August 29, 2012

Rusty Nickels - checkin in

I have taken a break from SCW a few times in the past. And usually i wasn't keeping up with wrestling at those times. But this time is different. I am fully caught up with summerslam and raw, i;m just so ding dang busy that i have no time to talk wrestling. I have about 5 minutes right now so here are a few points.

Heel CM Punk! How about that. Shaved head = bad guy. I love it. He is getting mean and can  draw heat like no one else. I'm excited to see more, even tho everyone is guessing that he will lose the belt soon.

DBD is amazing and can make a dumb bit about anger management funny. Kane is super amazing and his history in the bit made me crack up. Awesome.

Cena, Punk and King had great promos last night.

I love the 3 hour raw. It feels less rushed and we get real matches.

Miz is almost worse than ever. He came back and is using his tired shit still. The only new thing about his is that he has different hair and he whispers "awesome". He is a guy pretending to be a wrestler. Lame.

HHH - I dont need 3 packages about how you are awesome. I like HHH but JEEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZ

Damian Sandow is the best ever.

I feel sorry for the Divas.

Summerslam was full of good wrestling and not a lot of shocking story stuff. I loved the double submission hold. I thought they were going to have 2 champs, give cena his belt back, give punk his own belt, and have them in a match at NOC to see who the real champ was. I was so excited. But then AJ started the match again and that was stupid. I liked how punk won tho.

What else? I dunno. I am 2 weeks behind on NXT so i dont know who the champ is yet. And i have been out from smackdown for a month. I might get good cable soon so i can watch smackdown again. WHo knows.

Well thats it. No time for spell check. Gotta go dig 4 inches of dirt out of the basement floor, clean my old appartments oven, have the final walk thru and have band practice!

August 28, 2012

MMS: One Savage Showdown



August 20, 2012

Poncho Man's Overly In Depth Summerslam Review Part 2: The Review

 Summerslam 2012. Okay so the PPV was pretty good. Better than the last one..probably because the under card was stronger. There are tons of spoilers! SPOILERS ON! I'll maybe make a few of the winners in white text so you can't read them. Or something. GO.

Cesaro vs. Marella
This was a lot of fun. This match was one of the few times that Santino’s silliness really worked. By the way…new champion Antonio Cesaro. The Cobra cost him the title because the Cobra thought Maxine was hot. You could totally see that Cesaro is used to being the straight man amongst silliness (ie Chikara and Colt Cabana). This was so much fun to see in the middle of the day and I watched it with one of my clients. Only sucked because I think he enjoyed the Wu-Tang videos we were watching before more.

Ziggler vs. Jericho
The best match Jericho has had since he’s been back. They didn’t have a lot of time so they packed it in and had a really fast paced match that got to the point so quickly of having false finishes that you actually get involved in it. It was like “wow….7 minutes in and I have no idea who is going to win this.” Vicki was great at ringside and I love that she’s getting involved like a good manager should.  Only disappointment….the feud is over…Jericho is gone…Jericho is your winner

DBD vs. Kane
The reason this match works is that everything Kane does is crisp. It’s how he’s kept his job for uhhh….15+ years? Bryan works his tail off but the power moves were paced so well and made DBD look great. We may not be huge Kane fans (who is?), but there is a reason they keep him around. He’s like a big man technical wrestler. Short but sweet and made both men look good. DBD wins

Batstyrio vs. The Miz
Mysterio is wearing a Batman esque costume.  The predominately Mexican American crowd  in LA turned on Rey Rey at some point during this match. It’s not bad….we’ve had 3 pretty good matches and it’s been less than an hour. This show so far and Raw a few weeks ago have just been booked fantastic. By the way…I’m writing notes while I watch. The Miz wins...duh.

Sheamus vs. Del Rio
Del Rio gets screwed. This match sucked. I think Sheamus’ music says something about it being all the same, and that’s about what I think.  The PPV starts to lose me at this point.  I’m adding this note the next morning but…..both title matches end in weird screwy endings. Sheamus wins with Del Rio's foot on the rope.

Prime Time Players vs. Kofi and R-Truth
I think the best part of this match was the very loud Kobe Bryant chant. Go Lakers!!!!! Abraham Washington would have had so much heat if he was at this PPV. It’s at the Staples Center in LA and he made a joke about their (and my) beloved superhero basketball player. I think it would have been Vicki level heat. Prime Time Players get buried.

Punk vs. Cena vs. Show
What I liked: That Big Show really led the match. He was aggressive. He looked so dominant that it put both Punk and Cena over. I wasn’t bored with the power moves, and he didn’t just get AA’d in the first few minutes and lay outside the ring for 5 minutes. I liked the Big Chops at the beginning, because the crowd was hot and he wasn’t just shushing 12 year old girls.
What I Didn’t Like: That I knew going in that Big Show wouldn’t win. Also how weird it was. They restart the match after Punk and Cena make Show tap. Then it ends really really really fast. I have a feeling I know how they’re booking Mania this year already, and I’m not too happy.
Punk wins.

Brock Lesnar Vs Triple H
Wow. What a difference a few years makes. I love Brock Lesnar. Maybe it’s because his matches are so unlike everything else, but this felt so brutal and legit I got a little hard under the poncho. I marked out when they start talking about his stomach issues. I marked out ever time Paul Heyman was doing old school managing (Paul E Dangerously style baby). I marked out at the end. I marked out when Hunter sold the broken arm really well. Don’t get me wrong. Brock Lesnar is a horrible talker and a bad storyteller, but what they’ve built around him and his “real life” away has made him so compelling. Just Wow. Lesnar wins after breaking Hunter's arm and hurting his stomach.

August 19, 2012

Poncho Man's Overly In-Depth Summerslam Coverage Part 1: The Math Before The Melee.

In honor of being thorough I've decided to to a little pre-show run down. It will hopefully bring insight into my opinions after I watch the pay-per-view. I've quite enjoyed most of the PPVs since Wrestlemania this year. I think the last one was the worst, and I'm far less excited about this PPV.
       Maybe it's because we've been having so much fun with Raw 1000 and 3 hour Raws with lots and lots of wrestling. Suddenly we're getting a PPV which has a main event by two guys that hardly wrestle. Not to say they won't knock it out of the park, but it's hard to be excited when neither guy has kicked anyone's ass in months and months. Is it odd that I enjoy Paul Heyman and Stephanie McMahon going at it verbally more than listening to Brock Lesnar sound weak?
       I'm going to try and watch the pre-show here at work. It's so interesting to me that in the indies Chris Hero was the most hated guy around for awhile....and his lackey was Castignoli. Now Cesaro is quickly coming up the ranks faster and Ohno is on NXT (and not even involved in the Gold Rush Tournament). While I don't think Cesaro will win...It's nice to see he's getting a title shot and I hardly see him on tv.
      The Prime Time Players don't have a manager anymore. Or maybe they will? I read that Triple H is going to focus on tag teams and not Divas. You can already see that happening, but they keep sabotaging any of these tag teams getting over.
       The Miz and Rey Rey.....WWE seems to be feeling bad about squashing The Miz after a Wrestlemania main event. He'll be getting a "big win" over Rey in order to supplant himself as the Awesome Unimportant Second Rate Champion Belt Holder. This is the big problem with WWE's weird way of making everyone a "Superstar" but then they sabotage it by making it so damn obvious that Damien Sandow could "never defeat John Cena." Pecking order means nothing when you squash the little guy.
     Kane vs DBD. I keep thinking about how Chris Beniot would go from being in the main event one month to being mid card and back to main event and back to mid card for a long time. I remember hearing that he was really really upset with the "move to ECW" before he did the bad bad stuff. DBD is in the same place. They know they have somebody special. Technically the best guy on the roster AND a good talker AND he has his head on straight enough that wrestling Kane at Summerslam isn't going to piss him off. He didn't even need a generic "i'm better/prettier/smarter gimmick" to get to the point of being one of the best heels in the biz. We have some great years and great matches ahead.
     I'm still confused about Jericho's sudden face turn. I want the real Y2J back probably more than the next guy (he did keep me watching Nitro religiously for years...him and Disco Inferno), but the real Y2J would never lose a match to Ziggler like I'm pretty positive will happen. Remember boys...he's riding into the sunset for awhile so Rusty can see Mongoose live. No self respecting person in this biz would take a win over a main roster guy right before leaving (HEY I'M LOOKING AT YOU HOGAN! SERIOUSLY! YOU SEEMED TO LOVE TO DO THAT! AND AT SUMMERSLAMS! MICHAELS AND ORTON!? REALLY?? REALLY??)
    The Punk And Cena Show. I hope they all just come out and have an old fashioned body building pose down. Slathered in oil. Looking at each others' glutes. Oh boy.
     Sheamus vs Del Rio. I can't help thinking that this match is racist. Del Rio has no heat. Sheamus just feels over because they tell us he's over. Sheamus is Batista a few years ago all over again...but a slightly better wrestler. If Sheamus would just start doing that machine gun entrance I would never ever need or want to see Batista again. Except in that new The Man With The Iron Fists movie because the RZA directed it and it looks fucking awesome. GO WU-TANG!
     I really hope this isn't a fight and it's a mercy killing. The Marshall's comment about Punk interrupting is spot on, but I doubt it will happen. Triple H is a glory hound. Or something stupid like Laryngitis will come out instead (he's still working house shows? huh?). If Lesnar doesn't win they'll have officially beyond a shadow of a doubt killed ANY believability of him being a legit badass. Might as well have Lesnar vs the Funkadactyls next PPV.
      Okay...there it is. I hope to get that shit tonight or tomorrow morning. Then three hours after that I'll write something up. The Marshall: I hope you domesticated the raccoon and named him Antonio Bandito. Rusty: I hope your back doesn't hurt from sleeping on the floor. Life is too sweet! If Wrestlemania is Christmas, and Royal Rumble is Thanksgiving....today must at least be Veteran's Day.

August 18, 2012

SCW RAT CLASICKS

We here at SCW love wrestling. The good and the bad. And that's why i decided to start SCW RAT CLASICKS. Because the bad , in hindsight, is usually more fun than good.

And Marshal, you need some entertainment while you are healing up. How about a "hardcore" match?

August 17, 2012

Summerslam Request

Could you guys cover Summerslam for me?  I'll be away from my computer almost until the end of the month.  I was able to catch Raw this week, and will be able to watch Smackdown tonight, but won't have a chance to watch the PPV til I get back home.  I wasn't planning on being down here in Oregon for so damn long, but I got bit by a raccoon and need a series of rabies shots which are easier for me to get here in the US.  It was going after my dogs so I scared it off, but we all got bit before it ran away.  The dogs are okey, and so am I, but we're stuck in Oregon all the same.  So, if either or both of you watch the PPV, please give me the scoop!

August 09, 2012

Random Spare Change Wrestling Thoughts.

I think Rusty, at one point, you were talking about my band, and it was like suddenly slow and low....like my music. It was kinda cute. Marshall....we're called Witchasaurus Hex if you're interested. You Tube that shit....I have no idea if you like loud slow bluesy heavy rock.

I've been waiting for the Chikara shows and Dragon Gate USA did two shows that weekend also. Waiting is hard. I think ROH has a show coming up too. All this stuff has gotten me stoked about wrestling again.





Rusty came out and saw my band play the other night and we talked about Evolve. Marshall, we need to convince Rusty to keep going. I have a feeling these shows get better and better. I'm loving current Dragon Gate USA stuff  (where most of the roster wrestles also) and it will be awesome to have like Danielson, Hero, Castignoli, Finlay etc show up in Evolve. I honestly didn't feel like I had a lot to say about the first show (hence my little post and Marshall's much bigger post), but I'm stoked to watch more.

Raw 1002. I was going to just read the results like I often do. I read a match list and got hard and decided to download it instead. I fucking loved this episode. LOVED! This was exactly what I loved about the WWE back in the day. A bunch of matches between great fucking wrestlers....that weren't totally about their main feud they are involved in, but continue to build the individuals and talk about feuds. Every week doesn't need to cram dumb storylines down my throat. Just like every other week maybe. 3 hours is great because the matches weren't all 5 minutes long. All the tertiary skits and stuff were perfect; even if they suck and were dumb....I DON'T CARE AS LONG AS WE GET GOOD WRESTLING. The storylines are almost always dumb. Stone Cold tried to kill Brian Pillman at some point, and that storyline was awesome!

DBD is incredible. I don't think they are burying him. CM Punk was way over about a year and a half before they did anything with him. They also didn't used to have a problem with people getting over that they didn't want.
I have no problem with CM Punk right now. None. As long as his matches are good I will be down with the "whiney" guy. I don't even really see him as a whiner. He's doing the pipe bomb thing still. Saying shit that will piss people off. Think about it....this is WWE's way of saying "you don't like John Cena being shoved down your throat!? Well...we'll have the "anointed people's champ bitch and complain about not being shoved down your throat." It makes me happy. I have yet to see him as a heel....I see him still as the kayfabe "frustrated with booking" champ. It's different....it's certainly a whole lot more fun to watch right now than a few years ago with the Spirit Squad or Rated RKO or Batista and JBL. There was great stuff in there (Jericho, Shawn Michaels/John Cena feud, Edge sometimes/the building of Punk into a Superstar) but most of it was god awful. The Triple H vs Randy Orton feud was maybe one of the boringest things ever.

CM Punk made one of the ESPN sports talk radio guys show this morning. They were talking about his tweet about a MMA fighter who was a drunk driver getting a NIKE deal. It was hilarious how little Colin Cowherd gets this business, and gets what CM Punk was all about. Look up the stuff and tell me what you think.

Okay...I think I'm just randomly bitching. Tell me if all this makes sense. Maybe this is why most people don't like talking wrestling with me....I go crazy.

August 07, 2012

rr



MMS: A "No" for All Seasons



August 06, 2012

Mat Classics: Innovation and Perfection

As if a 3 HOUR RAW wasn't enough for a Monday's pro wrestling quota, here's another two matches to sink your lousy yellow teeth into.  The first: the debut of Tiger Mask, locked in contest with the irascible Dynamite Kid.  Saturo Sayama, the first of five Tiger Masks, had spent years wrestling in both England and Mexico before he returned to Japan to adopt the persona of the already popular anime character Tiger Mask.  It was the bookers at New Japan that came up with the gimmick, and chose Sayama to fill the role.  Sayama would later say that the Tiger Mask character was "small and shameful", though his matches during this phase are his best remembered (at least by non-Japanese audiences).  Particularly famous are his bouts with Tommy "shotgun" Billington, whose real-life mean-guy exploits may now outshine his legacy as one of the most influential pro wrestlers of all time.  Bret Hart will swear up and down in interviews that D. Kid was absolutely the greatest wrestling mind he has ever known.
The special thing about the Dynamite Kid-Tiger Mask matches is that they're obviously so far ahead of their time.  They're each individually ahead of their time, and they work together in such a fantastic way that their chemistry in itself is also very much ahead of its time.  The following match, dated April 23, 1981, represents the "Innovation" half of this post.




Representing the "Perfection" half of the post is this slice of technical mastership, courtesy Quack and Bryan and the good people of ROH.  Now, I've seen each of these guys in more emotionally jarring matches, but what seems special to me about this contest is that they're only just trying to put on a great scientific match, and to have fun doing it.  They've had the Tiger-Dynamite matches, the Guerrero-Malenko matches, the Bret-Owen matches to study and serve as precedent, so that in this modern era guys like them can just go out and put on a clinic just for the fun of it, and the crowd will have a rich history of context through which to appreciate it, and therein lies the perfection.  This match happened on March 20, 2009.


August 04, 2012

WWE NXT 8/1/12

So, I thought about putting this on the forum, but I was really feeling like the main site needed to be updated soon.

I'm not going with spoilers here because I'm not sure everyone has watched this, but I had a really weird thought about this episode of NXT. They have started the "Gold Rush Tournament" to find the new NXT Champion. Great. They're building stories. Totally excited. This whole roster is pretty fun to watch. Especially Rick Victor. We've all been following it for weeks.

Then I watched this episode...and I'm watching Richie Steamboat and Leo Kruger...and I realize....it's fucking awful. A slow paced bore of a match and Leo Kruger's heel performance is about as strong as a Dino Bravo vs The Warlord match. I was pretty confused because I don't remember like hating what he'd done before, but this seemed awful.

Show continues with Big E Langston (whatever) and Raquel Diaz (she might be better than The Beautiful People and LayCool) and I feel the show is back to normal.

Then out comes Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins for another tournament match, and suddenly there is a really really really weird spot where McIntyre crawls under the ring like he's hiding. Rollins' grabs his legs and gets pulled into hitting his head. So the second part works (I guess) but the first part makes no sense. It made McIntyre look weak and scared.....then I realize something...

Dusty Rhoades is booking this shit, and this week he's gone all Dusty all over us. Honestly, I didn't know if he was actually booking or just helping or just a figure head before, but this episode sealed it. They must not have had another writer helping out. I was just waiting for somebody to randomly start bleeding from the arm.

Anyway....it totally freaked me out that suddenly I felt like I'd time traveled back to the late 80s. It wasn't all bad, but jeez. I just wanted to see if you guys agree or even notice. Until next time....

August 01, 2012