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Theater of the Absurd

Hiya Scott;

Can I get another plug for my WWE Week in Review, Theater of the Absurd? Last time there was one guy who liked it. Thanks again and hope all's well in your neck of the woods.

http://therec-room.com/theater-of-the-absurd-the-wwe-week-in-review-32414-32814/


Indeed, I am a benevolent dictator.  

Comments

  1. Stranger in the AlpsMarch 30, 2014 at 9:46 PM

    So 287 matches, and a good solid paragraph devoted to each one. I do not have that much time left on this earth. By the time I'm finished reading, it's going to be pudding time at Sunnyside Nursing Home.

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  2. This is just sad.

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  3. I skimmed to the top 30 or so. And basically only saw where each matched was ranked. The list is mainly BS in my opinion.

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  4. If they ever put total Divas on the network I'd probably hate-binge watch both seasons.

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  5. I actually don't know what's worst. Writing all of that or putting Hogan/Andre number 7.

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  6. davidbonzaisaldanamontgomeryMarch 30, 2014 at 10:04 PM

    It says a lot that a bulk of us spend way too much free time at the BoD, but can pretty much agree on the "get a life" sentiment.

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  7. Okay, that list is crap. The first MITB over Ramon/Michaels? Hogan vs Rock over HBK/Flair? HULK/ANDRE OVER SAVAGE/STEAMBOAT? And the claim that the number one pick is the best Mania match ever is nuts.

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  8. There's a certain irony to any of us throwing "get a life" critiques at this guy.

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  9. I disagree a lot with the first 30 or so and didn't continue

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  10. "HULK/ANDRE OVER SAVAGE/STEAMBOAT?"

    Maybe Al Snow made the list.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epfK5T-yXxw

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  11. That guy is ridiculous, I would have totally switched #100 and #101. There is no way that Owen/Yoko vs Smoking Gunns is better than Savage/Valentine.

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  12. From what I read of it I thought it was pretty good. He defended his choices well.

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  13. Tj: better career...Orton or Jericho? Gotta be Orton, right?

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  14. This is an insane list, good work. Even if there are some bizarre choices (Rock vs Cena being better than HBK vs Cena WTF?)

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  15. Lawler/Cole sucked but worst WM match? Disagreed. I just don't care to distinguish out of all the women's/diva's match card filler which was.

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  16. Anything Michael Cole is in is automatically the worst, no exceptions!

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  17. They're tied, as both of them had a ruined career because of that dastardly HHH burying them. (did I do that right?)

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  18. Well, I'm only going to base it off of who was more entertaining since I don't give a fuck about drawing power or any other imaginary stats we want to make up, so I'll say Jericho by about a million points.

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  19. Ugh, buzzfeed. Won't bother.

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  20. I realize much of the list is absurd, but how is Uncle Elmer's match not in the bottom 50 (or 60... or 70...)?

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  21. Couldn't agree more.

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  22. I'm going in to find #1.

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  23. :comes back:
    :shakes head:
    That should not have been #1, and don't you ever call "Dashing" Cody Rhodes a lame Rick Rude knockoff. He was great in the role.

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  24. I'd understand a top 50 or 20, but every single match is just too much.

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  25. Don't hurt yourself.

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  26. I wish I had that much free time on my hands. Kudos for taking the time and effort, but still... there's so many meaningless matches, especially the early years, that makes it impossible to differentiate matches with reasonable argument.

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  27. Actually, you're wrong. Jericho wins, because he had his career ruined by that dastardly HHH burying AND Goldberg not even showing up.

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  28. You know, I was going to say the exact same thing.

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  29. OfficerFarva 0 - Pagedown Key 1

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  30. And accurately....yes

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  31. Yea. Was on the mobile tho yo

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  32. davidbonzaisaldanamontgomeryMarch 31, 2014 at 12:59 AM

    Sorta like rain on your wedding day, right?.....wait, that's not ironic.

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  33. Threadjack.


    So, thanks to the Network, I've determined that I just don't get/like ECW.


    Maybe the problem is that I'm only going off the PPVs (maybe I need to watch some ECW TV, though they're only running through mid-1994 right now), but I'm just not seeing how "innovative" they were by the PPVs I'm watching (I've watched about 1/2 dozen, including the most highly-recommended ones). Most of the matches are pretty much dumber/worse versions of what I could see in the WCW undercard at the time, save a few bright spots.


    By the first ECW PPV, both of the big 2 (especially WCW) were putting on much better/more innovative stuff than ECW was at the time.


    I guess that, for me, even in a historical context, I'm not seeing how great they were. Maybe ECW TV can fix that. (I've got to assume that's the case, given how much everyone keeps saying "E-C-Dub!!!")

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  34. OK, so watching the last ECW TV they have available (from July 1994). I get it now. It isn't because I love what I'm watching or anything, but this was so much more "attitude" than anything going on with the big 2 at the time.


    Would I have been impressed back in the day if this was available? Maybe. If I'd only been watching WWF through the years, undoubtedly. However, growing up on the "realism" of mid-80s NWA (hell, one of the earliest matches I cut my teeth on was Magnum vs Tully), I'm not so sure.


    Which begs the question. Given that only the PPVs were available until recently to a very select few (SK, did you even have access to the ECW TV stuff back in your tape-trading days?), how many people do you think that are chanting "E-C-Dub" were actually fans back in the day, and how many are just chanting because it's the "cool" thing to do (and because WWE "approved" ECW)?

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  35. Lets shoot the guy some credit. WWE creative hasn't put this much work onto a piece of paper in 15 years.

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  36. Oh, come on!


    They've put a ton of work in.


    Cut and pasting "HHH Wins! Cena Wins! Undertaker Wins!" takes some work. Especially when you figured they had to add "(unless facing Undertaker)" to the HHH entries.

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  37. Jericho, and it's not even close.

    - Decent-to-good work before hitting mainstream television
    - Highly entertaining run in WCW, if nothing else
    - Maybe the most memorable WWE debut ever
    - First ever Undisputed Champion by beating The Rock and Austin in one night
    - Main evented WrestleMania when it still meant something
    - Owned the JeriTron 5000
    - Lead singer of a pretty big rock band
    - Memorable feuds with Benoit, Angle, Triple H, Rock, HBK, etc.
    - Can achieve a career outside of wrestling

    Also in comparison to Orton, he's a better...
    - heel
    - babyface
    - wrestler
    - talker, and
    - overall entertainer

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  38. Maybe if the groom's last name is Nevergetswet.

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  39. That's a tough one. Their career paths are really polar opposites. Orton was born into wrestling and basically has wrestled for WWE his entire career. He also has the advantage of main eventing more PPV's than Jericho(that's a safe statement I think) and he's won a boat load of championships.


    However, I prefer Jericho's career path and why I think ultimately he has had a better pro wrestling career. Jericho learned from everywhere and he plied his craft in different styles and different countries. He trained in Canada under the "Hart's"(in his book he mentions attending one of the Hart's training centers but I can't remember and they didn't show up anyways)he wrestled in Canada and learned stuff there, he went to Europe and wrestled in tents and learned the style there, he went to Mexico and learned things from there, he went to Japan and learned that style, he went to SMW and learned a southern style of wrestling, he went to ECW and finally WCW. He built up a skill set and a reputation on a world wide scale for 9 years until he got to WWF. Then he rose up the ranks there and finally earned the right to be Undisputed Champion and main event WrestleMania.


    Jericho has the edge in championships won. And if you want to count stuff like awards from different wrestling publications you'd find that Jericho has a more sterling list of accolades there too. He's won Wrestler of the Year, Match of the Year, Best Interview, Interview of the Decade, etc. He's widely regarded to be the better wrestler, and more charismatic.


    To simplify--since this is subjective and my answer is dependent on my feelings alone....Chris Jericho. I am a big Randy Orton fan but Jericho has had a better career.

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  40. I think you have to see the WCW and WWE Shows from that time in comparison. Especially when Hogan came to WCW, both promotions were very family friendly whily ECW had in 95 guys like Raven, Cactus Jack, Terry Funk, Sandman, Taz, Sabu while we've got Diesel vs King Mabel and Hogan vs Dungeon of Doom.

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  41. That's what I was saying from my second post.

    The problem with only being familiar with the PPVs (which started in 1997) is that, by that point, they were old hat. By 1997, WCW (and to a lesser degree at that point, WWF) were already doing what ECW did, and better.

    But watching the 1994 show, I see how advanced it was for what was out then. With WCW still needing all wrestlers to have a "second job" (plumber, etc), and WCW having midgets blowing up boats, no wonder a lot of people were turned on by ECW.

    So I definitely get it to a greater degree now, And I also realize that the PPVs weren't the best way to do that, because by the time they were on, ECW wasn't so innovative any more.

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  42. you could argue that the tag team title match itself was more significant. the first championship Owen Hart ever won (and gave the "I will accomplish everything you accomplished, Bret!" an interesting new spin, maintaining the chracter but moving into feuds with other guys).

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  43. and give the site credit for putting this all on one page instead of twenty (or more).

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  44. different folks, different strokes?


    and I don't think the number one pick is that outrageous. it's an amazing match that could easily be rated with five stars (afair Scott gave it ****1/2). it's not like he took something that wasn't that good or didn't have any historical significance.

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  45. to me, the WWF in 1997 had LOTS more in common with ECW than WCW did.

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  46. I don't get the "complaints" in this thread at all. I think the fact that someone took the time to compile a list like this is awesome.

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  47. WCW at the B.S. Main Events are arguably a bigger factor in their eventual downfall than the over-use of the nWo factions. When you train the fans to stop giving a shit about the matches because you know they're going to be clusterfucks, then you're training them not to watch.

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  48. I think that (barring the main event), WCW was doing a better job imitating them on the wrestling and "quasi-realism" front, and WWE was starting to do a better job on the "attitude" front (though 1997 was still pretty early in that era)

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  49. I mean, we've got a review of the WWE Scooby Doo movie up over here. "LOLGetALifeClown" seems ... well, LOL to me.

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  50. Yes, but in 95 they were lightyears ahead.

    But yes, the WWF and WCW changed drastically from 94/95 to 96/97.

    Don't forget, Uncensored 96 was one of the cheesiest (does this word exist? ;-) 80s PPVs ever with Hogan and Macho Man vs the whole Dungeon of Doom freak show while only 3-4 months later, they had the nWo.

    And maybe the ECW had something to do with the changes of both major companies.

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  51. Kudos to the dude who spent all that time putting that list together. I'm not usually the type of guy to nitpick someone else's opinions, but holy geez do I disagree with most of that list.

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  52. Stopped taking it seriously once I realized that Sable/Tori from WM15 beat out 48 other matches

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  53. I was expecting a 287 page slideshow, no doubt

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  54. Thats the main issue, like you stated, is that you only viewed the PPV's which started in 97. ECW's best years were 94-96 without a doubt

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  55. Jericho, not even close for me.

    I put Orton in the around the same group of guys like Edge, who's legacy will be marked as having won a shit-ton of world titles, and main-eventing counless ppv's but were only in that spot because of the lack of real star talent around.

    It's not that I am trying to bash either Orton or Edge, really.

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  56. Mister_E_Studd_Got100ProblemsMarch 31, 2014 at 6:14 AM

    Wow, that's just too much reading for me. I'm surprised that Cole/Lawler got the worst though. I would expect the bottom 10 or so to all be divas matches.

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  57. Cena/Rock II over Mickie/Trish WM22??? I think not.

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  58. Another guy that did the same last year, in much greater detail:

    http://jimjividen.blogspot.com/2013/03/ranked-every-wrestlemania-match-ever.html

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  59. intestinal fortitudeMarch 31, 2014 at 7:15 AM

    I read this last week during a slow day at work (shhhh). Don't agree with the rankings that much, but it's a good cheat sheet on all the Mania matches - which would have helped when I was trying to watch all the early Mania's on the Network

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  60. Your analysis of Brock was fantastic. "He punches stuff and eats meat."

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  61. The ECW PPV-era was when the promotion was already past its prime, so that's not exactly the greatest representation of the company.

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  62. This. I feel that ECW jumped the shark after Barely Legal. Raven, Richards, Saturn, and others left, Hardcore Heaven sucked, and Justin Credible and the like were on the way. Plus WWF was about to do/was starting to do the same with a bigger budget when the Attitude Era came.

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  63. I like WhatCulture, but that annoys me, yes.

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  64. Speaking as a former tape trader, it was pretty easy to get ECW TV and their pre ppv big shows, which were released on VHS by ECW. 1995 ECW is actually pretty damn good and when you compare it to Diesel Power WWF and pre nWo and luchador infused WCW, it was a much more entertaining show.

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  65. Get a life.... and buy all my archived rants for your reading pleasure!!!

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  66. What's worse than Cole Lawler? Unless the match killed or maimed someone

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  67. I didn't read the whole thing, but seeing which matches were the worst was interesting. I think most people for years have had the Blindfold Match as the worst ever, but Cole/Lawler is a worthy successor to that throne.


    Although I'm not sure why you have the Mr T/Piper boxing match so low. By no means great, but it's definitely not one of the five worst WrestleMania matches of all-time.


    But to each their own. I will say my least favorite Mania match of all-time is Taker/HHH from WM 27. Two old guys laying around the mat for nearly an hour - no thanks.

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  68. Coming from somebody who reviewed the Scooby Doo/WWE crossover, I'd say you shouldn't be telling somebody to get a life. I agree it's quite harsh

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  69. Mister_E_Studd_Got100ProblemsMarch 31, 2014 at 12:35 PM

    Wasn't there a diva pillow fight one year?
    I didn't go through the whole list, and so maybe it's not even counted, I'm not sure.

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  70. Mister_E_Studd_Got100ProblemsMarch 31, 2014 at 12:39 PM

    Scott Keith, going all Shatner on us.

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  71. Here's a question for people, since I see Bryan/Sheamus as the third worst match on that list...which is "worse" for you? A horribly disappointing 18 second match (which I was looking forward to) or a 10 minute+ trainwreck that is just awful all around? I'll take the 18 second match personally, it's less a waste of my time.

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  72. I'm starting to think YOU authored this list

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  73. *-Obscenely expensive JeriTron 5000

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  74. I honestly think you wrote the list

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  75. haha, no (and believe me, if I had, I would have no problem "admitting" it).

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  76. That was a segment at 19. Didn't count as a match on the card.

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