Pro Wrestling Thread

[Lethean]

Yeah, that might be even more true with competitive team sports like that.  I do find it interesting to watch old tennis matches sometimes, but I think it's a little different to revisit Borg and a handful of others vs NHL.  Maybe.

I totally like 90s Undertaker though.  I wondered why he was even called The Undertaker when I started watching, and when I found out I was very disappointed to have missed that.

[jingle.boy]

Yeah, that might be even more true with competitive team sports like that.  I do find it interesting to watch old tennis matches sometimes, but I think it's a little different to revisit Borg and a handful of others vs NHL.  Maybe.

I totally like 90s Undertaker though.  I wondered why he was even called The Undertaker when I started watching, and when I found out I was very disappointed to have missed that.

His early matches were a slog.  Just watch his first championship victory over Hogan.  The character was designed to be so slow and methodical.  Not a whole ton of action between the ropes early on.

[Anguyen92]

The issues with early Undertaker matches prior to 1996 was that his moveset is slow and methodical and his opponents were usually big dudes that were also slow (and sluggish to move).  Not the most interesting matchups.  Then you get to mid-1996 when he's working with Mick Foley (who also may be big and sometimes sluggish to move, but the guy knows how to take a beating well and able to come up with convincing offense in comparison to bigger dudes) and things slowly starts to get better and then he finally gets to work with Bret and HBK and they know what to do to make the Undertaker look good (and get the crowd behind him).

[Lethean]

I have watched all of those matches and that all may be true but I don't care.  The 2000s matches are better and I'm glad I witnessed them as it happened. 

But I still enjoy watching the old matches.  Everything about them - the intro, the commentary (did it just get cold in here?), the either lack of expression or someone's about to die expression, the lack of reaction, seemingly getting beat on and then just turning to look at his opponent and the fun's over for them, and even the slow movements because then suddenly he'd do something explosive.  I could watch that all day. 

[hefdaddy42]

Changed the thread title.  It's been almost a year.

[KevShmev]

R.I.P. Lanny Poffo.

The Genius gimmick was entertaining there for a while in '89/'90, and his SNME match with Hogan, where he won by countout (!!), was surprisingly very entertaining. 

[Dittomist]

R.I.P. Lanny Poffo.

The Genius gimmick was entertaining there for a while in '89/'90, and his SNME match with Hogan, where he won by countout (!!), was surprisingly very entertaining.

The Genius was one of my favorites as a kid. And yes, that SNME match against Hogan (with Ventura and McMahon providing hilarious commentary) is essential viewing for wrestling fans!

[Lethean]

R.I.P. Lanny Poffo.

The Genius gimmick was entertaining there for a while in '89/'90, and his SNME match with Hogan, where he won by countout (!!), was surprisingly very entertaining.

The Genius was one of my favorites as a kid. And yes, that SNME match against Hogan (with Ventura and McMahon providing hilarious commentary) is essential viewing for wrestling fans!

RIP

Looks like that match happened even before the years I caught up on (started with 1990).  I'll see if I can find it on YouTube.

[KevShmev]

It's on there.  Jesse Ventura manages one of my favorite one-liners in that match on commentary with Vince.

Poffo did that move where he stands on the apron with his back to the ring and smoothly flips backwards over the ropes to enter the ring. He did it at the start of the match and then again a few minutes later, and on the second time, Vince muttered, "oh my," and Jesse said to Vince, "I'd like to see you try that." 

[hefdaddy42]

I first encountered him as Leaping Lanny Poffo.

And of course, at that time I had no idea he was Randy Savage's brother.

[Lethean]

 

This is hilarious.

[jingle.boy]

I first encountered him as Leaping Lanny Poffo.

And of course, at that time I had no idea he was Randy Savage's brother.

Ditto.  And he was a 100% jobber.

[jjrock88]

I first encountered him as Leaping Lanny Poffo.

And of course, at that time I had no idea he was Randy Savage's brother.

Ditto.  And he was a 100% jobber.

True. But he was always entertaining with his poetry. And had one of the greatest upsets of all time on SNME with his count out victor with the Hulkster. I believe around the same time as Buster Douglas/Mike Tyson…the two greatest upsets of all time

[Lethean]

I thoroughly enjoyed that upset when I watched it earlier today.

[jjrock88]

Actually just watched that version a few days ago. I’ve read a few times that Winnipeg’r Kenny Omega’s favorite match of all time is the Genius vs Hogan match from SNME. Also should note that Dynamite is coming to Winnipeg in March. I’m row 3 and guessing it’s going to be a huge show since it’s the home town for Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho and Don Callis (and the late great Roddy Pipper).

[Lethean]

Roddy Piper was awesome.  I thought he was from Saskatchewan.

I don't have cable and haven't seen Chris Jericho in quite a while.

[jjrock88]

Roddy Piper was awesome.  I thought he was from Saskatchewan.

I don't have cable and haven't seen Chris Jericho in quite a while.

Born in Saskatchewan but raised and lived in Windsor Park, Winnipeg until he was his late teens

[Lethean]

Roddy Piper was awesome.  I thought he was from Saskatchewan.

I don't have cable and haven't seen Chris Jericho in quite a while.

Born in Saskatchewan but raised and lived in Windsor Park, Winnipeg until he was his late teens

I guess I could have just looked that up.    He's one of the ones I wish I'd seen more of in real time.

[KevShmev]

I was always amused when Piper referred to Brother Love as "Blubber Love." 

[axeman90210]

Just catching up on the last week or so of this thread. I very much enjoyed this year's Royal Rumble, both the men's match and the PPV as a whole. Cody winning was a foregone conclusion, but the Rumble match was well put together. A little light on fun surprise entrants for sure, but I can deal with that when they're using those spots for good stuff with the current full-time roster instead. I also like when the final two last for a while and it almost becomes a mini-match. HBK and Undertake probably did it best back in 2007, but Cody and Gunther did well (side note: Gunther rules in general).Good title match for the main event, but the post-match stuff is what we were all waiting for. It may not have landed for anyone just checking in on WWE casually, but it's something WWE's been building to for almost a year in what what even their more jaded viewers would largely call WWE's best angle in a number of years.

[Lethean]

Agree with pretty much all of that.  I guess I'm kind of indifferent to Cody, but nothing for me to complain about.  Gunther does rule.

Post match segment was great.

[KevShmev]

As if I need another reminder to feel older , it was 35 years ago today when the WWF pulled the greatest wrestling angle ever: the twin referee angle that saw Hogan's 4-year title reign come crashing down and hurt inside ("look at the hundred dollar bills falling out of his pocket!!" ).

[Phoenix87x]

Do anyone have any "boys" aka a wrestler that were never huge stars but he's your "boy" as a guilty pleasure. That term can from OSW review, which I highly recommend.
 
But anyway the first ones to come to mind for me are:

1. Glacier
2. Alex wright
3. IRS

[Anguyen92]

William Regal is my guy.  Pompous English heel that can strike and suplex with the best of them.  Plus, he can do comedy pretty well in a lot of awkward scenarios for a proper Englishman like him.  He slapped Sting pretty good during a contract signing when Regal was in WCW.

I guess I will include Too Cool as well.  Sure, their gimmick was one-noted, but man throughout the 1st half of 2000, people latched onto them really hard.

[Cool Chris]

I loved IRS as a kid. Not a "boy" but along those lines, I loved the The Million Dollar Man as a kid. When he told the kid he'd pay him if he could dribble the basketball a certain number of times, then kicked it away from him... and paid the pool manager to get everyone out so he and Virgil could have it to themselves... that is a heel!

[jingle.boy]

Couple of good Canadian lads for me ... Val Venis and Test (rip).

[axeman90210]

8 year old me was a big Tatanka mark.

[Cool Chris]

8 year old me was a big Tito Santana mark. Does he qualify?

[Lethean]

Couple of good Canadian lads for me ... Val Venis and Test (rip).

I would choose Test as well. 

I like the Million Dollar Man from my 90s catch up watching, and a friend recently had me watch the basketball and pool videos as well.  I would have assumed he was too big to qualify though.

[jingle.boy]

8 year old me was a big Tito Santana mark. Does he qualify?

He was IC champ when I started watching WWF, in the midst of feuds with Morocco and The Hammer.  I never cared for him as a tag-team with Martel.

[KevShmev]

Santana was great. Unless it was against a stiff like the Warlord, you knew a match with Santana was gonna be really good at the very least, and often great.  It was a shame when Vince turned him into a jobber in the early 90s and then The Matador, but Tito was one of the unsung stars of the later 80s in the WWF.

[hefdaddy42]

Couple of good Canadian lads for me ... Val Venis and Test (rip).

The Big Valboski is a lot like a Rubik's Cube.  The longer you play with it, the harder it gets!

[jingle.boy]

Couple of good Canadian lads for me ... Val Venis and Test (rip).

The Big Valboski is a lot like a Rubik's Cube.  The longer you play with it, the harder it gets!

Hellooooooo ladies!

[Lethean]

Didn't like that Val Venis gimmick at all, and then I think I just didn't pay much attention to him afterwards; if I remember correctly he changed it up a couple times but after a while I was mostly tuning for highlights or specific favorites.

[hefdaddy42]

Didn't like that Val Venis gimmick at all