I am so completely unsure what to make of this…
RAW Brings Back “King Of The Ring”.
Tonight we see a special one-night tournament to crown the next King of the Ring. The last man to wear the crown was Booker T, who has since abdicated in order to reign supreme over in TNA. It has been almost two years now since the last king was crowned, and the KOTR tournament has proven to be a huge boost (king-making?) to the careers of so many men. Men like Randy Savage, Bret Hart, and Steve Austin have won the tournament and gone on to great things. Will we see a new star born tonight?
Healthcare workers, the Front Line
Healthcare Workers, the Front Line
While unrelated to professional wrestling, this is a very interesting podcast that I made.
Best. RAW. Ever.
Last night saw the hands-down best broadcast of Monday Night RAW in the history of that show. Better than RAW Is Owen. Better than the Eddie Guerrero Tribute Show.
Now, the post-WrestleMania RAW is usually a very strong show that sees old feuds end and new feuds begin, but this show saw something even more special happen: the retirement of a true legend.
Ric Flair has officially retired. After being beaten by Shawn Michaels in a career-threatening match, ‘Naitch had no choice but to put an end to an illustrious 36 year career.
Throughout the episode, we saw highlights of the Nature Boy’s career, including defeating Harley Race and later Ricky Steamboat for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and winning the 1992 Royal Rumble to become WWF World Heavyweight Champion.
Also during the show we saw some quality TV wrestling, including CM Punk wrestling Chris Jericho, the return of the fan favorite tag team Cryme Tyme, and an excellent main even featuring Matt Hardy returning to the ring to just barely lose to Randy Orton.
Of course, the highlight of the evening was the true main event: the Ric Flair retirement ceremony. There were tears streaming down Ric’s face as several prominent figures from his past came out to honor him, including the Four Horsemen, Ricky Steamboat, Harley Race, and Greg Valentine. Joining them were numerous current superstars, including Triple H, John Cena, Chris Jericho, Big Show, and pretty much the entire WWE roster. Finally, Flair’s family was there to offer a truly emotional tribute to the man that they call husband and father.
That was what made this the greatest RAW broadcast ever. It had all of the emotional impact of the Owen and Eddie tributes, but for once nobody had to die for that to happen.
Thank you Ric. You will be missed.
An Outside View Of WrestleMania…
Buttercup joins me to give her thoughts on WrestleMania XXIV.
One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other, One Of These Things Does Not Belong…
After being specifically told to stay away from all things TNA while in Orlando this weekend, who should show up at the live TNA television taping but Robbie McAllister, of Highlanders fame.
First off, I do need to make the fairly obvious joke that Robbie just got more face time on TNA than he’s had in the past few months on RAW. Seriously. Of course, now lots of people are predicting that he will be fired from the ‘E and will promptly show up in TNA to capitalize on this latest development.
So what about this? Did he just commit a monumentally stupid mistake, or did Highlander Robbie give the “company from Stamford” the proverbial finger? As a professional wrestler who has, to some extent, received nationwide exposure, I find it hard to believe that he didn’t know he’d be identified in the crowd. Especially during WrestleMania weekend when EVERYBODY knows that the WWE is in town. Still, he probably knows, like the rest of us, that he is extremely small potatoes in the WWE and might have figured that he simply was not worthy of notice. The look on his face does register a bit of amused surprise at it all.
The bottom line? This isn’t Rick Rude showing up on both Nitro and RAW the same night folks, nor is this D-X’s invasion of Monday Nitro. At most it’s an amusing, if somewhat embarrassing for Robbie and the WWE, anecdote that may wind up costing a low level WWE employee his job. Still, the weekend is just beginning, and there is absolutely no telling what could happen. We may yet see some major interaction between the WWE and TNA. As the adage goes, “Anything can happen in professional wrestling. Anything.”
The Jet-Flying, Limousine-Riding, Champagne-Drinking, Wheelin’, Dealin’, Kiss-Stealin’ Son of a Gun…
You would be extremely hard-pressed to find a man who has given more to the wrestling business than Ric Flair. He is the only one of his generation of wrestler still competing at the main event level, and make no mistake about it: no matter where the Ric Flair versus Shawn Michaels match actually is on the WrestleMania card, it WILL be the main event of the evening.
I find it interesting that the building where this year’s WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony will take place can seat up to 10,000, with 7,500 seats already sold. Put that in contrast with previous years ceremonies, which seat four or five thousand at most. Even Hulk Hogan didn’t have that many people at his induction.
Breaking The Myth Of Monopoly (The Better Late Then Never Edition): SHIMMER
If the only wrestling you’ve seen is what the WWE offers each week, you might think that women’s wrestling exists solely for the gratification of a horny, male audience. Well these ladies have dedicated their lives to proving that they’re more than just a T & A sideshow.
Women’s wrestling has a long and storied history, with legends like the Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young paving the way for modern day greats such as Sara Del Rey and Cheerleader Melissa. SHIMMER is a classic example of what women can do when allowed to cut loose. In fact, women wrestlers have created some of the most famous finishing moves in the business today. For example:
Finally, check out the awesome documentary called “Lipstick & Dynamite, Piss & Vinegar: The First Ladies of Wrestling.” Women had to overcome a lot of crap in the early days of professional wrestling, much like everywhere else, but oftentimes they were bigger draws than the men were!
Breaking The Myth Of Monopoly (The Better Late Then Never Edition): The Puro Feds
Puroresu literally means professional wrestling, and comes from the Japanese pronunciation of the American term. Puroresu (pronounced Poor-o-res-oo) is the Japanese incarnation of the sport of kings. The Japanese view wrestling much differently than we Americans do. Whereas many (though certainly not all) American fans view wrestling more as rasslin’, just some good old-fashioned sex and violence, the Japanese view it as a legitimate athletic event even though it is understood that the outcome is predetermined. If that’s hard to understand, imagine it this way: we watch Pairs Figure Skating and enjoy it as a legitimate athletic spectacle, even though it is a carefully rehearsed event. The same can be said for how the Japanese view Puro.
Puroresu is different from American-style wrestling in another way. Here, see for yourself.
Japanese wrestlers tend to have significantly shorter careers than their American counterparts, owing to the extremely intense and physical style of wrestling that they do. Moves that are verboten in the States are done on a nightly basis in Japan. For example, drivers are a prevalent move in the puroresu skillset. A driver is any move than involves picking up a worker and then slamming them down again head first. The piledriver is the most popular of these but there are many, many more out there, a lot of which are dangerous because of the pressure they put on the receiving wrestler’s neck and spine and because oftentimes they can’t be rolled with to absorb the blow. For the most classic example of this, witness the legendary, and infamous, Burning Hammer of puro legend Kenta Kobashi.
Watch as Mitsuhara Misawa lands right on his head, with his neck taking all of the pressure from the landing. Ouch.
If you want to see a physically intense product, with loads of crazy, hard-hitting moves, then give puro a try. There are numerous puro feds out there, but three of the most prevalent today are All Japan Pro Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and Pro Wrestling NOAH. Youtube is a godsend for American fans of puro, and in just a couple of clicks you can be watching a vast variety of matches.
