Pro Wrestling

Here is your poll for this week. It will be closed on Monday! Head here to discuss the week's poll. The contenders: Sheamus vs Christian (WWE Raw, 3/3), discuss here. The Shield vs Wyatt Family (WWE Raw, 3/3), discuss here. Daniel Bryan vs Kane (WWE Main Event, 3/4), discuss here. Sami Zayn vs Corey Graves (WWE NXT, 3/6), discuss here. Daniel Bryan & Big Show vs Batista & Kane (WWE Smackdown, 3/7), discuss here. Sheamus vs Alberto del Rio (WWE Smackdown, 3/7), discuss here. La Sombra vs Dragon Rojo Jr (CMLL Guerreros del Ring, 3/8), discuss here and watch here.

This has been a pretty hot button issue and a top complaint online for years now. The story goes WWE promos have declined in quality because they've become far too scripted. So, how true is this? How scripted were the promos throughout the 80s and 90s? Were they always just as scripted as they supposedly are now? When did the ramp up in explicit scripting start? Do we have good info about this stuff? The reaction I'm seeing some places to Undertaker's Main Event promo last night got me thinking about this. A lot of people felt it was too scripted and cheesy. For me this has really seemed like a problem for Daniel Bryan. Talk about a guy who sounds like he's r…

We're crazy spoiled for good free TV WWE wrestling these days -- with good matches almost guaranteed across every one of the five shows a week. During the Attitude Era (1996-01?), it was crash TV, with a lot of run ins and 3-min matches. It's kind of the updated version of the classic WWF tv model from the 70s-80s. But surely there were some worthwhile matches from WWF across that roughly 5 year period? What are they?

What is the WWE's main demographic these days? What age group do they get their biggest ratings and money from for PPV? What age group do they get their biggest money from merchandise? Is the demo that is their biggest now the one they want to keep as #1 going forward? Any numerical info would be cool as shit to see...

I'm six matches in on the 2013 MOTYCs. My CMLL is more American and Japanese influenced than I remember it being. My New Japan has a lot of American style gimmicks and WWE style match tropes. I don't want to overreact to a small sampling, but is it fair to say the wrestling styles around the world aren't as distinct as they used to be? It sure seems like the contrast between the styles isn't as sharp as it once was, which is a shame.

It's a weird hobby to have, and it's one that's not nearly as popular as it was severla years ago, but I am a proud e-fedder. And in doing that, and in watching as much wrestling as I have to make sure I don't stink at my hobby, I've noticed the differences in how babyfaces and heels are portrayed from when I was a young wrestling fan (the 80's) to now. Even the most popular guys, the guys everyone agrees are the top faces on the card, are coarser now. Maybe this is the ECW and Attitude Era's lasting side-effect, where no one can be the sort of white meat babyface that Steamboat, Santana, or even Sting would have been. Conversely, as I get older, I find myself realiz…

On the latest MLW podcast, Disco Inferno was on and made the statement, "There are only two types of fans now... kids and smart fans". He made a pretty compelling argument but he argued that with the stream of information coming through, there really aren't casual fans anymore. He wasn't saying the fans are douches or that only a certain element get it but I am curious if you think there are more levels of fans than Disco gives credit to.

Here's my third-rate attempt to be as cool as mookieghana looking at the correlation between Dave's star ratings and buys. You can look at this a few different ways: Are shows that receive a high number of buys better shows than those that receive a low amount of buys? How often do shows do well on PPV and actually turn out really good? How often do shows that do poorly on PPV end up being horrible? Full study: http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2014/03/11/buys-and-star-ratings-a-love-story/

Who do you have? Discuss in the discussion thread, which is located here.

They missed the peak with Daniel Bryan. Everything now is make-up work.

I really enjoyed the Big Bubba Rodgers vs. One Man Gang match on the Mid-South Blu-Ray. What are some other great super heavyweight battles that are worth a look??

The Undertaker has achieved the most popularity using a gimmick that is an actual real-life profession. There probably aren't many real Undertakers who dress in a sleeveless back outfit with a purple tie when they go undertaking for the day, but the gimmick is still based on an actual career path so it counts. Who comes in second? The Big Boss Man? Do we count Diesel as an actual truck driver? Or did he just use trucking imagery to build his character? I'm kind of drawing a blank when I try to think of other workers who have had success using gimmicks based on an actual job. There have been plenty of failures -- repo men, teachers, baseball players, lumberjacks, s…

After reading Bix's article about which WCW PPVs to watch first on the Network, I started GAB '89. It opens with a fairly complicated 2-ring battle royal (with a crap ending). It got me to thinking: They threw 14 guys in the ring with no intro and had them start rumbling. Even the commentary didn't always know who was who, by their own admission. It was a mess and thoroughly boring. Battle Royales certainly were nothing new in 1988 when the Royal Rumble started, But I have to think they were more like this GAB match - a dull mess that simply wastes everyone's time. Was the Rumble format a new concept? If so, it was a brilliant idea that allowed for some great dram…

I was thinking about how the New Japan announcers during Flair's run during the '95 G1 called him "Mr. America" a lot, and how promotions would try and put those kinds of labels on people, either directly or through booking (the blowjob wrestler thread contributed a little to this also). That got me to thinking about who really deserved those kinds of labels in the eyes of the fans. For instance, if I look at American wrestling, Rey Mysterio is THE cruiserweight of the '90s and 2000s. No other small wrestler has had the longevity or success Rey has. And he's a pretty damn amazing worker, even if a lot of his talent goes unused in his American matches. Also, I …

So I got back into wrestling recently and discovered I have different tastes after 7-8 years of not watching any. One of the big things I noticed was something about a wrestler I really used to enjoy and now find myself unable to watch more than 2 or 3 matches without having to find somebody else to watch. That isn't to say I don't enjoy some of the work, just parts of it I find bothersome, especially when grouped into multiple matches strung together. Koji Kanemoto is somebody I really wish I could call a great wrestler. He has good kicks (I really like his spinning side kick to the ribs, looks brutal), a great dickish sort of charisma, an incredible moonsault and hi…

Whether it be a guest ref, standard ref, or whatever, let'/s give the role of the ref some love here on PWO. An underrated angle in my mind is when the WWE ref's went on strike in 1999 due to dangerous working conditions and all of the nice little things that came out of that. Shawn Michaels basically co main evented Summerslam 97 as a ref and he really did add to the drama, obviously directly involved in the climax. This to me is the single best guest ref spot ever.

I was watching some World Class the other day (and again today) and I started wondering if David Von Erich is the ugliest mofo to ever get pushed as a "blowjob" wrestler AND actually get over in the role. I'm sure that most of you know that term or could guess that that meant, but for the younger posters here, a "blowjob"wrestler is a Memphis wrestling term to describe a good looking babyface who is given a decent push and used to draw young females to the show. I know there's Robert Gibson, but while he is a pretty ugly dude, can't say he looks like he's got an extra chromosome 21 or that his mom and dad are cousins. Ricky Santana and El Dandy would be good examp…

Was looking around at the ratings from 1997 for RAW and Nitro as I had nothing better to do this AM while I sit here at work alone and wait for my new script to build or others to show up.... I noticed on 3 or 4 different sites that RAW beat Nitro in the end of April 1997 weeks and then the first few weeks of May 97 as well. This would cut Nitro's total weeks led consecutively in half.. Have ratings changes been made over the years or what am I missing here? If these are all accurrate, WCW only had a couple 30+ week wins...which is a lot, but kills their 80+ streak they all brag about... http://editthis.info/wrestling_ratings_wiki/WWF_Raw_vs._WCW_Monday_…

This should be fun. Let's talk about weird wrestling logic as it relates to contracts. A few things that spring to mind: * Shawn Michaels signing a contract prepared for Chris Benoit to face HHH at Wrestlemania. This legal dilemma resulted in WWE making the Wrestlemania XX main event a three-way * Vince Russo's endless "fine print" get out of booking jail free card crap * Contract signings frequently happening weeks after a match has been officially announced. What if someone changed their mind during the contract signing? Does that mean the match won't happen? And why do only some matches require contracts to be signed but not all of them? Or do they and they only t…

Is anyone else watching this pile of shit? I missed the opener with Muta which is too bad because it sounded like it might have been fun. Tuned in and a guy with a rapist gimmick was attempting suicide while Ken Anderson mocked him. Then they had a match with a finish that was bizarre even by TNA standards. Then EC3 came out and made an open challenge and Bobby Lashley of all people came out but they didn't have a match, Lashley just hit two moves and Carter left. No fucking clue what that was supposed to mean. Now Manic is wrestling Tigre Uno, and a minute into the match the cage door comes open and they just sort of have to look at. Whole show has had the f…

If you had to pick one match, as the main event of Beach Blast 92 what would your pick be? This is not some random off the cuff question, as it applies to a bigger (and grandiose) research project I am working on over my spring break. Here is the card: Beach Blast 92 - Mobile, AL - Civic Center - June 20, 1992 (5,000) The Junkyard Dog, Tom Zenk, & Big Josh defeated Tracy Smothers, Richard Morton, & Diamond Dallas Page Pay-per-view bouts - featured an opening segment in which Tony Schiavone & Eric Bischoff spoke with Bill Watts on the podium stage in which Watts said Paul E. Dangerously & Madusa would be banned from ringside during the Ricky Stea…

OK, so I heard Dylan say on a podcast (maybe it was the HHH one I moderated) that everyone he doesn't hide his pro wrestling fandom from anyone. Then in another thread, Matt D made a comment about "embarrassed" wreslting fans. I thought about it and I don't hide it from my closest friends. However, I definitely don't mention it ever at work and I would probably deny it if it came up or keep my mouth shut. I have a huge network of relatives who knew I liked wrestling as a kid but I don't think i would volunteer the information to anyone now that i have 20,000 wrestling DVDs. I wear a handful of wrestling T-shirts but none of them mention wrestling. So, how open are you in …

I've set up a forum to talk about all the notable matches and events of 2014. Just about everything that happened in January and February should have its own thread, if it was especially praised or maligned in some corner of the Internet. Thanks to Grimmas for helping me compile a list. Please feel free to jump in and post your thoughts in the corresponding threads. Here is a direct link: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/forum/454-2014/ Those of you who have participated in yearbook discussions should find the format very familiar. Those of you who have not will probably catch on pretty quickly. This feature is on its way for other years as well. How…

I just stumbled upon this book on Amazon, by Mark James, and immediately bought the kindle version, of which I have done 0 times previously. Oh my god this is an amazing thing. Some years are a little more complete than others, but this is still a very thorough list of results for the Memphis territory from 1980-1989. I did a search for the author's name and didn't come up with anything, I'm kind of surprised this wouldn't have gotten talked about before on this board. I will get so much more enjoyment out of continuing my watch of Memphis 1986 now that I have results for all the Memphis shows and a lot from Louisville, Lexington and some different spot shows. I wish …

So they mention the Bro-mans won the tag titles back from the Wolves in Japan, but Austin Aries still has the X title he lost on that same show. That Wrestle-1 show is now the Schroedinger's Cat of wrestling events now where it both exists and doesn't at the same time. They've been running Willow the Wisp videos for the last few weeks, but announce Jeff Hardy is returning at Lockdown. Is he doing a Mick Foley split personality gimmick or is he just going to show up for the main event in the Willow mask? The Sam Shaw/Anderson angle is like every bad Attitude Era WWF mid carder angle with 10% the production values. I think by the end of the show I had a noseblee…