Shooting Star Presses: A Compendium

When you're a young wrestling fan, the things that boggle your mind sometimes feel embarrassing. Maybe, you were completely gobsmacked by the Ultimate Warrior, or Jake Roberts's DDT. For me though, it was one of my friends in junior high showed me this:



As you might understand, I was through. Jaw on the floor, mouth open, and everything.. As time has gone on, people have added variations to it, twists and planchas with it. But honestly, the simple act of heading to the top rope and hitting this maneuver proves you are, if not the king of the high-flyers, than someone not too far off.  It remains the true apex test of a high flyer, the one thing that separates someone who is billed that way by a lazy promotional structure (looking at you Kofi Kingston) and someone who actually has the go

With that in mind, here are the best Shooting Star Presses ever.



Paul London's bad-ass, and for my money the best, SSP.



And the new king on the throne, Matt Sydal\Evan Bourne

(Side note: You'll notice I didn't put any of the variations in here. The Shooting Star Presses i loved the most are the classics. Find the standing variations as you need to.) 

Shinya Hashimoto: Something Approaching an Appreciation

Shinya Hashimoto: IWGP Legend

I have a confession to make. As a young wrestling fan, I was not a huge fan of the heavyweights from Japan. Hashimoto, Chono, Hase, Muta never intrigued me. The juniors, on the other hand, changed what I wanted out of pro wrestling and in many ways changed how I watched it. (And trust me when I tell you this, there will be a huge appreciation post on the New Japan Juniors coming soon. Liger, Kanemoto, Ohtani, even................ Kendo Kashin, who i think no one likes.)

But when i was a young wrestling fan, I thought like a child. Not to say that there's not a place for the kind of junior pyrotechnics that i remember, and still love, but more that there's something more there, and there should be. And what did i discover as an adult? That the New Japan heavyweights were kind of awesome, and they were the reason why New Japan during Hash's prime was one of the most complete promotions ever.

If you needed excitement, top-level matwork, and some pretty bananas high-flying, the juniors were going to give it to you. If you needed pathos, stiffness, and the kind of "epics" so many people try to pursue but can't come close to, the heavyweights were going to give to you. While Hase was the technician, and Chono the hard-luck "almost" champion, Hashimoto was the king. He was the standard-bearer everyone pursued. And I will freely admit that I feel bad for not realizing how awesome he was earlier. And hopefully, his son Daichi can keep that legacy alive. It's not the legacy of the Von Erichs, the Harts, or even the Guerreros. But it is a legacy nonetheless.

What I'm Watching: Arn Anderson vs Lord Steven Regal

Arn Anderson Vs Steven Regal - WCW Superbrawl... by WrestlingElite Pt. 1


Arn Anderson Vs Steven Regal - WCW Superbrawl... by WrestlingElite Pt. 2

This is a match to watch if you want to see two serious professionals work the kind of old-fashioned match we don't see a whole lot of anymore. in an era of sanitized big box wrestling, where titles mean less than they maybe ever have, this match is the ultimate palate cleanser. From Michael Buffer announcing the combatants with gravitas and the kind of personal facts you would never have realized, to both men fighting like crazy for a title with a rich history, they clearly understand that this is a match that MEANS something.

And then the match actually begins. Watch how Arn Anderson works the arm. Watch how every chance he gets, he goes right back to the spot he knows he has weakened. And then watch a match from big-box wrestling today. People don't work weak spots as well as they used to anymore on the big-box wrestling. Is this because no one is allowed the time, or is that one of those things that have been scrubbed out of those shows due to over-reliance on skits? I'm not sure. And frankly, I don't much care. I just want you to watch this.

What I'm Watching: Mike Quackenbush\Jigsaw vs Young Bucks

I am a huge, unabashed, mark for Mike Quackenbush. But as I heard him say, perhaps mark isn't the word. That still holds a pejorative tone in my mind. Rather, let me say this:  I am a huge fan of the type of wrestling that he presents, both as a wrestler himself and to whatever degree he has control over Chikara Pro. But I think, that more so than just him, Chikara has given me back something I loved dearly, only to fall out of love with for a while: tag team wrestling.

When I was a kid, I was a frantic, rabid devotee of the Rockers (I still maintain that the Rockers were the best tag team of the era and only got jobbed out of a tag team title run due to politics). Eventually, though, the Rockers became a gateway team for me to maybe my favorite team of all-time. They only had a few martches together, and were perhaps best known as opponents. They were the junior heavyweight dream team of Flyin' Brian and Jushin "Thunder" Liger. To be honest, even though they teamed together a couple of times,they were my favorite. And then, as I got older, I fell in love with the Steiners, and the Rock N' Roll Express, and the Midnight Express. but WWF tag teams never had the same dynamism to my eyes that the Rockers did. Maybe it's because the DNA of southern wrestling is tied together with tag team wrestling, thus making it endlessly important. Maybe it's because the WWE slowly drug the blade across its own throat with the myriad of crappy tag teams they gave us in the post Hart Foundation era. But whatever the reason, tag team wrestling in the WWF didn't seem to mean as much to me as it did other places. Chikara, though, gave me something to care about again. And this is the match that did it.



What you'll notice when you watch the match here is the degree to which both teams involved know the job they are supposed to play. The Young Bucks are supposed to be the invaders, the people no one likes, and they do it well. They don't look for cheers. They cheat, A LOT. Meanwhile, Quackensaw (one of my favorite portmanteaus in the last little while in wrestling) are the heroes. They understand it, and play up to it. Watch this match sometimes when tag team wrestling on big-box TV disappoints you. I hope this one doesn't.

The Rock, and E-Fed Promos

I e-fed. Still. (If you want to find out where I'm fedding at the moment, ask me on Twitter and I will tell you.) But the biggest problem with e-fedding is watching, and reading, these promos that never feel organic. Like they are just doing what they know sounds cool, instead of sitting down to take the time to honestly write from their heart. I've been guilty of this sin myself, so don't think i'm throwing stones from a glass house.

But as I watched the Rock this monday I kept thinking: "I've seen this before." While CM Punk seemed genuinely arrogant, reveling in the knowledge that he was the anti-hero, The Rock seemed to be simply..... trying to be everything. Tough guy for those sections of the audience who want macho tough guys, and funny for the kids who need to be drawn into a feud with sugar and honey. I hated this. And maybe, for the first time, i wasn't alone. Casual fans throughout the internet found themselves watching that entire thing and feeling...... disappointed is the word that comes to mind. Now I am not, despite the impression I give off, some snarky guy who hates all things corporate wrestling. My heart is still warmed by certain things on big-box wrestling. Chief amongst that list, however, is in fact CM Punk. Because in a promotion filled to the brim with nihilists, and men claiming to be one thing while being another (I am looking at you on this one, John Cena), CM Punk has found his way back to himself. And that's something to be treasured.

Now if we can just get the Rock there.

Stuff I'm Watching: Mitsuharu Misawa vs Steve Williams

(Editor's Note: Yes I know I said I was going to keep this blog active and didn't. I had a retail job from December to January that kept me from this blog, or doign anything other than sleeping. That changes now.)

A lot of times, especially on Twitter, the current big-box WWE corporate product draws grunts of annoyance over this bad booking decision, or that sophomoric promo by John Cena over there. It's understandable. I've done it myself too. The trick is, when you feel yourself starting to walk down that road of annoyance, crack open a DVD or turn on your Real Player or VLC Player and watch wrestling you know you enjoy. Wrestling that speaks to you. That is what this series is designed to do.It's the stuff I'm watching, the matches I turn to and download the second big-box wrestling gets under my skin.

Now, with that said, another small note before we get into this. This is what I, ME, am watching. Perhaps, once I show you these, something about the style here won't speak to you as it speaks to me. If that's the case, then by all means, you don't have to stay here. Delve into the magic of youtube, or Ditch's Wrestling Page and find something that you know you'll like more. The point here is not to enjoy what I enjoy, because I know some of you won't. The point is rather to find the things you enjoy.

Breaking TMW Radio Silence

Yes I know it seems that I have forgotten about this blog. I get it, and I understand why.

But let me, if I can, explain why this is the case. When i started this blog my main mission statement, as much as I had one, was to enjoy wrestling deeply and passionately wherever I found it. That's what I have been doing. The funny thing however is that I wasn't motivated to write what I was enjoying. Just enjoying it felt good enough.

That stops. When i get home tonight, i'll try and write something about the biggest story of the weekend for me. Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw, and how we might be one step closer to the complete re-drawing of what it means to be face and heel, and whether or not I care for it.

How to Build A Light Heavyweight Division In The WWF Part 1: The Roster

This Could Be A Big Deal.
Photo Credit: Stock Image

There was a time, maybe in the heyday of WCW, where the Light Heavyweight or Cruiserweight Title was a supremely important belt. Through a combination of WCW's gigantic talent budget, and their affiliations with New Japan and AAA, the end result was that the championship seemed like a huge deal even with what was WCW's dismissiveness towards it. But with the demise of WCW, and the confusion about who could step into the breach,  one thing died.  And that was the relevancy of the Light Heavyweight Title. Sure, WWE paid lip service to the idea for a little while but since, at its core, WWE is run as a "big man's territory" it was only too long before the cruiserweight champion became a joke.

But I want to fix it. I want to make it work again. Sure, this is probably a 1-man crusade. But it's my crusade. Want to join me?

Flyin' Brian: A Gushing Appreciation

Flyin' Brian: My Favorite Junior Heavyweight Ever.

If, by some minor fluke, you listened to this you may have discovered that I sincerely love 1992-era WCW. And above all else, there was one reason I enjoyed that era of WCW (shortly before Bill Watts came in and it all went to hell in a handbasket). It was Flyin' Brian. And believe me when i tell you, because this is the absolute truth, we are never going to see his like again. No matter how hard you may want it, no matter how good it may be for wrestling as a whole, the cold hard fact is that it will never happen.

Free Wrestling On The Internet: The Midnight Express

The best part about the internet, besides reading this fine blog, is the sheer preponderance of awesome wrestling from a variety of sources that you can find. All you need to know how to do, really, is look for what YOU like. I'm not asking you to enjoy what I enjoy, but that you enjoy something. 

What do I enjoy? The Midnight Express for one. Watching them do what they did was awesome. Admittedly, the Eaton-Condrey variant doesn't have nearly as much tape available. But from what you hear from people who were around during that time period, they were as good as it got. But the Eaton-Lane version? That's the fun stuff. 

Below are links to matches against the Fantastics, and the Rock N' Roll Express. You can find more. I recommend you do just that. 

The Dream Match To End All Dream Matches, Or Discussion Of Them

KANA. 1\2 of the greatest dream match ever.

(Full disclosure: I root passionately, unabashedly, and shamelessly for both KANA and her opponent in this match. I don't think that will change the way I write this match, but I needed to clear that up before I kept going in this piece.)

One of the beautiful things about this blog is that I get the chance to spitball ideas for this blog of mine on Twitter. For some reason, my mind and my heart has been drawing me to discuss dream matches. For whatever reason, they've always captivated me. The idea that 2 wrestlers who are clearly stars coming together to figure out which one of the 2 is the better has always interested me. And when I think about what dream matches are left, there's really one left. And it's so beautiful that I had to talk about it, write about it, and hopefully do my small part to make it happen.