The Art of Wrestling Thread

[Warner2BruceTD]

Nope, this has nothing to do with the insanely good Colt Cabana podcast. Put on your uppity smark hat, because in this thread, we will analyze wrestling matches.

But this will not be a collection of awesome matches. Xavier started a thread for that, plus we have the Best of 2013 thread to serve that purpose for current stuff.

Here is how this will work. I will post one match per week. Most will be obscure or largely forgotten. I will try to keep them around 10:00 or so in length, and try not to go over 20:00. Watch it, tell us why you liked it, why you didn't like it, and break it down.

I've got a diverse list of about a half dozen interesting matches to get us started. Different styles, promotions, etc. Hopefully we can all get exposed to something new.

With that said, let's get started:

Drew McIntyre vs Chris Masters, WWE Superstars 5/11/2011

This is an underground classic in some circles, from the awesome 2011 era of Superstars. This was the Chris Masters run where he was killing it every week on Superstars, but couldn't get on RAW. In what was a pretty big shock, they cut him in the midst of all of this despite the fact he was peaking as a worker.

The rest of my thoughts are in the spoiler if you want to watch it without bias.

 

When I watched this match a few years ago, I remember not thinking much of it. I don't know what I was thinking. This match rules.

Masters calls this the best performance of his career, and he's probably right. THIS is how you sell a body part, folks. I loved the spot where McIntyre does an irish whip, and instead of coming off the ropes, Masters just collapses in pain. There is a bunch of awesome stuff like that here.

Tetsuya Naito & Yujiro Takahashi recently had a match in New Japan where they told a similar story, with Yujiro working the injured knee of Naito, and this match blows the New Japan match out of the water. I was very critical of Naito's lack of selling of the knee, doing flying moves, running the ropes, and even doing kicks with the "injured" leg. None of that nonsense here from Masters, who takes selling to a whole new level.

This is probably the best McIntyre match I've ever seen. Make no mistake, this is the Masters show, the best match of the best run of his career, but Drew held up his end just fine.

This got fringe support for MOTY in 2011, and it deserved it.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

We've discussed it before.

Its tough sometimes to invest into the WWE product because the type of fan we are, they just don't cater to us.

However, I do watch a ton of WWE, but its mostly on FF...but I can say, that the WWE has at least one match like this per week under their umbrella somewhere. Maybe not exactly as good as Masters/McIntyre presented here, but they've always got one, every week, that you're like "that was a damn good match"...maybe it was the feature on Main Event, maybe it was tucked away on Superstars, maybe it was a mid-card match on NXT, maybe it was a segment straddler on Raw or a second quarter hour match on Smackdown...somewhere, there is a worth-while match under the WWE bubble, every week...sometimes, there are a few. Not necessarily MOTYC, but good, solid, sit-back-and-watch wrasslin matches. Its not anywhere Vince would care about or would actually watch...but its there somewhere, while he's taking a piss break or on a show he forgot still exists under his own company. And, the more the WWE brings in the Indy guys, the more they sneak in these "sneaky good" matches on random WWE programming.

 

[EmpireWF]

McIntyre starts out testing Masters' strength and gets put in his place. They do some holds until Drew uses the first strike of the match with an elbow to take the advantage. lol

He still can't get anything done b/c Masters outsmarts him and out powers him. Finally, he gets his opportunity when he smashes Masters' leg into the steel post.

Chris only starts using punches in the whole match once his knee is being worked on….

The great dropkick -----> kip up from McIntyre was outstanding :yep:

Masters' selling of the left knee was effective for the entire 2nd half of the match, none of that using the left leg for a running knee drop or something like that. When he goes to the 2nd rope and is barely able to land a shoulder tackle because he can't push off, when he collapses while running to the ropes = consistency.

The pin tease with the reversals of the backslide goes right into McIntyre's attempt at his finisher but he can't hit it. He goes for a spear in the corner, misses and ends up losing the match because of it.

Masters comes off so well with a showing like this as a baby face and McIntyre was a great foil.

When you see what he's capable of, it's crazy how something so long ago (whatever happened with his ex-wife) could push him down into the shitter to this day.

 

[Leftwich]

I like how well Masters sold the knee injury and the reversals in the match made it that much more entertaining. Both guys' characters are blah as fuck.

 

[Kuzzy Powers]

On a side note, Drew McIntyre's old theme music was bad ass.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Looks like anybody who was going to comment, has.

I'll give this match a few more hours. If there is no more activity, we'll move this up a few days and i'll post the next match.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

The Rockers vs. Barbarian & Haku, WrestleMania VII

 

The former Midnight Rockers versus the future Faces of Fear. This was opener of WrestleMania VII, and it was the best match in my opinion. Lots of great stuff here to talk about.

First of all, I love Barbarian & Haku as a big bully heel team. Both were awesome workers and they complimented the style of The Rockers perfectly.

Michaels starts with Haku, and they waste no time getting right to the action. In hindsight, you get the sense they knew they had 10-12 minutes, and wanted to make sure they had a great match. Barbarian comes in and delivers a double clothesline that I know is coming because I've watched the match a million times, but I still pop for it. It's the first of many awesome bumps by both Rockers.

The Rockers are too quick for the bigger team, and the heels hit the outside to regroup. We get a great piece of audio with Heenan telling them that they need to slow them down and get them into "our corner". So awesome.

We settle in for the heat. Jannetty is the babyface in peril. What I like about The Rockers, is unlike The Rock 'n Roll Express, where every match was Ricky Morton as the BIP, The Rockers would always mix it up. That's not a knock on the RNRE, because I love them and Morton is the GOAT BIP, but I prefer the Rockers style of mixing it up. Jannetty is a bump machine, with a bunch of awesome well timed hope spots.

Michaels gets the hot tag, cleans house, Jannetty recovers, and they use their speed to beat the brutes. Just a great match with great heat, with a bunch of well times highspots. Barbarian even works in a fucking bearhug, which I normally HATE HATE HATE, but it works here because they pace was so frenetic and the story was the bigger guys trying to wear down Jannetty.

Easily ****+

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

I'd also like to add, that I think Barbarian & Haku are two of the most underrated guys of the era. Nobody talks about either as a great worker, but they were both excellent. They just never had the chance to shine in long main event singles matches very often. As a team, I though they were fantastic. They were a bit past their prime in WCW, and this is by far their best match.

Both were also part of other really good teams. Haku with Tama in the Islanders, who were awesome, and Barbarian with the second coming of the Headshrinkers w/Fatu when Samu left. Also, Powers of Pain obviously, a different kind of team and held back by Warlord, but still had some good stuff.

 

[dave]

I'd also like to add, that I think Barbarian & Haku are two of the most underrated guys of the era.

Agreed. Haku and the Barbarian were awesome workers.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Agreed. Haku and the Barbarian were awesome workers.

Haku's two boys & Barbarian's niece are all under contract to major promotions. All three have various degrees of potential.

Tama Tonga has taken a gigantic leap this year in particular.

 

[Liquidrob]

I didnt watch the matches, but I always remember back in the day when Arn Anderson would work the arm all match just to finish with a spin buster? That always bothered me for some reason, lol

At least Ric Flair would work the knee and leg all match to set up the figure four

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Not much action for that awesome Rockers vs (future) Faces of Fear match. Let's try something outside the box. It's 90 seconds, so its a quick watch.

Koko Ware vs. "The Patriot", Memphis 2/1/1986

 

Stumbled into this by accident and glad I did. One of the best squashes i've ever seen. I have no context for this. It seems like he's a babyface based on the behavior of the announcers and the crowd, but he sure isn't acting like one. Koko mauls this m'fer. All business. The best is the SLAP IN FACE WHILE HE'S PINNING HIM. lololololol. I miss squash matches. Real squash matches with real jobbers, not jobbers to the stars like 3MB. No name, pasty white, out of shape scrubs gettin' that ass kicked. And this is exactly what a squash should be.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

If we are talking THE ART of Professional Wrestling...no pne perfected the ART of the Squash like The Road Warriors.

They wouldn't talk this shit over in the back, they wouldn't rehearse...they would just walk out there, beat these jobbers up, cut a promo, and leave. Match was sloppy...but who cares?

To counter Koko Ware's "slap" ... watch good ol Jimmy Doo try and kick out like a wise ass at 3.1 only to have his ribs broken by a straight jab by Animal.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

That Jimmy Doo is sassy. Tried to get some offense in right at the start too.

AWA always had the scrubbiest jobbers. Dudes who look like the guy who shows up at your house to snake a clogged toilet. And that's EXACTLY what you want out of a job guy.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

That Jimmy Doo is sassy. Tried to get some offense in right at the start too.

AWA always had the scrubbiest jobbers. Dudes who look like the guy who shows up at your house to snake a clogged toilet. And that's EXACTLY what you want out of a job guy.

Hawk goes easy on Jimmy to start, just giving him half-ass clubs. Then sassy Jimmy Doo has to get cute and throw some punches and then Hawk gets stiff on him. I bet ol Jimmy didn't even get paid that night for his troubles.

 

[Liquidrob]

Just watched the Road Warriors match, lol

I love at 54 seconds when the fat Mexican in white trunks get the "hot tag" and comes in all fired up and than catches a boot and slammed immediately

Those are classic Saturday morning jobbers

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Rob, I need to know your thoughts on the idea of jobbers in MMA.

For or Against?

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Also, my favorite jobbers were so jobby and unathletic, the stars can't actually do their finisher on them correctly.

 

[Kuzzy Powers]

Koko did not seem pleased that "The Patriot" tried to get in that early offense. He caught a nice stiff beat down for the next 60 seconds or so for his troubles.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Koko did not seem pleased that "The Patriot" tried to get in that early offense. He caught a nice stiff beat down for the next 60 seconds or so for his troubles.

...and it was glorious.

That slap in the middle of the pin is one of the greatest things i've seen in wresting.

That match makes me wish he had a heel run in WWF.