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Found an old poll topic HulkaMatt posted in October 2012 and I thought it would be interesting to see how the the tastes of PSP have changed since then. PSP's certainly experienced some userbase turnover in 2+ years and many of us that were around then have markedly different preferences today. I know that's the case for myself at least, as I said in 2012 that CHIKARA was my favorite promotion and I couldn't have imagined being a huge fan of a serious foreign language promotion with simple storylines only a couple years later. 1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why?  DO NOT ARGUE WITH OTHERS THAT THEY ARE THE "WRONG" KIND OF FAN
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Jan 12, 2015 07:54
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No memory of this, holy cow. edit: oh I remember now I did this for future secret santa related things hahaha HulkaMatt fucked around with this message at 12:23 on Jan 12, 2015 |
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Jan 12, 2015 08:10
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! Storytelling. People say that a fighting game doesn't actually need a story but it's EXPECTED to have one, but I've always been in the camp of people who actually give a drat about the canon of Mortal Kombat. I have all the Udon Street Fighter comics and I played through every single campaign mode in every Dead Or Alive, Tekken and Soul Calibur game. I see wrestling largely the same way I always saw those games, a universe just far enough from reality to allow for crazy poo poo like undead wrestle wizards, where cool characters with colorful personalities and outfits work out their differences, achieve their life goals and prove who the best is by fighting. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? I started with WCW around 1997-99, but nothing from that period sticks out in my memory other than the Leno match. I do know that I came out of that period with an eternal love for DDP, Rey Misterio, The Giant and Sting, they were all my favorites. I first started watching wrestling seriously in 2002, on the night of Triple H's return from injury to kick off the Royal Rumble build. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? DDP almost certainly even though I can't remember any of his matches or promos other than the aforementioned Leno. My first favorite in WWF was probably Triple H, although I feel in absolute love with The Hurricane almost immediately as well. 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? Sometime in '04 I just lost track. I don't think anything about the show was turning me off or anything, but sometimes soon after Mania 20 I just wasn't on it anymore. I never saw the JBL character or Evolution turn on Orton so right around those two events must be when I stopped watching. I got back in pretty much at random once again in... I think it was 2010? It was right in the middle of Nexus and Shaemus' title run. My clearest memory is of a promo involving Mike Tyson and Cena talking about Punch Out. Either way, I was watching very intermittently until about Summerslam 2012, which is when I started watching weekly. What got me back into it was mostly the same stuff as always, interesting characters and storylines. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? '02-'03 WWE was magical for me and hooked me a lot harder than the stuff I watched at the height of WCW's creative. It was full of all-time dream matches, gorgeous presentation, amazing gimmicks, tons of fun storylines, every title belt felt like it was worth something despite them having like 7 or more... Some people look back on that era as the beginning of the end, but it was a golden age in my eyes. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? WWE is still my favorite for those flashes of brilliance and for NXT showing me a glimpse of what I hope Raw can become. I'm starting to branch out to Chikara and NJPW for the hilarious goofy anime stories and the awesome matches respectively. I hope GFW does even more with english commentary for NJPW, Wrestlekingdom makes me crave more. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Probably Dean Ambrose. His promos, mannerisms and in-ring performances are all so good at making me feel things and care about him, his character feels very unique, and he can make almost any stupid thing work somehow. Stolen Hotdog Cart? I went nuts for that! Daniel Bryan is a VERY close second.
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Jan 12, 2015 08:54
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! People putting on exhibition fights for the purpose of telling a story. It is extremely silly from the premise to the actual product and I love it. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? I've been a fan since the mid 90s, I don't really remember any one moment that turned me into a habitual viewer. It was inevitable that you watched wrestling back then, it was all anybody talked about when I was in middle school. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? Raven, DDP, and Goldberg. 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? I probably spent more time not following it than following it. When WCW died (actually a little before that), I quit watching. I'm not sure what time period I got back into it, it was around the time the Straight Edge Society was forming on Smackdown. The hope of seeing another Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania moment or CM Punk/Cena MITB is what keeps me watching. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? WCW was my favorite, I'm re-watching it from 1993 onward. I guess the time around Goldberg's undefeated streak was my personal fave period. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? Triple A. I just love the costumes and the wrestling style of luchadors. I pop for flippy poo poo even if I don't fully understand the storylines because of the language barrier. I wish AAA had the following on this forum that New Japan did. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Daniel Bryan because he is a scrappy underdog that overcomes the odds through hustle, loyalty, and respect. Aerostar and Hijo del Perro Aguayo are my favorite luchadors.
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Jan 12, 2015 09:07
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! Theater made by crazy people about a fictional sport. And since everyone in this industry is insane, the behind the scenes stories that come out of all the insiders or Big Dave's keyboard are just as much of it as what comes on the TV. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? Steve Austin in the run up to Mania 15. I could never convince my parents to buy the PPVs but I watched every minute of Steve Austin (or Steam Boston as I called him when I was 8) stunning Vince and shooting beer at him and everything. I didn't care about wrestling, I just wanted to see Austin beat people up or Kane light people on fire or Mick Foley get thrown through things. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler?  4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? I stopped watching totally between like 2002 and 2014 because without WCW everything just seemed worse and low effort. Also the Invasion  5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? Attitude era WWF because I have no taste. I only remember watching WCW once, because my dad got me one of the Playstation games out of the bargain bin. It was February 1, 1999, the Eric Bischoff dunk tank episode. It was the stupidest thing I had ever seen and I never watched another episode. I also only played as Último Dragón in the game because his promo video when you pressed triangle was in Japanese so he was the coolest. I never saw ECW. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? I only get around to seeing WWE because they have a weekly television show that isn't on at 1am on a Saturday. If I remember ROH is on I watch that too. WWE has the familiar characters and soap opera stuff that's fun to argue about online but ROH matches are way better. I rarely see PWG or anything else but I did see Wrestle Kingdom 9 and thought it blew everything else out of the water so I'll have to start watching more NJPW. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Until he became a farm, Daniel Bryan. I found Botchamania on the Internet, thought it was hilarious, and remembered it was Monday so there would be wrestling on. I turned on Raw and it was Daniel Bryan kicking Bray Wyatt's rear end in a cage. No idea who either one of them was but it sucked me back in. Now probably Dean Ambrose since he's an ex-deathmatch guy who can psychologize circles around half the roster.
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Jan 12, 2015 09:17
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why?
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Jan 12, 2015 09:30
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! Professional wrestling is an amazing performance art that can be so many different things to so many different people. What I personally look for in pro wrestling is the match itself. Promos, hype packages, gimmicks, they're all good, but they're just garnishes for the main course. A really well worked match that tells a great story can get me emotional. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? Around 12ish years now. What really cemented me as a fan though was Eddie Guerrero vs. Brock Lesnar at No Way Out 2004. Theres not many guys who can ever measure up to Eddie. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? Rey Mysterio, no doubt. What 10 year old in the 2000's wasn't? Also Chris Benoit lmao. 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? From around 2007 to 2011 I very rarely watched WWE outside of an occasional (usually disappointing) Royal Rumble or Wrestlemania. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? In that non-WWE time I devoured all of my cousin's ROH DVDs. Really fell in love with Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, The Briscoes, KENTA, Chris Hero, and especially El Generico. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? PWG, ROH, and New Japan, by far. They understand exactly what I'm looking for in pro wrestling. Minimal overcomplicated dumb stories, more hyped up matches between dudes I wanna see fight. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Tie between The Young Bucks and reDRagon. The two greatest acts going in pro wrestling today, and I'd be hard pressed to find many others from history that I've enjoyed more.
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Jan 12, 2015 09:36
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! People training with everything they have to become very good at pretending to harm others, in the service of telling a story written by lunatics. I enjoy the plots through at least a layer or two of what the kids are calling irony nowadays, but enjoy the actual wrestling and theatrics 100% genuinely for their talent and athleticism and always have. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? I grew up as a tiny babby rooting for British Bulldog and Bret Hart. My first wrestling memories are from around 93/94. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? Bret Hart 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? During the WCW invasion angle I was very sad about how they were treating DDP and Scott Steiner among other things and then stopped watching until around 05, watched till 07 then quit until a couple weeks before Rumble 2014. I watch to see people I find entertaining get to do entertaining things and see success at their role, and seeing people get misused sours me completely on the entire product, even if the rest of it is good. gently caress politics, I wanna see technical people do cool poo poo in service of silly plots. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? I will always have a big fondness for Attitude era but WCW after Steiner turned and became NWO is likely my favourite just because of him. The promotion was on the way downhill but the plots were so stupid, and if you could force yourself to ignore the garbage at the top of the card it had amazing performers doing amazing things for amazingly terrible reasons. Plus come on, no one cut a better coked out roidrage promo than Scotty. Bret Hart was my first favourite but Scotty topped him in my heart. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? I watch WWE hoping that they will treat Cesaro and Ambrose better (they won't) but my favourite for the past few months has been NJPW. Bullet Club owns, great pure wrestling across the board, plots aren't hard to keep up with. Jeff Jarrett bringing it over to english makes him best promoter 20ever 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Active wrestler in a major promotion? It's kind of a tossup between Styles, Tanahashi, Ambrose or Bryan for the men, and a tie between Paige and Charlotte for the women. If I had to narrow that down to co-ed, Paige and Charlotte would edge out Bryan and Ambrose. In history? Scott Steiner just barely edging out Bret Hart.
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Jan 12, 2015 09:37
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Jan 12, 2015 09:37
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! Professional wrestling, in my eyes, is a way for large men to act with one another through the means of pretending to hurt one another, either emotionally with a microphone or physically with fake punches and real throws. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? Just hit a year. Mid-late '13 was a mess for me emotionally due to relationship garbage (A tip: If you break up, sever immediately, trust me), then while depressed and browsing Youtube I ran into some old Wrestlemania matches (Stuff like Macho v. Steamboat, Warrior v. Hogan, Shawn v. Razor) and fell in love. Watched through pretty much all the classics and what random TV show matches I could find in glorious 280-360p. Decided that I would make a few changes in my life and stick with them as long as possible, and when the new year rolled over one of those changes was to start watching wrestling, something I had no interest or exposure to at all previously (Until December 2013 I could name you maybe a max of 10 wrestlers from the entire history of wrestling, and Mick Foley or Batista or Randy Orton or any other fairly big name were not among them; I thought HHH was some kind of early 2000s death metal band lol, so I don't count him among the wrestlers 2013-me could name for you). Watched "reruns" on Dailymotion until I found out that PSP had game day threads and then joined you all here and started watching live. Now it's more about having fun and laughing at poo poo in those threads than it is just watching Raw and the PPVs. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? From watching old matches on Youtube: Jake the Snake, despite being a DQ machine with that snake of his, closely followed by Rick Rude. From actual watching the modern product: Damien Sandow; first modern match I saw was him versus Kofi on the Main Event the last week of December '13. If you had told me, after watching my first modern match, which was a 23 minute match between Sandow and Kofi where I felt they both looked strong and good, that they were in fact complete jokes who rarely won and were never given chances, I wouldn't have believed you; then I started watching Raw and understood just what I was getting myself into. 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? No, because I've only been in it for a year and I like to laugh at fiery trainwrecks so it has to get a lot worse for me to really consider quitting, but I was playing Payday 2 with some friends during that one Raw when The Rock came out and cut a promo on Lana and Rusev, so I guess I sort of fell out of it that one day in favor of running the Hotline Miami heist. Aside from that I don't catch Smackdown or Superstars much anymore unless there's something interesting in spoilers and sometimes miss Main Event depending on if I've got anything better to do on my Tuesdays, or I guess it'll be Thursdays now? 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? Since I didn't watch wrestling back in the day, I'll just say that from what all I've watched, it would have been WCW. On the tombstone is inscribed "They tried." Rise of the nWo before it got crazy, although I do find the late period where it was all falling apart hilarious. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? WWE and Lucha Underground. WWE has the all-around talent and a fairly deep roster that could cover pretty much every base, but they actively choose to ignore that so I watch it to laugh at the dumb bullshit they do on a weekly basis and post in the GDTs. Lucha Underground I like because it's campy as hell and has a more intimate feel without feeling like they have no resources or just record it in a school gym or whatever. I also feel like it's easier to get into than the traditional lucha promotions, since it's so new I could start from the literal first episode and follow it instead of jumping in ~90 years into its existence or whatever and missing a million classic moments. I can't rightly call NXT its own promotion, but if it were it would be that because it combines the things I said about the promotions above, including the hilarious mess aspect since there are wrestlers like Bull Dempsey and Baron Corbin on it. NXT is the total package, which is why Lex Luger should be NXT GM. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Damien Sandow for men, definitely. He's misused to hell and back, but I can see that the dude's got talent in pretty much every area, from in-ring work to promos. Plus, he wrestles a more classic WWF style, which I grew to enjoy while watching those grainy-rear end Youtube videos much more than the more modern spot-hitting style of wrestling. Natty for women. It's harder to make a choice there, though, since they're given so much less time and chances than the men, so I'm basing that entirely off of what I've seen on NXT. There's plenty of wrestlers I like though, and being honest with you, I think even the worst of the worst (Eva Marie, Big Show, etc) could be used much better either in the ring or out of it than they are if WWE were vaguely competent and not run by petty musclemanchildren.
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Jan 12, 2015 10:46
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? When I first started watching I was a kid it was an escape from a rural mining town in the middle of nowhere Australia and my dad wasn't around so in the early nineties I'd watch it on turner classic movies. As I grew I just kept watching I grew to love the stories the promos and most of all the in ring action 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? I can't pinpoint a time I would say 96-97 my early memories are of Chris Jericho cutting a promo about Rey Mysterio on Nitro 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? Eddie Guerrero, because he begged off one time and then hit his opponent when he turned his back and this appealed to me because as a kid I thought he was smart. 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? Around Wrestlemania 18 I started being more casual till Benoit (who was my second favourite as a kid because he hit people hard and his Northern lights was sweet) killed his family then I started watching UFC. I got back into it in 2012 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? WCW good or bad it always felt different, more like an event 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? I watch WWE and Lucha Underground and have branched out to New Japan with Wrestle Kingdom 9 (I want more!) I can't watch ROH tv because something about it seems off. I enjoy good wrestling great characters and good stories NJPW's simple stories good wrestling identifiable characters 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Luke Harper, He is a big man a second gear who if utilised properly could be a monster on par with Vader in early 90's WCW.
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Jan 12, 2015 11:03
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! It's the quintessential American performing art. It's dirty, stupid carny-ism. It's a really cool TV show that weirdly has its season finale in March and its season premiere in April. It's the best scripted live television show with no commercials every 4 weeks. It's also a meat grinder that destroys people's bodies and lives just to make a slightly less-bad bottom line. It's also really offensive on a regular basis. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? I was about age 9-18 really hardcore. Then trickled off until the Benoit/Guerrero double punch. The first moment I really remember was around the Spring Stampede with the great DDP vs Raven match. Either that, or I think a little later the same year, when Goldberg won the WCW Title from Hulk Hogan. Before those I just kind of idly watched Saturday morning stuff with my dad and maybe a random PPV at a friend's house. Getting back into it - I just got the WWE Network on a whim, and watched Wrestlemania this year with zero context. Then this cool guy named Cesaro won a battle royal, Bray Wyatt had the best entrance since Y2J, Brock Lesnar shocked the entire world, and some guy named Daniel Bryan overcame the odds and won the title. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? Raven. Easily! What about me?! What about RAVEN?! I loved his catchphrases, his grunge look, his Flock. And then as I got deeper into the wrestling rabbit hole, I went back past his WCW stuff and fell in love with him all over again in ECW. FINALLY I saw his TNA run, which from the beginning, up through the big Jeff Jarrett NWA Title feud, was really great. And going to all the TNA shows live, I also got to meet him, and he was really smart and not a total dick to me. 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? Like I said before - going to college and then the super disheartening Benoit murder-suicide and Eddie Guerrero's death - made wrestling seem a lot less fun. I'd guess it was about 2006 to 2014. I didn't see a minute of anything, not even a Wrestlemania. With the Network I've slightly caught back up on some of the stuff I missed. I got back into it with what I said above - WWE seemed really cool at Wrestlemania, and the Network makes it really cheap and convenient to watch PPVs live. I keep watching just due to the - anything can happen- factor. I'm not a total mark or anything, but once Brock Lesnar pinned Undertaker at Wrestlemania, and then beat Cena like he was the Brooklyn Brawler... 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? All time, it is probably the WWF/E, just because they were/are the top for so long. But I think WCW in the mid-late 90s with every kid wearing an nWo shirt was my favorite. Just from being a pure mark and living and dying with everything. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? The only one I really watch now is WWE. I just like the cheap PPVs and somewhat the unpredictability. They usually have enough good matches to be worth $10. Even if they're really bad, I get the rest of my value through the great wealth of stuff in On Demand. NXT is also a complete bonus. I've watched all their big shows and a little bit of the weekly shows too. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Dolph Ziggler. It's hard to put my finger on it. He just seems to be trying harder than everyone else. Also I have to give love to Dean Ambrose as an honorable mention. He seems like someone who gets so many of the little things in wrestling that make it great.
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Jan 12, 2015 12:01
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! It's a vaudeville with suplexes and top rope flips, also a guilty pleasure 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? I've been watching wrestling for between 25 and 30 years, probably. I think my dad used to put me in front of the weekly wrestling show that aired in France in the mid/late 80s because he liked american sports and shows, so I picked interest naturally. I believe I became really interested when they started showing PPVs here, and I'd say the very first Royal Rumble I've watched made me a fan. I can't tell you which one it is, but it was probably around 1990 or '91. At that time, wrestling in France was a weekly one hour show on Wednesday afternoons and occasionnal PPVs like Wrestlemania, the Rumble and Survivor Series, airing on a paid channel I didn't get in my room. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? The Undertaker, and the Rockers' Shawn Michaels. An immortal zombie dude, and a flippy cocky guy ? Yes please. 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? Basically I missed the entire NWO and Attitude eras. In France, wrestling was (and maybe still is) Hulk Hogan. The WWF brand and its roster were absolute seconds to Hogan. So when Hogan went to WCW, so did the french program which aired wrestling, maybe with a few month delay, I think it was around 1995, right before NWO started. Being a 15 years old teenager I had other occupations at that time so I missed the switch and the one day I picked up the show I was really confused on what was happening, new guys I never heard of, who is Sting, and why aren't the Undertaker, Shawn and Bret here ? It didn't help the commentators never mentionned the switch. Then the Outsiders showed up, so I thought they had rebooted Wrestling, WWF was wrestling and wrestling was WWF for us, it never occured to me there were multiple promotions in the US. Hogan turned heel, the NWO happened, I was barely watching at that time, kind of lost interest, started doing other things and I think the channel utimately dropped the program, or aired it on another timeslot. Fast forward a few years, it's 2005 and I learn that wrestling is still aired in France, on a channel I could get this time, and a few friends of mine were also interested so I picked it back out of curiosity. Wow, what the hell happened, who is this Batista guy ? Wait, is that the blue blood noble guy with that terrible name I watched a couple of times before they rebooted wrestling, Hunter something something ? He's a top dog now ? Oh hey, Undertaker is still alive, good, oh and Shawn too ! Where the hell are the sleeper holds ?? I caught up with the general wrestling history, learned about the monday night wars, NWO, the attitude era, the WWF buying WCW and becoming WWE, the start of Smackdown.... We watched some matches over the internet with my friends, and the Batista/HHH hell in a cell match, had good fun for a few weeks and I was really digging Batista. Then they drafted Cena to Raw  . What a dick move, WWE, but hey, I had nothing more interesting to do on thursday nights, so I witnessed the John Cena Reign Of Terror, the guys I hated at that time getting kicked out of the promotion (Christian, Jericho and BIschoff, drat I hated them on TV) and ultimately sticked around.I don't really watch wrestling now, but I like the business as the whole and enjoy reading about it, the backstage stuff, watching the Rumble and Wrestlemania night are still events I don't want to miss. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? I really liked good ol' cartoon era WWF, with the terrible gimmicks and coked out promos. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? I still like WWE as a whole, they have the budget and production values to make a good show, the writing itself is often terrible but whenever they put a Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker golden match or a Daniel Bryan rise to stardom on Wrestlemania moment, I enjoy it a lot. Not a promotion itself but their effort with NXT is also a really good thing. I watched the last two NXT specials and they were really good. I haven't watched a show yet, but Lucha Underground looks really cool and their whole presentation is a refreshing sight. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Probably Daniel Bryan, I like his overall attitude. I've never watched ROH or other indy programs, but I've been aware of him since I joined WH2k so I knew the guy was good. Then I watched his match on NXT against Jericho and drat was that good. The WWE probably botched a lot of things with him, but overall that gave us his win at the last Wrestlemania, so all in all, it's all good, right ? On a more physical point of view, the guy is a great all rounder, and of course an awesome technician, hard to not like him. Ambrose is also a favourite, he's everything Deuce and Domino wanted to be, I really want him with the belt. Taker, I love you but please never wrestle again. Shawn, I love you but please show up more.
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Jan 12, 2015 12:15
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! A pretty unique live-action stunt performance, often full of the greatest cheese this side of a hair metal video. There's nothing like it in entertainment. It's interesting to me from a TV production aspect, a business aspect, and sometimes also happens to be really fun to watch plot-wise. For the most part I'm just fascinated by the industry itself, even though I'll talk for hours on end about fake wrestleman stories online. I once saw someone sum it up really well: When it's good, it's some of the best stuff on TV. When it's bad, it's some of the worst stuff on TV. How it manages to do both, often at the same time, baffles and fascinates me. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? Late 80s. I was very young. A family friend's kids were into it, so I started watching at their house, then I started watching at home too. I remember Wrestlemania IV but I don't know if I saw it live or taped. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? Jake Roberts. His cold and quiet persona made me notice him above all the yelly muscley dudes. Also snakes are totally rad. 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? Mid 90s. I grew up, wrestling didn't. I caught some ECW at a friend's house a few years later and was like "holy poo poo it's cool again", so I started watching the big three when the ratings war was in full swing. Somewhere around the mid/late 00s I took a break from WWE specifically. Eddie's death made me kind of hate how unhealthy the industry was, and Benoit sealed that. I was already watching some ROH, NWA:TNA, lucha and puro in the 00s, so I just started watching it a lot more. I still kept tabs on WWE results, but what brought me back was Punk winning the WHC since I was a big ROH fan of his. I caught up on what I missed (Spirit Squad lol) and then stuck with it for some godforsaken reason, though I sporadically stop paying attention sometimes when it gets bad. Right now WWE is frustrating as hell to watch, so unless I'm watching Raw live with PSP I mostly skim through shows just to watch the parts I like and skip over the crap and the filler. It's either gotten worse, or I'm just sick of the same old poo poo. What keeps me watching is that every once in a while they accidentally do something great (Nexus, Punk's pipebomb, Shield, Bryan, etc), and also that I like their talent better than I like the company. What keeps me watching Japanese stuff is that it owns. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? Late 90s ECW. They got away with so much and I loved the DIY aesthetic of it, especially as an angsty teen. Later, I was super into early 00s Toryumon and would scour tape sites to get my hands on it, but I lost my source about a year or so after the switch to Dragon Gate. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? I know it's not it's own promotion but I'll say NXT since it's seemingly run so differently. It's not nearly as frustrating as WWE and is booked very solidly, and full of tons of talent. I've watched a fair bit of NJPW before but I'm getting a lot more into it after WK9, because it's just drat good wrestling. I'm getting back into Dragon Gate too, because it's still fun and a lot of my favorites are still around. I still keep tabs on indies, but other than specific matches I don't follow much else. I've given Lucha Underground a try but I'm still kind of iffy on whether or not I want to follow it weekly. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? I don't really have a #1 favorite, but for WWE I really like Dean Ambrose, Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, and Finn Balor (that's my fave five, dawg). For women's wrestling, I'm a really big Sasha Banks fan - she's already this good at only 22, so barring injury she's got a great career ahead. I'm also going to start looking back for more Okada and Nakamura; I've seen several of their matches before, but WK9 really impressed me and made me want more. In DG I always liked BxB Hulk and CIMA, and they're still great. sticklefifer fucked around with this message at 12:34 on Jan 12, 2015 |
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Jan 12, 2015 12:17
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! Its like a lovely soap opera that features bits where they fight. I always find it weird that the first thing people say is "you know its not real". Well yeah, most tv shows arent. To be honest I dont really like a lot of the actual wrestling parts, I tend to watch more gimmick matches than anything else. Things like the Rumble or a Money in the Bank is the type of match I'll actually watch, and I only really care about normal matches if there's an emotional attachment. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? I got into wrestling in the 90s. I remember going to see a show in Cardiff with my uncle when I was 12, and got really excited tho on reflection the card was awful WWF @ Cardiff, Wales - Arena - March 26, 1994 Kwang defeated the 1-2-3 Kid IRS defeated Doink the Clown Diesel defeated Tatanka Earthquake defeated Bam Bam Bigelow Jeff Jarrett defeated Koko B. Ware Men on a Mission defeated WWF Tag Team Champions the Quebecers via disqualification WWF World Champion Bret Hart defeated Owen Hart I was star struck by these guys tho, I remember running up to the barrier and slapping hands with Earthquake and being so excited. Also I got my uncle to shout "Jeff Jarrett more like Jeff Parrot" at JJ and he reacted as if he was pissed off and our whole section then kept taunting him with Jeff Parrot chants during the match with him getting more and more annoyed and I felt so cool that we'd pissed off a wrestler. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? HBK was my first, he just made you care about everything. Boatloads of charisma plus his matches were fun to watch. Then it became Kane. I love lovely storylines and Kane's had a boatload. His team with X Pac was great too. 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? Not really, Ive always read the results even if not watching. At uni I used to read the results from the tv shows but not watch the actual shows. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? WWE but Ive not really watched much else. Ive tried watching other stuff, WCW was never really aired here and when I used to catch bits it just looked low rent. I remember when the last ever episode was on a friend in the US sent me a videotape of the episode and even that looked awful. Ive tried watching stuff like Chikara but it feels more like a commitment to get all the characters. Stuff like ROH is pointless to me as I'm not fussed about watching "wrestling" Best era was obviously Austin - McMahon. Attitude era was amazing but looking back it was a train wreck at times. Ive a soft spot for the late 80s and early 90s stuff, with teams like the Bushwackers and LOD. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? WWE. I like trashy storylines and thats what I get. And they still make me a mark at times. I went to a Raw taping last year when Punk and Bryan were individually feuding with the Shield and Wyatts, and during the main event of Punk/Bryan vs Shield the lights went out and when they came on Punk/Bryan had gone and Shield and Wyatts were in the ring. The entire arena was going crazy as they started fighting. Then we decided to go to smackdown the next night, got ridiculous seats next to the entrance ramp and before the main event there was a video package playing and about 10 crew members came out walking straight past us and I got stupidly excited as Id noticed the Wyatts among them obviously going to hide under the ring. WWE can still make me totally forget that I'm old. And weirdly Ive got more into the in ring product. Ive started watching more and more matches and thats down to caring about a lot more of the characters and them being good in the ring. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Daniel Bryan. I wish he had more charisma tho as I think with that he'd be the best around. I love Cena too.
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Jan 12, 2015 12:25
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! The line I always use when talking to non wrestling fans is "a soap opera with violence", or "oily musclemen in spandex pretending to hit each other". But perhaps less glibly I would say it is an athletic performance that has goodies, baddies, and fighting in it. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? I have been a fan for a long long time. When I was a little kid, (more than 20 years ago), our local video rental store had a 5 weeklies for $10, and the rule was 1 Jackie Chan video, 1 wrestling video, (one of the old WWF Colliseum Video ones), my brother and I woudl each choose 1 and our dad got to choose 1. No real defining moment that turned me into a fan, but a few that I remember. I remember Hulk Hogan becoming Hollywood Hogan was a thing that got me VERY excited and drew me back into watching for a time. I remember the first TLC match with Dudleys/Hardys/E&C as being a "holy poo poo" moment. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? Junk Yard Dog. But later on I LOVED WCW Heel Jericho. I really wanted a Monday Night Jericho T-Shirt 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? Yeah. Everybody has. I got back into it because when I was 16 or so my parents got Pay TV, (OptusVision), and that had WCW on it. So I would watch Nitros with my younger brother, and it had wrestlers we remembered like Hulk Hogan and Macho Man. Fast forward to now, I am a follower, as opposed to a regular watcher, because I don't have Pay TV, and as such can't watch regularly. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? I liked Goldberg-era WCW. But that is nostalgia speaking. The main events were poo poo, but there was always something to keep you interested. Heel conspiracy Jericho. Cruiserweights flipping out all over the place. Norman Smiley. etc. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? NJPW What I have seen. I have been lucky to see a NJPW show live at Korakuen hall a few years ago and it was ACE! (It was a NJPW/CMLL cross promotion and I was there for both shows.) 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Is it OK to say CM Punk? I know he has retired and will never come back, but he was just so much fun to watch. Heel or Face. Other than that I guess I will be that arsehole who says an indie geek - Kenny Omega. Dude has wrestled blow up dolls and 9 year old girls. How can you not love that.
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Jan 12, 2015 12:28
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! It's the action movie of Television. Something I can turn my brain off and not ever get mad about. It's the closest I'll ever get to enjoying a sport from my couch. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? I was a huge fan as a kid, but my defining moment was probably 18 seconds, actually. I hadn't been following weekly, and then someone in an IRC chat I used to go to mentioned that Daniel Bryan, a wrestler I had a cursory interest in because my friend loved him, lost to Sheamus, a wrestler I was personally a fan of during my sporadic watching at the time (and still am), in 18 seconds. I read about his title reign and was interested. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? It's gotta be  4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? I watched WWF as a kid, and then stopped when I moved (around 1999-2000-ish) and didn't come back until 2010, when I turned on USA randomly and started watching again. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? I'm a WWE fan, then, now, forever. I will always hold the attitude era in my heart, but I'm liking the 2012-now stuff I've been seeing a ton too. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? I like WWE, when the wrestlers I personally enjoy get to wrestle, which is often, as there is really only one wrestler I don't totally enjoy, and he's currently out injured. Even Cesaro and Wade Barrett, who I don't like as much as PSP says I should, are incredibly fun to watch. NXT was my third favorite Television show of the year, and the JBL (not Cole) Show (without Renee Young) was my favorite (even if it's not as great as it was during the CRBNB era) I'm also enjoying Lucha Underground, but I don't catch it as often. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? I have so many, but I'll list my top five, who aren't going to be in the top 5 order because it's hard to order them when they're so close. Daniel Bryan- He's the one guy who can make me care about wrestling even close to as much as most of PSP cares about wrestling. I enjoy watching him wrestle, I enjoy watching him talk, I cheered when he won the title off John Cena, and again when he won it against Orton and Batista. Sheamus- When I watched Wrestling again from 2010 on, Sheamus was the first wrestler I saw win, and I decided I'd be a fan of him. I have enjoyed most of his stuff; even most of his endless feud with Del Rio, though if the two of them never wrestled again I wouldn't have an issue. AJ Lee- She was neat in the Daniel Bryan/CM Punk/Kane storyline, and kinda interesting as the General Manager, but the minute she won the title, she started rocketing up my favorites list. I enjoyed the fact that she kept her title as much because she was the smartest wrestler as the fact that she was the strongest, and unlike other "smart" wrestlers at the time, she was able to back this up. Cody Rhodes- So while Daniel Bryan can get me consistently care about Wrestling, Cody Rhodes at his best will make me care more in Wrestling than Daniel Bryan at his best. When Cody lost Money in the Bank to Damien Sandow, even though I knew that exact scenario was going to take place, I was still shouting at the screen. The only other time I've ever shouted at my screen in wrestling was at Wrestlemania XXX, when Brock Lesnar pinned 'Taker. He also cut my favorite wrestling promo since I got back. Daniel Bryan makes me care about wrestling. Cody Rhodes makes me invested. (Damien Sandow just misses the top five, by the way. He's great too.) His replacement Stardust is pretty great too. If I had to pick an absolute favorite, it'd probably be Cody. Tyler Breeze- The character, the theme, he is my favorite NXT superstar. He was the cause behind my favorite wrestling fan moment, too. At Takeover (1), when he beat Sami Zayn, someone (I forget who) was yelling about how awful it is that this guy would dare to beat his favorite internet darling (who, like Sandow, just misses my top 5; in fact 6-10 is Damien Sandow and NXT people), and I thought it made total sense, because Adrian Neville was an uggo. ...That is a lot more words about wrestling than I expected. Senerio fucked around with this message at 12:41 on Jan 12, 2015 |
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Jan 12, 2015 12:38
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The Big Taff Man posted:I love Cena too. I know the rule in the thread for not yelling at others so please do not construe this as an insult. I genuinely want to thank you for saying that because I have never heard or seen an adult actually say they like Cena (above any and almost all others, no less), and it is kind of incredible. Again, not to be confrontational, just curious, but what is it that brings you back to him over other workers? Being able to hear an articulate adult express why they like Cena has been something I've always wanted. BrigadierSensible posted:Other than that I guess I will be that arsehole who says an indie geek - Kenny Omega. Dude has wrestled blow up dolls and 9 year old girls. How can you not love that. I said an indie geek first  Kenny is great, barely missed my minilist. A special sort of wrestler than manages to have a somewhat traditional look, great ringstyle and workrate, knows what he is doing and can tell a good story, but can also let loose and do dumb poo poo as well. If a wrestler can't go from serious to stupid poo poo to serious again and not have it work, then they're in the wrong industry and Omega has always managed it pretty well 
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Jan 12, 2015 12:56
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Paper Lion posted:I know the rule in the thread for not yelling at others so please do not construe this as an insult. I genuinely want to thank you for saying that because I have never heard or seen an adult actually say they like Cena (above any and almost all others, no less), and it is kind of incredible. Again, not to be confrontational, just curious, but what is it that brings you back to him over other workers? Being able to hear an articulate adult express why they like Cena has been something I've always wanted. Like I said in my post Im not really a fan of the wrestling side of wrestling in so much as I like personalities and storylines in my wrestling, people who are characters and can invest me. Cena is a great personality, hes really under rated on the mic in my opinion. He's great at reacting to a crowd and getting a promo back on track when the crowd are trying to steal attention - I know he gets freedom compared to most but I cant imagine. His matches are decent enough too. I dont see him as a bad worker at all, he's able to keep up with most and has carried some bad people to OK matches. Im not going to say theres not inconsistencies with his character and that he does things that dont make sense but who in wrestling doesnt? For all the fuss of people saying "where was cena" when the whole Authority feud started and he'd be backstage while his teammates got beat down, you could say the same of Ziggler Rowan and Ryback when Rollins threatened Edge and only Cena ran down. Honestly I tend to enjoy Raw less if I read a recap before watching it Im sure most people deep down like Cena anyway, I think its become cool to dislike him, and when you read the reports of house shows where he gets almost entirely positive reactions I think thats a sign of it.
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Jan 12, 2015 13:37
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! The combinations of matches, story and wrestlers. It is just like long running serialized television show to me, I tune in to watch my heroes fight the villains. I like to see personalities crashing, and when the magical moments happen I'm as glued to it as I am to anything 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? Since 2006 leading into 2007. Wrestlemania 23 was my first Mania, the defining moment for me was after Cyber Sunday, I had watched before but sporadically (I remember the Foley/Flair Promo's leading up to Summerslam and Orton vs Hogan promo) and before then I had always known wrestling, I had played WWF Warzone on the PS1, I know Stone Cold and The Rock despite not having actually watched at all. Goldust was a favourite I knew Bret and Owen and the British Bulldog and Mankind. Anyway. The defining moment for me was after Cyber Sunday, the Bischoff-run Raw where he had Umaga vs Maria, and this was a total rehash of when they had Angle vs Maria in retrospect but again. This was this beast of a Samoan beating up this defenseless girl and then John Cena runs down and he kicks his rear end. I'm in... Highschool at this time, 16 years old. Cena cut a really engrossing promo for me because he had a good look and I liked the army theme of the camo shorts and all that, and he challenges K-Fed and- gently caress it, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSFBd37IT9k there it is. And yeah, Jim Ross helped sell that poo poo like a million bucks. Especially since he doesn't try to play everything as super heroic and he sells everything going on. I even remembered wanting to watch December to Dismember because I had just gotten into it and was so enamoured... Now I'm more jaded, and am glad the first PPV I saw was Royal Rumble 2007 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? John Cena, and he's still a favourite. I mean technically Goldust but I wasn't a fan of wrestling he was just a video game character to me at that point. 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? Yes, after Benoit, it became hard to follow... I fall in and out of following it all the time. After the shield broke up this year I just read what happened and sort of did my own thing. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? WWE 2006/2007. Right now NXT is what I love the most and NJPW after watching a bunch of Puro. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? WWE still, but not my FAVOURITE, NJPW and ROH are what I like the most. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Tie between Cena, Bryan and Punk. I would have done anything to see the three of them have an elimination three way for the world title in the main event of Wrestlemania. As for why I like them, they enthrall me with Promo's, they work well in the ring even though as they were hurt I began to just wish they would go home and heal, like with Cena now. And they have that magnetic charisma. I could gladly load up a playlist of matches from the three and pretty much watcha 24 hour marathon and not get bored.
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Jan 12, 2015 14:25
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I fear I'm exactly the sort of wrestling fan the majority of PSP hates. 1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! Wrestling is a weekly, live superhero show with vague undercurrents of gymnastics competition. Hair metal and neon are still cool, people can make threats of GBH on international TV without fear of legal action and Johnny Foreigner is still coming to beat our champion and take away our rights. It's dumbass entertainment in the same way reality shows, an Arnie film and a Bon Jovi concert are. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? About 15 years now. I started watching whenever it was WCW WorldWide began airing on Channel 5 here in England, which I think was mid 2000. That was the first and only wrestling on TV until about 2001, when WWF Heat and a few PPVs were shown at about 1am. Royal Rumble 2001 is what solidified my interest. I still regard that as the best piece of wrestling [anything] ever. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? I never had any favourites until very recently. I always liked the whole cooperative package of wrestling so I never got behind any specific person. I suppose Goldberg, Sting, Kevin Nash were sort of favourites in the sense that they were the ones hyped up and given more time, and Daffney was kind of a favourite since she stood out so much compared to everyone else. But they were all more just 'memorable' rather than 'favourites'. 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? I think sometime around 2003-2006 I just had no way to watch any wrestling. I kept playing the video games but I didn't have any clue who the new guys were. It was actually finding this board that made me want to catch up again. The internet certainly is what keeps me watching today. 15 years ago we'd all stay up to god-knows-what-time to watch a PPV then talk total gibberish about it at school the next day. That was half the fun. Twitter and forums keeps that alive today, for me. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? Later-day WCW. I know it was poo poo. Now, I know it was poo poo. At the time, though, it was the greatest thingbear in mind I only watched via WorldWide, which was a heavily-edited compilation show with re-dubbed commentaryand I still really fondly remember that era. Big Poppa Pump, GI Bro, The KISS Demon, Slap Nuts, all that poo poo. It was loving terrible and I loved it. That said, current WWE, as shockingly bad as it has been, is probably the one promotion and period I've been most invested in. I think the larger, constant presence (e.g. Twitter, Network) helps with that. It's still poo poo, but it's such accessible poo poo that it's hard to turn off. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? WWE is the only thing I watch. I used to watch TNA, but gently caress that. I've had brief flirtings with Japanese wrestling, but it's more just looking up the occasional match here and there. Indie stuff has never interested me in the slightest; I've tried a few times but I just get really bored. The wrestling itself is fine, but I want the pyro and the gargantuan video screens. WWE's the only thing I consistently follow at all, so I suppose it 'wins' by default, unless you count NXT as something separate, in which case that takes it. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Paige. She's the onlyonlywrestler I've ever really gotten invested in. I love her moves, I love her music, her look, everything. Even just little things like how she does a superkick with a straight leg rather than the same-old HBK-style bent knee that everybody else does. Rampaige is, by far and away, my favourite move in WWE. I'm never nationalistic about anything else, but  does help a little, too. I'm nowhere close to paying $20,000 for the fluff from her trouser pocket, unlike some people, but the fact that I even paid Ł20 for her t-shirt is something of a milestone, given I've never before felt inclined to buy any wrestling merch other than the games. I may be a 27-year-old guy with a gigantic collection of 60s blues on vinyl, but inside I'm a 15-year-old girl listening to Evanescence. Paige is the coolest.  Runners-up would be RusevI love throwbacksBNB, Sasha Banks, Brock Lesnar, Goldust & Stardust and Charlotte. I like the idea of Bray Wyatt but he's become such a non-threat, especially since losing Harper and Rowan, that it is becoming increasingly hard to care. He could still be my #2 if they took him darker and didn't make him completely ineffective.
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Jan 12, 2015 14:33
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pressedbunny posted:I fear I'm exactly the sort of wrestling fan the majority of PSP hates. The only wrestling fans we truly hate are ourselves
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Jan 12, 2015 16:20
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! Professional wrestling is a morality play with colorful characters and athleticism. It's nice to see a bad guy eventually get what's coming to him and the good guy triumph in the end. That's actually what makes today's WWE so hard to watch for me, because The Authority is always booked to be smarter and cooler and one step ahead of everyone else. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? Since 1991. I can't think of a specific moment, to be honest, I just started watching Superstars because a friend of mine was into it. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? Hulk Hogan 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? Not really. Today's product is really tough for me to take, but I stay on top of things through the internet, and the pay per views are usually good enough to keep me interested. Also, I didn't feel this way at the time, being 15 and all, but going back and watching some of the Attitude Era stuff is REALLY uncomfortable. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? WWE, 1992. The Savage/Flair feud, Bret Hart's rise to the top, HBK coming into his own as a singles performer, that's the stuff that got me hooked for good. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? I really only watch WWE anymore, I don't have time to track down indy/Japan stuff. As bad is the TV product is, I really don't think that the in-ring product has ever been as consistently good as it is now, which goes a long way with me. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Daniel Bryan, because he's the underdog who never quits, and he's one of the few guys today who really makes it seem like he cares about winning or losing.
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Jan 12, 2015 18:34
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! A TV show that does not require constant commitment. If I miss a season of *insert popular show here*, I miss a huge amount, and if I want to get back in, it takes a major effort. I can drop out of wrestling for a fair amount of time, and can pick up the basics fairly quickly. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? Mid-90s WWF. First show I ever went to was the Raw when Austin beat up Bret Hart in the back of the ambulance. Went to college in '99 and that's when I really was the most into it.(My mother would be so proud to know that the Swiffer sweeper that was bought to ensure that the dorm room stayed clean was donated to the half-assed backyard fed that a couple of other people on the floor were running) 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? Probably Bret Hart 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? I think, going by the standards of PSP, I am out of it right now. I work until midnight most Sunday and Monday nights, so it has been real easy to fall out of the loop. I check things out, and hunt around if something strikes my fancy, and if PPV's happen to fall on those rare occasions that I have Sunday's off, then I'll check them out. Like I said above though- whenever the fancy strikes me to get back into it, it's real easy to pick up most of the threads again. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? Probably the mid-90s WWF, going into the early part of the Attitude Era, when things were just beginning to take off. It's what got me started. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? I don't think I have a favorite today. I've watched TNA a few times, but never really been able to really pick up on it, like I could the WWF, and when it was around, WCW. Whenever 2CW runs a show around where I live, I try to check it out. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Maybe Bray Wyatt? The whole concept of the character is unique enough.
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Jan 12, 2015 18:51
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! KING OF SPORT 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? Almost 17 years. The first Raw I remember watching was right after WWF Breakdown 98 and I though it was incredible 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? Road Dogg. Always Road Dogg 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? Only time I really fell out of it were months or so where I was too busy in college. A free time. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? Tie: Chikara during the Kings of Wrestling storylines, Ring of Honor during Age of the Fall, and Dragon Gate during Blood Warriors v Junction Three 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? Dragon Gate, New Japan and Lucha Underground. Dragon Gate - Dragon Gate can be kind of byzantine. It's doesn't have nearly the support/international interest of New Japan and they'll never have something like GFW/AXS for English speakers. However, it tells the best year to year storylines in the world, has some of the most exciting wrestlers, and puts out a product unique only to itself. New Japan - Doesn't insult me and is able to have a Big Match unlike any other. I don't think "oh how awesome would be if Okada or Nakamura came to the United States;" I'm more likely to hope "Man, I hope one day Cesaro or Tyson Kidd gets to New Japan, that'd be awesome." Lucha Underground - It's a pretty steep drop after DG/NJPW but Lucha Underground is a fun show that I can turn my mind off and watch. It's an enjoyable hour even though I don't feel like they are going anywhere long term 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Either Akira Tozawa or Minoru Suzuki. Akira Tozawa has a weird connection with Dragon Gate and American crowds and it has been something wonderful watching his career go from jobber they'd intentionally made get fat because they hated him to arguably the most charismatic wrestler not named Shinsuke Nakamura. Minoru Suzuki is the baddest motherfucker alive and is one of the few people I watch and completely buy into everything he does. NotQuiteQuentin fucked around with this message at 20:39 on Jan 12, 2015 |
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Jan 12, 2015 19:55
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! Pro wrestling is a comic book/video game come to life! From the crazy colorful characters to the blood feuds to the high flying action, it's the most fun performance art pseudo-sport entertainment out there! 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? I've been a fan off and on since 1991 or so. I loved it as a small kid watching WWF reruns on Saturday afternoon, fell off for a while during the New Generation, came back to it in 2000 thanks to the N64 WWF and WCW games, fell off again around the rise of Cena, and came back again thanks to the Punk pipebomb. Guys like him and Bryan have kept me around ever since. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? Ultimate Warrior, no question. He was a comic book hero come to life, and even today I have a soft spot for the roided out lunatic, despite his shortcomings in the ring and crazy right-wing politics in his later life. The guy was a total wildman, running all the time and painting his face up. I had nightmares for weeks after he got stuffed in a casket by the Undertaker. 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? See #2. As a kid, it was just general disinterest during the Hart/Yokozuna years. Wrestlemania 2000/No Mercy/WCW/NWO Revenge made me want to watch so I could see those wrestlers live. I started to get bored around the time of the brand split, especially because boring dudes like Cena and Orton were becoming the norm. Punk brought me back in, and things like the Shield, Bryan's rise, and NXT have kept me glued since. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? I'm a big fan of 00/01 WWE. The Invasion, lovely as it was, was my first major storyline, and guys like Angle, Benoit, and Jericho really made me appreciate just how talented some of these guys could be (probably why I have such a soft spot for the IC title, too). 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? Not its own thing, but NXT rules. So much talent, a lot of fun, and a ton of potential. Also, NJPW seems really cool and I've been binge watching old Nakamura and Devitt matches. Lastly, Chikara is a lot of dopey good fun, with some great silliness to it. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Tough call, but today I'd say it's probably Sami Zayn. Best face in the business, awesome selling, amazing acrobatic moves, tells a compelling story every time he's in the ring. The guy could be an absolute megastar if he's handled right on the main roster. BodyMassageMachine fucked around with this message at 20:14 on Jan 12, 2015 |
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Jan 12, 2015 20:09
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! To me wrestling has meant a few different things over the years, but the one core thing was something I watch to relax and have fun. Watching ridiculous cartoon characters of people attack each other has always been entertaining to me. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? From birth pretty much. I am 31 years old and my earliest memory in life is watching Hulk Hogan. I was raised with it and never had a chance to escape. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? Hulk Hogan 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? There was two periods where I completely checked out. First was late 02 til JBL became champion. I just found wrestling really boring at the time, and the only thing that got me back in was me hearing that one of the Acolytes became champ. I know everyone hated it but gently caress it I loved JBL champ. Second time I got out was John Cena syndrome and I checked out not long after he beat Edge for the belt in Toronto. Wrestling I know, but it made me pretty cheesed. I got back in on a whim in 2012 and been following again since. Even though Cena is still the tops at least the supporting cast is better than it was before. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? Well "WWF" If that counts over WWE. 80's and early 90's was my golden age of wrestling. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? It is still WWE. I am aware of other promotions out there and I see stuff from New Japan and the like, but part of the appeal to me has always been the colourful characters and the ridiculous stories, and without that I can't really get pulled in despite great match quality. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Right now it is Rusev for sure, he kinda takes me back to the villains back when I was a kid, he has a great physical presence, and when allowed to can put on a pretty good show.
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Jan 12, 2015 20:17
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sticklefifer posted:4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? Actually I just realized this isn't entirely true - oddly enough it was video games that brought me back both times. In the 90s I hadn't watched in a few years, and then I started playing WCW/nWo Revenge on N64, and THEN I checked out ECW after someone mentioned that's where a lot of the WCW guys came from. In the 00s when I was watching anything-but-WWE, I was playing one of the Smackdown vs Raw games with a friend and kept picking CM Punk as my character, THEN I found out he was champion and started watching again. Senerio posted:I like WWE, when the wrestlers I personally enjoy get to wrestle, which is often, as there is really only one wrestler I don't totally enjoy, and he's currently out injured. I'm curious who that is. I'm guessing Bo?
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Jan 12, 2015 20:38
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! Professional wrestling is an insane fantasyland where larger than life heroes come alive and beat each other in shows of athletic prowess in a format that you can't quite find anywhere else. It scratches a specific itch that nothing else really can. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? Been a fan since age 5. My uncle watched constantly, and I did as well. Oddly enough, it was the Hogan heel turn in WCW that made me start actively watching it myself. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? That I can think of, the Legion of Doom. 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? After late 2004, through about early 2008 I had all but stopped watching, because WWE was just... I don't know. It just didn't click with me. Would always get together with friends for the Rumble and Wrestlemania, but other than that, nada. I'm pretty much there today as well with WWE. I haven't watched RAW in a long while, and as a result kinda had a falling out with wrestling as a whole. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 and NXT [R]Evolution have rejuvinated my interest, but I still won't be watching RAW. I'll catch up on what's going on thru Meltzer and these very forums! (thanks guys) 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? I'll say I didn't really have a favorite growing up, but I tended to be more entertained by WCW, although impressionable teenage me was influenced heavily by the raunchy gimmick poo poo angles from WWF in the late 90s, but I do remember the actual matches in WCW being a lot better. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? If we can consider NXT to be its own promotion even though it shares talent with WWE, it and NJPW. Their booking ideals are just simple, and make sense. That's honestly all it takes. They have excellent talent (but so does WWE), sure, but everything they do isn't complicated, over-the-top, and not believable. NJPW even moreso. I like the idea that NJPW (and Japan in general) treat wrestling more as a sport whilst retaining the pageantry that really embodies what I love about wrestling. It doesn't go too awful far with that, like stuff which Evolve promoted at first (dunno if this is still a thing, with the points system and all that stuff). Just straddles the line perfectly for me. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Shinsuke Nakamura. You simply just can't recreate his kind of charisma. I don't know what else to say about it. He's completely his own. If I have to stick to America, it's Ambrose, because he has the potential to have that same factor that I attribute to Nakamura, if only left to his own devices and loving booked well.
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Jan 12, 2015 20:38
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sticklefifer posted:I'm curious who that is. I'm guessing Bo? Blandy Boreton. He's a decent enough wrestler, and he uses my favorite wrestling move (the "Vintage Orton" DDT), but I don't enjoy watching him 99% of the time. I'm a Bo-liever! e: I also liked him as a heel a lot more than as a face.
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Jan 12, 2015 21:13
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! A truly unique form of performance art. It combines several other art forms like comedy, drama, improv, and stuntwork with its own unique form of the wrestling match which has its written and unwritten rules that can be manipulated in any number of ways to tell a story. I also love how it blends the real and the fake. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? When I was a kid I was that little poo poo who would always go "you know wrestling is fake, right??" when my friends would talk about it. Then one day one of my friends went to a Nitro taping and asked if I would record it for him on my VCR. I did, and I ended up watching it for a bit. The first match was a 6 man tag with the luchadores (I remember Psicosis and La Parka were involved) and it blew me away. The only wrestling I had seen before was a couple 80s Hogan matches so I didn't know wrestling could be like that. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? Sting. It was the 90s and I was in middle school. Luckily I eventually found RAW and he was quickly replaced by Austin. 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? I fell out around the start of the invasion. Then I picked it up again from 04-06 cause a couple of my college buddies watched it. After that I discovered MMA and got hugely hooked on that so I didn't pick wrestling back up until early 2014 when I kept hearing about the drama surrounding Punk leaving and Batista winning the rumble. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? Attitude era WWE. Had a lot of good times watching it with my dad. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? NXT is exactly what I want wrestling to be. The focus is on the matches and the belts, the ringwork is fantastic, people put effort into their characters, the booking makes sense, I never feel like they are insulting my intelligence. I look forward to the Takeover specials more than any UFC or WWE PPV right now. I probably would have let my network subscription end after HiaC if it wasn't for NXT. Also New Japan and some of the indies look appealing to me but I just don't have the time to follow that many promotions. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Sami Zayn. He's the complete opposite of what I usually like in a character, but it only took him about a month and a half to win me over. Him winning the belt at [R]evolution is one of my all time favorite wrestling moments.
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Jan 12, 2015 21:17
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! It's a story about people fighting to be the best, and all the twists, turns, and struggles that come with trying to reach the top while everyone else in the world has the same dream. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? I think I became a fan in early 1997. I was flipping channels and came across Nitro. I believe it was a match involving either Ultimo Dragon or Rey Mysterio Jr, and I was hooked because I love sports, and this stuff was clearly real to 9-year old me, dammit. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? Rey Mysterio Jr. I still love him, even if he's a broken-down shell of his former self. 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? I started to fall out of love with wrestling after the Invasion, and slowly cared less and less until Triple H's Reign of Doom and Evolution began, which killed my interest completely. I got back into it when my dorm ordered Wrestlemania XXIV, and after the great Money in the Bank match I was considering getting back into it. But what really convinced me was Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels. I loved Shawn as a kid, and was pretty much neutral on Flair, since I had only watched WCW from 1996 to 1998, so Flair was Just A Guy, and I liked all the other Horsemen a lot more than him (yes, even Mongo). But that match was so great that at the end we were all praying for Flair to beat Shawn. Between that match and the main event having one of my favorites DA UNDERTAKAH beating Edge to keep The Streak alive and win the World Heavyweight Championship, that show brought me back in full force. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? My favorite promotions are WCW, WWF, and New Japan. WCW 1996 until Starrcade 1997 was really special, and as a kid I loved drat near all of it, and I couldn't wait to see My Hero Sting beat That Jerk Hollywood Hogan. Then the match happened and welp. I loved WWF from Austin vs. Michaels to pretty much the death of WCW. At the end of day, kid me loved seeing the good guy beat up the bad guy, and where WCW failed to deliver in the end, WWF was almost non-stop Good Guy rear end Kicking, and it was wonderful. It's also why I can only get so annoyed at John Cena's booking. WWF's always been about the good guy wrecking the bad guy, and that's just never going to change. I've loved New Japan from 2012 to today. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? Right now my favorites are New Japan and Lucha Underground. The action in New Japan is second to none, and it just feels like such a great sport. On top of that, I just feel like every major match actually matters to the guy's competing, so it feels real, despite everyone and their mother knowing it isn't. Lucha Underground is almost the complete opposite, where it takes such a unique approach to wrestling, going all-out to treat it like a self-contained universe and story that just happens to involve guys fighting in a ring, that I'm hooked. The one hour format is also far, far easier to digest than what WWE or TNA offer. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Kazuchika Okada. One thing that bums me about WWE and TNA is that when I look at everyone there, I just see a bunch of 'oh, that sure is a guy that exists'. Okada went from being a nobody in TNA, to showing up in New Japan and going "Ok top dog I am going to take your title right now" and then he succeeded. It'd be like if when McGillicutty became Curtis Axel he beat Triple H clean as could be instead of the weird whatever the hell that happened. I can look at Okada and immediately go "Anybody in New Japan could get a chance at being The Man" and it makes me so happy. I mean, on top of that he owns in drat near every way, but that's not what I like most about him!
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Jan 12, 2015 21:39
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I'm kind of astonished that my answers from the prior thread are still pretty much entirely the same, with the only real changes being that WWE is more often not enjoyable than enjoyable nowadays, and I've gotten more into New Japan. Daniel Bryan is still my favorite wrestler today because of that sense of infectious joy he brings to wrestling, and the only other person around who really seems to generate the same kind of pure happy feeling is Sami Zayn.
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Jan 12, 2015 22:55
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What I learned is that my memory is terrible.
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Jan 12, 2015 22:57
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? something to kill time, but also real fun to watch once in a while. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? since i was really really young apparently. i remember watching wrestlemania VI by renting a tape from the corner store and getting hooked. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? Hulk Hogan, later Bret Hart and Ric Flair 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? multiple times, i'm not really keeping up with it too much these days. the only things keeping me paying attention are when pwg or new japan run shows. other then that i'm mostly into mma now. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? ecw back in the 90s. deathmatches and poo poo don't do much for me these days, but man, that was a time to be alive. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? pwg and new japan are the best. great wrestling, funny moments, everyone at the shows get right into it. its a great time. i used to watch roh but i'm really cold on that product right now. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? kyle o'reilly - sick rear end strikes and wrestling. i fuckin love chain submissions. adam cole - ADAM COLE BAYBAY hiroshi tanahashi - always a treat to watch in the ring john cena - cause cena rules
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Jan 12, 2015 23:17
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! It's the most ridiculous, bizarre, gripping, emotionally crushing, jump out of your seat exciting form of fake sports that I know of. I do not know why, but in all my life no other sport has elicited such emotion from me. As a comic book nerd and bad movie enjoyer and all around general lover of most things low-brow, professional wrestler just has that certain aesthetic I really connect with. When I was younger, it was all about the characters and the storylines. Now, I mostly enjoy the athleticism of dudes and women almost killing themselves for my enjoyment and a trip to the pay window. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? Probably since I was a kid. My first wrestling memory is watching Wrestlemania III in my living room which my dad has ordered from PPV. My two older brothers, two of my uncles, a couple cousins, all sitting in my tiny living room shouting at the tv while the wives sat in the kitchen and did whatever wives in the 1980's did. I was about 8 years old, and would watch whatever my dad would watch before that in that past like WCW (hated it) and WWF (hell yeah) broadcast stuff, but that PPV hooked me and made me a lifelong fan. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? First as a wee little mark? Ultimate Warrior. When I got a little bit smarkier? Big Van Vader. My forever and ever BFF wrestler until the end of time: Mick Foley as Cactus Jack 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? Wrestling had peaked for me after about 1998. I was poo poo deep in college and getting hosed up and nailin' tail took precedence over finding out what the NWO was up to that week.  A few years later, I would watch RAW every now and then, but got into tape trading for weird deathmatch compilations and random japanese stuff. I stopped watching all together from 2004-2010. To be honest, I only started watching wrestling after I got married and bought a house back in 2012. My wife could give two shits about wrasslin'. What got me back into it was a dedicated DirectTV bill and catching ROH on tv one late night at the bar.5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? ECW '95-'00. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? Ring Of Honor: It's almost everything I could ask for when it comes to American professional wrestling. No drawn out ridiculous storylines, very little booking fuckery going on, and stiff as gently caress wrestling. NJPW: poo poo's awesome. I don't know what more I can say about it. WWE: Begrudgingly  It's like your old senile racist Grandpa. Sure, he says some pretty hateful things sometimes, and he'll poo poo the bed on a fairly regular basis, but goddamn it he's your Grandpa and he loves you and you should love him.7.) Who is your favorite wrestler(s) today, and why? WWE: Dean Ambrose, Luke Harper, Zayn, Balor ROH: Jay Lethal, ACH, reDRagon NJPW: Ishii, MiSu, Ibuki NECW: Giant Pharaoh Why? Because my wrestlers are better than your wrestlers.
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Jan 12, 2015 23:27
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This is gonna be kind of a weird perspective, but... 1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! Pro Wrestling is a weird mix between gymnastics, theater and ballet that happens in front of a combat sport background. That is to say, amazing athletic feats that require good timing and coordination made captivating because of storylines about being "the best at what we do", or simply getting revenge for a loss or a screw-job. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? Okay, so this is the weird part. I'm from Brazil. We have no pro wrestling tradition here whatsoever. Well, "telecatch" was popular during the 50s and 60s, but that's way before me. Before I went to the USA as an exchange student, I had a basic grasp of what "professional wrestling" meant, and that was about it. During my stay, however, I made some friends that were into WWE and ended up exposed to the product. That was around 2009/2010, so I'm a recent convert. Thing is, wrestling around that time was pretty boring, so while I got a bit into it it didn't really made me into a habitual viewer. Around 2012, tho, I had quite a bit of free time and started watching VGCW because the concept was funny to me. People there kept hyping up this "Daniel Bryan" guy and "The Shield" and "CM Punk" so around Wrestlemania XXIX I started watching, lucked into some good months of WWE and here I am. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? CM Punk connected with me pretty fast, even if I found his name dumb as poo poo at first. He was a regular-looking dude with a sharp wit and a cool finisher - I learned about the pipebomb and he became a favorite soon thereafter. 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? I guess...now? Main WWE stuff is awful and I only watch PPVs plus the occasional Raw after a good PPV. I still follow NXT every week tho. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? Ugh, this is hard to answer as a recent fan. NXT is the only thing I can be bothered watching weekly, but claiming a developmental as your favorite promotion ever is strange. I'll say one of the things that made me stick with pro wrestling was watching a LOT of AJW marquee matches - 90s joshi was fuckin' awesome and Akira Hokuto is one of my favorite wrestlers. So I'll pretend this asked what dead promotion was your favorite and saw AJW. 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? NXT (it's booked so differently from main WWE stuff I have no qualms treating it as a separate promotion), easy. It mixes the three things I claimed as "parts" of pro wrestling really well, it lets both men and women shine, it doesn't offend your intelligence with its booking and storylines, plus it's only one hour a week. While I really liked what I've seen of NJPW, I think having a weekly TV show lets you build feuds and midcard acts better. Lucha Underground is fun too, but sometimes it's too spot-heavy and I like some psychology in my matches, thank you very much. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Tied between Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura, for opposite reasons. Sami is the best pure babyface around right now - he's a nice guy that worked his rear end off to be the best and he just feels...sincere. Wrestling is about characters, and I get it, but having a dude that's just a dude does wonders for connecting with the crowd. A lot of the times, WWE booking tells us "this is the good guy" and wants us to accept that even when they act like complete assholes. I don't get that from Zayn. Plus, he's a fuckin' awesome technical wrestler. Nakamura is way more than a dude. He's an embodiment of coolness that should feel forced and terrible, except it doesn't. Shinsuke has fucktons of charisma, to the point that he transcends any language barrier when he talks and you just keep thinking "holy poo poo this guy is the best I have no idea what he's saying but he's the best.". While Sami Zayn connects because he's a normal person, Nakamura is bigger-than-life. There's one major thing both have in common tho - they both never break character. Not when wrestling, not when talking, not when getting beat down, not when transitioning to a new spot. It's a basic thing that many good wrestlers overlook and I value a lot, so there you go.
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Jan 13, 2015 00:04
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1.) What is professional wrestling to you? Answer this however you want! A Soap Opera for guys. I always liked this comparison as it combats the "why do you watch this when it's fake" comments. The physicality and the theatre are what I love. 2.) How long have you been a fan? Was there any defining moment that turned you into someone who became a habitual viewer? Since around 1992. I live in Australia and the advent of wrestling being made more accessible with the early days of cable TV and the Internet around the time of the Monday Night Wars made me a more habitual viewer. 3.) Who was your first favorite wrestler? In hindsight, both of these are pretty awful picks/people, but The Ultimate Warrior and British Bulldog were the earliest wrestlers that I can think of that I loved. 4.) Have you ever fallen out of following this gay sport? If so, what time period was this? When did you get back into it - and what keeps you watching? I got into wrestling getting old WWE events on VHS from 1990-1994, loved the glory days of the WCW and loved the Attitude Era. I rarely watch it outside of those time periods, but still like to stay up to date on forums and watch the big PPVs. 5.) What promotion was your favorite, alive or dead? What time period from that promotion did you like best? The glory days of WCW 6.) What promotions do you consider your favorites today? What particular things about each one do you enjoy? I rarely watch wrestling these days, but i'll watch the big 4 PPVs and stay up to date on this forum. So WWE for me. 7.) Who is your favorite wrestler today, and why? Daniel Bryan. The guys just knows how to work his rear end off. Can make terrible wrestlers look like killers.
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Jan 13, 2015 00:21
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Dias posted:Raw after a good PPV. I still follow NXT every week tho. This is interesting. Don't you find yourself wanting to see how the guys you like on NXT fare once the show ends?
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Jan 13, 2015 00:24
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xcore posted:This is interesting. Don't you find yourself wanting to see how the guys you like on NXT fare once the show ends? I do, if I hear about a debut I'll tune in on Raw, I popped off when Paige won the Divas title and all. The thing is, there haven't been many noteworthy promotions since Wrestlemania and the NXT guys that debuted prior to that are stuck in boring feuds right now. When Neville and Charlotte get called up, I'll tune in for them, if they start being mishandled ("look at that crazy Paige!") I'll stop watching again.
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Jan 13, 2015 00:53
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