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Wrasslin' Thread 20XX |OT| New Age WrestleGAF
- Thread starter Bullet Club
- Start date
- Sports
OmegaSupreme
advanced basic bitch
Crazy to me that Rod had pretty much nothing to do with the business from my understanding. You would think he would have at least faked it to get in on that money.
Bullet Club
Member
Bullet Club
Member
jufonuk
not tag worthy
I wish Tony S just whispered “social distancing ” under his breath and Tony K would act more insane. Just buy out impact and RoH and work with NJPW already. For great justice.
Bullet Club
Member
Dthomp
Member
Yes, that was his last match.
I hope they find out through autopsy what truly was wrong with this for the most part young man.
If there could be any good to come from this it would be to prevent his kids getting hit by this when they get to their 40s, whatever it was.
Dthomp
Member
My concern over all the info we have got so far is that it all has been gotten through AEW themselves more or less. Even this interview was done with their podcast. Maybe it was something unique to him, but EVERYTHING timeframe wise really really sounds like COVID to me, and I'd imagine AEW would have been in a shitstorm of trouble for allowing shows to go on with COVID positive tests coming in. I hope in the end that wasn't the case, but this whole thing really comes off in a way you'd expect WWE lengths to keep things this hush hush.
Bullet Club
Member
Dthomp
Member
I just can't with WWE anymore...Orton and Edge? So we just want the first 10 minutes to be as boring as the last 10 times these guys fought?
Bryan deserves SOOOOO much better then this. I get he sees it as him winding down his career, but there's a difference in helping elevate guys who are future main event talents, a whole nother thing to be involved with Future Future Endeavors Gable and Otis....
Think my sub is getting cancelled after Rumble (I expect an epic dumpster fire for this PPV), this company just doesn't care about putting on a good wrestling product at all anymore
Bullet Club
Member
They are making so much money they don't need to care how good the product is, they just have to churn out as much of it as they can.
jufonuk
not tag worthy
WWE are like Nintendo when they are on top. They just get over confident.
Nintendo luckily has Sony/MS PC gaming to keep it in check.
WWE with competition is the best WWE.
Look at the attitude era.. tell me that weren’t the shot
WWE with competition is the best WWE.
AEW are not at the level to be direct competition. They can take a dent out of NXT but not the whole company.
WWE just have too much depth on the roster. Which they under utilise.
Maybe a team up of AEW/NJPW/RoH could make a massive dent who knows.
that peacock deal is massive. Will keep them going for ages. I don’t see Shane or HHH/Stephanie taking over. I think when the time comes Vince will either sell it off outright or have a non family member take control.
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Bullet Club
Member
They'll never have direct competition again, they are too big. The thing with WCW was personal and affected their business, so Vince had to fight back. AEW could outrate Raw for 5 years straight and it wouldn't effect the amount of money they make at all.
There's talk NBC could buy them.
jufonuk
not tag worthy
That would be a massive acquisition. But I can imagine a non wrestling focussed company would only care about numbers not the product.
OmegaSupreme
advanced basic bitch
WWE was losing money or at least not making much prior to WCW hitting big. At this point Tony Khan could buy every other promotion out there it would barely dent the WWE. WWE keeps failing upwards and making more money than ever. I really can't see them getting knocked back down.
Dthomp
Member
I actually think not having crowds has kept AEW from really hugely closing the gap. These shows aren't even close in quality, the worst AEW show of the last year is nearly as good as a top 5 Raw/SD from this year. They put on consistently better matches and shows and crowd reactions would be crazy huge if they could have true crowds. WWE gets to benefit because they aren't having low ticket sale events that they likely would continue to have. I think that given time AEW will push them much harder then WCW ever did, and is getting easier to do with WWE refusing to create new stars outside of Drew who is a little older and likely going to get fed to Goldberg tonight, I don't think the WWE will continue falling upward forever.
End of the day, we as fans need more then just AEW to get better. AEW has the money, but will they continue to spend when talent is available? Maybe we start to see more and more younger talent realize what a black hole the WWE is and that they likely never will reach the top there and going there just to "hit the big leagues" stops being their dream. I'd love to see the world where maybe NJPW works a deal with Impact/ROH for a quality American product also to give more eyes to what they have along with continued growth of AEW and they all kind of meet in the middle so we can all benefit from real competition.
Dthomp
Member
Interesting, didn't expect that many unannounced. Don't expect any major surprises without a crowd. I'd imagine a ton of the women will be NXT females since they have like 100 of them down there.
Velcro Fly
Member
CM Punk trying to throw us off the scent by tweeting right as the RR begins
Don't think you have any of us fooled, Phil
Don't think you have any of us fooled, Phil
OmegaSupreme
advanced basic bitch
Edge in the main event of Wrestlemania. If this were 2010 I'd be really excited. AEW needs to step up their game and make WWE change. This is ridiculous.
I had to check. He actually as in the main event in 2008.
Edge in the main event of Wrestlemania. If this were 2010 I'd be really excited. AEW needs to step up their game and make WWE change. This is ridiculous.
Velcro Fly
Member
Goldberg wrestling for a title and Edge winning the Royal Rumble
What decade am I in
What decade am I in
Bullet Club
Member
Karmic Raze
Member
Pretty cool that Christian is making a return. He deserves a good run to finish off his career the right way. I didn’t get to watch the Rumble PPV, but it looked fun. Edge winning it is awesome. I should have watched Raw tonight, because I don’t even know who he’s facing at ‘Mania yet. I guess I can just hop my dumbass over to WWE.com and find out, though. Even though I really don’t like WWE anymore, the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania are two shows I usually always watch irregardless. I’m just an AEW fan through and through. I’m hoping NJPW closes that US TV deal soon, however. I miss watching those guys, and I’d really like to see Kota Ibushi as the new IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion. He deserves that shit so freaking much, man. I felt like he was ousted last year by Tetsuya Naito who didn’t deserve it. I mean, he’s good and all, but Ibushi is just so much better in every way.
Dthomp
Member
Took a night to watch Raw before really thinking about the Rumble, my first impression right after was disappointment. I didn't see the show very good at all outside of the KO/Roman match, but I saw that I was in the minority as reddit and twitter were eating this show up. I think people get so excited for the idea of the Royal Rumble that they overlook shortcomings because of returns and such.
Womens Tag Titles - Who cares? WWE doesn't give a fuck about tag teams (Especially the female ones) why should we? These belts shouldn't exist, there was 1 legit tag team and they broke them up for no reason. There is 1 current team that actually has a team name (Riot Squad), and everybody else is just two females thrown together to kill TV time. Give us a reason to care about these teams, same could be said for the mens tag division too really although at least they have a couple real tag teams.
Drew/Goldberg - Not gonna lie, I was worried about this one but was glad Drew retained here. Goldberg needs to be done, he just can't go anymore and they need to stop putting people at risk.
Roman/KO - I actually wasn't expecting anything outside of the usual LMS type match, and NGL I fully expected Uso and maybe even Apollo interference to seal the win for Roman. KO is such a likable babyface, and just credible enough to think they might pull the trigger, just a shame he's had to eat so many L's in this feud. Ending hurt though, nothing you can really do in that spot outside of Heyman quick thinking and punching the second ref. Not gonna crap on it for the ending, I just laughed at the botch, and hell it gives KO an out that he can say he won that match but the refs screwed him cause they fall in line with Roman.
Mella/Banks - My wife watched the show with me after not watching anything in months and the first words out of her mouth were man Carmella looks hot. I love this version of Carmella, although she needs to maybe leave a little bit of the NJ out of her character, she's basically still trashy Mella pretending to be all fancy. (Side Note- Sashas outfit did not do it for me, brown is nobodies color) Did Sasha overdue the fake tan or did she have fancy makeup around her eyes? Cause it looked like she stayed in a tanning bed with the glasses on too long. Anyways, match was decent, and these two work really well together, I just wish Mella would be kept away until she's in a spot where they can pull the trigger on a title win for her, cause I think it'd be money.
Womens Royal Rumble - I was legit surprised by how many times I thought man that performer has a large ass. Maybe it's not having as much time and opportunity to train at the PC, or maybe they just big.
Random thoughts - Shotzy is a slightly prettier version of Ruby Riott.
Toni Storm looks...bigger every time I see her perform.
Surprises are nice, but Jillian Hall? We're scraping the bottom of the barrel here. At least Billie made it funny.
Billie is quickly becoming a favorite of mine, while still being trash in the ring.
Dana Brooke really makes alot of these woman look bad, because she doesn't have the experience many do, but she puts in the work to improve and alot of the women tonight are just meh.
Torrie Wilson is still beautiful, still can't really wrestle, but is likely cheaper to bring back then Trish.
Alicia Fox? Really? Along with Hall, there are 15 women I'd pull from NXT before even thinking of these two.
Is Ember really out of shape? Or is she just fat now?
So I actually watched the 2019 Womens Rumble earlier in the day, and some of these women are really different in presentation from that one (And not for the better). Rheas look in 2019 was the most badass ass kicker I've ever seen, and Lacey Evans was debuting and still was that badass Ex-Marine with long hair before this stupid Southern Belle crap.
This match was carried by Bianca, Rhea, and Charlotte, and because of that they missed chances to set up undercard feuds, but that's a modern day WWE Rumble problem. Bliss spot was good, and made perfect sense. I still hate this version of Bliss and nobody should be saddled with Fat Wyatts shitty gimmick ideas. Back to the 2019 rumble, Goddess Alexa was a badass, I want that Bliss back, not this weird pretends to be a child shit. I felt bad for Victoria, she does not move well anymore and probably wanted the payday and chance to perform, but it was just sad seeing her basically immobile in the middle of the ring. I'm seeing people call this the best Womens rumble, and to that I think people need to rewatch the previous ones cause this one was just kind of hoe hum to me. Way to much jobber women when they have a legit solid main and NXT roster to pull from.
They got the winner wrong. Also, putting out the documentary on her BEFORE the Rumble was a dumb giveaway she was winning. Reason it was the wrong winner was she has already began to build a resume on SD and could easily been written into a number one contender match with Bayley. Bianca makes the initial challenge to Banks, Bayley interupts brings up nonsense and we get womens #1 contender match at Fastlane. They can play into the Bayley/Sasha history starting in NXT building to Brooklyn 2 and their main roster feud and build on this is a WM match that needs to happen, and Bianca puts Bayley down again at Fastlane to make her strong going into Mania and it keeps Bayley relevant to the main event scene and continuation of Sasha/Bayley. If Bianca hadn't already had a strong showing last year, and a great year I'd be more open to her win, but she didn't need it....Rhea Ripley did. Rhea has been called up but not debuted, this would have immediately made her a star (She'll get there anyway....I think...god I hate Vince). She could have strutted out on Raw and said she needs no time to decide, she wants the most dominant NXT Womens champion Asuka, not this watered down going through the motions Asuka that is on Raw, and she could continue to get under her skin to bring back the killer Asuka that we used to have. Either winner at Mania there works, either we have super Asuka or another new Womens Champion. Rhea not winning leaves us in the Charlotte zone unless they can drag out Lacey/Charlotte to Mania since they need MANY matches for two nights.
Mens Rumble Match:
Ugh, Orton/Edge 1 and 2 and being last 2....is dumb. Carlito is jacked, Nakamura getting that likely contract almost coming up so we gonna push you a little for now. Priest looked great, Riddle and Bryan shined, Lashley deserves a main event push, Christians return means I get one of my favorite entrance musics back. This match was better in spots then the womens, but we were missing alot of talent in this, not sure if it was COVID related or just booking, but no Uso, Keith Lee (Quarantine), NXT stars that should be up like Adam Cole, Finn Balor appearance, Pete Dunne?. Rumble should be 30 guys who could legit win when your roster is this stacked, get the fucking Mysterio kid, Otis, Corbin, Richocet, all the trash that has no feuds out of here. I hated the storytelling of this match, 47 year old Edge going the distance is dumb, they could have easily had him and Randy out in the middle and pulled the same stuff and got the same result. Edge goes the distance, then at the end eats an RKO from a fresh Randy, only to right after throw him out? I'm fine with the storyline for Edge, just not him winning, he's the old vet who says he needs to win the Rumble to prove something blah blah, and then they get dumped to set up their Mania feud. Bryan had the best storyline going into the Rumble, nearing the end, never won one and also had the comeback story. Edge has 2 Rumble wins, Bryan has 0...one of those guys was the most over guy in wrestling for over a year, that man was not Edge.
Mens Rumble unfortunately was just full of guys that didn't deserve or aren't in a spot to contend this year, bad booking all year leads to that. I would have went Bryan to fullfil his storyarc, and set up what could be a Mania banger with him and Roman, the match people wanted for years. I can't think of another guy that should have won other then Bryan, maybe Lashley to set up a Drew feud again, but they already did that.
So after Raw Edge did not select his opponent, and if I ran this shit, he challenges Roman and I think that's what will happen. SD is the A show now, and in the last 2 Rumbles before this everybody outside of Charlotte challenged Raw champions. Edge built his resume on SD, can do the Roman doesn't respect the business storyline stuff, Spear vs. Spear, and can set up post Mania stuff with E&C vs. Usos and a few other feuds while they are both there. Edge has to win after winning the rumble, and I don't think he beats Drew after the way Drew has been built up (And just beating Goldberg handely, after handling Brock last year). Roman can overlook him, sell crazy for him, and hell you could even have Edge come up short on Roman and it just makes Roman more unlikable.
I think Drew maybe ends up in a triple threat, unless they have a way to say Miz got an extention on MITB. My dream scenario here? Edges words coming true about Drew not watching his back, and he ends up in a feud with an angry at losing new Hurt Business VIP Keith Lee. Lee hurts him bad, maybe takes the title, or Miz picks the scraps and lets Drew feud a bit after Mania without the title, and build up to him winning the following years Rumble with fans and going for Roman at next Mania.
Womens Tag Titles - Who cares? WWE doesn't give a fuck about tag teams (Especially the female ones) why should we? These belts shouldn't exist, there was 1 legit tag team and they broke them up for no reason. There is 1 current team that actually has a team name (Riot Squad), and everybody else is just two females thrown together to kill TV time. Give us a reason to care about these teams, same could be said for the mens tag division too really although at least they have a couple real tag teams.
Drew/Goldberg - Not gonna lie, I was worried about this one but was glad Drew retained here. Goldberg needs to be done, he just can't go anymore and they need to stop putting people at risk.
Roman/KO - I actually wasn't expecting anything outside of the usual LMS type match, and NGL I fully expected Uso and maybe even Apollo interference to seal the win for Roman. KO is such a likable babyface, and just credible enough to think they might pull the trigger, just a shame he's had to eat so many L's in this feud. Ending hurt though, nothing you can really do in that spot outside of Heyman quick thinking and punching the second ref. Not gonna crap on it for the ending, I just laughed at the botch, and hell it gives KO an out that he can say he won that match but the refs screwed him cause they fall in line with Roman.
Mella/Banks - My wife watched the show with me after not watching anything in months and the first words out of her mouth were man Carmella looks hot. I love this version of Carmella, although she needs to maybe leave a little bit of the NJ out of her character, she's basically still trashy Mella pretending to be all fancy. (Side Note- Sashas outfit did not do it for me, brown is nobodies color) Did Sasha overdue the fake tan or did she have fancy makeup around her eyes? Cause it looked like she stayed in a tanning bed with the glasses on too long. Anyways, match was decent, and these two work really well together, I just wish Mella would be kept away until she's in a spot where they can pull the trigger on a title win for her, cause I think it'd be money.
Womens Royal Rumble - I was legit surprised by how many times I thought man that performer has a large ass. Maybe it's not having as much time and opportunity to train at the PC, or maybe they just big.
Random thoughts - Shotzy is a slightly prettier version of Ruby Riott.
Toni Storm looks...bigger every time I see her perform.
Surprises are nice, but Jillian Hall? We're scraping the bottom of the barrel here. At least Billie made it funny.
Billie is quickly becoming a favorite of mine, while still being trash in the ring.
Dana Brooke really makes alot of these woman look bad, because she doesn't have the experience many do, but she puts in the work to improve and alot of the women tonight are just meh.
Torrie Wilson is still beautiful, still can't really wrestle, but is likely cheaper to bring back then Trish.
Alicia Fox? Really? Along with Hall, there are 15 women I'd pull from NXT before even thinking of these two.
Is Ember really out of shape? Or is she just fat now?
So I actually watched the 2019 Womens Rumble earlier in the day, and some of these women are really different in presentation from that one (And not for the better). Rheas look in 2019 was the most badass ass kicker I've ever seen, and Lacey Evans was debuting and still was that badass Ex-Marine with long hair before this stupid Southern Belle crap.
This match was carried by Bianca, Rhea, and Charlotte, and because of that they missed chances to set up undercard feuds, but that's a modern day WWE Rumble problem. Bliss spot was good, and made perfect sense. I still hate this version of Bliss and nobody should be saddled with Fat Wyatts shitty gimmick ideas. Back to the 2019 rumble, Goddess Alexa was a badass, I want that Bliss back, not this weird pretends to be a child shit. I felt bad for Victoria, she does not move well anymore and probably wanted the payday and chance to perform, but it was just sad seeing her basically immobile in the middle of the ring. I'm seeing people call this the best Womens rumble, and to that I think people need to rewatch the previous ones cause this one was just kind of hoe hum to me. Way to much jobber women when they have a legit solid main and NXT roster to pull from.
They got the winner wrong. Also, putting out the documentary on her BEFORE the Rumble was a dumb giveaway she was winning. Reason it was the wrong winner was she has already began to build a resume on SD and could easily been written into a number one contender match with Bayley. Bianca makes the initial challenge to Banks, Bayley interupts brings up nonsense and we get womens #1 contender match at Fastlane. They can play into the Bayley/Sasha history starting in NXT building to Brooklyn 2 and their main roster feud and build on this is a WM match that needs to happen, and Bianca puts Bayley down again at Fastlane to make her strong going into Mania and it keeps Bayley relevant to the main event scene and continuation of Sasha/Bayley. If Bianca hadn't already had a strong showing last year, and a great year I'd be more open to her win, but she didn't need it....Rhea Ripley did. Rhea has been called up but not debuted, this would have immediately made her a star (She'll get there anyway....I think...god I hate Vince). She could have strutted out on Raw and said she needs no time to decide, she wants the most dominant NXT Womens champion Asuka, not this watered down going through the motions Asuka that is on Raw, and she could continue to get under her skin to bring back the killer Asuka that we used to have. Either winner at Mania there works, either we have super Asuka or another new Womens Champion. Rhea not winning leaves us in the Charlotte zone unless they can drag out Lacey/Charlotte to Mania since they need MANY matches for two nights.
Mens Rumble Match:
Ugh, Orton/Edge 1 and 2 and being last 2....is dumb. Carlito is jacked, Nakamura getting that likely contract almost coming up so we gonna push you a little for now. Priest looked great, Riddle and Bryan shined, Lashley deserves a main event push, Christians return means I get one of my favorite entrance musics back. This match was better in spots then the womens, but we were missing alot of talent in this, not sure if it was COVID related or just booking, but no Uso, Keith Lee (Quarantine), NXT stars that should be up like Adam Cole, Finn Balor appearance, Pete Dunne?. Rumble should be 30 guys who could legit win when your roster is this stacked, get the fucking Mysterio kid, Otis, Corbin, Richocet, all the trash that has no feuds out of here. I hated the storytelling of this match, 47 year old Edge going the distance is dumb, they could have easily had him and Randy out in the middle and pulled the same stuff and got the same result. Edge goes the distance, then at the end eats an RKO from a fresh Randy, only to right after throw him out? I'm fine with the storyline for Edge, just not him winning, he's the old vet who says he needs to win the Rumble to prove something blah blah, and then they get dumped to set up their Mania feud. Bryan had the best storyline going into the Rumble, nearing the end, never won one and also had the comeback story. Edge has 2 Rumble wins, Bryan has 0...one of those guys was the most over guy in wrestling for over a year, that man was not Edge.
Mens Rumble unfortunately was just full of guys that didn't deserve or aren't in a spot to contend this year, bad booking all year leads to that. I would have went Bryan to fullfil his storyarc, and set up what could be a Mania banger with him and Roman, the match people wanted for years. I can't think of another guy that should have won other then Bryan, maybe Lashley to set up a Drew feud again, but they already did that.
So after Raw Edge did not select his opponent, and if I ran this shit, he challenges Roman and I think that's what will happen. SD is the A show now, and in the last 2 Rumbles before this everybody outside of Charlotte challenged Raw champions. Edge built his resume on SD, can do the Roman doesn't respect the business storyline stuff, Spear vs. Spear, and can set up post Mania stuff with E&C vs. Usos and a few other feuds while they are both there. Edge has to win after winning the rumble, and I don't think he beats Drew after the way Drew has been built up (And just beating Goldberg handely, after handling Brock last year). Roman can overlook him, sell crazy for him, and hell you could even have Edge come up short on Roman and it just makes Roman more unlikable.
I think Drew maybe ends up in a triple threat, unless they have a way to say Miz got an extention on MITB. My dream scenario here? Edges words coming true about Drew not watching his back, and he ends up in a feud with an angry at losing new Hurt Business VIP Keith Lee. Lee hurts him bad, maybe takes the title, or Miz picks the scraps and lets Drew feud a bit after Mania without the title, and build up to him winning the following years Rumble with fans and going for Roman at next Mania.
Bullet Club
Member
Funnily enough, the main thing I noticed during the Rumble was how huge Toni's ass looked. It's grown a lot in the past year.
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Bullet Club
Member
Shida's bath vlog:
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Dthomp
Member
Bullet Club
Member
It's weird. And she's going to do it everyday.Quality entertainment there....
Bullet Club
Member
It's bath time again!
TwiztidElf
Member
Hi Wrestle-GAF,
I no longer follow wrestling, but today, for whatever reason, I started thinking about internet columnists I used to read back in the days.
There was one wrestling columnist I used to read everything he ever wrote, and his screen name was Chris Hyatte.
He did amazing write ups (mop-ups) of the Monday night wars for various wrestling websites back in the early internet days.
I was saddened to learn that he died back in June 2020 at age 50.
There is an archive of his work here. http://hyattecentral.com/
A lot of his writing is VERY spicy and controversial, but it's all super entertaining.
RIP Chris.
I no longer follow wrestling, but today, for whatever reason, I started thinking about internet columnists I used to read back in the days.
There was one wrestling columnist I used to read everything he ever wrote, and his screen name was Chris Hyatte.
He did amazing write ups (mop-ups) of the Monday night wars for various wrestling websites back in the early internet days.
I was saddened to learn that he died back in June 2020 at age 50.
There is an archive of his work here. http://hyattecentral.com/
A lot of his writing is VERY spicy and controversial, but it's all super entertaining.
RIP Chris.
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Bullet Club
Member
Maxwell Jacob Friedman
leads to fear. Fear leads to xbox.
I marked hard for this knowing the door has been kicked open, also that Jay White shout out too
jufonuk
not tag worthy
AEW & NJPW Now Have Working Relationship
AEW Dynamite this week ended in a very surprising way as KENTA invaded Dynamite. This was a shocking moment as NJPW and AEW's relationship was suddenly
www.google.com
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Dthomp
Member
Bullet Club is 4.4.4.4.4 Lyfe.
I will say I appreciate the crossover stuff, but it has kind of killed my interest in AEW at the moment. Now instead of building your feuds, you get to trade wins with other companies guys.
Nikana
Go Go Neo Rangers!
I think it makes sense going forward but I agree. They need something to get more eyeballs on wrestling all around for it to grow right now I fee like.
jufonuk
not tag worthy
NJPW announce US and UK TV deal with new weekly show
Content from NJPW's library will also be available.
www.digitalspy.com
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Maxwell Jacob Friedman
leads to fear. Fear leads to xbox.
Bullet Club
Member
Bullet Club
Member
Bullet Club
Member
Butch Reed passes away at 66 years old
Butch Reed, who was one of the top pro wrestlers in the world in the early-to-mid 80s and had a number of memorable World title matches with Ric Flair, passed away today at the age of 66.
Reed had suffered two massive heart attacks in recent weeks and had been battling for his life ever since.
Reed's career peak would have been as a headliner with Mid South Wrestling, where at times he was both a top babyface and a top heel in the promotion, and headlined the Superdome before huge crowds in battles with Flair and Junkyard Dog.
Reed had been a career babyface, starting out as a shy but super athlete with a great physique in Kansas City. He was a star at Central Missouri State in football and had a combination of speed, power, and agility that few men in the history of the business possessed. He was both a sprinter and a powerlifter, to go along with his football prowess.
In Florida, Reed got a big break under booker Dory Funk Jr. during a period when Dusty Rhodes was out of the state and Reed and Sweet Brown Sugar (Skip Young) were built around as the top babyfaces.
Reed was exceptionally over, and had classic matches with Flair in 1982 going under his real name Bruce Reed. He also had success in Georgia, including winning the 1983 Thanksgiving night tag team tournament at the Omni with Pez Whatley as his partner, before coming to Mid South as the babyface Hacksaw Butch Reed.
It was there that he and Buddy Landel turned on JYD for a hot program. Reed was the top heel in the promotion and one of the most exciting wrestlers in the business. He had a great ability to carry opponents as his "Ghetto street fight" matches with JYD are generally considered the best matches of JYD's career.
When JYD left the promotion for the WWF, after a failure of trying to use former Canadian football star George Welles in the JYD spot as Master Gee, Watts turned Reed babyface with the idea of making him the biggest star in the company.
Reed did well in the spot, drawing big crowds with Flair in New Orleans, but in the long run couldn't follow JYD as a draw. Eventually he and Watts butted heads and he left, and never really achieved the level of success elsewhere.
After a forgettable period in the AWA, he went to WWF as "The Natural Butch Reed," with bleached blond hair. The idea was taken from Sweet Daddy Siki, a star from the prior generation. Vince McMahon was behind the idea big, and even bragged to people that he would be the next Gorgeous George.
Like with Mid South, Reed grew to hate the travel. He was being considered for the Intercontinental title at one point, and while the story that he didn't show up and Honky Tonk Man instead got the title from Ricky Steamboat isn't true, he was under consideration for that title win.
Later, Reed and Ron Simmons became the masked tag team called Doom, managed by Nancy Toffoloni as Woman. They held the WCW Tag Team titles and later unmasked. While a good tag team, by this point Reed was nowhere close to the level of performer he had been in the Florida and Mid South era.
Reed's career as a full-time wrestler ended in 1992, and he did indie shows as late as 2011. After wrestling, he spent years working as a rodeo cowboy.
Butch Reed passes away at 66 years old
Butch Reed, who was one of the top pro wrestlers in the world in the early-to-mid 80s and had a number of memorable World title matches with Ric Flair, passed
www.f4wonline.com
Bullet Club
Member
Bullet Club
Member
Bullet Club
Member
Classicrockfan
Banned
Lol nia jax yelling MY HOLE!