Icopro

Jon Pertwee and WWF. Two of the great loves of my life. The first Doctor Who episode I ever saw was The Five Doctors on my local PBS station at some point in the mid-late 90s. I had no idea what was going on and thought it was hilarious in a "so bad it's good" MST3K kind of way. After that I'd occasionally tune in solely for the lulz. But at some point during the Hartnell era (my PBS station was forever replaying Hartnell through Tom Baker + The Five Doctors on an endless loop) I got over the horrible special effects and bad acting and was like "Holy shit! Doctor Who is actually awesome!" I think it was the comedic historicals that did the trick. Or maybe it was the batshit insane "Daleks plan to turn planet Earth into a giant spaceship" storyline. Or maybe it was watching The Web Planet and understanding what Art was for the first time. But, yeah, I got hooked on Hartnell. I liked Troughton too once the initial shock of having a new Doctor wore off. I was particularly enthralled by The War Games. Thought it was pretty much the greatest thing I had ever seen. But the great Jon Pertwee was and always will be My Doctor. Color! UNIT! The Delgado Master! Jo Grant! Loved it. Practically every episode had me on the edge of my seat. I was gutted when Jo left and Pertwee regenerated. Long after I stopped watching Hartnell and Troughton reruns I'd still catch the occasional Pertwee episode or pop in a Pertwee era tape to kill some time when I was bored. I never could get into Tom Baker and was actually shocked when I got online and found out he was considered the consensus best Doctor. Nu Who is probably my least favorite show that I ever watched for an extended period of time. I kept waiting for it to live up to the internet hype. It never did. At some point early in Matt Smith's run I realized this was just never gonna be for me and finally gave up on it. It was until January-February of this year that I finally did my first real deep dive into Doctors 5-8. Some of 'em were alright but they've got nothing on Pertwee. Oh yeah, wrestling.... Well, the first wrestling I ever watched was WWF in early 1987. I'd watch, and like, other promotions, but WWF was always My Promotion. By mid-late 1995 WWF became my favorite thing in the world. I was a rabid WWF fanatic during the MNW. They were "my team" against the Evil Empire that was WCW.....only I never liked any sports team as much as I liked muh mid-late 90s WWF. As sad as it sounds, my life practically revolved around WWF from about July 95-Wrestlemania 17....and I enjoyed most of the stuff that came before that too, 1993 in particular. Over the past few years 1993 and 95-96 WWF has been my go to wrestling of choice.

Sandman returning to the ECW Arena in October 1999 is my answer to both questions. It was incredible live. In fact, it's my favorite live experience from any form of entertainment and I still go back to watch it a few times a year. Some others.... RVD had an amazing connection with the crowd when I went to eight ECW Arena shows in 99-2000. Fans would chant "RVD" hours before the show while waiting in line. And this didn't just happen once or twice. It was every single time. Then there was the time they chanted "Van Terminator." Yes, they chanted for a move that hadn't even been seen yet. That's how over RVD was. You kind of had to be there to truly appreciate just how much that audience loved RVD. Loudest pops other than Sandman's return are just any time I saw Austin at the Baltimore Arena from 98-00. The roof blew off the place every single time. As an Austin hater back then, I gave up booing the man like 5 seconds after seeing him for the first time. It was a futile endeavor. My feeble little boos were never going to catch on. Flair had a great connection with the Baltimore crowd at the August 2002 Raw show I attended. Dark "match" was a Flair/HHH brawl with the crowd just going nuts for Naitch. But the coolest part happened afterward when I heard "WOOOO's" and saw people strutting around downtown Baltimore well into the wee hours of the morning. And I can't forget about Cheetah Master at all those early 2000s ECWA shows I attended. During the (awesome) Cheetah vs. Nana cage match I realized this was as close as I was ever gonna get to seeing Lawler in Memphis or the Von Erichs in Texas so I just embraced the glorious absurdity of it all. Yeah agreed some of the loudest pops I've ever witnessed live were for RVD and Sandman at ECW Arena. The loudest pop I've ever witnessed was at an ROH show at the Arena from like 08. It was a 3 way steel cage match and Delirious stabbed Daize Hayes with a spike. For some reason the building went fucking nuts. Kind of unsettling. As for best connection with the crowd it would be RVD back in ECW or Danielson on his indy/ ROH run. They were working smaller buildings sure, but they had the entire crowd just eating out of the palm of their hand. Biggest ROH pop I witnessed live was when Aries beat Joe for the ROH title. Really should have included that in my original post. The place came unglued. A few hundred people sounded like 10,000+. That finishing stretch + pop makes it my all time favorite live match (I've been to about 70 shows). It's my all time favorite ROH match as well. Joe, Punk, Dragon, Ki, Daniels, and even Aries all had a pretty good connection with ROH Philly crowds at one time or another, but those guys had NOTHING on 02-03 Paul London. Philly loved London during that period. We sort of adopted him as Our Guy. At least I know I did. He was the first true homegrown ROH star and it happened right before our eyes. The "Please Don't Die" chants in the ladder match with Shane....the near unanimous crowd support he had against Xavier during their woefully underappreciated Final Battle 2002 match.....People genuinely liked and cared about Paul London. Another indie name I'll throw out who had a special connection to his fans was Teddy Hart. Don't laugh! The Tedster had "it" more than any other indie guy I saw during my early-mid 2000s "drive 60 miles plus to an indie show a few times a month" phase. There was no in between with Teddy. You either LOVED him or HATED him. And, tbh, he had like 80% rabid crowd support the handful of times I saw him live at CZW & JAPW shows.

Sandman returning to the ECW Arena in October 1999 is my answer to both questions. It was incredible live. In fact, it's my favorite live experience from any form of entertainment and I still go back to watch it a few times a year. Some others.... RVD had an amazing connection with the crowd when I went to eight ECW Arena shows in 99-2000. Fans would chant "RVD" hours before the show while waiting in line. And this didn't just happen once or twice. It was every single time. Then there was the time they chanted "Van Terminator." Yes, they chanted for a move that hadn't even been seen yet. That's how over RVD was. You kind of had to be there to truly appreciate just how much that audience loved RVD. Loudest pops other than Sandman's return are just any time I saw Austin at the Baltimore Arena from 98-00. The roof blew off the place every single time. As an Austin hater back then, I gave up booing the man like 5 seconds after seeing him for the first time. It was a futile endeavor. My feeble little boos were never going to catch on. Flair had a great connection with the Baltimore crowd at the August 2002 Raw show I attended. Dark "match" was a Flair/HHH brawl with the crowd just going nuts for Naitch. But the coolest part happened afterward when I heard "WOOOO's" and saw people strutting around downtown Baltimore well into the wee hours of the morning. And I can't forget about Cheetah Master at all those early 2000s ECWA shows I attended. During the (awesome) Cheetah vs. Nana cage match I realized this was as close as I was ever gonna get to seeing Lawler in Memphis or the Von Erichs in Texas so I just embraced the glorious absurdity of it all.

This has been a fun ride. Trying to figure out the last 25 matches. I'm still missing a few. Predictions.... vs. Savage (SNME 11/87) vs. Dibiase (SNME 4/91)? vs. Perfect (Summerslam 91) vs. Piper (WM 8) vs. Bulldog (Summerslam 92) vs. Perfect (KOTR 93) w/ Owen vs. Steiners (January 1994) vs. Owen (WM 10) vs. Diesel (KOTR 94) vs. Kid (Raw 7/94) vs. Diesel (Royal Rumble 95) w/ Bulldog vs. Owen & Backlund (Action Zone 2/95) vs. Diesel (Survivor Series 95) vs. Bulldog (IYH December 95) vs. Austin (Survivor Series 96) vs. Undertaker vs. Austin vs. Vader (IYH Final Four) vs. Austin (Wrestlemania 13) vs. Austin (IYH April 97) Canadian Stampede 10 Man Tag vs. Undertaker (One Night Only) vs. Flair (WCW Souled Out 98)? vs. Benoit (Nitro 10/99) Another Benoit match or two? Top 3.... 1. vs. Austin (Wrestlemania 13) 2. vs. Owen (Wrestlemania 10) 3. Canadian Stampede 10 Man Tag

The famous Hogan vs. Orndorff SNME cage match with the controversial finish. Think I had watched a little WWF before that but this is the first distinct wrestling memory I have. I was now hooked.

HOG vs. Bradshaw-1996 KOTR Qualifier rules. Remember liking the HHH vs. HOG Hogpen match but it's been years since I last watched it. Godwinns vs. Owen & Bulldog was the best match at a November 1996 DC area House Show I attended. Can't remember if they had any TV matches though. I have a soft spot for Henry Godwinn. Phineas was god awful though (although I also recommend APA vs. Mideon & Viscera from a '99 episode of Shotgun. Easily the best PIG match ever).

I did a detailed WCW rebook on another forum running from Slamboree '93-Starrcade '94. http://forums.prowrestling.com/showthread.php?t=121714&highlight=rebooking+wcw+1993 Here are some 1993 highlights... -Paul Roma coming in as Romeo (think a Sal Sincere type) instead of a Horseman. -My man Bobby Eaton got Roma's Horseman spot and his last big run. Had a brief tag title reign with Arn before dropping the belts back to the Blondes and becoming a part-time lower card guy/Power Plant trainer. -War Games had Flair/Arn/Eaton/Dustin/Sting as a super babyface team vs. Sid/Vader/Blondes/Rude with the heels going over on Eaton. Many stipulations were involved. -Scorpio had a transitional TV title reign to bridge the gap from Orndorff to Regal. -Dusty comes out of retirement to team with Dustin and dethrone the Blondes at Starrcade leading to the Blondes split in early '94. -Brought Dibiase in to job to Flair at the November Clash. I needed a Flair opponent. Teddy was available. This was probably my biggest deviation from real life. -As an unabashed lover of wacky sports entertainment, I kept the Beach Blast mini-movie but (sadly) ditched the Lost In Cleveland stuff for a more straightforward Cactus return. -Masters of the Powerbomb exploded when Vader squashed Sid at the November Clash leading to Sid leaving the company. -Vader vs. Flair took place at Starrcade with the only difference being Flair was still NWA champ. See, it was title vs. title. Heels winning at War Games meant the babyfaces couldn't challenge for Vader's title BUT the lure of unifying both titles was too much for Vader so he challenged Flair. Flair would only put his belt on the line if Vader did the same. Flair won just like in real life.

I think the thing I'm most pleased about by this entire deal is seeing Larry Zbyszko finish in the Top 110. I've been a Larry Legend supporter for years. Glad to see him getting some love. Fingers crossed he makes the Top 100.

Agreed. Though I preferred heel Watts as Jarrett's wannabe friend to face Watts. But, yeah, 2003 Erik Watts ruled. Especially on promos. And Kash vs. Trinity just might be my favorite intergender feud ever. Kash was a glorious dickhead. Loved the build. My friend and I even contemplated driving from Baltimore to Nashville just to see Raven/Jarrett live. We didn't, but just the fact that we considered it has to count for something. Didn't like the actual match though. Raven not winning was such a bummer and that's coming from one of the bigger Jarrett fans on the internets.

I've been a Scott Norton fan ever since I saw him hit the hardest clothesline I had yet seen during his short-lived 1993 WCW run. Norton always came off as a total badass and I may be the world's biggest (only?) Fire & Ice mark. I'll go on a little Norton binge every few months. Some enjoyable Norton matches from those recent binges include.... Norton vs. Giant Fall Brawl '97. Fun hossfest with a red hot crowd and a great finishing sequence from the Giant. I'm a sucker for the Steiners vs. Fire & Ice series. They squared off a bunch of times in 1996 WCW, Most of them are fun in a Steiners vs. Vader & Hughes sort of way since Steiners throwing big dudes around always works for me. I also get a kick out of Norton no selling cruiserweights and killing them dead with hurty looking offense. Your mileage may vary. Sadly, the Norton/Ice Train matches I watched didn't live up to my fond memories.

I'm from Maryland and I'm in my mid thirties. I've been a wrestling fan since I watched the famous Hogan vs. Orndorff cage match in early 1987. I've been aware of this place and its spiritual predecessors for years. At this point in my fandom, I am far more likely to watch off-the-wall stuff than 'the classics,' and the good folks here are often the only other people I can find writing about the stuff I'm watching. But it's the Greatest Wrestler Ever countdown that brought me here. I finally paid attention to the GWE about a week before the deadline. I initially decided not to cast a last minute ballot. I have tons of blind spots and decided my goofy last minute ballot wouldn't be fair to the people who slaved away for years on this project. But as the due date drew closer, my opinion started to change. I decided with over 100 ballots cast, what's one more, even if it is an oddball ballot which no doubt would have featured Jacques Rougeau in the Top 30. Unfortunately, real life got in the way and I was unable to submit that last minute ballot. Regardless of my lack of participation, I'm keeping a close eye on things and marking out a little whenever one of my guys (Poffo! Norton! Ouellet! even Honkytonk Man!) pops up. I wish I had been able to submit a ballot. No hiding behind anonymity from this one. I'd have been out there on the front lines defending each and every one of my picks. So I grew up a massive WWF fan. Discovered NWA, UWF, GLOW, AWA and other stuff not long after finding WWF way back in '87. I liked other wrestling but WWF was always 'my thing.' I was partial to sports entertainment heels growing up and, even today, sports entertainmenty heels are typically my favorite (I love Toru Yano for example). I guess you could have called me a diehard casual up until '95 when my fandom leveled up due to becoming an Apter Mag fanatic and finally starting to care a tiny bit about workrate/match quality. I got into ECW, went to 8 shows at THE Arena, bought a ton of tapes once I got online in '98, and loved the Monday Night Wars/Attitude Era. After ECW, I got into the indies. Went to a bunch of ECWA shows in 2001-2002 (Ki vs. Daniels for the win) and followed ROH from the beginning. I feel like I spent the bulk of my paychecks in the late 90s-early 2000s on wrestling tapes. Went to a ton of indy shows from 2001-2006 while remaining a WWE fan (though not as much as I had been in the 80 & 90) and also watching TNA. Stopped watching wrestling altogether in 2009. Didn't even follow it for three years. Nor did I even watch my beloved older stuff. I thought I had finally left wrestling behind after 22 glorious years. But us old fans are hard to kill off completely. I got back into it, though mostly on a historical level, in late 2012. I don't watch much modern wrestling but I'm still devouring the older stuff. I'm all about the 80s & 90s US wrestling. Oh, and I was on the Jerry Lawler bandwagon before it really picked up steam. "The King" is definitely a Top 10 all time fave. Fwiw, my all time favorite is Ric Flair followed by Owen Hart and Mick Foley, though 'favorite' and 'greatest' don't necessarily mean the same thing, and they wouldn't have my been my Top 3 had I participated in the GWE.