Tim Cooke

Curb Your Enthusiasm Fawlty Towers Arrested Development Seinfeld Can't think of one for the fifth spot but any of these could be on a given day: Phoenix Nights The Office any Alan Partridge series Blackadder

Both Eddie and Rey were much, much better than Michaels in 2005.

"His mic work is his biggest flaw as he's very laid back and to the point." Watch his promos after the Necro Butcher and Kenta Kobashi matches. Best mic worker in TNA easily.

"To say that Ric Flair should be higher on the list is absolutely fucking absurd. Flair has put out so many big fucking piles of garbage that the WWE calls wrestling matches this year, to even consider him being above Benoit is a goddamn insult." Agreed 110%. "Chris Benoit made Batista in a wrestling match. Though the HHH feud is what got everyones attention, the match with Benoit -which was designed to get Batista over-, was the exact moment the crowd decided "This guy is awesome". It was probably one of, if not thee, best carry job of the year. Because it wasn't a very noticable carry job. Batista looked legit awesome because of Benoit." Benoit tends to do that for people. He has made Kurt Angle look way better than he is. In WCW, he made the fucking Cat Ernest Miller look good. On the other side, I have seen Joe, Eddy, Rey, and Danielson make people look fantastic this year. Joe and Danielson have each made Austin Aries look like World Champion material in six matches (three from each of them). Joe made a very eager to learn but terribly green Jay Lethal look like a guy who could be a viable champion. Eddy, working with a mediocre Batista, did a hell of a job at No Mercy. He didn't bump around like a lunatic (ala Michaels) or have to resort to a gimmick to get the match over. I haven't seen the Benoit/Batista match since it aired, but if it is better than Eddy's carry job, I would surprised. And then you have Rey Jr., who is pound for pound the best at the WWE style. He works realistic but not stiff (at least against guys who couldn't take it). He has lots of crowd pleasing spots that are very different from any other guys 'crowd pleasing' spots on the roster. I was/still kind of am a huge Benoit fan. But the WWE style has tinkered with everything that was great about him (varied move set, stiff, smart wrestler) where as Eddy and Rey have fully used it to their advantage. "I've seen Benoit wrestle live twice, and I've seen Joe wrestle live once. Joe sucked. I was very, very, disappointed. Yes, it was against Raven. But Benoit would have had a much better match (Benoit HAS had much better matches). Joe was working so.... not stiff.... and that without the stiffness, the match was nothing. The two Benoit matches may have been the best he put out this year, which was one against Jericho on RAW earlier this year and one against Randy Orton. In terms of live performance, Benoit smoked Joe somethin fierce. And it wasn't even a one time thing, cause in Joes match against Lyger, the guy making that match was Lyger. Joe didn't really do much in that high profile match to warrant being Wrestler of the Year. Now, I'm giving Joe -and you guys- the benefit of the doubt here (I don't have a WOTY for 2005, simply because what I've seen in wrestling in 2005 has sucked while MMA is putting out its best year ever). But from another perspective, in my eyes, Joe has not been very consistent at all." You name one Joe match from 2005, a 7 minute match from TNA. I know you acknowledged your prospective above, but you last statement is still ridiculous. 1 match makes him not consistent? Or is it the one live experience and the Liger match from TNA that makes him not consistent? Tim

Being a huge fan of Gibson since his WCWSN debut in October 1999, he disappointed me in ROH for the most part. He was solid and I like that, but didn't have the stand out matches that Joe, Danielson were producing. His best match was against Danielson on 9/17. He certainly stacked up numerous "good to great" matches but not a lot of MOTYC's. Tim

Joe is pretty much a run away for the best wrestler in the world. Look at 2005 through the Meltzer calendar and it is amazing. 12/4 vs. CM Punk (possibly the best of their series) 12/26 vs. Austin Aries (Aries has only looked this good against Danielson) 2/26 vs. Austin Aries (where as Aries does a nice job on 12/26, this is clearly Joe wielding 5/7 vs. Jay Lethal (Lethal hadn't looked as good prior nor has he looked as good since) 6/11 vs. Necro Butcher (Brawl-Brawl-Brawl-Brawl) 6/18 vs. Colt Cabana (Under-fucking-rated) 7/16 vs. Jimmy Rave (get rid of the first two minutes and it is excellent) 8/13 with Lethal v Ki/Homicide (Amazing ROH tag) 10/1 vs. Kobashi 10/2 w Ki v Kobashi/Homicide Only stinker was 6/4 against Gibson. Eddy and Rey is my feud of the year. I don't know what people were expecting and disappointed with. Fucking Dominic is golden in this. Outside of Danielson, Joe, Rey, and Eddy, I don't know who I would place at 5th place for WOTY.

So I guess you never watch any US Indies or smaller Japanese shows since they don't have announcing? Two of the great MPro 6 man tags of 1996 have no announcing and don't suffer at all.

As backwards as it may sound, most Japanese wrestlers would die for a shot in the US. That is why Tenyru is asking the WWE for a job as a comedy wrestler. Kobashi got to wrestle in front of bigger crowds than Misawa and Ogawa did when they came in 2002 plus got to wrestle 'his' match instead of some toned down version. Ultimo Dragon sacrificing himself to the WWE is just another example of that thinking. Tim

Samurai TV, if they didn't tape the shows themselves (I don't think they did), will most likely either get the footage from ROH without commentary for the full show and do their own announcing or have their own announcing over the ROH commentary. I doubt the Japanese fans would think less of "us" because of some announcing... Tim

Do you watch AJ matches? All of them are gymnastic competitions staged as "wrestling" matches. Do you think he could ever get over working the crowd into the match with a story? Tim, not an ROHBOT by any means, though thanks for that troll

AJ fucking sucks. Rave leads AJ through a match that AJ has never worked and does a hell of a job with it. I have seen bad Joe and Punk matches. You always need your opponent to show up to produce something good.

Um, since February, he has been decent on every show and in most cases, excellent. The Punk feud was a lot more Punk than Rave, but he held his end up fine, especially on 2/26 and 5/14. The 7/16 match against Joe is another godo Rave performance. His guiding of Styles through their excellent 7/23 brawl might be the highlight of his career so far.

Barbar - XPW is credible to you, so why wouldn't DOI be credible? Seriously...

All I have heard is what you said- Baltimore Education system. The HBO forum members seem to think Marlo will head up the main drug dealing scene but to me, that seems to predictable. I think it may play a role but I think Simon and Burns are too creative to go down a normal path. Really, I just don't know and that is what has me so excited. For all we know, it could be an almost all new squad of police, with a few regulars mixed in at points. I am hoping that they can pull a decent rating and get the fifth season so the show can wrap up like it was meant to. Carnivale being cancelled only 1/3 of the way through its story is killing me and I don't think I could take that with The Wire. Has anyone read or seen "The Corner" which Simon/Burns wrote and Simon did the producing for on HBO? I am guessing we will see numerous elements from this in relation to kids and the Baltimore City Educational System. Tim

Prior to seeing The Wire, the best TV shows that I had seen that weren't comedy: 24 The Shield Carnivale Never watched Homicide: Life on the Streets (though am now a big fan after getting The Wire and following David Simon related projects). The Wire was a brand new experience to me, with no music for dramatic effect, just great acting with storylines that are as tightly written as anything I have ever seen or read. I am a huge 24 fan and think the show is incredible. But The Wire is superior if just because it is so close to reality. Jack Bauer is a GOD, but he isn't a real person. Neither is Vic Mackey. The cast of The Wire are people you work with or pass by on the street everyday. The character build is extraordinary. I thought Prez was a total moron through the first 3 1/2 episodes. Then I see him make a photo copy of the phone in a "throw away" scene (which I thought was a throw away scene at the time but there are no throw away scenes in The Wire) only for the end of Episode Five to have him crack the code with other "useless at the time" Lester Freamon. Fast forward to Season 3 when he accidently shoots the cop. It made my stomach sick, that is how powerful the show is. Especially the bad mouthing in the station afterwards. Prez was a shitty on duty cop but in behind the scenes roles using his brain, he was awesome. Incredible emotion. I have never watched Six Feet Under or The Sopranos but I can't imagine either coming close to The Wire. Tim

The Wire is the BEST HBO TV Show I have seen (among Carnivale, Deadwood, Curb, Larry Sanders, etc.) Will respond later with more thoughts. I can't wait for January 2006 for Season 4.

If they were doing a tribute spot or they did it during when Storm was coming out, I would agree it was a nice tribute. They did it 3 minutes into the match, when they were starting to get bored with the in ring match. "We're bored now so let's chant for Chris Candido." Great tribute. Tim

Nevermortal wrote: "The fanbase of Ring of Honor ruined it for me." This coming from a guy who went to shows with someone whose sole purpose was to heckle and berate everything during the night. Makes a lot of sense.... Tim

Nah, no resentment from the past. You just raise views and arguments that intrigue me. "But seriously, when has Jamie Gibson or any Special K guy had a match as good as Angle-Michaels from Wrestlemania?" For my money, the Lacy's Angels vs. Dixie/Azriel from 4/16/05 was as good if not better than Michaels/Angle. Clear cut faces and heels? Yes. Faces and Heels who act their parts? Yes. Consistant selling? Yes. Match consists of more than a spotfest assortment of moves? Yes. As for Gibson, I don't think we have seen the tip of the iceburg with him. I have enjoyed his work but I am still waiting to be blown away like I know he is capable of. I think the 5/7 Black Tiger match might be it. But for consistent work: vs. Spanky 2/25 vs. Puma 2/26 vs. Romero 3/12 vs. Strong 4/2 4 matches, the first 3 which aren't even better than good, but all just as fundamentally sound as Angle/Michaels. And the 4th is Michaels/Angle, worked better. Same story, more selling, more move variation, better transitions. Not as much heat, but 22,000 > 750. Tim

"Recently, I'd much rather watch Raw than almost any indy show in existence. Plain and simple, the WWE can afford to sign whoever they want and that leads to them having the best roster in the country. Does even ROH have a group of guys that can compare overall to Benoit, Angle, Guerrero, Misterio, Michaels, HHH, Jericho, Taker, RVD, so on and so forth? I don't think so." If we equate what you said to baseball, the Yankees are the top dogs because they have the largest pay roll and can get whoever they want. Are they the most exciting team? Do they win the most? Without getting into specifics, the ROH roster doesn't have Eddy Guerrero or Rey Misterio Jr. on their roster. Besides those two, I say ROH matches up very well against the other wrestlers on the list. * Benoit - Benoit would get the Eddy/Rey treatment if he is ever to revert back to his old self; i.e. instead of german suplexes and crossfaces as 95% of his move set, he does what made him one of the best in the world for so many years. Danielson compares very easily, minus the natural brawling ability of Benoit, which Danielson doesn't possess naturally. * Angle - I don't think Angle is horrible but he isn't doing anything that most well trained wrestlers should be able to accomplish. Angle's best quality to me was his meshing with a flyer like Rey Jr. James Gibson is just as strong of a base but also has the wrestling fundamentals. * Michaels - I haven't seen a Michael's match that I liked in a long time. His comparison to the indies is easy-he is just as spotty as the former Special K guys of the world...only I would argue the Special K guys sell better from the March/April 2005 ROH releases. * HHH - HHH is the definition of mediocre. His move set, selling, way of working, etc. is either ass backwards or not fundamentally sound. I always get a kick when he is compared to Flair or Race. As much as Flair was a by the numbers kind of wrestler, he was over and used it to better himself and his opponent. What sticks out about HHH that would be helpful to a company? Jericho, RVD, etc. more of the same. Undertaker is valuable, but a monster can be built up. "Hell, even Bradshaw was a better heavyweight champion than Xavier." Bradshaw was a decent champion but Xavier was hardly bad. Another general misconception. Tim

Make it easy on yourself. Get Choshu's Army Vols 1-4 From Bob Barnett Get the 6/5/89 Tenyru/Jumbo TC switch 5/26/90 6 man 6/8/90 Mis/Jum 10/28/90 6 man 4/20/91 6 man That's a decent start

I would love to see Borash get full control of the book. Maybe he could bring in Ryder as TNA equiv to Paul Bearer. Tim

"If you've ever seen B-Boy wrestle, they're damn near identical twins." Maybe in the way they look, but not in the way they wrestle. Tim

1-2 custom comps for a IWA-MS SMV Master? Christ....

Lei Tong - get to it! Tim