Luger body-slammed Yokozuna.







Luger weighs 274 ... Yokozuna weighs 589.

"It was a hip toss, Monsoon!"  

All of that, plus the Lex Express and Vince still couldn't get Lex over as a babyface.  He was just a natural heel and the fans knew it and just wouldn't buy him as an all-American babyface.

Footage of various people who slammed Andre, before and after Wrestlemania III...




Notice Andre could go up higher in his younger and more agile days.

NWA Powerrr Week 12

Recap of Storm and Aldis and the draw for the tv title tournament. Match is tonight.

After the opening jaw jacking by the announcers, Tim Storm cuts a promo, wearing a Mama Storm t-shirt (Mama Storm is the most over relative since Mama Cornette) and out comes Aldis & Kamille. Aldis is getting a lot of catcalls from the audience and real heel heat, now.

Recap of last week's Stevens and Question Mark backstage promo and Stevens is out for a submission exhibition match, against Sal Renauldo. Stevens wins with a COBRA CLUTCH!!!!!!!!! I haven't seen a Cobra Clutch used since both the Masked Superstar (Bill "Demolition Axe" Eadie) used it in Georgia (circa 1983) and a heel Sgt Slaughter was also using it in Mid-Atlantic (while teaming with Don Kernodle). I believe Slaughter used it for a bit, in the WWF. It's actually a legit choke, when you actually cinch it in (like the sleeper); but no one has used it in years. Nice to see it make a comeback. Well, okay, Ted DiBiase used it and Steve Austin used it, when he was the Ringmaster; but, nobody of note since then and nowhere near as prominently as Bill Eadie and Slaughter.

Trevor Murdoch comes out and calls out Stevens for his actions and Stevens fluffs a retort, leading to "You can't talk" chants (since they can't do You F-ed up chants), which Stevens handled perfectly. He has a great back and forth with the crowd which makes the goofiness fun. Murdoch challenges him to a match and beats him with an INDIAN DEATHLOCK!!!!!!! That one has been dormant longer than the Cobra Clutch and they brought up Harley Race on commentary, who used to use it in matches against Flair. Of course, given their PC issues, they might need to rename it, if Murdoch is going to make regular use of it. I would have thought Murdoch would have used a Chicken Wing!

Something called Powerrr Surge coming to the NWA website. No idea, unless it is something like the Ten Pounds of Gold thing.

Pope (Elijah Burke) in a taped piece, sitting at ringside, talking to Homicide and Kingston. He refers to Homicide as a former World Champ. He did hold the Ring of Honor title; but, I would have not used 'world champion" in reference to another company's title that was defended in fewer places than your own. Call it a major title, company title, whatever, but, unless you are doing cross promotion for title vs title match, don't refer to it as a World Title, unless it is the WWF (maybe IWGP). Not sure what this accomplished, other than fill time, Nothing of note said.

Promo for the Hard Times PPV, with Billy Corgan music. No Dusty promo, though....



Eli Drake out for another round of catch phrases and a promo that is going nowhere, until Colt Canan comes out to give it a direction, reminding Drake that Colt is a 2-time World champion and Drake isn't. Man, the previous NWA Regime's would put that title on just about anyone. Sets up a tag match with Drake & James Storm vs Colt & Ken Anderson, next week.

Promo for something title NWA Girl Powerrr, at the website. They show a group photo of 16 women, including Melina, Allysin Kay, Ashley Vox, Marti Belle, Thunder Rosa, ODB, and others. May be a tournament or a women's card. One of the women is Anastasia Fletcher, who has drawn names from a bowl for the tv title tournament, but nothing more has been said about her. No info found online for her as a wrestler.

Ringside taped piece, first with melina, Marti Belle and Thunder Rosa, talking about how Allysin Kay wasn't Marti's friend. Followed by Allysin, Ashley Vox and ODB talking the other side. Came across a bit too high school, if you ask me. She was never my friend! Why doesn't she like me anymore? Oh my god, get over yourself!

Fer sure!

Marti Belle (with melina) vs Tasha Steelz. Steelz wins with a sloppy diamond cutter. Good match. They actually started out working holds! I mean, armbars, headlocks, takeovers...the works! Belle is looking better but still has weird body language and does too many spots running at the corner. I like Steelz. She has some charisma and she executes well. She's probably the smallest of the women, including Thunder, who isn't very big, either. Melina chews Marti out in the ring.

Taped piece where Anastasia Fletcher draws next names for tournament: Zicky Dice vs Caleb Conley. Set your VCRs. No idea why Dice was hired as he adds little but bad comedy that is 20 years out of date. Conley has good moves but is green. Hasn't cut a promo yet. Still no explanation who Fletcher is. Like AEW, the NWA is assuming people have followed wrestling on the internet and instantly know who people are or will google them. They are still better about introducing the talent; but, a little more from the announcers would go a long way. Cornette was better about pushing the importance of people.

Tim Storm out for his match, but Aldis comes out in street clothes. He names his group (Strictly Business), while pointing at their winged logo on their jackets. Well, like most poultry, he is too chicken to get in the ring with Storm and sends in Royce Isaacs to do his dirty work. Isaac does the exaggerated eye bulge, gets a kiss from his hooker....girlfriend, May Valentine, and goes into the ring to take his a$$-whooping. Isaacs has good facials for the ring, but they are too over the top at the podium. Storm wins with the Perfect Storm (spinning sidewalk slam). Tom Latimer tries to interfere and pulls back. Aldis, who previously took a shot at Ricky Morton is backing away from the ring when out come Morton & Gibson, while the crowd chants "Rock N Roll!" Morton yells out, "Rule Number One, never turn your back on your opponent!" Their match is coming.

Good show, though the taped ringside sit downs aren't really adding much. Girl Powerrr looks interesting; will it be a tournament, a women's showcase, a one-time event? We'll just have to see. Surge is less interesting as they tease nothing. Stevens continues to be entertaining as a deluded fool, Trevor Murdoch is an old school s@#$kicker, and the women looked better in the ring. Now, if they could get some more practice on the mic with an expert guiding them. Thunder is the only natural and I still don't see what was supposed to be so big deal about Melina, other than she worked for the WWE. TNA was filled with WWE exiles and it went under. got to give me more reason to care. I will say she was better in a manager's role than she was wrestling, last week.

The PPV was also shot in the GPB studios and it looks like the next one is, too. Until they have a PPV in an arena setting, they won't be competing with anyone. Still, the product is exciting and the show is great. I would like to see them get an actual tv partner, so this could reach a wider audience.

Tim Storm is a pure babyface and as real a reaction as they come. Fans love his story, Mama Storm, his classroom, and paying his dues. despite being the carryover from the old regime, he was given more credibility by Corgan, going into the match with Aldis, than he ever was under Tharp or anyone else. Aldis is getting more and more of a heel reaction. Drake is still playing Tweener and doing catchphrases.

I'll fight you (in the wrestling ring) over that. 

In all seriousness, I think a good wrestling card should be more than a one-match show.

I mean, WrestleMania VI was a one-match show. It felt like the PPV was just counting down the clock until Hogan/Warrior. Understandable given the two top faces of the WWF were going toe-to-toe, but other matches felt like an afterthought, e.g. Superfly Jimmy Snuka vs Rick Rude. 

Yet there are other PPVs that didn't feel like one-match shows. Something like King of the Ring 1994 felt like it was selling lots of matches: the tournament, Piper/Lawler, Bret/Diesel, etc.

Anyway, Hogan/Andre and Steamboat/Savage are different kinds of matches, both of which served a need for me. 

I did read that Savage liked to have scripted matches (Hogan called him a "details freak" in one interview). Someone, it *may* have been Ric Flair, stated that Steamboat was being driven mad with Savage's desire for a scripted match so they went natural. It works better.

I did also read, in a magazine, that when DDP started wrestling, he used to like a scripted match. I even read about how he'd faxed (or received a fax) about the moves in a match.

I think natural works better. Jake Roberts did a shoot interview ("Behind Closed Doors") where he said it was better just to know the finish - and call the rest in the ring. Wrestling isn't a movie. It depends on spontaneity. If your script requires the tenth headlock of the match, but fans are bored, why stick to it? Go for a high spot or something to get the crowd going again. Wrestling is neither fish nor fowl, I think it benefits from spontaneity.

I think Hogan/Andre is the better spectacle.

If I may use a movie comparison, sometimes you wanna watch something light such as 1988's The Great Outdoors. Nothing too deep or meaningful. Just fun. Other times you may want something deep and meaningful, e.g. 2001: A Space Odyssey. Both are fine. I'm kind of the same when I search for matches on the WWF Network. Sometimes I fancy a near-30-minute technical encounter, e.g. Arn Anderson vs Lord Steven Regal at SuperBrawl IV. Other times, I fancy a silly encounter, e.g. the Four Doinks VS Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Booger and The Head Shrinkers (Survivor Series 1993.

It's kind of an issue I had with Meltzer and Findlay Martin (editor of the now defunct Power Slam), at times there appears to be some semi-pretentious critical evaluation at play. If I was a food critic, I would not review a doughnut in the same way I'd review a steak and salad. You can't apply the same critical evaluation to a Bushwhackers match on free TV as you would to a 30-minute match featuring Dean Malenko.

In DDP's case, and I am "mind reading" here, maybe coming to the game later, it could have been he wanted to have the best match possible. Maybe some guys prefer scripts.

But I've read a few anecdotes from opponents of Savage who didn't really want to go down the scripted route.

I'm no wrestler, but I think doing things spontaneously, and with the crowd in mind, is better. Maybe if the crowd gets bored and restless, then do something spontaneous like pull hair and back rake. But if your script requires you to do something unexciting, and you stick with it, it doesn't help the crowd.

Perhaps a better comparison is stand-up comedy. I'm sure that quite a few have certain jokes and routines in mind, but they have to take into account the heckler or a bored crowd. Maybe wind a joke down if it, or similar jokes, aren't hitting the spot. Or change direction if a particular topic isn't exciting enough. Maybe you can keep within the formula but deviate where necessary. If I was a wrestler, I don't think I'd want to do a scripted match or promo.

My favourite robe too!

I think, based on your post, that the keyword for me is BALANCE. Don't do everything on the fly. Have some plans. The wrestler, promoter or wrestling executive who does everything on the fly, especially with millions of dollars at stake, is being a fool. At the same time, don't be rigid. Don't be the wrestling equivalent of a Vulcan. Be flexible. Deviate from the script. Ad-lib during a promo.

I suppose a good comic example is Stan Lee. Did he have everything planned in the early years of Marvel? I seriously doubt it. A lot was probably done on the fly. But there was probably a "plan of sorts" somewhere.