Today, Macho Man saved us from The Rapture, thwarting the apocalypse! Now we know why he passed on! It was just to get to his next badass mission!
Today, Macho Man saved us from The Rapture, thwarting the apocalypse! Now we know why he passed on! It was just to get to his next badass mission!
I thought most people liked their cage match the most. Wasn't that one of the highest rated fights in WWF/WWE history?Originally Posted by KENTA
The Hall of Selected Cruor Praise
Depends on who you ask. Some people prefer the cage match, others prefer the Mania match. Personally, I like the Mania match more. There are a lot more subtle nods to Stampede and their other opponents. The cage match is great and all, I just put it a spot below this one.
It doesn't take a genius to know that being taller, wider, and having a longer reach are all extremely beneficial in a fight. It also doesn't take a genius to know that Pro Wrestling is generally much kinder to the bigger men in the world. So it's no surprise to anyone really when you don't see many lower weight wrestlers(in WCW and the WWF/E they're called Cruiserweights due to being under 220 lbs) in the main event or challenging for the top belt in any given promotion. However, on the rare occasion that it does happen, you usually get more than your monies worth.
The year is 1999, Rey Mysterio Jr. was unmasked in February of that same year, and had been on an emotional rollercoaster since then. However, in the ring, he was nigh unbeatable. After having beaten several "giants" of WCW(Scott Norton and Kevin Nash being examples) he was given a title shot against Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman. He won with relative ease and became a 4 time Cruiserweight champion. The next week on Monday Night Nitro, he got an even bigger opportunity. A match with the 14 Time Worlds Heavyweight Champion, "Nature Boy" Ric Flair. On this historic night, would Mysterio overcome the enormous odds stacked against him, or would the "Dirtiest Player in the Game" pull another fast one and retain his championship?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFrRKh_9EGc
Going full speed ahead today, with TWO, count 'em, TWO brand new matches for you wrestling fans! Today we head to the former "Most powerful empire in the world" England! World of Sport was a program that was aired every Sunday for roughly 5 hours for 20 years. They covered all things sport, and at roughly 5 PM, they showed an hours worth of the best wrestling on the planet!
Now, British wrestling operates under very unique rules. First off, every match is 2/3 falls. That is to say, the first man to get two pins, two submissions, or one pin/one submissions wins. However, if you knock your opponent out, you also win without having to get a second fall. Beyond that, there is also a round system. This particular match is 8 rounds, where each round is 3 minutes long. In the even of 8 rounds going by, you have a draw.
While most fans of the time will fondly remember the likes of Haystacks Calhoun and Big Daddy(especially their fantastic feud which fueled the sport for several years and brought unprecedented crowds) a smaller group of fans will remember the incredible Johnny Saint. For you MMA fans, Johnny Saint was the George St. Pierre of Pro Wrestling. He didn't have to talk, he just had to WRESTLE and you would get into him. He was, pound for pound, one of the best. Watching his matches now, it's quite amazing how he was able to seriously go hold for hold, and at the same time embarrass opponents with his antics. Truly, one of the greats. You can even see him wrestle nowadays in promotions like CHIKARA Pro on occasion.
His opponent here is David "Fit" Finlay. I think I've told you all about Finlay before, so I'll spare you the details outside of one particular aspect. Finlay was born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland. That already makes him shady in the eyes of British fans, but the way he completely down talks and trashes the hero Saint solidifies him as hated. Couple that with the fact that he is the champion and you have a recipe for disaster.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Alright, last one, I promise. I don't think I can top this match for a little while anyway. A little background, back in 2002 a small Independent Wrestling Company started up called Ring of Honor. ROH was built on "Supercards" taking the biggest names they could afford in indy wrestling and having them put on the best matches they could. Two of these big names were Low Ki and Amazing Red.
Both are small guys, but Red was the smaller of the two. He relied on almost abnormal speed, a great vertical leap, and his small stature to outrun and outwit opponents. He couldn't really do much more than fly, but by god was he good at what he did. It wasn't uncommon for fans to chant "Please don't die!" as he did another spectacular and dangerous move.
His opponent was Low Ki. Better known as the WWE's Kaval or TNA's Senshi, Ki is built like a brick shit house. Just 100% muscle from top to bottom. With lightning quick reflexes, and kicks so sharp they could knock out the best of men, Low Ki was a dominant force wherever he went. Being able to switch from high flying, to brawling, to ground work only helped solidify him as one of the best.
As for the match itself, I feel like if I go into detail I'll give away what makes it so special. But, as a word of advice, don't take your eyes off it for a second. You may miss the best part.
Megavideo because ROH will take it down in a millisecond anywhere else.
Last edited by KENTA; June 3rd, 2011 at 09:46 PM.
The Destroyer vs. Victor
The Destroyer is one of the greatest American wrestlers of all time, and one of the pioneers of masked wrestling. He could go hold for hold, he could hit you, and he wasn't afraid to cheat. Victor is a bear. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjnuVFmiDfM
And just for posterity, here's the great Roddy Piper telling a story about Victor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey7rnjk4ThU
For you historical buffs here, there's a fantastic look at the old Territories in Texas here. It's a little old(made a little over a year ago) but everything they say is still extremely interesting and it's always fun listening to Dust talk about.......anything. Especially the talks about the Von Erichs. Give it a look.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3988BTBD
HOLY SHIT! IT'S HIM! IT'S HIM! IT'S DDP!
SELF HIGH FIVE/MARK OUT!!!
Ok, this thread should also have WWE discussion at times. I dont' know but anyway did anybody pay attention to CM Punk at the end of Monday Night Raw?
Why yes, yes I did. And HOLY FUCK YES I LOVE YOU PUNK!
Seriously, he has been a favorite of mine since I started watching in 2006, and seems to get better every year. Last Monday was a classic Punk promo, and this is a classic Punk situation. In the summer of 2005, Punk had his final match in Ring of Honor against then ROH champion Austin Aries. It had been leaked that Punk was signed with the WWE, and this would be his last match. Roughly 40 minutes later, Punk gets the win with his Pepsi Plunge(Pedigree from the top rope). And then, something amazing happened.
Someone gave him a microphone. That's usually a sign that, to quote Jim Ross, business is about to pick up. Punk goes through a brief history of himself and the ROH title and how important it is both to him and the world of professional wrestling. He tells an old tale to the people in the crowd. The tale of the old man and the snake. A tale of betrayal, of instinct, of nature. He then proclaims himself to be the devil himself. He is going to destroy that which he created, he created Ring of Honor, he is the reason it exists, and he is going to enjoy every second of destroying it.
The next few months are hectic with every wrestler in ROH(and even guys like Mick Foley!) trying to take that belt from Punk while he does all sorts of terrible things in the eyes of the fans. To them the WWE are the enemy, and it is the ultimate slap in the face when Punk signs his WWE contract on top of his shiny new ROH belt. After weaseling his way through title match after title match, finally a match is set up. CM Punk, former champion Samoa Joe, the recently returned Christopher Daniels, and the man who was shunned and treated like garbage in the WWE James Gibson(AKA Jamie Noble)
The match has no time limit, and only 2 men are allowed in the ring at the same time. You have to tag out to get some rest, and if you are pinned/submit you are eliminated. The challengers toy with Punk using these rules so he can get his ass kicked at the hands of all three of them as payback for the entire summer. After an epic 40 minute clash, a new champion is decided and Punk is on his knees in the ring. The arena rings out with "Thank you Punk!"
He only has 1 more match in ROH, but that's unrelated to this topic(but fuck yeah Colt Cabana regardless). What this diatribe was about was how similar that situation is to the current angle going on. How Punk wants the title, just so he can leave. Only now, he hates everyone in the back. He wants to get back at them. So he begins airing some dirty laundry. Mark my words, despite his suspension, he will ALWAYS have more to say. And neither John Cena nor Vince McMahon can stop him.
More wrestlers deserve to be in the spotlight after putting everything they've got into it, but they aren't used as much. It's no surprise that that some often turn heel at times.
CM Punk isn't the only one who wants something out of all this, Mark Henry, for example, isreally pissed about how things are going for him and he really wants to be the champion and be made known that he is truly the strongest in the WWE. I'm not going to say much about that, but when you want something so bad and you still haven't got it, you're bound to do something to a bit dirty to get it.
We got other wrestlers with talents. I still stick around for Sin Cara aka (Mistico) he's been new for several weeks now since his debut, and his previous match with Evan Bourne was really impressive. They both deserve some more recognition after giving the crowd an amazing match. I just don't know what Mcmahon is thinking, then again, I should be catching on to his every move with WWE. As far as I know, there needs to be a new WWE champion this time around besides Cena, even if he holds the belt the longest, someone good and maybe well liked enough should take the belt from him after defeating him.
I can understand the fans a bit with their favorite wrestler such as Cena, but sometimes they are too blinded to see other wrestlers with just as much talent and potential, and if they give them a chance they will be well liked.
Although the problem with WWE as that it is still not like what we knew from back then, it just had to reduce it's rating for kids and teens, not even making sure that the most lethal matches are done anymore, something like that. As far as I know, Wrestling was something that could arouse fans of all ages, but mostly the adults. (Does that make sense?) And that no matter how crazy it was, it was worth all the ratings and stuff they could get. That's just me, but because of the reasons that are true about the WWE, some people don't watch them as much anymore...WWE could still garner millions of viewers, but it doesn't help them if the ratings they get ends up being lower and lower...
Wrestling has always been for children. Always. Adults can tell it's not real, kids can't. In the old days that was a huge deal when they tried to still claim they were "real". And some wrestlers(Lou Thesz and Antonio Inoki in particular) could walk the walk without any problems. Also, Monday Night RAW is still the most watched program on cable television, even with relatively low numbers(They've only been pulling about 4 Million every week for the past 5/6 years, whereas for a 2 year period they regularly pulled 7 and 8 million). Now, as for giving other wrestlers a chance, I understand why they don't, but at the same time I agree. I would LOVE to see more people be in the main event spotlight, but it's just not realistically possible.
Nobody in wrestling today makes as much money as John Cena. The only one who even comes close is Rey Mysterio. However, the feeling with Rey seems to be that being champion just doesn't work for him. And, going off his previous runs, they're right. Cena works as champ, so they'll continue to push him as champ. That's just how it is, and I've come to accept it. I realize there are people who don't, and that's partially what this topic is for. To give you all a chance to see the other side of things. Too bad most Indy companies don't put their shows up on youtube(Unlike New Japan, who puts up a match or two from their latest tour pretty regularly). And, thankfully, it's not TOO hard to find new shows from Mexican promotions. IWRG in particular is my new favorite promotion when I have the time to watch it.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the match is set. Five long days from now, it all comes crashing down. John Cena(c) vs. CM Punk for the WWE Championship. If Punk wins, Cena is fired, and the WWE Championship is forever gone. In the meantime, we're gonna take a special look at both these men. Well, as best we can at least. Since I've already covered Punk extensively, I'm gonna bring up a few Cena matches/moments for the crowd to enjoy. First, I'll take you back to the magical year of 2002. Here we see John Cena at a Halloween party dressed as...........ugh, Vanilla Ice. This was what actually launched his career, believe it or not, as it rebranded him into a rapper. It doesn't seem like much, but he really took off with such a simple thing.
For comparison, here is his very first match against former WWE, IWGP and TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle. Generic metal, generic haircut, and overly serious. Cena here is EXTREMELY different from even a few months later. However, a green Cena brings it against the Olympic Gold Medalist, and almost scores the biggest win in his career. Take a look at how.
I've been thinking about it, and here's how I think it might go down:
WWE, noting the various reactions to Cena lately, decide to give him time off in order to get him out of the fans' minds (aka he loses the match and is, quote unquote, fired). Meanwhile, Punk is triumphant on his way out of the company with the belt, when he's interrupted by music. Money in the Bank winner Rey Mysterio hits the ring! Now Rey, being a face, can't let Punk leave with the belt, so he immediately cashes in and Punk does the job. Cena's gone, Punk is gone, and there's a new champion! Actually any Money in the Bank contestant can work here, I just picked Rey since he has history with Punk.
Of course, I expect Rey to drop the belt pretty quick, since his previous title runs haven't been all that successful. And naturally, Cena's back (like every other pro wrestler who's been canned on air) after what, one week, two? I don't trust WWE to keep their biggest cash cow off the air longer than that. And of course once he's back they'll throw the belt at him again. :/
Last edited by Spooky; July 13th, 2011 at 03:09 PM.
Right now we're playing the waiting game for this Sunday, so I'm gonna treat you guys with another CM Punk match! This time it's against former TNA World, X Division, Tag and TV/Legends champion along with several other Indy titles, AJ Styles. Styles is a fantastic wrestler in his own right with death defying acrobatics and a natural charisma that shines through. However, Punk is more versatile and can brawl with the best of them. So, between these two indy darlings, who'll come out on top in the IWC?
Part 1
Part 2
What if you just think they're smexy? Does that count?
I'll allow it.
I have a confession: I watch TNA. And uh, they've... well, Sting is the Joker. Complete with insanity and clown henchmen.
I.....well, I don't hate myself, so I don't watch TNA. But I keep up with it. Saw some Sting/Joker shit and it was hilarious. Then they gave him the title, and I got mad. That's why I don't watch TNA.
Destination X was pretty ballin though. Especially seeing A Double, Low Ki, Shima Xion and Jack Evans on PPV together.
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