Loss

Punk/Jericho was awesome. By far, the match of the night. Outstanding.

???? I thought John Laurinitis might order a rematch after winning this match, but I don't think that's going to happen now.

There were moments of this that worked, but yeah, I was just thinking the same thing.

SAY HER NAME, TODD MARTIN.

The first match was incredibly frustrating and got the show off to a terrible start, but I have this small hope that we haven't seen the last of them tonight. Orton looked great in the Kane match, even if it wasn't a particularly good match. Show/Cody was awfully clumsy and didn't have much heat.

You think we'll be angry?

Delayed selling~! That's all I needed to read.

What are some examples of other styles or matches you find emotional? Part of it is atmosphere and has nothing to do with what is happening in the ring. Excited announcers and screaming crowd. I guess the best comparison I have to what I've seen of World of Sport is RINGS -- not so much in terms of style, but in terms of presentation. I enjoy RINGS. But I like UWFI more because it feels more like traditional pro wrestling. I'm not sure I'm answering the question, so maybe the best way to answer it is to ask another series of questions. Are there any bloodbaths? Any long-term rivalries that build from match to match? Any classic stories of someone chasing victory in a match or chasing a title for years before the big payoff? Is revenge a theme you see often? Or does each match exist in its own little vacuum? I've found at this stage of my wrestling watching, it's hard for me to enjoy matches where the big picture context isn't really evident. It's why sometimes I hold off when matches are recommended to me. I feel like every match has prerequisites, and it's really hard for me to watch anything cold. Anyway, I'm rambling. The advice you gave was great. I generally do like the Jim Breaks and Johnny Saint matches I've seen. I just haven't seen one that I've loved yet.

Well, when you find the match we watched, make sure to let us know and comment on it.

I'm sure there are things I could see that would make me love it, but I struggle with the rounds system. It feels like it's a momentum killer, and because both wrestlers have so much time to recover between rounds, sometimes the work prior seems inconsequential as a result. I say that from an admitted place of ignorance and like with any style, there are paradigm shifts. I need to really dive in sometime and give it an honest shot. But so much of it feels like an exhibition -- lots of cool matwork but not a lot of emotion.

Jeff Jarrett has been a pretty grating wrestling personality, but he has for the most part been a good to great wrestler, and I would easily put him above HHH.

John, could you post the '91 New Japan star ratings here? Thanks.

Thanks. I had no idea those were out there already.

Yeah, I would say invisibility is the hallmark of a good referee. When I mentioned Nick Patrick, I was actually praising him as a character more than I was praising him as a referee. He's not the best guy at typical ref stuff, but he is great for stuff like the teased boxing match with Cornette in the Midnights/Rock & Rolls match and the NWO angle.

We won't be doing the 1999 Yearbook for a while, but I wanted to bump this to see if anyone who has all the WONs from '99 could compile all the New Japan WON star ratings for the year? The tOA list stops at '97, unfortunately. Giving as much notice as possible in case this is a long project. Thanks.

We won't be doing the 1998 Yearbook for a while, but I wanted to bump this to see if anyone who has all the WONs from '98 could compile all the New Japan WON star ratings for the year? The tOA list stops at '97, unfortunately. Giving as much notice as possible in case this is a long project. Thanks.

It was labeled as Samurai TV 01/23/98, taped 11/23.

I will type up a list of everything he sent me later tonight.

I didn't get the set from him that he just released. I contacted him months ago and asked him to send me all of his Samurai/Satellite stuff for '97. That's what I got. I just went through it. What I have is not this set.

I got it from Dan. He sent me all the Samurai TV and Satellite TV he sent me for 1997. He does have it. I don't have any NTV 30.

Yeah, because that would be justified.

I don't understand the context of the quote.

Going through some 1997 footage and Nick Patrick was the FUCKING MAN. Great heel, GREAT promo, really strong pro wrestling sensibilities. This guy was awesome. I don't think he's one of the better straight referees, but when you need a ref who can work an angle, I don't think anyone is better.

Thanks for the Puerto Rico recommendations. I'll see what I can find. As for W*ING, these are the matches that are standing out to me at this point: - Dos Caras & El Fantasma vs Fishman & Killer - Headhunters vs Dos Caras & El Fantasma - Headhunter A & Tom Pritchard vs Headhunter B & Danny Davis - Headhunters vs Eddie Gilbert & Tom Pritchard - Mr. Pogo & TNT vs Iceman & Akitoshi Saito

I'm assuming Perro is up there too?