Dominater wrote:Scott Hall wrote:Dominater wrote:Agreed. The match itself wasn't exactly Omega vs Okada, but the atmosphere and just feel makes this probably the best WWE match of all time. This really was a clashing of two mega stars that were still over as mega stars. It would be like having an NBA Finals of prime MJ vs prime LeBron. Even though Hogan obviously wasn't prime Hogan, he was still over like it. It was a dream match that we couldn't believe became a reality.
I think Hogan vs. Rock and Okada vs. Omega are 2 masterpieces in completely different ways but there
is also some similarities.
Dr. Tom Prichard used to teach his students psychology by showing them the Rock vs. Hogan match.
They essentially switched roles from babyface to heel during the match like Austin vs. Bret at WM 13.
Both Hogan and The Rock are masters at the nuances at Wrestling like psychology, selling, facial reactions,
working the crowd and getting them involved plus impeccable timing and storytelling.
You could find a couple of guys that are way more athletic then the Rock and Hogan that do a bunch of
Moonsaults and Canadian Destroyers or go through tables but if they aren't selling and telling a story and
it's just a spotfest I don't find that entertaining at all.
As for Okada vs. Omega they did have an advantage of like going for an hour or over it if I remember but
what I liked about that match was Okada actually was a master of what Hogan and Rock do so well his
timing, selling and facial reactions to Omegas offense was impeccable also a great story teller. Okada is
considered to be the best Japanese wrestler in the world by many right? yet is he the most athletic guy
that does a bunch of crazy moves? is the Rain Maker that impressive of a finisher? As for Kenny he's just
such a special athlete to watch like prime RVD, Angle and HBK and he's also good at the nuances as well.
They say a Wrestlers prime is in his late 30's or even early 40's at times way past their athletic prime but
they learn to work way smarter.
Lord Eder wrote:
This match is the epitome of WrestleMania for me. The crowd, the lights, flashes, the size of the venue, Hulk Hogan, The Rock. It's just such a spectacle. This match, and the night Mick won the title on Raw are probably my 2 favourite crowd moments of all time. I'm pretty sure you can spot Jerome Williams in the crowd too, front row behind the announcers.
Yeah Jerome Williams and Tracy Murray are right behind the announcers desk. Vince Carter was in a private box
and Carlos Rogers was in the crowd. Also Will Sasso was sitting in the corner.
Also gotta factor in that there's too much of it now. Kind of like how in the NBA in the early to mid 2000's teams that played like the Kings, Mavericks and Suns were a treat. Now with 30 teams trying to do that is just has that "too much of a good thing is bad" stigma.
Case in point : this was like 2008-2009ish. Before the young Bucks were famous and before Americans really got into new Japan, no AEW, etc. Me and my wrestling buddies were just hanging out talking favorite matches ever. One of mine I kept touting was ECW Heatwave 98 Sabu/RVD vs Hayabusa/Skinzaki. I put it on and was pointing out the pace and such. One of my buddies pointed out that one reason why it was so "fast paced" is because nobody was selling anything. Sure enough, we watch hayabusa eat a Vandaminator, and we count to 7 and he's back up and running lol.
Now that match is still unique just because it was so ahead of its time. Just like the early 2000s Kings mavs and Suns were. But yea those type of matches have been devalued considerably. Not even worth the high-risk stunts that could leave a wrestler seriously injured and when it works they get like a 10 second gold clap and the fans go back to their phones lol.
You're absolutely right... there is an entire generation of wrestlers that have been brain washed by Dave Meltzer
about what "real wrestling" is. All they care about is star ratings and where they rank on the PWI 500. They think
being a good wrestler is all about work rate and put absolutely no work or thought into their character, name,
promos, acting and look. And when it comes to in-ring work it's all about fast paced action with as many high spots
as possible high spots don't even mean anything anymore because so many matches are comprised of all high spots.
Isn't the whole point of wrestling to make it look real and not choreographed? How many guys of this generation just try
to emulate and be wannabes of Shawn Michaels or the Hardy Boyz? now you have guys like Eddie Kingston and Jon
Moxley trying to be wannabe Terry Funks and they say the NBA is a copycat league these guys need to find themselves.
Also Finishers aren't even Finishers anymore because everybody kicks out of them all the time after you hit it for about
the 3rd-5th time it becomes a finisher all of a sudden also there's barely any squash matches anymore to establish them.
Watching old stuff from the 90's and it's funny to hear Bret Hart and Larry Zybsko trash Mexican Wrestling there is a
lot of truth to it. Watching the old Nitros outside of Rey Mysterio nobody gave a **** about them. Almost none of them
spoke English so no mic skills and a lot of them wore cringe costumes and I never found their matches to be entertaining
or that special because they were flopping around if I don't care about you as a character or your story I don't care
what athletic moves you can do. I remember when I use to watch Wrestling back then with non Wrestling fans none of
them ever cared about the Mexican division or the cruiserweight division outside of a guy or 2 they usually would zone
out and get bored. But they were into the nWo, Sting, Goldberg, DDP, Ric Flair etc because of the characters, their
cool look, promos and the storylines they were in but reading the internet back then the Wrestling geeks would tell
you how awesome Dean Malenko and Billy Kidman were and how they should be pushed to the moon and that's
"real wrestling" yet those guys couldn't sell a ticket or merch if their life depended on it I'm sure they got that brain
washing from Meltzer.
Also there's always been a lot of people that are counter culture with music and wrestling. You know that guy or girl
who think their cool because they listen to some obscure underground band or rapper and hates on all the main stream
successful popular acts?
In Wrestling it's been going on for decades as well some people think it's cool to hate on WWF/E because it's main stream
and guys like Hogan, Cena, Ultimate Warrior, Rock, Reigns, Charlotte etc. to them those guys are like Elvis, Justin Bieber,
Michael Jackson etc and they think they're so cool and more knowledgeable because they like some obscure guy in NJPW
or some British Guy or the uber athletic high flying North American guy I can't stand those insecure snobs that want to
be cool lol.
