Quck question, what is the best NJPW and us indy show so far this year? I'm looking to pick up a few dvds of newer stuff to catch up to. I know ROH Best in the World is on my list and maybe the Omega show for the Briscoes/Hardys match alone.

NJPW Invasion Attack is my favorite New Japan show of the year, date is April 6th

Appreciate it Chad. I'm going to seek out some Evolve and CZW maybe too. Trying to set myself up for the Evolve weekend coming up

I have full faith in saying that PWG's upcoming BOLA weekend will end up being the Indy shows of the year. With the amount of talent lined up, it may be theoretically impossible not to blow the roof off the place all three nights.

I'm sure there are going to be some awesome matches and they really stacked the line up, but there are too many guys I have zero interest in seeing and who I know will get a lot of air time to make me really hyped for it.

Quck question, what is the best NJPW and us indy show so far this year? I'm looking to pick up a few dvds of newer stuff to catch up to. I know ROH Best in the World is on my list and maybe the Omega show for the Briscoes/Hardys match alone.

As far as CZW goes the "To Infinity" is worth a go . Biff vs Gulak on point and a good tag title match and a decent undercard with Team Tremenous really standing out. CZW also had "Prelude to Death" which is also worth a look. Also, Beyond Wrestlings "Point of no Return" and "Americanrana" could be my fovorite indy shows of the year with americanrana probably being my favorite. Biff-Edddie, Gulak-Dickinson, and the nutty tag scramble are the highlights. As far as PWG would go i give a big thumbs up to most everything this year but the ddt tag tourny. It isnt a bad show but just wasnt on par with the rest of the year. All the mount rushmore of wrestling stuff is great, and their fued with joey and candice should be tracked down.

Jerry's promo here:

 

20 years ago today Hulk Hogan won the WCW title by beating Flair at Bash at the Beach

I'm going to see Mick Foley's one man show on Tuesday.

Who was the guy working WWE house shows in 1993 under a mask as The Predator, doing jobs for Jim Powers? And what was the deal with giving Powers wins on house shows anyway?

I'm going to see Mick Foley on Thursday....super excited.

 

 

and The Predator was Horace Boulder/Hogan

I really wish I could see that Lawler/Steen match. That's too far from VA though. I like Lawler stealing Jimmy Hart's line about Lawler killing Andy Kaufman with piledrivers.

Who was the guy working WWE house shows in 1993 under a mask as The Predator, doing jobs for Jim Powers? And what was the deal with giving Powers wins on house shows anyway?

 

They liked to check guys' attitude by having them job to jobbers before offering them a contract.

 

WWF @ Sunrise, FL - October 9, 1994 (1,300)

Bob Holly defeated Scott Norton

 

They did the same thing to Chris Benoit (pre Radicalz jump) and probably several others I can't remember.

Bob Holly and Scott Norton would be an excellent shoot.

So I have some disposable income and I was thinking of getting either (or both) a Torch and/or Observer VIP membership. I've never read the Observer and I stopped subscribing to the Torch in 2001.

 

I was curious if you guys had any thoughts on these and would it be worth my time and investment?

Is there a year in American pro wrestling PPV that is worse than 1998? I'm through July so far and it's even worse than I remembered. Awful wrestling and terrible storytelling from event to event. Only one match in seven months that I'd consider great, and that's pathetic when you think about the talent the big three possessed at this time. I openly despise the Attitude Era, but ECW and WCW on PPV from this time period are just as bad, if not worse.

1999 was arguably worse, as that's when Russo's influence in the WWF peaked and WCW was a cesspit from May 1999 onwards.

Is there a year in American pro wrestling PPV that is worse than 1998? I'm through July so far and it's even worse than I remembered. Awful wrestling and terrible storytelling from event to event. Only one match in seven months that I'd consider great, and that's pathetic when you think about the talent the big three possessed at this time. I openly despise the Attitude Era, but ECW and WCW on PPV from this time period are just as bad, if not worse.

 

The WWF in 1998 is so much fun. One of my favourite years to watch

1995 was pretty bad.

Nah. Every promotion had good things going on in '98. I'd definitely agree that '99 was a far worse year on PPV.

 

ECW had the dominance of Taz, at the very least.

 

WCW had Jericho at his most glorious peak, ruling over the cruiserweight landscape. The Slamboree battle royal, THAT pop for Malenko, the matches with Rey and Juvy... all good stuff. Plus there's the rise of Goldberg on PPV that year. There's a decent sprint of a brawl between Savage & Sting. And the mid-card, littered with the likes of Booker, Finlay, Raven, Martel, Benoit, and Page was still in pretty damn decent shape for much of the year.

 

WWF was still exciting up top. All their "major" programs were awesome. Even their under-card stuff was fun. It hadn't QUITE tipped the scale into totally obnoxious or grossly obscene for me just yet. I mean, sure. There's a TRUCKLOAD of stuff to roll your eyes at, but even things that tend to grate people's nerves the worst - like Snow with Head, Venis' early work, etc. - don't phase me too terribly much. And hey. I'll say it. I dig Tennessee Lee with Double J. So there.

 

But yes. I think every single stateside promotion ABSOLUTELY took a nosedive, at least for awhile, in '99. A lot of '98 felt like a thrill ride, and a bunch of the pay-per-views felt like SUCH a bigger deal than they really were - simply because business was so white hot.

So I have some disposable income and I was thinking of getting either (or both) a Torch and/or Observer VIP membership. I've never read the Observer and I stopped subscribing to the Torch in 2001.

 

I was curious if you guys had any thoughts on these and would it be worth my time and investment?

 

Get an Observer/F4W sub. Personal bias, but I can't listen to Keller, he annoys the hell out of me, and the audio quality of his podcasts are ridiculously poor for something he expects people to pay money for. Say what you will about Alvarez, but the quality of audio on his pods is good, and he strives to deliver a clear and listenable product. Keller's pods are worse than amatuer level. Also, Keller and Bruce Mitchell's opinions and whiny talk just really annoys me. I enjoy listening to Dave, I enjoy listening to Bryan despite how out there and whacky he is sometimes......I can not listen to Keller or Mitchell without wanting to cut my ears off

I'm not seeing what you guys are in 1998.

 

WWF is atrocious, both from a wrestling and a storyline standpoint. Every match in the WWF, sans a few here and there, in 1998 an be summed up as, "Punch, Kick, Punch, Punch, Clothesline, repeat ad nauseum, Finisher." The stories are driven into the ground and are sophomoric to the point where Daddy Day Care look like high theater.

 

WCW had talent but they aren't doing much of anything with it. Jericho's a great example, because sure he's entertaining, but he's limited to 6 or so minutes in the ring and his promo time is kept way too short as well. Golberg I could care less about. Savage is done for, and legit this time. Sting stands around staring into nothingness as for some reason WCW has decided to have nWo versus nWo where the announcers, and all the remaining WCW wrestlers, apparently forget that red or black, nWo is trying to destroy your company.

 

ECW is really shitty, as in ring it's the same nonsense in every match, "hit a few spots, brawl around the ring, hit a bunch of finishers, the end." Taz is super boring as he's a midget Goldberg who swears every now and then. Tommy Dreamer can't do anything but yell "ECW" and the rest of the roster is consistently hurt by Heyman's terrible booking.

 

Sorry gents, but 1998 is truly a terrible year for American wrestling. The Attitude Era is complete garbage, but ECW and WCW aren't that far behind.

Almost all of those Austin main events have a shitload of energy which more than makes up for the kick-punch nature of the work.

Not for me, there's only so much boring brawling around ringside masquerading as wrestling that I can take. Dude/Austin from Over the Edge is probably the best the Attitude Era produced, and even that is an average brawl marred by needless outside bullshit.

Summerslam 98 was a pretty good PPV.