Captain Lou Albano (1933-2009) memorial wrestling topic

[quote name='mykevermin']Worst year by what standards? Income/profits? Attendance? Video sales? Matches? Match length, match quality, star power?

Your "worst year" can mean a billion different things - as Burrito says about your vagueness, it's not about you doing the work for us, it's about being clear, about saying what you mean and not saying something just to say something.

So is attendance down or was Dragon/Nigel just a shitshow of a feud?[/quote]

Myke how you're stating stuff and how Burrito is stating stuff is very different. You're talking about Ring of Honor as a company on a whole. There is definite word out on the net. Burrito is asking me to answer which wrestler studies what and unless we all start sending myspace messages to ask these indy guys what their favorite matches are, it's pointless to speculate and a stupid to point at me to be the one to answer that.

Regarding ROH. Profits are down. Attendance is down. Video sales are down. Match quality is down and people are dispassionate about the product in general. When I started with ROH, live results would have twenty pages worth of posts on their boards. Now there are times when they barely get four pages worth of posts. The only market that still does good business for ROH is NYC. It's pretty telling that for the first time in company history, they've done a 40% sale on everything in store. They've never gone above 35% before and that was on Black Friday.

We all know how to get the rest, even if your cable company doesn't carry HDNET -- but why should we?
Click to expand...

Regarding being vague Myke.

The answer to the quote above is self-evident. Why should you look up stuff that isn't readily available? Because you're a professional wrestling fan. Now is it guaranteed you will like it? Not at all. But if you're unhappy with something and all you're willing to do is bitch and you aren't willing to put the effort to look for something better, well you couldn't have been all that much of a fan in the first place.

I listed a number of companies from the USA. There are more in England and Japan. If he is disinterested in the WWE, he has Google and Youtube and Wikipedia at his disposal. It's not my job to write down the styles of each and every promotion. His actual concern seems to be the accessibility to those promotions and how READILY AVAILABLE they are and when he saw how stupidly lazy of a concern that was, he piggybacked to what you said because your post actually was intelligent and well thought out.

I mean I literally posted a match nine posts ago and the best he could do is ask, "Why should I click that? Earn my click." I mean it's a Comic Book Guy level of entitlement and I don't play that game.

And you on the other hand saw Monday Night RAW, said "fuck this shit" and changed the channel. I can respect that.
 
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[quote name='rickshankshaw']for the first time in company history, they've done a 40% sale on everything in store. They've never gone above 35% before and that was on Black Friday.[/quote]

There you go. That's a good proxy for the financial end of things.
 
I remember when he was hanging out on the Mario Bros. Cartoon show. Yeah, he was one of the first crossover stars and I enjoyed him.
 
GET TO BETTER KNOW AN INDY WRESTLER 001

CHRIS HERO - PWI 500: 70th Best Wrestler of 2009.
c_hero.gif


Chris Hero (born December 24, 1979) is an American professional wrestler. He is a mainstay of many independent wrestling promotions, including Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, and Jersey All Pro Wrestling as well as Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan. He also known from his time in Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South, Combat Zone Wrestling and Chikara, where he was the co-head trainer of the Chikara Wrestle Factory.

Ring name: Wife Beater, Chris Hero
Billed height 6 ft 5 in
Billed weight 225 lb
Born December 24, 1979 (age 29)
Billed from Metropolis
Trained by Dory Funk, Jr., Ian Rotten, Les Thatcher, Tracy Smothers, Dave Taylor, Fit Finlay, William Regal, Skayde
Debut September 12, 1998

Wrestlers trained by Chris Hero
Adam Polak
Aero
Amasis
Ares
Black Jack Marciano
Bryce Remsburg
Chris Kole
Claudio Castagnoli
Cuefa
Drew Gulak
Eddie Kingston
Emil Sitoci
Fire Ant
Gran Akuma
Hallowicked
Hydra
Icarus
Jigsaw
Larry Sweeney
Lince Dorado
Marty Fabz
Mickie Knuckles
Ophidian
Orange Cassidy
Ravage
Soldier Ant
Tim Donst
Trik Davis
Vin Gerard
Vries Kastelein
Worker Ant

Championships and accomplishments
Alternative Championship Wrestling

ACW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Chikara
Chikara Campeonato de Parejas (1 time) – with Claudio Castagnoli[3][6]
Tag World Grand Prix (2006) – with Claudio Castagnoli[3]

Combat Zone Wrestling
CZW Iron Man Championship (1 time)[1][3][6]
CZW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[1][3][6]
CZW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Claudio Castagnoli[1][3][6]

Coliseum Championship Wrestling
CCW Heavyweight Championship (3 times)[3]
CCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with John Caesar[3]

Garage Professional Wrestling
GPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[3][6][7]

Hard Core Wrestling
HCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Danny Blackheart[1]

Independent Wrestling Association East-Coast
IWA East-Coast Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[3][6]

Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South
IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship (4 times)[1][3][6]
Strong Style Tournament (2005)[3]
Sweet Science Sixteen (2000)[1][3]

International Championship Wrestling
ICW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[1]

NWA West Virginia / Ohio
NWA WV/OH Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[1][3]

Northern States Wrestling alliance
NSWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[1]

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
PWG World Championship (1 time)[3][6]

Pro Wrestling Illustrated
PWI ranked him #49 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the world in the PWI 500 in 2007[3]

Ring of Honor
ROH World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Claudio Castagnoli[1][3][6][8]
Survival of the Fittest (2007)[1][3]
World Intergender Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Sara Del Rey[1]

Unified Championship Wrestling
UCW Television Championship (1 time)[1][3]
Violent Championship Wrestling
VCW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Porno the Clown[1][3]
VCW Triple Threat Championship (2 times)[1][3]

westside Xtreme wrestling
wXw World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[1][3][6][9]
wXw Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Marc Roudin[1][3][9][10]

16 Carat Gold Tournament (2007)[1][3]
Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling
XICW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[3][6]

Extremely well done Chris Hero MV.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYZee-Th6xs&feature=player_embedded#

Chris Hero gets stopped by the Australian Border Patrol.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POd94c6er80&feature=player_embedded

Chris Hero vs. Go Shiozaki
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kyeK7s0PHg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzWESwkw8BE
 
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And thus ends my ROH watching - HDNet and HDNet Movies gets added to the AT&T Uverse HD Premium tier on November 10th (along with Smithsonian HD, Universal HD, Palladia, NFL RedZone, and MGMHD. Already paying an extra $10/mo for HD service, and the new tier is an extra $5/mo.

I'll probably catch it on YouTube every now and then, but that's kind of lame that they're going to charge an extra $5 for things we're getting free now.

--
Smackdown v Raw 2010 at Best Buy next week ($59.99) includes a promo for any WWE DVD for $4.99. Anyone wanna recommend a quality "best of" set, assuming I haven't bought one in ever? Intrigued by the ladder match set, best of Starrcade, or maybe starting in on the PPV anthologys.
 
3 topics:

1. RIP Lou. I didn't get WWF programming back in the day; the only way I know him was from the mark mags back in the day and from the Cyndi Lauper video, so I'm as bad-off as the whippersnappers who know him as Mario. But still. RIP.

2. Ahh, Rick, you read WAY too far into my questions. I'm wondering if this was a result of taking offense at me questioning you, or whether this is your MO. It doesn't matter. However, I must admit your post at the top of this page is FAN-tastic. I hope you were doing that for everyone else's benefit. Don't do this on my account. I'm not REALLY a fan. ;)

(Or, if you want, let me rephrase: Which one of those promotions [aside from TNA] is your favorite, and why?)

3. The Lawler promo was... disturbing. I never saw it before, but if the dates are correct this was about 6 months before I started watching RAW regularly. I'll disagree with Purple Flames, to an extent. Regardless of his feelings on homosexuality, I truly believe this was Lawler putting over the "edgy, hip OMG ATTITUDE" that was still fresh and new in the WWF at the time. I only say that because (a) there were quite a few "shoot-ish" comments in there, not only about the name behind the character, but his (ex?) wife and kid. Those are things Lawler wouldn't have done in an old-school program. I swear in the 80s, the worst word that came out of his mouth during a promo was "Hussy," talking about (oddly) Rick Rude's valet [oh, WTF was her name...] mostly because the program was maintaining more of a family image.

Not to say he DOESN'T feel that way about homosexuals (I don't honestly know), but I could easily see Vince "Spic it up, Carlito" McMahon behind those words.
 
While I won't be making use of the BB deal since I'll be getting '09 for review, I'd recommend the Starrcadet, Rey's, Eddie's, Savage's, the tag team, Ladder match, and the Rise and Fall of WCW sets easily. They're among the best releases the company has had, so look over the match listings for them and see which one you'd like most.

Stuff from today's F4W news update -
--Richard Belzer was on Howard Stern yesterday. Every time he's on the show, Stern always asks him for his comedy routine on when Hulk Hogan choked him out with a guillotine in 1985 and the subsequent lawsuit (which enabled Belzer to buy a house).
Click to expand...

--Lou Albano, who passed away at the age of 76 earlier today, was one of the major figures in the popularity of the WWWF from 1971-83. People may remember him from the Cyndi Lauper videos and Super Mario television show, but he was the key manager in the promotion and was very often as important as anyone in some of the big crowds the company drew.

During the period after Bruno Sammartino stopped being a regular, there are people within the organization who felt the heat Albano brought as manger of the top heels was the biggest factor in drawing crowds during the Bob Backlund run. Albano generally was put with the nutty types of contenders, and almost always with the tag team champions.

He would dress like his proteges to a degree, and eventually became known for the rubber bands all over his face. He was a major part of the wheel of success for Vince McMahon Sr., far more important than anyone who didn't closely follow the promotion would be able to understand. Albano was the key component in making Jimmy Snuka into the hottest wrestler in that part of the country when the two split up and Snuka went babyface.

He and Roddy Piper were also the keys in the Wendi Richter/Cyndi Lauper/Fabulous Moolah angle in 1984 that garnered WWWF more mainstream publicity on a national basis than wrestling had gotten since its days on network television, building to the original WrestleMania. When Albano turned babyface, including a run managing the British Bulldogs, he was in a role that had little legs, and there was internal bitterness as he left the company and concentrated on acting. Later, he was often embarrassing playing the role of the crazy, stereotypical representative of wrestling in news piece on the sport. He was not the first person to use the phrase, often imitated, never duplicated, in wrestling, but in the Northeast, he will long be remembered for it.

--Lou Albano was the No. 2 searched for topic today on Google (behind Rachel Glandorf, the girlfriend of Colt McCoy who is a TV reporter for Ch. 42 in Austin, TX)
Click to expand...
 
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RIP Lou

Had a few friends that ended up going to SD/ECW last night. They said it was ok, but nothing all that exciting.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']SvR 2010 releases next week!?!?!?!

I've read virtually nothing about it.[/QUOTE]

I was thinking the same thing. Other than reading that there would be no demo for any system, I've not seen any new info come out in the last month or so. That can't be a good sign.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']SvR 2010 releases next week!?!?!?!

I've read virtually nothing about it.[/QUOTE]

Cause they didnt release any info til almost a month before it comes out. Wished IGN was still doing the daily superstar intro thing, at least that would have gave some more info about the game.
 
[quote name='JJSP']And thus ends my ROH watching - HDNet and HDNet Movies gets added to the AT&T Uverse HD Premium tier on November 10th (along with Smithsonian HD, Universal HD, Palladia, NFL RedZone, and MGMHD. Already paying an extra $10/mo for HD service, and the new tier is an extra $5/mo.

I'll probably catch it on YouTube every now and then, but that's kind of lame that they're going to charge an extra $5 for things we're getting free now.

--
Smackdown v Raw 2010 at Best Buy next week ($59.99) includes a promo for any WWE DVD for $4.99. Anyone wanna recommend a quality "best of" set, assuming I haven't bought one in ever? Intrigued by the ladder match set, best of Starrcade, or maybe starting in on the PPV anthologys.[/QUOTE]

What is your cable service?
 
Sorry to hear about that JJSP.

CHIKARA PODCAST-A-GO-GO 183
King of Trios 2009: Night 3 with match clips with Da Soul Touchaz (Marshe Rockett & Willie Richardson),The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), and Cheech & Cloudy (KC “Cloudy” Day & Cheech Hernandez) plus the finals of the Rey de Voladores 2009 Tournament as Player Dos takes on Kota Ibushi.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtjARDA3F3g&feature=player_profilepage

DRAGON GATE USA: DAVEY RICHARDS ON "KICK HEARD ROUND THE WORLD"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI-BU3F_IYs
 
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Sucks about Lou. I always wondered how he got those rubber bands on his face. Piercings?

Chris Hero looks like a cross between Triple H and Edge. I suppose there are worse people to blend for an image.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRuKkWXru5Q

Watched this about a month ago - this is quite possibly the worst match you'll ever see. Captain Lou was one of the WORST sellers ever. Even more hilarious is how he blatantly blades himself multiple times, not trying to be discreet about it at all - dude goes in his pocket, rubs his forehead, goes back to his pocket. He may have been drunk, who knows. Regardless, this is easily in the "so bad it's good" category. Bless that man.
 
Too young to remember Captain Lou the wrestler, but definitely remember him as Mario.

SvR '10 is supposed to focus on user created content. There's a create-a-story mode, more create-a-finishers (can create flying moves now, not just standing maneuvers), and you'll supposedly be able to upload all of your created content to in-game servers to share with others.
I'm sure the gameplay is still the same though.


And I recommend the Ladder Match set JJSP, plenty of entertainment there.
 
It really sucks about Captain Lou, but it's not surprising. He had been in poor health for a long time, when I met him two or three years ago, he was completely out in left field mentally, but was still a really nice guy. I still keep my polaroid with him on my wall, but it's starting to deteriorate, I should probably scan it. Here's a lousy picture of it taken from my iPhone

albano.jpg


I also got my Super Mario Brothers Super Show DVD autographed that day. Thanks for the memories Lou.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']On a more dispassionate note, my wife read an article on Chyna for a women's studies class (women's studies in pop culture) she's taking. They discussed how as an on-screen character, Chyna's sexuality was never questioned on air, but her gender was.

They also discussed Goldust (whose original persona was just a rip off of the exoticos from lucha libre). I was suddenly reminded by how *over* Goldust got as a heel in his original feud with Razor Ramon - premised pretty much on the single fact that he hinted, very flagrantly, at being a homosexual (let's be real, crowds weren't booing Goludst because of his movie quotes). Then I was reminded how stunning his immediate face turn was, and how the crowd responded to it so strongly. Can't find it on YouTube, but it went like this on Raw.

In-ring interview with Lawler:
Lawler: Aren't you...gay?
Goldust: NO.
Goldust then proceeds to beat up Lawler, getting the crowd in his favor, and becoming a hero for defending himself against the fact that he was not sexually interested in men.

Now I'm not turning this into the hyperliberal (which I am) preacher's pulpit. Wrestling is what it is, and gays as heels have been in vogue for longer than half a century (at least). I'm just stunned by how easily a character's sexuality was manipulated (the only thing that changed about the guy, really) to turn him from a hated heel to a beloved babyface so immediately and without buildup.

And the other thing that struck me was Lawler's use of language on WWF TV:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt8Pykizn2I

I don't remember him saying "flaming $$$" on air at all.[/QUOTE]

I am would consider myself pretty liberal but I liked the Goldust gimmick and angles with the exception of his face turn. To be fair WWE never out right labeled him as a homosexual or made that why he was a heel (as far as I can remember) the crowd made that judgment themselves.

Also while I think Lawler's slur was way out of line and should never had been said he was playing the heel part when he said it and from the video the crowd gives a quite a bit of shock and heat when he says it, and a few cheers but mostly boos.
It would be completely different if the crowd cheered and Steve Austin as a face called him that.

Now is the crowd booing because of the use of the word or that they feel Goldust is mislabeled as homosexual I am not so sure. But something can be said that WWE and the fans would be open to such a bizarre and androgynous character whether a heel or a face is due for some credit.
 
[quote name='Halo05']Sucks about Lou. I always wondered how he got those rubber bands on his face. Piercings?

Chris Hero looks like a cross between Triple H and Edge. I suppose there are worse people to blend for an image.[/QUOTE]

Hero is a better worker imho than both of them in their prime. Keep in mind that word going around is that the WWE is interested in picking Hero up.

I'll be adding Chris Hero videos for the next week until the next Get To Better Know An Indy Wrestler.

From the Twitter of Chris Hero: Chris Hero vs. KENTA - http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SQ5GMQ1J

Easily one of the top Ring of Honor HDNET matches. Watch it! 14 minutes onwards is fucking incredible! The big boot exchange is amazing!


Early Chris Hero 2004 Interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW518NlcJMc

CZW Chris Hero Match In A Junk Yard - Pretty Funny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhS39So9-mY
 
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Ditto about the Mario sentiment. Even as a long-term fan of pro wrestling, Captain Lou Albano will be mostly related to Mario in my memories.

May he start a rubber band face piercing fad where ever he may be.
 
ECW this past week had 20 minutes and 28 seconds of actual wrestling compared to TNA iMPACT's 22 minutes and 52 seconds. With TNA's hour more of programming, they had less than 3 more minutes of wrestling than ECW.

This is why I purposely ignore TNA. The rest of you who watch are fools.
 
that's because ECW has guys on it who are on the bottom of the bottom at WWE right now. So the writers make little angles for them like the Goldust / Shamus fued a while back. ECW isn't trying to sell PPVs, like a Impact or Raw show. So it's not fair to compare that to TNA, which in my opinion is a lot better than anything McMahon is putting out right now.
 
Wow, i can't believe that Lawler video. I don't remember anyone saying anything like that on Raw back then. Surprised they let him do it.
 
[quote name='rickshankshaw']ECW this past week had 20 minutes and 28 seconds of actual wrestling compared to TNA iMPACT's 22 minutes and 52 seconds. With TNA's hour more of programming, they had less than 3 more minutes of wrestling than ECW.

This is why I purposely ignore TNA. The rest of you who watch are fools.[/QUOTE]

You choose to call names and insult the very people that you're trying to convince to watch alternative programming? Not a very good idea. Do yourself a favor, don't ever go into sales.
 
[quote name='rickshankshaw']ECW this past week had 20 minutes and 28 seconds of actual wrestling compared to TNA iMPACT's 22 minutes and 52 seconds. With TNA's hour more of programming, they had less than 3 more minutes of wrestling than ECW.

This is why I purposely ignore TNA. The rest of you who watch are fools.[/QUOTE]
Well TNA's wrestling is a lot better but you do have to wait through their promos & such. I DVR most of my wrestling so I can fast forward through the talking.
 
[quote name='neocisco']You choose to call names and insult the very people that you're trying to convince to watch alternative programming? [/QUOTE]

Yes I do.

When people bitch about RAW and changing the channel and being proud of doing something else, they should also be talking about TNA. It's garbage television and those of you who keep watching it are doing a disservice to the professional wrestling industry by keeping that company in business. However if you want to keep watching it, the by all means, go ahead. I'm free to reserve the right to think that it's foolish to support a company that isn't even booked by people who like professional wrestling.

WWE by far is the better option. Vince McMahon might be a delusional prick but at least he gives a shit about the business. Vince Russo doesn't care one bit about professional wrestling.

Really, if you're going to swear off any wrestling promotion that isn't on your TV because I called you a fool for watching something I personally dislike, and in general is considered pretty convoluted and nonsensical by the general fan, well you've got to get your priorities in check.

Either way I didn't mean anything personal by it, but I'm not going to take back anything I said either.
 
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Seriously, what is Vince Russo doing so wrong right now in TNA? The heavyweight belt is on AJ Styles, we have a great womens division that is 10x better than WWE's. I know he did some crazy shit in WCW, but at that same time he really pushed the young talent like Kidman, Rey and the whole "new blood" they had back then. When I tune into Raw I have to deal with DX acting like they're 24, those dwarf skits that are incredibly bad or Teddy Long being in a possessed limo that brought me right back to Ultimate Warrior having ooze come out of his head from Papa Shango in the early 90s.
 
[quote name='NoDQ via F4Wrestling.com']One main event WWE star has boasted to friends about failing for marijuana 14 times. This particular wrestler hasn't faced the same scrutiny from management as some of the mid-carders whose pushes were stopped due to repeated test failures. However, the fine for failing for pot was recently levied from $1,000 to $2,500 and it has him thinking twice.

Like many wrestlers in the company, he is now using a product sold at head shops (retail outlet specializing in drug paraphernalia related to consumption of cannabis and other recreational drugs) which gives off a similar effect as marijuana, but is legally sold and does not show up in drug tests.[/QUOTE]

Anyone wanna take a guess? I'll take the obvious pick Randy Orton.
 
[quote name='gareman']I am would consider myself pretty liberal but I liked the Goldust gimmick and angles with the exception of his face turn. To be fair WWE never out right labeled him as a homosexual or made that why he was a heel (as far as I can remember) the crowd made that judgment themselves.[/quote]

But they didn't have to "out right label him" as a homosexual. The presentation of the character led the crowd to the conclusion, and that conclusion was what the WWF wanted the crowd to come to.

Same with the Outsiders/nWo early on. Scott Hall's "you know who I am" promo, and all of what he and Nash did prior to the Bash at the Beach Hogan turn, was sculpted and written in a way to make the crowd think a certain way. Not "Hall and Nash have joined WCW!," but "Razor Ramon and Diesel, who are still with the WWF, are invading WCW!" The WWF filed a lawsuit against WCW for trying to imply as such (under the guise of copyright infringement and/or libel, I believe.

Let's not act like WWF didn't know what they were doing with Goldust - after all, the style of luchador he was based on (the exoticos) are *overtly* homosexual in their characters and in-ring antics - hell, many of them are openly gay men outside of the ring, too. Effeminate men = homosexual = instant heel. Worked for Gorgeous George Wagner over half a century ago, and worked for (in the past quarter century) Adrian Adonis, Rico, Billy and Chuck, the Rainbow Express (whatever the Lodi/Lenny WCW tag team was called), and to a lesser extent, Adrian Street (who Rico was later based on entirely) and "Model"-era Rick Martel.

I still marvel that men who dressed in the way Superstar Bill Graham and Jesse The Body Ventura did were never accused of being gay men.

Also while I think Lawler's slur was way out of line and should never had been said he was playing the heel part when he said it and from the video the crowd gives a quite a bit of shock and heat when he says it, and a few cheers but mostly boos.
It would be completely different if the crowd cheered and Steve Austin as a face called him that.
Click to expand...

I don't think it was out of line - I was just surprised that it was not bleeped out. Big difference 12 years makes, huh? He was a heel, cutting a heel promo, and Lawler did a *great* job of it. I wanted to punch his fuckin' face in, hearing that. It took 45 seconds and got everything across he needed to, and get the crowd irate. You can't get a single wrestler in WWE/TNA to generate half that heat in a 20-minute segment anymore. Lawler was simply doing his job.

Heels are supposed to be assholes. What do assholes do? Call people "$$$$$$s."

I object to the use of sexuality to make someone a heel, though. At least give them a reason for being a heel other than their homosexuality. I believe ROH did a decent job of that with the Christopher Street Connection - they worked on both sides during their ROH tenure, and their biggest problem was they looked like a miniature version of Da Hit Squad.

Now is the crowd booing because of the use of the word or that they feel Goldust is mislabeled as homosexual I am not so sure. But something can be said that WWE and the fans would be open to such a bizarre and androgynous character whether a heel or a face is due for some credit.
Click to expand...

I think it's shock, really. Lawler lays down at least 3-4 wickedly sharp personal jabs in 45 seconds. Remember, at this point Goldust has come out as Dusty Rhodes' son (which they had not mentioned prior to this angle), given out his birth name on tv, admitted to being married to Marlena and having a daughter - on top of all this, having a personality crisis related to Dusty's fatherly affection (or the lack of). So Goldust as a character is pretty far removed from being homosexual.

Now, his 1998 (1999?) run with Luna, when he showed up wearing god-only-knows-what the fuck week in and week out, he was a heel again, and began to re-emphasize his sexuality - not as a homosexual this time, but as just generally open about various sexuality-related proclivities (like wrestling in a negligee) that made people uncomfortable. Similar to his early run, but different enough that it wasn't wholly (homo)sexual in nature.

I don't believe WWE fans would be largely supportive of *any* openly gay babyface, even now, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't be appalled if a heel challenged their orientation was challenged.
 
[quote name='pimpster4183']Seriously, what is Vince Russo doing so wrong right now in TNA? The heavyweight belt is on AJ Styles, we have a great womens division that is 10x better than WWE's. I know he did some crazy shit in WCW, but at that same time he really pushed the young talent like Kidman, Rey and the whole "new blood" they had back then. When I tune into Raw I have to deal with DX acting like they're 24, those dwarf skits that are incredibly bad or Teddy Long being in a possessed limo that brought me right back to Ultimate Warrior having ooze come out of his head from Papa Shango in the early 90s.[/QUOTE]

Go back over Jay's TNA Impact and PPV reviews. They say it all.

Yes there is some stupid stuff in WWE but at the same time Punk/Hardy was better than anything TNA did all year round. Christian/Ryder on ECW have put on some fantastic matches. Hero/KENTA was from ROH HDNET was shockingly good and got over the Hero/Kingston feud. Hell Legacy/DX was a fantastic feud. The DX schtick may be old but the matches HHH/HBK have been putting on have been damn great.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']TNA programming right now is like a bar shot. Yeah, there might be a drop or two of good whiskey in there, but are you that desperate?

Put more simplly, there's no fucking wrestling on the show.[/QUOTE]

Not a lot. Impact is also guilty of short matches that leave little time to get the story across. I will be watching tonight as most reports say Angle vs Styles is really good. I'll be watching on DVR delay, but I'll watch. :)
 
The new Observer Radio show is great - it deals with Albano, and talks about his history in the business and how he lucked out by meeting Cyndi Lauper on an airplane, which led to his biggest career break ever. It also talks about his downfall with Vince Jr., largely due to Lou's drinking problems. He and Gorilla Monsoon were the only guys who were around from the Capitol Wrestling days and were around after the late '80s boom period. Also, Wes Sims' character on TUF is based on Brutus Beefcake - who he was a huge fan of. Guy needs better taste.

It's also got a story of HBK refusing to job to Davey Boy at the UK show when Davey dedicated the match to his dying sister, which apparently led to him wanting out of the company more than Montreal. It was also one of the reasons Bret didn't want to lose to HBK at Survivor Series '97. Davey paid $100,000 to Vince to get out of his deal early, went to WCW, sucked, and then went back to the WWF in '99. Michaels didn't even want to job to Austin at WM XIV. Thankfully things have improved a lot with him because he comes off as the biggest asshole on Earth back then. There's also more about the history of the screwjob.
 
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Times like this I kinda wish I followed wrestling more these days. RIP Captain Lou. Too young to witness most of his work but I became a fan of his through stuff my brother told me and youtube. Actually had no idea he played Mario until his death. Now, to find where I put that Lou Albano action figure of mine...

[quote name='JaytheGamefan']I'm glad Captain Lou got a chance to see old age - unlike far too many wrestlers, including a lot of his '80s peers.[/QUOTE]
Good point.

[quote name='mykevermin']http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6398183&postcount=344[/QUOTE]
Hinting at being a homosexual, and then taunting his opponents in weird/suggestive ways. I always loved combination of the Goldust gimmick with how strongly people reacted to sexuality, the wig, the appearance of in-ring mindgames he was playing, and his wrestling ability. Wish they hadn't turned him solely into a comedic relief bit.

[quote name='rickshankshaw']This is why I purposely ignore TNA. The rest of you who watch are fools.[/QUOTE]
Not that I watch TNA, but at least those who do are still "fans". :roll:
 
[quote name='mykevermin']
I don't think it was out of line - I was just surprised that it was not bleeped out. Big difference 12 years makes, huh? He was a heel, cutting a heel promo, and Lawler did a *great* job of it. I wanted to punch his fuckin' face in, hearing that. It took 45 seconds and got everything across he needed to, and get the crowd irate. You can't get a single wrestler in WWE/TNA to generate half that heat in a 20-minute segment anymore. Lawler was simply doing his job.

Heels are supposed to be assholes. What do assholes do? Call people "$$$$$$s."[/QUOTE]

See, that's what I got from it too.

I've been watching wrestling since, I dunno, the mid-80s but I really started watching wrestling around the end of 1996 when I accidently stumbled upon ECW on cable access in Northern Virginia. By then in the WWF, Lawler was a heelish announcer that quickly evolved into the goofy "puppies!" screamer of the later 90s.

I always knew that Lawler had a tremendous legacy, it wasn't until I watched that interview that I started to understand where his legacy as a talker came from. (Although thinking back, he also managed to almost get himself lynched in ECW back in 1997)

Now I just need to go download that Funk/Lawler match and see where his workrate legacy comes from.
 
^ No kidding, his anti-ECW promos were on fire.

He makes me sick as a face commentator/color guy, but as a heel, he's top of the line. His stuff with Jake Roberts in 1996(?) was amazing, as was his feud with the Hart family. He never clicked for me as someone to cheer, but I fuckin' loved to hate his guts.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']^ No kidding, his anti-ECW promos were on fire.

He makes me sick as a face commentator/color guy, but as a heel, he's top of the line. His stuff with Jake Roberts in 1996(?) was amazing, as was his feud with the Hart family. He never clicked for me as someone to cheer, but I fuckin' loved to hate his guts.[/QUOTE]

Those cracks on Bret Hart's mom were epic.

By the way if anyone from near NYC wants to hit up Philly for the Chikara show this Sunday and the DGUSA show next month, there is a bus running from the city direct to the arena and back again on both nights. Regularly they're charging $30 for each seat but if you buy seats for both DGUSA and Chikara you get $20 off seats for both. Don't know if anyone cares but I'll be hitting up both shows. And Chikara is giving away a free poster too on their bus trip.
 
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