Statto

"So, first night back Braun! What're you wearing out there? Big, bright red trousers?? O...k..."

We're now at the point where each time Stokely wanders out with a business card, my thoughts turn to Bobby Heenan's gag at his HoF induction about "going through two or three pairs of shoes a night" because he "usually had to manage 20 or 30 guys".

Whilst I do still enjoy AEW a lot, the last few months have felt more than ever like  Tony is playing a game of Total Extreme Warfare in real life. "I'm bored with this... I know, I'll think up another belt, then scan the free agent list to sign a couple more people. Then I'll repackage a few openers, and group some more into a stable with a vague concept that I'll use heavily for a couple of shows then probably forget. Speaking of which - remember when I was pushing these guys? Wow, I barely notice they're there when I scroll down the roster list these days! This manager could take on 5 or 6 more clients too and... wait, I can use guys who tour Japan on a per appearance deal when they don't have shows over there?? Get in!!"

I always come away feeling that wrestling in America (or at least being full time in WWF/E) was something of a necessary evil for him to maximise his earnings when the chance came, and if he'd have had the choice he would have preferred to remain an "international heavyweight" based primarily in the UK & touring India, Japan and maybe dropping in on WCW every now and then.

He speaks with such fondness about that (and the guys who were doing it as he was coming through) that he doesn't display about anything else.

Yeah, I've wondered for a while if they wish they'd branded as Europe rather than UK given they've just had lengthy title reigns from an Austrian and a Russian, and the percentage of non-UK talent has significantly increased since the inception of the brand.

Probably makes it an easier sell for running live events in France/Germany etc as well as for TV.

5 hours ago, Infinity Land said:

Ricky Steamboat is a guest timekeeper tonight.

Hope he comes out to this as it's (I assume) stock music:

"We're wrestlers in a wrestling ring, let's wrestle!" 

Way to hammer it home.

I'll be in London on the 2nd (doing that there marathon) so might give it a look if there's tickets going and I survive the morning.

I've envisioned it as Kenny coming out to a huge pop and then... here comes Don Callis with a shit eating grin.

Everyone's been expecting Kenny to return as a babyface, humbled by what happened with Hangman and his long layoff. But no, he's still the twat he was before and still hanging around with Callis. The Bucks immediately also return to dickish ways and off we go again.

2 hours ago, Vamp said:

I'd quite like to have seen Regal vs. Boogeyman. I mean, I think it'd be amazing just for Regal's physical comedy but I think it'd probably review badly with a lot of other people. 

Here you go:

I assumed they must have worked on TV at least once as on the podcast Regal talked about them working house shows together and Boogey busting his mouth up pretty badly cos Regal told him to just hit him rather than have his worked stuff look like shit.

I didn't really know it was until they booked it, but as soon as they did I realised Trent Baretta vs Samoa Joe was something of a personal dream match for me, as both are long standing favourites of mine.

Eh, it was alright I guess.

I don't think there's a wrestler on the planet I enjoy watching more right now than Takeshita (and that's saying something as there are some very good wrestlers in very good form at the moment).

Ive never heard the guy speak a word & I root for him like crazy.

I dunno if he's interested in staying beyond his excursion but TK should cough up whatever it takes to make that happen, he's a proper megastar in the making IMO. If he wants to go home, at very least bring him back for (major) one-offs as often as possible.

6 minutes ago, Version1.0 said:

Random open challenges being answered by challengers in their gear. Why are you in your gear?

I don't mind this one so much. Raw has been booked on the fly (at least in part) for well over 2 decades now, so why wouldn't you be ready to wrestle at the drop of a hat? Also, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that WWE requires you, as a contracted wrestler, to be at the show dressed and ready in case you are needed -someone hurts themself warming up and needs replacing (either kayfabe or real), a scheduled match only lasts 20 seconds so another match needs adding to the show (kayfabe) etc.

Of course, they then contradict themselves slightly by having Miz come out to host Miz TV in a suit (and it's subset, the times he comes out to do it in his gear and an impromptu match mysteriously ensues).

People just declaring Rumble entry can indeed fuck off though. If anyone can just say they are going in, why are there still spaces free on the Monday before (or indeed the day itself)??

7 hours ago, stewdogg said:

Did it? I’d have to go back and watch it again but I’m pretty sure her video still said Shirai 

It certainly did, and the commentary verges on parody:

Smith: "Unbelievable, Io Shirai!"

*long awkward silence*

Saxton: "what is happening??"

Graves: "your guess is as good as mine Saxton, IYO SKY!"

22 minutes ago, air_raid said:

MSG on 26th Diesel famously snatches the belt in 8 seconds in front of just 7300

This thread is usually so well researched, but you're about 22k people short there, dude. #ObviousJoke

No chance of Punk being back to do the unification match?

3 hours ago, DCW said:

Bruce being sent back to planet Conrad, hopefully. No way back this time either.

I think that's inevitable, and I'd not be surprised if he jumps even in the seemingly unlikely event he doesn't get pushed. He's so closely tied to Vince, it feels to me like he only went back as a favour in the first place.

The fact they've kept the podcast alive throughout everything suggests how lucrative it must be, and with Vince gone I see no reason why he'd keep working any kind of schedule when you can make a pretty damn good living listening to Conrad read from the Observer for 90 minutes a week.

On the Kevin Dunn replacement - I seem to recall reading somewhere a couple of years ago that people expected Michael Cole to get that job if/when Hunter (who allegedly despises Dunn) ascended?

I went to Peterborough on that tour, which was (apparently) the same card as Raid had at Telford. While I vividly remember MoM vs Quebecers, Bret vs Owen and (for some reason) Quake vs IRS, the rest of this card didn't stick with me in the same way.

I remember Doink being there mostly because he carried Dink out over his shoulder after the match (guess Jarrett attacked Dink to get some heat, but I wouldn't have been able to tell you who Doink's opponent was let alone the circumstances) and smacked the poor bastard's head on the door being used for the entrance on the way out.

I also remember waiting for the wrestlers to come out onto the buses post show and some kid (who must have been a midget wrestling aficionado) pointing out to everyone that Dink was Tiger Jackson. Someone also got the keepsake of a lifetime when Mo handed them his empty crisp packet out of the bus window.

Beyond that, though - I'd never had remembered I'd seen Diesel etc.

On 8/23/2018 at 11:38 PM, Maikeru said:

- The same narrator from the opening disclaimer analysing a Rockers VS jobbers match move by move

I was going to correct you here by saying that it definitely wasn't the same guy as I'm 100% sure it was Lord Alfred Hayes doing the "punditry" here.

But... I'm now reasonably sure that this tape had a non-standard version of the classic Silvervision intro that had Hayes narrating instead of the usual guy... I also watched this short tape A LOT and have a vague memory of noticing that Hayes also 'got it wrong' by saying "side suplexes" over footage of armdrags (and then Dino Bravo's finish which they did refer to as a side suplex at the time, now generally referred to as a sidewalk slam).

Hayes was definitely the regular guy for the don't try this at home disclaimer.

I have been getting that feeling too, although Taz did accompany Starks & Hobbs to the ring on either Dark or Elevation just a couple of weeks ago (which is actually rare anyhow as he tended to go on commentary for their matches anyway).

"We have seen Orange Cassidy literally explode here in AEW in the last month." - Jim Ross.

Must have missed that match. Hope it was a better explosion then the Omega vs Moxley one.

1 hour ago, air_raid said:

Mr Perfect vs Lex Luger, Yokozuna vs Hacksaw Duggan, Crush vs Doink, The Nasty Boys vs Headshrinkers, Shawn Michaels vs Bob Backlund for the Intercontinental belt, and Typhoon and Kamala respectively squashing Damien Demento and Kimchee.

My first ever live WWF show was indeed exactly this. Went to Birmingham on an organised coach trip from Norwich which took about a million years to get there and even longer to get back, going via every conceivable town & city in between the two.

Dad picked me & mum up in Norwich (we lived about half an hour away from the city at the time) at what must have been 2 or 3 in the morning, if not later. He was not a happy man.

My other abiding memory was talking to another kid on the bus who had only ever seen one wrestling show before in his life in any capacity - Wrestlemania IV on video. Had never watched another minute of professional wresting, live or televised.

9 hours ago, Jesse said:

I can't tell you why, but apparently it's "Amadou" and is sampled from M.O.P's song Ante Up. My best guess after some googling is it's a tribute to Ligue 1 footballer Ibrahim Amadou

Norwich City legend!

I honestly can't recall the last time I enjoyed a "regular" (i.e. not including stuff like the Austin match at Mania) WWE match as much as Street Profits vs Usos last night. Real cracker that.

14 hours ago, Supremo said:

They keep doing these slightly wonky Battle Royales, with a sprinkle of TNA over-complication, yet still manage to make it work. 

I think of all the battle royals they've done, this was the one that really didn't need the Rumble-esque staggered entrances which they seem to incorporate every time. They were pretty much constant and just made it feel extra messy trying to keep up with everything going on (of which their was clearly a bit too much - in the beatdown on the floor you could catch a quick glimpse of Andrade & Rush taking Penta's mask which the announcers missed/didn't acknowledge. I assume they'll refer back to it this coming week but it must have been felt it was too busy to edit in anything about it here, or perhaps there was just so much going on the camera crew didn't get any clear shots of it?)

I think it'd have been preferable in this format to have everyone in from the start which would have allowed for more participants perhaps, for the spectacle of loads of guys in 2 rings. Maybe not to WW3 proportions but two rings of 20 seems fine for a company that employs about 800 wrestlers.

On a bit of a tangent, the classic WWE concept I'd most like to see them rip-off/resurrect is proper Survivor Series - probably across a week of Dynamite & Rampage, nothing but elimination tags, every team with a nominated captain, every team given a name even if they have no formal prior/regular allegiance. Do some teams of 4, some teams of 5 to hit both nostalgia points. "Elite Eliminator"...?