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SirDippingSauce posted:When Dalton Castle wrestled in Chikara, for a while he wrestled as "Ashley Remington. There was a gimmick along the the lines of him suddenly inheriting a bunch of money or something, so he'd talk about his yachts all the time, dressed like a cruise ship captain, and win or lose, he'd always give his opponents a complimentary fruit basket. This led to two great moments. 1) The first time he did it was to Chuck Taylor, who was very standoffish due to losing and being a heel. Once Remington left the ring, Chuck looked at the fruit basket and gave a big, blushing smile like, "Wow, this is actually great! What a guy!" 2) He handed a fruit basket to one of the guys from the Batiri. In response, the Batiri guy went under the ring, grabbed something in a big paper bag and happily gave it to Remington. Remington and Bryce looked into the bag and both recoiled with horrified disgust.
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Jun 20, 2021 18:40
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Gavok posted:This led to two great moments. In an amazing throwback, he dusted that character off when he was on the first Jericho Cruise.
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Jun 20, 2021 19:40
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Pope Corky the IX posted:Was Diesel supposed to be a truck driver? A truck enthusiast? An actual truck? Nash has had a ... career. I think his original plan was to play basketball professionally, but he was only really good enough to play in Europe. That ended when he Nashed his knee. Then he joined the Army, and became an MP, but he only did that for a few years. Then, he went back home and got a job in a Ford plant. Then, he ended up getting into pro wrestling, and had a weird 'Master Blaster' gimmick (they were covered what looked like soot, and were just big slugs), which must have been based on Mad Max, I guess (not the first time wrestling has ripped off those movie). Then he had Oz, and I don't know what the gently caress. The 'Vinnie Vegas' thing was likely meant to somewhat mirror his look when he worked in a strip club. Diesel was probably at least partially suggested by Nash, because he was from Detroit and worked for Ford. HIs matches in WCW were generally lousy, and he was just a big slug. Vince loves big guys, but I can't imagine he pictured Nash actually wrestling a lot, so I have to think the plan was for Diesel to be a bodyguard for Shawn Michaels, though Shawn didn't need any help getting heat - but it didn't hurt, and it fit Shawn's character. Anyway, for a non-wrestling guy, the plan must've been that Diesel was there just to jump in and hit people now and then, and not much else - hence his original theme music just being truck noises. He was there to 'run people over'. I don't know if his run in the 1994 Royal Rumble was an experiment, or if it was Vince truly thinking Diesel was the next big thing, or what. But it worked. I think his little run in the Rumble fit his gimmick, but the crowd responded. Once they realized Diesel had charisma and the ability to talk, they let him start working (and he go to work with Hall, Michaels, and Waltman, which didn't hurt), and gave him real theme music. Diesel was never a great wrestler, and his run as champ was awful for business, and the matches generally blew. However, he had several great matches with Bret and Shawn - and his Survivor Series '95 match with Bret and IYH: Good Friends, Better Enemies match with Shawn are two of my favorite matches ever. So he did some good stuff, and that's better than most.
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Jun 21, 2021 17:54
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The Master Blasters debuted just months after the Road Warriors left, so I suppose they didn't want to just make a straight-up imitation like everyone else.
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Jun 21, 2021 18:10
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So he fucks trucks.
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Jun 21, 2021 18:28
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Pope Corky the IX posted:So he fucks trucks. Buddy, they don't even let him gently caress the truck.
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Jun 21, 2021 18:43
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Diesel was born on a mountain and raised in a cave
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Jun 21, 2021 19:49
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Without getting too much into the nitty gritty of WWE being creatively bankrupt, being unable to build stars etc... what do they actually teach people at the Performance Center? Or rather, how can it be possible that some trainees can hang around there for years and years without even getting anywhere near even an NXT live show? I’m probably showing my ignorance of how wrestling school works generally here (though I believe New Japan, say, has a fairly structured pathway for their trainees, right?), but is there no ‘programme of study’? What could you possibly be doing when you’re in your fifth+ year of training without progression? I.e., if it’s essentially a trade school, how can it not just function like it would in any other walk of life, where you do the training for [x] years, when you reach the end of the course they assess your ability, and you either graduate and get a job or you don’t. And generally, it seems to me that WWE don’t really train people with a prior wrestling background, so it’s not like they’re just hoarding people with potential just so other people don’t poach them, so I don’t see why they bother keeping people around forever who apparently aren’t anywhere near ready to work.
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Jun 21, 2021 20:01
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Answers Me posted:And generally, it seems to me that WWE don’t really train people with a prior wrestling background Most signees at the performance center have years of wrestling experience. There's a few exceptions for guys from another sport (Braun I think being the most notable). The performance center teaches wrestlers how to wrestle in the WWE style - with focus on like, the way WWE does camera work and just in general getting a wrestler ready for TV. It's more of a "finishing" school so to speak. Apparently the performance center also teaches you how to destroy all of the connective tissue in your knees, but I don't think that's on purpose. Edit: Oh and the hoarding people thing was definitely going on when they were first worried about AEW a year or two back.
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Jun 21, 2021 20:13
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Hellblazer187 posted:Most signees at the performance center have years of wrestling experience. There's a few exceptions for guys from another sport Ah, fair enough, my mistake. I thought they were still more-or-less in the ‘sign fitness models and NFL washouts’ mode (aside from hiring indie darlings), but I guess that policy is overstated/outdated
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Jun 21, 2021 20:18
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From what I can remember from the WWE-produced Diesel/HBK doc, Nash didn't have a name for weeks when he first debuted as Shawn's bodyguard, and it wasn't until KotR '93 where his name was finally revealed as "Diesel".
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Jun 21, 2021 20:30
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Nick Jr. Face posted:From what I can remember from the WWE-produced Diesel/HBK doc, Nash didn't have a name for weeks when he first debuted as Shawn's bodyguard, and it wasn't until KotR '93 where his name was finally revealed as "Diesel". "His name's Diesel, as in diesel fuel, as in that which makes a Mack Truck go!"
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Jun 21, 2021 22:14
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Answers Me posted:Ah, fair enough, my mistake. I thought they were still more-or-less in the ‘sign fitness models and NFL washouts’ mode (aside from hiring indie darlings), but I guess that policy is overstated/outdated I mean, they sort of go back and forth. There are times when they are big on hiring actual workers, but other times (and I think they're on one of these kicks now), they want people with a certain look and they build them from scratch. It changes frequently, largely because the company is run by a thousand year old crazy person with brain worms.
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Jun 21, 2021 23:48
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Pope Corky the IX posted:So he fucks trucks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCYB0lzoofc
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Jun 22, 2021 00:13
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Hellblazer187 posted:Edit: Oh and the hoarding people thing was definitely going on when they were first worried about AEW a year or two back. Unrelated: What was going on with the guardrails at the NJPW G1 Special in 2018? JR seemed noticeably pissed off that none of them were hooked together, and while it led to a spot of him falling out of his chair, I don't know if all of it was planned. It legitimately seemed like the venue crew didn't do their jobs, and there was even a moment where the poor guy holding the title belts at ringside got his knees bashed in. sticklefifer fucked around with this message at 04:12 on Jun 22, 2021 |
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Jun 22, 2021 02:55
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Blake Christian looks like he might be someone who makes clear improvements from working with the WWE Performance Center coaches. In his debut on NXT last week against Kushida, everything he did looked more crisp, but his selling and transitions in particularly looked dramatically improved. But "spectacularly athletically talented wrestler who just needs experience and to tighten things up" more broadly does feel like the type of person you'd expect to benefit from the WWE PC, anyway. Meanwhile: Did anyone here grow up in a smaller television market that got The WB via The WB 100+ Station Group on cable? If so, do you remember the short-lived "WWF Attitude" TV show on there? And did it live up to the promise of featuring exclusive matches? If not, was it just another version of Jakked/Metal, or was it simply a generic recap show? https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/1407174123919446021
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Jun 22, 2021 05:06
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Red posted:Nash has had a ... career. I think his original plan was to play basketball professionally, but he was only really good enough to play in Europe. That ended when he Nashed his knee. Then he joined the Army, and became an MP, but he only did that for a few years. Then, he went back home and got a job in a Ford plant. Then, he ended up getting into pro wrestling, and had a weird 'Master Blaster' gimmick (they were covered what looked like soot, and were just big slugs), which must have been based on Mad Max, I guess (not the first time wrestling has ripped off those movie). Then he had Oz, and I don't know what the gently caress. The 'Vinnie Vegas' thing was likely meant to somewhat mirror his look when he worked in a strip club. You forgot his brief stint as Super Shredder.
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Jun 22, 2021 05:08
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davidbix posted:Meanwhile: Did anyone here grow up in a smaller television market that got The WB via The WB 100+ Station Group on cable? If so, do you remember the short-lived "WWF Attitude" TV show on there? the wb was upn's replacement and i remember it in the early aughts but nothing worth watching
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Jun 22, 2021 06:04
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graph posted:the wb was upn's replacement and i remember it in the early aughts but nothing worth watching
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Jun 22, 2021 08:11
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davidbix posted:...no? The WB and UPN launched simultaneously. They merged to form The CW. poo poo was a long time ago lol
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Jun 22, 2021 08:13
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The JR guard rail thing was not intended. It would be funny if diesel was named after the “pantywaist inspector“ joke.
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Jun 22, 2021 08:30
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sticklefifer posted:Unrelated: What was going on with the guardrails at the NJPW G1 Special in 2018? JR seemed noticeably pissed off that none of them were hooked together, and while it led to a spot of him falling out of his chair, I don't know if all of it was planned. It legitimately seemed like the venue crew didn't do their jobs, and there was even a moment where the poor guy holding the title belts at ringside got his knees bashed in. IIRC the guardrails were an issue all night for that show, and nobody can really explain why. It came to a head in the Juice/Jay White match, where Jay did his usual "whip the guy in front of the announcer desk" spot that he does in every match that looks good when the rail holds and the Japanese announcers are selling it, but for whatever reason this spot happened to catch JR wrong (him falling over was definitely not planned) and that's where Josh Barnett legit got hot and stormed the ring. It's frankly a miracle that Juice/Jay still ended up being a great match after that. You got loving Barnett standing in the ring screaming at Jay and nobody knows if it's a work or a shoot, so the crowd is just confused silence. But when they finally get him out they pick it up and build to an incredible finish like nothing happened, and in some ways it almost enhanced the match, like the kayfabe idea that Jay White is such an rear end in a top hat even the announcers hate him. Benne fucked around with this message at 13:22 on Jun 22, 2021 |
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Jun 22, 2021 13:20
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Every normal human being would want to beat up the detestable Knife Pervert the moment they lay eyes upon him, so it's entirely understandable.
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Jun 22, 2021 13:27
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I remember being annoyed at Barnett jumping into the ring because I was afraid they were trying to book a crappy angle where an ancient man feuds with the Knife Pervert Jay White. But it soon got obvious that that part wasn't planned and It did kind of enhance the match, as Benne pointed out because it seemed like even the commentators hate Jay White enough to confront him.
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Jun 22, 2021 13:33
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Is it just me or did Diesel seem like he was trying to mimic Razor Ramon or something when he first started talking? He has this weird accent that just goes away after a while, and I know Nash doesn't talk like that normally.
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Jun 22, 2021 15:26
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Pope Corky the IX posted:Is it just me or did Diesel seem like he was trying to mimic Razor Ramon or something when he first started talking? He has this weird accent that just goes away after a while, and I know Nash doesn't talk like that normally. I don't remember the voice but I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to make him like a New York City tough guy or something like that and had him try doing an accent to match?
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Jun 22, 2021 15:31
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But he was a truck because he's from Detroit!
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Jun 22, 2021 15:37
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IGgy IGsen posted:I remember being annoyed at Barnett jumping into the ring because I was afraid they were trying to book a crappy angle where an ancient man feuds with the Knife Pervert Jay White. But it soon got obvious that that part wasn't planned and It did kind of enhance the match, as Benne pointed out because it seemed like even the commentators hate Jay White enough to confront him. The best part was that immediately after JR fell, Barnett nonchalantly says "Welp, you hosed up now" and gets up.
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Jun 22, 2021 16:00
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Pope Corky the IX posted:Is it just me or did Diesel seem like he was trying to mimic Razor Ramon or something when he first started talking? He has this weird accent that just goes away after a while, and I know Nash doesn't talk like that normally. I'm going to guess it was just a holdover from his Vinnie Vegas schtick. Vinnie promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvERBWwx-1E Diesel (and Shawn) promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUfHJP0g-Rk
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Jun 22, 2021 16:09
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IGgy IGsen posted:I remember being annoyed at Barnett jumping into the ring because I was afraid they were trying to book a crappy angle where an ancient man feuds with the Knife Pervert Jay White. But it soon got obvious that that part wasn't planned and It did kind of enhance the match, as Benne pointed out because it seemed like even the commentators hate Jay White enough to confront him. For all the problems that night... this is not one. Barnett was barely 40 at that point and he's wrestled Moxley as recently as 3 months ago. If it had been an angle, it would've been fine from that perspective.
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Jun 22, 2021 17:24
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Gaz-L posted:For all the problems that night... this is not one. Barnett was barely 40 at that point and he's wrestled Moxley as recently as 3 months ago. If it had been an angle, it would've been fine from that perspective. Yes it was a problem, for me at least. It's great if it's not for you. Maybe I should not have specified that Barnett is "ancient" for humor's sake. What I was more getting at is the fact that there was an angle at all and I hated how it distracted from the match and I just couldn't see it going anywhere I would have liked. I wasn't thrilled with the idea to try to build something in a way like this. It seemed very American wrestling to me (which is not necessarily true, but that was my take at the time) which was exactly what I was trying tet away from. So no, it wasn't because Barnett can't go but I'll still reserve the right to call anyone ancient as long as they are older than me.
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Jun 22, 2021 17:44
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I was at that cow palace show and Switchblade was working that match to be the biggest rear end in a top hat possible against Babyface Juice. He played the whole Barnett incident perfectly for even more heat. I was pretty close and Barnett looked pissed when he went into the ringside area but Switchblade just rolled away and trash talked which made it look like "Oh he's being such an rear end in a top hat during this match he riled up Barnett too." It was really surprising but it came across as part of the match, which made Juice's victory and post match beer and popcorn celebration that much better.
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Jun 22, 2021 18:09
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I keep reading Barnett as Bartlett and thinking Rob’s come back to wrestling after almost thirty years.
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Jun 22, 2021 18:16
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Pope Corky the IX posted:I keep reading Barnett as Bartlett and thinking Rob’s come back to wrestling after almost thirty years. Where did Bartlett come from? I'm guessing radio or NY standup?
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Jun 22, 2021 18:25
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Dawgstar posted:Where did Bartlett come from? I'm guessing radio or NY standup? He was some morning show side kick IIRC. The internet says Don Imus?
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Jun 22, 2021 18:31
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Yeah, he did impressions and poo poo on the Imus morning show out of NYC.
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Jun 22, 2021 18:34
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"Why do you want a Rob Bartlett? We have a Bobby Heenan at home, Vince."
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Jun 22, 2021 18:34
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Why don’t you just piss on the Brain’s grave while you’re at it?
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Jun 22, 2021 18:36
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Dawgstar posted:"Why do you want a Rob Bartlett? We have a Bobby Heenan at home, Vince."
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Jun 22, 2021 18:38
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Pope Corky the IX posted:Why don’t you just piss on the Brain’s grave while you’re at it? "Why do you want <inferior thing> because we have <superior thing> at home."
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Jun 22, 2021 18:41
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