What I’ve Been Watching (and Reading): August

It’s been a busy little spell for my wrestling consumption, the sort where you find yourself trying to balance WrestleMania IV with a three-year-old who thinks Andre the Giant is a bedtime story character. More on that later.

 

WWE Raw – Birmingham, 25th August

The Birmingham crowd were on another level. You could have left Roman Reigns in the middle of the ring with nothing but his smug grin and the audience would have happily sung about him for two hours straight. He tried to play it cool, but the smile gave him away. It was one of those rare occasions where the crowd feels like the real star of the show.

 

WrestleMania IV (my chronological Mania run)

• Greg “The Hammer” Valentine’s selling is something else. The man falls flat on his face like a tree in the woods and somehow makes it look like both genius and accident.
• Jesse “The Body” Ventura casually throwing little digs at Vince McMahon on commentary, back before Vince was “Mr McMahon” or anything close to the figure we know now, is oddly refreshing.Watching Ricky Steamboat wrestle is still a joy. Pure class, every time.
• Bob Uecker keeps popping up, and as someone raised in England and live in Australia, I can’t claim to “get” him. The gags are… fine? They seem important, though, so I nod politely at the screen.
• The managers and valets are everywhere. It’s like a revolving door of moustaches and sequins, half of whom seem completely disconnected from whoever they’re managing. Closest modern comparison? Don Callis, who turns up wherever he feels like it.
• Tournament format = tedious. There’s only so much bracket-filling I can take.
• Rick Rude vs Jake Roberts was genuinely tough to sit through. An endurance test for all the wrong reasons.

 

AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door

• Hiromu Takahashi and Kyle Fletcher always deliver, and Fletcher was the standout. His opponent hasn’t been sparkling in recent AEW outings, but Fletcher dragged something special out of him here.
• Mercedes Moné got a huge pop. Unusual to see.
• Bryan Danielson on commentary is always welcome, but it’s also a sad reminder that he’s rarely in the ring these days.
• The Hurt Syndicate came across more over than I expected, which was a pleasant surprise.
• Brodido winning their first championship should have been a moment, but the finish left me scratching my head.
• MJF vs Hangman. A fine enough match, but the whole “MJF doesn’t have to use his contract” stipulation killed any sense of jeopardy. Felt inevitable he’d lose. As a world title match that wasn’t even the main event, it screamed “we didn’t know who else Hangman could face.”
• The gummy bear thumbtack spot actually made me laugh out loud. The fork spot had me clutching my own ear in sympathy.
• Darby Allin continues to redefine “punishment.” At this point, he’s a crash test dummy with face paint.

Reading: Andre the Giant – Life and Legend

The graphic novel has been great fun, Andre rendered as both mythical and human in equal measure. That said, it’s occasionally awkward when your three-year-old insists it’s bedtime reading and you find yourself editing the dialogue on the fly. Nothing like skipping over bar fights and replacing them with “Andre went to the shop for some bread” to keep the peace.

 

Tonight: MCW Vendetta

By the time you’re reading this, I’ll have been at the Thornbury Theatre watching MCW Vendetta. I can’t tell you what’ll happen yet, but I can tell you I’m buzzing for it. Melbourne wrestling in a venue like that is something I never get tired of.