Wrestling (WWE, etc.)

talonmalon333 · July 30, 2015, 11:11:04 PM

Have I recommended Lucha Underground in this thread yet? If not, I'll do that now. The wrestling in it is incredibly impressive. Also, the storytelling is done well and is without the bumps of WWE. It also avoids a lot of the trappings of WWE, be it in the pacing of its matches or its plots. And since it only started less than a year ago, it's very easy to catch up on from the start.

gunswordfist · July 31, 2015, 05:56:26 PM

Tragic news http://variety.com/2015/biz/obituaries-people-news/roddy-piper-dies-dead-wwe-wrestler-1201554513/

Spark Of Spirit · July 31, 2015, 05:57:31 PM

RODDY!

R.I.P.

gunswordfist · July 31, 2015, 06:06:00 PM

Yes, R.I.P. Piper. I've never been this sad over a wrestler death before because I'm not a fan of many since I gave up watching wrestling a long time ago. I liked Piper from watching They Live, seeing him help Rob Dyrdek do a Make-A-Wish wrestling event, which cornyly enough, is my favorite event of that type and hearing about him working with Ronda Rousey. I liked him and he seemed like a really nice guy.

Dr. Ensatsu-ken · July 31, 2015, 07:39:16 PM

This is indeed very sad to hear. Not only was he a wrestling legend, but many people who knew him attested to what a good person he was behind the scenes, despite being known for playing the role of a heal throughout most of his career. He also of course starred in one of John Carpenter's best films, IMO.

This is truly tragic news, and I honestly haven't been this affected by the news of a wrestler's death since Eddie Guerrero passed away last decade. May Toombs rest in peace.

talonmalon333 · July 31, 2015, 08:18:45 PM

It's so sad. Roddy Piper is one of my all time favorites. May he rest in peace.

Foggle · July 31, 2015, 08:34:50 PM

NOOOOOOOOOOOO

RIP

talonmalon333 · August 09, 2015, 12:45:27 PM

So E-K, these are a few wrestlers that we haven't talked much about in this thread, but I'm curious what your thoughts on them are.

Edge
Triple H
Kane
Rey Mysterio
Razor Ramon

Dr. Ensatsu-ken · August 09, 2015, 01:58:32 PM

Let's see:

Edge- I actually listed him as one of my favorites earlier in the thread. I was sad to see him have to retire due to his severe neck injury a few years ago, but not only was he incredibly brilliant and innovative in-ring, but he was one of the best heals of all time, and contributed to some of the best story-lines and matches out there. He was also superb in tag-teams, most notably with Christian and later Rey Mysterio in the early 2000's, but also with Randy Orton when they formed Rated RKO.

Triple H- This character is great as a villain. He makes an effective heal, though he was best back when WWE was TV-14 and he was allowed to show how brutal he could be. Whenever he's a face, though, he's honestly pretty stale and boring, hence why you see him portrayed more often as a heal. His in-ring ability is fairly average, to be honest. He's better than the likes of John Cena or Randy Orton, of course, but not quite on the level of any of the truly great technicians, including Rick Flair who he had many great story-lines with. That said, as a villain, he does stand out as a memorable character, which is why I believe that he's managed to be so popular for so many years. His best rivalries were with The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Kane- This guy was at his best when he was partners with The Undertaker. After that, he had a pretty dull career as a solo wrestler, IMO. He's pretty stale as a heal, and doesn't even work much as a face given how it's hard to have any underdog charm when you literally tower over most other athletes in the entire roster. He's had entertaining matches from time to time, but overall he just feels like a more tolerable version of The Big Show to me, in that he's freakishly strong, but doesn't have a great character behind him.

Rey Mysterio- I also listed him as one of my favorites, and of course mentioned how he and Edge made excellent tag-team champions. He's honestly one of my top 3 favorite in-ring wrestlers of all time. To be quite frank, his only drawback was being way too talented for most of the other wrestlers that the WWE had on their roster. Only a handful of other athletes could truly keep up with him and allow him to really show what a great performer he was. Even when he did have to perform with less talented people, though, he still always put on an entertaining match. I don't think that I've ever seen a boring match that featured Rey Mysterio in it.

Razor Ramon- To be honest, I never watched WWE back when he was a character. I have seen a few of his most famous matches, such as his ladder match against Shawn Michaels for the IC title, but other than that I really don't know too much about him. I'm a little bit more familiar with his WCW persona as Scott Hall, but overall I can't judge the guy as an in-ring performer or as a character since I know so little about him.

talonmalon333 · August 09, 2015, 02:18:25 PM

Edge: Agreed 100%. He was such a good wrestler and he had so much charisma. The original Mr. Money in the Bank. If there is one more thing I can add, it's that he also has one of my favorite WWE entrance themes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj5ot7zq1wk

Triple H: I do have a few issues with Triple H out of character (but on the other hand, there are things I really like about him), but I agree that he's a great heel. Also, "Are you ready?". D-Generation X, man. One of my all time favorite matches of his was End of an Era at Wrestlemania 28.

Kane: I actually love classic Kane. I like his appearance and his storylines with the Undertaker. However, anytime he's not wearing the mask, he becomes kind of boring and generic, and it almost seems like even WWE knows this.

Rey Mysterio: It hasn't been long since he retired, but I really miss Rey Mysterio. He's definitely one of the best in-ring wrestlers alongside people like Shawn Michaels.

Razor Ramon: I love the bad guy. He's one of my all time favorite heels.

Speaking of the IC belt, remember a few months ago when we were talking about how it's faded from prominence and now WWE seems to have no idea what to do with it anymore? Does it ever seem like the Royal Rumble is also less important than it used to be?

Spark Of Spirit · August 10, 2015, 12:33:40 PM

Edge and Rey Mysterio were always two of my favorites, even though I was more familiar with them with tag-teams with Christian and Billy Kidman. They were two of the best. The other three have always been enjoyable at different levels, but those two were near my favorites.

Dr. Ensatsu-ken · August 10, 2015, 01:14:19 PM

Yeah, they were easily two of the most talented people on WWE's roster during the 2000's decade. Losing the both of them as well as Daniel Bryan is really a huge loss of talent for WWE, in my eyes.

talonmalon333 · August 10, 2015, 02:21:21 PM

It's understandable for Edge and Daniel Bryan since both had to retire due to health issues. But as Rey Mysterio is still a wrestler elsewhere, I'd love to see him again. But his contract is expired.

Peanutbutter · August 10, 2015, 05:03:35 PM

Quote from: talonmalon333 on August 10, 2015, 02:21:21 PM
It's understandable for Edge and Daniel Bryan since both had to retire due to health issues. But as Rey Mysterio is still a wrestler elsewhere, I'd love to see him again. But his contract is expired.

Bryan hasn't retired.

talonmalon333 · August 10, 2015, 05:11:38 PM

I kind of just said that in a general sense, saying they both retired in the sense that they both left. Which Daniel Bryan did do, temporarily.

But it is true that he's planning on returning, assuming WWE will have him. I hope he'll be okay, considering he's always getting hurt to the point where one of my friends actually questions his in-ring ability and ability to take hits correctly.

However, if he comes back and is up for it, I'll be so pumped for his return. Before he left, he was honestly one of my top favorite current wrestlers alongside Rollins, Lesnar, and Ziggler.

News:

Wrestling (WWE, etc.)