Wrestling Century Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Am I the only one who thinks that territorial/really old wrestling is boring? This IMO is a usual match back then. Lock up Strength Test Rest Hold Reverse into pin for one count Reverse into another rest hold Rinse and Repeat until someone hits a big move. I mean seriously? I just tried to watch some "classic" wrestling and it bored the heck out of me! And yes, I watched more than one match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbergey_2005 Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Well it may be boring in comparing it to what you may watch today but what made that type of wrestling great was it was still considered a sport back then and the wrestlers were far better storytellers than they are today. That wrestling would never work today but at the time no one complained about it being boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praguepride Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 It's when you look back at any sport. I mean, football used to be non-violent enough that the guys didn't wear anything beyond rugby pads. Leather helmets? Not with today's emphasis on hard hitting Sports evolve. Back then it was considered a real event so the fans had more invested. It was actually about who won and who lost, not what kind of huge spot they can work into the match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpapa42 Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 No, not boring to me. It depends on the match, but I appreciate the subtlety, storytelling, and selling of a good old school match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterHilton Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Depends on the territory. Depends how far back you go. Depends on how young YOU are as the viewer. But yeah, I could see how today's fans would find territorial era wrestling matches boring. Hell, I met some guys who couldn't sit through Flair/Steamboat because they grew up watching Attitude/ECW Era spotfests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrestling Century Posted January 20, 2010 Author Share Posted January 20, 2010 No, not boring to me. It depends on the match, but I appreciate the subtlety, storytelling, and selling of a good old school match. Selling? IMO there were only rest holds to sell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nedew Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Depends on the territory. Depends how far back you go. Depends on how young YOU are as the viewer. But yeah, I could see how today's fans would find territorial era wrestling matches boring. Hell, I met some guys who couldn't sit through Flair/Steamboat because they grew up watching Attitude/ECW Era spotfests. This, and i certainly fit in on the second example. I'd gladly be the biggest fan of a promotion where everyone was just a spot monkey, from the bottom of the card to the top. I'd love that. Teddy Hart vs. New Jack baby! And yeah, i'm 100% serious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpapa42 Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Selling? IMO there were only rest holds to sell! Again, it depends on the match and the workers. But rest holds can be sold as well. If a worker is struggling to escape, that's part of the story. The idea of wearing down an opponent. And the selling doesn't have to be overt. If someone gets their knee worked over for a few minutes, they don't necessariliy need to have a massive limp for the rest of the match - moving slower than normal is still selling it, depending on how much it was worked over and for how long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazorbeak Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Am I the only one who thinks that territorial/really old wrestling is boring? This IMO is a usual match back then. Lock up Strength Test Rest Hold Reverse into pin for one count Reverse into another rest hold Rinse and Repeat until someone hits a big move. I mean seriously? I just tried to watch some "classic" wrestling and it bored the heck out of me! And yes, I watched more than one match. All territories are not equal. What were you watching and from how long ago? Seriously what an informed, inflammatory post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrestling Century Posted January 20, 2010 Author Share Posted January 20, 2010 Again, it depends on the match and the workers. But rest holds can be sold as well. If a worker is struggling to escape, that's part of the story. The idea of wearing down an opponent. And the selling doesn't have to be overt. If someone gets their knee worked over for a few minutes, they don't necessariliy need to have a massive limp for the rest of the match - moving slower than normal is still selling it, depending on how much it was worked over and for how long. Oh. Yeah, I love it when they sell for the whole match, but I hate it when the match is nothing but rest holds. And I was getting all hyped up for some classic wrestling matches and they turned out to be the type of match that I hated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrestling Century Posted January 20, 2010 Author Share Posted January 20, 2010 All territories are not equal. What were you watching and from how long ago? Seriously what an informed, inflammatory post. I honestly don't know what territory. I was just watching some random classic wrestling dvds. WWE DVDs and non-WWE DVDs. And by classic I mean from the early 70's and then the 60's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpapa42 Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Oh. Yeah, I love it when they sell for the whole match, but I hate it when the match is nothing but rest holds. And I was getting all hyped up for some classic wrestling matches and they turned out to be the type of match that I hated. Who were you watching, specifically? Some old school stuff is a bit slower moving, but I don't know who much of it is just a series of chinlocks and headlocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comradebot Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Aye, not all old stuff is like that. The Von Erichs tended to put on matches I'd consider exciting by today's standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrestling Century Posted January 20, 2010 Author Share Posted January 20, 2010 Who were you watching, specifically? Some old school stuff is a bit slower moving, but I don't know who much of it is just a series of chinlocks and headlocks. Early Hulk Hogan. Early Andre (before WWE). Early HBK (before WWE). Jerry Lawler (before WWE). Bob Backland. etc. All of them follow the match style I posted IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterHilton Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Early Hulk Hogan. Early Andre (before WWE). Early HBK (before WWE). Jerry Lawler (before WWE). Bob Backland. etc. All of them follow the match style I posted IMO. Sean Michaels Midnight Rocker AWA Sean Michaels? And Lawler in Memphis...that's impossible. I don't think Lawler even knows any rest holds..most Memphis matches are wild brawls, with chairs and fireballs... EDIT: list the matches..also, you're attention span isn't that great, so that might have something to do with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazorbeak Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Sean Michaels Midnight Rocker AWA Sean Michaels? And Lawler in Memphis...that's impossible. I don't think Lawler even knows any rest holds..most Memphis matches are wild brawls, with chairs and fireballs... Yeah seriously at this point I think it's time to stop feeding the you know what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterHilton Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Yeah seriously at this point I think it's time to stop feeding the you know what. Naw..he's not a troll. He made a similar post in the WWE HOF thread. Wrestling Century just came up on a different brand of wrestling and older stuff isn't his thing. It happens. But seriously..Sean Michaels in the AWA was still a high flier and considered a spotmonkey for that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazorbeak Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Naw..he's not a troll. He made a similar post in the WWE HOF thread. Wrestling Century just came up on a different brand of wrestling and older stuff isn't his thing. It happens. But seriously..Sean Michaels in the AWA was still a high flier and considered a spotmonkey for that time. I don't see how being completely ignorant and posting something as dumb as "territorial wrestling is boring" proves his good intentions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterHilton Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I don't see how being completely ignorant and posting something as dumb as "territorial wrestling is boring" proves his good intentions. Not good intentions. More like ignorant intentions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remianen Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Am I the only one who thinks that territorial/really old wrestling is boring? Yes. Depends on the territory. Depends how far back you go. Depends on how young YOU are as the viewer. But yeah, I could see how today's fans would find territorial era wrestling matches boring. Hell, I met some guys who couldn't sit through Flair/Steamboat because they grew up watching Attitude/ECW Era spotfests. OH MY GOD, this! All territories are not equal. What were you watching and from how long ago? Seriously what an informed, inflammatory post. True. Wrestling Century, let me ask you a quick question. How much impact do you think every match is going to have when the workers are doing up to FIVE SHOWS A DAY? How many full speed matches could your body take in a single day? How 'bout a single week (since it wasn't uncommon for folks to do 18-25 matches in a week)? Those matches were set up to fit a period of time when workers WORKED, repeatedly. So you didn't have 50 signature spots (hell, most of the time, there were no "signature spots") in every match. These were people that were more 'average joe' than 'athletic freak'. Many of them held regular, working class day jobs in addition to wrestling. They didn't take the chances you see being taken today because there was little to no reward for doing so (it was all 'risk your life/career for a cheap pop'). So low impact, slow pace (so the audience can keep up), few risks was the way things were done. Low impact didn't always mean 'soft' though. Many punches you saw were real (some workers preferred that). And praguepride, your example is a little off. NFL football in the 60s and 70s was MUCH more brutal than it is today (and even back in the days of leather helmets). Keep in mind, something (or somethings) had to happen to make the dome style helmet necessary, yes? Take a look at old Steelers footage. Mel Blount used to practically maul receivers (which is why the 5-yard restriction is called 'the Mel Blount rule'). If you sit down and watch a modern day game with some of the old timers (Art Donovan and Gino Marchetti specifically since my father was a scrub taxi squad member of the Colts eons ago), you'll hear such awfully un-PC names assigned to many players, it would make you blush. Kinda like how folks like Bruno Sammartino, Lou Thesz, and Karl Gotch have been quoted as saying about today's workers. They didn't have quite the, uh, selection of fine pharmaceutical products that exist today. I've heard stories about guys breaking their hand in a game, having it put in a small cast, taking a Bayer (ASPIRIN ffs!) and going back into the game. Different times, really. Rest holds offered a break in the action and allowed the holder to stop an opponent's momentum while at the same time, wearing him down (and of course, catching a breather). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stennick Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 The Midnight Rockers in the AWA were about the only reason to watch their shows that along with Henning/Hall tag team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCBiggz Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 And praguepride, your example is a little off. NFL football in the 60s and 70s was MUCH more brutal than it is today (and even back in the days of leather helmets). Keep in mind, something (or somethings) had to happen to make the dome style helmet necessary, yes? Take a look at old Steelers footage. Mel Blount used to practically maul receivers (which is why the 5-yard restriction is called 'the Mel Blount rule'). If you sit down and watch a modern day game with some of the old timers (Art Donovan and Gino Marchetti specifically since my father was a scrub taxi squad member of the Colts eons ago), you'll hear such awfully un-PC names assigned to many players, it would make you blush. Kinda like how folks like Bruno Sammartino, Lou Thesz, and Karl Gotch have been quoted as saying about today's workers. They didn't have quite the, uh, selection of fine pharmaceutical products that exist today. I've heard stories about guys breaking their hand in a game, having it put in a small cast, taking a Bayer (ASPIRIN ffs!) and going back into the game. Exactly. A lot of the padding for football was added because injuries, including death, forced them to step up safety measures. It's why you hear "old timers" complain about players sitting out due to random injuries that they would probably play through and call them soft. As per wrestling, I prefer the psychology that went in to telling the stories. It was amazing to watch and wasn't just thrown together spots. One of my all-time favorite pieces was when Arn Anderson would single out a single body part the entire match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrestling Century Posted January 20, 2010 Author Share Posted January 20, 2010 Allow me to clarify. I am not a troll and I do like psychology and selling in my matches. I just don't like rest holds the entire time. Also, allow me to clarify even more by saying that the wrestlers I listed are just some of the ones that I was (were?) watching. I should've just said that I think that Bob Backlund and Hulk Hogan had matches that were that style back then IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterHilton Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Allow me to clarify. I am not a troll and I do like psychology and selling in my matches. I just don't like rest holds the entire time. Also, allow me to clarify even more by saying that the wrestlers I listed are just some of the ones that I was (were?) watching. I should've just said that I think that Bob Backlund and Hulk Hogan had matches that were that style back then IMO. So you saw a couple of matches with Backlund and Hogan that were slower than you were used to and started a thread that said: Am I the only one who thinks that territorial/really old wrestling is boring? Any chance you could go back to that policy about thinking a little more before you start any new threads? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrestling Century Posted January 20, 2010 Author Share Posted January 20, 2010 So you saw a couple of matches with Backlund and Hogan that were slower than you were used to and started a thread that said: Am I the only one who thinks that territorial/really old wrestling is boring? Any chance you could go back to that policy about thinking a little more before you start any new threads? *facepalm* Sorry. Forgot about that. It looks like I still have some work to do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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