SomethingSavage

Definitely disappointed to discover that they're letting themselves lose Lashley. The guy's undergone such a drastic transformation under their watch over the course of the past several years. He's been an absolute highlight - one of the few constants, really. Just such a beast. I realize they're restructuring the roster and asking unique things of their guys going forward, but losing Lashley is a major net loss for them in my eyes. It's astounding, really. Just going back and tracking his transformation was like experiencing it all over again. His transformation was so sudden and out of nowhere - it's practically downright illogical when you think about it. Like, basically, the guy disappears from the scene for a handful of years, works nowhere, and just barrels back onto the field, and he's fully formed as this polished performer. It's like he developed out of sight, overnight somewhere. It's just baffling. I've seen some posters give him his due here, which is refreshing and the reason I wanted to chime in about it here. But yeah. Lashley's been killing it since way back in 2014 for TNA. The Slammiversary show that year, the Manhattan Center match with Jeff Hardy that summer, the Destination X defense against Aries (still perhaps his best ALL-AROUND performance, to be honest), the trilogy with Roode at the end of that year, the series with a worn & weary Kurt Angle, his feud with Drew Galloway, his rivalry with EC3, and on & on & on all go to his credit. Lashley felt like a real force for them, at various points im time when almost nothing else did. The dude simply became everything you'd want in a main event level, big fight performer. Somewhere out there - in some alternate universe - all the right puzzle pieces came together perfectly way back in 2007, and Lashley was able to build off the back of that Trump hair match endorsement to become a legitimate breakout superstar. There's no way of knowing if he could've gotten this good that early, of course. But hey. The fantasy would've also required Donald getting his fucking name right in the buildup, too. So, ya know. There's also that.

What's the noticeable uptick on 205 Live recently, and how far back does it go? Considering giving it a look, but there's no way I'd track back to the beginning or anything.

I guess I've got an odd taste when it comes to commentary, but yeah. Booker's been the best thing to happen to their commentary since the underrated teams of Taz/Cole and the original run from Bradshaw/Cole. I'm perfectly cool with it if that makes me a major outlying opinion on the matter.

Booker T always brought a frantic, fun energy to the booth that hasn't been matched in a long, long time. I absolutely, unapologetically loved every minute of it. I can understand why his unpolished approach would irritate some people, but I definitely dug it. He sounded like a real person - flubs, flaws, and all. I'll forever take that over the monotone, social media-oriented corporate-approved lingo we have to hear spill out from most of the other announcers. I don't know. I'm certainly comfortable in accepting the idea that my tastes are totally disconnected from almost everyone else lately. Like, why can't Graves be bored by a Buddy Rogers match for example? Why does that automatically make the guy an idiot? Stuff like that just sounds stupid to me. Someone may see it as him being dismissive of a certain style or time, but it's equally dismissive and hypocritical to just dismiss his opinions without knowing the criticisms or reasoning behind it. Maybe the guy just finds the work bland or dry. Not everyone's going to watch a 50 year old match with a notepad and a compulsion to rate it right afterward.

Definitely. Excalibur just randomly busting on Cole being "ponchy" or having wide birthing hips is forever good for a laugh.

According to Meltzer, they settled on the idea of running a year-long Hulk versus Macho Man program in the final weeks leading up to Mania 4. You could research for the date that they changed the brackets for the WM4 tourney to get a more specific idea of when they switched plans from DiBiase over to Savage.

I could count on one hand the number of times I've watched a full episode of Raw in the last 4 years, but I *do* recall watching an episode sometime around last summer while visiting my grandpa. I just remember the main event was a Reigns/Joe match, and somewhere in the middle of the show was this SOOPAH FUN little Drifter versus Balor match. Nothing really out of this world or extraordinary about the in-ring action, although Elias *was* already busting out some good stuff - like his sit out powerbomb & whatnot. But the real story was the gnarly guitar shot he gave Balor after the match. Just an easily enjoyable little match that sprung up out of nowhere that night and seriously surprised me. I tend to dig those type of bouts the most. That'll always be the first time I recall taking notice of Elias, and yeah. Instantly boarded the bandwagon after that. Like I said though, I don't follow their shows faithfully or anything. So I can't track how far back he was improving or gradually growing as a performer. But I've gone out of my way to scope out anything I've seen him doing ever since. And it *at least* goes back that far to the Finn match - months before the showing with Roman. So there's that.

Had to check out the Revival segment after hearing some people buzz about it. Meh. The only feeling I got from it was that they were prepping the Revival to be the team to eat a handful of the legends' finishing moves next week. It's the same role the Ascension, La Resistance, and other esteemed pairings have filled on these past anniversary shows. Not so sure why people were acting like it was a breakthrough moment or anything. Did I miss something there?

Makes sense. It's basically what Conrad had hoped for the show with Tony to be in the first place, until he realized 1) Schiavone's memory is shit, and 2) Schiavone wasn't keyed into much of anything in terms of decisions or inside information with angles, contracts, or decisions whatsoever. You can tell Conrad was wanting the WCW counterpoint to Prichard's WWF podcast. What he ultimately wound up with is something else entirely.

You're overlooking some key elements regarding Rollins and Van Dam anyhow. RVD came into a shark tank - at a time when guys like Austin, Hunter, and others were really paranoid and clinging to keep their top spots. Rollins was basically brought in from day one to be anointed. He was groomed as the guy in FCW, then the NXT reboot, and later the main roster. Two totally different sets of circumstances.

Regarding Scurll and Ospreay, one of the more irritating aspects of their work (for me) is the way they have to stop and shout out whenever they're about to hit a signature spot. It's been an annoying element in Scurll's game for awhile, and I just noticed Ospreay shouting out, "OS-CUTTER!" and shit at Wrestle Kingdom last week. It's just terrible.

Silas Young has ALWAYS worked that gimmick - and that style - way before his ROH days. Seems like a case of him wanting to show what he CAN do, and then getting his shit in every time.

For those (like me) that listened to the English commentary, I'm curious - what do you guys think of Callis' commentary? There are elements to his approach that I enjoy a lot, but there are also things that I find unnecessary & irritating. Addressing the Young Bucks' critics by calling attention to how they're "working a body part" immediately springs to mind. In general, this whole trend of using insider lingo and too many meta references needs to die a thousand deaths and stay buried already. I honestly hate to be another old man on his front porch about it all, but it's one of those things I really have a low tolerance for in the first place - but now that EVERYONE is doing it - well it's almost reached a point that you can't watch ANY current wrestling without running headfirst into it. Basically just have to overlook it. With all that being said, I can't complain too much. I *do* find Callis to be a better fit for New Japan than either Striker or Corino. So at least there's that.

Not sure if it's intentional or strictly a case of schedules & circumstances, but I've been really digging the rotating cast of guests you guys have got going lately. Keeps things fresh and offers slightly different takes & touches on a time and place that's highly nostalgic for me. Makes for a killer combo. Immensely enjoyable audio with these last few episodes, man.

Definitely didn't intend to derail the thread or anything - just wanted to chime in with my perception of the GWE project and its fallout, since I only occasionally post things around here. But yeah. I'll be following the GME, especially if there are any accompanying podcasts and whatnot.

I've only watched it once so far, but plan on revisiting it. And you're right. It felt like something special - an elite level, top-shelf showcase for Jericho's personality. From abusing Red Shoes & the young boys to carelessly letting Callis get flattened at ringside, it was just tremendous. The way I remember it though was Jericho calling a fan "fuckface" after they'd piped in for Chono to kick Chris' ass. Good stuff either way though.

I love this place, especially as a resource to find and discover such a rich amount of wrestling I'd otherwise never stumble upon or seek out myself. With that being said - it seems really silly to me that people took the GWE so seriously and personally. Aren't these projects meant to be fun? I mean, sure. It's also meant to stir up discussion. And I don't mean to dismiss or downplay anyone's contributions to these projects. But yeah. Surely there are other things going on in life that require more attention. Priorities, folks. If you're getting THAT caught up in the rankings of pro wrestlers on a message board - to the point where it legitimately upsets you and ruins relationships? Then you may need to step back and reevaluate. It's a hobby. If you aren't genuinely enjoying it, then here's a heads up. You're doing it wrong. Of course, I was pretty far removed from the process. I was going to participate but bowed out early on, as soon as I saw people criticizing others' opinions and raising the talking point about people being unqualified if they haven't seen much puro or lucha, etc. I knew there & then that it wasn't for me. Again, I'm grateful for this place and its contributors. Absolutely enjoy reading through the threads, following the podcast feeds, & absorbing all the info I can. But I'm perfectly comfortable being a consumer on the outer circle if this is how these things will always shake out. Guess I'll never understand why people would let these things affect them personally. Just my two cents.

The terminology is nausea-inducing. It's a legitimate eyesore just trying to read that verbose, pretentious logjam of words that ultimately say nothing in the wordiest way possible. I realize that's more of a "this is the world we live in today" issue than it is strictly a WWE issue, but yeah. Just really off-putting and not at all how human beings actually communicate or even interpret information in actual reality.

Anything new or noteworthy in the first Waltman interview? I see it's a two-parter, and I'll normally go out of my way to listen to Sean's stuff - regardless of the host or setting.

Glad you enjoyed it so much. Think it's pretty obvious by some of my earlier reactions, but yeah. I absolutely loved the show. Can't wait for the new season. I rarely revisit a series so soon, but I just might go back and watch this one again pretty soon.

Managed to catch a bit more downtime between the gym and work today than I'd planned, so I was actually able to sit down and watch the WarGames match itself. I've seen some of the criticisms & critiques going in, but I absolutely enjoyed the hell out of it through & through. None of the little tweaks or changes bothered me at all, to be perfectly honest. Sometimes, you're just in a really good mood when you watch a particular match or card. And maybe that's what some of this is, with the holidays coming up and all that. But I don't know. I had a blast watching this show, and I'm definitely left with the impression that I'd love to see more WarGames done in NXT in the future. I'm kind of crossing my fingers that it becomes an annual thing for NXT at their Survivor Series Takeover. As far as Mauro goes? Yeah. He's almost embarrassingly awful at times. And it's a shame, because he actually packs a sense of energy & enthusiasm to his approach. It's something that makes me *want* to enjoy his stuff. But it's really just too much, man. Forget "belts" and pronouns, pal. At this point, I'm practically praying for a Vince edict to come down and ban the words, "MAMA MIA!" from his vocabulary. I swear I had to hear that shit about six dozen times on this show alone.

Haven't had a chance to catch the WarGames match itself yet, but I *did* watch up to the NXT Championship match. And yeah. That was fucking aces. Felt like a star-making performance for Almas in front of that audience. Just a really heightened, extraordinary atmosphere from bell to bell. The story itself was streamlined and simple, but the action was very much up to speed with everything a modern fan might want as well. It really did cover all the bases and come together as a fully formed, seriously satisfying main event style match. So much to love there. I don't follow NXT week to week, but this was definitely the best I've seen from Almas since he dropped the mask. I remember REALLY digging the opener he had with Roddy Strong a few Takeovers ago, but that's about it. Are there any gems I've missed in the meantime that are worth checking out? I'll get around to the WarGames match sometime this week. Probably later than I'd like, due to work & whatnot - but definitely putting it as a priority over anything on the Survivor Series card.

I like how people pretend that Savage wasn't super frugal or motivated by, ya know, making money so he could afford to live a very comfortable life after wrestling someday. Life has priorities. Of course it's easy to say Savage would've been satisfied and would've stayed put, but come on. There's no way of knowing. Bischoff was ALWAYS going to come calling eventually - especially after Hogan was fully on board. And Randy likely would have ended up going there, regardless.

I've seen people shitting on the NWA relaunch elsewhere, and that is what it is - but my god. I'm loving these little video packages they've been putting together over the past several weeks. At the end of the day, I'm a fan. I'm going to go to bat for anything I'm digging, and I'm enjoying this stuff immensely at the moment. I'll gladly leave all the "money mark" talk about Corgan at the door. The guy's clearly got designs and a desire to do something with it. Whether it makes a dent or not is something that can be followed as the whole thing unfolds though. At this particular point in time? I'm just going to go for the ride and see how it shakes out. But yeah. The videos going up on their YouTube channel have been tremendous. It's done so much to make the belt and the NWA brand seem prestigious and significant again. Plus I was a huge fan of Championship Wrestling From Hollywood back in the day (2010 to 2013-ish), when Adam Pearce and Colt Cabana were putting together an incredibly underrated program for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship with the whole 7 Levels of Hate saga. So yeah. It's great to see Marquez linking back up with the NWA banner again after all this time. The approach is entirely old-school. There's nothing really earth-shattering or groundbreaking about any of it. But that's precisely why I'm enjoying it. Definitely takes me back to that 2012-2014 time frame, when I was REALLY plugged into several indies and following the likes of NWA SAW, Traditional Championship Wrestling, Wrestling From Hollywood, etc. simtulaneously - all due to the very same reason. All the hype and love that NXT got about two years later for taking an old-school, episodic approach to their television format and booking, with a strong emphasis on distinct characters and streamlined stories - it was being done by those promotions beforehand. Same style. Same approach. Same appeal. Maybe it's purely a personal connection for me - and maybe even a minor nostalgia kick of sorts (can nostalgia exist only a handful of years later? ). But yeah. Whatever it is, I just thought I'd pile on some random love for this stuff. Carry on.

Knew I couldn't be the only one that immediately thought of the guy from "Grandma's Boy" when the Jay White reveal popped up.