Dave Meltzer's Taboo Tuesday review

[Enigma 0]

WWE TABOO TUESDAY POLL RESULTS

Thumbs up ------------------------ 49 (40.2%)

Thumbs in the middle ----------- 19 (15.6%)

Thumbs down -------------------- 54 (44.3%)

 

BEST MATCH POLL

Randy Orton vs. Ric Flair -------- 97

Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels ---- 28

 

WORST MATCH POLL

Christy Hemme vs. Carmella -- 96

Eugene vs. Eric Bischoff -------- 20

Gene Snitsky vs. Kane --------- 14

 

When Taboo Tuesday was first announced, I was skeptical, as it reminded me of a conversation many years ago with Houston promoter Paul Boesch. He said that you have to be in control of your storylines, not in those exact words. He said at one point, he did a gimmick in his program where he asked fans to vote for the match they most wanted to see. At the end of the night, the votes were clear, the fans wanted a match they could never see the way the business was at the time, where the area's top two faces (forgive me but I don't know who they were at the time) would face each other in a singles match. He thought since the fans spoke, he should deliver the match and since they wanted it the most, it would draw great. The match bombed, and a lesson was learned. This was an era where most promoters (and there were exceptions) had learned that if you put the two most over faces against each other, the box office was usually disappointing, which explained why 98% of the main events in that era were face vs. heel. Of course, times do change. Steve Austin vs. The Rock at Wrestlemania X-7 at the Astrodome was probably the biggest drawing single match in wrestling history (if Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant was around when technology had advanced, it very well may have been bigger, but it wasn't) and it was the two super faces of the time against each other. But still, what fans tell you they want to see and what they will pay to say aren't always the same.

 

With 14 PPV shows per year, I think the company needs more "concept shows" to differentiate, especially with PPVs becoming routine with the lack of depth caused by not mixing up talent, and splitting talent in two. Ultimately, I liked the idea. When it was over, in execution, I didn't think much of the concept. My only thought was that anyone who watched that show and couldn't realize just how great Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels are, today, as performers, well, they don't really understand what working is.

 

Flair and Michaels, through their working ability, facials, emotions, and intensity, saved a show that was in the toilet after Carmella and Christy Hemme's debut match, and a series of bad matches before a lackluster crowd.

 

Proving Boesch's axiom right on this night (and there are no universal truths or laws in wrestling, just things that are correct more often than not), the Bradley Center did not sell well for a show where the fans were theoretically picking the main event. There were tickets available in every price range, even close up ringside, the day of the show. The night before, at Raw in Chicago, they were handing out coupons for $10 tickets for people who wanted to attend live in Milwaukee (Milwaukee is a little less than 2 hours away from Chicago).

 

Ultimately, what we did learn was this: the company can fully manipulate these things as it saw fit. By only opening up the voting for a one day period, starting during the Raw show the night before, most of the voting results were pre-ordained based on comments and actions on Raw. While most if not all of the results were probably "anticipated," its true none were known until the show began. Shelton Benjamin won the voting among the IC title contenders that Batista (who was pushed for the spot the prior week) was not put in, and won the voting handily. Everyone knew that Eric Bischoff vs. Eugene would be a hair match and Ric Flair vs. Randy Orton would be a cage match. Jerry Lawler pushed the idea for the women's Battle Royal to be a schoolgirl match. Kane vs. Gene Snitsky actually in storyline pushed a pipe legal from the original angle, but no direction was pushed the past two weeks and it really didn't matter it wound up a chain match. In the Carmella vs. Christy match, it was made clear not to vote for an aerobics challenge, leaving voting as either a lingerie pillow fight (which won) or an evening gown match.

 

The big one almost got too cute. As noted before, the plan was for Michaels to get the match with HHH, but it was going to be legit when it came to voting and they believed in a fair vote, Chris Benoit could win, but Edge would have no chance. So they booked a three-way, putting Edge, the total heel over the last few weeks, over Benoit, to favor Michaels. Instead, Edge nearly won. Michaels ended up with 39% to 33% for Edge and 28% for Benoit. Worse, Michaels tore his meniscus in his left knee in the match at Raw in Chicago, and the doctors recommended surgery, which he will be getting this week. He knew going in this would be his last match for probably a couple of months. He did nothing stupid, and he had to rely on everything but his athletic ability, but could still pull it off. We were told after the trainer examined Michaels the night before that Michaels would probably not be able to wrestle on the PPV, and he was the favorite to win the voting. But knowing the mentality of WWE main event wrestlers, I never expected Michaels to not wrestle. They turned the injury into a storyline angle, and the basis of the match. It wasn't match of the year, or even the show, but it was a great dramatic performance by Michaels when he wasn't able to do much physically, and a great storyline finish. Edge, which "deserved" to win the voting, had earlier walked out and left the arena in the tag title match, which Benoit, single-handedly, still won. So Edge & Benoit are tag champs again. When Michaels, after hobbling around and selling his knee the entire match, made his comeback and was about to hit the superkick, Edge showed back up, speared Michaels, causing HHH to pin him. While the obvious Michaels-Edge program may have to be held off due to the surgery (and the way things have been booked of late, it may even be forgotten by the time he gets back), this did establish Edge as being of the level of those in the world title picture. It's a position fans hadn't accepted him in up to this point.

 

After the show went off the air, Vince McMahon introduced Pat Patterson, telling fans it was Patterson's last night with the company and he'd given his life for wrestling. Patterson thanked the fans. Vince made him sing "My Way," which he does constantly at karaoke bars that he's a constant at after shows. Shane and Stephanie McMahon came out at that point and Patterson left with the p.a. playing "My Way" by Sinatra.

 

A. Sgt. Slaughter defeated Mohammad Hassan via DQ. They did one dark match in the building. Mark Magnus came out as Mohammad Hassan. They brought out two total unknowns and Sgt. Slaughter and asked fans to pick the opponent. You know who they picked. Slaughter is now 56, so it went very quickly before Khosrow Daivari interfered for the DQ. Hassan, even without any television exposure, got a lot of heat, including when he did the old school prayer rug gimmick.

 

1. Shelton Benjamin pinned Chris Jericho in 10:55 to win the Intercontinental Title. Benjamin got 37% of the vote to 20% for Batista and 7% for Jonathan Coachman. This change was probably to get over the concept the fans vote meant something, as they had to have the fans pick a title change on this show. Crowd was dead to the point Jerry Lawler brought it up saying it's because the crowd hadn't chosen a favorite. It was a good match. Benjamin got near falls with his spin kick and with a clothesline off the top. He missed a Stinger splash and Jericho used the walls. Jericho got a near fall with the Lionsault. Benjamin scored a clean pin with his exploder powerslam move. **3/4

 

2. Trish Stratus kept the Women's Title in a Battle Royal in 5:30. They amended the Battle Royal rules where you're eliminated when your feet hit the floor, even if you go under the bottom rope. 53% voted school girl outfits, 30% voted French maid outfits, and 17% voted Nurses outfits. This wasn't meant to be a wrestling match, just an excuse to deliver as many panty shots, ass shots, and crotch shots as possible in a short amount of time under the guise of wrestling. In that sense, it delivered, but as wrestling, or as a Battle Royal, it was bad. Victoria was the first schoolgirl to wear an ultra short skirt and a heavy knee brace, which I'd think would be written up by the fashion police. Nidia is from Puerto Rico, I guess preparing a cheap pop for the January Raw PPV show in San Juan. Nidia's shirt came off. Jazz looked totally out of place in this. Eliminations were Nidia, Jazz, Gail Kim, Victoria, and surprisingly Stacy Keibler, so they ended with two heels in there. Stratus threw out Molly to win. DUD

 

3. Gene Snitsky pinned Kane in 14:17. It was 30% chair, 29% pipe, and 41% chain as the weapon of choice. The match was designed to make Snitsky into a serious killer, and couldn't have been booked better. Snitsky dominated, choking Kane with a chain for long periods of time. It had no heat most of the way even though it was booked for heat. Kane isn't the best at selling, and Snitsky's offense is terrible, and then Snitsky blew up. Snitsky used a chair to the throat three times, and then put a chair around Kane's neck, and came off the top rope with a stomp to the chair. It was the same angle Kane had done a few months back to Michaels. Kane bit the condom and there was a lot of blood coming out of his mouth. Ref Chris Kay called for help. Snitsky left, apparently forgetting to pin Kane. Jim Ross even said the match was over. Snitsky then came back and did nothing, but cover Kane for the pin. Kane went out on a stretcher. The injury angle is, like with John Cena, to explain his doing the movie "Eye Scream Man" in Australia. He'll be gone for a few months, so Snitsky winning was really the only logical finish. They went so far as to have Snitsky knock Kane off the stretcher and beat on him even more. I don't think anyone had ever seen Kane manhandled like that. People didn't believe for a second in Kane's injuries, as there was none of the clapping you get when you carry a guy out, but when Snitsky attacked him on the stretcher, even though Kidman just did it two weeks ago with Paul London, it got some heat. *3/4

 

4. Eugene pinned Eric Bischoff in 2:01 in a hair match. Hair match got 59%, servant got 20%, and wearing a dress for a month got 21%. Match was terrible. Eugene channeled Hulk Hogan, cupping his ear to get reaction (and got the biggest pop thus far in the show doing so), and then used a legdrop for the pin. I can't imagine them doing this unless Vince has decided he's going to call Hogan for Mania. Well, a 2.96 does that to you. Coachman claimed the fans live had voted for the servant match, even though they hadn't, and Coachman said Bischoff would have to be Eugene's servant for five minutes. Out comes Vince McMahon to right the wrong, and get more revenge on Bischoff for 1997. Bischoff walked off and McMahon said he'd fire him if he didn't get his head shaved. Eugene tried to use the electric razor, but that wasn't working. He used scissors and the razor for a while, making Bischoff look like a mess. McMahon, seeing the gray roots, made fun of Bischoff for dying his hair. As if Vince hasn't done that for 15 years, so that made it kind of funny. He also ordered Coach to take off his shirt, and pants, and put on a dress. Well, for all you aspiring WWE announcers, don't forget being made a fool out of is part of the job. Coachman had to wear the dress the rest of the show, long after the joke had played out. DUD

 

Edge was really mad at Michaels for not dropping out, noting that he could win the title, but Michaels will go on there, and with one leg, ultimately lose. They did a very good job on the last day with the hand they were dealt.

 

5. Chris Benoit & Edge beat La Resistance to win the World Tag Titles in 16:15. Edge was a heel to the point the crowd didn't even cheer him against La Resistance. This was a good match, although Sylvain Grenier was doing everything humanly possible to make that not be the case. Mostly the heat was on Benoit. Edge finally walked off and left, didn't shower, jumped in a car, and drove off. He missed Benoit making a comeback on both guys, finishing with two German suplexes and a crossface on Conway. So Edge was half the tag champs even though he was long gone. **3/4

 

6. Christy Hemme pinned Carmella in 1:48. They both came out in regular clothes and had a changing booth that you could see silhouette of their bodies in. Fans voted 10% for the aerobics match, 57% for the lingerie pillow fight, and 33% for an evening gown match. They then went to change into new lingerie. Shouldn't they have had it on underneath their clothes or is that too simple? Hemme was playing stripper tease while Carmella made sure nobody could see her change even via shadow. I presume this was Carmella’s last appearance (at least that was the plan two weeks ago), and they found falsies in her bra and made fun of her. They hit each other with pillows with feathers flying everywhere. Carmella was knocked out by three unanswered hits with a soft pillow. This was as bad as the night in San Jose where Mick Foley and Owen Hart decided to have the worst match possible and sold popcorn bag shots. But in their case, they were at least trying to get negative stars. -*

 

7. HHH pinned Shawn Michaels in 14:05 to keep the World Title. Michaels spent the entire match limping and overselling his real injury. It was so simple, but effective, entirely due to the facial emotions of Michaels and somewhat the announcing. He moved a dead crowd into giving him a standing ovation for a match where he did virtually nothing except for bad looking punches (which for storyline they had to be) and one elbow off the top that came off as a move of courage as opposed to a spot he does in every match. Michaels selling made a figure four spot by HHH work, with him begging the ref not to stop the match as the ref teased stoppage. The only negative was Michaels did three reverse atomic drops with HHH landing on the bad knee. Michaels got a near fall after a low blow and DDT, before another with the elbow off the top. Michaels went for the superkick, but the ref didn't see Edge spear Michaels. HHH crawled over for the pin. Michaels was helped out of the ring to a big pop. ***½

 

Uncle Eric was walking around backstage with a gray crewcut. He wasn't shaved bald and didn't really look that bad. Still, they made it out that everyone was laughing at him backstage. Kind of funny, as two of the people laughing were Steve Keirn and Mike Mondo. He looked at them and said he'd fire them if they laughed then looked at Mondo (who they are looking at giving a developmental contract) and Bischoff said, "I haven't even hired you yet, and I’ll still fire you."

 

8. Randy Orton pinned Ric Flair in a cage match in 10:35. Here's a trivia note. With the exception of Royal Rumbles, this was the first time Flair had ever been in the main-event on a WWE PPV and it was the first time he had ever done a cage match in WWE. It was also his first PPV main event since WCW Uncensored on March 19th, 2000, when he drew a microscopic buy rate in the death's doors of WCW for a strap match where he put over Hulk Hogan. It was pretty much a lock when they put him on last that he was going to steal the show. It was an old school cage match, with tons of blood, and really, that was most of the bout. Orton juiced first. It was a great brawl from both sides, with the usual hard chops from Flair. No face first bump, but he was slammed off the top. The two were drenched in blood. Flair didn't do much, but his facials, and his intensity while bloodied brought the crowd up far more than anyone else did all night. Flair used a brass knuckles shot for a near fall. Orton came back with the RKO for the pin. The post-match was even better, as Flair willed the spirit of a Terry Funk turn. He put out his hand for Orton to shake. At first, the people didn't want to see it. They ended up hugging and the crowd thought they were seeing something special. ***½

[JoeDirt 0]

Thanks for posting this.

 

About the ratings I gathered from his live coverage of the show.

[strummer 0]

Meltzer's Flair love is becoming unbearable, now apparently if you don't think Flair is still the best worker in the world, you know nothing about wrestling

[Guest Coffey]

That's not what he said at all!

 

There's a big difference between respecting someone and knowing when they're "bringing it," compared to sucking their dick each and every match.

 

People know that Flair isn't what he used to be (Meltzer included) but that doesn't mean that he can't still be entertaining, as Taboo Tuesday showed.

[Fökai 0]

Meltzer's Flair love is becoming unbearable, now apparently if you don't think Flair is still the best worker in the world, you know nothing about wrestling

...

My only thought was that anyone who watched that show and couldn't realize just how great Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels are, today, as performers, well, they don't really understand what working is.

[Guest Coffey]

I know that Hulk Hogan wrestled The Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania VI. That doesn't mean that I know how to work a match..since, you know, I'm not a wrestler.

 

Those statements are NOT equal. Knowing shit about wrestling and knowing how to work a match are two different things. Meltzer didn't say that if you don't like Flair and Michaels that you don't know anything about wrestling. He said you don't know anything about working.

 

Which is true.

 

Just because you can read the internet doesn't mean that you know what to do when in a ring. You only get that from experience, which Flair and Michaels both have an abundance of.

[thecitythesky 0]

*

 

and beyond that. Meltzer was essentially putting over both men's abilities as workers, in that neither man really did a whole lot of wrestling in their respective matches but managed to work the life into that crowd. which is the ability being credited to them. and rightfully so.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

From what I gathered,

 

"Great Facial Expressions" = "Great Working".

 

Meltzer is such a mark.

[Guest Loss]

As has been said before, people are still so obsessed with claiming they grew up watching the greatest wrestler of all time that they are unwilling to look at Flair objectively. More time is going to have to pass before the fanboys move on and people start being fair.

[Guest HeadDropMark]

I found Meltzer's review of the Orton/Flair cage match to be accurate:

 

"Flair didn't do much, but his facials, and his intensity while bloodied brought the crowd up far more than anyone else did all night."

 

This was the perception I came away with. Live audiences tend to react positively to Ric Flair...perceived quality of his 'workrate' on Internet message boards not withstanding.

 

"He put out his hand for Orton to shake. At first, the people didn't want to see it. They ended up hugging and the crowd thought they were seeing something special."

 

It was cool to see from a storytelling standpoint...even if it only had a mere blip of significance.

 

I would never label myself a Flair 'fanboy' but I do enjoy watching him perform. He still cuts promos and vignettes I find entertaining, which is seems to be a consensus reflected in higher quarter hours than most on the roster. I like seeing him run through his spots for nostalgia purposes. In that sense I still find him fun to watch. Intangibles like facials and gestures can still get a visceral reaction from me at times, something that's rare to come by when I watch WWE these days.

 

As far as viewing Flair 'objectively'...there's no such thing as an 'objective' opinion. Every opinion is a subjective assertions peppered by our biases and preferences, with delusions of voicing objective analysis being just that, delusional!

[Guest Loss]

Taking up for 55-year old Ric Flair as an outstanding worker is really pushing things, though, and I think that's obvious to just about anyone who knows much about wrestling. Yeah, technically, opinions can't be "right" or "wrong", but if someone tells me Gene Snitsky is the greatest wrestler of all time, all it means is that I don't have to listen to what they say. I respect Dave Meltzer and hate having to look at him like that these days.

[Guest HeadDropMark]

I agree that people have every right to evaluate the opinions of others, but it also helps to do so contextually. Saying 'I like xyz' is never subject to true and false evaluations. Checking our egos at the door is sometimes tough, yet it is best for exchanging alternative views in conversation.

 

For myself, Ric Flair is an excellent example of how 'what' and 'why' one finds something entertaining can change drastically over time.

 

Ric Flair 2004 doesn't meet my definition of 'outstanding work' in the same ways he did for me in 1986. Yet my expectations of what I'm looking for from him have also changed drastically. He entertains me today for different reasons. Much of this has to do with familiarity of his wrestling prime. His persona (apart from his in ring work) was always enjoyable to me, and he still pulls it off to this day. While he can't physically perform at the same level, he does most of the same spots we've all memorized, and still times them out perfectly. Guys half his age doing more 'high end' stuff at an accelerated rate still don't connect for me in the same way Flair does in an 8 minute tag match on Raw.

 

Had my first and only encounter with Flair been of a 55 year old man wrestling on Raw in 2004, I'd likely be much less impressed. The promo skills, gestures and comedy spots would still entertain me...but the meaning behind the history of the character would be lost. There just wouldn't be the same visceral connection...and that's the key element in his appeal.

 

I 'get' where Meltzer comes from on this. Flair at this stage is similar to Giant Baba towards the end. He does much less physically yet still finds a way to be effective and over with the crowd. He still draws money in various ways for the promotion. He's booked in a way that keeps him visible but not ubiquitous, yet was still credible enough with the audience where this 55 year old man could work a PPV main event without a crowd rebellion, but in fact sending them home happy.

 

If that's not an example of a pro wrestler 'working' effectively I really don't know what is.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Hogan did much better than that in a WWE ring and Meltzer shits on him all the time. Hogan worked the crowd into a bigger frenzy than Flair, yet you will _never_ hear Meltzer call him a great worker today, or ever. Even this low standard isn't applied well.

 

Flairs matches are painful to watch and he exposes the business every time he steps in the ring. Right now, he is one of the worst wrestler I have ever seen.

[cawthon777 0]

8. Randy Orton pinned Ric Flair in a cage match in 10:35. Here's a trivia note. With the exception of Royal Rumbles, this was the first time Flair had ever been in the main-event on a WWE PPV and it was the first time he had ever done a cage match in WWE.

If Dave is just referring to 02-04, then that's correct. But Flair and Piper had a series of cage matches in 92.

 

I believe Flair even had a number of handicap cage matches with he and Show facing Austin in 02 ... so he's wrong either way.

[Promoter 0]

Hogan did much better than that in a WWE ring and Meltzer shits on him all the time. Hogan worked the crowd into a bigger frenzy than Flair, yet you will _never_ hear Meltzer call him a great worker today, or ever. Even this low standard isn't applied well.

I was thinking the same damn thing, but honestly would people even care about Evolution if Flair wasn't in the group. I think people gave it a chance because Flair's past as the leader of the 4 horsemen had something to do with it. I give Flair credit for establishing that in the wwe as HHH was going nowhere in 2002 with that abysmal face run. If Flair was not in this group, HHH would be a leader of a group that would have failed miserably. I mean it could still be said that DX was much better than this Evolution group. Flair at least helps it out.

[Guest Loss]

I will give Flair this. He's resilient. And his name still means far more than it should, given his treatment over the last 10-15 years. While I agree that he means a lot to the longtime fans and hardcore fans, I think he's the type of wrestler who will actively make casual fans and newbies change the channel at this point.

[Enigma 0]

Hogan did much better than that in a WWE ring and Meltzer shits on him all the time. Hogan worked the crowd into a bigger frenzy than Flair, yet you will _never_ hear Meltzer call him a great worker today, or ever. Even this low standard isn't applied well.

 

Flairs matches are painful to watch and he exposes the business every time he steps in the ring. Right now, he is one of the worst wrestler I have ever seen.

You sound like a Bret Hart sympathist.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

I will give Flair this. He's resilient. And his name still means far more than it should, given his treatment over the last 10-15 years. While I agree that he means a lot to the longtime fans and hardcore fans, I think he's the type of wrestler who will actively make casual fans and newbies change the channel at this point.

It's debateable these days as to how much he means to the hardcore fans. If anything he's a comedy act who's kept around because of his status. If you'd asked me 5 years ago what my opinion was of Ric Flair it would be much higher then it is today. And you know what? It's only going to keep going lower and lower and I'm not the only one.

[what 0]

I will give Flair this. He's resilient. And his name still means far more than it should, given his treatment over the last 10-15 years. While I agree that he means a lot to the longtime fans and hardcore fans, I think he's the type of wrestler who will actively make casual fans and newbies change the channel at this point.

It's debateable these days as to how much he means to the hardcore fans. If anything he's a comedy act who's kept around because of his status. If you'd asked me 5 years ago what my opinion was of Ric Flair it would be much higher then it is today. And you know what? It's only going to keep going lower and lower and I'm not the only one.

Yeah, because what he's doing now really effects how great he was 15-20 years ago in his prime.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Uh..........yeah, it does.

 

Flair's shitty ringwork and laughable persona will hurt his reputation and legacy when it's all said and done.

[Guest HeadDropMark]

I understand how one could feel that way, but I disagree. Since his return to WWE Ric Flair has had a best selling DVD and a book that has sold well. No doubt he'll play a major role in this 24-7 initiative as much of his career is catalogued. I also suspect there is enough interest in him to warrant more book and DVD projects down the road.

 

While his in ring performances may be lacking, the marketing of Ric Flair's legacy is best served through maintaining public visibility. Maintaining status as an 'in ring' performer gives him a spotlight he really wouldn't otherwise have in a non-wrestler capacity.

 

The Ric Flair story is still financially viable, and it's best relayed with a weekly television presence in the role he currently plays. The abstractions of 'tarnishing his legacy' by performing past his physical prime just don't fly with me, especially when his projects are drawing money.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

As long as there are people like Meltzer who have their blinders on and still continue to look at Flair and think "He still has it!" because he does some signature spots and bleeds a lot, then Flairs legacy will stay in tact. However, each year there are more and more people taking another look at Flair and are re-evaluating his work. The longer he keeps wrestling, the more obvious it will be that the guy is completely lost in the ring. His match with Orton last night was ridiculous; there was a spot when Flair was backed into the turnbuckle (well, one of the dozen of those spots) and Randy was punching at him and gave Flair time to do his schtick but Flair never caught on to it and couldn't respond. So they went to the "safe" spot of throwing Flair against the ropes and backdropping him. It's pathetic. And the only thing rivaling in patheticness are those like Meltzer who continue to praise his efforts.

[Guest HeadDropMark]

"As long as there are people like Meltzer who have their blinders on and still continue to look at Flair and think "He still has it!" because he does some signature spots and bleeds a lot, then Flairs legacy will stay in tact."

 

If I personalize this, when it comes to the vast majority of wrestling fans that I know face to face, I just don't think there is a 'Meltzer factor' in preserving Flair's legacy. Most of my 'pro wrestling' friends who watch Raw semi-regularly (and drop it if there's a good sport event or movie opposite it) or will go to a card with me, or chip in for an occassional PPV buy tend to have a very casual interest to begin with. I'm talking about guys at work or friends from outside who brought either the book, the DVD or both. They watched for years, know the names of their favorites and among them is Flair.

 

The people I know don't use 'insider terms' or know the gossip or routinely populate message boards, but they identify themselves as wrestling fans when we converse. My experience is they all tend to respect Ric Flair. Some laugh at him and call him old, but they still talk about him as a legend that they'd miss if he dropped off the face of the wrestling planet.

 

I suspect those who go by Dave Meltzer's opinions or even know who he is are a very small lot among wrestling fandom, at least they are in my circles. Were I to tell most of the fans I know about the inherent limitations of Ric's overuse of the of 'Flair by numbers' formula or his 'lack of ring psychology' or 'poor transitions into the figure four' or a myriad of other forms of wrestling analysis, they'd likely just stare at me. Flair entertained them for what he did and what they were looking for, and that's all they'd care about.

 

Although I could be slightly projecting!

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

"People LIKE Dave Meltzer WHO have their blinders on..."