Loss

Nick Bockwinkel vs Jim Brunzell (AWA 06/11/81) 10 minutes of good wrestling. I really enjoyed the hammerlock matwork and Brunzell's comeback. Probably not the best, but maybe my favorite AWA match so far. But I’m still waiting on this promotion to wow me and it hasn’t happened yet.

Jimmy Snuka vs Ricky Steamboat (AJPW 06/03/81) This was faster paced and more action packed than most of what I’ve seen so far in ’81. It has the feel of two young guys putting their fingerprints on the wrestling style. Steamboat does some really outstanding selling, and the mid-air collision off of the criss cross sequence that leads to both falling outside the ring is a truly beautiful spot. Snuka botches a slingshot dive back into the ring which gets a laugh from the crowd, but they nicely recover. From there, this turns into more of a crazy brawl, with Steamboat juicing and Snuka as a total madman, going after the cut with gusto. Give Steamboat big credit, as he just keeps selling and selling (and selling) until the crowd is chanting his name and rooting for a comeback. With the blood, standing on the top ropes to brawl and big dives, this is like a cage match with no cage (ignoring the DQ finish), which is pretty cool. They built to that DQ so well that I had no problem with it, and in some ways, I think it worked better than a clean pinfall would have. Great, great match!

Dutch Mantel vs Kevin Sullivan (Memphis 05/09/81) Lots of good detail in the matwork. I really enjoyed watching these two work a hammerlock and a headlock for the first five minutes of this, getting pin attempts and failed counters from it. Dutch is an awesome aggressor when they are toe-to-toe, which causes Sullivan to try grounding him. Both guys have some really great kicks and strikes. They close things out with some really quick attempts at falls, culminating in Dutch losing his patience and choking Sullivan out with the strap on his tights! I don’t know why it surprised me to see Sullivan so good at fundamentals. Basic match, but violent and really well executed, with tremendous studio heat by the end and a nice photo finish. This is probably the best traditional wrestling match I’ve ever seen from Sullivan, and Dutch is a total workhorse.

CM Punk has had some great matches. That said, he's a long winded and overrated promo in my opinion, and something about the way he treats his fans pisses me off.

If the plan for pay-per-view after the launch of the network that we've heard is true, they really do need this to be a blockbuster Wrestlemania, so I can see them putting all hands on deck. This is a unique year.

That's a big topic. I've gone into it before and am hesitant to go into too much detail here because I don't want to derail this thread from Smackdown Six talk. I think it's a combination of mediocre booking, announcing not explaining the wrestling style enough and the erosion of kayfabe. Still, the end result is what it is. But Punk vs Lawler last year having front row fans sit on their hands while Lawler has the crap beaten out of him made me sad. I've seen recent Rhodes matches where they are able to get the crowd into it, but they never have the people at the beginning, and even then, it's only heated if you lower the bar and judge it by a different set of standards.

I don't think the matches have enough heat.

My response: @davemeltzerWON If it's such a ridiculous idea, I still don't understand why you even make poor answers options on polls run on your site.

Should I dance?

Yeah, Bret.

I'm comfortable calling Shawn a great wrestler. I don't like his comeback, but I do like him the first time around. He's not a first tier great wrestler, but he crosses the threshold for me.

If Jericho returns for Wrestlemania season, what midcarder do they put him with this time around?

Could Batista help get Ryback steered right again?

Sounds like Punk and Bryan face each other then.

Probably not.

I think the Scott Steiner comparison is interesting. Angle fans, how would you compare the two (Scott in his more athletic days, not his Big Poppa Pump gimmick). What strengths does Angle have as a worker that Scott Steiner didn't? Do you agree that they are similar types of wrestlers?

Awesome. I remember getting the Wrestlemania VHS game many moons ago. I never even played the board game, I just watched the two hour video full of great highlights over and over that came with it.

I've learned recently not to defend matches on memory, so as it relates to the Smackdown 6, I won't do that. But I will say it's always important to consider context when understanding why something was so popular at the time. Paul Heyman booking Smackdown felt like a breath of fresh air compared to RAW, in which the Katie Vick angle was happening and HHH was just handed the title. They had been in desperation mode all year long with Hot Lesbian Action, NWO and Bischoff signing, return of Michaels, etc. And now, for the first time in a few years, matches are being given enough time to go through commercial breaks. Not only that, but they feature so many Internet darlings of the time. That's all without even getting into the match quality.

I want to provide an opinion, but I don't really understand what is being debated.

Shawn was losing in five minute matches where he was pale with short hair in the time period we are talking about.

Charles and Will are back as they examine the career of the Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels. They go through the early years with the Rockers, his heel turn and run with Sherri Martel, his matches with the Kliq, his awesome 1997 feud with Bret Hart and the final run of his career. We discuss the problems we had with his matches but also give credit where credit is due. There is never a dull moment so enjoy!!! http://placetobenation.com/wrestling-with-...heartbreak-kid/

I love the idea of Flair and Diana Hart Smith going on a date, Diana wearing her Ms. Calgary crown and doing her dumbfounded at ringside look the whole time.

John, the point is that a lot of old shows were marketed as new for a second run. The Monkees performed at the MTV Video Music Awards and had second wave of popularity in the mid 80s. The Brady Bunch is a show that became more popular in syndication. I can pull out a "These glasses make me look positively goofy", "His name? George, George Glass" or "Oh my nose!" in just about any setting with just about any age group and get a laugh, because it is probably the most re-aired sitcom of all time. By and large, I agree with you that most people are interested in what's current. That's probably true at least 98% of the time. But there are exceptions and I think we're downplaying the impact of things like syndication, re-runs and parents.

I believe I've also read that The Brady Bunch was also more popular in the late 80s than it was during its first airing.

I'm not denying that I enjoyed it. I obviously did. I am just saying maybe the sharpshooter stuff wasn't built up and executed as well as I remembered.