Undefeated Steak

GIF didn't work. VinceMcMahon.orgasm

Amazing! Bring in JR and Shiavone for a night. Bring back Halloween Havok! I need to see this.

I started to write up a post about the build up to Daniel Bryan's win at Wrestlemania 30 but realised the 'Monster' video they did for him sums it up far better than I ever could. One of the best builds I've ever seen for a Wrestlemania match. Ultimately, it was one of those years-in-the-making stories that can only really happen in wrestling. The indies were red hot while Bryan was on the scene and at the top of ROH, and when he joined WWE, it was fair to assume that he'd never be much more than a midcarder. Especially when he got fired for that choking incident. His rise through the ranks from wrestling in sports halls to winning the belt at Mania was beautiful.Whether or not it was WWE's first choice for the plan at WM30, you've got to give them credit for adapting and going with the story that they did. It really kicked off with his win over Cena at Summerslam in 2013. Trips was the ref for the match and Orton cashed in to win the belt to close out the show. From there, the 'Yes' movement turned into something legitimately special, and someone on here recently said they doubt there'll ever be an act as over as that again (especially during that Bryan/Wyatt cage match). I agree. Then Batista won the Royal Rumble and shit really hit the fan. Anyway, I'll post the video because it's still worth a watch and I got goosebumps again from it. Triple H and Stephanie played their roles superbly through it, and I'm not usually one for blurring the lines between wrestling and reality for the sake of it, but it was perfect here. Trips telling Bryan that he didn't want him as the face of the company was so simple but effective and it made so much sense. But you couldn't not support Bryan's cause. Fucking superb. It will take something other worldly to recreate something like that again.

I see what you did there. Re: Sting vs Taker. When Sting signed with WWE it would've been an incredible dream match, no doubt. Now though? Doesn't warrant a match outside of a WWE video game. Off-topic but speaking of Sting/Undertaker and co, and the recent talk of how bloated the current roster is, I'd like to see some of the older legends forming and managing factions. It would give at least some substance to the endless vanilla back-and-forth friendlies we get for months on end. Would be piss easy to give the factions unique styles too based on whichever legend was managing them. And you could get the old timers in matches where you could fall back on interferences to pad out the matches.

Does anyone know why they'd use a photo of Nigel McGuinness on a piece about Ryan Giggs?

Great thread.

Perfect opportunity for them to sort out a WWE museum. They'll need somewhere to keep the jar of Vince's pickled head.

Just seen a post on Insta saying WWE will be moving out of their Titan Towers HQ within the next couple of years.

I realised I'd become a lapsed fan over a year or so ago now. Probably longer actually. In fact I didn't know Undertaker and HBK had wrestled until I read your post in here. It's a shame, I do miss wrestling especially after reading the other thread about how great it can be. I'd say the last time I was following it properly would've been WrestleMania 30. In hindsight it was a great show to finish on, I'd followed Bryan's career and was a huge fan of Undertaker's streak which both culminated then. It's arguably the best time ever to be a fan and yet I've never watched so little of it. The best analogy I can use for how I feel is that it's like seeing all the top football teams in the world play each other in friendlies for a few years. Yes, you're gonna see some of the best players, goals and matches ever but ultimately without any meaning. That's how I felt for 90% of the wrestling I saw until I stopped.

Struggling to add anything other than to say what a cracking thread this is, only saw it yesterday and there are some genuinely great posts in here.

Currently reading Factfulnes by Hans Rosling. A really good read so far though it's not without some flaws. It's about some of our primary instincts and how they impact our perceptions of the world when it comes to things like global warming and poverty, and how the actual data shows how misinformed most of us are. It's like a mixture of Freakonomics (but better) and Thinking Fast and Slow (but not as good). Then I'm either onto a biography of Churchill, or I'm starting one of two books I've picked up that are something to do with nature and our countrysides. One of the best things about going through rehab was getting back my joy for reading. I'm not usually one for fiction although I do have an urge to read some novels soon. Edit: fiction/non-fiction. I'll get them right way round one day.

There should be a stable called The Algorithms who pop up in skits trying to sell wrestlers items they've just mentioned. Could be huge in the run up to TLC.

Increasingly late 90s promos from WWF/WCW/ECW. I watched the Corporation/Stone Cold segment from the Raw after Survivor Series 98 earlier and I was lost in it. Even without accounting for the nostalgia, it still stands up well today. I find it hard to get invested in matches these days, even 'classics' so 90% of watch I watch now are old interviews and such for comfort watching.

Had a news notification from the Guardian asking why pro wrestling isn't covered in such publications, "Is it because wrestling is dismissed as frivolous, silly pantomiming for the great unwashed – the same people who probably voted for Brexit?". Well, I always considered myself a fan but didn't vote to leave so who knows now? https://amp.theguardian.com/film/2019/mar/01/spandex-snobbery-liberal-elite-wrestling-working-class