The Wrestling Thread

[Kormod]

Probably the most masculine song ever:

wcw american males theme

[Kormod]

Reviving this thread just to post this video. I watch it pretty much on a weekly basis.

Booker T says Hulk Hogan is a Nigga

I'm pretty sure this was just one of Mike's challenges back when Booker T was gunning to be Sting's protege.

[Greggulator]

No amazing/awful wrestling moment tops the debut of THE SHOCKMASTER. This was part of the feud that entailed the earlier "Midget attmepts to blow up a boat in front of orphans" link posted above.

Sting and Davey Boy introduced their partner for the upcoming War Games match... The Shockmaster.

I won't say any more. This must be seen to be believed.

The Shock Master - THE FULL VERSION

[Greggulator]

While wrestling certainly has its share of the absurd, there are actually plenty of performances in wrestling that are AWESOME.

This is one of my favorites. The Rock had an absence for a while and was making his return to Raw. Naturally, everyone wanted to cheer The Rock. But the Rock was returning as a heel. By the end of this promo, the entire nation of Canada was ready to destroy The Rock.

Just an amazing act of crowd baiting by The Rock. He has the crowd turn a complete 180.

The Rock in Toronto FULL PROMO! HD

[buffcoat]

"And what an entrance by the ShockMaster."  No wonder he was governor.

[ABBAs Helicopter]

Gregg, you happen to be a fan of Maffew's Botchamania videos? - http://botchamania.com/

It's pretty much a treasure of screwups in-ring and on mic. The only real drawback is the overuse of video game music soundtracks and covers, but on the whole it can be pretty fun to watch sometimes.

Speaking of botching - here's Scott Steiner talking and talking and talking some more.

Scott Steiner vs The English Language

[Greggulator]

Botchamania is pretty much required reading for any fan of awful wrestling.

Scott Steiner has provided me with so much joy over the years. For those who aren't fans: Scott Steiner was 1/2 of The Steiner Brothers, one of the best tag teams of all-time. At first, he was your standard lunkhead All-American from the University of Michigan. He had some of the coolest moves of his era -- including the "Frankensteiner."

Anyways, at some point he rechristened himself as "Big Poppa Pump" and "The Big Bad Booty Daddy." He's pretty much your average bodybuilding rapist type -- which, by all accounts, is his actual personality.

This is my favorite Big Poppa Pump interview. He for some reason starts talking about contract law.

WCW: Scott Steiner Discusses the Law

[ABBAs Helicopter]

One thing I'll always dig the Steiners for - their early 90's matches were more or less the gateway to Japanese wrestling for me. Every time there was a WCW/New Japan crossover card on US pay per view I'd try to get a hold of it, just to see Jushin Liger and Hiroshi Hase and Shinya Hashimoto. From there I got into Super J Cup Tournaments and All Japan Pro Wrestling. Even when I don't follow anything else in pro wrestling, I still keep an eye on good matches from Japan.

And wacky stuff too - Dramatic Dream Team has a wrestling blow-up doll.

DDT: Probably the best selling... ever...

(I wanted to find the Florida Brothers videos but almost all of them are off of Youtube.)

[Kormod]

Speaking of Big Poppa Pump, has anyone seen his award-winning workout video? I think the girls in bikinis are supposed to represent steroids, which are noticeably absent:

Scott Steiner's Freak Show DVD promo.mov

[Chris L]

The Andy Kaufmann/Lawler feud is a huge influence on my life. Andy Kaufmann was the first comic that I was completely obsessed with, and the Lawler stuff is the reason why. Breakfast With Blassie is one of the most ridiculous things ever filmed and is a must-watch. It also helped propel REM briefly to my favorite band status when they released Man on the Moon.

My favorite Memphis-based rassler of all-time is "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert. Gilbert's dad was a wrestler and he got into the industry that way. Hot Stuff overcame his smaller size and became one of the best heels in the history of wrestling. He was so great at being the Machiavellian schemer. Eddie's trademark was to help out a face, earn his trust, and then eventually turn on him for some sort of perceived slight. He also threw fireballs from his hand.

He was one of Jerry Lawler's biggest rivals but could never take away the crown from The King.

Behind the scenes, Gilbert was totally enigmatic. He was a booker in a lot of the leagues he belonged and was considered a genius. But his drug addiction and ability to disrupt locker rooms by sleeping with other peoples' wives always forced him out. His last match saw him wrestling against a trained bear in Puerto Rico. He died that night after a cocaine-caused heart attack.

Anyways, here's a clip of him running Jerry Lawler over with a car -- a formative part of my childhood. People in Memphis actually called the cops after they saw this happen. Memphis seems pretty awesome, even though the Grizzlies bore me to death.

Eddie Gilbert runs over Jerry Lawler

I guess it's the world's loss that Eddie Gilbert and Kevin Sullivan never formed a Mikado-themed tag team.

[AaronC]

I don't know the back story on these IPW promos, but there are a bunch of them on YouTube.   Here is a sample of my favorites.

Best Wrestling Promo Ever

IPW - Richie Rouge Can't Sqush An Apple

IPW - Tony the Spider Speaks!

[Kormod]

Finally, Hogan's response to Tough Enough (http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2011/04/exclusive-hulk-hogan-training-little-people-new-show):

Hulk Hogan is stepping into a new ring, albeit this time with smaller proportions -- and RadarOnline.com has all the exclusive details.

The superstar pro-wrestler is taking on a new role in a TruTV reality show that’s in production now tentatively titled Micro Westling, which centers around the wrestling world of little people.

The Hulk (a.k.a. Terry Bollea) will be the man behind the wrestlers: “He’s the guy who inspires, recruits, trains and mentors them. He’s been involved in every step -- only this time it’s on a smaller scale,” his attorney David Houston tells RadarOnline.com exclusively.

“It will explore the fascinating world of wrestling on the scale of little people,” he adds. “It will show their extraordinary physical capabilities and the true strength of people of that stature.”

The show will also give viewers an inside look into what goes on day-to-day, how they train -- essentially “invading their world and learning about a whole different lifestyle,” Houston says.

After undergoing major back surgery late last year, the newlywed Hulk, who got married in December to longtime girlfriend Jennifer McDaniel, is back to full health.

“His health is exceptional,” Houston says. ‘He’s improved dramatically. He’s in better shape now than he has been in 15 years. He’s a remarkable athlete and I would not be surprised if he made a decision to get back into the ring and give wrestling another shot.”

[cutout]

Haven't seen wrestling in a zillion years and didn't expect this to be such an entertaining/educational thread, keep it coming!

[Greggulator]

The Steiners were a great introduction into really good overseas wrestling. It's a shame that they became such a joke because, legit, they were awesome. One of my favorite matches of all-time is from WCW's late, great "Clash of the Champions" -- a show that they would have periodically on TBS that was better than your average weekly show but not quite at the same level as a pay per view.

At Clash 19, WCW had some kind of tag tournament. The final match of the show (not the tournament) pitted The Steiners vs. The Miracle Violence Connection of Dr. Death Steve Williams and Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy. It's pretty much seriously a legitimate wrestling match with a pre-determined ending. There's not one thing in this match that's faked. Just an awesome match.

Also of note: Chris Benoit made his US wrestling debut on this card, in a tag match w/ some guy named Beef Willington versus Jushin "Thunder" Lyger and "Flyin'" Brian Pillman. This was one of the matches that really introduced cruiserweight/aerial wrestling to the US and made wrestling a lot better.

Sadly, I can't track this down on YouTube.

WCW was such an awesome promotion. When it was bad, it was historically bad and amazing to watch unfold. But when it was great -- and it had some amazing stretches -- it absolutely destroyed anything the WWF did.

Speaking of which, this is a match I dug up on YouTube of The Steiner Brothers taking on Bret/Owen Hart when The Steiners were in the WWF. This is an AWESOME match -- one of the best tag matches ever, I think.

Hart Brothers vs. Steiner Brothers (Florence, SC 1/11/94) (1/3)

[Greggulator]

I can't believe we haven't posted about CM PUNK yet!

If you're not familiar with CM Punk, he's the wrestler that I think FOTs would like the most. His gimmick is that he's straightedge AND IS A BAD GUY! He's the whiny, sanctimonious straightedge kid you knew in high school/college who preached non-stop about his moral superiority.

Also: his theme music is some bad Converge rip-off. And he frequently slips in some hardcore references in his interviews.

This promo's great because CM Punk talks about how those who are sXe should celebrate Thanksgiving!

Cm Punk Straight Edge Heel Promo Vol 2.(Thanksgiving 2009)

And here's one where he talks about how he doesn't need to make a New Year's Resolution because he's sXe.

Cm Punk Heel Promo on New Years Resolutions 1/1/10