RavishingRickRudo

I think a lot of that has to do with lower standards. What we consider today to be a "good promo" isn't that good at all. Ortons promos, by and large, suck. They sound like promos. They have a very unnatural rhythm, and are very formulaic. But they are enough to get by, because we don't expect a whole lot out of them other than some cheap pops. The Rock can be blamed for this as he popularized this style of "hit your marks, get your pops" promos. Rock can get away with it because he's a charismatic motherfucker that has very few peers on this planet, let alone in the WWE. I am glad to see Benoit move away from this style in recent weeks (well, whenever he gets his promo time), as he doesn't say anything to get pops, he says it to get his point across and show his character. Which is what Cornette and Heenan did. Cornette and Heenan, they didn't sound rehearsed (Cornettes would have if he didn't prove time-and-time again to be a wonderful speaker). They didn't "wait" for the crowd to react and didn't use nearly as much cheap heat as they do today. And this ultimately goes back to Vince McMahon being a mark for the pop. Which is a (THE) fundamental problem the WWE has right now. There is too much focus on getting a reaction and not enough on getting an investment. The objective for wrestlers today isn't to get the fans to care, it's to get them to pop. So when there is a promo, fans aren't _listening_, they are waiting to _react_. They are waiting for the "right here in NEW YORK CITAY!"; they are waiting for their cue to pop or boo. And that is a HUGE stumbling block, because then that causes some confusion - when there is a promo that tries to do both (pop a crowd and get them interested), it tends to fall flat. I think this also may be caused by the writers, who typically come from a sitcom writing background and whom write promos with these "marks" in mind. That's how sitcoms are, you have to make/hit your beats. They structure the promos to ellicit laughs, or cheers, or heat, rather than furthering an angle or developing character. Which isn't what wrestling is about. Wrestling is about making money, and it isn't the "Do you like... PIE?" that gets people to pay to see a match, it's the promos that make you say "Oh SHIT, there is something big about to happen!"

http://www.buffy.nu/article.php3?id_article=7566 They are SO fucking.

Managers were associated with the 80's, so in the Attitude era when Vince was trying to disassociate himself with everything from the 80's to show how wrestling had changeed, that included getting rid of Managers. Plus there aren't really any good ones out there. People like Cornette and Heenan evolved into managers, and other wrestlers became managers after their careers ended. Those were very-much "old school", territorial things. Todays system doesn't offer that. Wrestlers who gained fame in the 80's, where the fame was much larger than before, don't seem right as managers today (Honky Tonk Man, Hillbilly Jim, Roddy Piper), either because they're being portrayed as bigger than the wrestler they are managing or because they're trying to steal the spotlight out from under them. And there really aren't guys who work in the WWE that can transition into something like a manager - it's all very fixed and structured. The mentality and expectations are also different. Heenan: "Well first off you have to get the character over and to do that you have to have a Mene Gene Okerlund. I think it's really hard to come out and do a 6 minute rap on someone and think you can get anybody over. I think you have to know this man and you can not just start off being a heel or tripping people. I never hit anybody unless it was a finish to the match, otherwise it did not mean nothing. You see, a manager was usually a young kid starting in the business or an old guy on his way out.. no one really wanted to make a career as a manager, but I did cause I knew I could make money off of it and I knew I could work, I knew I could get myself into positions with major promotions and have to get me to the Main Events."

Holy Crap, an angle that has Eugene going back to school would rock. They could steal everything from Billy Madison, where they get one of those shitty DIVA contestants to play Miss Vaughn, and the children who always enter the ring can be his classmates. Regal can be Carl. Nowinski could be Eric. It'd be a surefire hit.

http://www.pridefc.com/pride2004/08_photo.htm

It is absolutely mind boggling how many times Benoit had to face Batista and Flair. And this is for *both* Flair and Batista - so it doesn't take into consideration the singles matches Benoit has had with both of them - AND it's only the last match on the card/main event. It is also not counting everyone in Evolution, which the HHH/Flair, Orton/Batista combinations. But boy-oh-boy, that HHH sure did put Benoit over. I mean, how could he NOT be a successful champion constantly competing against a 50+ year old and a jacked up hoss.

I am watching Berrera / Morales right now, final round, and these guys are going all out. Is there a lot of form? No. Is it a technical display? No. Is it "smart" boxing? No. But jesus christ it's awesome. I want balls out wrestling sometimes, and I *never* get it in the WWE.

I want to see something different and exciting. Save the smart shit for the wrestlers who have to wrestle smart cause they can't do anything else.

Yes, I am doing it in a mocking way. ^^^^ (Mocking way) Of course not - that rope fuck up was one of the sickest things I've seen since Fedor got spiked by Randleman. The DDT was great. If I were to mock something in that match, it would be Mathews busting out every indy cliche in the book (cept, of course, the "this is WRESTLING, not some Entertainment crap). 5 star match? Check. Knowing each other so well? Check. The odd thing is, Mathews and Demott are by far the best team in the WWE.

JOIUJFLKASHFJOIUIDK HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!

They need to do an Akio/London feud. Now.

fdasokfapodsiugfodsafpoisj!!!!!!!!!!!1 holy SHIT!

My PRIDE sig pic has Silva in it, and he was at the initial press conference for the NYE show. PRIDE likes to announce who will be there much more than who they will be fighting. There is more of an interest in the single fighters than the matches.

For the first time, the PRIDE New Years Eve card will be aired on PPV (January 2nd, 05). I don't have to - and quite frankly I don't want to - hype this card; just look at it. SHOCKWAVE FIGHT CARD Fedor Emelianenko (Russia) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Brazil) (This is a double title match, for both the PRIDE FIGHTING heavyweight championship as well for the title of 2004 Grand Prix heavyweight champion) Hidehiko Yoshida (Japan) vs. Rulon Gardner (USA) Dan Henderson (USA) vs. Yuki Kondo (Japan) Takanori Gomi (Japan) vs. Jens Pulver (USA) Makoto Takimoto (Japan) vs. Henry “Sentoryu” Miller (USA) Stefan Leko (Germany) vs. Ikuhisa Minowa (Japan) Paolo “Giant” Silva (Brazil) vs. Choi Mu Bae (Korea) Yoji Anjo (Japan) vs. Ryan Gracie (Brazil) Ryo Chonan (Japan) vs. Anderson Silva **and I, of course, meant 12.30.04**

Awesome. I loved reading that PRIDE write up.

How did he put over Benoit? For one to "put over" another, they have to "be under". HHH was always the focus of the shows, and Benoits reign was uneventual. He was a lame-duck champion, and was never the star of the show. He was not "put over".

What I like: - Reversal System - Create-a-Belt - Advancement through Career mode (having to purchase moves and attire ala No Mercy, as well as entrances. It looks like you have to work your way up, and I dig that) What I don't like: - "This is the best looking wrestling game ever!" GAH! They spent way too much time discussing the graphics, so if that's their best selling feature then the gameplay will suck. I'd rank graphics very low in what I look for in a wrestling game. - The move animations. It looks like the Attitude-style moves, which are very clunky and unrealistic. I prefer smooth animation. - Kurt Angle throwing around the Big Show. If they aren't considering weight a factor, than I bet when I play this game I could give Big Show a gorilla press and he'd get back up in a second and I wouldn't even be tired. FUCK. This is my biggest peeve about wrestling games - if I do a move that should have the guy hurt, HE SHOULD BE HURT! Gigante is a fighting game company, and fighting games always have a guy get right back up after being lit on fire or stabbed with a sword. This does not bode well for me.

http://shinilta.co.kr/way-board/db/Free/file/Untitled.wmv ~!!!!

Long live the king. Meltzer called Kaoklai over Mo a surprise; did that actually surprise anyone? KK is insane. Lots of decisions here. I was thinking about buying the show, but I'll download it instead.

Brock was horrible on the mic for pretty much his entire run. He cut some good promos in his "greatest champ of all time" days. He really wasn't allowed to do anything outside of "towering monster hoss" stuff, except for the SSP where he landed on his head (that looked sick). Brocks "towering monster hoss" stuff was some of the best of its kind, certainly the best in the WWE, and he incorporated his amateur wrestling much better than Kurt could. Batista, Tomko, Heidenreich, Snitsky, etc, etc, etc, are all cut from the same cloth - crappy spinebusters and powerbombs do not a good giant make. Don't make the mistake of thinking that Brock wasn't something special because he was made from something entirely different He Batista has been very vocal about how he knows he needs to improve, and he's done so for the past year. Where is the improvement? It doesn't translate into good matches, so why the fuck should I care? Main Event Work in the WWE has taken a pretty big dip since HHH has dominated the scene.

Batista hasn't had to cut an actual promo yet, so he hasn't had to do anything other than memorize a few lines. Brock, at his peak, was much more popular than Batista. And there is that lil thing known as matches, has Batista had anything over ***? Anything *at* ***?

They completely buried Puder on Smackdown last night. So I can't imagine Vince has any interest in the guy.

Brocks strength, speed, agility, timing, moves, etc etc etc were all superior to Batistas. The only thing he lacked was the suit.

Oh, I definitely noticed at similarity between Ethan and Mal. But don't get me started on the similarities between the two shows.

Eliza is the worst player ever. She better not do it.