DEAD MAN RISING
April 8, 2018 9:49 PM Subscribe
On the eve of his 26th ‘WrestleMania,’ we talked to friends, colleagues, and victims of the WWE’s longest-reigning superstar about the making of the amazing career and (after)life of
WaPo: WWE WrestleMania 34: Ronda Rousey wins debut; Daniel Bryan returns; Brock Lesnar beats Roman Reigns in dud main event
ESPN: WrestleMania 34 recaps and results: Ronda shines in debut, Taker returns, Charlotte stops Asuka, new champs galore
BR:
Forbes: WWE WrestleMania 34 Results: Why John Cena Vs. The Undertaker Proved They're No Longer Needed
THE UNDERTAKERWaPo: WWE WrestleMania 34: Ronda Rousey wins debut; Daniel Bryan returns; Brock Lesnar beats Roman Reigns in dud main event
ESPN: WrestleMania 34 recaps and results: Ronda shines in debut, Taker returns, Charlotte stops Asuka, new champs galore
BR:
Forbes: WWE WrestleMania 34 Results: Why John Cena Vs. The Undertaker Proved They're No Longer Needed
THEIF! I was gonna post this, but then I found a shipwreck link.
So, here's a very early match where The Undertaker and Tugboat go way out of their way to put each other over in about the finest early-90's pro wrasslin' style bout that was ever wrassled.
As called by Lord Alfred Hayes, no less!
(Tugboat would then go on to feud with, and then team up with John "Earthquake" Tenta as Cyclone, a monster-heel tag-team, "The Natural Disasters" that became fan-favorites and ultimately champions. But that's another post for another time.)
posted by Slap*Happy at 10:29 PM on April 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
So, here's a very early match where The Undertaker and Tugboat go way out of their way to put each other over in about the finest early-90's pro wrasslin' style bout that was ever wrassled.
As called by Lord Alfred Hayes, no less!
(Tugboat would then go on to feud with, and then team up with John "Earthquake" Tenta as Cyclone, a monster-heel tag-team, "The Natural Disasters" that became fan-favorites and ultimately champions. But that's another post for another time.)
posted by Slap*Happy at 10:29 PM on April 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Didn't he wrestle as Typhoon in The Natural Disasters rather than Cyclone?
posted by lumensimus at 10:53 PM on April 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by lumensimus at 10:53 PM on April 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Back in the 1990s my wife and I honeymooned in Wales.
Several times little boys came up to me, very nervously, and asked, "Are you... the Undertaker?"
That was fun.
posted by doctornemo at 2:27 AM on April 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Several times little boys came up to me, very nervously, and asked, "Are you... the Undertaker?"
That was fun.
posted by doctornemo at 2:27 AM on April 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Didn't he wrestle as Typhoon in The Natural Disasters rather than Cyclone?
Yup, and he later played the Shockmaster.
posted by bootlegpop at 3:16 AM on April 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yup, and he later played the Shockmaster.
posted by bootlegpop at 3:16 AM on April 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
The semiotics of The Undertaker always bothered me. An undertaker is a living person burying a dead person. It's not a dead person burying other dead people, that would be silly because he'd be dead. So shouldn't he actually be hale and hearty, and having a sunny disposition because he gets to be outside getting fresh air every day? His outfit should be, like, a nice sun bonnet and gardening gloves because he's going to take care of the flowers too. All this morbid stuff, it's like they're trying to work up the crowd or something.
posted by ardgedee at 3:30 AM on April 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by ardgedee at 3:30 AM on April 9, 2018 [9 favorites]
It's not a dead person burying other dead people, that would be silly because he'd be dead.
It's worse than that: he's a dead person who buries living people alive. He's the exact opposite of an undertaker.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 3:37 AM on April 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
It's worse than that: he's a dead person who buries living people alive. He's the exact opposite of an undertaker.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 3:37 AM on April 9, 2018 [7 favorites]
Some kind of overgiver then?
posted by leotrotsky at 4:39 AM on April 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
posted by leotrotsky at 4:39 AM on April 9, 2018 [19 favorites]
All his friends are like, "Man, you don't know her that well. You get her that bracelet for her birthday and it's just gonna make things uncomfortable."
posted by leotrotsky at 4:40 AM on April 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by leotrotsky at 4:40 AM on April 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yeah but then he'd be undertaking overgiving. Which leads to the question of whether he'd be on Facebook oversharing his misunderstandings.
posted by ardgedee at 4:51 AM on April 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by ardgedee at 4:51 AM on April 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Reaction from the Twitters suggests the best moments of Wrestlemania this year were entirely about women. Not by a default of "at least the women's stuff didn't suck," but genuinely good events. Anyone watch this and have thoughts?
posted by scaryblackdeath at 7:31 AM on April 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by scaryblackdeath at 7:31 AM on April 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Asuka-Charlotte was great, and I think everyone was really shocked when Asuka tapped out.
The mixed tag match featured about 110% of the Evil Tag Team Playbook, which was fun, and Rousey I thought did really well. Internet Wrestling Fans (more on them later) were worried about Rousey going in, and they did a good job of lowering expectations and then having her come out and look fantastic.
Will be interesting to find out whose kid just won the tag titles with Strowman.
I missed Daniel Bryan the first time around, but that match was fun.
It’s 9:54 am on Monday, and Roman Reigns is still bleeding. The people who travel to Wrestlemania are the IWF types who hate Roman Reigns, so I was surprised they put that match on last. The crowd seemed to be actively hating it on the assumption that Reigns was winning, especially with all the F5 kickouts, then was genuinely (pleasantly?) surprised when Lesnar won anyway.
I’m impressed that they made Nia Jax a loveable underdog.
AJ/Nakamura and the IC 3-way were both really good, but Wrestlemania is 5 hours long. They did a nice tease of “I who am defeated appear to actually respect you, the champ, but will sneak-attack you” with Asuka-Charlotte that paid off with AJ-Nakamura.
I enjoyed Elias’s Wrestlemania moment.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:01 AM on April 9, 2018
The mixed tag match featured about 110% of the Evil Tag Team Playbook, which was fun, and Rousey I thought did really well. Internet Wrestling Fans (more on them later) were worried about Rousey going in, and they did a good job of lowering expectations and then having her come out and look fantastic.
Will be interesting to find out whose kid just won the tag titles with Strowman.
I missed Daniel Bryan the first time around, but that match was fun.
It’s 9:54 am on Monday, and Roman Reigns is still bleeding. The people who travel to Wrestlemania are the IWF types who hate Roman Reigns, so I was surprised they put that match on last. The crowd seemed to be actively hating it on the assumption that Reigns was winning, especially with all the F5 kickouts, then was genuinely (pleasantly?) surprised when Lesnar won anyway.
I’m impressed that they made Nia Jax a loveable underdog.
AJ/Nakamura and the IC 3-way were both really good, but Wrestlemania is 5 hours long. They did a nice tease of “I who am defeated appear to actually respect you, the champ, but will sneak-attack you” with Asuka-Charlotte that paid off with AJ-Nakamura.
I enjoyed Elias’s Wrestlemania moment.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:01 AM on April 9, 2018
Someone posted some interesting stats on a wrestling board:
"There were 26 white people on the main card and 9 non-white people on the card.
2 of the 9 non white people won (22.22%)
13 of the 26 white people won (50%)
87 % of the winners were white.
13% of the winners were not white
Non white people were less than half as successful as white people were."
I like wrestling, but WWE still has quite a bit of a way to go.
posted by bootlegpop at 10:14 AM on April 9, 2018
"There were 26 white people on the main card and 9 non-white people on the card.
2 of the 9 non white people won (22.22%)
13 of the 26 white people won (50%)
87 % of the winners were white.
13% of the winners were not white
Non white people were less than half as successful as white people were."
I like wrestling, but WWE still has quite a bit of a way to go.
posted by bootlegpop at 10:14 AM on April 9, 2018
Reaction from the Twitters suggests the best moments of Wrestlemania this year were entirely about women. Not by a default of "at least the women's stuff didn't suck," but genuinely good events. Anyone watch this and have thoughts?
posted by scaryblackdeath at 7:31 AM on April 9 [+] [!]
The women did a very good job and should feel immense pride in what they accomplished, but they were not along in doing so by a long shot. Seth Rollins, Finn Balor and Miz had in the Intercontinental opening match started a little light but got steadily better as the match went on. Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (Shane McMahon was also present) dispelled any fears that I had about Bryan having any ring rust. The Usos / New Day / Bludgeon Brothers match was shorter than it should have been, but solid. Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles had a fantastic match that disappointed some people because expectations were crazy-high.
If I had to answer which division had the better night I would say the Women’s. They had three great matches on the main card with no missteps. But almost every match on the main show was Wrestlemania-worthy. Even the much-maligned main event was as good as it could have been in-ring. It was the best Mania in a while.*
Also, much credit to Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss for coming into the arena with a terrible storyline and an obvious physical mismatch and managing to tell a great in-ring story that completely worked for me.
* But yes, NXT Takeover was the better show this weekend. Of course it was. It always is.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 12:30 PM on April 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by scaryblackdeath at 7:31 AM on April 9 [+] [!]
The women did a very good job and should feel immense pride in what they accomplished, but they were not along in doing so by a long shot. Seth Rollins, Finn Balor and Miz had in the Intercontinental opening match started a little light but got steadily better as the match went on. Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (Shane McMahon was also present) dispelled any fears that I had about Bryan having any ring rust. The Usos / New Day / Bludgeon Brothers match was shorter than it should have been, but solid. Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles had a fantastic match that disappointed some people because expectations were crazy-high.
If I had to answer which division had the better night I would say the Women’s. They had three great matches on the main card with no missteps. But almost every match on the main show was Wrestlemania-worthy. Even the much-maligned main event was as good as it could have been in-ring. It was the best Mania in a while.*
Also, much credit to Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss for coming into the arena with a terrible storyline and an obvious physical mismatch and managing to tell a great in-ring story that completely worked for me.
* But yes, NXT Takeover was the better show this weekend. Of course it was. It always is.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 12:30 PM on April 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
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posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:50 PM on April 8, 2018 [1 favorite]