The Wrestling Framework 04.16.12: Back to Basics

Welcome to The Wrestling Framework! Yesterday marked the one year mark of my writing for 411 but I’m not going to make this a special edition because I really couldn’t think of anything to do that would be worthy of celebrating. Maybe I’ll do something next week to make up for it.

I’ve been trying to pay attention to wrestling since after WrestleMania, but it’s been kind of hard for me. WrestleMania just let me down and I have to motivate myself to watch. So I thought about what I like about wrestling and to try and recapture the magic.

I have some interesting matches. The first match is one from 2006 in Japan. In honor of the return of Lesnar and AlbertTensai, I found a match between the two for the IWGP Title.

The second match…well, the second match I wont be doing traditionally. Sorry, I guess I lied. No, instead I’m going to put up an entire 3 hour show. It’s the 2009 CZW Tournament of Death. The reason I’m doing this is because it’s been a while since I’ve watched overly hardcore wrestling and I want to see if there is any merit in it at all yet. I’m basically just going to write down my thoughts as I go along. So think of it as a live recording of my thoughts as the show goes on. Or something like that. Anyhow, let’s move on.

Every category is rated 0-2.
0-.5: Bad
.5-1: Okay
1-1.5: Good
1.5-2: Excellent

Then the scores are added up from the five different categories of the Big 5; psychology, work rate, crowd, spots and finish. The final score will be a number 1-10.
0-1: Unwatchable
1-2: Terrible
2-3: Bad
3-4: Okay. That was a match.
4-5: Passable(for what it’s worth)
5-6: Not Bad, Not Good
6-7: Decent
7-8: Good
8-9: Great
9-10: Excellent

MATCH: Brock Lesnar vs. Giant Bernard

Psychology: 2
Work Rate: 1.8
Crowd: 1.5
Spots: 1
Finish: 1.9
Overall: 8.2

Psychology: I was pretty impressed here. We have a monster vs. monster match for the title. Both men are big dudes who will just clobber the holy hell out of each other. And that’s pretty much what they do. They sold this match quite nicely as the clash of the titans that it looks like it’s supposed to be. They worked really well with each other. They played off of what the other did damn near to perfection. There’s no denying that these guys had great chemistry in the ring. And this is quite surprising to those who haven’t seen either guy outside of the WWE. Albert had always been a bit of an anomaly. There were times where he was really entertaining, but it was more because of his character. And there were the other times where I barely even noticed him. Looking back, I just didn’t see any appeal in Prince Albert, A-Train, etc. when he was all serious and ass-kicky. In hindsight, I think he just didn’t have the proper motivation to be the beast that he is now. Or it could be that he just needed to go hit Japan and get a revamp of his repertoire. When it comes to Lesnar, he’s always been good in my book. I don’t mean good like wrestling wise, but I’ve never really had a problem with him. Except when he left. That just pissed me off. He left to go play football and ended up in MMA. When I saw his success in the UFC, I forgave him. It was his right to do so. His character being back interest me heavily. And is it just more or is this some of the best selling I’ve ever seen from Brock Lesnar?

Work Rate: Not exactly the greatest ring work I’ve ever seen, but when it comes to big, muscle guys, this was damn worth the watch. To me, the stuff that they did just fit perfectly with each man’s respective size and style. Bernard is just a big beast of a man and he lets it show. However, I think he tends to rely on using the clothesline a little too much. It could just be me, but it seems like that’s one of his go to usual moves. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it does get a little boring. Lesnar has the ability to do some very technical moves even with a big guy like Bernard. Lesnar has the skill from his amateur background to be able to pull off things like a suplex or such. And with the massive amount of muscle that he has, he can pull off these moves on nearly any opponent. If Brock is motivated, he can have a damn good match. The same can be said about Bernard, too. Both men have a lot of talent and skill and know how to work with what they got and make it pass as excellent. It’s a bit of an unseen thing these days. Most big guys will stick to a very limited move set and just try to use the image of their brute strength to hide the fact that they don’t use that many moves. Seeing Lesnar and Bernard in WWE again, hopefully that can make a change in how the big men wrestle a bit.

Crowd: The crowd here was hit and miss for me. It was hard to really figure them out. They seemed like a traditional style crowd, save for a few people here and there shouting something. They would pop when the pop was warranted, but didn’t really sound like they were even that big of a crowd. I don’t know if that’s just audio quality, but it sounded like they were in front of like 100 people. And maybe they were. That’s not really a problem. It just made the crowd hard to really feel. They seemed like they were in to the match and were going hot for these guys, but at the same time I don’t know what kind of crowd we were dealing with here. There are some crowds that just go nuts the whole time and other silent and pop when time whilst this one was just a weird mixture of both. This could be because I’m a little drunk while watching it and it just seems off to me, or I could be right and it’s just a weird crowd. I’ll give them credit for really being in to the match, but I just don’t feel like this is a “2” crowd.

Spots: The spots in the match were kind of lack luster. I didn’t really expect a whole lot from these two, but there are other options they can explore that would work perfectly for them. I did enjoy the brawling on the outside. It was rough enough that it felt right to me and it made me get in to the match a little more because sometimes the sheer force and brutality exerted in moments like these just get the adrenaline pumping. There’s something about watching two giants of men trade slams into the barricade and ring then continue to beat the shit out of each other without even slowing down. There was one thing that I had really hoped to see from them that I’m kind of disappointed I didn’t see. I wanted to see them do like an old school test of strength. I think it would have been awesome to see Lesnar and Bernard link hands and just fight for control. They didn’t even have to do it old school style, they could have used their own version of a test of strength. I miss seeing that between two strong men. Seems like a dead art. It’s too bad, but it’s not the end of the world. Or the business.

Finish: That finish was pretty solid. I liked seeing Lesnar work his way out of the suplex attempt and get Bernard in the F5. In fact, just the sheer fact that he held Bernard up for so long is just another testament to the strength of Lesnar. If you’re wondering how, take a look at how bigger than Lesnar Bernard is. He’s a good size bigger, right? So now you see how it shows the beastly strength of Brock Lesnar. However, I did take .1 off because I just think it would have been cooler to see Lesnar counter out of the Bernard Bomb and hit the F5. That’s personal preference and probably shouldn’t affect the score, but then again, this is an opinion column and that’s just my opinion.

Overall: You know, I was damn excited to see Brock back. There’s just something about him that really gets people to take notice. Regardless of the little things that I take notice in the negative about Lesnar, he’s still just an enigma. I think that because he has such an uncharacteristic voice compared to his look, he shouldn’t be allowed to talk. That’s just my opinion, though. It was appropriate to have Heyman as a mouth piece for him, I think. But now, you can’t really get around him talking, so I’ll just have to deal with it. Speaking of dealing with it; I’m sad at what has become of Bernard. The reaction he’s getting from the crowd, or lack of reaction, is kind of sad. I see him as bringing something different to the WWE and the American wrestling scene. The mainstream American wrestling scene, I should specify. But this will be addressed in the Bonus Round.

WINNER: BROCK LESNAR

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COMMERCIAL BREAK

Interesting…

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CZW Tournament of Death 2009

Opening Thoughts: Okay, so this is something a little different. I’m doing an entire show. I might do this more often. As for the show itself, it’s CZW’s Tournament of Death. I’m a little reluctant to watch it, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen a deathmatch, so this could be fun. Or just plain ol’ horrible. We’ll find out.

Ongoing Thoughts: Sami Callahan, I’ve heard of him. Never really watched him.

There’s a blow-up doll in the ring. That’s actually funny. Wonder if it’ll be used. Most likely will, I think.

Wow, what a crowd. That’s like…50 people? If that? Not hatin’, just would expect more from what looks like it could be a big show.

Hmm, never heard of Danny Havoc. He’s some kind of violence champion. Cool…?

Oh, the match starts THEN they announce it’s for the title. That’s innovation….

Danny Havoc’s choice in hair dying is…hell, it looks stupid as shit.

Oh! Going in the ring! Are they gonna wrest- … Nope. Nevermind.

I was wrong. There they go. Not too bad.

Oh, first sighting of blood! Sami Callahan has a bloody freakin’ nose! EXTREME!

Barb wire. Always fun.

Glass back rake followed by a “Fuck him up, Sami! Fuck him up!” chant. Creative!

Some kind of gay joke or something.

Bored of this already, moving forward.

They did have some creative uses of light tubes!

Sami wins then cuts a rather lame promo…but still better than anything I could ever do.

Jon Moxley!Dean Ambrose!

Oh, and I think I underestimated the crowd size. Looks more like maybe 150. My bad.

Thumb. Tack. Jack. I…what? Okay. Cool. Let’s see what he can do. I guess.

Dog collar match?! Okay, that’s kinda cool.

Okay, I’m done with the little comment crap. I’m not funny, so I’m gonna stop trying. Instead, I’ll just give my thoughts on each match. Moxley and TTJ was a decent little dog collar match. I felt that Moxley carried most of the work load, but TTJ did his own little fair share of the work. Makes me even more excited to see what Jon Moxley can do in the ‘E.

Brain Damage vs. Masada. I’ve only heard of Masada but not seen a whole lot from him. Some decent little wrestling by both men, but it still, of course, held the hardcore formula. Not a bad little match really. Masada winning makes sense. He seemed to be the better wrestler anyhow.

Nick Gage vs. Zandig, I might actually enjoy this one. Both men have impressed me a few times in the past. And that shit was just fucking brutal. I mean, to the point that I just didn’t care to watch most of it. It was pretty much just gratuitous blood shed with out anything behind it. But that’s what CZW is all about, right? Meh.

Rich Swann vs. Greg Excellent vs. Scotty Vortekz. I didn’t even want to really watch this match. I’ve heard of Rich Swann, but again, haven’t really seen anything from him. Greg Excellent is an unknown to me. And his theme music and just look all together is not helping the fact that I don’t want to watch the match. Scotty Vortekz didn’t help either. But…it was an okay match. Had some interesting spots and these guys showed that they really enjoy what they do.

So, Sami Callahan and TTJ come back out to face off and it was a pretty decent match. Nothing special, but good for what it was. At this point, the blood shed just seems normal and I don’t mind it anymore. Well, there is a voice in the back of my head saying that it’s still excessive, but I generally just ignore the voices in my head.

Gage and Masada to continue the tournament. Another good hardcore brawl. I like how every wrestler seems to have his own style on hardcore wrestling. It does make things interesting when each person puts their own spin on things.

Devon Moore vs. xOMGx. I just skipped this. Is that okay? I just want to get through this at this point. I’m sorry, I’m just not a fan of this stuff at all.

Masada vs TTJ just regurgitated what I’ve seen twice before already. Tournaments are good, but the wrestlers need to make things different. They tried, I’m sure, but I just didn’t really see it. But I have to admit to being impressed at how much damage they can take and keep going. They’re all fucking nuts.

I guess this was Thumbtack Jacks time to shine. I mean, he could actually be a big name in CZW, I don’t know that. I don’t watch much of it, so if he is, I can see why. That little guy can take a beating like no other. But in the end, CZW still is not for me. It’s not my style or what I look for in wrestling. And this brings me to…

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COMMERCIAL BREAK

From Double Double E on YouTube

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B-B-B-BONUS ROUND!

I want to just talk about what I look for and like in wrestling and hopefully get you guys to discuss what you like and look for. It seems that everyone has their own likes and dislikes and it shows. While some people will praise subject A, the rest are shitting on subject A and praising subject B.

I’ll start with the basics. I’m a huge fan of guys who use a variety of moves in the ring. That’s usually what I look for first. It keeps things fresh and exciting. It’s enjoyable for me to watch guys who have a great understanding of the technical aspects of wrestling. If I can’t have this, guys who can tell a story in the ring work just as well. When I think about who would fit this bill, I think of a guy like Flair. To me, Flair is still able to make the story of a match unfold without using a whole lot of moves. Granted, he DOES use the same damn thing every time, but it’s become sort of an enjoyable constant. This kind of stuff is entertaining to me.

Speaking of entertainment, when it comes to storylines and the antics of wrestlers in segments, I’m usually easily entertained. I’m a huge fan of comedy acts. Guys like Santino or Big Show who can act like a goofball and get over with the fans entertains me. I enjoy seeing a break in the seriousness of the rest of the company. I don’t mind see Santino engage in wacky antics, in fact, I WANT to see it. But there’s a downside to this as it can kind of ruin the chances of that person ever being taken seriously. When I see Big Show, I just think “Aww, Big Show!” It’ll take a lot to change the image from cuddly teddy bear to serious contender.

I want to lastly hit on what I think of Tensai, Albert, A-Train, Bernard, whatever being back in the WWE. I feel that he can bring in some of the Japanese style to us Americans. He has such a unique style but the fans just aren’t accepting it and it sucks. As you should know, I’m a huge fan of the Japanese style. Hopefully Tensai can become accepted in to the WWE Universe….dear God I can’t believe I just used that term, but it’s about as accurate as I can get.

And that’s all for me folks. I’ll see you all next week. Oh, and don’t forget to check out The Wrestling Sandwich as well because I’ll be covering that for Rutherford as he take care of his family. Later.