Youtube Thread 2000

[The King Of Swing]

On 9/22/2025 at 10:40 AM, BomberPat said:

Chigusa Nagayo is the best babyface this side of prime Ricky Morton, just an absolute megastar. It's hilarious when all you've heard from American wrestlers is how quiet and respectful Japanese crowds are, to hear a building full of teenage girls screaming at Beatlemania levels for their favourites, with half of them dressed either in red or in blue depending on whether Nagayo or Asuka is their favourite. There's a Crush Gals vs. Jumping Bomb Angels match where there are full-blown cheerleading squads in the audience for the Crush Gals - not professionals booked to be part of the show, just fans taking it upon themselves to do elaborate routines about their favourite wrestlers. Absolutely unmatched.

It's been one of the most surreal experiences of my time in wrestling that I've hung out with Chigusa Nagayo a couple of times; she made a couple of appearances for EVE, and I was crewing those shows, and I have an old Crush 2000 shirt from the Crush Gals reunion in GAEA, so I dug that out for the occasion. Chigusa got genuinely emotional seeing it, and realising that some random kid in England even knew who she was, let alone remembered an angle from 20 years earlier. There were four shows that weekend, and I spent most of the prep time between them getting coffee for Chigusa, and sat chatting with her while she showed me pictures of her dogs, and told me stories about other wrestlers - "Dump Matsumoto? She only win." - and when she was talking through a spot she was going to do, where she got involved in her protégé Takumi Iroha's match to do a double team spot, she turned to me and really happily said, "Crush Gals move, yes?". She's brilliant. Not just one of the best wrestlers ever, but a genuinely funny and lovely person.  

Cracking post. 

Just where did the "Japanese fans are all quiet and respectful" myth even come from? 

They could get pretty crazy even as far back as The Beauty Pair, in the 70's. Though peak Chigusa/Crush Gals, was on a whole different level .

Even the 90's boom crowds were pretty loud.

[gmoney]

1 hour ago, The King Of Swing said:

Just where did the "Japanese fans are all quiet and respectful" myth even come from? 

Westerners who couldn't get over.

[The Gaffer]

23 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

This and those black and white vignettes with Austin walking around some abandoned warehouse with the dogs barking and crushing fucking eggs in his hands and stuff. 

I ain't no sexy boy! 

It's the WWE opening the account on their golden period of vignettes from then until My Way - but really I think from then until 98/99.

Whoever was putting those together and choosing the tone and scoring really is one of the unsung heroes of the Attitude Era. "This is the real start of the Attitude Era!" is a bit of an overdone trope but I'd argue the tone of it was set in that vignette. 

 

[Chili]

As great as that Sid entrance is from Survivor Series 1996 is, watch Austin's and his promo before his match with Bret. I know Wrestlemania 13 is his real coming out party after KOTR 1996, but Stone Cold from September-November 1996 hyping that match is a man extremely eager to make a point that he's hot shit. 

[Snitsky's back acne]

Oz v Shinya Hashimoto

 

[TimmyB]

Harrowing stuff.

Would be interesting what would have happened if some of the "modern" wrestlers had been put through this.

 

[Snitsky's back acne]

45 minutes ago, TimmyB said:

Harrowing stuff.

Would be interesting what would have happened if some of the "modern" wrestlers had been put through this.

 

Good find. Haven't seen this in years. Brutal stuff. 

[herbie747]

Am I the only one who finds Heyman really really cringe and annoying? He's just oozes greasy conman in every sentence. 

These YouTube clips keep popping up where he's at some fan Q&A, and he's smugly telling stories to a bunch of clapping seals who applaud & snort at every embellished story he tells, because he uses insider terms and they like to feel involved. Of course, he knows this, and he plays them like fiddles. Meanwhile, the presenter is sitting there with a shit eating grin. 

Dunno why it winds me up ?

 

[Chili]

56 minutes ago, herbie747 said:

Am I the only one who finds Heyman really really cringe and annoying? He's just oozes greasy conman in every sentence. 

These YouTube clips keep popping up where he's at some fan Q&A, and he's smugly telling stories to a bunch of clapping seals who applaud & snort at every embellished story he tells, because he uses insider terms and they like to feel involved. Of course, he knows this, and he plays them like fiddles. Meanwhile, the presenter is sitting there with a shit eating grin. 

Dunno why it winds me up ?

 

Yeah he's a smelly cunt. When he dials it down or he's a partial feature (say 2001, his last truly great run as a performer personally, or in his managerial role in the late 80's-1992), he's a brilliant bit of business. But I think he's someone the bloom has been off the rose with for a while with Heyman. His ECW on screen stuff is mostly in retrospect, extremely cringe worthy and you can absolutely see through it. But we're just the buyers and viewers, and not the insecure man-childs he was able to do a great job manipulating through being a terrific conman, motivator and user. He's up there with Vince as someone who I'd love for all his chickens to come home to roost, but he's annoyingly far to canny to ever fuck-up again. People above him used to see through his shit backstage but now they crave it.

Obviously the Dangerous Alliance was the king shit though, he can try and barter St. Peter with that one on the day.

[Liam O'Rourke]

Yeah, there's just no denying this is there.

[wandshogun09]

Absolutely legendary stable. Always amazed when I remember they were only together around 8/9 months or something.

As for Heyman, yeah he makes my skin crawl. Legit channel changing heat for me these days. And him going on about Emmy’s and stuff like he’s desperate to be seen as something more than just a crooked little sweaty blob in the wrestling business is annoying as well. He’s genuinely one of the main reasons I never stick around long whenever I dip back into watching WWE again now. Whenever I do, he seems to be all over it. 

[DCW]

I can't stand him either. He was great alongisde JR for that 7 or 8 month run in 2001 on commentary. He added a bit extra to and covered for Lesnar's greenness in 2002, but can't say I enjoyed anything else he's done since. He didn't add anything to Punk's act when he was the mid card WWE Champ in 2011/12 because Punk could cut a grand promo for himself. He did nothing for the other lads who actually needed a leg up that he was paired with (Ryback, Hennig's lad, Cesaro) over the years either. The fact that the main storyline of a Mania main event in 2025 revolved around Heyman shows his greasy conman act is still alive and well after all these years. 

Actually glad auld Vince crushed the ECW revival in 2006, cos you know it must have killed Heyman. And in fairness to Vince, at least Sandman, Justin Credible, RVD and Balls Mahoney etc didn't have to worry about their cheques bouncing this time around.

 

Edited October 4, 2025 by DCW

[Chili]

I'd love a big list of the legit nasty con man shit he pulled off. Letting ECW die and taking the lifeboat and getting Candido and Tammy to max out their credit cards were two I always thought stood out, but he's pulled off do much more.

I completely forgot he managed Lesnar in 2002 so fair is fair, good run that, so as a TV character he's tolerable until the end of that run, early 2003.

[wandshogun09]

42 minutes ago, Chili said:

so as a TV character he's tolerable until the end of that run, early 2003.

I’m being petty but fuck Heyman, I’d knock a couple of months off and say late 2002 was the last time I could tolerate him. As soon as he left Brock at Survivor Series 2002 to go with Big Show in his 7ft fat bastard Freddie Mercury in black jeans phase. Rotten. I’ll leave a little loophole. He’s probably had the odd good moment since. But that was the last actual run of his where I didn’t groan every time he was on screen. 

One of the things I hate with Heyman now as well is every time I see anything involving him on social media or whatever, people are fawning over him like he’s some genius when he’s nothing more than a grotesque looking, BO ponging, rotund wrestling manager who ripped off and sabotaged wrestlers left and right in ECW, relied on Daddy’s money himself and now shamelessly licks TKO/McMahon/Triple H arse like his life depends on it. He’s the complete opposite of the anti-establishment figure he portrayed himself as in ECW. His on screen act is beyond stale as well. I don’t get the appeal anymore. Every time I pop back in he’s doing the exact same thing. Goes on about Emmys but if he was an actor, he’s played the same role his whole career. Last time I checked in to WWE he’d infected Bron Breakker’s segments who is one of the guys I enjoyed watching until he got his clammy jowly face in every frame. 

[Snitsky's back acne]

9 hours ago, Liam O'Rourke said:

Yeah, there's just no denying this is there.

Madusa was so bad-ass back then. I still love when Paul E fired her at Hallowe'en Havoc and she goes "Paul E!!! You bastard" and then proceeds to kick the shit out of him.

Apparently Bill Watts hated the segment but he is wrong. It was great.