Pro Wrestling

If you're up follow along. This is a weird show on paper. In the end I think it will deliver.

An example: Workrate Cru I've lurked around wrestling boards for nearly ten years and there are names you constantly run across, but I never hear anyone mention these guys. When I first noticed them (2000ish) I thought they were arrogant asshole's and I'm surprised I've never heard any criticism of this site or praise for that matter. I see that Snowden does MMA commentaries on the WON site but as far as wrestling goes ... he seems M.I.A. This is just a start, I was curious of thoughts/memories of those who've came and gone in regards to wrestling boards/chats in the past 12 or 13 years.

At PTBN we are running a series discussing the Real World Champion that is located here: http://placetobenation.com/ptbns-real-world-champion-1983-1988/ This seems like an interesting topic I would like to get opinons from the board on. Basically we are looking at 1983-2014 and using a combination of drawing power, marketability, match quality and card positioning to pick the champion for each year. There are some choices coming up that I really disagree with but I am curious to hear opinions on whom the board thinks would be the Real World Champion for each year. We also only restricted this to U.S. and Canda too.

I did not want to derail the thread about the different working styles of NWA World Champions, but I am curious as to who, according to historians, is the best drawing NWA World Champion of all-time. I realise that comparing drawing across various eras is difficult, but this seems an easier task than comparing Austin and Bruno as draws, which a lot of discussions have done. Principally because the job of the NWA World Champion largely remained the same for 4 decades, while the job of the WWWF Champion during the 60s and the WWF Champion during the Attitude Era was radically different. My wholly uneducated opinion had always said that Flair drew the most as an NW…

Reports are out that Verne Gagne passed away this evening. Arguably one of the oldest living legends in the business, I'm looking forward to reading extensive recaps of his career and influence. Meltzer should be on top of his game here as with this taking place on a Monday night he's got about as long a window as possible to put together the obit.

Hey, if AJ Lee can get a thread, Carlos Amano, JWP veteran of almost 20 years (I think she began in the mid 90's), retiring from pro-wrestling surely deserves her own thread. From what I remember she was a really good worker, part of the new wave of JWP girls from the mid-90's with Azumi Hyuga, Ran Yu-Yu and Kana Mizaki. I'm amazed she was still active actually. She got her retirement ceremony at an Oz Academy show on 04/15. If joshi wasn't the most forgotten part of pro-wrestling today, I guess it would be quite a news for old fans of the 90's.

Eduard Carpentier transitioned from being an Olympic gymnast to a pro wrestler. Gymnastics to pro wrestling is a road not often traveled. What are some other unusual paths taken by guys who became wrestlers or otherwise involved in the game?

Pro Wrestling legend Les Thatcher posted the following... "Just heard that Ron Wright passed away this morning. One of the greatest heels I ever worked with & an East Tennessee legend. Please keep the family in our prayers. He will be cutting those great promos up stairs. God bless with love & respect!"

When we did the Amarillo show on Titans, I wondered about why the Funks never seemed to work WCCW -- and not only them but most of their West Texas crew as well, with the exception of Brody. In his book, apparently, Gary Hart claims that The Funks hated Fritz for the way he took over Texas. This contradicts what Funk says in his own book, in which there is no hint of animosity towards Fritz and a good deal of respect and gratitude because Fritz had the deciding vote that made Terry NWA world champ. He also talks about how Fritz and Dory Sr were good friends. Something seems strange. Terry goes out of his way to put over Fritz, and if the story about the NWA…

For this week's podcast, we're looking at examples in wrestling history of bad gimmicks made good, and are keen to get some feedback on cases that you always thought stood out to you in that vain. Couple of ways to look at this one, so feel free to give your stand-out example of either (or both): 1 - A bad gimmick that either the promotion or the wrestler worked hard at and made it work, and what you feel was the reason it did. Or 2 - A bad gimmick that, for whatever reason, worked for you and you personally enjoyed despite the common opinion that it sucked, and why you got into it. Of course the key question is why - the more detail the better. As always the …

Carlos Máynez who took over the Universal Wrestling Association from his uncle Francisco Flores after his death on May 11th, 1987 after he was the force behind the construction of Arena Neza & Arena Queretaro, passed away early Wednesday morning at the age of 71 from a heart attack after being in Lucha Libre for 56 years. Máynez started out promoting small shows in his home of Pachuca as well as Toluca before joining his uncle Francisco where he learned everything he could while also learning accounting which became a regular job for him. Máynez helped his uncle open up the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City where they were promoting big shows featuring Rene Guaja…

From Puroresu Spirit: It seems some good has come in the wake of Misawa's tragic death - specifically, to stop competing when the injuries start amounting up. Poor Morishima though, such a great worker that really never got a chance to shine at the peak of NOAH's popularity. I have no doubt that had he not stayed with NOAH out of loyalty when he was killing in in 06/07, that NJPW would have snapped him up in a heartbeat and gave him a top of the line push.

Sho Tanaka vs. Jay White These guys work real hard in the time they are givenThis is a real meat and potatoes match. All of their variety of strikes look good and hurty .Both guys do a great job of selling. . The 1st 1/2 crab Tanaka goes for is as smooth as silk in how he transitions into it. He goes back to it later in the match for the win. Good stuff from these guys. 2 3/4* KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi & Yuji Nagata vs. Yohei Komatsu, Mascara Dorada & Manabu Nakanishi Seeing Nak go to the mat made me smile. Dorada of course gets over with his flying. Kushida is good in this. Taguchi as FIP was good. I also like his taunting of Nak. The targeting of Tagu…

The opening 6 man was a blast. I loved the whole Southern tag feel it had. Had a Horseman vs Houston/Taylor/Bass feel to it. The opening shine was so much fun, and the schtick that set up the heat was so dripping with southern fried greatness. Also loved how the finish showed the clear pecking order of the teams.

We talk a lot about wrestling here, but what does everybody want in an ideal situation? Here are some categories that I am curious what others like. Favourite style of wrestling? Favourite way wrestling is presented? Favourite type of match? Favourite gimmick match? Favourite wrestler? Favourite match? Favourite feud? Favourite angle? Favourite promotion/period of wrestling? Little things that happen in wrestling that you always love?

Since we're doing a few of these sorts of threads, I thought I'd go with this one. I think there's some level of tone to be sought for here. There's a line between "I wish Owen Hart didn't die!" and "I'd have been really curious to see the Owen/Blue Blazer IC title run that was rumored in 99." - I know he wasn't a good person. I know it, but I do wish that Buddy Rose had lived just a couple more years in order to reap the benefits of the tape library he unleashed upon the world. From all accounts, he was someone who put so much weight on his wrestling and his star power and that's why the tapes exist in the first place, because of his ego, an ego which was not really …

Starting at the beginning of 1991, what shows did WCW have running on TV? WCW - TBS Worldwide Pro? Main Event Power Hour? Others? (Outside PPV)

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/wrestlings-best-worst-and-wackiest-music-videos-of-all-time/#.VS0IIvnF_rE I compiled a list of my favorite pro wrestling music videos, often sung by the wrestlers themselves. I definitely left some classics off the list (Badstreet USA) but it was a fun exercise. So what makes your personal list?

So every so often, Bret Hart or Triple H will take a little shot at one another ("4/10", "Bret was too serious", etc). It's clear that they don't really like one another, but neither will bluntly come out and say it. On the other hand, Triple H has always been really complementary of Owen Hart, he seems to rate the late Hart above his more popular brother and regards him as one of the greatest wrestlers he's ever worked with. Inspired by this, what other examples of wrestlers who dislike each other can you think of, any interesting stories behind the mutual hatred?

What are some matches or moments you were in the building for that seemed incredible live, but kinda meh when you got back home and re-watched on tape or DVR? I went to a Nitro back in 1998 or 99 where the mayor of Minneapolis came out to proclaim it Ric Flair Day in Minnesota. Fans booed the mayor, cheered Flair, and Flair cut a nice promo that seemed to have everyone in the building going nuts. The next day I re-watched the segment on tape and it wasn't nearly as good. It seemed sloppy, and what seemed like a great crowd reaction in the building came across as only so-so on television.

He worked the old Murdoch/BJ Mulligan Armarillo territory. He seems to have gotten a decent push. Any ideas?

Something interesting I saw in the record store today:

I've heard talk of Reigns being carried by Lesnar. I don't see it than way, but it got me thinking about whether there's some sort of metric for classifying it? Is it if the carrier could have had the same, equally effective match with many others? Does someone like Ultimate Warrior bring something unique v Savage to prevent it being a carryjob? Also, could a really good worker allow himself to be carried? Parv mentioned a Tenryu-DiBiase match from 1986. I haven't watched it in ages, can't really comment, but hypothetically could DiBiase - through having complete faith in his opponent/having an off night/being lazy/whatever - allow himself to be carried? A…

First off I apologize for the awkwardness of the title. But on the latest Titans of Wrestling, the concept of a wrestler who a "new to you" match would excite you the most. (Ricky Steamboat is given as an example) Who is yours? I'm not talking about someone like Ed Lewis, where yeah 10 of his matches somehow being found would be awesome I mean someone we COULD actually get new footage, or new footage to you of. For me right now it's Nick Bockwinkel. Prior to joining Titans the only Bock I had seen was the stuff on the various WWE DVD's as well as the Wrestling Gold collection. Nowhere near enough Bock and any time I can watch some new Bock I just love it and …

This is per the Observer and it looks kind of mediocre. Match 5 and 7 really need to deliver. I have confidence in match 2,4, and 9 The next New Japan PPV show will be May 3 from the Fukuoka International Center Arena. The A.J. Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada title match is being held back until July 5 at the Osaka Jo Hall show. 1) Yuji Nagata & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask & Mascara Dorada vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Captain New Japan & Ryusuke Taguchi & Kushida 2) Tetsuya Naito & Sho Tanaka vs. Kota Ibushi & Yohei Komatsu 3) Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma vs. Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga & Cod…