Wrestling Thread

[I’m The Village Idiot]

The wrestling aspect is less important than the other stuff when it comes to that specific company. There are a million guys who can apply a proper face lock or who have a video game like move set. That just doesn't really get people far in WWE.

The make a wish stuff and anti bullying stuff alone would probably make him their GOAT. I'm sure being able to market that made them more money than just about anything.

Wrestling existed long before Vince McMahon. I do agree that mic skills are important but trust me when I say, the very point you’re making was something Vince McMahon preached. It made wrestling bigger, but also killed it. Vince’s view of the sport was like this:

Think of traditional pro wrestling as Toto, very talented and still really popular.

Think of the WWE modern style of pro wrestling as Britney Spears. Sells way more records and it’s easily digestible by most, but doesn’t have same musicianship. Being a great wrestler absolutely should mean building a relationship with the crowd — that doesn’t mean the bell to bell storytelling needs to suffer.

At least this is how it looks in my mind.

 

[preston-lemasterpiece]

I’ve never cared about the need for my wrestlers to look big.

Flair was certainly not an intimidating figure. Neither was Shawn Michaels. Bret Hart was just average size WWE wise. I like seeing the storytellers do it between the ropes.

Those guys were all at least 6 feet tall and over 200lbs tho. They seemed small back then compared to guys like Hogan but they’re not tiny people by any means

 

[preston-lemasterpiece]

Wrestling existed long before Vince McMahon. I do agree that mic skills are important but trust me when I say, the very point you’re making was something Vince McMahon preached. It made wrestling bigger, but also killed it. Vince’s view of the sport was like this:

Think of traditional pro wrestling as Toto, very talented and still really popular.

Think of the WWE modern style of pro wrestling as Britney Spears. Sells way more records and it’s easily digestible by most, but doesn’t have same musicianship. Being a great wrestler absolutely should mean building a relationship with the crowd — that doesn’t mean the bell to bell storytelling needs to suffer.

At least this is how it looks in my mind.

Vince said it best himself in Beyond the Mat:

“We make movies”

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

Those guys were all at least 6 feet tall and over 200lbs tho. They seemed small back then compared to guys like Hogan but they’re not tiny people by any means

Right but that’s the point. Size is relative. If all your wrestlers are 5’8” and then you have one 5’11”, he will look massive. The size thing has become more irrelevant with time. It used to be needed to get wrestlers notoriety in an airport. It was kind of a marketing gimmick.

Size is fine but I don’t need that most.

Would I rather have Shawn Michaels or Sid Vicious? Easy choice for me.

Macho Man or Bam Bam Bigelow? Easy choice for me.

Rey Mysterio Jr or Viscera? Easy choice for me.

Chris Benoit or The Great Khali? Easy choice for me.

 

[Laparkafan]

I’ve never cared about the need for my wrestlers to look big.

Flair was certainly not an intimidating figure. Neither was Shawn Michaels. Bret Hart was just average size WWE wise. I like seeing the storytellers do it between the ropes.

Flair wasn’t intimidating but he could down 12 beers and put on a 60 minute match the next night no problem.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

Flair wasn’t intimidating but he could down 12 beers and put on a 60 minute match the next night no problem.

No contest there. Man was a machine.

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

Vince said it best himself in Beyond the Mat:

“We make movies”

Rather than just try to up the entertainment value of the sport itself, he made it something else entirely. He gets credit and blame for that. I still contend the more serious, sports-like presentation style of Jim Crockett promotions was more for someone like me.

Speaking of which did you see I sent you a link to a WCW vault on YouTube?

 

[preston-lemasterpiece]

Rather than just try to up the entertainment value of the sport itself, he made it something else entirely. He gets credit and blame for that. I still contend the more serious, sports-like presentation style of Jim Crockett promotions was more for someone like me.

Speaking of which did you see I sent you a link to a WCW vault on YouTube?

agree completey
and yes i did, cheers.

 

[preston-lemasterpiece]

still weird how they just edit out any mention of Chris "he who shall not be named" B*noit on the old Nitros. I agree we don't need to be celebrating him constantly and putting him on a pedestal but he was a massive part of all 3 of the big companies in the 1990s. just deleting him from the old shows is more distracting imo. and i don't see WWE scrubbing Jimmy Snuka from any of the old tapes.

i actually met Benoit when i was a kid at a car dealership in Richmond, haha. Normal and pretty wholesome at the time but morbid and weird in hindsight, lol. Very intense fella

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

still weird how they just edit out any mention of Chris "he who shall not be named" B*noit on the old Nitros. I agree we don't need to be celebrating him constantly and putting him on a pedestal but he was a massive part of all 3 of the big companies in the 1990s. just deleting him from the old shows is more distracting imo. and i don't see WWE scrubbing Jimmy Snuka from any of the old tapes.

i actually met Benoit when i was a kid at a car dealership in Richmond, haha. Normal and pretty wholesome at the time but morbid and weird in hindsight, lol. Very intense fella

It’s just such an awkward thing to have to deal with. He was such a phenomenal wrestler and many of his peers revered his ability and contribution to the business but he’s also undeniably a black eye. I’ll always be a fan of his work, but I’m someone capable of simultaneously acknowledging the horrors of his actions while also acknowledging he was one of the very best between the ropes. As you well know, humans are not very good at this type of thing — we tend to view people as the “babyfaces” and the “heels” without any context allowed in the middle. By the way, he also had one of the coolest theme songs of that ruthless aggression era.

 

[preston-lemasterpiece]

It’s just such an awkward thing to have to deal with. He was such a phenomenal wrestler and many of his peers revered his ability and contribution to the business but he’s also undeniably a black eye. I’ll always be a fan of his work, but I’m someone capable of simultaneously acknowledging the horrors of his actions while also acknowledging he was one of the very best between the ropes. As you well know, humans are not very good at this type of thing — we tend to view people as the “babyfaces” and the “heels” without any context allowed in the middle. By the way, he also had one of the coolest theme songs of that ruthless aggression era.

true. it would be much easier for me to deal with if it had been Brutus Beefcake or El Gigante for instance

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

true. it would be much easier for me to deal with if it had been Brutus Beefcake or El Gigante for instance

If Hogan heard you say something about Brutus he’d be here right now to deal with you, brother.

(RIP Hulk — always a Hulkamaniac.)

 

[AFKY_Blue_RedsBengals]

 

[preston-lemasterpiece]

If Hogan heard you say something about Brutus he’d be here right now to deal with you, brother.

(RIP Hulk — always a Hulkamaniac.)

good ol' brother bruti

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

good ol' brother bruti

 

[AFKY_Blue_RedsBengals]

 

[Laparkafan]

TK loving these ex tna folks all of a sudden

bloated roster just means they’ll be in roh in 3 months

 

[Laparkafan]

 

[preston-lemasterpiece]

poor Bret really got the shaft that day lol

 

[BookerNoe]

Good Lord

 

[ZaytovenCat]

I’m not as big of a Hobbs fan as a lot of AEW fans but I’m still surprised and kinda pissed given his past comments. He was basically broke, not far from being homeless and wasn’t even an attraction on the indies when AEW gave him a shot on Dark and later signed him. For years he’s said all the right things and made it sound like he was a lifer only to take less money to go to nxt. But whatever I guess. I’m sure he will make his return at Revolution 2029. Triple Nose already has his young big black guy that he probably won’t even use right so I’ll be shocked if Hobbs makes it.

Good Lord

On one hand it looks painful. On the other hand it probably doesn’t even make the top 10 worst bumps he’s taken. Still surprised he didn’t use his feet to soften the impact.

 

[Louis_Skunt]

Just curious, are you guys grown adults that are into wrestling?

 

[Laparkafan]

Guess this is the one thread without a mod - oh well better than nothing.

Nic Nemeth had a 2 year handshake deal with tna and finally signed - kinda like Billy g I guess.

 

[CrimeDawg18]

Anyone going to check out the TNA debut show on AMC tonight. They are promoting AJ Styles and Bully Ray being there.
Think Jericho might show up there tonight?

 

[AFKY_Blue_RedsBengals]

I'll definitely be watching TNA on AMC tonight!

 

[Laparkafan]

Why would Jericho show up? Just to pop the rating? I’d hope he’d debut at rumble.

 

[Laparkafan]

Guess that onlyfans money only goes so far - Cora Jade debuted in tna along with Sonya Deville.

 

[Nightwish]

Poor showing from TNA tonight. Visa issues and contract decisions aside, they did exactly what WWE did on the Netflix debut: lots of talking, influencers and celebs no one cares about, cringe segments, and very little wrestling. You can get away with that if you're WWE and if I recall, Raw #2 on Netflix was much better. But if you're TNA, you can't be WWE-lite because you don't have the roster or the production. I still think this episode pops a rating but none of that matters if people will be tuned out by episode two.

 

[BookerNoe]

Yeah very underwhelming.

 

[CrimeDawg18]

Why would Jericho show up? Just to pop the rating? I’d hope he’d debut at rumble.

That was the internet rumor going around that he would show up there last night. I didn't see the show but judging by what I've seen clips that was not a good program.

 

[simnalecho]

Flair wasn’t intimidating but he could down 12 beers and put on a 60 minute match the next night no problem.

Flair could down 12 beers and put on a 60 minute match right after

 

[Laparkafan]

 

[Laparkafan]

21 man he’s got a bright future if injuries don’t hit

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

Sacrilege. The Ace just took a deuce on the fans (joking)

 

[AFKY_Blue_RedsBengals]

 

[Laparkafan]

 

[Laparkafan]

Kit Wilson was the star of smackdown

 

[AFKY_Blue_RedsBengals]

WWE Star Santos Escobar Makes TV Return

Santos Escobar has officially returned to the ring, his first time in a ring since he re-signed with WWE in 2025.

www.wrestlezone.com

 

[Laparkafan]

 

[Eastkybball]

I’ll never agree with it but I understand the rationale. Ultimately, one issue I’ve always had with WWE is how they tell their fans what to like and over time they win. Been a wrestling fan since childhood, although I’m currently a little disinterested and only watch certain PPVS (didn’t say PLEs) — I can say for sure that the qualities that make up a GOAT to me are more than:

- How much the performer was a yes man to management

- How much merch and brand power

- Longevity


^ Almost all of Cena’s accomplishments, other than his elite mic skills , are wrapped up in those. Oh and nostalgia at this point. If he is truly the GOAT of wrestling, it really isn’t dying. It’s a dead art form.

John Cena along with the PG era (more like G though) absolutely ruined what wrestling was to me. Very un watchable product for the past 20 some years. When stone cold left for refusing to lose to Brock Lesnar, I quit being a fan.
Brock through his rookie years was so phuking stupid and cringe. Now we got HHH running everything and like his wrestling career he is a cringe water spitting goofball.
Sucks because wrestling use to be so magical to me and I absolutely loved it. I’ll turn it on every now and then. I like to watch clips on YouTube but only certain things were good to me. I liked Roman Reigns, CM punk, Bray Wyatt rip, Dominik mysterio, Randy Orton, and Rhea Ripley.