Professional wrestling thread

I was a fan of the new DX at first. But they've gotten stale. They either need to add a member or two, or split up.

And like was said: what's up with Edge and Orton suddenly getting together? For practically all of 2006, Edge has been hell-bent on having that title, and now suddenly he doesn't care? What the hell?

And I'm not at all buying Jonny Nitro as Cena's new foe. He seems a clone of Edge to me -- ripped, skinny (by WWE standards) blonde guy with not-so-hot girlfriend who talks a lot of trash and is kinda boring to watch. If I had just started watching, there's no way I'd be able to tell them apart.

I am happy to see the Spirit Squad on its way out. Like DX, they've grown stale. I think Kenny could be good by himself, or maybe joining DX or the Orton/Edge group.

 

Georgia Championship Wrestling. Before the days of PPV or even cable TV, I couldn't wait to see the highlights from the shows at the Omni in Atlanta. Tommy Rich, the Superstar, Mr. wrestling II, Magnum T.A., Harley Race,the Minnesota Wrecking Crew, etc., etc.

 

Not to mention Jim Cornette, Paul E. Dangerously and Dick Slater. And of course, Gordon Solie describing how one wrestler had the other in a front chancery and was showing him no surcease.

The wrestling to watch growing up was the St. Louis promotion, owned by the NWA's head, Sam Mushnik. That's where Ric Flair, Big John Studd (who started out as Chuck O'Connor) and Ted DiBiase got their start, where Koko Ware was an inept jobber, where Pat O'Connor looked like a 60-year-old in the ring. With Larry Matysik and Mickey Garagiola calling the action.

 

I saw Skandar Akbar, Koko Ware (before the B.) and the immortal Great Kabuki at the county fairgrounds in Arkansas when I was 7. At the time, I didn't handle loud noises well, and in the armory building, it was REALLY loud. My dad ended up tearing off the filters on two of his cigarettes so I could plug my ears. Good times.

 

He just wanted a more intense nicotine buzz.

 

Win-win situation.

 

Larry Matysik has both a book and website celebrating those days:

http://www.stlwrestlingfromthechase.com/main.html

 

It's like Flair said in his biography: It's a bunch of young guys who don't know how to tell a story. All they know is how to overact and put on a four-minute match.

I'm really hoping TNA can put it together and compete with the WWE for the industry's sake. I've never liked Jeff Jarrett, but I was captivated by his post-match interview after Sting took the NWA title. He just seemed himself. It seemed natural, not some overblown reaction, but a natural, down-on-himself response like you'd see in any sports interview.

Double J will "take some time" to evaluate where his career is heading after a title loss. This is authentic.

Edge loses his title and rematch, then immediately proceeds to blame a third party and form an alliance, completely forgeting about that title he craved soooo much. This is bullshit.

I guess Vince thinks we're all a bunch of drooling retards who buy these fucked-up story lines.

 

I really despise the McMahon way of doing things.
The refusal to call what they do wrestling, instead referring to it constantly as "sports entertainment." We no longer have "wrestlers" ... we have "Superstars."
It's amazing what WWE does to talented wrestlers. If you watch some old Ring of Honor DVDs or take a look at some old ECW or WCW from the mid-to-late 90s, you'll see just how talented some of these guys are. Yet WWE is only interested in the same "cookie-cutter wrestler." There's no variation, anymore.
In WWE, we're stuck with John Cena, who comes off as a poseur who can't wrestle and Triple H, whose best days are behind him in the ring and he comes across as a guy who's having a mid-life crisis as a near 40-year-old member of DX. It's more sad than entertaining.

I have some hope that TNA will eventually become a viable alternative to WWE. But they need to start pushing some of the guys who aren't WWE retreads. Samoa Joe is the perfect guy to build that company around. He's a monster inside the ring, someone the fans see as a legitimate badass. Making him the champ and putting him in feuds with A.J. Styles, Christopher Daniels, Senshi (Low-Ki), Abyss, Homicide, etc., etc. would provide some exciting and fresh feuds for starving wrestling fans to enjoy. Sure the veterans have a place in the promotion. They need to be used to elevate the new faces. It's imperative that fans see Joe, Styles, Daniels, Senshi, Abyss, Homicide, etc. as legit stars.
Allowing these wrestlers to shine in the ring, while incorporating simple, yet believable storylines would make their product DIFFERENT from WWE. TNA has seemed content in the last year to try to COPY WWE, which only makes the company come across as being inferior.

Instead, the company needs to show off its superior in-ring talent and get back to what pro wrestling is all about: Building feuds based around guys wanting the world title or guys wanting to prove they can beat someone else in the ring. Those simple storylines work in real sports ... that's why we all watch them. Pro wrestling has the advantage of cultivating such storylines and making them better. WWE's Creative Team has lost sight of that fact and is trying to "make movies," as Vince McMahon is prone to say.
I say this to Vince: Judging by the turnout for "The Marine" and "See No Evil," maybe it's time to give up on "making movies" and get back to pro wrestling. Cuz, if TNA realizes this first, you could be in for another war.

 

Now THAT is an awesome story all the way around.

 

Gives new meaning to smoke coming out of your ears.

 

Junkyard Dawwwwg!