.
What happened with him in WCW? He really was not on his game during those years. You can tell sometimes that he was trying but it just was not as good.
Was it the company? The dead weight he had to work with? Was he just burnt out or unhappy with his situation? All the above?
I would say a little of all the above but a lot with coworkers. He and Gorilla were great friends and Gorilla would sell his jokes and they would play off each other. Like an old time comedy team.
In WCW, Tony gave him nothing. (Going from Monsoon to 90's Tony is career regression at its best). And the rest of the crew - Mongo (clueless), Dusty (too busy being and selling Dusty), Teney (i will give a pass to), and Bischoff (jerk) were not really team players either.
I have a Heenan question. His WWF stuff was tremendous both as a manager and on commentary. If you see old AWA stuff with him and Bockwinkel - just great.
What happened with him in WCW? He really was not on his game during those years. You can tell sometimes that he was trying but it just was not as good.
Was it the company? The dead weight he had to work with? Was he just burnt out or unhappy with his situation? All the above?
I would say a little of all the above but a lot with coworkers. He and Gorilla were great friends and Gorilla would sell his jokes and they would play off each other. Like an old time comedy team.
In WCW, Tony gave him nothing. (Going from Monsoon to 90's Tony is career regression at its best). And the rest of the crew - Mongo (clueless), Dusty (too busy being and selling Dusty), Teney (i will give a pass to), and Bischoff (jerk) were not really team players either.
@CaptShazam, I think you've hit on it. In a comedy duo, the funny one needs a good straight man. Heenan with anyone other than Gorilla might as well have been, like, I dunno, Smith and Costello or something. They worked so well that anyone else would've been a comedown.
Admittedly I was never much of a WCW guy, so my experience with watching the Brain with Tony is limited, but still, based on what I saw, the guy never gave Bobby a lot to work with. Plus, Bobby was acting more like a face whenever I'd see it, and not only should the color commentator always be a heel, but Bobby Heenan should always be a heel on camera!
I was watching the WWE Heenan doc and he was miserable at the wcw. He had issues with his coannouncers and management, and this was around the time he started getting sick.
Have you guys read many wrestling books? I have a bunch and usually enjoy most of them.
My favorites:
Bret "Hitman" Hart (this is known in my house as the wrestling book bible) Stan Hansen: The Last Outlaw (great if you are into Japanese wrestling) The first two Mick Foley books Both Chris Jericho books Playbook Gary Hart Both Dutch Mantell books Wrestlers are like Seagulls by J.J Dillion (i have an autographed copy!) Mondo Lucha A Go Go Ringside (a history of early pro wrestling) Midnight Express 25th Anniversary
The Ok to good books are:
To Be The Man by Ric Flair The Road Warriors book Hooker by Lou Thesz Bill Dundee's book Death of WCW By Bryan Alverez Anything by Larry Matysik Turning the tables (history of ECW) by John Lister
The ones i dislike:
Inside Out by Ole Anderson (simply because he refused to talk about his time with the horsemen - i even emailed Scott Teal who did the actually writing and published the book and he said Ole hated that time and those people to this day and just would not talk)
The last 2 Mick Foley books
Jerry Jarrett's book.
The ones i have pending are.
Woo Mercy Daddy...by the Boogie Woogie Man (Handsome Jimmy) Jimmy Valiant (also autographed!!)
The Assassian by the Masked Assassian Joe Hamilton.
------------------------------------------------ I just read "The Squared Circle" by David Shoemaker (espn wrestling writer) and it is pretty good.
I also just got the latest edition (2012 version) of the WWE Encyclopedia - I highly recommened - very well made and it brings back a lot of memories - it is kayfabe written though
I want to get the Harley Race book.
My dream book is a an honest tell all autobiography from Vince Mcmahon
I saw that. Not sure how I feel about that but it wasn't bad. Could be entertaining. I guess.
So anyway. I've watched two episodes of TNA. It was pretty bland. Too much talking and not enough matches to start off. From the production value and the various personalities were just not interesting. I'm just not sure how people are interested in this.
I saw that. Not sure how I feel about that but it wasn't bad. Could be entertaining. I guess.
So anyway. I've watched two episodes of TNA. It was pretty bland. Too much talking and not enough matches to start off. From the production value and the various personalities were just not interesting. I'm just not sure how people are interested in this.
Despite Jeff Jarrett pushing himself to the moon (favorite quote about Jarrett: "He broke thousands of dollars in guitars and never drew a dime."), the early going of TNA was a lot of fun. I only ever saw it a few times in the early PPV-only days, but what I saw was pretty solid, and when it came to free TV I watched regularly for a while. Lots of great talent in there in the early running, I thought, particularly from all the Mexican guys they brought in (I thought Hector Garza was particularly impressive; damn shame he passed away from lung cancer earlier this year). I lost interest when it started to become the wrestling retirement home.
I watched TNA back in the beginning when they had the octagon ring. I stopped when Hogan came over. It's been awhile since I've watched but caught the two most recent episodes and it's terrible. You got the Bros. Those three dudes are so freaking annoying. The whole gimmick smells of 10 years ago. You got Dixie Carter who couldn't cut a promo to save her life. You got her "nephew" EC3 who is so freaking annoying. Then you have so many segments whether it's in-ring, behind-the-scenes, at a restaurant, having a funeral for Aces and Eights or having a Thanksgiving dinner. For a company that's called TNA (Total Non-Stop Action) Wrestling, there was very little action going on. Granted, there were some matches that were okay. I loved the 8 man tag team match with Team Angle vs Team Roode. Angle went hog wild on his opponents and even gave a double ankle-lock which was pretty awesome. Overall though, it's just a pretty weak program. I can see why some people like it but there are just too many personalities on the program that just don't do it for me.
TNA is soooo hard to watch anymore. I started watching TNA when they first appeared on Fox Sports. Here's the thing. Say what you will about Jarrett, I find his matches entertaining, and I think for a long time, he was booking TNA rather well. TNA was at it's best when it wasn't trying to be WWE, when it was just doing it's own thing. Now, I'm sure there's other writers and bookers who deserve credit along with Jarrett during TNA's early success and what good was going on there, so i don't understand alot of the hate that gets thrown his way. The whole Kurt/Karen/Jeff thing sucks, and that doesn't make him a great human being, but for awhile before TNA was relying soley on WWE throwaways and sports-entertainment-esque stories, it was pretty solid.
I'd say Jarrett's really no worse than Triple H. He's a top guy, in a top spot both on-screen and off, sometimes that translates to being pushed. Jarrett was a great heel in TNA.
TNA is soooo hard to watch anymore. I started watching TNA when they first appeared on Fox Sports. Here's the thing. Say what you will about Jarrett, I find his matches entertaining, and I think for a long time, he was booking TNA rather well.
I'll definitely give you that. I like him better on the book than in the ring.
So. I wasn't very impressed with TLC. Especially the main event. I wanted neither of the two to win and seeing Orton win both titles is rather infuriating but I guess that's the point. I'm honestly not sure where they go with this storyline. I guess Orton is the man within the faction that Triple H has going on so, I guess we'll see who challenges him for the title next. I so hope it's not Cena.
I'm shocked they didn't know some sort of screwy finish to keep the two titles. What a wasted opportunity to do a big match like this on a throw away PPV. I guess creative is more bankrupt than I thought.
Comments
I dropped out in the early 90's but i was back by 95. Since then i have sought out stuff from other territories and Japan from the 80's and 90s. I stopped following WWE around 2008. I stuck with ROH until early 2011. I still follow the news but i will only buy a dvd of the current stuff if the show gets a lot of positive buzz. WWE has been putting out a lot of classic stuff on dvd which i have been buying up.
Ric Flair was my first wrestling hero (he was Dad's favorite), and I loved it. I wanted to be the world champion when I was little and join the 4 Horsemen (or the RoadWarriors because they were awesome).
An upcoming graphic novel about Andre The Giant.
Welcome aboard. You will offer a different perspective to the thread.
Most of the people here are 80's Ric Flair disciples with maybe some 90's wrestling boom fans as well. It will be interesting to here the perspective from someone who started mainly with the 2000's.
There are only about 4 or 5 of us that post in this thread on a regular basis (this is the dark corner of CGS or in old wrestling terms - it is in parts unknown).
Next. Smackdown 2 is one of my favorite games ever; I still play it. Always create your own wrestler and the easiest way to move up the card quickly is to create a payperview, then beat the guy right above you. There is also a great little cheat that can give you a few extra building points but at a cost.
Part3. You started watching during the short lived American Badass (which I am a fan of) stage of Undertakers career in "The Attitude Era". It was a great time to be a wrestling fan
Good as that show isn't, I loved it at the time and the "characters" captured my interest since they were based on real people. A week or two after that premiered, I heard about Saturday Night's Main Event on NBC and made my mom tape that for me, and from then on I was hooked for many years, mostly on WWF programming because it looked so much more professional and polished than a lot of the other wrestling shows I'd see on cable (though I did watch AWA on ESPN every now and then).
SNME aside, my favorite show in that early era was Prime Time. Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan made that show into appointment television, and oftentimes were more entertaining than the matches shown. I got to meet Bobby at a fan event earlier this year and wanted to tell him how much that show meant to me as a kid, but if you've seen him lately... the man's not doing too well, and it literally choked me up to see him in such rough shape. I was happy to shake his hand and plunk my money down for an autograph, though, and though his body may be failing him, you could see still see plenty of evidence of The Brain in his eyes and he seemed happy when I shook his hand and said "I'm a big fan, thank you for everything."
The photo he signed for me, BTW, was of him and Gorilla from the Prime Time days. How could it be anything else?
I have a Heenan question. His WWF stuff was tremendous both as a manager and on commentary. If you see old AWA stuff with him and Bockwinkel - just great.
What happened with him in WCW? He really was not on his game during those years. You can tell sometimes that he was trying but it just was not as good.
Was it the company? The dead weight he had to work with? Was he just burnt out or unhappy with his situation? All the above?
I would say a little of all the above but a lot with coworkers. He and Gorilla were great friends and Gorilla would sell his jokes and they would play off each other. Like an old time comedy team.
In WCW, Tony gave him nothing. (Going from Monsoon to 90's Tony is career regression at its best). And the rest of the crew - Mongo (clueless), Dusty (too busy being and selling Dusty), Teney (i will give a pass to), and Bischoff (jerk) were not really team players either.
Admittedly I was never much of a WCW guy, so my experience with watching the Brain with Tony is limited, but still, based on what I saw, the guy never gave Bobby a lot to work with. Plus, Bobby was acting more like a face whenever I'd see it, and not only should the color commentator always be a heel, but Bobby Heenan should always be a heel on camera!
It was a bad situation for him.
My favorites:
Bret "Hitman" Hart (this is known in my house as the wrestling book bible)
Stan Hansen: The Last Outlaw (great if you are into Japanese wrestling)
The first two Mick Foley books
Both Chris Jericho books
Playbook Gary Hart
Both Dutch Mantell books
Wrestlers are like Seagulls by J.J Dillion (i have an autographed copy!)
Mondo Lucha A Go Go
Ringside (a history of early pro wrestling)
Midnight Express 25th Anniversary
The Ok to good books are:
To Be The Man by Ric Flair
The Road Warriors book
Hooker by Lou Thesz
Bill Dundee's book
Death of WCW By Bryan Alverez
Anything by Larry Matysik
Turning the tables (history of ECW) by John Lister
The ones i dislike:
Inside Out by Ole Anderson (simply because he refused to talk about his time with the horsemen - i even emailed Scott Teal who did the actually writing and published the book and he said Ole hated that time and those people to this day and just would not talk)
The last 2 Mick Foley books
Jerry Jarrett's book.
The ones i have pending are.
Woo Mercy Daddy...by the Boogie Woogie Man (Handsome Jimmy) Jimmy Valiant (also autographed!!)
The Assassian by the Masked Assassian Joe Hamilton.
------------------------------------------------
I just read "The Squared Circle" by David Shoemaker (espn wrestling writer) and it is pretty good.
I also just got the latest edition (2012 version) of the WWE Encyclopedia - I highly recommened - very well made and it brings back a lot of memories - it is kayfabe written though
I want to get the Harley Race book.
My dream book is a an honest tell all autobiography from Vince Mcmahon
So anyway. I've watched two episodes of TNA. It was pretty bland. Too much talking and not enough matches to start off. From the production value and the various personalities were just not interesting. I'm just not sure how people are interested in this.
I'd say Jarrett's really no worse than Triple H. He's a top guy, in a top spot both on-screen and off, sometimes that translates to being pushed. Jarrett was a great heel in TNA.