The General Wrestling Thread

[krulmichael]

btw - did Michael Cole really say no one has ever reversed the figure four before?

He "saved" it by saying Miz's figure four...because that makes it any less retarded.

[JayDizzle]

On another subject with a shitty PPV still fresh in our minds, I rented this off of PSN:



Hosted by Al Snow of all people, we get two hours worth of interviews with dudes like Christian, Jericho and more as to what makes them tick... wrestling-wise.

First up on the docket, though?

ULTIMO DRAGON.

He's already into road stories about him, Jericho, Guerrero and Benoit back in the late 80s/early 90s.

Apparently, there's Mutoh, Piper, and Foley on this film as well.

From further analysis, the documentary is meh at best.

There's some great stuff like Piper's recollection of his match with Bret at Wrestlemania (although he couldn't remember if he was gonna wack him with the belt or with a ring bell but the guy's forgotten more than most will ever remember)...

Also, the interview with Ultimo Dragon was cool but sad in that even he knew he'd never get pushed in America like he did in Japan.

The doc's set while Christian was still in TNA and Jericho was full-on into Fozzy and not just part-timing then, it was weird seeing them talk about what their life was like then.

Jericho sounds like a guy who's REALLY into their garage band but doesn't realize they aren't going to hit the top of the charts anytime soon...

Christian feels like a guy on the cusp of being stuck on the indie circuit after Vince wouldn't hire him back and the TV money from WCW/ECW wasn't there to fall into.

A lot of rah-rah and saying TNA would be competition but hindsight now? Glad that at least he's getting TV time and PPV matches even if he is enhancement talent.

Nora Greenwald was interesting in that she's glad she got the crowd reaction from her getting her head shaved at WM XX (because it was unexpected) and that she genuinely didn't like playing a heel and how it affected her.

Probably to the point of her quitting and being out of the business as of now.

Speaking of business, Snuka was on as well and dude didn't bat an eye when asked about the steroids and how he STILL doesn't like Piper for the coconut bit.

Even played the interview like a bit for TV when he looked into the camera... still has a little kayfabe in him at the time of the movie.

I'm just getting into Keiji Mutoh's stuff now.

It's weird that after seeing Piper in a day room at some conference center, Snuka in a rec center, Jericho backstage and Christian in a dirty locker room...

Mutoh's got a church for a background.

[JayDizzle]

And now Mutoh's talking about being President of All Japan at the time (dunno if he is now) and that when he got aboard, he wanted to clean up his fed's image.

No more blood, hardcore stuff...

Because the Fed's #1 sponsor at the time was... Hello Kitty?

I need to look up the history of this (I'm guessing '05 or later but I have to check the film's release date) because Eastern and Overseas wrestling or at least the business side intrigues me that much more now.

Pro Wrestling and animated fluffy cats? Who would have thunk it?

[JayDizzle]

And now Mutoh's talking about being President of All Japan at the time (dunno if he is now) and that when he got aboard, he wanted to clean up his fed's image.

No more blood, hardcore stuff...

Because the Fed's #1 sponsor at the time was... Hello Kitty?

I need to look up the history of this (I'm guessing '05 or later but I have to check the film's release date) because Eastern and Overseas wrestling or at least the business side intrigues me that much more now.

Pro Wrestling and animated fluffy cats? Who would have thunk it?

More with Mutoh (I swear at 12 in the morning, this is some fascinating shit when you can't sleep):

He acknowledges that he got over in America because of the Asai Moonsault but all knows that his knees are totally fucked because of it.

Also, the backstory of the Shining Wizard (remember when that was the hot move on TV for a while?) with him wrestling Taiyo Kea in Hawaii was interesting.

Dude wouldn't get up after a Dragon Screw/Dropkick/Figure Four combo so Mutoh jacked up his knee into buddy's dome in the move's debut.

As it stood at the end of the interview, Mutoh hopes that there will be other's like him to carry on his legacy...

And being unknowledgeable of his history, the guy sound genuinely into Wrestling as a whole and hopes it continues to grow.

Refreshing considering how he mentions earlier about how he was hired by WCW in... 2000, I think... to come and train their guys in the art of Classic Wrestling (mat work and the like) but then the guy who hired him got replaced so that was a wash.

Instead WCW failed when trying to compete with the entertainment value of the WWF/E at the time, head-to-head, instead of being a workrate company like ROH, etc.

[JayDizzle]

More Movie Stuff:

Rob Van Dam came off like so many "ECW originals" before him in that he mentioned that he missed his old days of wrestling Sabu and Bam Bam Bigelow in the Bingo Hall.

At the time, he felt like he was held back and couldn't do what he did back in the day (no shit, considering the wellness policy and that you can't stage dive into the crowd like fucking New Jack and kill somebody) and because of that, his time in the WWE was less-than what it could have been.

Mentioned that he's disappointed that there never was a TV Champ v. Heavyweight Champ fight when he held the TV Title (Mike Awesome had the HW Belt at the time) and thought that it could have drawn big business.

Also disappointed that after One Night Stand, Vince de-fanged ECW and left it to die on Sci-Fi.

Other than that, a lot of shots of him signing stuff at a local wrestling convention.

[JimLeavy59]

Boy they really are going to try to push that boring ass clown Randy Orton again? it's 2009 all over again.

[JayDizzle]

Movie ended with good-natured ribbing from our host, Al Snow of all people, towards Mick Foley, the last of the people documented in the film.

Unfortunately, the footage was basically him at a book signing for "The Hardcore Diaries" (movie's Copyrighted 2009) with fans coming to have their stuff signed.

Usual cast of misfits but nothing too weird.

There was mentioned of how a kid wanted to live with Al Snow due to the fact that while his Mom and Dad beat him regularly, Al Snow never beat anyone in his life.

::rimshot::

After that, we get the celebratory "thanks for watching our mediocre film" as Al Snow trotted off-stage to craft services.

I'd give it a 2, maybe 3 out of 5 if you're desperate to see some behind-the-curtain stuff like "Beyond The Mat."

[EmpireWF]

Cena's their bread and butter. You'd think they'd try hard to get someone else/someone new into the top sphere besides Punk and Orton, but they just don't. Not even talking about guys like Bryan, because the size issue is well documented and been that way for a long long time.

Their even steven booking helps nobody.

Their philosophy that tag team wrestling cannot draw (after they personally killed it) helps nobody.

Their switch from hot and cold on a dime helps nobody. (see Cesaro, Fandango, Bryan)

All these things prevent them from making money off this stuff, which you'd imagine would get their attention. Instead, they're more than happy with having Cena be the lead guy so he can sell all his merch and make kids happy.

[JimLeavy59]

Cena's their bread and butter. You'd think they'd try hard to get someone else/someone new into the top sphere besides Punk and Orton, but they just don't. Not even talking about guys like Bryan, because the size issue is well documented and been that way for a long long time.

Their even steven booking helps nobody.

Their philosophy that tag team wrestling cannot draw (after they personally killed it) helps nobody.

Their switch from hot and cold on a dime helps nobody. (see Cesaro, Fandango, Bryan)

All these things prevent them from making money off this stuff, which you'd imagine would get their attention. Instead, they're more than happy with having Cena be the lead guy so he can sell all his merch and make kids happy.

He can't even do that anymore.

[EmpireWF]

Nana back to ROH but they took down his video. Believe he said he's not coming back alone but not 100%.

[krulmichael]

I would just like to point out that AJ sells better than most men in the company.

 

And if I could find one of her getting speared this past SD! I would.

[BigBiss]

You boys are forgetting this shitty ass Divas Reality show ... its not who you know ....

[Warner2BruceTD]

You boys are forgetting this shitty ass Divas Reality show ... its not who you know ....

It's working both ways, too.

One of the Uso's is now married to one of the Funkadactyl broads (don't remember which/which, as if I can tell either set of those pairings apart), so I suspect the Uso push has something to do with that since I think he'll be on the show a bit.

Not that I mind, the Uso push is way overdue, so whatever it takes.

[EmpireWF]

The one Uso is engaged/married to the talented Funkadactyl who's been impressive whenever she's given 2 minutes in the ring. Not that dumb bitch who tried to bribe a cop when she was caught drunk driving.

Anyway, from Meltze.r...

Variety has a story today about Doritos and parent company Frito-Lay sponsoring SummerSlam on 8/18 in Los Angeles. Among the things they are doing is having viewing parties with Sgt. Slaughter and Ricky Steamboat in a Dollar General Store promotion , and a fan correspondent search. The partnership came because both companies were at the Southwestern Festival and Doritos executives were impressed by John Cena's speaking ability and the way he sold the WWE product, and then were impressed with a live show in Austin. Things like this are why Cena is the face of the company and the product is kept relatively clean.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Are you going to actively see guys like Uso, Cena, Danielson, et al on that Divas show?

I may have to tune in just to see nerdy Danielson on the show.