The Daily Liger: It really is daily this time now, and the hardest part of this.

Look, I know that I said this would be a daily feature and it hasn't been. So i figure I'll get this re-started with the most difficult match to pick.

It is, to my mind, almost impossible to accurately explain the Liger history without bringing up his greatest Japanese opponent: Chris Benoit. This isn't the time or the place to get into a kind of discussion about what Benoit's last days mean for him as a wrestler.  That might be a later post, I think. But for right now the best thing we can do is discuss Liger vs Benoit. THis is the match WCW used to intro Liger to American Audiences. Because it was against Benoit, a guy they had been tangentially pushing at about the same time, it worked like a charm. Enjoy.

The Daily Liger #3: The Break-Out

For many of us, we discovered Liger when he came to the United States to face Brian Pillman which i covered in this post: http://themajestyofwrestling.blogspot.com/2012/02/daily-liger-1-introduction-and-20th.html . But in actuality his true breakout, the one that proved to fans all over the world that this was a Jr. Heavyweight worth watching, came against Naoki Sano. Sano has had a really interesting career in that he was sort of the gatekeeper to Liger's junior title runs, and then went on to a career competing in shoot-style indies before giving up the ghost altogether and becoming a MMA artist before going back to pro wrestling with a run in NOAH. Here, watch Liger vs Sano.

The Daily Liger #2: vs Eddie Guerrero (or is it Silver King?)

As anyone who has watched puroresu for longer than a few minutes, the Tiger Mask lineage is something to be beheld. From Satoru Sayama to Mitsuharu Misawa to Koji Kanemoto, it's always been a place for young rookies that the Japanese system sees something in to get their career started on the right foot. But just as important has been Tiger Mask's eternal rival, the evil Black Tiger. Now the lineage of this whole thing is far too complicated for me to go into now, but believe me when I tell you that it's as equally valuable a lineage. Some of the best of the best have slipped on the Black Tiger mascara and embraced their inner heel. Here is a perfect example of that. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Black Tiger. From the J-Cup in 1996.

The Daily Liger #1: An Introduction and a 20th Anniversary

Because I am the sort who likes to create new content for this blog, here we go. Every morning I'll post a match from the man, who for my money, is the best junior heavyweight to ever lace up a pair of boots.

We'll start with this video:

And i know what you're thinking. We need a match here right? Easy. We'll start with the best match to really introduce this man to American fans. It's not nearly enough for it to be a good match. WHat you need is someone that the fans can get behind, someone that the fans can care about. This match is that time. Liger was coming in to WCW presented as the foreign menace, out to keep the World Light Heavyweight Championship from WCW's all-american phenom Flyin' Brian. Even now, 20 years after it happened, the match is still compelling. The way they structured it still works.


Brian Pillman vs. Jushin Liger 2/29/92 by Hook_Line_and_Sinker

Music Videos: Aerial Pyrotechnics.

I am a huge fan of wrestling music videos as an art form. The trouble you have is when they somehow inform the way in which you actually watch wrestling, or what it is that you expect out of a particular worker. But just as an art form, they're glorious. So glorious in fact that i'm going to try and make this a new feature. So, please, journey with me into the world of music videos.

Wednesday Night Wrestling: Rugged Ronnie Garvin vs Greg "The Hammer" Valentine

This is a new feature. Spend your wednesday night watching wrestling on youtube. Here is our first choice.

The Majesty of Wrestling: Rey Mysterio: The Alternate Universe

The Majesty of Wrestling: Rey Mysterio: The Alternate Universe

Rey Mysterio: The Alternate Universe

In the long history of pro wrestling, there have been few prodigies on par with Rey Misterio Jr. Before he even hit the age of 21, he had already worked in Mexico for AAA (Asistencia Asesoría y Administración), in Japan both as part of the Super J-Cup and on the occasional tour with WAR (Wrestle and Romance) and New Japan Pro Wrestling, and in America with ECW and WCW. That’s a run. But he did all of that in the mid-1990’s, when there was much more of a depth of opportunities for unknown luchadores to make a name for themselves. The question is this: What would Rey Misterio Jr. have become if he was coming up now? If he was the aerial phenomenon that he was from 1991 to 1997 from 2006 to 2012, how would his life, career, and the way we view him change? Would it even?

Dream Match #2: Mike Quackenbush vs Blue Panther

It's back again. Our friendly neighborhood Dream Match series.
 This is our first singles match, and it would be an absolute technical master class. Let's introduce the participants.

The Majestic Recipe Box: three-cheese Panini

If you follow me on Twitter you'll soon discover that as much as I love talking about wrestling, I also love talking about what I'm making for dinner. So i figured that I would start writing down my lovely sandwich options. First thing up: three-cheese panini with homemade arrabiata sauce.

ingredients:

high-quality bread. pugliese and ciabatta are the best for this, but if you want to tempt fate and use a baguette, I am not going to be the one to stop you.
arrabiata sauce: recipe can be found here
cheese: 2 grated oz each of cheddar, queso quesadilla (found in the mexican\ethnic foods aisle in most supermarkets), and monterey jack. swiss, muenster, and colby jack are also all acceptable substitutes.

recipe:

cut the bread lengthwise. spoon on enough of the sauce to cover the bottom portion of the bread, then add the cheese. stuff and place on a steaming hot panini press. press until the cheese is melted. eat and enjoy.

TMW Dream Matches Pt. 1

It's an old habit of wrestling fans, no matter what kind you're thinking of. Give us some time, and we'll immediately start trying to figure out dream matches. And if nothing else has become apparent about this blog, it should be this. I pride myself on being a wrestling fan. So, these are the matches that I have always thought about. Am I gonna pick winners? Sure. Why the hell not?