I'm asking because, well, there's a new storyline I wanted someone's perspective on that has effectively confused the hell outta me. :nutkick:
In high school, a bunch of us formed a Bobo Brazil Fan Club, and used to go watch him at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Lost touch with Bobo when I went off to college. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobo_Brazil
When I was a kid, I and my friends were huge fans of the WWWF; Bruno Sammartino, Ivan Koloff, Stan Stasiak, Gorilla Monsoon, Lou Albano, Grand Wizard of Wrestling, etc. We totally believed it was for real, and I scoffed at my dad's insistence that it was fake. As a young adult, I and my friends got into the WWF for the entertainment aspect; we knew it was fake, but it was fun to go to matches, cheer for the "bad guys", and get the younger fans all riled up. Rick Rude, Mister Perfect, The Ultimate Warrior, and others were big back then. When my son was about 8 years old, he got into the WWE in a big way; John Cena, The Edge, etc. I took him to a taping of Monday Night Raw at the Boston Garden, and our seats (for which I paid small fortune) were right by where the wrestlers came out. I cheered the bad guys wildly, driving my son crazy, he was mortified. Now that he knows it's fake, I haven't been following it, but I will say that the WWE at least puts on a good show, and the wrestlers are superb athletes. Very entertaining, as long as you don't take it seriously.
I'm amazed that you somehow remember this about me, Abner I stopped watching wrestling a long time ago, but I was a really obsessed fan and I have a better-than-average insight into the business and storylines from having spent way too much time reading wrestling mags and watching shoot interviews. Also, even though I don't watch, I still read results and listen to podcasts... for whatever reason I can't explain, so I do have an idea of what's going on currently. Anyway, maaaaaybe I can help? What storyline are we talking about?
Ivan Koloff was mentioned above. I am glad some here remember this wonderful man, but sad to report he passed just recently (February 18, 2017) here in NC where he lived. He was 74. Thanks for remembering him. While he played a tough, bad guy in the ring, he was a genuinely nice man with a big heart and is missed by all of his friends here and around the globe.
I went to a Lucha Libre match in Mexico once. I was DEFINITELY a fan for a few hours...but I probably won't be going back!
But can anyone ever forget the most ridiculous moment ever in pro wrestling? Donald Trump's greatest WWE moments
Thanks for sharing, Dr. Bear! Bobo's career was before my time, but I certainly became a huge fan of his. I first discovered him on some generic (probably bootleg) VHS tape my dad found at a flea market. It was a match between Bobo and Fritz Von Erich which, to my delight, is now available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzrKAtNSh04
There's been a lot of 'em, but this one certainly top 5 in my book. Especially when you consider this (this made me laugh much harder than it probably should've): https://twitter.com/dhm/status/831859686269976576
Lucha Libre is both exilierating and exhausting isn't it? There's a small lucha libre promotion here in the Chicago area, but I spend my time at another promotion called AAW: AAWrestling.com - Professional Wrestling Redefined. It has become quite the grooming/proving ground for future WWE talent.
Okay, so here's my problem. We all know that wrestling is scripted, but just like any script -a play, a movie, weekly tv show, etc- we want the story to make sense. What's baffled me is this recent incident where Randy Orton turned on Bray Wyatt. For folks that don't know, here's a bit of a backstory: Randy Orton's character has always been this anti-establishment guy. Hell, they even call him the "Viper" and "Apex Predator" - the kind of guy that would stab you in the back and smile while he's doing it. Then there's the Bray Wyatt character - a diabolical cult leader of a bunch of crazy rednecks known as "The Wyatt Family". The Wyatt family has had a few incarnations over the years, but most recently it came down to Bray, Randy, and another dude name Luke Harper. After some infighting. all that was left was Bray and Randy. Randy won the Royal Rumble in January which earned him a WWE title match at Wrestlemania. Bug, *gasp!*, Bray Wyatt is now the WWE champion so is Randy going to pledge allegiance to Bray or be the Viper? Well, Randy vowed he would not fight Bray at Wrestlemania thus relinquishing his title shot. This prompted a battle royal to name a new #1 contender for the title match. AJ Styles and Luke Harper were doubly-eliminated from this match (interestingly enough there was ZERO instant replay even though WWE regularly shows replays from multiple angles which is one of my problems). Well, fast-forward again and Luke & AJ have to fight it out once again to claim the right #1 contender. AJ pins Luke Harper, but WAIT! Luke's foot was on the rope and the ref didn't see it. AJ celebrates, he is interrupted by current Smackdown commissioner Shane McMahon (the real life son of that McMahon) who restarts the match to AJ's dismay. Moments later AJ again pins Luke Harper to be the new #1 contender. Still with me? Okay.. Later that night Bray Wyatt is out in the ring cutting a promo. He is suddenly interrupted by Randy Orton who is at the Wyatt Compound (a ramshackle dump in the middle of nowhere). Randy proceeds to go on this big "F you, Bray Wyatt" type rant as he pours gasoline all over the place. Oh, and I should mention that Randy discovered an apparent corpse under the floor board which is Bray's dead sister that apparently still speaks to him (Sister Abigail she's called).... and Randy seems to suggest that Bray murdered her (or at least had a role in her death somehow). Anyway, Randy torches the place as Bray has an emotional breakdown in and outside of the ring. WWE Smackdown: Randy Orton turns on Bray Wyatt, torches cabin | WWE News | Sky Sports All... ALL of this (it is rumored) to apparently set-up a match between AJ and Shane McMahon (the assumption is that over the next few weeks leading into Wrestlemania, Shane is going to screw AJ out of the title shot) and to set the stage for the final dismantling of the Wyatt Family. So, in summary, the crazy cult leader apparently murdered/played a hand in killing his sister and his remaining "family" member ruined his world by torching the compound and destroying any remnants of said sister. A former family member lost to a guy who is apparently going to feud with the commissioner who's going to renege on his word, uh, well, just because I guess... just to have this magical matches at Wretlemania. Fonzie? Sharks?
Don't forget the ladies . . . https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2016/04/professional-womens-wrestling-in-japan/477357/
Bruce, I think you've really captured the essence of what it means to be a wrestling fan. Suspend disbelief for a few moments that it's fake, cheer for the guys/gals you like, and have a good time. The problem, though, is that some people do take it way too seriously... That's why the term "mark" has evolved over the years and is defined (at least by Wikipedia editors whom I agree with): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_professional_wrestling_terms#M the term has been also known to be related to people have little or no knowledge in about the backstage, the industry as a whole or overzealously defends a major company or product while ignoring all others Just take a look, if you dare that is, at the comments section on sites like Wrestling Inc or PW Torch, and you'll quickly see why. For the record, I have never posted on a wrestling forum in my nearly 30 years of fandom. Thus, I find it oddly humorous that I made my first ever wrestling posts on this site. Then again, I figured I'd get some sensible responses (which I have) and not have to deal with the marks (which I have not).
No doubt! Kairi Hojo (in pic #7) is a dead ringer for "Asuka" the current WWE NXT women's champion. WWE has really been trying to build up a huge women's division and they're tapping Japan, China, Australia, just anywhere they can find it. Here in Chicagoland, we have Shimmer wrestling which is one of the premier women's wrestling organizations. They, too, bring over talent from Japan and elsewhere for their shows. They have a big show in Florida for Wrestlemania weekend (like just about every other independent promotion that can find a big enough venue near the Wrestlemania site to hold a ring and a crowd): SHIMMER Women Athletes
Forgive me, but I've yet to read the results for Smackdown or listen to a podcast yet, so I'm going just off of your description of the event and have no details or rumors to add. Sounds like they messed up the storyline royally and the only reason why you're confused is because it really IS a confused mess that makes no sense either storyline-wise or business-wise. It was obvious that at some point, Randy was going to turn on Bray. Duh. He was only joining the Wyatts so that he can eventually reveal his true motives to destroy them, which it looked like he did when he turned Luke Harper against Bray. But why, oh my goodness why, would turn on Bray AFTER giving up his shot at the world title in the main event of Wrestlemania? He gave up his title shot while planning his move to turn on the man who has the title? Derrrrr.... what? Also, why would he do this in a prerecorded segment instead of in a surprise attack where he incapacitated Bray and THEN did all the house burning and whatever? I have a few possible answers, most not really satisfactory. 1) WWE writing is approaching it's peak level of absurdity, in an attempt to throw off anyone who feels the show is too predictable. 2) Orton is injured or otherwise not wrestling for a while and won't be able to have a Wrestlemania match, so they're rushing the set up for the feud and making an 'out' to allow any matches between them to happen later. 3) It suddenly dawned on them that AJ Styles in the Wrestlemania main event would draw a WHOLE lot more international interest in the show and they did whatever they needed to to make it happen. 4) This is actually an even more confusing swerve, where Randy and Bray are actually still in cahoots, set up the whole house burning thing as a rouse, and Randy will make a surprise run-in during the WM main event to help Bray keep his title at the expense of AJ Styles. Come to think of it, it's possible that some part of all 4 of these be true. I think the most coherent thing would be the fourth one. They've really been trying to sell hard that Randy is ACTUALLY loyal to Bray and this would probably be the strongest way to continue that story. Tease a break up with an off-location "betrayal" (so as to not have Randy cause any actual harm to Bray), have him demonstrate that it was actually a trick all along and that they are really united and without a lick of dissension. So, now, I think I actually figured out why I still like reading results and listening to podcasts rather than watching the shows myself. I'm addicted to fantasy booking, making predictions and trying to understand the labyrinthine backstage politics that go into why one thing happens on the show rather than another. It's like I'm playing a wrestling sim game, or even like I'm trying to play the gambling odds but without actually putting the money up.
MC: I'm amazed that you somehow remember this about me, Abner Abner: Of course I remember! I find your posts to be quite memorable and remarkable! :smile:
Yes! Exactly! We screamed our lungs out for the first 3 or 4 matches...and then...there were another 15-20! Also, the story lines were so much more intricate than I would have imagined (you'd have to go or tune in EVERY week to know what the deal was). Definitely need to get in shape and do your homework before hitting the Lucha Libre circuit.
It is a lot of fun! Once the prices of the WWF/WWE started getting crazy, I and my friends started going to the second-tier shows, where former stars were still hanging on. I remember going to a show at an IBEW hall 20+ years ago where the Iron Sheik (who strangely changed nationality from Iranian to Iraqi around 1991) went against Sergeant Slaughter in the main event. My friends and I made makeshift turbans out of t-shirts, stood & saluted while the Sheik sang the Iraqi national anthem, and cheered him on wildly. The younger fans were almost as mad at us as they were at the Sheik. :lmao: I think that professional wrestling is a lot of people's guilty little secret; they'll never admit they like it in polite company.
