December 8, 20222 yr Author comment_5995547 People value “speed” in technicians more than anything. Which is why ZSJ got over like he did. Dory and Destroyer doing it the way they did it wasn’t a “lesser” version of it, either.
December 8, 20222 yr comment_5995549 2 minutes ago, El-P said: ZSJ has been a heavyweight in NJPW for ever. There was no weight distinction in shoot-style. A They might compete in the heavyweight division, but they are not heavyweights. I thought the original point was that the smaller wrestlers are always more "technical" (agreed about it being a gimmick though) than the big lads, so we were trying to find a bigger guy to compare Regal with. It's why I mentioned Josh Barnett.
December 8, 20222 yr comment_5995550 3 minutes ago, MoS said: They might compete in the heavyweight division, but they are not heavyweights. By definition, they are. 3 minutes ago, MoS said: I thought the original point was that the smaller wrestlers are always more "technical" (agreed about it being a gimmick though) than the big lads, so we were trying to find a bigger guy to compare Regal with. It's why I mentioned Josh Barnett. There is a whole thing about why smaller guys *had to* be more technical too, but that's for another day. Josh Barnett is a quite okay shoot-style pro-wrestler. Never struck me as a technical wizard though. I'm searching for bigger guys who were doing a lot of technical shit now... The fact most British wrestlers were smaller guys doesn't help me thinking.
December 8, 20222 yr comment_5995551 23 minutes ago, ragemaster said: I have to reread it, but Regal admits in his own book from memory he's not a great wrestler. Also if we comparing transitions in matches, watch Dory/funk or The Destroyer. Regal has said as much on the podcast. The strength of Regal is that he was better at character work than probably 90% of the better technical wrestlers.
December 8, 20222 yr comment_5995553 9 minutes ago, Al said: The strength of Regal is that he was better at character work than probably 90% of the better technical wrestlers. And that he could work with anyone from any style. Put him against Arn, Rey Jr., Ultimo, Finlay, Davey Boy, Goldberg, Benoit, he's gonna deliver every time. That's not always true when someone feels he has to force his style (whatever it is, but technical makes it harder for obvious reasons) onto the match and his opponent. Regal was one of those, "No matter who he faces, it's gonna be worth watching" workers. And there are not that many of them (although now more than ever before probably, for different reasons).
December 8, 20222 yr comment_5995554 46 minutes ago, El-P said: The thing is, "technical wrestler" has often been a gimmick in itself. And don't get me wrong, I thought Regal was terrific at it. The best, nope, but obviously excellent. But some people that were called "technical wrestlers" in US wrestling were basically guys working limbs and shit. Maybe the best example of this is JR proclaiming HHH to be perhaps the most technical champion in WWF history during his match with Cactus Jack at the 2000 Rumble.
December 8, 20222 yr comment_5995555 Superficial though it may be, I can't support ZSJ as a worker just because of his horrible "European Clutch," a bastardization of one of my favorite old-school spots that shows that while he knows the WOS notes, he still can't play the music.
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