From: hekunze@jeeves.uwaterloo.ca (Herb Kunze)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.pro-wrestling
Subject: Re: Redefining the business (was Re: Weekend Syndies WHIFF and WCW)
Date: 28 Jul 92 13:43:29 GMT
Organization: University of Waterloo

In article <4601@daily-planet.concordia.ca>, k_deegan@bessel.concordia.ca (kenneth deegan) writes:
> [recollections of Montreal wrestling deleted]
> 
> Now, leaving heat aside (the fans will go with the flow), How come we
> get on the DBS-Warlord 4 hour bear hugs, yet hail Bill for bringing the
> "ROOTS OF WRESTLING" back??? I just can't see the difference (aside from
> the fact that warlord would forget to flex his muscles and least make it
> look real). 

  A typical New Japan or All Japan heavyweight match has a slow mat-work
  segment some time near the beginning of the match.  The may start out
  fast and then settle down, or just start slow.  They might work up to
  10 minutes off of an armbar or a headlock.  But the crowd there is
  educated about these mat holds and it does draw heat when a wrestler
  escapes a hold only to get trapped into it again in a few seconds.
  At some point, the match picks up (it usually builds to a faster pace)
  and the wrestler work hard and fast.  There are lots of "big" moves
  before the finish, which can be anything.  

  This style of match is where Watts wants to go, I believe.  I just 
  watched the Bash on video on the weekend and the problem seemed to
  be that the fans didn't know what to make out of the mat-work segments.
  I think that those segments dragged on way too long.  The fans are
  still not educated about them and there was absolutely no heat.
  The 20 minute matches had 18 minutes of mat-work and then a two
  minute finish.  I think this was overkill.  The crowd only reacted
  during Sting vs. Vader and during the Riger match (and died whenever
  Koloff entered the ring).

  The WWF occasionally has matches that follow the above description,
  but most of their wrestlers are physically unable to work a match 
  that long and build to fast and hard action at the end of it.  The
  Warlord would have a coronary if you wanted him to run around for 
  five minutes after standing in the ring for 10 minutes.   

> It would be great to see Dan Kroffat bring his snap suplex back to
> N.A. where I could see him.
  
  I watched some All Japan TV on the weekend, with matches from November
  1991 through to April 1992.  There were several nice things with Dan
  Kroffat.  

  In one match, Dan faced Masa Fuchi for the PWF Jr. Heavyweight Title.
  Fuchi had worked over Dan's leg for most of the match and we joined
  it in progree.  Kroffat's selling of his leg was awesome.  He'd do
  the babyface comeback, maybe even Hulk-out a little, and then after
  one kick to the knee he'd be writhing on the mat.  At one point,
  Fuchi had him in a half-crab and Doug Furnas, who was at ringside,
  took his shirt off and threw it in the ring.  Dan caught the shirt
  and threw it back out before the referee saw it.  The crowd was wild!

  In another match, Kroffat & Furnas faced Toshiaki Kawada & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi.
  I gave the match ****3/4.  It was one of the best tag matches I've ever
  seen.  All four wrestlers were great.  Kroffat still has that nice snap
  suplex.  He's bulked down a bit from how you may remember him.  

                                                                Herb...
Newsgroups: rec.sport.pro-wrestling