The Pro Wrestling Thread

[Dalty]

It's super-fly South Asian fusion, you doubting mofo!!!

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

Super Fly Jimmy Snuka South Asian fusion?

He's from the South Pacific, but he's not from South Asia. I guess that's where the "fusion" comes in, though.

[Adam54]

Super Fly hopped back into the ring ~5 years ago. Dude had barely lost a step. Very, very impressive.

[Adam54]

Actually, that's a lie. I'm thinking of Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. Sorry, everybody. Sorry. Snuka hopped into the ring again at the same time, but Steamboat was MUCH more impressive.

[Adam54]

[Adam54]

Someday, if I have a son, he'll be able to do this. That's a Skoglund Guarantee.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

Steamboat's cool.

Chris Jericho's another one of those wrestlers who has apparently been at it long enough to be considered an institution but whose rise to prominence occurred way after I'd stopped watching. I used to get all the people like Chris Jericho, John Cena, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, and Randy Orton mixed up.

Was there was a period of anti-flamboyance in the late nineties to early aughts? I haven't watched much of the wrestling from that period, but it seems like maybe there was. I feel like all these guys had generic-sounding names, and, as far as I could tell, they didn't have much flash. Maybe this was symptomatic of a return to a technique/substance-over-style aesthetic. Whatever the case, I didn't know any of these men from Adam.

I came to know that Angle was an Olympic gold medalist. I remember his wearing his medals being part of his shtick; I can't remember if the intention of this was heeling or facing, but I remember seeing him do it. I think maybe he shaves his head now. Benoit's the one who murdered his wife and kid and then hanged himself. Cena's the one who wears the baseball cap. Still couldn't pick Jericho and Orton out of a lineup. Probably couldn't pick Benoit out of a lineup, either. I know he's dead, and I know of some of the controversy surrounding his death, but I don't really know his face.

[Mango]

Kurt Angle's primary role in WWE was heel based. Partially based on his believed superiority of being better because he was a legit wrestler and partially because legit wrestling 'looks gay.' Dude was super-impressive though, partially because he was a legitimate Olympic bad ass. At some point he became a full on face when they shifted Stone Cold into a corporate man. It's what I call Angle's 'clean-cut bad ass' phase. My favorite moment was a parody of Stone Cold's beer truck entrance. Angle drove a milk truck to the ring, and after the match used a pair of milk cartons to mock Austen's beer swilling victory bit.

Benoit was also an amazing talent. He and Angle had beautiful hour long match at some such PPV. I used to mark out for Benoit pretty hard. I was hit a bit hard when he went batshit and killed his family.

Along with this also came Dean Malenko, Eddie Gurerrero, Tazz, and a few other legit and impressive talents. Big Show also got some good press for upping his cardio where he could work long matches and move quickly and with grace. I wouldn't say it was a period of anti-flamboyance but instead they grabbed up a lot of talent and experienced a boost in viewers who enjoyed skill and speed over brute force. Some people also seem to claim that the internet helped spread the views of those 'in the know.' I think basically the curtain got pulled back and a few worthwhile people got boosts based more on their actual personality and skill instead of what the company decided to put forth.

I know Al Snow benefited for a short while from his tenure of "Tough Enough" which showed far more personality than any of his silly gimmicks.

[Mal Shot First]

Was there was a period of anti-flamboyance in the late nineties to early aughts?

You may be right, but it's also that period that gave us The Rock, and he was a pretty flashy dude.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

I was going to qualify that and say that there were clearly people with some flash. There has always been some mixture of the two. It just seemed to me--looking in from the outside, at least--that they were working harder to promote people with blander looks and personality than they had in years previous and were also working hard to highlight these people's technical skills. Even the Rock, who clearly had a lot of personality, wasn't all that flashy visually. He did nowhere near as much peacocking as most of the dominant wrestlers of the late eighties and early nineties. I'm sure he's worn some flashy outfits, but I really only remember him wearing the black trunks, black elbow pads, and black knee pads. I think maybe he wore an unbuttoned black vest when he was doing promos.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

Apparently, the Rock debuted wearing this:



The toned-down approach was clearly the better approach.

[Adam54]

If we're getting technical, Rocky Maivia debuted wearing that. Near as I can figure, The Rock debuted wearing this

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

Oh, hey! Look! A referee was too stunned to count one person out, then he came to in just enough time to count the other person out!

[Mal Shot First]

I'm sure he's worn some flashy outfits, but I really only remember him wearing the black trunks, black elbow pads, and black knee pads. I think maybe he wore an unbuttoned black vest when he was doing promos.

You're probably right about the outfits he wore in the ring for the most part. I was thinking of his get-ups outside of the ring, which tended to get pretty garish. It seemed like he was trying to make a statement with them, as you can see from this interaction with Triple H:



Anyway, it's not like I followed pro wrestling at the time, but that's the impression I've gotten as an outsider catching commercials for the programs back in the late nineties/early aughts and watching YouTube clips.

[Adam54]

You're both pretty right. His gimmick was to be an egocentric guy (heel or face) who, of course, referred to himself in the third person constantly and dressed up in flashy outfits and whatnot. Once in the ring though, I can only remember the black trunks and such that Goiter described.

He's dialed that ego and the outfits back a LOT in his more recent appearances, which I suspect has something to do with the fact that he's a legitimate Hollywood celebrity now and it'd just look tacky.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

It worked for Andy Kaufman.

[Mal Shot First]

Ha!

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foot ... 35405.html

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

He'd better take the job. Isn't he pretty much done with soccer at his age?

Maybe goalkeepers can be older. There's a lot less running.

[Dalty]

The ages get bigger as you move back. Strikers and winger peak from 25-28 ish. Midfielders up to about 30 - 32 tops. Defenders have been known to keep playing up to 35 at the top level. Keepers can be a bit older.

There are always exceptions. Shilton springs to mind. And the paradigm shifts as the modern game evolves, and depends which league you play in.

[Mal Shot First]

Goalkeepers can keep on going well into their 30s. I can think of several goalkeepers off the top of my head who were active until they were 39 or 40. Age alone shouldn't really prevent him from continuing his soccer career.

As the article states, he transferred from Bremen (who were in a period of rapid decline) to Hoffenheim (a club with potential for growth and a wealthy investor behind it) with the ambition of securing at least a spot in the Europa League. After a horrendous start into the season, Wiese was axed and hasn't played a competitive match in almost two years now.

If that weren't enough to effectively end his career, he bulked up massively in an extremely short time span (six to nine months), leading to speculations that he has probably been using steroids. If that is true, he wouldn't pass the obligatory drug test if he were to get signed by a club again. AND he'd probably be slower and less agile than before.

So yes, if he indeed has an offer from the WWE, I think he should take it. I doubt that he'll get a serious offer from any professional soccer club in Germany anytime soon.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

I bet he used Good Ol' HGH.

[Mal Shot First]

Here's a before/after comparison:

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

He's a good height for wrestling. Show him the ropes, give him a signature move or two, let the better wrestlers work around him until he finds his footing, and he'll fit right in.

[Dalty]

Has to sort out that fucking Barnet though. Looks like a twat.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

He'd love to sort out Barnet, but Barnet won't take him.

Poor dude. Can't even get on a fifth tier team in England.