NintendoLogic

Made some additions/alterations to my original post.

You'd probably have a different perspective on finances if you've been around the wrestling business as long as Dave has. He's seen more guys than he can list end up broke who he thought were set for life.

I've been on my fair share of message boards, and I know how difficult it is to keep conversation lively while maintaining a strong signal-to-noise ratio. You need strong moderation for that to happen, but you also need a strong crew of regular posters who are willing to police each other and check themselves if need be. Thanks to everyone here for making this board what it is.

If you think Fujinami's heavyweight matches are a chore to get through, just hang in there. I'm sure the elimination tag matches will be more your speed.

How exactly do the Bucks tear apart the conventions of the genre?

I'm not sure "looks fake" and "embarrassing to non-fans" are terribly useful standards. If we're really being honest, much of the territory wrestling a lot of us love is just as goofy and fake-looking to a non-fan, if not more so.

But that small niche audience is willing to pay premium prices for tickets and merchandise. Is 50 fans paying $100 to watch a match really less impressive than 1000 fans paying $5 to watch one?

I respect the hell out of anyone who manages to beat the system and make a good living outside of the WWE machine. I don't particularly enjoy their matches, but I long ago resigned myself to the fact that the kind of wrestling I really enjoy is dead.

Has Brock ever wrestled Kane before?

Dave not exactly covering himself in glory in his discussion of the Michael Elgin sitution. For those who haven't been following, one of Elgin's students was accused of sexual assault by a fan. Elgin was then revealed to have behaved in an assholish manner toward the fan in DMs. He's lost some bookings as a result.

Here's the arrest report: https://twitter.com/GainesvillePD/status/939852538026872839/photo/1 Not a good look when your statement to the police is contradicted by two eyewitnesses. Also, the fact that she was willing to jump out of a moving car to get away from him leads me to believe that this wasn't the first incident.

I don't know. The ring boy scandals were a pretty huge deal in 1992.

Was he there to buy a Young Bucks shirt?

Being cool at the time is literally the entire point of professional wrestling.

in presumably unrelated news, Cena is being sued by Ford for selling a custom car they gave him. He said he did it to pay bills, which is kind of concerning when you consider all the money he makes from WWE, Hollywood, and endorsement deals. Has he been taking financial advice from Ric Flair?

Instead of "this is awesome," we can chant "great match theory."

Featuring Bryan in an on-screen role unfroze his contract. Regardless, it doesn't expire until 2018.

Why not? Historical memory is fickle and largely outside the control of the wrestlers.

I had considered this as well, and it makes me curious as to how one is deemed qualified to vote in a particular region. Is it purely on the honor system? But someone who watches 2017 AJ Styles matches for the first time in 2037 is going to have a completely different perspective than someone who watched them in 2017. And I don't dispute the value of rewatching and reevaluating old footage as a fan, but I do think it's kind of silly to say that someone can't be considered a great worker unless their matches hold up 20 years after they've retired. As for Tamura, it's not like he was a complete nobody. He was voted Best Technical Wrestler by Observer readers in 1998.

Maybe they wanted to avoid confusion with Fit Finlay's Riot Squad.

Dave addressed this in the HOF issue. He said that workrate candidates have to go in early because their legacies tend to be forgotten as years go by (he specifically mentioned Kiyoshi Tamura and Red Bastien as victims of this tendency). On the other hand, guys who won lots of titles tend to do better as the years pass. This seems like an inherent issue without a structural fix. Anyway, looking at the lucha candidates, Los Misioneros, Ultimo Guerrero, Villano III, Cien Caras, LA Park, Karloff Lagarde, Dr. Wagner Jr., and Blue Panther all received between 40 and 60 percent of the vote. There seems to be a serious collective action problem with Mexico voters. They need to coalesce around a couple of candidates to break the logjam.

I would think that bringing in ICP would repel at least as many fans as it attracts.

Someone on the F4W board mentioned a show in Atlanta with LA Park that drew 6500. Can anyone vouch for this?

I just watched this for the first time, and my initial inclination is to declare this the greatest shoot-style match I've ever seen. I can't think of another match that successfully integrates the technique and realism of shoot-style and the drama and theatricality of pro-style at this level. With most matches in this style, one or the other is sacrificed. Not this time.

Here's a quote from Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels.