Pro Wrestling

This was pretty mediocre and the worst day so far. Komatsu vs Owens This was just a basic match that didn't get enough time to truly develop one way or another. Pretty much a solid match 2 1/2* N. Jackson vs. Finlay Finlay did none of the nasty looking stuff that got him over with me earlier in the tourney. The camera shot of Nick's kick on the apron was stiff as hell looking. Somehow you hope that we get the Bucks vs. The Finlays so when the bucks go suck it.Fit.kicks their teeth in. Nick guzzled Finlay here. 2 * Baretta vs Cavenario This was the most entertaining match. It just went a bit long . 2 3/4* Romero vs Tiger Mask This was p…

He seems very popular on this site. I'm remembering him being lambasted as a poor talent in Power Slam in the early 90s, and Meltzer didn't go out of his way to heap praise upon him at the time either. What happened? Is it nostalgia? Hipsters? Was it that the overall talent was stronger back then and he didn't standout as much as he might now? BTW I have watched some of his matches here and there recently and consider him perfectly acceptable.

Baretta vs Owens The guys worked hard but didn't really tell a story. Baretta took most of the match. Owens looks like he's used to working in front of 200 people. He seems like he doesn't know how to get over. Nothing was really built to. The match wasn't bad, it just lacked direction. 2 1/4* Dorada vs Finlay This was a good match. It was very basic storytelling which is really what it needed to be. Finlay really impressed me here with his work on top. All of his stuff looked nasty. The headlock work and arm work had a real aggressive look to it. Dorada makes a comeback with a couple of highspots and an awesome dive to the outside. Finlay cuts him off again a…

O'Reilly vs Kamatsu These guys worked a really good match with both of their strengths on display. We start with some counter wrestling. O'Reilly in control with the arm mixed in with some good strikes. Komatsu on a comeback. We see him with a running drop kick to the outside. Back in a great spot that had tons of drama O'Reilly does a Butterfly Suplex into A Fujiwara Arm Bar where he switches to the other arm. The drama was tremendous here. Komatsu was great in this match bringing energy, and selling all of O'Reilly's offense. Wrestlers must look at him like a pork chop. The finish was a bit underwhelming after the drama of the Fujiwara. 3 1/4* Mascara Dorada …

Partly inspired by Kris' podcast and the thread at dvdvr. What are the best indy matches that didn't happen in ROH? A few I've seen are: Necro Butcher vs Samoa Joe IWA MS 6/11/05 El Generico vs Eddie Kingston- Chikara Sea of Lost Souls Danielson vs Hero- PWG

I thought this was newsworthy enough for it's own thread, especially with all the talk going on about TNA being cancelled in September. http://i.imgur.com/XAbdzI2.jpg http://i.imgur.com/qVygoF2.jpg

So I was thinking about The Undertaker/Kane feud from 2010. I absolutely LOVED that feud. I thought Kane did a very good job carrying the feud with his promos (even when they tried to sabotage him by playing music during all of them) and The Undertaker having his powers "stolen" only to be revived by Paul Bearer and the urn was just a great story. Unfortunately, the matches kind of stunk. So I was wondering if there are any other feuds that people remember as being great from a storyline/angles/promo standpoint that just didn't deliver when it came time to get in the ring?

This is the line up tonight that will be airing live. Their are some matches that look pretty interesting. Jushin Liger vs. Yohei Komatsu Alex Shelley vs. David Finlay III Cavernario Barbaro vs Chase Owens Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe & Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba & Yoshi-Hashi Rocky Romero vs. Bobby Fish Trent Baretta vs. Kyle O'Reilly Mascara Dorada vs. Kushida Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Gedo

Has this match been well circulated before? Is it from the garbage tapes? Never knew it was out there until recently. https://youtu.be/gsd3Xml25Qo

I've always loved the David vs Goliath formula. While obviously not specific to wrestling this is still my #1 match dynamic. The reverse take on it can be great as well. Bret vs Diesel at Survivor Series 1995 comes to mind, with Bret playing the subtle heel for most of the match. WM11 was similar but Shawn turned himself mid-match. Can anyone think of any other good small heel vs big face matches? Preferably with completely non-tweener roles i.e pure babyface big guy vs pure heel smaller guy.

So AAA is having a multi promotional trios tourney with their guys along with wrestlers from TNA, ROH, NOAH, and All Japan. Their sponsor wanted CMLL involved which was shot down for obvious reasons, and New Japan declined out of loyalty to CMLL and also the money they make from the FantasticaMania tours. Hasn't NOAH been basically a New Japan satellite promotion as of late being booked by Jado and Gedo? I wonder how they managed to sneak in, unless AAA isn't aware of the deal.

Watching Mid-South yesterday I saw about four tag matches in a row featuring different workers where the transition from face shine to the heel heat segment was identical: heel who is getting beaten up manages to Irish whip the face towards his partner who gets in a cheap knee to the back from the apron, and there's your transition. Another one I noticed was during the face comeback proper (as opposed to hope spot), the heel has a punch blocked, then a second, then goes for a roundhouse which misses and twirls them round ready to take an atomic drop. Both DiBiase and Flair did this. It's a really typical spot. Another standard transition is the "reverse, charge" …

Now personally I thought the Carolina crew brought a higher workrate to the WWE with the likes of Steamboat, Valentine, Orton, and others. George Scott was a key figure in this.

We got 3 more matches in the tournament. Gedo vs Komatsu This was ok. It told a story just not that compelling of one. We get an early shine by Komatsu. Gedo takes a powder and uses his experience to cause Komatsu to be impatient and Gedo gets the heat. He works on top using roughhouse tactics and his smarts. Komatsu gets a hope spot and gets the 1/2 crab. Gedo makes the rope. Gedo back on top and gets the finish. It was a basic story of the veteran vs the youngster. 2* Cavernario vs Taguchi Taguchi goes the comedy route early. Cavenario with his lucha background is quite good at working comedy spots into his match. We get a couple of fun dives. The…

Decided to take advantage of the odd story from this past week to do the definitive guide to guys like Big Daddy Bruno Beefcake: http://www.cagesideseats.com/2011/3/17/205...ther-pretenders

These cards begin tonight and they look great. If everything clicks we might have a show of the year or 2 candidate. I'm sure their will plenty of people from the board going to these shows. Night 1 - DELIRIOUS vs. GEDO - JAY LETHAL w/ TRUTH MARTINI vs. WATANABE - RODERICK STRONG vs. KUSHIDA - THE ADDICTION vs. THE KINGDOM (MICHAEL BENNETT & MATT TAVEN) vs. THE YOUNG BUCKS - "UNBREAKABLE" MICHAEL ELGIN vs. TETSUYA NAITO - REDRAGON (BOBBY FISH & KYLE O'REILLY) vs. JUSHIN "THUNDER" LIGER & HIROSHI TANAHASHI - ???? vs. "THE PHENOMENAL" AJ STYLES *MAIN EVENT* THE BRISCOES vs. KAZUCHIKA OKADA & SHINSUKE NAKAMURA Night 2 *MAIN EVENT* SIX MAN T…

I went to Comicpalooza today in Houston. Their were a lot of wrestlers signing autographs and taking pictures. They were all super nice. Piper especially went out of his way to talk to his fans. Actually they all were great. Ron Simmons and Charles Wright seemed like they were having a blast. Ted Dibiase talking the old territories with me. Sting was cool. Told him I'm sure he's heard it a million times , but I'm going to make it a million 1 and hope to see him at Mania next year. Then I think I surprised him by going I hope his son does well at the Chiefs training camp. Bobby Heenan was there as well signing autographs. Their have been sporadic updates in the WO a…

Exactly. Harley was a touring champ, and his style was all about that. Go everywhere, do all the spots people who have read the mags expect, make the local guy look like he has a chance, and leave with the belt while the fans feel their guy got fucked. Rinse and repeat EVERYWHERE. To me, THAT'S what makes an all time great.

I see this get liked a lot on facebook and I see it all over youtube with massive views. What is the appeal and what am I missing? I watched one once and half way through I didn't even notice any "botches" or they were well worked around by the wrestlers. I've been confused by this thing for a while and would love some answers.

Vince will probably retire when he's dead, but let's say he announces that this will be his final year playing an active role in WWE. How would you send him off? Here's what I'd do: Immediately begin an angle where Vince goes on a retirement "tour," similar to what Jeter did w/ the Yankees a few years back. For about a month, he'll come out during every Raw and accept some type of retirement gift from a prominent person or ex-worker in whatever town they're in. Fans will be happy to see the old man one last time, he'll be humble and gracious, and there will be warm and fuzzy feelings. Then Daniel Bryan (or some other new guy) wins the WWE title and Vince start…

Bret admitted during his 2004 feud with Flair (over the book - again!) that he'd heard a lot about Flair in the 80s but hadn't seen much prior to 1991 in WWF.

Imagine a scenario whereby none of the promotions try to expand or go national, and all of the territories persist into the 1990s intact. In this scenario, let's go back to the landscape of 1975. Detroit, LA and San Francisco all still active. GCW and Mid-Atlantic separate promotions. WWF run in the Vince Sr style. AWA doing well in its major markets but not expanding beyond them. Canadian promotions viable places to work. That's the landscape. What sort of star do you think the major stars of the 80s and 90s would have been? How would it have affected their careers? Where do you see certain guys homesteadding? Who is a bigger star as a result? Who is a smaller star? …

Their was a link in Bix's daily update at the Observer site linking us to a documentary that at the end shows a large chunk of the Flair Veneno match. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UUQCei81Ns

Post your thoughts as you watch.

Lineup for the next New Japan World show on 5/22 from Korakuen Hall Jushin Liger vs. Yohei Komatsu Tiger Mask vs. Nick Jackson Alex Shelley vs. David Finlay III Barbaro Cavernario vs. Chase Owens Hirooki Goto & Togi makbe & Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuyori Shibata & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba & Yoshi-Hashi Rocky Romero vs. Bobby Fish Baretta vs. Kyle O'Reilly Mascara Dorada vs. Kushida Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Gedo All singles matches are part of the Best of the Super Junior tournament New Japan Dominion on 7/5 at Osaka Jo Hall Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba Hiroshi…