Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 (edited) I don't think you're in the minority. I wholeheartedly agree. I know the term "solar plexus" because of Monsoon How about the "external occipital protuberance?" I actually grew up on Gordon Solie, who not only treated wrestling like a real sport but treated it like an extremely important, extremely serious real sport. In my humble opinion, the best announcing duo of all time was Gordon Solie/Roddy Piper in Georgia in the early 80s. This is another example of stuff they just don't do any longer. Piper was huge in a few territories but not really well known to a national audience - and Georgia had the only national show at the time. (The fact that Ole Anderson is not a billionaire today is proof of how stupid Ole Anderson is). They brought in Piper as a color commentator. And he was fantastic. And fair for the most part. A little more colorful than Solie. A little arrogant maybe. But nothing over the top. Slowly, over the weeks, he started favoring the heels and criticizing the faces. But for legitimate stuff. Eventually, he decided to pick on Brad Armstrong any time Brad wrestled. Brad - who was a great wrestler - was the son of Georgia legend Bullet Bob Armstrong - who can still kick the asses of everyone on this board. They were the national tag team champs and Piper woul basically be saying that Brad was too young and his father was pushing him too hard and protecting him. And it got really really personal with Piper basically calling Bob a bad father on national tv. And this was the kind of **** Georgia fans went nuts over. It ends with a massive pull-apart brawl and Piper transitions into full-time wrestler/part time announcer. Except now he's a heel. Except he never really yelled. This wasn't his WWF Rowdy Scot persona. It was closer to what Flair did whenever Flair got serious and quiet. That eventually leads to Solie interviewing Don Muraco and Muraco put his hands on Solie - which was unheard of at the time. Piper - who even as a heel always called Solie "Mr. Solie" - goes nuts and attacks Muraco, instantly becoming the biggest face in Georgia and Mid-Atlantic. And it's Mid-Atlantic where he does the Valentine feud that leads to Vince's attention and the dog-collar match. He is legitimately injured in the dog collar match, but McMahon still wants him. But they need a way to get him over without wrestling. So....they create Piper's Pit. And Piper's Pit leads to the Snuka cocounut incident which makes Piper the biggest heel in wrestling history to that point. Which leads to Hogan. Which leads to the Brawl to Settle It All on MTV. Which leads to Wrestlemania. Which leads to today. And that's how Gordon Solie created modern wrestling, boys and girls. Some of the Georgia stuff is on youtube but my understanding is that a lot of it got taped over at TBS and no longer exists. But the subtle stuff Piper did was amazing. And, seriously, the fact that he always said "Mr. Solie" made a face turn years down the roard seem like the most natural thing ever. Sure, he's a villian but he respects Gordon Solie, because who doesn't? Edited June 11, 2014 by Lombardi's_kid_brother 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetoaster Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Brad - who was a great wrestler - was the son of Georgia legend Bullet Bob Armstrong - who can still kick the asses of everyone on this board. So are you saying that Bob or Brad could kick all of our asses? Never mind, you are probably right either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrypticVillain Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 So are you saying that Bob or Brad could kick all of our asses? Never mind, you are probably right either way. I think LKB secretly wants to see us get our asses kicked. This is the second time in as many weeks that he mentions somebody could kick every member on the board ass. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 So are you saying that Bob or Brad could kick all of our asses? Never mind, you are probably right either way. Well, Brad is dead. So you could probably take him. Bob was and is special. He's 74 now and could whip any man here, I'd bet. Wrestling used to be made up of guys like Bob. I don't think there is anyone like him anymore. He was a marine and then a firefighter and got into weight-lifting and decided, "Hell, I'll give this wrestling thing a shot" and discovered how much money he could make. He was in ridiculous shape - unlike most of the Southern babyfaces back then who generally looked like Tommy Rich or Ricky Morton - good ole boys with baby fat. I think LKB secretly wants to see us get our asses kicked. This is the second time in as many weeks that he mentions somebody could kick every member on the board ass. lol I would pay money to see Lebron James and - I dunno - Dick Slater take on any ten tailgaters in a 10 on 2 handicap match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetoaster Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 I think LKB secretly wants to see us get our asses kicked. This is the second time in as many weeks that he mentions somebody could kick every member on the board ass. lol And he wants to commentate it stoically like Gordon Solie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetoaster Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 (edited) Well, Brad is dead. So you could probably take him. Bob was and is special. He's 74 now and could whip any man here, I'd bet. Haha...I was worried about Bob being dead when I said that, I did not even realize that Brad was dead. I remembered seeing Bob on TNA not too long ago. Little did I know that he wrestled with his son, B.G. James (AKA the Road Dogg Jesse James) for the tag team belts. Ahhh TNA, you never cease to amaze me. On the January 18, 2008 Impact!, B.G. chose Armstrong as his tag team partner for his Feast or Fired Tag Title shot. The two lost the championship match. Edited June 11, 2014 by lovetoaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catatonic Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 LKB, your knowledge of wrestling is amazing. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spjunkies Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 I personally prefer the play by play person to be a normal guy (not overly face) that will condemn a heel doing overly wrong actions but will admit if a heel is actually a good wrestler I want the color guy to be more cynical but not overly heel. A straight face and heel commentary team has always seem cartoonish to me. While JR is my favorite announcer, Monsoon and Ventura are my favorite team Call me crazy but I was a big fan of Vince McMahon the commentator "what a maneuver" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Vince was pretty good. I just think he was a little overzealous at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Vince was pretty good. I just think he was a little overzealous at times. I think Vince saw himself as a hype man more than a Play by Play guy, and did that job pretty well. He was usually there to sell the Big Madison Square Garden show or PPV and would let Gorilla or JR or whoever actually call the match once the tickets were sold. He's been trying for a decade to make Cole that kind of announcer except Cole is really just not good at it, and there is - frankly - nothing to really sell at this point. Raw IS what is being sold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDawg Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I think Vince saw himself as a hype man more than a Play by Play guy, and did that job pretty well. He was usually there to sell the Big Madison Square Garden show or PPV and would let Gorilla or JR or whoever actually call the match once the tickets were sold. He's been trying for a decade to make Cole that kind of announcer except Cole is really just not good at it, and there is - frankly - nothing to really sell at this point. Raw IS what is being sold. I've been thinking more and more about the whole commentary thing, and man, it really does seem like that's a big part of what's missing. The US Title and the IC Title are missing prestige in part because of booking, but also in part because of the lower quality announcing. They just aren't selling the champions as credible. Who's fault that is, I'm not sure of. But I just don't ever hear anything meaningful coming from the announce table. I fast forward through about 75% of RAW and don't feel I missed anything. I can see who won matches as I zoom by, and I stop when important segments seem like they're happening... But I never miss any important messages that are conveyed through commentary. I'm never lost when I watch the next progression of a storyline because I didn't hear the commentary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I've been thinking more and more about the whole commentary thing, and man, it really does seem like that's a big part of what's missing. The US Title and the IC Title are missing prestige in part because of booking, but also in part because of the lower quality announcing. They just aren't selling the champions as credible. Who's fault that is, I'm not sure of. But I just don't ever hear anything meaningful coming from the announce table. I fast forward through about 75% of RAW and don't feel I missed anything. I can see who won matches as I zoom by, and I stop when important segments seem like they're happening... But I never miss any important messages that are conveyed through commentary. I'm never lost when I watch the next progression of a storyline because I didn't hear the commentary. In one of his 500 shoots, Jim Cornette talks about how he went to Mid South with the Rock n Roll Express, the Midnight Express, and Bill Dundee. Dundee became the booker and brought all his nonsense Memphis finishes and gimmicks with him. All this stuff played as comedy in Memphis - blindfold battle royals, tar and feather matches, fat guys jumping out of large gift boxes. In Mid South, it was treated like life and death, because Bill Watts would announce it that way. The blindfold battle royals were a bunch of fat guys stumbling around in Memphis and would probably end with Jimmy Hart in a chicken costume or his underwear or something. In Mid-South, it was a bunch of elite athletes fighting in the dark. Not sure who they were hitting or where they were landing. A man could break his best friend's neck and not even know it. It was life and death. In Memphis, tar and feathering someone meant that you were making them look like a goofball on tv. Tar feathering in Lousiana meant that you were taking the interloper and running them out of town before they could steal your money and harm your women. It was a reminder of **** that people actually did to each other 50 or 60 years earlier. And what happened was stuff that made people chuckle in Memphis would caused a riot in Shreveport simply because of the presentation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeesburgSkinFan Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Possibly the most underrated announcer in wrestling history is currently on the WWE roster, Zeb Colter (Dutch Mantell). I've been watching some Smoky Mountain Wrestling for the first time since the '90s and he's terrific on commentary. By the way, SMW is absolutely awesome. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Possibly the most underrated announcer in wrestling history is currently on the WWE roster, Zeb Colter (Dutch Mantell). I've been watching some Smoky Mountain Wrestling for the first time since the '90s and he's terrific on commentary. By the way, SMW is absolutely awesome. Dutch Mantell is a genius. The fact that a big ugly redneck like him could draw so much money as a mediocre wrestler and then a booker in Puerto Rico of all places is incredible. I think he had huge ratings there for half a decade and never learned Spanish. I don't really care for the Zeb character, but moving him onto creative wouldn't be the worst idea ever. By the way, SMW is absolutely awesome. Has Bullet Bob showed up yet? Because that would be cool after my post yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrypticVillain Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I don't really care for the Zeb character, but moving him onto creative wouldn't be the worst idea ever. I thought he was already on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrypticVillain Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 WWE Released some talent today Curt Hawkins - Didn't even no he was still around. Theodore Long - Nobody cares about him anymore, barely cared for him in the first place. Camacho - Meh. Brodus Clay - They completely dropped the ball with him. That funkasaurus gimmick was dumb, but somehow caught on with the kids. They should have debuted him as a monster heel like they started to before he spilled the beans. Evan Bourne - Once he got injured, that was it for him. People seemed to like him, but it is what it is. Yoshi Tatsu - Kind of surprised by this one actually. But since they have more talented performers, not wrestlers, performers, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDawg Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 (edited) WWE Released some talent today Curt Hawkins - Didn't even no he was still around. Theodore Long - Nobody cares about him anymore, barely cared for him in the first place. Camacho - Meh. Brodus Clay - They completely dropped the ball with him. That funkasaurus gimmick was dumb, but somehow caught on with the kids. They should have debuted him as a monster heel like they started to before he spilled the beans. Evan Bourne - Once he got injured, that was it for him. People seemed to like him, but it is what it is. Yoshi Tatsu - Kind of surprised by this one actually. But since they have more talented performers, not wrestlers, performers, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Literally every one of those cuts makes sense. None of them were utilized, and they severely dropped the ball with Brodus. Though, he also didn't do a great job in getting the gimmick over, either. But I definitely don't think they put him in position to succeed. Add Camacho and Aksana to that list... They've been released. Edited June 12, 2014 by KDawg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrypticVillain Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Camacho is on the list. Didn't know about Aksana tho. What a way to go out.. She just got punked on RAW on Monday lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrypticVillain Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Dang Jinder Mahal just got released too. They're going hard with the releases today.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93 Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 McIntyre gone too. They haven't had mass cuts like this in years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 McIntyre gone too. They haven't had mass cuts like this in years I wonder if Vince gave another one of his Ruthless Aggression speeches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetoaster Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Who are they going to replace Mahal and McIntyre with in 3MB? That is too strong of a stable to just eliminate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDawg Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Well, they probably have to cut some dead weight now that the pay per view money isn't streaming in. And this is how they're doing it. And somehow, JTG is still around. I'm not sure if he even works anymore... I actually like JTG, but I haven't seen him do... Well... Anything. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrypticVillain Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dont Taze Me Bro Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 (edited) Well, they probably have to cut some dead weight now that the pay per view money isn't streaming in. And this is how they're doing it. And somehow, JTG is still around. I'm not sure if he even works anymore... I actually like JTG, but I haven't seen him do... Well... Anything. I think the last match he was in was Sept. 2013 where he lost to Santino Marrella.........who should be given the axe. Marrella's gimick is way old and if they keep him he needs to be recreated. Edit - I just looked on WWE.com at the current roster and it didn't even have JTG listed. Man, there are a lot of bad talents on there in need of a make-over. Edited June 12, 2014 by Dont Taze Me Bro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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