if you listen to certain corners of the internet blogosphere like this, or this, you would be well within your rights to assume that anyone who enters MMA as a career is, to quote the first article that was linked here, "doing nothing more than buying into a fantasy." And while this blog has, with regrettable results, tried to prove the point that those who have a bias towardss MMA should consider themselves to be as shameful as those who have biases towards athletes because of the color of their skin, the big fight coming up between Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar drove me to revisit this thought. Because, after all, I am going to try and watch the fight.
So with that in mind I figured I'd explain why the persons in the main event of this show are better role models for your children than you think they are.
1: All of the american-born MMA fighters are at the very least high-level collegiate athletes.
The men in the main event of this show, Randy Couture, a three-time Olympic team alternate (1988, 1992 and 1996); a semifinalist at the 2000 Olympic Trials; a three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division-I All-American and a two-time NCAA Division-I runner-up at Oklahoma State University. What else could you want someone to do? World-class wrestler, got his degree from a very reputable institution.
Brock Lesnar, on the other hand, finished his amateur career as a two-time NJCAA All-American, two-time NCAA All-American, two-time Big Ten Conference Champion, and the 2000 NCAA heavyweight champion with a record of 106-5 overall in four years of college. Both of these men are well-spoken, capable of representing themselves and their sport well, and are well-rounded men. Hell... Randy Couture got the nickname "Captain America" for goodness sakes.
Two: Competitive grace.
To be sure Lesnar and Couture will try their best to mine their arsenals as deep as they can to ensure the victory. for themselves but i can also guarantee to you that when the night is over, whether one of them wins or loses, they'll treat each other likes sporstmen. No Tito Ortiz-like grave digging here.
Three: Can Randy Couture do it again?
Every time anyone with even a casual interest in MMA has believed that Randy is done, that the new young bull is finally going to knock the old bull off, Randy refuses to die. Whether utterly dominating Tim Sylvia, out-striking Chuck Liddell, or battling through a broken arm to beat Gabriel Gonzaga, it has gotten to the point where there are few things that you believe he can't do.
In the days to come I'll add more listings to this list. Enjoy.
10.24.2008
Explanation......
I do not do this normally but an addendum to the post just below this one.
When I wrote it, I was angry at what I thought was a series of cheap shots made purely because the writer knew he could take them with no one to call him on them. In the course of me trying to disprove those cheap shots, I did the one thing I should not have done: I took cheap shots of my own. The truth is this: D.K. Wilson of Sports on My Mind knows nothing about MMA, nor does he want to. That is his right. After all, there are things he is likely expert on that I know nothing about, nor that I would want to. Moreover, I vow here…. No more cheap shots on the subject of race, and for that matter no more cheap shots period. But I also hope that you hear this: Do not assume, that just because I have vowed not to take a cheap shot at you, that you can continue to tell your audience flat-out falsehoods about MMA. I will be watching.
And on the subject of racism in sports media this is the argument that I was trying to make, and I hope that if you have stumbled over here from Sports on My Mind you will listen to it. This blog, whether you wish it to be or not, is largely about pro wrestling, MMA, and amateur wrestling. When one of those three things intersects with something else I am going to cover both the original thing and the intersection. However, do understand, for I would not expect this of those of you who have a blog that details something in specific to detail from the things you enjoy discussing to come and cover the differences between T2P and Toryumon X, it will only be when there is a motivation that I find. Let me have this little corner of the blogosphere all to myself, to speak in my voice. And that voice doesn’t NOT care about ESPN, and doesn’t NOT care about other things that have nothing to do with all manners grappling. It’s that those opinions are private, left to me to discuss with comfortable AND uncomfortable company on my own terms.
Sincerely,
The Majesty of Wrestling
When I wrote it, I was angry at what I thought was a series of cheap shots made purely because the writer knew he could take them with no one to call him on them. In the course of me trying to disprove those cheap shots, I did the one thing I should not have done: I took cheap shots of my own. The truth is this: D.K. Wilson of Sports on My Mind knows nothing about MMA, nor does he want to. That is his right. After all, there are things he is likely expert on that I know nothing about, nor that I would want to. Moreover, I vow here…. No more cheap shots on the subject of race, and for that matter no more cheap shots period. But I also hope that you hear this: Do not assume, that just because I have vowed not to take a cheap shot at you, that you can continue to tell your audience flat-out falsehoods about MMA. I will be watching.
And on the subject of racism in sports media this is the argument that I was trying to make, and I hope that if you have stumbled over here from Sports on My Mind you will listen to it. This blog, whether you wish it to be or not, is largely about pro wrestling, MMA, and amateur wrestling. When one of those three things intersects with something else I am going to cover both the original thing and the intersection. However, do understand, for I would not expect this of those of you who have a blog that details something in specific to detail from the things you enjoy discussing to come and cover the differences between T2P and Toryumon X, it will only be when there is a motivation that I find. Let me have this little corner of the blogosphere all to myself, to speak in my voice. And that voice doesn’t NOT care about ESPN, and doesn’t NOT care about other things that have nothing to do with all manners grappling. It’s that those opinions are private, left to me to discuss with comfortable AND uncomfortable company on my own terms.
Sincerely,
The Majesty of Wrestling
10.22.2008
Puncturing Bubbles
I take no joy in doing what I am about to do, but know that if I didn’t do it, I’d find myself regretting every morning. Here we go.
Recently D.K. Wilson over at Sports on My Mind, who got this written about him the last time he tried to speak on something about which he has no great sense of knowledge, decided he’d keep the damned thing going. So, because we here at The Majesty of Wrestling like puncturing self-important people’s bubbles just as much as we like Torneo Ciberneticos, puppies, and American Dragon, here we go: A FJM-style dismantling of every single last one of Mr. Wilson’s points in his latest notes article found here
(Author’s Note: My Comments are in Bold. Helps to keep things clear.)
Brock Lesner was featured by Tom Ferrey in one of Tuesday’s E:60 segments. And Lesner was the recipient of some serious ESPN “White Pass” treatment.
OOH….. Racism. I’d love to see how we prove this one.
For those who do not know him, Brock Lesner was an NCAA champion wrestler at the University of Minnesota. He then entered the world of professional wrestling and became a multimillionaire. For his efforts he blew out both of his knees and has chronic back pain.
After leaving the ranks of pro-faux grappling he tried to parlay his wrestling fame into making the Minnesota Vikings as a defensive lineman. Lesner lasted until the final round of cuts and found himself lost and without work. So he turned to mixed martial arts for salvation and in a rocket rise through the ranks reminiscent of Kimbo Slice, is set for a championship fight against 45-year old Randy Couture in November.
The only difference between Lesnar and Slice is that while Kimbo got there because he was discovered by some faux boxing promoter looking to drag himself into the MMA mainstream behind the wing of a parody of a street fighter, Brock lesnar actually has and always had the credentials necessary to be a good MMA fighter. NCAA Champion, one of the most dominant college heavyweights in recent memory. And I will say that your dismissive attitude towards Pro Wrestling will not be treated as it normally would here.
It is a true, your 15 minutes of fame is up, story.
But not for the WWL and its continued efforts to make good on its bet that MMA is the next big deal in - sort of - sports, So to force MMA down the throats of sports watchers, we are introduced by Ferrey to 6′3″ 265-pound Brock Lesner:
“Brock Lesner has always wanted to fight. Four years ago he was labeled the next big thing - but in the make-believe world of pro wrestling.”
Former pro wrestler Bill Goldberg then says:
“He’s a genetic freak. If god were to sit down and build a warrior I think he would come out to be Brock Lesner.”
Wonderful imagery there, ESPN. This is, after all, the sports news outlet that played and replayed Kellen Winslow’s U of Miami locker room tirade where he mentioned being a warrior ad nauseum. They highlighted and debated Winslow’s quote on every show possible and slagged him for using the word at a time when America was at war.
Ok. Where to begin? Brock was actually named the “Next Big Thing” by the WWE and proved it, and then after an ugly split with the WWE, went over to New Japan and did pretty much the same stuff (although him leaving and taking the belt with him was kind of shady.) But, to somehow imply that Brock Lesnar isn’t a genetic freak is just plain dumb. The dude’s got massive strength, great speed, and is agile for someone who is built basically like a big house.
And ooh… the Warrior quote. Apparently Kellen Winslow, who at the minimum was an 18-year-old kid discussing a penalty he had incurred for a cheap shot and how he was tougher than everyone who was on the other side of the field, is perfectly alright. But Bill Goldberg, who meant it in a way of describing the boundless athleticism of Lesnar, is somehow deserving of the same criticism that Winslow got.
Well, we’re still at war, but it apparently is just fine to air Goldberg’s quote and flaunt Lesner, who until recently, was just another WWE goon participating in that arena of predetermined outcomes, as a warrior.
“He got the fame, the fortune, and the girl… better known as “Sable,” wrestling diva and Playboy centerfold.”
Lesner tells us that he “lived the world of a rockstar” replete with “two Hummers, a Mercedes, Corvette - airplanes, four or five houses…”
And they say black athletes are the only people to squander their earnings on luxury items while acting like petty, transparent, consumer-addicted whores.
Am I going to sit here and argue that Lesnar’s lifestyle wasn’t reckless and consumeristic? Of course I’m not. That’d be silly. Almost as silly as going through an entire friggin article calling someone Lesner when his name is Lesnar. Nitpicking I know but hey….. it’s only going to get worse. And re the spending thing: One of these days I’ll take you to the homes of some white players in major sports and we’ll see how big they’re living. Deal?
But ESPN attempts to trick us into believing this is just another story of an All-American kid from the heartland (Lesner is from South Dakota). Just after showing a snippet of one of Lesner’s MMA bouts, there is a jump cut to a sunset-lighted field with infinite rows of corn and luscious green trees in the background and a tractor creating furrows and kicking up perfectly wind-blown dust (out of video camera view) in the foreground.
And baleful country slide guitar is serenading us to a sleep filled with pro-white America dreams.
Lord have mercy Jesus Christ. Because someone is from South Dakota, and a country guitar is played, it’s… let me get this right…. PRO-WHITE AMERICA? Oh god. He actually said this? *Sips a bottle of water, trying to calm down.* Oh that’s better. God forbid there are people in this country, even in Lesnar’s South Dakota, who like country music who happen to not be waving confederate flags in the backseat of their pickup trucks. And regarding the field and the tractor and the corn: It’s actually a good shot of the Midwest. Things like that happen out there. People use their fields to grow things. Like Corn… Wheat…. Rice. People don’t call the Midwest the breadbasket of the USA because it sounds nice. It’s true by and large.
Ferrey intones:
“Webster, South Dakota, a town near the Minnesota border with fewer than 2,000 people.”
And a solitary man - Lesner? - stands next to the town sign on the edge of railroad tracks - obviously going out of Webster.
“Lesner grew up on this dairy farm, struggling to help his family hold onto a property headed to foreclosure.”
It is Sarah Palin’s America.
Lesner then tells the tale of a broke family and knowing he needed to get out and make something more of himself (damn those people sure know how to pull themselves up by their bootstraps).
Wait a minute. We’re now clowning Brock Lesnar because he was able to get out of a bad situation because he was good, NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP-LEVEL good, at something and used it to get a college degree from a pretty good academic institution? Come on now man.. Besides, in Webster, farms exist. You know like the ones you might have seen (cursing under your breath that the men in them have GOT to be racist). Now you’re just Nat X, tilting windmills and seeing racism behind every corner. What’s next: “I demand to know why the black shoelaces are behind the white ones!”
If all of that wasn’t insidious enough to turn your mind’s eye queasy, the punch line is.
Ferrey then says:
“So Lesner literally fought his way out.”
Cut to childhood friend, Matthew Baumgarn, who is bright-eyed remembering a young Lesner:
“He likes to beat on people. He grew up beatin’ on people. Him and his brother were fightin’ all the time.
And then Ferrey asks Lesner:
“What is it like to simply maul somebody?”
To which Brock Lesner replies in a very matter-of-fact fashion:
“Ahh, it’s a good feeling. Handling another human being and makin’ ‘em feel less than you is, uh, I don’t know, somethin’ I got a thrill out of.”
The music turns minor chord serious folksy and Ferrey begins to pave the road to creating a respectable man out of Lesner by letting us know how he “channeled his aggression into football and wrestling.”
Really? Channeling your aggression into doing something safe, in a controlled environment, instead of beating up random people all the time is a BAD thing? That’s what wrestling is at its core Mr. Wilson. You try and impose your will on someone, make them do what YOU want them to. And as someone who had older cousins allow me to let you in on a little secret: We fought… A lot. I’m sure if I polled your readership the ones who had bigger brothers could tell chapter and verse about the times they got into it with their brothers. It happens.
But there is no humanizing this —— is there?
Those were not, when I was a fool stories Lesner told. The man loves to physically damage other human beings with his fists or in any other way he can.
Today.
Imagine if that was ———– Kimbo Slice?
Remember the animalistic poses ESPN coaxed out of Slice during his E:60 segment with Rachel Nichols - with the up close camera views that distorted his features even more; the sweat, the bare footed bearded black barely human-looking…. thing we laid witness to - dwarfing Nichols who, though she held up trainer’s mitts for Slice’s punches, she also appeared hesitant, frightened to enter too close to his space during the interview (another silent nod to King Kong?) – hailed as the possible future of MMA?
Lesner was interviewed by Ferrey in a clean as a whistle barn on Made in the USofA hay bales, baby - and don’t you forget it, brother.
I try very hard to make this a family friendly blog but this is too far. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? Forget the fact that before anyone knew Kimbo Slice existed he did this same parody-of-a-black-man shit on youtube, knocking cats out at NothingToxic purely for fun. Again so we’re clear Brock Lesnar, who was a national champion wrestler and a college-graduate from the University of Minnesota, is as much of an animal as Kimbo Slice, who got into MMA because he wanted to make money and because boxing wouldn’t have him. Again… DK Wilson= Nat X.
Lawrence Taylor referred to himself as a “crazed dog” on the football field and has been forever remembered as the animal “other” who didn’t know the defensive scheme but made the Hall of Fame by being “turned loose” by his head coach Bill Parcells to decapitate the quarterback. Never mind that Taylor could also be found covering a running back on a circle route 40 yards down the field after recognizing that the offense was designed to have a tight end chip block him, a tackle block him, and have that running back chip him on his way out into his route. Oh, LT was a thinking man’s football player, all right, but you’d nbever know it listening to media members descriptions of the man.
Think of the portrayal of Mike Tyson, before the Evander Holyfireld ear biting incident. Tyson as a champion was depicted as a killing machine, a brutal human sub-species - part rotweiler, part shark, and only human through the fact that we walked upright and on two legs.
Think of the fun ESPN would have today if a black athlete described himself as does Lesner. He’d be a thug, a goon, a monster. He’d be deemed too brutal for whatever sport in which he participated.
He would be dehumanized.
But Brock Lesner? Brock Lesner is an American Tail, human, not mouse. Brock Lesner had it all but turned down a seven-year $45 million pro wrestling contract to try to play the honorable game of football for $230,000 per season; who now lives as he really always wanted to all along, simply and with the woman he loves. And all the while he is once again called “the next big thing,” this time of MMA. And should he defeat Couture, Lesner will have millions once again.
Not bad for an All-American warrior from Webster, South Dakota.
Right Tom Ferrey? Right ESPN?
For the last time it’s Lesnar. And if he defeats Couture Lesnar will have done an incredible thing. Do you know who Randy Couture is? Do you have any idea what he’s done? Thank you. Your silence speaks volumes.
Is the way that Mike Tyson and LT were portrayed for the vast majority of their careers racist by some? Yeah, I’d he honest and say for some media members it was. But remember…. Race didn’t make Mike Tyson say he wanted to drive someone’s nose bone through their brain. Race didn’t make Mike Tyson act like Godzilla in Japan. Race didn’t make LT fail drug test after drug test. And Race didn’t make LT into what he is now, a guy trading off of his fame.
This is not a wholly racist society. And if you think it is, if you imagine it to be a place where no black man can get a fair shot at anything unless he “sells out” or “Acts white”, I’m sorry. Your hopelessness saddens me.
Recently D.K. Wilson over at Sports on My Mind, who got this written about him the last time he tried to speak on something about which he has no great sense of knowledge, decided he’d keep the damned thing going. So, because we here at The Majesty of Wrestling like puncturing self-important people’s bubbles just as much as we like Torneo Ciberneticos, puppies, and American Dragon, here we go: A FJM-style dismantling of every single last one of Mr. Wilson’s points in his latest notes article found here
(Author’s Note: My Comments are in Bold. Helps to keep things clear.)
Brock Lesner was featured by Tom Ferrey in one of Tuesday’s E:60 segments. And Lesner was the recipient of some serious ESPN “White Pass” treatment.
OOH….. Racism. I’d love to see how we prove this one.
For those who do not know him, Brock Lesner was an NCAA champion wrestler at the University of Minnesota. He then entered the world of professional wrestling and became a multimillionaire. For his efforts he blew out both of his knees and has chronic back pain.
After leaving the ranks of pro-faux grappling he tried to parlay his wrestling fame into making the Minnesota Vikings as a defensive lineman. Lesner lasted until the final round of cuts and found himself lost and without work. So he turned to mixed martial arts for salvation and in a rocket rise through the ranks reminiscent of Kimbo Slice, is set for a championship fight against 45-year old Randy Couture in November.
The only difference between Lesnar and Slice is that while Kimbo got there because he was discovered by some faux boxing promoter looking to drag himself into the MMA mainstream behind the wing of a parody of a street fighter, Brock lesnar actually has and always had the credentials necessary to be a good MMA fighter. NCAA Champion, one of the most dominant college heavyweights in recent memory. And I will say that your dismissive attitude towards Pro Wrestling will not be treated as it normally would here.
It is a true, your 15 minutes of fame is up, story.
But not for the WWL and its continued efforts to make good on its bet that MMA is the next big deal in - sort of - sports, So to force MMA down the throats of sports watchers, we are introduced by Ferrey to 6′3″ 265-pound Brock Lesner:
“Brock Lesner has always wanted to fight. Four years ago he was labeled the next big thing - but in the make-believe world of pro wrestling.”
Former pro wrestler Bill Goldberg then says:
“He’s a genetic freak. If god were to sit down and build a warrior I think he would come out to be Brock Lesner.”
Wonderful imagery there, ESPN. This is, after all, the sports news outlet that played and replayed Kellen Winslow’s U of Miami locker room tirade where he mentioned being a warrior ad nauseum. They highlighted and debated Winslow’s quote on every show possible and slagged him for using the word at a time when America was at war.
Ok. Where to begin? Brock was actually named the “Next Big Thing” by the WWE and proved it, and then after an ugly split with the WWE, went over to New Japan and did pretty much the same stuff (although him leaving and taking the belt with him was kind of shady.) But, to somehow imply that Brock Lesnar isn’t a genetic freak is just plain dumb. The dude’s got massive strength, great speed, and is agile for someone who is built basically like a big house.
And ooh… the Warrior quote. Apparently Kellen Winslow, who at the minimum was an 18-year-old kid discussing a penalty he had incurred for a cheap shot and how he was tougher than everyone who was on the other side of the field, is perfectly alright. But Bill Goldberg, who meant it in a way of describing the boundless athleticism of Lesnar, is somehow deserving of the same criticism that Winslow got.
Well, we’re still at war, but it apparently is just fine to air Goldberg’s quote and flaunt Lesner, who until recently, was just another WWE goon participating in that arena of predetermined outcomes, as a warrior.
“He got the fame, the fortune, and the girl… better known as “Sable,” wrestling diva and Playboy centerfold.”
Lesner tells us that he “lived the world of a rockstar” replete with “two Hummers, a Mercedes, Corvette - airplanes, four or five houses…”
And they say black athletes are the only people to squander their earnings on luxury items while acting like petty, transparent, consumer-addicted whores.
Am I going to sit here and argue that Lesnar’s lifestyle wasn’t reckless and consumeristic? Of course I’m not. That’d be silly. Almost as silly as going through an entire friggin article calling someone Lesner when his name is Lesnar. Nitpicking I know but hey….. it’s only going to get worse. And re the spending thing: One of these days I’ll take you to the homes of some white players in major sports and we’ll see how big they’re living. Deal?
But ESPN attempts to trick us into believing this is just another story of an All-American kid from the heartland (Lesner is from South Dakota). Just after showing a snippet of one of Lesner’s MMA bouts, there is a jump cut to a sunset-lighted field with infinite rows of corn and luscious green trees in the background and a tractor creating furrows and kicking up perfectly wind-blown dust (out of video camera view) in the foreground.
And baleful country slide guitar is serenading us to a sleep filled with pro-white America dreams.
Lord have mercy Jesus Christ. Because someone is from South Dakota, and a country guitar is played, it’s… let me get this right…. PRO-WHITE AMERICA? Oh god. He actually said this? *Sips a bottle of water, trying to calm down.* Oh that’s better. God forbid there are people in this country, even in Lesnar’s South Dakota, who like country music who happen to not be waving confederate flags in the backseat of their pickup trucks. And regarding the field and the tractor and the corn: It’s actually a good shot of the Midwest. Things like that happen out there. People use their fields to grow things. Like Corn… Wheat…. Rice. People don’t call the Midwest the breadbasket of the USA because it sounds nice. It’s true by and large.
Ferrey intones:
“Webster, South Dakota, a town near the Minnesota border with fewer than 2,000 people.”
And a solitary man - Lesner? - stands next to the town sign on the edge of railroad tracks - obviously going out of Webster.
“Lesner grew up on this dairy farm, struggling to help his family hold onto a property headed to foreclosure.”
It is Sarah Palin’s America.
Lesner then tells the tale of a broke family and knowing he needed to get out and make something more of himself (damn those people sure know how to pull themselves up by their bootstraps).
Wait a minute. We’re now clowning Brock Lesnar because he was able to get out of a bad situation because he was good, NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP-LEVEL good, at something and used it to get a college degree from a pretty good academic institution? Come on now man.. Besides, in Webster, farms exist. You know like the ones you might have seen (cursing under your breath that the men in them have GOT to be racist). Now you’re just Nat X, tilting windmills and seeing racism behind every corner. What’s next: “I demand to know why the black shoelaces are behind the white ones!”
If all of that wasn’t insidious enough to turn your mind’s eye queasy, the punch line is.
Ferrey then says:
“So Lesner literally fought his way out.”
Cut to childhood friend, Matthew Baumgarn, who is bright-eyed remembering a young Lesner:
“He likes to beat on people. He grew up beatin’ on people. Him and his brother were fightin’ all the time.
And then Ferrey asks Lesner:
“What is it like to simply maul somebody?”
To which Brock Lesner replies in a very matter-of-fact fashion:
“Ahh, it’s a good feeling. Handling another human being and makin’ ‘em feel less than you is, uh, I don’t know, somethin’ I got a thrill out of.”
The music turns minor chord serious folksy and Ferrey begins to pave the road to creating a respectable man out of Lesner by letting us know how he “channeled his aggression into football and wrestling.”
Really? Channeling your aggression into doing something safe, in a controlled environment, instead of beating up random people all the time is a BAD thing? That’s what wrestling is at its core Mr. Wilson. You try and impose your will on someone, make them do what YOU want them to. And as someone who had older cousins allow me to let you in on a little secret: We fought… A lot. I’m sure if I polled your readership the ones who had bigger brothers could tell chapter and verse about the times they got into it with their brothers. It happens.
But there is no humanizing this —— is there?
Those were not, when I was a fool stories Lesner told. The man loves to physically damage other human beings with his fists or in any other way he can.
Today.
Imagine if that was ———– Kimbo Slice?
Remember the animalistic poses ESPN coaxed out of Slice during his E:60 segment with Rachel Nichols - with the up close camera views that distorted his features even more; the sweat, the bare footed bearded black barely human-looking…. thing we laid witness to - dwarfing Nichols who, though she held up trainer’s mitts for Slice’s punches, she also appeared hesitant, frightened to enter too close to his space during the interview (another silent nod to King Kong?) – hailed as the possible future of MMA?
Lesner was interviewed by Ferrey in a clean as a whistle barn on Made in the USofA hay bales, baby - and don’t you forget it, brother.
I try very hard to make this a family friendly blog but this is too far. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? Forget the fact that before anyone knew Kimbo Slice existed he did this same parody-of-a-black-man shit on youtube, knocking cats out at NothingToxic purely for fun. Again so we’re clear Brock Lesnar, who was a national champion wrestler and a college-graduate from the University of Minnesota, is as much of an animal as Kimbo Slice, who got into MMA because he wanted to make money and because boxing wouldn’t have him. Again… DK Wilson= Nat X.
Lawrence Taylor referred to himself as a “crazed dog” on the football field and has been forever remembered as the animal “other” who didn’t know the defensive scheme but made the Hall of Fame by being “turned loose” by his head coach Bill Parcells to decapitate the quarterback. Never mind that Taylor could also be found covering a running back on a circle route 40 yards down the field after recognizing that the offense was designed to have a tight end chip block him, a tackle block him, and have that running back chip him on his way out into his route. Oh, LT was a thinking man’s football player, all right, but you’d nbever know it listening to media members descriptions of the man.
Think of the portrayal of Mike Tyson, before the Evander Holyfireld ear biting incident. Tyson as a champion was depicted as a killing machine, a brutal human sub-species - part rotweiler, part shark, and only human through the fact that we walked upright and on two legs.
Think of the fun ESPN would have today if a black athlete described himself as does Lesner. He’d be a thug, a goon, a monster. He’d be deemed too brutal for whatever sport in which he participated.
He would be dehumanized.
But Brock Lesner? Brock Lesner is an American Tail, human, not mouse. Brock Lesner had it all but turned down a seven-year $45 million pro wrestling contract to try to play the honorable game of football for $230,000 per season; who now lives as he really always wanted to all along, simply and with the woman he loves. And all the while he is once again called “the next big thing,” this time of MMA. And should he defeat Couture, Lesner will have millions once again.
Not bad for an All-American warrior from Webster, South Dakota.
Right Tom Ferrey? Right ESPN?
For the last time it’s Lesnar. And if he defeats Couture Lesnar will have done an incredible thing. Do you know who Randy Couture is? Do you have any idea what he’s done? Thank you. Your silence speaks volumes.
Is the way that Mike Tyson and LT were portrayed for the vast majority of their careers racist by some? Yeah, I’d he honest and say for some media members it was. But remember…. Race didn’t make Mike Tyson say he wanted to drive someone’s nose bone through their brain. Race didn’t make Mike Tyson act like Godzilla in Japan. Race didn’t make LT fail drug test after drug test. And Race didn’t make LT into what he is now, a guy trading off of his fame.
This is not a wholly racist society. And if you think it is, if you imagine it to be a place where no black man can get a fair shot at anything unless he “sells out” or “Acts white”, I’m sorry. Your hopelessness saddens me.
10.16.2008
I get publicity....
Come and join the conversation.
A discussion about Jushin Liger over at friend of this blog The Starting Five.
A discussion about Jushin Liger over at friend of this blog The Starting Five.
10.14.2008
Three Countries: The Main Styles of Japan, Mexico, and England
Since I am spending a good bit of my time at the moment trying very hard to convince one “Lightning” Mike Quackenbush to deign to give this blog another interview I figure that now is as good a time as any to discuss my fondness for a particular style that he has shown an ever-increasing aptitude in, and that’s the British Lancashire style. This week on TMW…. British Wrestling. Pip Pip, Cheerio, and all that crap. We go across the pond.
Internationally Known: The various styles inherent in Pro Wrestling, and why British Lancashire needs to be revived.
As it goes, there are the three main styles that most American fans are familiar with: Mexican Lucha Libre, Japanese Puroresu, and the amalgam of both styles that is American pro-wrestling. Considering that most of what you see in American wrestling is a mix of the best of the two styles here I’m not going to give you the American listing. In addition, inside those two other macro styles there are various and sundry sub-styles. I will separate them for you now by country and give you the best matches to show you the form.
Puroresu:
The traditional style of New Japan called Strong Style. It tends to place high emphasis on matwork, submissions, and stiff strikes. Despite changes over time, it is always called 'strong style’. This is not the same thing as the imitators that have sprung up throughout the United States, the foremost of which is American independent promotion Ring of Honor followed closely by IWA Mid South. They are practicing what is referred to commonly as American Strong Style. Best Example: I’d say…. Takada v. Koshinaka from New Japan in 1986. A high-end contest for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title, a belt that would rise to new prominence with the arrival of the “Holy Influx” of juniors in the 1990’s led by this man: http://themajestyofwrestling.blogspot.com/2008/08/japanese-thunder-parable-of-liger.html
All-Japan and Noah’s contribution to this list is in the King’s Road style, a layered approach based on the escalation of maneuvers, lengthy striking duels, and fighting spirit in abundance. Incidentally, the stars of the era’s matches build one on top of another, each encounter requiring the winner to come up with some new attack to keep the loser off of him. For pure drama, there are few styles that convey as much as King’s Road. Best Match: Misawa-Kawada 6-3-94. The graceful, cerebral, and smooth Misawa, who already had a good run as the second Tiger Mask, against the hard-hitting and rough-hewn Kawada, nicknamed “Hard Luck” by the fans for his inability to catch a break.
Dragon Gate and Toryumon, and their stylistic ancestor Michinoku Pro, bring to us lucharesu. A fast-paced blend of the best of Japanese junior heavyweight and Mexican Lucha Libre (and we will get to them later.) The best way to describe the lucharesu style is to imagine blindingly quick mat work and insane aerial tricks, mix them up in a package, and out comes lucharesu. Best Match: 10-10-96. Kaientai DX (Taka Michinoku, Dick Togo, Funaki, Terry Boy, Shiryu 2) v. Gran Hamada, Super Delfin, Gran Naniwa, Yakushiji, and Tiger Mask IV. A 10-man tag from a show called “These Days”. You think a 10-man tag is hard to follow? With this one it moves quick, with non-stop spots and a breathtaking pace still awe-inspiring 12 years after the fact.
UWF, UWF-I, RINGS, and so on. Theirs is a shoot style. More matwork than even Strong Style does, and lots of submissions. Crazy submissions that prompt you to say “Ow Fuckity Ow” like you were Juno McGuff. Best Match: With this, there isn’t a best match. More of a guy whose work you need to seek out. Volk Han.
Mexico:
Lucha Libre:
This is a bit harder to do because of the nature of what Lucha is, sort of a free-form art based entirely around timing. However, we wouldn’t be a blog called the Majesty of Wrestling if we didn’t try so here we go.
Lucha-core. A strange amalgam of traditional junior heavyweight daredevil spots, hardcore brawling, and dashes of the traditional Lucha style. It’s more commonly the style performed by the AAA luchadors. Best Match: Mexican Powers v. Las Hermandad v. Familia de Tijuana v. Teddy Hart\Jack Evans from the most recent triplemania.
Llave-Style. Think holds circled into holds in interesting way. It is maybe the hardest style to master, but the most aesthetically pleasing to this writer’s eye. A heavy influence on what would later be the T2P promotion in Japan. Best Match: Anything Skayde did in CMLL. Seriously go look that guy up. His work is awesome. If you cannot find any of his stuff in Mexico or in Japan, where he was the trainer for Toryumon and Dragon Gate then find his matches against Mike Quackenbush in the states.
Now then to the fun one. The British Lancashire (Or World Of Sport as it is more commonly referred to) style practiced extensively in Europe is in a lot of ways more closely resembling amateur wrestling than anything you will find with the possible exception of the UWF and RINGS stuff. It is entirely based upon wrestling skill and technique in applying a variety of holds, pinning combinations, and locks. Striking is at a minimum, and there are very few “gimmicks”. Out sized personalities do exist, in the awesome heel work of Jim Breaks and the babyface skills of Johnny Saint, but by and large it is about the skill inherent in the men who choose to compete in it. There are five 5-minute rounds in non-title matches with victory being achieved by one person who can get 2 falls by pin, 3 submissions, or 1 knockout. In the title matches there are 10 rounds of 5 minutes each and the same basic rules apply. Any participant who is knocked down to the mat has a 10-count to rise back to his feet and continue the battle.
Another interesting distinction is that the referee does not audibly count the pin falls, meaning that the crowd and the viewing audience is fully expected to figure out on their own steam that the 3-count is occurring.
Largely this style has been consigned to the mists of history and DVD’s, with only a few stars left from the era still capable of performing it. However, the current generation of American independent workers has mastered many of the spots, men like Mike Quackenbush, Chris Hero, Alex Shelley, and the Best Wrestler in the World, Bryan Danielson. If you wondered where Hero’s cravate came from, for instance, it’s in the time he spent studying under the British style.
I hope this has been as fun for you to read as it has been for me to write. Thank you for reading
Internationally Known: The various styles inherent in Pro Wrestling, and why British Lancashire needs to be revived.
As it goes, there are the three main styles that most American fans are familiar with: Mexican Lucha Libre, Japanese Puroresu, and the amalgam of both styles that is American pro-wrestling. Considering that most of what you see in American wrestling is a mix of the best of the two styles here I’m not going to give you the American listing. In addition, inside those two other macro styles there are various and sundry sub-styles. I will separate them for you now by country and give you the best matches to show you the form.
Puroresu:
The traditional style of New Japan called Strong Style. It tends to place high emphasis on matwork, submissions, and stiff strikes. Despite changes over time, it is always called 'strong style’. This is not the same thing as the imitators that have sprung up throughout the United States, the foremost of which is American independent promotion Ring of Honor followed closely by IWA Mid South. They are practicing what is referred to commonly as American Strong Style. Best Example: I’d say…. Takada v. Koshinaka from New Japan in 1986. A high-end contest for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title, a belt that would rise to new prominence with the arrival of the “Holy Influx” of juniors in the 1990’s led by this man: http://themajestyofwrestling.blogspot.com/2008/08/japanese-thunder-parable-of-liger.html
All-Japan and Noah’s contribution to this list is in the King’s Road style, a layered approach based on the escalation of maneuvers, lengthy striking duels, and fighting spirit in abundance. Incidentally, the stars of the era’s matches build one on top of another, each encounter requiring the winner to come up with some new attack to keep the loser off of him. For pure drama, there are few styles that convey as much as King’s Road. Best Match: Misawa-Kawada 6-3-94. The graceful, cerebral, and smooth Misawa, who already had a good run as the second Tiger Mask, against the hard-hitting and rough-hewn Kawada, nicknamed “Hard Luck” by the fans for his inability to catch a break.
Dragon Gate and Toryumon, and their stylistic ancestor Michinoku Pro, bring to us lucharesu. A fast-paced blend of the best of Japanese junior heavyweight and Mexican Lucha Libre (and we will get to them later.) The best way to describe the lucharesu style is to imagine blindingly quick mat work and insane aerial tricks, mix them up in a package, and out comes lucharesu. Best Match: 10-10-96. Kaientai DX (Taka Michinoku, Dick Togo, Funaki, Terry Boy, Shiryu 2) v. Gran Hamada, Super Delfin, Gran Naniwa, Yakushiji, and Tiger Mask IV. A 10-man tag from a show called “These Days”. You think a 10-man tag is hard to follow? With this one it moves quick, with non-stop spots and a breathtaking pace still awe-inspiring 12 years after the fact.
UWF, UWF-I, RINGS, and so on. Theirs is a shoot style. More matwork than even Strong Style does, and lots of submissions. Crazy submissions that prompt you to say “Ow Fuckity Ow” like you were Juno McGuff. Best Match: With this, there isn’t a best match. More of a guy whose work you need to seek out. Volk Han.
Mexico:
Lucha Libre:
This is a bit harder to do because of the nature of what Lucha is, sort of a free-form art based entirely around timing. However, we wouldn’t be a blog called the Majesty of Wrestling if we didn’t try so here we go.
Lucha-core. A strange amalgam of traditional junior heavyweight daredevil spots, hardcore brawling, and dashes of the traditional Lucha style. It’s more commonly the style performed by the AAA luchadors. Best Match: Mexican Powers v. Las Hermandad v. Familia de Tijuana v. Teddy Hart\Jack Evans from the most recent triplemania.
Llave-Style. Think holds circled into holds in interesting way. It is maybe the hardest style to master, but the most aesthetically pleasing to this writer’s eye. A heavy influence on what would later be the T2P promotion in Japan. Best Match: Anything Skayde did in CMLL. Seriously go look that guy up. His work is awesome. If you cannot find any of his stuff in Mexico or in Japan, where he was the trainer for Toryumon and Dragon Gate then find his matches against Mike Quackenbush in the states.
Now then to the fun one. The British Lancashire (Or World Of Sport as it is more commonly referred to) style practiced extensively in Europe is in a lot of ways more closely resembling amateur wrestling than anything you will find with the possible exception of the UWF and RINGS stuff. It is entirely based upon wrestling skill and technique in applying a variety of holds, pinning combinations, and locks. Striking is at a minimum, and there are very few “gimmicks”. Out sized personalities do exist, in the awesome heel work of Jim Breaks and the babyface skills of Johnny Saint, but by and large it is about the skill inherent in the men who choose to compete in it. There are five 5-minute rounds in non-title matches with victory being achieved by one person who can get 2 falls by pin, 3 submissions, or 1 knockout. In the title matches there are 10 rounds of 5 minutes each and the same basic rules apply. Any participant who is knocked down to the mat has a 10-count to rise back to his feet and continue the battle.
Another interesting distinction is that the referee does not audibly count the pin falls, meaning that the crowd and the viewing audience is fully expected to figure out on their own steam that the 3-count is occurring.
Largely this style has been consigned to the mists of history and DVD’s, with only a few stars left from the era still capable of performing it. However, the current generation of American independent workers has mastered many of the spots, men like Mike Quackenbush, Chris Hero, Alex Shelley, and the Best Wrestler in the World, Bryan Danielson. If you wondered where Hero’s cravate came from, for instance, it’s in the time he spent studying under the British style.
I hope this has been as fun for you to read as it has been for me to write. Thank you for reading
9.23.2008
Super J Cup 2008... the dream version
Super J-Cup 2009: The Dream Version
The Super Junior Cup is a single-elimination tournament which has been held over 2 nights and has 4 blocks, each block having 8 wrestlers. Usually it’s mostly Japanese junior heavyweights who get the invites (and a few gaijins and luchadores thrown in for flavor.) But in my version it’s a World Cup team-style affair. There will be 4 teams of 2 singles wrestlers and 1 tag team: US, Canada, Japan, and Mexico, plus one alternate in the event of an injury. The only restriction is that no one who has a WWE contract is on the team (no CM Punk, Rey Misterio Jr, and so on.)
Team USA:
Captain: “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson. If you cannot conceive of a Team USA made up of all indy guys where Bryan Danielson is the captain…. Then I'm sorry but it is clear you have not been watching wrestling in recent years. He is, without question, one of the best technicians that independent wrestling has seen in the past 20 years. The technical skill he has shown, and the very fact that he has competed against all of the top stars on the other countries, makes him a perfect captain.
2: Mike Quackenbush. My friend Aaron Glazer at Pulse Wrestling literally became a rabid dog at the mere prospect that Quack would be a no. 2 and not Austin Aries or Roderick Strong from ROH. While a part of this is purely because I didn’t want to make this Team USA an all-ROH affair the main reason is that Quack fits the second-in-command bill to a tee. He’s just a sliver below Bryan Danielson when it comes to being technically sound and he also has a great deal of experience in international style, having worked extensively for WXW out of Germany and numerous federations throughout Mexico including CMLL. While Aries and Strong might be more talented Quack is the better guy to work alongside Bryan Danielson, dissecting the singles participants.
TT (Tag Team): Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, the Motor City Machine Guns. Again… this pick is based pretty heavily on the concept of finding a unit that fits. Shelley and Sabin have vast international experience as a unit, having faced off against some of Japan’s best tag teams during their stay in Zero-One and their work in UWA Hardcore and Border City Wrestling where they faced off against some of the best Canadians out there and separately (Sabin getting a title shot in All Japan, and Shelley doing the same against Ikuto Hidaka in Zero-One.) In addition… all 4 men on this team have faced the other at one point, meaning they can all provide valuable experience in scouting each other’s strengths and weaknesses during the course of the tournament.
Alternate: Austin Aries. In the event of an injury to anyone on this team, Austin Aries is the alternate. A tremendously explosive wrestler with a vast moveset he is well suited to be a no. 2 or even a captain of Team USA. The only strike against him is that he is not well versed in Lucha Libre, and this could be a strike against him against the stocked team from Mexico.
Team Japan
Captain: Koji Kanemoto. In the long history of New Japan juniors there are few who are nearly as accomplished as Koji Kanemoto. He won a Best of the Super Juniors tournament, was the third man in the Tiger Mask line, and wrestled in Mexico when he was Tiger Mask 3. In addition… Koji also has great leadership experience having marshaled the New Japan forces in a bloody war with Zero-1. While you might not realize it Koji is the perfect leader for a Japanese team that is NOT about to lose this cup without a fight.
No. 2: KENTA. The Japanese team is represented with a wide variety of styles, and here in Koji’s lieutenant we have perhaps the best striker in Japan today. But that’s not the only reason why he is here. KENTA has competed extensively and with great skill for American promotion Ring of Honor, facing off against Team USA captain Bryan Danielson and alternate Austin Aries. His knowledge of the American stars will be valuable for a prideful Japanese unit not in the mood to lose this tournament.
TT: Speed Muscle (Naruki Doi\Masato Yoshino.) When picking this tag team choice the Japanese contingent has many choices from which to pick… Jedo and Gado for instance, the polished duo of Ikuto Hidaka and Minoru Fujita, and the Kaientai DX team of Taka Michinoku and Dick Togo. But when it came down to it Speed Muscle is the best unit. Having teamed extensively against the best teams that the other countries have to offer Speed Muscle also provides a great array of offensive options for Kanemoto to utilize whenever they face the tag team offering from another country.
Alternate: Jushin “Thunder” Liger. If you have to ask refer to this…. http://themajestyofwrestling.blogspot.com/2008/08/japanese-thunder-parable-of-liger.html.
Team Mexico
Captain: Ricky Marvin. Unlike Team Japan and Team USA Team Mexico could well be regarded as the dark horse team. Their style is utterly unique from anything else out there, to the point where Team Japan and Team USA picked their teams based on who would be the best adaptable to the Lucha style. And with this in mind… Team Mexico picked the msoit well-rounded wrestler they could find, Ricky Marvin. A long-time star for Pro Wrestling NOAH, and a former prodigy for CMLL who now works for AAA, Marvin is one of the best wrestlers in the world and a worthy captain for Team Mexico.
No 2: Jorge “Skayde” Rivera. This is an interesting problem. Jorge Rivera is a legendary trainer who works very well in the classic Mexican llave style, a fact which will help him as he tries to work with his Mexican pupils. In fact it’s a style that is so unique, so difficult to prepare for, that really when he's on anyone will have a very hard time dealing with him and his ability to isolate a body part and wear it down.
TT: Hell Brothers (Chessman\Charly Manson.) This is the weakest part of the Team Mexico unit. The Hell Brothers are a solid tag team, capable of holding their own against most tag teams. The problem here is that they have not left Mexico in a very long time, and as such might not be accurately prepared for the different styles that they will more than likely to be facing in this tournament. This is a gamble for Team Mexico. One has to question whether it will pay off.
Alternate: Juventud Guerrera. The only reason that Juvy is in this position and not as the no. 2 is because of attitude problems. Simply put… he could reasonably cause 2 or 3 international incidents by the time that he gets there. As pure talent goes, though, Juvy takes a backseat only to the Team Captain Ricky Marvin.
Team Canada
Captain: El Generico. There have been few wrestlers who have become more well-known over the past few years than El Generico. And for Canada, a proud country with a strong wrestling tradition, Generico is the next in a long line to lead his country’s best to win this trophy.
No 2: Christian Cage. You might be asking why it is Team Canada decided to put Christian as the no. 2 and not El Generico. Well that’s because Christian is the perfect second banana in an environment like this. He can get under the skin of his opponents, is an excellent tactician when it comes to finding and exploiting weaknesses, and would be more than comfortable in this position.
TT: Super Smash Brothers (Player Uno\Player Dos.) You might be asking yourself why in the world this team was picked when there are better teams out there (Hart Foundation 2.0 as an example.) Well firstly… Hart Foundation 2.0 is disqualified due to Jack Evans being American. And secondly… Team Canada is looking to surprise the Americans with a tag team that they might not have seen yet. and the Current Chikara Tag Team Champions fit the bill.
Alternate: Teddy Hart. See the Juventud Guerrera page for explanation.
Results:
Aaron Glazer of Pulse Wrestling was all too capable to help out with picking these. Each singles match has 1 point, and the tag matches have 2 points.
Team USA beats Team Canada 5-0. Danielson beats Genericon in 45 minutes with a Triangle Choke (USA 1-0), Quackenbush defeats Christian Cage in 25 minutes with the Alligator Clutch (USA 2-0), Danielson beats Christian in 30 minutes with a Crossface Chicken Wing (3-0), Quackenbush defeats El Generico with a top-rope Tiger Bomb in 35 minutes (USA 4-0), and the Motor City Machine Guns beat the Super Smash Brothers in a 30-minute match with a double superkick (USA 5-0).
Team Japan beat Team Mexico 4-2. Kanemoto beats Marvin with a moonsault at 28:25 ( Team Japan 1-0), KENTA beats Skayde with a Go 2 Sleep at 16:35 (Japan 2-0), Kanemoto beats Skayde with a heel hook at 20:00 (Team Japan 3-0), Kenta beats Marvin with a Go 2 Sleep at 28:45 (Team Japan 4-0), and the Hell Brothers beat Speed Muscle with a spear\moonsault for Mexico’s only victory in the tournament (Team Japan 4-2).
Finals: Team Japan beats Team USA 4-3, Japan winning an 8-man tag as the tiebreaker . Kanemoto beats Danielson with a heel hook in 40 minutes (Japan 1-0), Quackenbush loses to KENTA with the Go 2 Sleep in 35 minutes (Japan 2-0), Kenta loses to Danielson with a small package in 45 minutes (Japan 2-1), Quackenbush loses to Kanemoto with a Falcon Arrow in 30 minutes (Japan 3-1), MCMG beats Speed Muscle with a double enzuigiri in 45 minutes (Tied 3-3). KENTA is the sole survivor for team Japan, last pinning Bryan Danielson with a Go to Sleep at 75 minutes (Japan wins 4-3.)
The Super Junior Cup is a single-elimination tournament which has been held over 2 nights and has 4 blocks, each block having 8 wrestlers. Usually it’s mostly Japanese junior heavyweights who get the invites (and a few gaijins and luchadores thrown in for flavor.) But in my version it’s a World Cup team-style affair. There will be 4 teams of 2 singles wrestlers and 1 tag team: US, Canada, Japan, and Mexico, plus one alternate in the event of an injury. The only restriction is that no one who has a WWE contract is on the team (no CM Punk, Rey Misterio Jr, and so on.)
Team USA:
Captain: “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson. If you cannot conceive of a Team USA made up of all indy guys where Bryan Danielson is the captain…. Then I'm sorry but it is clear you have not been watching wrestling in recent years. He is, without question, one of the best technicians that independent wrestling has seen in the past 20 years. The technical skill he has shown, and the very fact that he has competed against all of the top stars on the other countries, makes him a perfect captain.
2: Mike Quackenbush. My friend Aaron Glazer at Pulse Wrestling literally became a rabid dog at the mere prospect that Quack would be a no. 2 and not Austin Aries or Roderick Strong from ROH. While a part of this is purely because I didn’t want to make this Team USA an all-ROH affair the main reason is that Quack fits the second-in-command bill to a tee. He’s just a sliver below Bryan Danielson when it comes to being technically sound and he also has a great deal of experience in international style, having worked extensively for WXW out of Germany and numerous federations throughout Mexico including CMLL. While Aries and Strong might be more talented Quack is the better guy to work alongside Bryan Danielson, dissecting the singles participants.
TT (Tag Team): Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, the Motor City Machine Guns. Again… this pick is based pretty heavily on the concept of finding a unit that fits. Shelley and Sabin have vast international experience as a unit, having faced off against some of Japan’s best tag teams during their stay in Zero-One and their work in UWA Hardcore and Border City Wrestling where they faced off against some of the best Canadians out there and separately (Sabin getting a title shot in All Japan, and Shelley doing the same against Ikuto Hidaka in Zero-One.) In addition… all 4 men on this team have faced the other at one point, meaning they can all provide valuable experience in scouting each other’s strengths and weaknesses during the course of the tournament.
Alternate: Austin Aries. In the event of an injury to anyone on this team, Austin Aries is the alternate. A tremendously explosive wrestler with a vast moveset he is well suited to be a no. 2 or even a captain of Team USA. The only strike against him is that he is not well versed in Lucha Libre, and this could be a strike against him against the stocked team from Mexico.
Team Japan
Captain: Koji Kanemoto. In the long history of New Japan juniors there are few who are nearly as accomplished as Koji Kanemoto. He won a Best of the Super Juniors tournament, was the third man in the Tiger Mask line, and wrestled in Mexico when he was Tiger Mask 3. In addition… Koji also has great leadership experience having marshaled the New Japan forces in a bloody war with Zero-1. While you might not realize it Koji is the perfect leader for a Japanese team that is NOT about to lose this cup without a fight.
No. 2: KENTA. The Japanese team is represented with a wide variety of styles, and here in Koji’s lieutenant we have perhaps the best striker in Japan today. But that’s not the only reason why he is here. KENTA has competed extensively and with great skill for American promotion Ring of Honor, facing off against Team USA captain Bryan Danielson and alternate Austin Aries. His knowledge of the American stars will be valuable for a prideful Japanese unit not in the mood to lose this tournament.
TT: Speed Muscle (Naruki Doi\Masato Yoshino.) When picking this tag team choice the Japanese contingent has many choices from which to pick… Jedo and Gado for instance, the polished duo of Ikuto Hidaka and Minoru Fujita, and the Kaientai DX team of Taka Michinoku and Dick Togo. But when it came down to it Speed Muscle is the best unit. Having teamed extensively against the best teams that the other countries have to offer Speed Muscle also provides a great array of offensive options for Kanemoto to utilize whenever they face the tag team offering from another country.
Alternate: Jushin “Thunder” Liger. If you have to ask refer to this…. http://themajestyofwrestling.blogspot.com/2008/08/japanese-thunder-parable-of-liger.html.
Team Mexico
Captain: Ricky Marvin. Unlike Team Japan and Team USA Team Mexico could well be regarded as the dark horse team. Their style is utterly unique from anything else out there, to the point where Team Japan and Team USA picked their teams based on who would be the best adaptable to the Lucha style. And with this in mind… Team Mexico picked the msoit well-rounded wrestler they could find, Ricky Marvin. A long-time star for Pro Wrestling NOAH, and a former prodigy for CMLL who now works for AAA, Marvin is one of the best wrestlers in the world and a worthy captain for Team Mexico.
No 2: Jorge “Skayde” Rivera. This is an interesting problem. Jorge Rivera is a legendary trainer who works very well in the classic Mexican llave style, a fact which will help him as he tries to work with his Mexican pupils. In fact it’s a style that is so unique, so difficult to prepare for, that really when he's on anyone will have a very hard time dealing with him and his ability to isolate a body part and wear it down.
TT: Hell Brothers (Chessman\Charly Manson.) This is the weakest part of the Team Mexico unit. The Hell Brothers are a solid tag team, capable of holding their own against most tag teams. The problem here is that they have not left Mexico in a very long time, and as such might not be accurately prepared for the different styles that they will more than likely to be facing in this tournament. This is a gamble for Team Mexico. One has to question whether it will pay off.
Alternate: Juventud Guerrera. The only reason that Juvy is in this position and not as the no. 2 is because of attitude problems. Simply put… he could reasonably cause 2 or 3 international incidents by the time that he gets there. As pure talent goes, though, Juvy takes a backseat only to the Team Captain Ricky Marvin.
Team Canada
Captain: El Generico. There have been few wrestlers who have become more well-known over the past few years than El Generico. And for Canada, a proud country with a strong wrestling tradition, Generico is the next in a long line to lead his country’s best to win this trophy.
No 2: Christian Cage. You might be asking why it is Team Canada decided to put Christian as the no. 2 and not El Generico. Well that’s because Christian is the perfect second banana in an environment like this. He can get under the skin of his opponents, is an excellent tactician when it comes to finding and exploiting weaknesses, and would be more than comfortable in this position.
TT: Super Smash Brothers (Player Uno\Player Dos.) You might be asking yourself why in the world this team was picked when there are better teams out there (Hart Foundation 2.0 as an example.) Well firstly… Hart Foundation 2.0 is disqualified due to Jack Evans being American. And secondly… Team Canada is looking to surprise the Americans with a tag team that they might not have seen yet. and the Current Chikara Tag Team Champions fit the bill.
Alternate: Teddy Hart. See the Juventud Guerrera page for explanation.
Results:
Aaron Glazer of Pulse Wrestling was all too capable to help out with picking these. Each singles match has 1 point, and the tag matches have 2 points.
Team USA beats Team Canada 5-0. Danielson beats Genericon in 45 minutes with a Triangle Choke (USA 1-0), Quackenbush defeats Christian Cage in 25 minutes with the Alligator Clutch (USA 2-0), Danielson beats Christian in 30 minutes with a Crossface Chicken Wing (3-0), Quackenbush defeats El Generico with a top-rope Tiger Bomb in 35 minutes (USA 4-0), and the Motor City Machine Guns beat the Super Smash Brothers in a 30-minute match with a double superkick (USA 5-0).
Team Japan beat Team Mexico 4-2. Kanemoto beats Marvin with a moonsault at 28:25 ( Team Japan 1-0), KENTA beats Skayde with a Go 2 Sleep at 16:35 (Japan 2-0), Kanemoto beats Skayde with a heel hook at 20:00 (Team Japan 3-0), Kenta beats Marvin with a Go 2 Sleep at 28:45 (Team Japan 4-0), and the Hell Brothers beat Speed Muscle with a spear\moonsault for Mexico’s only victory in the tournament (Team Japan 4-2).
Finals: Team Japan beats Team USA 4-3, Japan winning an 8-man tag as the tiebreaker . Kanemoto beats Danielson with a heel hook in 40 minutes (Japan 1-0), Quackenbush loses to KENTA with the Go 2 Sleep in 35 minutes (Japan 2-0), Kenta loses to Danielson with a small package in 45 minutes (Japan 2-1), Quackenbush loses to Kanemoto with a Falcon Arrow in 30 minutes (Japan 3-1), MCMG beats Speed Muscle with a double enzuigiri in 45 minutes (Tied 3-3). KENTA is the sole survivor for team Japan, last pinning Bryan Danielson with a Go to Sleep at 75 minutes (Japan wins 4-3.)
9.19.2008
8.21.2008
Welcome Page....
Welcome to the Majesty of Wrestling. This site will be, in coming weeks and months, the main source you can have for independent non-mainstream wrestling news. Sound funny? I bet it does. But trust me when you see what we do, and how we do it, you’ll be happy to consider us your first place to go to get answers on questions, read interviews with the important names in the industry, and have a good time. Welcome Aboard and see you at the matches.
Technorati Profile
Technorati Profile
8.18.2008
Japanese Thunder: The Parable of Liger
Japanese Thunder: A Parable for the most important Jr. Heavyweight of the last 25 years.
In American pro-wrestling in the year 2008 the idea of a strong junior heavyweight division is either a joke (WWE), a tantalizing reminder of what could have been (TNA), or good but unfortunately not presented to the mainstream (ROH, IWA-MS, assorted NWA Indies). So when I mention that in Japan the weight class is treated with respect, and never frittered away for the purposes of making a big muscle-bound slug a new star, people seem to have a great dral of trouble with this concept. They tell me “But wait a minute. You mean those little guys get a chance to do what they do best without being overrun by Triple H every 60 seconds?” Yes actually, and a great deal of credit for this mindset staying true over the last 25 years goes to one man and one company. The man is Jushin “Thunder” Liger, and the company is New Japan Pro Wrestling.
To understand the brilliance of Liger, and how he directly or indirectly influenced pretty much every lighter-weight (and a few of the heavyweights too) guy you see on TV right now, you need to go back a good way. See when the character was created, a sly nod to the anime of the same name just as Tiger Mask had been, it was assumed that New Japan was simply trying to catch lightning in the bottle with another wildly popular children’s hero just as Tiger Mask had been for them in the early 1980’s. And the hope was that this time, unlike the 1st Tiger Mask Satoru Sayama who left in a huff over the direction of the company, that the man behind the Liger myth would stay for a good long while. So they had to pick the right guy, a hungry young guy who would do what was needed to keep the character alive and who wouldn’t run in a huff and force them to extend the gimmick back to someone else as they had done with Tiger Mask after the original left in a fit of pique. So who did they pick?
Keichi Yamada, a guy who they had sent away for being too small, and got pissed off enough about it to go to Mexico on his own dime and learn while almost starving in the attempt. And while New Japan figured bringing him back in was a good idea they never figured how good of an idea it would end up being. And after he won the company’s Junior Heavyweight Title in a war against the salty veteran Naoki Sano he embarked on one of the longest and most consistent runs in the history of puroresu.
But on this run he would have help from his home promotion, New Japan Pro Wrestling, who saw him and his rivals the chance to build a marked difference from their promotional rival All Japan Pro Wrestling. And, largely, it worked. The best way to explain this is that All Japan is known for the 4 Corners of Heaven heavyweight unit of the 90’s which any puroresu fan worth his or her salt can name in a moment: Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa, and Akira Taue. And each one of them had their own distinct personality traits meaning that fans could identify with the intensity of Kobashi, the coolness under fire and grace of Misawa, the unlucky and rough-hewn Kawada, and the dynamism of Akira Taue. Conversely the juniors of the 90’s get the same treatment although not nearly as snappy a nickname: Koji Kanemoto who is the surly veteran, the superhero in Jushin “Thunder” Liger, the graceful and perfectly skilled Minoru Tanaka, the evil Shinjiro Otani, the masked supervillain Black Tiger, and so on. But if you asked a puroresu fan to try and ascertain who were the All Japan juniors during the same period you’d get several seconds of deep blinking and then this: “They had junior heavyweights in All Japan?” To be sure they did, and some of them were talented, but there is in no way the same mythos surrounding them as does the New Japan Juniors.
New Japan understood, clearly where All Japan didn’t, that you could have a strong junior heavyweight division and it could be to the benefit of the company and not to its detriment. So when the top guys started to slow down new guys could come in and be accepted by the fans, as Wataru Inoue and Ryusuke Taguchi were, without fear that the promotion’s momentum would stop dead in its tracks.
But back to Liger. Liger’s brilliance is that even now, far past his prime, he is still finding ways to have matches on par with at least some of his best work and his name still means as much as anyone does. If you have never seen Liger at all, including his prime in America with WCW, go out of your way to do it. It’s worth it.
Videos
The Jushin "Thunder" Liger tribute video. footage from every promotion he's wrestled in recently.
JUshin "Thunder" Liger v. Ultimo Dragon from the Super J Cup.
In American pro-wrestling in the year 2008 the idea of a strong junior heavyweight division is either a joke (WWE), a tantalizing reminder of what could have been (TNA), or good but unfortunately not presented to the mainstream (ROH, IWA-MS, assorted NWA Indies). So when I mention that in Japan the weight class is treated with respect, and never frittered away for the purposes of making a big muscle-bound slug a new star, people seem to have a great dral of trouble with this concept. They tell me “But wait a minute. You mean those little guys get a chance to do what they do best without being overrun by Triple H every 60 seconds?” Yes actually, and a great deal of credit for this mindset staying true over the last 25 years goes to one man and one company. The man is Jushin “Thunder” Liger, and the company is New Japan Pro Wrestling.
To understand the brilliance of Liger, and how he directly or indirectly influenced pretty much every lighter-weight (and a few of the heavyweights too) guy you see on TV right now, you need to go back a good way. See when the character was created, a sly nod to the anime of the same name just as Tiger Mask had been, it was assumed that New Japan was simply trying to catch lightning in the bottle with another wildly popular children’s hero just as Tiger Mask had been for them in the early 1980’s. And the hope was that this time, unlike the 1st Tiger Mask Satoru Sayama who left in a huff over the direction of the company, that the man behind the Liger myth would stay for a good long while. So they had to pick the right guy, a hungry young guy who would do what was needed to keep the character alive and who wouldn’t run in a huff and force them to extend the gimmick back to someone else as they had done with Tiger Mask after the original left in a fit of pique. So who did they pick?
Keichi Yamada, a guy who they had sent away for being too small, and got pissed off enough about it to go to Mexico on his own dime and learn while almost starving in the attempt. And while New Japan figured bringing him back in was a good idea they never figured how good of an idea it would end up being. And after he won the company’s Junior Heavyweight Title in a war against the salty veteran Naoki Sano he embarked on one of the longest and most consistent runs in the history of puroresu.
But on this run he would have help from his home promotion, New Japan Pro Wrestling, who saw him and his rivals the chance to build a marked difference from their promotional rival All Japan Pro Wrestling. And, largely, it worked. The best way to explain this is that All Japan is known for the 4 Corners of Heaven heavyweight unit of the 90’s which any puroresu fan worth his or her salt can name in a moment: Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa, and Akira Taue. And each one of them had their own distinct personality traits meaning that fans could identify with the intensity of Kobashi, the coolness under fire and grace of Misawa, the unlucky and rough-hewn Kawada, and the dynamism of Akira Taue. Conversely the juniors of the 90’s get the same treatment although not nearly as snappy a nickname: Koji Kanemoto who is the surly veteran, the superhero in Jushin “Thunder” Liger, the graceful and perfectly skilled Minoru Tanaka, the evil Shinjiro Otani, the masked supervillain Black Tiger, and so on. But if you asked a puroresu fan to try and ascertain who were the All Japan juniors during the same period you’d get several seconds of deep blinking and then this: “They had junior heavyweights in All Japan?” To be sure they did, and some of them were talented, but there is in no way the same mythos surrounding them as does the New Japan Juniors.
New Japan understood, clearly where All Japan didn’t, that you could have a strong junior heavyweight division and it could be to the benefit of the company and not to its detriment. So when the top guys started to slow down new guys could come in and be accepted by the fans, as Wataru Inoue and Ryusuke Taguchi were, without fear that the promotion’s momentum would stop dead in its tracks.
But back to Liger. Liger’s brilliance is that even now, far past his prime, he is still finding ways to have matches on par with at least some of his best work and his name still means as much as anyone does. If you have never seen Liger at all, including his prime in America with WCW, go out of your way to do it. It’s worth it.
Videos
The Jushin "Thunder" Liger tribute video. footage from every promotion he's wrestled in recently.
JUshin "Thunder" Liger v. Ultimo Dragon from the Super J Cup.
8.10.2008
The Best Promo Ever......
Watch this and try and see if you don't get emotionally involved and scared for his opponent. I dare you.
Your Bare-Bones Olympic Wrestling Preview
This is just a short post because I wanted to make a point about something. The 2008 Olympics in Beijing are happening right now and this blog cares not at all about swimming, gymnastics, or (Sorry TSF Nation), basketball. Instead here we care about the Greco-Roman and Freestyle Olympic Wrestling Tournament. And this will be a fun thing to watch, if you can somehow find it.
While the Americans are the defending World Team Champions in Freestyle the Russian unit is, without question, the current colossus of the freestyle branch of the sport now. Having won five Olympic gold medals in 2004 and seven titles at the Azerbaijan world championships last year, including a near-sweep of the freestyle fights, the Russians are trying their best to put a blanket around the freestyle side of the tournament. But this will not be easy as Cuba, Turkey, the United States, and Uzbekistan lead a crop of hungry teams looking to stop the tide.
This is what Russia does best.
However, in the Greco-Roman discipline, things are far more up for grabs with wrestlers from 41 countries having qualified. Nonetheless the Iranians, Georgians, and others look to dominate the upper-body only wrestling technique.
Watch the wrestling. Get into it. For here are the true toughest men in the Olympics, the men with more self-discipline and toughness than anyone on the US Olympic unit.
While the Americans are the defending World Team Champions in Freestyle the Russian unit is, without question, the current colossus of the freestyle branch of the sport now. Having won five Olympic gold medals in 2004 and seven titles at the Azerbaijan world championships last year, including a near-sweep of the freestyle fights, the Russians are trying their best to put a blanket around the freestyle side of the tournament. But this will not be easy as Cuba, Turkey, the United States, and Uzbekistan lead a crop of hungry teams looking to stop the tide.
This is what Russia does best.
However, in the Greco-Roman discipline, things are far more up for grabs with wrestlers from 41 countries having qualified. Nonetheless the Iranians, Georgians, and others look to dominate the upper-body only wrestling technique.
Watch the wrestling. Get into it. For here are the true toughest men in the Olympics, the men with more self-discipline and toughness than anyone on the US Olympic unit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
A Man Out Of His Element. I've been to about 16 states, Canada 3 times, England once, and Italy once. I haven't traveled all ...
-
WHen I think of my 2 favorite promotions, from the past and the future, there are only 2 right answers. I actually started this with my...
