This is pretty cool, although Chris Benoit apparently didn't compete in any Summerslam ever and everyone bleeds in greyscale. Things really go to shit once you hit the brand extension, as well.
I was with you until I learned I wouldn't need to pay $9.99 to do it. I just can't, in good conscience, watch classic material unless I'm paying $9.99.
If you held a gun to my head and forced me to talk about shows since then, I couldn't do it outside of a few exceptions, like the Nexus match in 2010. I do remember 2008 though, that was a great show.
Exactly what I was going to say. What is it Vince is always saying about needing to evolve and adapt? The presentation of the product is now 8 years old! Ugh.
This is why I stopped watching around this time. Every time I had a peek at what was new I saw nothing had really changed since the previous year (other than for guys dying).
If they'd just change the damn set or something. Just end this interminable era.
TJ: watching the live stream (I think) of some Clash Of The Champions and the Dinner & A Movie guys have just joined the NWO. Now Lee Marshall is talking about how lovely the national gardens in Florida are.
Subsequently I'm upping my excitement for Summerslam from 4 to 6, because I realise now how good we have it these days.
Coulter turning on Swagger is something that I don't see happening. Although I guess it would be cool because that would eventually lead to Hogan helping Swagger.
The last show I REALLY remember is Summer Slam 2002. 2003 and on almost seems like an entirely different organization now. The only other thing that really stands out for me is the Rey Mysterio Jr. / Eddie Guerrero ladder match from 2005.
Actually I'm more excited for Cena vs Lesnar than I was last year for Punk vs Lesnar and Bryan vs Orton or Lesnar vs HHH the year before. The last Cena/Lesnar match was so great... if they can deliver something similar...
I wonder why instead of Staples they didn't make MSG their Summerslam home. August seems like a great time to use MSG. NHL and NBA are both out of season. I'm not sure of any other sports using it.
Love the atmosphere of MSG. There needs to be one PPV a year at MSG man.
...WHY would they highlight Benoit? No seriously. "Yeah its a shame he killed his family and was an idiot for wrestling a style that destroyed his brain (like everyone who wrestled a similar style before him) but we should reward the guy by highlighting his career! It just ain't summerslam without Benoit, don't ya know?"
So I was watching SummerSlam 2002 last night and noticed a weird thing: when Chris Benoit came out for his match against Rob Van Dam, Benoit's IC Title was blurred but just the middle portion. I have no idea why. Any ideas?
It doesn't make sense for the Authority to want Brock as champion, so I'm going for Brock killing Cena and getting disqualified deliberately, with Rollins cashing in his briefcase to take the title.
Between Cena -Bryan, Brock-Punk, Brock-Cena, Hardy-Punk, Taker-Edge, Cena-Nexus, etc. it feels I look forward to Summerslam more than WM each year. We always have at least one good fresh big time matchup.
I believe that is the time when they were just starting to blur out the scratch WWF logo...at that time, with that design, the WWF logo was smack-dab in the center of that belt...
Yep, it might be being brought up with a black & white TV in my room when I was a kid, but decorations and sets have really never mattered to me. Totally not worth the expenses if you ask me.
October? Network customer service informed me late August as I reported here about two weeks ago. My credibility is shot............. ..........moreso.
I really can't believe they are waiting till October. A. because they should be up to the start of Nitro with the RAWs what..next week? B. The network subscriptions. Despite what we were hearing I really thought they were going to do a big dump for the 6 months mark as a plea for account retention. I wonder what the additional content is Saturday Night?
I'm glad there will be more World class coming as I just started watching those. I really wish they would put up all the episodes of that and ECW though. I have no idea if they have the missing WCCW but they have the ECW's because plenty of people have them. I can't see anyone having a problem with stuff being labeled lower quality but hey it's better than nothing.
I wonder if some day they will fill the gaps in but didn't want to up front because of how they thought it would look.
Barclay's has definitely undercut MSG's rates, that's why a lot of big events have been there. I talked to a friend of mine that performed there and he said the backstage areas and dressing rooms are heads above MSG, even after the renovations.
Not particularly. They wanted a end the show on a happy note, and Ziggler was the biggest face they had on the card.
It's more the result of A) Cena filming B) Bryan injured & C) Reigns was in Australia. Any of those guys would've been pinning Orton in the main event. It was either going to be Big Show or Ziggler in the main event based on name value, and Ziggler/Orton is a far better match to send the fans home on.
Someone would have to have serious mental issues to force someone to talk about wrestling at gunpoint. But that's another topic for another day I guess.
It really never mattered. I remember Adam Bomb lost an impromptu match to the Undertaker at a house show in 1993.... then 2 months later, the WWF came back to another town close to my place, and the big sell was Bret Hart vs the UNDEFEATED Adam Bomb. HEY WAIT A MINUTE!!!!!
My general complaint is that it's tasteless and potentially harmful to use stereotypes of an entire country like this. That type of essentialism leads to hatred, racism, and conflict. Additionally, I'm not convinced this will get Rusev over in the long term - where does he go after this? WWE doesn't have a great track record in the last decade of transitioning guys from one gimmick to another, and pigeon holing someone into "foreign heel" could be especially damaging.
For me, it's even more frustrating b/c they have added nuance to the foreign heel/USA feud with Daivari (initially at least...then they backed off), Harts vs. America, and Swagger as an obnoxious tea-partier, but all that seems to be lost with Rusev. We're straight up in 1984 right now, which is ridiculous, and a sign of the lazy writing/booking that pollutes the company right now. I mean, can you imagine if someone in Hollywood tried to do an earnest remake of Rocky IV or Red Dawn right now, without changing the plot at all? That would not go over well. There's no reason WWE should be stuck in the past while everyone else moves on.
Yeah. They had the convoluted history last fall/winter with a great match at the rumble.
You could revisit that with bryan getting his win back or pulling the trigger on wyatt and turning him into a title contender instead of guy with no real motivation. Cuz like a couple of guys stated before he is directionless which kinda leads me to believe thats where wwe was going sooner or later.
Let me say I dont disagree with you but at the end of the day wrestling might be for you anymore.
You want highbrow concepts delivered to the lowest common denominator. That doesnt work. If it goes over the heads of your audience you lose them. Wrestling cant just cater to just you.
Yeah there's parts that I dont like but if u dont like lions.... heres the trapese artists... if u dont like that here's the clowns. Theres a part that appeals to you somewhere and if not... Orange is the black is constantly on netflix.
All im saying is that theres staples of wrestling that will never die out. They wont be well received most of the time but hell if it gets over, you run with it. unless it wasnt supposed t get over (zach Ryder)
Wrestling has always used international issues for storylines and characters. Or should the Iron Sheik have never existed in the late '70s/early '80s because of the hijacking situation? No Nikolai/Ivan/Nikita/etc. etc. because of the '80s fears of nuclear war?
I think that presence you mentioned could help facilitate the eventual split when he overthrows Bray leading to a Bray turn. A bray-steen feud could bring great intensity.
Bray's too established to get exposed Gangrel style at this point though.
I agree. The only way I'd see Lesnar obtaining the title is if Lesnar and Heyman get it and declare themselves enemies of everyone in WWE, forcing the Authority to, reluctantly, join forces with the faces to get the title back. Seriously, I don't even know why Cena and Lesnar are even fighting. The first match they had was decent but this one has next to no heat because the two guys involved can't be bothered to show up for more than three minutes.
Can Hogan slam a boat? I think so. Consider who he's beaten...
A giant. A shark. A seismic event. A Greek god. Another giant. A frozen mummy. A Ugandan savage. A deep freshwater Scottish lake. And a warrior that was better than any other warrior, ultimately.
I was with you until I learned I wouldn't need to pay $9.99 to do it. I just can't, in good conscience, watch classic material unless I'm paying $9.99.
ReplyDelete2006 to present feels like one long identical show. Observation: the crowds seem a lot less animated and enthralled from about 06 onward as well.
ReplyDeleteHeh, the ladder match was the main event of SummerSlam 95.
ReplyDeleteIf you held a gun to my head and forced me to talk about shows since then, I couldn't do it outside of a few exceptions, like the Nexus match in 2010. I do remember 2008 though, that was a great show.
ReplyDeleteExactly what I was going to say. What is it Vince is always saying about needing to evolve and adapt? The presentation of the product is now 8 years old! Ugh.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I stopped watching around this time. Every time I had a peek at what was new I saw nothing had really changed since the previous year (other than for guys dying).
ReplyDeleteIf they'd just change the damn set or something. Just end this interminable era.
TJ: watching the live stream (I think) of some Clash Of The Champions and the Dinner & A Movie guys have just joined the NWO. Now Lee Marshall is talking about how lovely the national gardens in Florida are.
ReplyDeleteSubsequently I'm upping my excitement for Summerslam from 4 to 6, because I realise now how good we have it these days.
Coulter turning on Swagger is something that I don't see happening. Although I guess it would be cool because that would eventually lead to Hogan helping Swagger.
ReplyDeleteThe last show I REALLY remember is Summer Slam 2002. 2003 and on almost seems like an entirely different organization now. The only other thing that really stands out for me is the Rey Mysterio Jr. / Eddie Guerrero ladder match from 2005.
ReplyDeleteHasn't it pretty much been at Staples Center since that time? That crowd has a reputation for being pretty low energy.
ReplyDeleteI like both that and the one they used from 00-08.
ReplyDeleteAll of them since 09.
ReplyDeleteActually I'm more excited for Cena vs Lesnar than I was last year for Punk vs Lesnar and Bryan vs Orton or Lesnar vs HHH the year before. The last Cena/Lesnar match was so great... if they can deliver something similar...
ReplyDeleteGet over the Benoit shit, Keith. He's never gonna be referenced in a highlight video like this.
ReplyDeleteThey need an opponent which is equally "dark". Like Undertaker, Mankind, Abyss, Sting or so.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why instead of Staples they didn't make MSG their Summerslam home. August seems like a great time to use MSG. NHL and NBA are both out of season. I'm not sure of any other sports using it.
ReplyDeleteLove the atmosphere of MSG. There needs to be one PPV a year at MSG man.
So all ladder matches are lame then? Cause ladder matches usually consist of capturing something up high.
ReplyDeletewant some kneepads? :)
ReplyDeleteAnd he shouldn't be.
ReplyDelete...WHY would they highlight Benoit? No seriously. "Yeah its a shame he killed his family and was an idiot for wrestling a style that destroyed his brain (like everyone who wrestled a similar style before him) but we should reward the guy by highlighting his career! It just ain't summerslam without Benoit, don't ya know?"
ReplyDeleteNo, he shouldn't.
ReplyDeleteDon't think they will for a while. You should probably watch something else if it bugs you. Not snarky, just realistic.
ReplyDelete9.99 was a steal a month ago. Now its a pain in the ass?
ReplyDeleteI think the rent at MSG is absurdly high. Pretty sure that's why they run Barclay's more now when the broadcasts are televised.
ReplyDeleteBring back the Bash At The Beach beach!
ReplyDeleteSo I was watching SummerSlam 2002 last night and noticed a weird thing: when Chris Benoit came out for his match against Rob Van Dam, Benoit's IC Title was blurred but just the middle portion. I have no idea why. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't make sense for the Authority to want Brock as champion, so I'm going for Brock killing Cena and getting disqualified deliberately, with Rollins cashing in his briefcase to take the title.
ReplyDeleteYep, with the recent budget cuts, changing sets is the last thing that one should wish for right now.
ReplyDeleteThat's HD set is going nowhere.
ReplyDeleteBetween Cena -Bryan, Brock-Punk, Brock-Cena, Hardy-Punk, Taker-Edge, Cena-Nexus, etc. it feels I look forward to Summerslam more than WM each year. We always have at least one good fresh big time matchup.
ReplyDeleteAnd really, things are apparently so good, we have to pick on THE SET just so we have something to criticize? Jeez...have you guys ever SEEN ROH?!?
ReplyDeleteI believe that is the time when they were just starting to blur out the scratch WWF logo...at that time, with that design, the WWF logo was smack-dab in the center of that belt...
ReplyDeleteYep, it might be being brought up with a black & white TV in my room when I was a kid, but decorations and sets have really never mattered to me. Totally not worth the expenses if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteMine as well try to see if something new will work. Not like they're going to compete with them anyway.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, ladder matches also involve ladders.
ReplyDeleteDon't say stuff like that - now Angle will ACTUALLY test the theory that he's bullet-proof.
ReplyDeleteWhat's holding it back from *****!?
ReplyDeletePart of that is because it's been the Cena show.
ReplyDeleteWhile I won't go that far, I'd put money on it being the 2nd longest match on the card.
ReplyDeleteIn 2014 it is no longer a punishment to lose a house show match. It isn't 1994 anymore.
ReplyDeleteDo people really read that much into house show results?
ReplyDeleteOctober? Network customer service informed me late August as I reported here about two weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteMy credibility is shot.............
..........moreso.
Haha, poor Dolph Ziggler's stock has dropped so much that jobbing to him could be seen as a punishment.
ReplyDeleteDolph Ziggler won at a house show. If a tree falls in the forest....
ReplyDeleteWyatt will beat Jericho with Wyatt Family assistance? That would make zero sense with the last few weeks of television.
ReplyDeleteI really can't believe they are waiting till October. A. because they should be up to the start of Nitro with the RAWs what..next week? B. The network subscriptions. Despite what we were hearing I really thought they were going to do a big dump for the 6 months mark as a plea for account retention. I wonder what the additional content is Saturday Night?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad there will be more World class coming as I just started watching those. I really wish they would put up all the episodes of that and ECW though. I have no idea if they have the missing WCCW but they have the ECW's because plenty of people have them. I can't see anyone having a problem with stuff being labeled lower quality but hey it's better than nothing.
I wonder if some day they will fill the gaps in but didn't want to up front because of how they thought it would look.
Barclay's has definitely undercut MSG's rates, that's why a lot of big events have been there. I talked to a friend of mine that performed there and he said the backstage areas and dressing rooms are heads above MSG, even after the renovations.
ReplyDeleteNo but Ziggler beating Orton is a bit shocking given Ziggler's position in the WWE
ReplyDeleteAnyone else considering letting their subscription lapse for a month or so to let them add the stuff?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, no. Just getting the PPV's for $9.99 a month is enough incentive for me to keep subscribing
ReplyDeleteNot particularly. They wanted a end the show on a happy note, and Ziggler was the biggest face they had on the card.
ReplyDeleteIt's more the result of A) Cena filming B) Bryan injured & C) Reigns was in Australia. Any of those guys would've been pinning Orton in the main event. It was either going to be Big Show or Ziggler in the main event based on name value, and Ziggler/Orton is a far better match to send the fans home on.
Someone would have to have serious mental issues to force someone to talk about wrestling at gunpoint. But that's another topic for another day I guess.
ReplyDeleteBryan vs. Wyatt?
ReplyDeleteIt really never mattered. I remember Adam Bomb lost an impromptu match to the Undertaker at a house show in 1993.... then 2 months later, the WWF came back to another town close to my place, and the big sell was Bret Hart vs the UNDEFEATED Adam Bomb. HEY WAIT A MINUTE!!!!!
ReplyDeletemaybe if they used a lot of duct tape on Nikki that might be true
ReplyDeleteDon't be so hard on yourself... you didn't lose anything here.
ReplyDeleteYou never had any credibility to begin with!
*BOOM* Nailed it!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I get that. It's more or less what I wrote in the update piece.
ReplyDeleteZiggler beating a top of the card guy probably shocked a good amount of people at the show though
Hey, that is the longest reigning BoD Writer's Champion you are talking about.
ReplyDeleteAnd do you what that can do for a person? Not a damn thing, that's what.
They haven't set up return matches for the next house show since the very early 90's.
ReplyDeleteThe did it all the time in the 80's for the MSG shows
Hell no, way too good of a deal; plus haven't even touched most of the programming.
ReplyDeleteMy general complaint is that it's tasteless and potentially harmful to use stereotypes of an entire country like this. That type of essentialism leads to hatred, racism, and conflict. Additionally, I'm not convinced this will get Rusev over in the long term - where does he go after this? WWE doesn't have a great track record in the last decade of transitioning guys from one gimmick to another, and pigeon holing someone into "foreign heel" could be especially damaging.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it's even more frustrating b/c they have added nuance to the foreign heel/USA feud with Daivari (initially at least...then they backed off), Harts vs. America, and Swagger as an obnoxious tea-partier, but all that seems to be lost with Rusev. We're straight up in 1984 right now, which is ridiculous, and a sign of the lazy writing/booking that pollutes the company right now. I mean, can you imagine if someone in Hollywood tried to do an earnest remake of Rocky IV or Red Dawn right now, without changing the plot at all? That would not go over well. There's no reason WWE should be stuck in the past while everyone else moves on.
And your point is?
ReplyDeleteYeah.
ReplyDeleteThey had the convoluted history last fall/winter with a great match at the rumble.
You could revisit that with bryan getting his win back or pulling the trigger on wyatt and turning him into a title contender instead of guy with no real motivation. Cuz like a couple of guys stated before he is directionless which kinda leads me to believe thats where wwe was going sooner or later.
This Cena title stuff is patchwork at best.
Yeah I dodnt wanna bust ur balls but you were wrong. I was gonna let it go.
ReplyDeleteLet me say I dont disagree with you but at the end of the day wrestling might be for you anymore.
ReplyDeleteYou want highbrow concepts delivered to the lowest common denominator. That doesnt work. If it goes over the heads of your audience you lose them. Wrestling cant just cater to just you.
Yeah there's parts that I dont like but if u dont like lions.... heres the trapese artists... if u dont like that here's the clowns. Theres a part that appeals to you somewhere and if not... Orange is the black is constantly on netflix.
All im saying is that theres staples of wrestling that will never die out. They wont be well received most of the time but hell if it gets over, you run with it. unless it wasnt supposed t get over (zach Ryder)
You aren't really watching the show?
ReplyDeleteTBF, when Vince mentioned River City, I thought of the video game River City Ransom.
ReplyDeleteAnd didn't USA attempt to have "(something) Night's Main Event" as a special?
ReplyDelete"This will be like hockey, there's gonna be a face-off!"
ReplyDeleteWrestling has always used international issues for storylines and characters. Or should the Iron Sheik have never existed in the late '70s/early '80s because of the hijacking situation? No Nikolai/Ivan/Nikita/etc. etc. because of the '80s fears of nuclear war?
ReplyDeleteI think that presence you mentioned could help facilitate the eventual split when he overthrows Bray leading to a Bray turn. A bray-steen feud could bring great intensity.
ReplyDeleteBray's too established to get exposed Gangrel style at this point though.
Unless.... it's a new Wyatt family member! Boom
ReplyDeleteI agree. The only way I'd see Lesnar obtaining the title is if Lesnar and Heyman get it and declare themselves enemies of everyone in WWE, forcing the Authority to, reluctantly, join forces with the faces to get the title back. Seriously, I don't even know why Cena and Lesnar are even fighting. The first match they had was decent but this one has next to no heat because the two guys involved can't be bothered to show up for more than three minutes.
ReplyDeleteCan Hogan slam a boat? I think so. Consider who he's beaten...
ReplyDeleteA giant. A shark. A seismic event. A Greek god. Another giant. A frozen mummy. A Ugandan savage. A deep freshwater Scottish lake. And a warrior that was better than any other warrior, ultimately.
A boat? Piece of piss.
Could God make something Hulk Hogan couldn't slam? It's like Superman and burritos all over again.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Bryan got a **** match out of him, so yes, some of it is Lesnar
ReplyDelete