Tuesday 25 October 2011

Cubed Circle Newsletter Issue #5


 For a full color pdf click here


THE CUBED CIRCLE NEWSLETTER
Welcome to the 5th issue of the Cubed Circle Wrestling Newsletter, this issue is small, but it is the calm before the storm. Next weeks issue will be huge, but more about that at the end of the newsletter. This weeks newsletter features ROH on SBG as always, as well as a new section called Bits & Pieces, where we cover just about anything. This week we talk about Memphis Heat, the Hall of Fame and More. As always you can find a full PDF above and if you haven’t downloaded it already, I urge you to do so.  

Cubed Circle Wrestling Newsletter Rating System

*- Horrendous match, bad booking, bad pacing, botches left and right, poor work rate and bad crowd reactions can all lead to this.

**- Below average match, forgettable, couldn’t have added much for the show unless there was a great angle, before after or during the match.

***- Good match, there were some really good points in the match, had fun watching it, it had some points missing, the crowd possibly wasn’t into it or it didn’t go long enough. But, the match was still good.

****- Great match, well worked, the crowd were most likely into it, this match was a highlight of the show. The match would most likely be in the top 50 matches of the year.

*****- Almost guaranteed match of the year, ticked all the boxes well worked, well booked, great crowd, had some amazing spots, very few botches or no botches that really affected the match and the match could influence the business in a major way. This is a prestigious rating and it is the highest acclaim I could possibly give for a match, this rating is only given out with extreme thought and consideration.

ROH on SBG Review 2011/10/15

The show opened up with a recap of last weeks main event, like last week. But, this time they really made it look like a big deal, like Strong and Richards were really fighting for the biggest prize in wrestling, that this was something that really mattered. The show went nicely from Richards saying welcome to Ring of Honor, into the intro. The show still opened up really hot, even at this point of the tapings. The double mainevent was announced. We then cut to a promo with the Briscoes.

The Briscoes said that they used to pick up dead chickens for their father, they said they respect people that whip their asses, but no one does. Jay spoke for the majority of the promo, with Mark pitching every now and again, decent promo.

In contrast we had an interview with ANX, they came across as more respectful then the Briscoes, but lets face it anyone would. It was decent.

1. The Briscoe Brothers vs. The All Night Express

Both team went right at it, King hit a dive off the apron, in sync with a spear by Titus. The Briscoes took control after a few minutes with ANX in control. We had the tweet of the week, which was a guy on twitter saying that you should watch ROH, because it isn’t sports entertainment its wrestling. Titus got the hot tag to King, King was really fired up, King then backdropped Titus over the top rope into a senton onto the Briscoes. Mark hit a big dive to the outside on Titus, Jay got a low blow in while the refs back was turned and got the small package for the win. Titus told the referee what happened after the finish, the referee told Titus he couldn’t do anything. Titus attacked Jay after the match and a fight broke out, they were pulled apart and they cut to a rohwrestling.com commercial. Which was an odd transition.
** ¾

We had Kevin Kelly go to a video replay, showing the foul, which added credibility to the product, in a way.

We had a new segment entitled ROH focus on, it was focusing on Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team. There athletic background was highlighted, they mentioned all their accolades including wrestling and sprint championships, they put the ROH World Tag Championship, in that category. They put over the ROH roster and fans. They then focused on the attack by the Briscoes, they said up yours and screw you, in their exact words. They then said they were the best 10 years ago and they are the best now.

Jim Cornette was interviewed by Kevin Kelly, Cornette said that neither team were the number one contenders. This really makes ROH look credible, but weren’t the All Night Express, number one contenders anyway, I know this happened before the first taping aired, but still.

We then had this weeks edition of Inside ROH, Truth Martini was highlighted. It cut back and forth between Cornette and Martini, it was awesome. He said that he told Strong the Truth to get him to the championship and the Truth was that it wasn’t his fault it was everybody else’s, it came off really well. We then had Elgin highlighted, he is actually a pretty decent interview. Edwards and Richards where interviewed about their inevitable rematch, Edwards said that he would be the best in the world, at the end of the day. Richards said they were both hunters and that their would be another match. Pretty good edition of Inside ROH.

1. Eddie Edwards vs. “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin

It was becoming evident at this point that the Frontier Field House, was beginning to empty out a bit. There was a strike battle in the middle of the ring, Elgin then destroyed Edwards with a shoulder block, Edwards selling was great. Elgin hit a great vertical suplex, holding Edwards up for quite a while. Elgin dominated, he charged at Edwards, but Edwards reversed into the Achilles lock. Elgin powered out and hit Edwards with some really stiff chops. Edwards hit a few elbows, but Elgin nailed multiple back breakers holding on. Elgin ran at Edwards, Edwards hit an elbow and a super kick, Elgin was still standing, but Edwards took him to the ground with a facebuster. Edwards hit the missile drop kick, Elgin slid to the outside, Edwards then hit some really stiff baseball slides, he then hit a huge suicide dive to the outside, slamming Elgin right into the barricade. It looked really brutal and the crowd really went nuts for it. Both men were back in the ring, Edwards went for the double foot stomp, but Elgin duct under, Edwards slid through the legs of Elgin and hit a big kick. Edwards and Elgin went back and forth, until Edwards hit a big lariat, but Elgin blocked it with his arms. Edwards began to sell the arm. Both men were battling on the apron and Kelly said it was reminiscent of last weeks main event, I understand he was trying to get the product over, but it makes it seem ordinary and it shouldn’t. Edwards hit the double foot stomp on the apron, the crowd really went nuts for it. Edwards hit the stomp in the ring, Elgin still got up, this was a really good way to get Elgin’s “unbreakable” gimmick over. Elgin hit the powerbomb in the corner and went for the spinning powerbomb, Edwards reversed it and got the Die Hard for the win. We then had a face off in the ring between Strong and Edwards, with Nigel taking the side of Edwards, to cap off the show.
*** ¼

Overall Show Thoughts

Overall the show was really well produced and although it wasn’t as good as last week, it was still pretty enjoyable. The ending of the show, was done much better than last week, with the face off in the ring capping it off. Nigel coming in the ring also got a pretty big pop. Match quality wise, it was fine for a TV show and the mainevent was pretty fun. 

Bits and Pieces

Memphis Heat

I recently had the opportunity to watch the now critically acclaimed Memphis Heat. I went in with high expectations and for the most part the documentary lived up to them. The documentary went through the entire history of Memphis wrestling, from the early days, to its heyday. All with the commentary from the people that lived through it.

One of those people was Jerry Jarrett and he was phenomenal, it wasn’t like he was the greatest personality or anything on the documentary. But, what was incredible was the insight that he shared, he shared the ideas, principles and philosophy behind his booking ideas that made the territory so hot. 

There were also some other guests that really stood out, Jimmy Hart was obviously a highlight. He was a guy, that you never realized was as big as he was at the time. We obviously had Lawler, Dundee, Buddy Wayne and others that also contributed greatly to the documentary.

My only major gripe with the documentary, is that the death of the Memphis territory wasn’t really covered in much detail, quite  a few years towards the end were just left out. I think that it would have been interesting to here peoples opinions on the end of Memphis, but maybe they wanted to keep the mood of the documentary.

The DVD also features a multitude of extras that run for about five and a half hours, that I haven’t had the chance to get through yet. Overall the documentary is really great, the guests were great and they covered a wide range of subjects. It ran for about an hour and forty minutes and I would definitely recommend it

Scott Hall E:60

I also had the chance to watch another documentary, it was also well produced and informative, but sadly this one wasn’t a joy to watch. This wasn’t because it was badly produced, or it wasn’t informative, but simply because it was depressing.

The documentary covered the addiction of Scott Hall, they covered the origin of his addiction, which was a homicide at a night club. They interviewed his family, as well as fellow wrestlers such as Sean Waltman, Kevin Nash and Justin Credible (Who was with Hall at his most recent indie event) and of course Hall himself.

There was quite a bit of disturbing footage shown in this 18 minute long documentary, including the now infamous footage of Hall at a local indie event, being practically carried into the ring and actually taking a few bumps. They interviewed the promoter and he just came across as the biggest scumbag I have ever seen.

Hall’s family issues were also covered and how he is trying to get back his relationship with his son. Sadly, shortly after the documentary aired Hall’s son, Cody, left once again due to Hall’s addiction.

The documentary came at a good time, since Hall is headed to WWE funded rehab soon, if he will finally overcome his addiction is yet be seen, but it would be a happy end to a sad story.

Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame 2011

I am sure if you are reading this you are probably a person aware of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, so I won’t bore anyone with details of the Hall of Fame.

This year we had three new inductees, Dr. Death Steve Williams, Kent Walton, and King” Curtis Iaukea, all three have good cases for being in the Hall of Fame. I was personally surprised that Carlos Colon didn’t make it this year, especially because he was moved into a diffrent category. He the biggest draw of all time in Puerto Rico, so its surprising.

Every year when the Hall of Fame issue of the Observer comes out it always starts debate, whether it is the argument that Sting should be inducted, or the fact that so and so hasn’t made it in. But, one argument I have taken particular interest in, is the argument for why the Hall of Fame doesn’t matter all that much, or the question that it should even exist in the first place. Know I thought I would share my 2 cents on the matter.

From my personal few, I think that the Hall of Fame should be taken very seriously, yes it won’t affect how much money you make, or how you are remembered by the general  public, but you will be ranked among the likes of Misawa, Michaels, Austin, Thesz, Kawada, Baba, Flair, Hogan and more. Many say it won’t effect the legacy of the inductee, since if they were inducted into the Hall of Fame they would have been huge anyway. Which is a valid point, but a flawed one in my opinion.

Lets take someone who hasn’t been inducted, lets say Dick Murdoch, he is someone that is often contemplated, but never quite makes it and it is very likely that he will never make it. But, lets just say he did, voted in by the people that have arguably the highest amount of knowledge on professional wrestling, out of anybody. Wouldn’t that change his legacy, wouldn’t that make people think of Dick Murdoch in a different light, wouldn’t people appreciate Murdoch more to see him next to names mentioned above? To me it would. Now if you make the argument for someone like Sting, yes maybe it doesn’t matter to him, or the general public that he isn’t in the Hall of Fame. But, that will be one thing that Sting will never be able to be remembered for, being a Wrestling Observer Hall of Famer.

Yes saying you hold the destiny of a person in your hands, is going way to far, but that person’s legacy by not being on that list, means that they cant be held up to the highest standard. Maybe that will just matter to a select group of people, but those are the people that have the most knowledge, now I am not saying you should judge your entire career on the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame, but the whole of fame is a token, of one of the greatest of all time and that cant be taken lightly.








Next Weeks Issue

We have a huge issue planned for next week, including a review of WWE Vengeance, ROH on SBG as always, Monthly Top 50 matches of 2011 and so much more. So check that out next week.

Contact
Any Questions or Queries: Rubyclouding@gmail.com
Twitter: @Rubyclouding
And the home of Cubed Circle Wrestling www.cubedcirclewrestling.blogspot.com











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