Jump to content

The most consistent era in ring...


Michael_3165

Recommended Posts

Recently I've been wondering which is the best, most consistent era from an in ring perspective in WWE.

 

If we look at the likes of NXT, the brilliant bouts on RAW (four way in April and Cena vs the roster for the U.S. title as prime examples) and the Rollins/Cena/Reigns/Styles variations we have had a good two or three years.

 

Whether it be Owens vs Cena, Nakamura vs Zayn, Taker vs Lesnar etc it has been an incredibly productive few years. Has there been a better in ring era which produced consistently great matches? If so which and what matches in particular?

 

Phasing out hardcore wrestling in favor of work rate hasn't been a bad thing IMO

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

The 80s had many great companies with different styles in the US alone. Memphis style for the fan of good punches, Kevin Von Erich brawling like he hadn't been smartened up, Mid Atlantic tag team work, Mid South with its sport style, St Louis as a hybrid of it all, and pure entertainment in New York. Early 80s win at a canter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Recently I've been wondering which is the best, most consistent era from an in ring perspective in WWE.

If we look at the likes of NXT, the brilliant bouts on RAW (four way in April and Cena vs the roster for the U.S. title as prime examples) and the Rollins/Cena/Reigns/Styles variations we have had a good two or three years.

Whether it be Owens vs Cena, Nakamura vs Zayn, Taker vs Lesnar etc it has been an incredibly productive few years. Has there been a better in ring era which produced consistently great matches? If so which and what matches in particular?

Phasing out hardcore wrestling in favor of work rate hasn't been a bad thing IMO

Since the work rate has gone up, wrestling has never been less popular. I don't know what that says, but it says something.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It says that there's a reason why these workrate guys spend so long on the indies. A mass mainstream audience needs more than just workrate. It's as much about character, if not more so. Great in ring action means nothing if you don't give a shit about the people doing it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

I think the answer is clearly now. There are any number of polished matches every week, including lots of long matches to fill up TV time. The problem is, they are consistently MEH.

 

Some stuff does still rise above the myriad of three-star bores we see week in and week out but it's getting rarer and rarer. It's endemic.

 

Others have nailed it. The idea of pro-wrestling isn't purely to produce "great" matches. They are a bonus. And the definition of "great" is wide and varied. But the criteria that matters is people being into it, willing to pay to watch it and it living long in the memory of those that saw it. That's when it's truly great. When people are talking about it months, years and decades later.

 

It's why Bret Hart vs. Mr Perfect and Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant are both great but utterly dissimilar.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From a wwe perspective I've always enjoyed the period from about 2000 to 2004 where the crowds where still hot but there was more of a focus on guys who could go. There was a Royal Rumble event where Benoit and Angle fought for the title which was awesome, The only notable blot on that card was Triple H vs Scot Steiner which was awful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Haven't had much chance to post on here recently for reasons that are probably more suited to the orange cordial thread, and that I started a new job a couple of weeks ago, but this thread made me think - there's definitely been a correlation between periods that were centred around 'quality in-ring wrestling' and low ratings/general interest in the company. The Bret/Shawn era, the 2002ish period, and the recent RoH-influenced product spring to mind.

 

Still catching up on the brand split thread/news so don't know what the score is, but I'm hoping they'll put more emphasis on stories, skits, characters and angles again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They're probably knackered on that front anyway. In the last five years there have been plenty of memorable angles, but how many truly compelling storylines have there been that weren't just Vince McMahon vs Internet? That's all we really respond to. Good old character vs character stuff feels passé. There are exceptions, but for the most part we just want to cheer on the guy with the most or least Internet points, depending on our agenda.

 

If they really put their heads together, they might be able to get us past that again. There's definitely plenty of variety and charisma on the roster. When I was 17, I cared as much about Edge and Christian vs the Hardys as I did the main event feud. I'd love to feel the same way about New Day vs Breeze and Fandango.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From a wwe perspective I've always enjoyed the period from about 2000 to 2004 where the crowds where still hot but there was more of a focus on guys who could go. There was a Royal Rumble event where Benoit and Angle fought for the title which was awesome, The only notable blot on that card was Triple H vs Scot Steiner which was awful.

 

Come off it - that card also had Dawn Marie vs Torrie Wilson during the Wrestlecrap Hall Of Fame Al Wilson feud and an utterly pedestrian tag title match between the Dudleys and Storm/Regal (who were heat vacuums at the time).

 

A better example from the time might be Wrestlemania 19, which was littered with four-star outings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I refuse to accept anything with Lance Storm as anywhere near a negative.

Also I agree the Dawn Marie/ Al Wilson angle was gold, for all the wrong reasons, but gold nonetheless.

I might be looking at it with my rose tinted sunnies on though, just because that Benoit vs Angle match was phenomenal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

It's a tough one because I find nostalgia for when you were most "into" the product or the wrestlers has a big factor in the re-watch factor. My own most-watched period for the company ever is 90-92 because there are so many matches I can watch today and go "that was BRILLIANT" - was it actually brilliant, or did I just care more? Similarly today there are loads of matches where I find the action very enjoyable to watch and innovative, but less and less likely to go back and watch any matches more than a couple of times, because there isn't as much caring about results.

 

I think my truest and fairest answer is Rumble 2000 - Mania 17. Astonishing PPV consistency and from the moment the Radicals arrived to the peak of the best WrestleMania ever, everything was awesome. There are loads of matches I remember being really exciting, and actually when I go back and watch them with my workrate pervert glasses on, they hold up as great matches, not just that I cared more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

For me, I have to look at it from an all-round wrestling landscape perspective. The WWE have had fantastic years but at the same time other companies were pretty dire so it averages it out a bit. 2016 for example is close to being my favourite WWE year ever but companies like New Japan and PWG have had a slow down thus far and it's negated the consistency across the board. That's the key word in the thread title here; consistency. The best year for me may not be a companies best years (in terms of revenue, growth, match quality, star power, etc) but in regards to everyone more or less having good-great stuff across the board, I’m going with 2005.


 

WWE

A more indy hybrid style had come through thanks to young'uns bringing their A-game and the old guard seizing the opportunity to adapt and stay relevant. However they still managed to maintain their trademark WWE sports-entertainment whackyness through big characters and soap-opera mega storylines. They also slowly brought back in stunt-filled gimmick matches after a more conservative 2004. A grand old year filled with experiments gone wrong and experiments that worked with a WWE struggling to find their place in a more crowded wrestling neighbourhood. Highlights were;

- WrestleMania 21, a fantastic event that is one of my fave WresteManias to this day. It has everything I loved about wrestling in that year; ladders, big moments, 5 star classics, spectacles, risky failures and storylines being finished off the right way.

- ECW One Night Stand. Probably the most fun I’ve had watching a show on the telly.

- The Batista/Triple H slow burning turn and feud. Fucking fantastic stuff.

- Matt Hardy getting fired, coming back and shouting about ROH. His feud with Edge captivated me, at least up until Unforgiven where Matt got his vengeance.

- 'I'M YOUR PAPI!' and all the wonderful soap opera contained within. The ladder match that capped it all off was tremendous too.

- Angle and HBK putting their differences aside to put on a handful of blistering encounters.

- Cena and Batista being crowned as the new top guys and everyone bloody loving them (for most of the year anyway).

- Eddie's 'Will he or won't he?' storyline with Batista as his unwilling tag partner.

- HBK making a tit out of Hogan during SummerSlam and all the semi-shoot promos included with the feud.

- Ric Flair proving he's still got it with his Triple H feud and John Cena proving he has all the tools for the job.

- Chris Masters, Shelton Benjamin and Carlito looking like they were gonna carry the mid-card titles to greatness once again.


 

CZW

At the time, this was my favourite company. A greater emphasis on quality in-ring action and a mix of rising stars and established CZW mainstays. Without CZW in this year, a lot of guys wouldn't have got the attention they deserved. Kevin Steen, El Generico, Chris Hero and Claudio Castognoli got major exposure during this year which helped them get booked in bigger places and eventually find more prevalent spots elsewhere in the years to come. Feb - Oct was so much fun for CZW, everything seemed to click...and then they went and ruined it all later in the year and in the years to come by TAKING IT OLD SKOOL and forgetting about all the wonderful progress they had made.


 

CHIKARA

Their banner year and it's here where they truly make their mark. It was the first year that they did their 3-night insanely colourful tag tournament and due to it's success they put on multiple weekend shows at a time when all the hungriest indy lads would go balls to the wall every night. Though they would have better years in terms of in-ring action and star power, this is the time when they cemented their identity and laid the foundation for years to come. You want flips? Covered. You want lucha? Covered. You want comedy? Covered. You want guys experimenting with their gimmicks to find something that works? Covered.


 

IWA-MS

In a reverse to CHIKARA's fortunes, IWA-MS were on a downswing during this time. After a fantastic '03 and '04 which covered all the bases in terms of having EVERY SINGLE TYPE OF WRESTLING covered and perfected,  '05 saw a bit of a slow down as they tried to carry on the momentum. This resulted in more guys being brought in but also more shite guys being brought in and more Ian fucking Rotten inserting himself. They still pulled out the goods when it counted and delivered quality matches, feuds and angles, however they seemed tired creatively. Remember, this was the year that the infamous Samoa Joe/Necro Butcher match took place under their name. A good year marred by some questionable stuff.


 

PWG

Still in their infancy, PWG had a fun year that was let down by their production values. The camera crew they used were bloody awful but luckily the talent made it easier on the eye. Lots of Super Dragon, in one of his last years as a full-time active wrestler, lots of Kevin Steen and El Generico stealing the god damn show, lots of TNA guys rubbing shoulders with the SoCal locals, lots of whacky show names and lots of Chris motherfucking Bosh. The company was at a weird place here too, where they had an identity as a local promotion who managed to find some buzz  hence why they were toying with bigger names. They went on to have MUCH better years but it still carries the '05 consistency torch.


 

ROH

Finally, the big dogs of the indie scene. Where as most companies were either just starting out or just starting to diminish, ROH were full-on fucking GO GO GO having established themselves as a force on the indy circuit and picking up everyone who had proved themselves elsewhere. Their connections with Japan also paid off as they promoted a lot of world-class dream matches including KOBASHI vs JOE and the likes of Mick Foley, James Gibson and Matt Hardy dropping by for a cup of coffee. It's probably their biggest year in terms of getting recognition outside of the indie wank boy circuit.


 


 

2005 man. What a bloody good year.


 


 


 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

For me, I have to look at it from an all-round wrestling landscape perspective.

 

That's not the thread though.

 

I completely agree with your sentiment on 2005 though. For the companies I was watching - WWE, TNA, ROH, New Japan and Noah, the quality of stuff on display all over the shop was amazing. Every month someone was delivering something that made me go "Fuck, that was good."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...