August 2, 201411 yr comment_5616754 I never had a problem with his charisma. My problem is with a very clear sense of the workers working together on spots rather than struggling over them. In lucha libre that stuff comes across way better than American or Japanese wrestling.
August 2, 201411 yr comment_5616761 Malenko's "lacking charisma" was clearly a deliberate part of the shooter/iceman gimmick. I tend to agree, although he certainly was a wooden and dry promo. I think it's kinda the same case as Brad Armstrong who apparently had a great personnality backstage. It's not like they were looking like Tim Horner in the ring either (but who knows, maybe Horner was hilarious backstage too). Ironically enough, I thought he was at his best when he was working as a fiery babyface (against Syxx or Jericho for instance) instead of the emotionless technical "shooter" which catered to his worst tendencies in the ring.
August 2, 201411 yr comment_5616797 Bret Hart said Dean Malenko's style looked "too choreographed". I think that's a fitting description.
August 3, 201411 yr comment_5616865 Bret Hart said Dean Malenko's style looked "too choreographed". I think that's a fitting description. Malenko is guilty of one of my biggest pet peeves, guys kicking out of their own pinning attempts during quick nearfalls sequences. It drives me crazy.
August 3, 201411 yr comment_5616873 And sometimes you can see him (and tons of others too, including workers I enjoy) litteraly pushing the guy he's trying to pin away just before the three count so they can get into the next position. It's absurd and ruins whatever illusion of them even trying to pin each others during those sequences.
August 7, 201411 yr comment_5617775 When I watched a lot of World Championship Wrestling from 1985-1986 in 2007 and some in 2008, I couldn't stand Jimmy Valiant. That whole feud really bored me. I started watching JCP from the start of 1985 and I'm really enjoying the hell out of Valiant this time around. It's been a really weird opinion change. Like the things that used to annoy me with him make me actually like him now.
August 8, 201411 yr comment_5617812 When I watched a lot of World Championship Wrestling from 1985-1986 in 2007 and some in 2008, I couldn't stand Jimmy Valiant. That whole feud really bored me. I started watching JCP from the start of 1985 and I'm really enjoying the hell out of Valiant this time around. It's been a really weird opinion change. Like the things that used to annoy me with him make me actually like him now. "One of us...one of us...."
August 8, 201411 yr comment_5617848 I got a bunch of Maple Leaf Wrestling DVDs only to find out it was pretty much just clips & highlights from other promotions and not a damn thing original from Canada. The only reason I ever even think about pulling them back out is because they seemed to cover the Jimmy Valiant/Paul Jones feud pretty extensively.
August 8, 201411 yr comment_5617879 I just think I didn't get it the first time around. I was too stuck on his ring work. I think the way they slowly brought him back on World Wide Wrestling made a big difference. I had several promos and some brawls before he worked a match. The character and ring work mesh a lot better that way to me. I wouldn't want to see him in a 20 minute match or anything but he brings a really nice unique flavor to the shows. I loved when he and Buzz Tyler paid off some jobbers so they could wrestle Kabuki and the Barbarian.
August 8, 201411 yr comment_5617883 I think we're all a little like that when it comes to Dusty actually.
August 8, 201411 yr comment_5617897 If you guys had seen Jimmy Valiant and Dusty Rhodes as heels, your opinion of them might be a little different. When Jimmy teamed with his "brother" Johnny, he was a prolific bleeder. They cut great promos too. Rhodes was a great heel too. With Murdoch or on his own.
August 17, 201411 yr comment_5619532 I loved when he and Buzz Tyler paid off some jobbers so they could wrestle Kabuki and the Barbarian. That was the very first NWA TV show I saw. It grabbed me and blew my mind.
August 17, 201411 yr comment_5619543 Malenko's "lacking charisma" was clearly a deliberate part of the shooter/iceman gimmick. I tend to agree, although he certainly was a wooden and dry promo. To an extent he was. Certainly in WCW but a lot of that was his iceman persona. Its worth revisiting the debut of the Radicalz. Ironically, Malenko is the first one to really fit in, before the inevitable eclipse.
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