Pro Wrestling

This is something I've been working on for quite a long time, I wanted to make a comprehensive list (yes, I'm a list guy) of the best matches in WCW's history, then I extended that to include 'important' or 'famous' matches in their history too that I felt needed to be seen to tell the complete story of WCW regardless of the match quality not being so high in some cases (cough *jay leno* cough). I then added every WCW World Heavyweight Title change, which got very messy around late '99 to mid '00 and have come up with a list of 250 matches that I feel tell the story of WCW from it's beginnings from the NWA in '88 through the highs of the mid 90's and it's eventual demise.…

Over at DVDVR I just read a Matt D post wondering if MS1/Chicana is a match luchadors would hold in their mind as something worth paying homage to. This got me wondering about what wrestlers/fans in different countries consider to be their "canonical" matches. In the "mainstream" view of the American canon are matches like Steamboat/Flair, Steamboat/Savage, Bret/Austin, etc. Of course hardcore fans have their own canon including stuff from all around the world. What I'm interested in here is if any of our members living overseas, communicating frequently with foreign wrestling fans/people connected to wrestling, know what the fans and others involved in the busine…

Reading the wikipedia article on Chigusa Nagayo, it notes that during the Crush Girls run they regularly drew ratings of 12.0+. Which, if compared to even the best of RAW ratings during the peak, is huge. Now, first of all, IS it as good as it sounds -- is a 12.0 in Japan as big as a 12.0 would be in the US? Heck, is it even TRUE (it's an un-sourced claim but I've seen it around often). Did other companies get comparable ratings in Japan? Is there a good source of information re: Japanese TV ratings for wrestling? (as an aside, any particularly good write ups/articles/whatever anyone has on the crush girls cultural phenomenon would be nice)

This all makes me wonder how blown the invasion angle really was, i.e. how sustainable it was past the initial July pop. It's entirely possible that the public had in mind a 1998 WCW that no longer could exist and that any WCW of the 2000-01 variety was a lost cause as highlighted by the crowd shitting on Booker and Bagwell in Tacoma. Really, I think the bubble bursted with Austin's heel turn and that such false mental picture of WCW allowed the company to extend its credit line before the full impact was felt in 2002. Either way, WCW deserved to die, and Bischoff sure as hell lacked the necessary knowledge and imagination to revitalize the brand.

We all know how the Lesnar - Goldberg match at WM 20 turned out....BUT If the crowd either didnt know about both men leaving or didnt really take it to heart and gave the match their attention and New York style cheering and such, could it have been a really good contest that is remembered better? Instead of all the booing and cheering due to what the crowd knew about then, if they handled it like any other big match with Lesnar and Goldberg, could it have been better...Lesnar and Goldberg are both obviously not happy with the crowd and the match goes to shit quickly I think due to it... Personally, I think it would have been a much better match along the lines…

Please do not discuss bootleg compilations or seek out wrestling footage here. Thank you.

I know the yearbooks do some of this, but I was curious if there was maybe a more in-depth version where each month of each year in the 90s' (and 80's could be) for all of Puro has a "best of" to see from that month...some of the stuff wouldnt be yearbook worthy, but could be worthy of seeing... I am guessing this doenst exist and I am still REALLY new in Puro so I couldnt do it...but figured I'd take a shot!

Wanted to start a Portland (PNW) thread to get some of the best matches here brought up by fans who watched it... There are a TON of matches I have questions about, but for me, first up is 1980...what were some of the great matches from that year? All other years apply as well obviously, but 1980 is the first I wanted to know about from those that know it well!

I was pondering earlier, which wrestlers people feel would of moved up a tier or two as an overall great, or even reached GOAT status if only they could cut a decent promo. They might be workers whom are over with the crowd, who put on great matches, with great charisma but just don't cut it when it comes to interviews and on camera speaking. People to me who fall into this criteria include: Jeff Hardy, Lex Luger, Booker T, Ultimate Warrior, Goldberg, Bobby Lashley, RVD, Ken Patera, Brock Lesnar and Ken Shamrock I am not sure if I'd include Benoit as he is already considered a GOAT candidate, but if he was great on the mic would he of been a no brainer for Top 5…

James Mason is after footage of himself in Michinoku Pro, especially in Koruaken. If anyone's got any can you drop us a PM? Thanks.

I think we've been through this before but why was there a boom in The UK with WWF wrestling in the early 90s when the company was falling apart domestically? I've always been intrigued by this. Was the TV not available during the "proper" boom in the 80s? Was it all Bret?

You guys have been really helpful by providing some great questions for me to use in my WWE interviews. I'll be talking to Antonio Cesaro in a couple of days. Anything for him?

I'm sure Foley has been discussed to death but I would like some things cleared up for me and maybe it will gather some conversation on the time frame. Vince was never interested in acknowledging someones' background. He always liked for the wwf to exist in its own world. Here are some talking points I will give. 1. What led to the sit down interview with Jim Ross and why did Vince decide to go into Foley's background with other promotions the way he did. What did you think about that at the time. 2. What did you think of the Dude Love character and what was your reaction to the debut of the character with the tag title match. 3. What was your reacti…

I am posting this here as a catch all for AWA results discussion as well as a discussion on the podcast... http://placetobenation.com/good-will-wrest...s-of-the-1980s/ Will is joined by Dylan Hales of the Wrestling Culture podcast, wrestling statistician Chris Harrington from www.indeedwrestling.com and wrestling historian Kris Zellner to discuss the best matches of the AWA from the 1980s. Over three hours of audio enjoyment as we count down the Top 20 matches from the decade and discuss the greatness of wrestlers including Nick Bockwinkel, Stan Hansen, Curt Hennig, Rick Martel, Crusher Blackwell and Jumping Jim Brunzell!!! The matches discussed are a result of th…

I'm sure this has been done before, but if the territories still existed which workers from the current WWE roster (and TNA for that matter, I suppose) would work in which territories? Who'd be the aces in 2013? The touring champ? The heels run out of town in loser leaves town matches?

Is it Vince? If you include commentary hours, then he's been on TV in some shape or form since 1971. If you add together all of the hours, then I can't see whose total could beat it. I suppose there are four other guys with a chance ... Lance Russell, obvious reasons, Tony Schiavone because at one point he was doing weekly 3-hour Nitros and Thunders and was on TV continuously from 1984 till 2001, JR same thing but with RAW and worked beyond 2001, bigger gaps in his career thoughv (don't know how much time his SMW stuff would add), and finally Gordon Solie because of the longevity factor. I still think if you added it all up, the answer would be Vince. If you do…

This comment from Kevin Ridge got me thinking... ...and I was wondering if people could have a go at answering some questions. How do you get behind a performer emotionally? I mean what draws that sort of reaction from you. Does it happen often or is it rare? Can you enjoy matches where you don't feel a huge emotional connection as much as matches where you do? Are there any matches you think are great where you don't feel a huge investment? I mean matches that would sit side by side with you all-time favourites even though you only enjoy them from a technical standpoint. Are there other ways you can get behind a performer that are different from the norm? For e…

Probably not the first guy around here to make this observation, but it just occurred to me that the list of wrestlers who put over the Ultimate Warrior reads like a Who's-Who of all-time greats. The number and magnitude of ring legends who laid down for this dude is absolutely staggering. And most of them did so on the biggest stage of all, Wrestlemania! Hogan Andre' Savage Triple-H Rude Am I missing anybody? These are clean wins too! All of them. It goes without saying that he didn't deserve it, and many have said that he didn't even appreciate what these guys were doing for him. I bring it up not to trash the guy, but just to express how completely …

For those who remember or who have read WON and other sources from that era, what was the general mood when the territories started folding and selling out to Vince and JCP? Were their demises mourned and lamented? Or were some of these promotions so feeble and pathetic by the end that the feeling was more like GOOD RIDDANCE? Were there any voices rooting for national promotions to take over? The reason I ask is that I know I have a tendency to idealize and romanticize the territorial era, and rightly so for the most part. Clearly something special was lost when they went away. But is this just hindsight? What did people think at the time?

I know current wrestling isn't really talked about but ive been watching TNA and here's somethings ive picked up. Is it just me or is everything rushed? Now I know in today everything is but look a few things. Sabin: his turn was random and took maybe one week. It looked as if he was going into a feud with manic only to then look like it was going to be with A double instead became a five way. Randomly by the way. Oh and while talking about A double I was hyped for a program with him and Kenny King..... But they gave us the match and blow off in about ten minutes. Now I know this is one giant bitch fit but has it always been that bad? And this is the build for the top P…

On the latest Wresting with the Past show (IC title edition), Loss talked about two different "certifiable" carry jobs: the first was Rude vs. Warrior; the second was Bret vs. Bulldog. I agree with him that both of those are carry jobs. There are other matches that over the years have been talked up as carry jobs that I'd dispute: Flair vs. Luger springs to mind. I don't believe Luger was "carried" in those matches. Maybe, the GAB 88 match, maybe. But not the others. So in this thread we can do two things: 1. What are some "certifiable" carry jobs? 2. What are some matches that have been hyped as carry jobs but in actuality weren't?

I'm about to go through these. This is what I have on deck. Is there anything else I should add? If it's online and you can link to it, I'll watch it as well. 159 matches listed below. Matches in red are matches I couldn't find. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Jon Moxley (Dog Collar Match) (IPW, 1/1) The Miz vs. John Morrison (Falls Count Anywhere Match) (WWE Monday Night RAW 01/03/11) The Big Show vs. vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Dolph Ziggler (WWE, 1/7/11) Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio (SD 1/7/11) Mark Sterling vs. Jeremy Wyatt (No DQ, Iron Man Match) (3XW 1/7/11) Negro Navarro & Black Terry vs. Gran Apache & Angel Mortal (IWRG, 1/9/11) Kana & Yos…

After listening again to teh great Wrestling From The Past Episode #2 on teh TV title, made me think: What are some of the BEST TV Title matches you are either like yourself or think is underrated... Obviously, doenst have to be a change, but any match involving the title.... For me, one is the Tully Blanchard vs. Brad Armstrong TV match on TBS that went the time limit in early '87....GREAT 10 min match that needs more love..

News just broken: http://uk.prweb.com/releases/2013/8/prweb10974041.htm

Thought about this last night while falling asleep.. What are some of the best matches where a Tag wrestler before, who primarily works tags, is in a singles match? Not guys that joined tag teams once they were already really established as singles workers. Some of my best that I can think of off the top of my head: Bret vs. Steamboat in '86 - Maple Leaf Gardens was great Shawn vs. Perfect in '91 - WM VII Stars and Stripes Forever Shawn vs. Flair in '91 - On Invasion 92 and really happens days before they break up What else?