Board 8 > All-Purpose Wrestling Topic 430: Rowdy Ronda Rusev

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Lopen posted...

When you go down the path of BURN IT DOWNNNNNNN you might as well just go all the way I say.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MowKUNmx6mI/maxresdefault.jpg

What's weird is that he had a great fire look already, but now it looks like he got a hold of some rejected Bam Bam Bigelow designs.
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Man, the crowd in Osaka really sucks. They don't react for anything hardly.

No wonder Naito doesn't like them.

Hiromu vs Ospreay was pretty lit. Rooting for EVIL against Goto even though I like them both.

I'm betting Sanada vs Okada is gonna be sneaky good.
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NJPW has booked the following:

Rey Mysterio vs. Jushin Liger
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Did that match ever happen on WCW back when Liger was there?
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Jakyl25 posted...

Ill never get over Cena bringing back the Authority to save Edge, and then when it was a lie by Rollins, easily saved Edge anyway

And not just bringing them back, but literally having them come out from backstage like they never left.
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Maniac64 posted...

Did that match ever happen on WCW back when Liger was there?

Apparently they've only wrestled once, in 1996.

Twice in a lifetime is actually quite literal this time.
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I would love to watch the matches back to back.
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Two things.

I showed my best friend Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazuchika Okada without telling him any of the backstory or what happened with the headbutt.

He was literally distraught when I told him that Shibata can never wrestle again.

Second thing:

They did that whole Cat intro video for Ospreay vs Hiromu, and he didn't even carry Daryl out to the ring with him?! Don't tell me Daryl is lost!
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This is probably my most controversial wrestling opinion.

The Young Bucks are just "good."

They are clearly very talented wrestlers, but I have never and probably will never understand why they are heralded as these savants of tag team wrestling. They don't have characters either, they're just cocky good wrestlers.

I have never understood the hype. Give me The Revival any day a the week.
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I've never liked the Bucks much.

Granted I've liked them a bit more in the past few years since I feel like they actually show some charisma now which means they have more of what's needed to be a good wrestler than just "cool moves."

But I still don't really agree they're even necessarily objectively talented wrestlers. They're talented acrobats who are decent wrestlers I guess?
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They get what it means to make wrestling "fun."

I think I agree with you though on most everything else.

And I literally think any charisma they have now is just from hanging around Kenny Omega.
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Yeah. What I was categorizing as charisma is kind of dumbing it down. Gauging crowd reaction and feeding into it, stuff like that, which generally makes their matches fun. I'm not sure when they started getting good at that but yeah it does make them a lot better as a total package.

But like I don't think I could ever really get into a Bucks match. Not beyond any sort of level beyond "this is a fun midcard match." Maybe I'm wrong and I just haven't seen the match in question-- it's not like I actively seek out Young Bucks matches or anything.

I would probably like them a lot more if I'd first seen them in like 2014 vs like 2006 though. Getting over that negative first impression I had of em was really tough.
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Are there any Bucks fans in here willing to point Lopen and I in the right direction to change our minds?
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Bucks have been the most divisive act in wrestling for ages.

You either like em or don't.

The only thing we can all agree on is that they have done very well for themselves financially on the indie scene.
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The Bucks act is postmodernism. I think its hilarious.

You have to suspend your suspension of disbelief to get the most out of it, and not care that youre through the looking glass
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ExThaNemesis posted...

They don't have characters either, they're just cocky good wrestlers.

Think of them as smarks who think the Attitude Era and nWo were the coolest things ever who are obsessed with star ratings

Its a commentary on indie wrestling fans. Deliberately checking all the boxes as to what they think they want to see.
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And then you layer on the mindset that the point of pro wrestling is to pander to what fans want to make money, it all comes together as the snake eating its own tail
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https://mobile.twitter.com/MattJackson13/status/959617529181216769/photo/1

Meanwhile theyre feasting on that sweet licensed Cracker Barrel merch money
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Alright, I think that's a better lens to view them through at least.
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ExThaNemesis posted...

Are there any Bucks fans in here willing to point Lopen and I in the right direction to change our minds?

You've watched their two matches against Roppongi 3K this year, right? Those have essentially been psychology-filled, Southern-style tags completely built around the selling of body parts.

Which is in addition to what all Jakyl said about their whole "meta" gimmick. They can really work any kind of style and make it entertaining depending on who their opponent is, what promotion it's in, and what they feel like doing. But if none of that connects for you, it's probably just not your thing. Nothing wrong with that either.
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I went and watched that Rey Mysterio/Liger match from '96. It's pretty great. Starrcade 1996 if you want to watch it on the Network.
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Also, I know we don't talk much (or at all) about MMA here, but Yoel Romero. Damn.
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UltimaterializerX posted...

Would the Road Warriors or Scott Steiner have respected them? Hell fucking no.

I like how this implies that Rick Steiner would
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UltimaterializerX posted...

You arent wrong. Guys like Young Bucks are why wrestling went from a cool thing that real men like to nerdy garbage for basement dwellers.

Or look at it this way. Would the Road Warriors or Scott Steiner have respected them? Hell fucking no.

Well that's a little too far in the other direction for my taste. It's not as though the Bucks of Youth are terrible or something.
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I'm an incredibly indifferent towards the Bucks. I have no strong feelings one way or another.
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I wish people here would stop quoting Ulti. It really puts a damper on ignoring him.
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scarletspeed7 posted...

Also, I know we don't talk much (or at all) about MMA here, but Yoel Romero. Damn.

Yoel Romero is kayfabe smaller than everyone on 205 live! Such a vanilla midget isn't believable as a tough guy!
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UltimaterializerX posted...

ExThaNemesis posted...

This is probably my most controversial wrestling opinion.

The Young Bucks are just "good."

They are clearly very talented wrestlers, but I have never and probably will never understand why they are heralded as these savants of tag team wrestling. They don't have characters either, they're just cocky good wrestlers.

I have never understood the hype. Give me The Revival any day a the week.

You arent wrong. Guys like Young Bucks are why wrestling went from a cool thing that real men like to nerdy garbage for basement dwellers.

Or look at it this way. Would the Road Warriors or Scott Steiner have respected them? Hell fucking no.

Pretty certain wrestling has never been 'cool' in my lifetime. For sure I never mentioned watching wrestling to anybody outside of the other people I knew for sure watched it. And amongst my peers, watching wrestling was something you were always going to be poked fun at for watching.

Hell, the only reason I was into wrestling at all was because I watched it from a very young age with my grandfather.

voltch posted...

scarletspeed7 posted...

Also, I know we don't talk much (or at all) about MMA here, but Yoel Romero. Damn.

Yoel Romero is kayfabe smaller than everyone on 205 live! Such a vanilla midget isn't believable as a tough guy!

I lolled.
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I mean, when wrestling was at it's "height" (i.e. the Attitude Era that most think was the best) we had dumb shit like wrestling pimps, wrestling porn stars, a geriatric woman giving birth to a hand, an undead cult leader and his burn victim brother, etc.

Wrestling has always been incredibly dumb. In fact, it actually takes itself more seriously than it ever has because a lot of modern wrestlers gimmicks are basically "a guy who wrestles."
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Being legit doesn't really mean much.

Stipe Miocic could kill everyone on the current roster and have Brock hurt worse than what Overeem and Cain did, but he would make for a horrible wrestler.

Then you look at legit fighters who do goofier shit than actual srs bizness wrestlers like Anderson Silva and Sakuraba. During their runs, their entrances were the kind of thing you'd see from midcard acts. In wrestling booking, would Triple H ever allow himself to lose to them? Nope, cos it's not believable.

Only thing that ever mattered was money and miles.
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TheRock1525 posted...

I'm an incredibly indifferent towards the Bucks. I have no strong feelings one way or another.

Yeah same.

They're an act that quite simply doesn't move the needle for me.
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I feel like the Bucks are like the epitome of smarkdome, where only the elitest of the elites really praise them.

I havent seen much of them but what I did see I wasnt that intoit
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Most of the people I'd describe as wrestling elitists are actually the ones that tend to hate the Bucks.
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ScareChan posted...

I feel like the Bucks are like the epitome of smarkdome, where only the elitest of the elites really praise them.

I havent seen much of them but what I did see I wasnt that intoit

Sounds like they have the right stable name then.
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UltimaterializerX posted...

Or look at it this way. Would the Road Warriors or Scott Steiner have respected them? Hell fucking no.

Pretty sure Scott Steiner's list of wrestlers he respects is almost microscopic. I can only think of the following (living only)...

Rick Steiner
Outsiders
Buff
Jeff Jarrett
The Rock
Kurt Angle
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ExThaNemesis posted...

Are there any Bucks fans in here willing to point Lopen and I in the right direction to change our minds?

There Chikara stuff a few years ago was really enjoyable imo.
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UltimaterializerX posted...

ShatteredElysium posted...

UltimaterializerX posted...

ExThaNemesis posted...

This is probably my most controversial wrestling opinion.

The Young Bucks are just "good."

They are clearly very talented wrestlers, but I have never and probably will never understand why they are heralded as these savants of tag team wrestling. They don't have characters either, they're just cocky good wrestlers.

I have never understood the hype. Give me The Revival any day a the week.

You arent wrong. Guys like Young Bucks are why wrestling went from a cool thing that real men like to nerdy garbage for basement dwellers.

Or look at it this way. Would the Road Warriors or Scott Steiner have respected them? Hell fucking no.

Pretty certain wrestling has never been 'cool' in my lifetime.

This is just factually not true.

Well everyone I know who is a wrestling fan has been made fun of for it from the 90s through to present day.

ZeroSignal620 posted...

UltimaterializerX posted...

Or look at it this way. Would the Road Warriors or Scott Steiner have respected them? Hell fucking no.

Pretty sure Scott Steiner's list of wrestlers he respects is almost microscopic. I can only think of the following (living only)...

Rick Steiner
Outsiders
Buff
Jeff Jarrett
The Rock
Kurt Angle

Meng
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ShatteredElysium posted...

UltimaterializerX posted...

ShatteredElysium posted...

UltimaterializerX posted...

ExThaNemesis posted...

This is probably my most controversial wrestling opinion.

The Young Bucks are just "good."

They are clearly very talented wrestlers, but I have never and probably will never understand why they are heralded as these savants of tag team wrestling. They don't have characters either, they're just cocky good wrestlers.

I have never understood the hype. Give me The Revival any day a the week.

You arent wrong. Guys like Young Bucks are why wrestling went from a cool thing that real men like to nerdy garbage for basement dwellers.

Or look at it this way. Would the Road Warriors or Scott Steiner have respected them? Hell fucking no.

Pretty certain wrestling has never been 'cool' in my lifetime.

This is just factually not true.

Well everyone I know who is a wrestling fan has been made fun of for it from the 90s through to present day.

Sounds like you know a lot of nerds.
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On board with the Young Bucks being good but not really a draw for me at all.
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My girl Ivory is going into the Hall of Fame. Always was a fan; I wish she had been born 15 years later so she could actually compete in a division where she would have shined.
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Well she did shine in the division she had, by process of elimination
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when the attitude era was going you couldnt go to school without knowing what was up because thats all anyone talked about
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Jakyl25 posted...

Well she did shine in the division she had, by process of elimination

Fact. During her reigns, these were the women's divisions...

1999
Ivory
Jacqueline
Luna
Terri
BB
Tori
Miss Kitty

Then you had the sporadic appearances by Mae Young, Moolah, and Debra (somehow 2 of these 3 were champions in said time frame). Chyna was too busy competing for the IC title.

October 2000 to April 2001
Ivory
Lita
Jacqueline
Molly Holly
Trish Stratus
Chyna
The Kat

Trish was still a rookie out of these 7, but this one felt more competitive than 1999. The only others besides these 6 were Steph (who finished a near 5 month reign with only one title defense) and Tori who was too busy being a masked ninja helping Raven win hardcore matches.
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The second division had potential, but they weren't experienced enough at that point.
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ScareChan posted...

when the attitude era was going you couldnt go to school without knowing what was up because thats all anyone talked about

Lived in the UK in the 90s. RAW started at like 1AM and repeat was like a Friday night or something, I don't think they even showed it live actually (my grandfather always recorded it). Also only shown on cable TV which not a whole lot of people had. Not very school friendly either way

Follow the buzzards
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