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| I SAY THEE NAY! Photo Credit: EW |
It's Twitter Request Line time, everyone! I take to Twitter to get questions about issues in wrestling, past and present, and answer them on here because 140 characters can't restrain me, fool! If you don't know already, follow me @tholzerman, especially around Friday night after Smackdown, and wait for the call. Or don't wait for it actually. I'll try to get everything for this feature no matter when in the week you shoot me the Tweet. Anyway, here we go.
@BitterOldJoe kicks things off with a comic book question, Hulk or Thor?
Hulk Hogan or Josh Thor? Haha, just kidding there. It's a tough choice for me, given that neither were my favorite Avengers. If we're going by solo movies, I think I'd pick Thor. That's not fair though given that Ed Norton no longer is Hulk and Mark Ruffalo's not going to get a solo movie. If you asked me before last year, I'd have said Hulk all the way, but now, I'm Team Thor.
@OkoriWadsworth asks what arena I always wanted to see a show in but never did.
This is tough. Are we going with arenas that aren't in existence anymore? If so, then I'd go for the Dallas Sportatorium. World Class sounds like it would've been right up my alley, especially with STABLE MADNESS between the von Erichs and the Freebirds. If we're talking places I can still go to, I'd probably either go with American Legion #308 in Reseda, CA for a raucous Pro Wrestling Guerrilla card or the Tokyo Dome in Japan. That still exists, right? They still run shows there, right?
@TheWrestlefan asks if WWE's trend on hiring indie wrestlers for their women's division instead of models is going to change anything.
Well, there has to be a change in philosophy for that to happen. Wrestlers or models, the women have to be treated as equals to the men. Thankfully, we're starting to see that. First, Sara del Rey being named a trainer down at NXT is a huge step in the right direction. Secondly, the women are actually getting stories and longer time on their matches. Hell, Layla got promo time after her match on Smackdown. Maybe there is hope, and when the crop of former indie wrestlers makes it, including del Rey, to the main roster, then maybe we'll see a renaissance.
@el_spriggs has two questions he wants answered. First, he wants to know what wrestler trade I'd make between Chikara and Anarchy Championship Wrestling.
Well, firstly, I'd trade UltraMantis Black to ACW just to annoy Darin Childs. JOKING, JOKING.
If we're making a trade, why not make it a blockbuster? Eddie Kingston to ACW for Rachel Summerlyn. Ace for ace. Each wrestler has done almost as much as they could have done in their home promotions. Sure, Kingston still hasn't been a King of Trios, and Summerlyn hasn't won the Anarchy Championship. However, that can be done when they make their triumphant returns to their home promotions after their trade-mandated tours.
Second, he wants to know what three matches I'd recommend to show a newbie that wrestling is an art.
There are a ton of matches I could pick, but here are three that represent what wrestling can be. The first would showcase the storytelling potential of wrestling, and that would be Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat from WrestleMania III. It's not one of the greatest matches ever for no reason, and it was the culmination of an awesome story. I'd have to include a highlight package of their feud as well.
Secondly, I'd go for the comedic potential, and for that, let's hit up High Noon and show 'em Colt Cabana vs. Archibald Peck. This would also reinforce the storytelling potential aspect, but it could also be the best comic relief match in wrestling history. For those who think that's a putdown, think again. Comedy is important on a wrestling card, and anyone who thinks otherwise can suck Jim Cornette's cock.
Finally, I'd want to showcase the sheer stuntman spectacle potential of it, and for that, I'd show them the Triangle Ladder match from WrestleMania 2000, the Dudleys vs. the Hardys vs. Edge and Christian for the WWF Tag Team Championships. It's the ultimate car-wreck match, and it's beautiful. I think seeing those three matches should hammer home what wrestling is all about, and if someone can't be a fan seeing that package, then I'm not sure they can be a fan of wrestling.
@GayWrestlingFan wants to know who this Dean Ambrose is and why everyone's talking about him on Twitter.
Well, let's start by saying who Dean Ambrose is NOT. He's not...
- ...an anthropomorphic wallaby with uncharacteristically purple fur.
- ...Cthulhu.
- ...a post-doc student at Johns Hopkins University.
- ...the mama.
- ...heir to the throne of Andorra.
- ...a homosexual yak herder.
- ...THE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS.
With that in mind, who IS Dean Ambrose? Well, he's quite good. He's a wrestler who started out life as Jon Moxley in CZW and later DGUSA. He became famous for taking insane bumps and working in crazy matches. He was one of the dudes who wrestled Bryan Danielson between his stints as Daniel Bryan. When he got to FCW and became Dean Ambrose, he had famous feuds with both Seth "Tyler Black" Rollins and William Regal, feuds that both had matches go viral. Those matches are why the Twitterati are clamoring to see him. He's gonna be HYOOOGE when he does get to the main roster, though.
@BitterOldJoe is back again, this time asking what I watch on TV aside from 'rasslin', sports and Food Network.
Here's where I say I don't watch a whole lot of TV, but then again, I do have my shows that I watch. First-run shows that I watch are Game of Thrones, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Raising Hope, Archer, Legend of Korra and Venture Bros.. I catch a lot of Seinfeld, Friends, The Simpsons and King of Queens in reruns, and I try to catch American Dad whenever I can. Recently, I watched the entire series of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and of course, I'm usually beholden to shows for my son like Sesame Street, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Doc McStuffins and Jake and the Neverland Pirates. My wife actually volnutarily watches Phineas and Ferb, and I have to admit that show is clever enough for adults. So yeah, I guess I do watch a lot of TV.
@PistolDill wants to know if I live my life for MACTion.
I do not. That being said, just because I don't live for it doesn't mean I don't look forward to it when it's on TV. For those who didn't listen to the most recent Wrestling Podcast with Patrick Vint, I described Mid-American Conference football as my spirit animal. All things equal, I love high-scoring, no-defense football. I love crazy passing plays and bonkers runs. So just because it's not a necessity doesn't mean I don't love the crap out of it.
@ThePWNerd wants to know my favorite third-tier Championship.
For sentimental reasons, it's the WCW Television Championship, mainly because my main e-fed character, Jerichoholic Anonymous, once picked it out of the trash and proclaimed himself as the titleholder. In reality though, I would probably say the Hardcore Championship, because I always enjoyed the 24-7 rule. It was one of my wrestling guilty pleasures.
Finally, @fte88 wants to know what brought me back into wrestling from my hiatus in around 2002.
To be fair, I never really stopped being a wrestling fan. I was just chased away by having to go to sleep early for my first co-op job in college and then by Triple H's megalomania, but what brought me back was that I just kinda tuned into RAW one night in 2008 and was really intrigued by a segment between Shawn Michaels and Big Dave Batista that happened to be interrupted by Chris Jericho. I kept watching RAW for the remainder of the year, mainly because of the Jericho/Michaels feud, and then I just slowly started getting into more and more until I became as balls-deep back into it as I am now.
