The Wrestling Thread

[Shuggie_Murray7]

Anyone who doesn't watch that video I posted is a moron. EVERYONE needs to see that promo. One of the best I've EVER seen.

It is a damn good promo but I don't think it's up there with Steve Austins ECW promos.

I know but I wanted someone decent. Like Johnathan Coachman.

eh? Coachman is one of the worst commentators I've ever heard in my life. He's right up there with Don West.

[Sir Kevin Of Kilsyth]

Remember JBL quit at Mania so I'm guessing Todd is a temp til JBL takes over.

Im sure JBL said in an interview last week that he was done with wrestling for the time being and had no interest in filling the role.

[YER SISTERS YER MAW]

Im sure JBL said in an interview last week that he was done with wrestling for the time being and had no interest in filling the role.

I heard the same, he stated he has no interest at present in giong back into commentating. Shame as I thought he did a good job previous and at times was quite humerous.

Edited April 11, 2009 by YER SISTERS YER MAW

[The Naitch]

It is a damn good promo but I don't think it's up there with Steve Austins ECW promos.

eh? Coachman is one of the worst commentators I've ever heard in my life. He's right up there with Don West.

Come on now, give the Coach a break. Don West (and his 'insane deals' on the TNA website) is in a whole league of his own.

In fact, I'd go as far to say that Mike Tenay and Don West are the worst commentating duo ever assembled in wrestling history.

[The Naitch]

Anyone who doesn't watch that video I posted is a moron. EVERYONE needs to see that promo. One of the best I've EVER seen.

That'll make me a moron then.

[DomDom]

Moron.

[Shuggie_Murray7]

Come on now, give the Coach a break. Don West (and his 'insane deals' on the TNA website) is in a whole league of his own.

In fact, I'd go as far to say that Mike Tenay and Don West are the worst commentating duo ever assembled in wrestling history.

The Coach is definetly shite.

I actually don't mind Mike Tenay although he's not the greatest. Don West however is terrible with him claiming every ten minutes "This will change the face of the wrestling industry forever". Nothing he has ever claimed "will change the industry forever" has. His recent heel turn was rediculously funny.

Don't forget this :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ4coMbfL_A...feature=related

CLASSIC!

[The Naitch]

The Coach is definetly shite.

I actually don't mind Mike Tenay although he's not the greatest. Don West however is terrible with him claiming every ten minutes "This will change the face of the wrestling industry forever". Nothing he has ever claimed "will change the industry forever" has. His recent heel turn was rediculously funny.

Don't forget this :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ4coMbfL_A...feature=related

CLASSIC!

Brilliant. To be fair, I've been a Tenay hater since the WCW days - his voice just goes through me.

[Shuggie_Murray7]

Its Westvoice that goes through me........he's got a voice like a chainsaw.

[YER SISTERS YER MAW]

Talking of commentators, who's your all-time favourite commentating pair? My vote goes to Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan and 'Gorrilla' Monsoon. The're just ahead of Jerry 'The King' Lawler and Jim Ross for me. Heenan was a comedy genius and Monsoon was great at talking you through a match but Jim Ross is on a par with him on that count.

Your thought's?

[DomDom]

Gorilla and Heenan were absolutely fantastic when they were on their game.

[Sir Kevin Of Kilsyth]

Talking of commentators, who's your all-time favourite commentating pair? My vote goes to Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan and 'Gorrilla' Monsoon. The're just ahead of Jerry 'The King' Lawler and Jim Ross for me. Heenan was a comedy genius and Monsoon was great at talking you through a match but Jim Ross is on a par with him on that count.

Your thought's?

I would say those were the two best aye. Honourable mention to Joey Styles and Cyrus. I also think Micheal Cole and JBL had their moments.

[The Naitch]

Agree with Heenan and Monsoon - however JR and Lawler during the Attitude era was fantastic for the most part. Special mention to the Jr and Heyman partnership from 2001 as well.

[Shuggie_Murray7]

Not really sure about pairings but as individual commentators go:

1) Bobby Heenan

2/3) Jim Ross/The King (circa 1997/2000)

4) Joey Styles

5) Gordon Solie

As for worst commentators:

1) Vince "Oh what a manouver" McMahon

2) Don West

3) Tony Schiavone

4) Coach

5) Josh Matthews

It seems strange that King will forever be remembered for his commentary when he had such a distinguished career himself. Commentary is hit these days with the lack of heel commentators. Heenan and King in their prime as heel commentators were amazing. Thats why for me JR and The King are probably my favourite duo of all time. JR is without doubt the greatest play by play commentator ever and combined with The King they really made some matches better than they actually were. The Kings face commentary these days is painful to watch almost as much as Don Wests heel work.

Edited April 12, 2009 by Shuggie_Murray7

[YER SISTERS YER MAW]

Not really sure about pairings but as individual commentators go:

1) Bobby Heenan

2/3) Jim Ross/The King (circa 1997/2000)

4) Joey Styles

5) Gordon Solie

As for worst commentators:

1) Vince "Oh what a manouver" McMahon

2) Don West

3) Tony Schiavone

4) Coach

5) Josh Matthews

It seems strange that King will forever be remembered for his commentary when he had such a distinguished career himself. Commentary is hit these days with the lack of heel commentators. Heenan and King in their prime as heel commentators were amazing. Thats why for me JR and The King are probably my favourite duo of all time. JR is without doubt the greatest play by play commentator ever and combined with The King they really made some matches better than they actually were. The Kings face commentary these days is painful to watch almost as much as Don Wests heel work.

The worst commentator I can recall is Mike Adamle when on ECW. He was such a wrestling novice that he would make his own names up to moves he didn't know, even Tazz ripped the pish out him FFS.

I remember The Macho Man being pretty dreadful too.

[Shuggie_Murray7]

The reason I didnt include Adamle was because he was funny as hell. Complteley making moves up and for calling him Jeff Harvey and The Tazz . He didn't know a single move or superstar and has since gone back to being a sports broadcaster for some pishy news channel.

All my wrestling watching mates adore Savage and proclaim himto be one of the best ever. Me, I've never really got what the fascination with him is as I've never liked him either as a wrestler or a commentator.

I also forgot, I really liked Foley during his Smackdown run.

And let us not forget the legendary Eric Bischoff run in WCW .

I also loved Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse "The Body" Ventura.

I have however decide my favourite duo of all time.............Carlos Carbria and Hugo Savinovitch

[Mo Wonderboy]

As a wrestler Savage was amazing. He gripped a crowd and fed them out the palm of his hand.

[DomDom]

Savage was one intense mofo in the ring. I think that made him pretty watchable for some as well.

[DomDom]

WWE : The Ladder Match Discs 2 and 3

Edge and Christian vs. The Dudley Boys vs. The Hardy Boys, TLC Match - WWE Wrestlemania X-7

This match took place on the greatest wrestling show of all time. Gotta feel sorry for anyone wrestling on a show like this, because they want to steal the show, and with so many guys on their A game, what can you do ? Well, you can throw your bodies off of ladders and through tables ! This match was brilliant fun from start to finish, and helped by interferences from all sides. Probably more sports entertainment than any match on this set. Who cares. It's an absolutely fabulous piece of pro-wrestling and needs to be seen by everyone. Oh, and this match also has the single greatest spot in wrestling history. I'm trying to think of words to describe how amazing this is and can't. *****

Edge and Christian vs. The Dudley Boys vs. The Hardy Boys vs. Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho, TLC Match - WWE Smackdown 24/05/2001

This was a brilliant spell for Smackdown as they had brilliant main events. Yet again, absolutely mental stuff here. Another absolutely perfect TLC Match. Putting this on free TV was a brilliant move from WWE as it made people want to watch WWE. Once again, I can't bring the words together to describe just how good this is. Eight men putting their careers on the line and it wasn't even a PPV. *****

Christian vs. Edge - WWE No Mercy 2001

I can remember this match being boring as f**k. I really hope that it has aged well, because this DVD would take a massive step down if it's as bad as I remember it. Well, I guess that it was acceptable stuff. Certainly not a bad match and both guys definately ravaged each other in this one, but it was slow, it was plodding and generally a disappointment when considering who was in there. Really cool final spot though. **1/2

Eddie Guerrero vs. Rob Van Dam - WWE RAW 27/05/2002

This was the blowoff for a fued that these guys were having when Eddie Guerrero made his return to WWE by attacking RVD. They had two belting matches on PPV and also had some goodies on RAW around the time. The stuff before the commercial break was pretty tedious and had absolutely no direction. The stuff after the break, while not exactly original, was great fun. Eddie always brings a level of brutality to gimmick matches and RVD is always willing to bump like a lunatic. ***3/4

The Undertaker vs. Jeff Hardy - WWE RAW 01/07/2002

Coincidental that we're talking about great commentators today, because this match is probably JR's finest moment, as he has us all buying the fact that Jeff Hardy has a chance at winning the belt when it should have been obvious that he never had a chance. This match turns out to be absolutely astonishing through effort alone, as Taker did his best to make Jeff Hardy look good even in defeat, which was the entire point. ****

Christian and Chris Jericho vs. Spike Dudley and Buh Buh Ray Dudley vs. Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy vs. Kane, TLC Match - WWE RAW 07/10/2002

RAW Roulette ! Look how thrown together every single one of these teams are. And we think we have it bad now. Where this match has an advantage is that it's very well put together, which makes it seem more mental than it actually was. The other great thing about this match is that the crowd are absolutely hanging on every single thing that these guys do. They react to every single spot as if it's death. Chris Jericho in particular took a bump which makes you question his sanity. ****1/4

Christian vs. Chris Jericho - WWE Unforgiven 2004

One that I've never seen. There is a major danger factor to this match. Clearly, the two men knew that they didn't have much going for them, so they tried to get the match over purely with brutality and major risk taking. Unfortunately, it didn't really work for them and while you get some fun watching this match, it falls way short of what you should be expecting to see from these two men. **1/2

Chris Jericho vs. Kane vs. Edge vs. Christian vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shelton Benjamin - WWE Wrestlemania 21

This would be the start of the annual Shelton Benjamin show. Too many dead spots and also a couple of big botches in the match means that this can't be rated as highly as I have seen it rated by some. How can this be seen as a nearly perfect match ? Don't get me wrong, it is a great match, and worthy of it's spot on this DVD set, but it's not even close to perfect. ****

Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio - WWE Summerslam 2005

Another match which went down the route of pure violence and risk taking. Ridiculous storyline, and we're lucky enough to get a storyline covering the whole thing. The match could have been better with less botched spots and a better storyline, but they still managed to get the match over with the crowd through work rate and effort alone and that really has to be commended. You have to see the Back Body Drop spot in this match. Utterly, utterly insane. The Powerbomb spot is ALMOST as wild but not quite. What a brutal, violent, insane war, worthy of it's spot in this list. ****1/4

Edge vs. Matt Hardy - WWE RAW 03/10/2005

What a fued this turned out to be. Anything after their epic cage match was always going to be an anti-climax. The standard had been raised in gimmick matches on free TV by this time so this match was a definate disappointment. Anyone who had seen their recent exploits were expecting something special. Neither man seemed interesting on putting on the best match possible. It was just "more of the same" level stuff with no real innovation or mentalism. **1/2

Edge vs. Ric Flair, TLC Match - WWE RAW 16/01/2006

Gotta make allowances in a case like this. Ric Flair, at this point, wasn't really built for a ladder match. What they were thinking having him in such a match, I have no idea. This match was more focused on the story side of things. You can't expect an insanity-fest from a match like this, so unless they have good chemistry and bring the effort then the match fails. Thankfully, the match doesn't even come close to failing, thanks to the hot hometown crowd and the story being more important than the moves. ***1/4

Edge vs. John Cena, TLC Match - WWE Unforgiven 2006

The atmosphere for this match was amazing, as the crowd wanted Cena's blood, as well as wanting Edge to win. Edge even cried at the crowd reaction at one point. The crowd reaction to Cena is even more hilarious though. BOOOOOOOOO !!! The match just gradually got more and more nutty as both men decided to have a nice build to the spots, untill one mammoth one at the end. This was the standard great John Cena main event. ****1/4

Johnny Nitro vs. Jeff Hardy - WWE RAW 20/11/2006

This makes a ladder match debut for Nitro. Wouldn't take long for him to be in his second one though. I think watching this match on this DVD set doesn't do this any good at all, because the match was pretty great to watch at the time, but having watched so many ladder matches before this, I'm being led to say "this again ?". I was gonna do a whole load of ladder matches not on the DVD set, but I'm going to wait for a while, because my judgement will clearly be ruined by this set. This is still a decent match, but I can't help but feel like I've seen it all before. ***

MNM vs. Dave Taylor and William Regal vs. Brian Kendrick and Paul London vs. The Hardy Boys - WWE Armageddon 2006

Taylor and Regal are scared of heights, which they played on a wee bit here. Eight guys and a ladder. This wasn't going to be anything less than nutty. JBL is almost orgasmic when the Hardy Boys hit the ring. Matt Hardy was weird here, as he was determined to just be as vicious as possible rather than fly around the place. This was just about mental enough to work, but why were Regal and Taylor even in this match ? Great fun though. ****

OVERALL

********

This DVD set is absolutely amazing like you would expect. Most of the matches are absolutely crazy and there's so much innovation and stuff here. It's hard hitting, it's violent and it's dramatic.

Get this set.

[Shuggie_Murray7]

The Undertaker vs. Jeff Hardy - WWE RAW 01/07/2002

Coincidental that we're talking about great commentators today, because this match is probably JR's finest moment, as he has us all buying the fact that Jeff Hardy has a chance at winning the belt when it should have been obvious that he never had a chance. This match turns out to be absolutely astonishing through effort alone, as Taker did his best to make Jeff Hardy look good even in defeat, which was the entire point. ****

One of my favourite WWE DVD's with loads of great matches on it.

The Taker/Jeff ladder match was great especially like you said when Jeff was on top of the ladder and JR's commentary had you believing he was gonna grab the belt, "Climb the ladder kid, climb the ladder. Make yourself famous.". They really did a good job of making Jeff look really good especially after the match when he still called Taker out. I adored the Undertaker character at this time aswell.

Edited April 13, 2009 by Shuggie_Murray7