you're 11 years old, there's no internet, you flip the channels and suddenly see your almost favorite midcarders in a new fed and before you get a chance to wonder what it is, it's gone, and almost forgotten but it still lingers and you wonder "what ever happened to...wait, why did that ever happen...?" I love how this channel tackles both of those questions with a great history recap and take on the subject, thanks!
yeah but honestly for the wrong reasons... other than being a member of the inner circle he is mostly known for almost killing matt hardy... two times to be exactly sure both botches turned out to not be so bad (because matt hardy is just freaking invincible O.o seriously no one except maybe Jeff would have survived those botches) but it could have been a lot worse especially the botched fall that made Mr. Hardys head say hello to the concrete floor
@@cathycatsville67 Yeah he also made a megafucked comment about Sasha banks circa 2016, but honestly regardless of those mistakes I wish the best for him. I genuinely hope he talks to more people and just knows how those comments can impact others. The Matt Hardy stuff was also disheartening because he fucked up twice with the same industry vet and that got many people breathing down his neck. My hope is that he commits to being a safer worker to his mates, in spite of those setbacks. Not saying he _won't_ fuck up again, just that I hope he doesn't, because he seems very charismatic and entertaining to watch.
That Sammy Guevara guy looks like he's pretty athletic. I bet he could outrun a golf cart driven by an insane middle-aged man and the world's strongest gamer.
Nah, he won't make it in the business, he's to flipy, and he doesn't have enough old school in is mind. I don't see him wrestling in a full stadium! At max an empty one🤣🤣
Actually, the interview w/ Jim Powers that needed to be cut off was not a mistake by the promotion, it was part of an ongoing angle where they always time to talk to Powers partner Johnny Gunn (Tom Brandi) but never Powers, that was going to lead to an eventual heel turn for Powers.
OooHHHH I was going to say...... Who the hell is running things over there??? That person needs to be fired! But on Brian's point (Which I saw it the same way) did make sense in his reaction. It was absolutely HILARIOUS how he said it.
@@dntwasteit8547 Regardless of it being off topic, you're definitely right about that. He and a large percentage of that roster are clearly jobber level, and they come off that way strongly. I wanted to like the company, but so little of it is really worth watching. Shame really.
And of course you got NWA trying it again now with NWA power. Though with them being a historical name and also not using too many past their prime guys it'll likely work better than all the crap that has tried the back to the good old days strategy before.
@@EssexAggiegrad2011 Who is besides WWE and AEW? Also things like the round system were new to an American audience at the time so its more than just "old times".... Looking wider Cornette did fine with SMW...
He has a point with the whole generation before hating the generation now thing. Vader hates this generation because it to choreograph. Bruno Sammartino the Hulkamainia era because it relied on physique witch lead to a storied problem in the 80's and early 90's. It always been that and it always will.
Then you have guys like me that enjoyed the wrestling of certain promotions during the 70s, 80s, and 90s but can't stand the products in of today for various reasons.
I lived in Cicero Illinois when that promoter got busted. Betty Maltese hired him to be the entertainment director for Cicero.So what he did was hired himself to promote either awf shows or a smaller show that he just threw together. So we got these shitty wrestling shows every week! Then SHE owned the Cicero stadium where these shows we're ran. So he got his salary,plus he'd charge himself thousands to put on a show,with tax payers money.then he'd pay her to rent the building,then kick back to her,half of what he'd charge for the show! And the only reason Maltese got busted?!! MANCOW!!! they hired mancow for a charity event,that was supposed to take place at the race track. (He thought all the money was going to kids with cancer) when she demanded her cut,and he refused,she personally showed up to shut it down! Apparently she didn't realize how big a celebrity he was in the 90s! He got on the radio the very next day and exposed her and signore,and the investigation started immediately!
I think Jessie Hernandez is now a running gag here, WOW Women of Wrestling Unleashed, UWF, Backyard Dogs, I guess indy shows that Zane works at, the backseat of your car, the man is god damn everywhere
As a Brit, I've always liked rounds. However, the pacing of the bouts was different and British style was very different. You'd spend rounds trying to get each other to take a freaking back bump. It's also why some guys worked until they were in their 60s. It was light on bumps, big on matwork and you could catch a breather every five minutes.
sure but he doesn´t do much i think he could become a main eventer though honestly i don´t want that to happen after he almost killed my boy Matt Hardy :-( i just hope he learns from those almost fatal botches but i will always remember him for that no matter what he might accomplish
Wow practically speechless with the "sorry we're outta time"! I really enjoy these videos on small promotions that flopped . You've made them the most entertaining than they ever made themselves!!!
It's kinda funny that Cornette is considered this old timer who lives in the 70s and 80s, when in the 90s he basically had the most innovative promotion next to ECW. Good wrestling, good stories and it actually caused some riots cause of how provocative and edgy it was. Then the wrestlers got called up to Vince and turned into the goofy pre attitude era gimmicks that made people watch WCW. In a way, SMW was NXT before there was NXT ^^
That's right, Jim Cornette might have tried to give his wrestling the old time flavour, but he didn't really want to de-evolve, he didn't want to "bring wrestling back to its roots", he just wanted to translate the old school feeling of wrestling into a modern setting, he kept using young talent, like Jericho ans Storm, Al Snow, Glenn Jacobs, Cheris Candido and so on, pairing them with legends who could still go pretty well, unlike the AWF
The bit with the interviewer cutting off Jim Powers was on purpose. They were building up an angle where Powers would get jealous of all the attention his tag partner Johnny Gunn received in comparison and probably turn. I say probably because they stopped the airing show where I was (or it closed down at that point).
10:35 given his recent kerfluffle with Jim Cornette, I think this proves that Brian’s been pretty consistent in his position of “old school vs new era” wrestling. Nothing he’s said recently is controversial or new, and I think his ultimate point all this time has been: wrestling changes over time , so do people’s tastes, and that’s okay. I really have been enjoying your reviews and perspective overall so far. Thank you for the great content.
It’s basically like music there’s those that hate modern music and want music to go back the way it was it’s a generational thing like I hate current music I remember my mom would always complain how much she hated the music from my time
@@rickyrosay33977 i always wonder why people cant let others enjoy things they like. For example i dont like music from the 90s to now but i always admit that some of these singers are talented. If you hate it now does not make what you grew up with better.
With that rant about bringing wrestling back to the way it used to be (which was awesome to hear as I'm personally someone sick of wrestlers always complaining about OTHER wrestlers) Brian Zane was officially disowned by his father James E. Cornette. Awesome video Brian, I had no idea the AWF even existed until now...I'm sad that I now know who they are, but damn at least I heard about them from you. On a note. The image of Karl Gotch you used makes me think he could be a weird wrestling secret agent with that chin and facial hair.
I think the obvious reasoning for the rounds system was to give the old timers and out of shapers a wind break. You sort of alluded to having issue with the rounds system and highlighted some of the things that are wrong with it, but ultimately it comes down to knowing how to properly book or tell a story with it, which is probably not something guys like Sgt. Slaughter were privy to learning in the twilight of their careers. It worked in World of Sport because that's how people were trained to work, not to mention the scientific aspect adding to the sort of 'shoot' allusion. I do think rules can be a draw though, as odd as that sounds. ROH got a lot of it's love for the Pure Title matches initially and, while it fell apart at the seams in the long run, Evolve had ranking and rules as a selling point initially as well. I do despise wrestling nostalgists though
Agreed. A rounds system is really difficult to work with if you haven't learned it that way or worked for a longer time in a company which used it (World of Sports, Catch Wrestling Association etc). But if both workers can use the round system properly it is not better or worse than a normal bout. I mean the matches between Vader and Otto Wanz are still really good today even though they were using the rounds system.
For title's rounds and mutiple falls can work and you can throw in the odd texas death match or first blood match to contrast. But not for every match.
I think rules are good as long as heels know how to use them to get heat. The whole respect thing on the indies just kills my suspension of disbelief even further.
calamaty That's a bit insulting. I mean, if you have to say "suffering succotash", you can have the talent of The Rock and Stone Cold combined, I challenge you to make it get over
aiooty19 not everyone is meant to be over. If you have to have fake cheers and fan censorship during your matches.Then you have no business being pushed.
When you're pushed as a top guy you're kinda meant to be pushed. The problem with Roman Reigns is that they didn't let him get over on his own, but forced him down people's throats and scripted his promos awfully. I heard several reports that in a non scripted environment (like the one where The Rock and Austin used to work) he's pretty good on the mic. He could have been a good main eventer had they not forced her push
Sorry have to stand up for rounds. If done properly then it's a great skill. Sadly it needs ultra planning to tell the right story and those guys didn't do it. The round break is just a rest hold to allow folk to get their breath. The fact their rounds were largely break holds as well made it boring
@Ro Bert Round systems are literally how things are done in shoot sports. Brian claims that something like Omega vs Okada wouldn't work that way? I'll raise him Robert Whittaker vs Yoel Romero 2. Who wouldn't want to see a war of blood and wrestling(Romero's an Olympic silver medalist and Whittaker wrestled in the Commonwealth Games)?
@@theitfactorjameswheezer2852 People still thought it was real in 95 and it was succesfull in Europe. Also shootstyle wrestling was at its high around that time. Sure you can laugh at the AWF now but atleast they did more than just copying WWF
I've been watching it recently and its... mixed - 1989 was under Herd as well and that's, top to bottom, one of the best years for any Pro Wrestling company ever (Flair/Steamboat and Flair/Funk on top should tell you that) but people forget that he's around then, and while 1990 and 1991 are a lot more mixed both of them have flashes of brilliance - the Steiners came to the top around this time and had a lot of very good matches (the Hase/Sasaki one from Tokyo and the one at Superbrawl against Sting and Luger are two of the greatest no gimmick Tag matches I've seen), the War Games 1991 match is possibly my favourite War Games ever and at the end of the year you had the Light Heavyweight Championship stuff bring a much more... modern style of Wrestling to American TV (which included giving Jushin Liger his first US dates). Actually that would make it a much more interesting thing to cover - its not unmitigated shit like the UWF or totally mediocre like the AWF; you have some very terrible WCW decisions like firing Flair before having him lose the title and lots of awful, awful gimmicks (I detest PN News a lot, mostly because he's literally on every show every week including the B shows) mixed with lots of gems that make the run worth watching, I think.
Is it just me, or does Zane seem like one of the few Wrestling Channels that actually uses video footage? Really wish more channels would follow his format. Still the best!
Rosenbloom was a last minute substitute who was best known for calling second rate PAC-10 games for Bill Stone. He wasn't a wrestling guy, unlike Taylor, Madden, or Herb. He was probably a last resort if Stone couldn't get another wrestling guy.
I watched an episode of this and was surprisingly quite impressed. I had always wondered what ever became of this organization. Thanks for filling me in.
The AWF's round system was not bad at all. In amateur wrestling ie folk style, freestyle, and greco roman all have periods. The round system simply was an attempt to add some legitimacy to it.
Speaking of the American Wrestling Federation, there's a promotion going by that name in Minnesota and the one event I went to (my first and only live event so far) was pretty entertaining. If any wrestling fans live in the area (I saw them in Askov) and don't know about them I think they're worth checking out
I'm so glad you did an episode on this. Me and my friend loooved AWF. But for all the wrong reasons. Around 1999 or 2000 Tito Santana came to our county fair and still had he AWF title with him for some reason.
I met him about 10yrs ago at a legends of wrestling show and he sim like a good guy we talked a couple minutes about the dog coller match he had with Hot Rod
I still remember watching this when it debuted in syndication. Good times watching Firefighter Jim, Pretty Boy Floyd, and the Ultimate Destroyer tearing the house down!
Speaking of bringing wrestling back to its roots, has there ever been as many successful, technically sound, catch wrestling based wrestlers as we have today? Bryan Danielson, Zack Sabre Jr, Katsuyori Shibata, Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia, Chad Gable, Josh Alexander, Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro) just to name a few who are well presented in a spotlight of a major show.
Brian as a student of Jesse Hernandez and have done so much fliering with and for him, I have heard so many great stories about the business from him. You should do a Q&A video with him like you did with jim cornette and Vince Russo.
They did run at least one house show, at the Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester, WA. I had a friend attend it, and he called it the worst show he had ever been to. I'm kind of surprised you didn't mention Lord Alfred Hayes eventually taking over as the colour man while dressing as Lord Steven Regal. Also, "Cyclone" Ronnie Twist's hometown of "Twist Town" has to be one of the worst in history.
I remember when this video came out and I laughed at Sammy thinking he was just another indy guy doing a cameo taking himself too seriously, he proved me fucking wrong.
A lifelong fans of old school British wrestling raised as a kid on a Round System writes: To make a rounds system work you have to have continuous action during the 3 or 4 minutes and ideally have it end on a cliffhanger (sort of like a TV title bout headling towards a 10 minute draw.) To do that, you need to actually wrestle in a more British/European style with a heavier emphasis on escapes/reversals/counters from holds so that for example, a headlock on the mat is no longer a "rest hold" but instead the setup for an amazing head-stand out of the headlock, perhaps neatly hammerlocking the previously headlocking arm. Misbehaviour between rounds by heels can liven up round breaks but in Britain we had to use these sparingly due TV restrictions which meant that the referee had to be seen to be in real control of the bout. Usually this had to be confined to odd bit of stroppiness on the heel's part such as picking arguments with the grannies in the crowd.
Can’t spell awful without AWF... well played Zane, that was a strong finish right there 😂😂😂 Digging your channel, and your collabs with other UA-camrs are always fun as well👌🏽 Later, skater ✋🏽
THE PROMOTION GRAVEYARD!
ua-cam.com/play/PLdy7NPpr-IczwserLLEF1RuRBFWkW8zD1.html
Sammy Guevara wasn't kidding.. Just saw him at the AEW pool party.. Insane.
Damn, Brian is good at making people famous.
LuketheGoon the what?
@@lzi9452 the pool party where they announced some signings
He has no talent beyond flippy shit
Draugre ok grandpa
Sammy Guevara really called his shot here.
Rewatching this and yea he blew up for sure
I came back to this to see this comment. Sammy is gold!
I was just about to make this comment after remembering this one had his intro.
Yes he did holy crap
with an awful promo lol he’s gotten better
My favorite things about these videos are that they are so damn binge watch worthy
Bryan is real Binge-worthy
Top10Wrestling YES 👆YES👆YES👆
Top10Wrestling ikr!
Top10Wrestling IT'S 1 AM AND I CAN'T STOP BINGE WATCHING!!HELP ME!!!
Top10Wrestling Zane is a god. I love his content. Goes great with snacks lmao
you're 11 years old, there's no internet, you flip the channels and suddenly see your almost favorite midcarders in a new fed and before you get a chance to wonder what it is, it's gone, and almost forgotten but it still lingers and you wonder "what ever happened to...wait, why did that ever happen...?"
I love how this channel tackles both of those questions with a great history recap and take on the subject, thanks!
"...your almost favorite midcarders.." 😂😂LOL
Sammy's intro aged way too well.
Like wine
Ask Mercedes Moné
@@JaEm2162 You mean that lady who forgave him for his idiotic comment?
@@bigshambowskiThe very same.
That sure was a Sammy Guevara jumpscare, crazy how many intros you've had with successful wrestlers like him and Cody Rhodes for these older videos.
Sammy sure wasn't kidding when he said we'd all know him...
I don't know him ... who is he?
yeah but honestly for the wrong reasons... other than being a member of the inner circle he is mostly known for almost killing matt hardy... two times to be exactly sure both botches turned out to not be so bad (because matt hardy is just freaking invincible O.o seriously no one except maybe Jeff would have survived those botches) but it could have been a lot worse especially the botched fall that made Mr. Hardys head say hello to the concrete floor
@@cathycatsville67 Yeah he also made a megafucked comment about Sasha banks circa 2016, but honestly regardless of those mistakes I wish the best for him. I genuinely hope he talks to more people and just knows how those comments can impact others. The Matt Hardy stuff was also disheartening because he fucked up twice with the same industry vet and that got many people breathing down his neck. My hope is that he commits to being a safer worker to his mates, in spite of those setbacks. Not saying he _won't_ fuck up again, just that I hope he doesn't, because he seems very charismatic and entertaining to watch.
I thought that as soon as I pressed play
@@cathycatsville67 I haven't watched aew long what was the one that didn't have him smacking his head on the concrete floor
That Sammy Guevara guy looks like he's pretty athletic. I bet he could outrun a golf cart driven by an insane middle-aged man and the world's strongest gamer.
Hell yeah 😂
Nah, he won't make it in the business, he's to flipy, and he doesn't have enough old school in is mind. I don't see him wrestling in a full stadium! At max an empty one🤣🤣
@@DamiaoWP He hasnt came out of 1 box, he ll never get over.
He seems like someone who would take some crazy bumps
Im officially referring to kenny omega as the worlds strongest gamer thank you for that one
"Soon everybody will know my name" - 5 years later AEW TNT Champion. Oh, yes, the prophecy came true.
Sasha Banks sure knows his name
And you come back just to say that? Fuck aew fans are weird. Not everything needs to be about aew
@@qwertyzxcvbn3174 how do you know?
@@fnyourmom3064 He said in an interview he wanted to rape her
Who?
Kind of surreal seeing Sammy at the start while 2 years later opening AEW with Cody. Couldn't be happier for the guy.
Actually, the interview w/ Jim Powers that needed to be cut off was not a mistake by the promotion, it was part of an ongoing angle where they always time to talk to Powers partner Johnny Gunn (Tom Brandi) but never Powers, that was going to lead to an eventual heel turn for Powers.
AWA had a similar bit with the Destruction Crew (Beverly Brothers) where Wayne Bloom would always interrupt Mike Enos during interviews.
OooHHHH I was going to say...... Who the hell is running things over there??? That person needs to be fired! But on Brian's point (Which I saw it the same way) did make sense in his reaction. It was absolutely HILARIOUS how he said it.
That's actually genius!
@@Jacktrack7 The fucking geek don't even know his shit.
@@chitownace777 Shut the fuck up.
Boy, all those “who is Sammy Guevara” comments sure did age well, didn’t they now?
What happened?
The Amazing Mollusk He’s in AEW now.
M W Funny that I never mentioned anything regarding his or any other AEW members’ talent levels in this comment.
But do go off, sir.
Who?
@@dntwasteit8547 Regardless of it being off topic, you're definitely right about that. He and a large percentage of that roster are clearly jobber level, and they come off that way strongly. I wanted to like the company, but so little of it is really worth watching. Shame really.
Terry's impressions are DISTRESSINGLY good. Like scary spot on
That should've been his gimmick instead of the Red Rooster, he should've been the Chameleon.
That rant against the "taking wrestling back to its roots" mentality was fuckin' beautiful.
And of course you got NWA trying it again now with NWA power. Though with them being a historical name and also not using too many past their prime guys it'll likely work better than all the crap that has tried the back to the good old days strategy before.
Absolutely.
Edit: It still is, it's fucking cathartic to this day.
I.e. cornete
@@BKehrt The NWA isn't even a blip on the radar anymore
@@EssexAggiegrad2011 Who is besides WWE and AEW? Also things like the round system were new to an American audience at the time so its more than just "old times".... Looking wider Cornette did fine with SMW...
Now hold on there... I have full faith in Southpaw Regional Wrestling bringing wrestling back to the good ol' days.
But Southpaw Regional Wrestling is only a parody of 80s southern wrestling.
@@SuperNitroZ64 Someone missed the joke
pls don´t mention it... i miss those series so much :-(
Did not think the kid in the intro would end up being one of the more consistent parts of a national TV product. Man earned it.
He has a point with the whole generation before hating the generation now thing. Vader hates this generation because it to choreograph. Bruno Sammartino the Hulkamainia era because it relied on physique witch lead to a storied problem in the 80's and early 90's. It always been that and it always will.
But now it's actually pretty bad though.
Then you have guys like me that enjoyed the wrestling of certain promotions during the 70s, 80s, and 90s but can't stand the products in of today for various reasons.
@@al112v4 disagree, todays wrestling has more to offer than just WWE product
Viktor Korsun As a whole, I don’t enjoy wrestling in general today.
@@al112v4
K, but All In and Mania are proof that the business is still going well.
Sgt Slaughter says "I like the Round System" like someone has a gun pointed at him off screen.
Probably Serpentor
ANNOUNCER: Is there a more popular star in wrestling than Tito Santana?
BRIAN ZANE: Yes! SEVERAL in fact! LOL
The real question is "Who is less popular than Tito Santana"
Even The Mighty Maccabee got better reactions.
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Poor Tito. I'm surprised that he was ECW World Heavyweight champion
@@mollyanderson657Technically, it wasn't a World title when he won it, as ECW didn't break from the NWA until August of 1994.
I lived in Cicero Illinois when that promoter got busted. Betty Maltese hired him to be the entertainment director for Cicero.So what he did was hired himself to promote either awf shows or a smaller show that he just threw together. So we got these shitty wrestling shows every week! Then SHE owned the Cicero stadium where these shows we're ran. So he got his salary,plus he'd charge himself thousands to put on a show,with tax payers money.then he'd pay her to rent the building,then kick back to her,half of what he'd charge for the show! And the only reason Maltese got busted?!! MANCOW!!! they hired mancow for a charity event,that was supposed to take place at the race track. (He thought all the money was going to kids with cancer) when she demanded her cut,and he refused,she personally showed up to shut it down! Apparently she didn't realize how big a celebrity he was in the 90s! He got on the radio the very next day and exposed her and signore,and the investigation started immediately!
Tic Tack I lived in Waukegan. Oh brother, find me online at facebook please.
I think Jessie Hernandez is now a running gag here, WOW Women of Wrestling Unleashed, UWF, Backyard Dogs, I guess indy shows that Zane works at, the backseat of your car, the man is god damn everywhere
You're Jessie Hernandez!!! I'm Jessie Hernandez!!! Everyone is Jessie Hernandez!!!
Hugo Noriega Are there any other Jessie Hernandez’s I should know about?
Jessie: Uhh yes?
Patrick Kennedy I agree
I think he is MK11
Didnt he wrestle in awa mid 80s
Brian that rant on "glory days" was incredible. Like you could just post that as a video and gets tons of shares
As a Brit, I've always liked rounds. However, the pacing of the bouts was different and British style was very different. You'd spend rounds trying to get each other to take a freaking back bump. It's also why some guys worked until they were in their 60s. It was light on bumps, big on matwork and you could catch a breather every five minutes.
Seeing this video almost 7 years later jumpscared me in the beginning. What a run sammys been on.
He called his shot!
9:05 Firefighter Jim now runs his own promotion in northern Illinois and still wrestles from time to time.
What about Hubert Simpson? Lol
Firefighter Jim actually kind of wrestler name and gimmick that I want to create 😆
@@kidwaryodproduction Good name! "Fireman" Jim Flynn was a famous boxer in the early 20th century.
I can definitely see 5:25 being in the next revamped intro.
Jack Wivell
How right you were
2 years later he's in a main event stable lead by chris jericho on global TV. Sammy was right.
sure but he doesn´t do much i think he could become a main eventer though honestly i don´t want that to happen after he almost killed my boy Matt Hardy :-( i just hope he learns from those almost fatal botches but i will always remember him for that no matter what he might accomplish
I choked on a Herbie Cookie laughing at the interview at the end.
Dem Herbie cookies sure are good
Wow practically speechless with the "sorry we're outta time"! I really enjoy these videos on small promotions that flopped . You've made them the most entertaining than they ever made themselves!!!
Just the thought of Zane's father Cornette seeing him tirade on people trying to bring wrestling back to old school makes me chuckle.
Well, at least Cornette tried to be modern in "bringing wrestling back to the way it used to be"
+aiooty19 Cornett would have to take it back to 1908 Frank Gotch George Heimschick days.
Smoky Mountain Wrestling was at least good, unlike this crap.
It's kinda funny that Cornette is considered this old timer who lives in the 70s and 80s, when in the 90s he basically had the most innovative promotion next to ECW. Good wrestling, good stories and it actually caused some riots cause of how provocative and edgy it was. Then the wrestlers got called up to Vince and turned into the goofy pre attitude era gimmicks that made people watch WCW. In a way, SMW was NXT before there was NXT ^^
That's right, Jim Cornette might have tried to give his wrestling the old time flavour, but he didn't really want to de-evolve, he didn't want to "bring wrestling back to its roots", he just wanted to translate the old school feeling of wrestling into a modern setting, he kept using young talent, like Jericho ans Storm, Al Snow, Glenn Jacobs, Cheris Candido and so on, pairing them with legends who could still go pretty well, unlike the AWF
With this much emphasis on THE RULES!, and their enforcement of such, I bet V1 would love the AWF.
And he'd be entertained for hours giving out about Hercules and Warlord's backne.
THE RULES JAY!!! THE RULESSSS!!!!!
The bit with the interviewer cutting off Jim Powers was on purpose. They were building up an angle where Powers would get jealous of all the attention his tag partner Johnny Gunn received in comparison and probably turn. I say probably because they stopped the airing show where I was (or it closed down at that point).
Signore looks like an even greasier Eddie Cabot from Reservior Dogs.
ShinRyojin ha. I just watched that last night and I totally see it 😂
10:35 given his recent kerfluffle with Jim Cornette, I think this proves that Brian’s been pretty consistent in his position of “old school vs new era” wrestling. Nothing he’s said recently is controversial or new, and I think his ultimate point all this time has been: wrestling changes over time , so do people’s tastes, and that’s okay.
I really have been enjoying your reviews and perspective overall so far. Thank you for the great content.
It’s basically like music there’s those that hate modern music and want music to go back the way it was it’s a generational thing like I hate current music I remember my mom would always complain how much she hated the music from my time
@@rickyrosay33977 i always wonder why people cant let others enjoy things they like. For example i dont like music from the 90s to now but i always admit that some of these singers are talented. If you hate it now does not make what you grew up with better.
Terry Taylor makes Disco Inferno seem like Jim Ross.
BIEY GAAWWD HEAEEE IS BROKEEEN IN HALVFE
Terry the Racist Taylor
@Al Capawn my playlist for a school project??
9:08 bounty hunter. My mom used to work with his daughter. He's since passed away
HEAR! HEAR! I loved the rant on "The Glory Days". I've always loved your work, brotha! Keep it up and thanks for the laughs on a rough day!
With that rant about bringing wrestling back to the way it used to be (which was awesome to hear as I'm personally someone sick of wrestlers always complaining about OTHER wrestlers) Brian Zane was officially disowned by his father James E. Cornette.
Awesome video Brian, I had no idea the AWF even existed until now...I'm sad that I now know who they are, but damn at least I heard about them from you. On a note. The image of Karl Gotch you used makes me think he could be a weird wrestling secret agent with that chin and facial hair.
I think the obvious reasoning for the rounds system was to give the old timers and out of shapers a wind break. You sort of alluded to having issue with the rounds system and highlighted some of the things that are wrong with it, but ultimately it comes down to knowing how to properly book or tell a story with it, which is probably not something guys like Sgt. Slaughter were privy to learning in the twilight of their careers. It worked in World of Sport because that's how people were trained to work, not to mention the scientific aspect adding to the sort of 'shoot' allusion. I do think rules can be a draw though, as odd as that sounds. ROH got a lot of it's love for the Pure Title matches initially and, while it fell apart at the seams in the long run, Evolve had ranking and rules as a selling point initially as well. I do despise wrestling nostalgists though
Agreed. A rounds system is really difficult to work with if you haven't learned it that way or worked for a longer time in a company which used it (World of Sports, Catch Wrestling Association etc). But if both workers can use the round system properly it is not better or worse than a normal bout. I mean the matches between Vader and Otto Wanz are still really good today even though they were using the rounds system.
For title's rounds and mutiple falls can work and you can throw in the odd texas death match or first blood match to contrast.
But not for every match.
I think rules are good as long as heels know how to use them to get heat. The whole respect thing on the indies just kills my suspension of disbelief even further.
4:46 Curtis Axel and Damien Sandow agree
GRC Ha Ha Ha
GRC what about Charlie Haas?
3:10 "I not a robot. I am a human with warm, soft skin. Please to me make love. End communication."
Am not machine. Am person.
Greg Lytle still a better promo than reigns on the stick.
calamaty That's a bit insulting. I mean, if you have to say "suffering succotash", you can have the talent of The Rock and Stone Cold combined, I challenge you to make it get over
aiooty19 not everyone is meant to be over. If you have to have fake cheers and fan censorship during your matches.Then you have no business being pushed.
When you're pushed as a top guy you're kinda meant to be pushed. The problem with Roman Reigns is that they didn't let him get over on his own, but forced him down people's throats and scripted his promos awfully. I heard several reports that in a non scripted environment (like the one where The Rock and Austin used to work) he's pretty good on the mic. He could have been a good main eventer had they not forced her push
The "Glory days" rant 10:22 OMG fn amazing. Most honest bit I've ever heard from professional wrestling
“Soon everybody will know my name”
Damn right they will.
I love to see you talk about that short live reality show Hulk Hogan celebrity championship wrestling.
PlaidNGlasses Hogan should just die
That was a thing?
And Hogan Knows Best
Ok, that one I knew of.
Yes it was. and it was terrible
Today, the rounds system is used in the NXT Heritage Cup matches.
Sorry have to stand up for rounds. If done properly then it's a great skill. Sadly it needs ultra planning to tell the right story and those guys didn't do it. The round break is just a rest hold to allow folk to get their breath. The fact their rounds were largely break holds as well made it boring
@Ro Bert Round systems are literally how things are done in shoot sports. Brian claims that something like Omega vs Okada wouldn't work that way? I'll raise him Robert Whittaker vs Yoel Romero 2. Who wouldn't want to see a war of blood and wrestling(Romero's an Olympic silver medalist and Whittaker wrestled in the Commonwealth Games)?
@@theitfactorjameswheezer2852 People still thought it was real in 95 and it was succesfull in Europe. Also shootstyle wrestling was at its high around that time.
Sure you can laugh at the AWF now but atleast they did more than just copying WWF
All these years later and I still have to admit that I'm feeling good about the rounds system.
"I'm feeling good about the ROUNDS SYSTEM". Bless you Tito. Such a company man.
Review Jim Herd's WCW
Ohhhh it's bad, it's bad trust me i'ts very bad
new DION Spartacus for HOF 2018
new DION WWE might take it down
I've been watching it recently and its... mixed - 1989 was under Herd as well and that's, top to bottom, one of the best years for any Pro Wrestling company ever (Flair/Steamboat and Flair/Funk on top should tell you that) but people forget that he's around then, and while 1990 and 1991 are a lot more mixed both of them have flashes of brilliance - the Steiners came to the top around this time and had a lot of very good matches (the Hase/Sasaki one from Tokyo and the one at Superbrawl against Sting and Luger are two of the greatest no gimmick Tag matches I've seen), the War Games 1991 match is possibly my favourite War Games ever and at the end of the year you had the Light Heavyweight Championship stuff bring a much more... modern style of Wrestling to American TV (which included giving Jushin Liger his first US dates).
Actually that would make it a much more interesting thing to cover - its not unmitigated shit like the UWF or totally mediocre like the AWF; you have some very terrible WCW decisions like firing Flair before having him lose the title and lots of awful, awful gimmicks (I detest PN News a lot, mostly because he's literally on every show every week including the B shows) mixed with lots of gems that make the run worth watching, I think.
I love Herd's WCW. Sting, Luger, Vader, Rude, Cactus, great matches, cheesy gimmicks, robocop. What's not to love?
Josh Bouman Halloween Havoc in 1991 gave me aids.
This is why I fell in love with this channel
That intro , now in 2020...... 🔥🔥
"Terry Taylor is the worst commentator I've ever heard in my life."
WRONG. That title goes to none other than Randy "Flying Leg Kick" Rosenbloom.
Soft slam
@@johndonald9239 😂😬
And now he's gonna body slam 'em.
...
...Off the ropes.
Is it just me, or does Zane seem like one of the few Wrestling Channels that actually uses video footage? Really wish more channels would follow his format. Still the best!
Yikes. Taylor must have been bad if you're saying Josh "poor man's heel Cole" Matthews is a better announcer than him.
The only thong worse than bad dramatic acting is comedy that falls flat on its face...in a ditch.
Nothing is worse in wrestling than a heel whose idea of heat is being as obnoxious and irritating as possible.
Gentleman Chris Adams, the innovator of the sweet chin music kick. I remember him lol.
Terry Taylor's Hogan impression could've made him the next Shark Boy.
If only NWA TNA existed in the early to mid 90s.
Wasn't that sammy dude in brandon rogers vid about wrestling
I thought that too lmao.
Top Lane Hentai hahahahahahahahahahahaha
Chrome swag4428 yep he's in BOLA this year
He's in AEW ahah
As bad as Terry Taylor was on commentary, nobody can be as bad as Herb Abrams.
Randy comes close. As bad as Mark Madden is, he's still nowhere near as bad as Herbie.
Rosenbloom was a last minute substitute who was best known for calling second rate PAC-10 games for Bill Stone. He wasn't a wrestling guy, unlike Taylor, Madden, or Herb. He was probably a last resort if Stone couldn't get another wrestling guy.
I'M FEELING GOOD ABOUT THE ROUND SYSTEM!
Round-based wrestling can be awesome. If it's with people who are used to doing it! See Regal, Finlay, Saint etc!
Precisely. WOS was awesome. I hope that style can come back to television someday.
Watch otto wanz catch wrestling
Sammy intro aged like fine wine truly a future legend in the business
Haha, he will definitely be something. Legendary for his ability to hurt wrestlers.
Sammy to intro and called it,. Always a fan of Sammy glad he made it to AEW
one of the commentators sounds like Sonic's current voice actor
Somebody get him a chili dog!
Gotta go fast
You need to cover the Urban Wrestling Federation (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE) or 'REAL PRO WRESTLING' that was brutal
Thanks again Brian 🙌🏼 and If you're not familiar with me get familiar!
who are you
StraFe A shoe salesman. :D
with a babyface like that? you'll be lucky to be in NXT in 10 years
I'd watch a match with you in it.
Tom Koeppel
Funny enough, Bate has a babyface and Is basically with the company. Don't be a dick.
I really hope he makes a video about NWA and the AWA. It would be great to learn more about those classic promotions.
Yeah but they were good promotions
I watched an episode of this and was surprisingly quite impressed. I had always wondered what ever became of this organization. Thanks for filling me in.
Shout out to Sammy Guverra. Only seen a couple of his matches but the dude is amazing. No doubt he'll become a top prospect in the next few years
The AWF's round system was not bad at all. In amateur wrestling ie folk style, freestyle, and greco roman all have periods. The round system simply was an attempt to add some legitimacy to it.
He's the Z man dude 😂
I have to say, Zane is like the wrestling equivalent of the nerd. And that's high praise. Very meticulous
I binge watch Brian. I usually avoid his videos for a week, and then binge-watch them all.
The rounds system worked a lot in England growing up. It just isn't suited to the American style.
The Flying Burrito was coined by Manny Fernandez. He used the flying forearm in the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling in the late 1980's.
Speaking of the American Wrestling Federation, there's a promotion going by that name in Minnesota and the one event I went to (my first and only live event so far) was pretty entertaining. If any wrestling fans live in the area (I saw them in Askov) and don't know about them I think they're worth checking out
I'm so glad you did an episode on this. Me and my friend loooved AWF. But for all the wrong reasons. Around 1999 or 2000 Tito Santana came to our county fair and still had he AWF title with him for some reason.
Terry Taylor reminded me of Chael Sonnen on GFW PPV lol
Damn, that rant about wrestling moving forward at the end was therapeutic to hear.
Hey, it's Greg "The Mid Aged Lesbian" Valentine.
A Solomonster Sounds Off fan I see.
My old hr lady looked like him her nickname was "vicki the hammer Brandenburg "
@@tylerdalton4406 greg looks like lady alaine on mr rogers
She looks like the lady from the goonies
I met him about 10yrs ago at a legends of wrestling show and he sim like a good guy we talked a couple minutes about the dog coller match he had with Hot Rod
I still remember watching this when it debuted in syndication. Good times watching Firefighter Jim, Pretty Boy Floyd, and the Ultimate Destroyer tearing the house down!
"You can't spell awful without AWF"
Bravo Brian, bravo!
Exciting Maneuvers, explosive takedowns, RUUUUUUUULES!!! lol
This is actually my introduction to Sammy Guevara.
Whoever made the old intro music made a complete banger! \m/
This into aged BEAUTIFULLY!!
I didnt discover this channel till last year and have binged through most of the videos keeo up the good wirk brian love your work
3:18 I honestly laughed so hard at this LMAOOOO
The AWF was great to watch amd I never missed it on Saturday nights.
"Wrestling can never go backwards"
Don't tell that to Jim Cornette 😂
Speaking of bringing wrestling back to its roots, has there ever been as many successful, technically sound, catch wrestling based wrestlers as we have today? Bryan Danielson, Zack Sabre Jr, Katsuyori Shibata, Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia, Chad Gable, Josh Alexander, Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro) just to name a few who are well presented in a spotlight of a major show.
13:22 That was just her heel turn.
Brian as a student of Jesse Hernandez and have done so much fliering with and for him, I have heard so many great stories about the business from him. You should do a Q&A video with him like you did with jim cornette and Vince Russo.
13:39
"JEEEEEZUSS"
They did run at least one house show, at the Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester, WA. I had a friend attend it, and he called it the worst show he had ever been to.
I'm kind of surprised you didn't mention Lord Alfred Hayes eventually taking over as the colour man while dressing as Lord Steven Regal.
Also, "Cyclone" Ronnie Twist's hometown of "Twist Town" has to be one of the worst in history.
Unfortunately, the DVD set that's out there only has the first 18 episodes, before Hayes took over, so I couldn't really comment on it.
I remember when this video came out and I laughed at Sammy thinking he was just another indy guy doing a cameo taking himself too seriously, he proved me fucking wrong.
A lifelong fans of old school British wrestling raised as a kid on a Round System writes:
To make a rounds system work you have to have continuous action during the 3 or 4 minutes and ideally have it end on a cliffhanger (sort of like a TV title bout headling towards a 10 minute draw.) To do that, you need to actually wrestle in a more British/European style with a heavier emphasis on escapes/reversals/counters from holds so that for example, a headlock on the mat is no longer a "rest hold" but instead the setup for an amazing head-stand out of the headlock, perhaps neatly hammerlocking the previously headlocking arm.
Misbehaviour between rounds by heels can liven up round breaks but in Britain we had to use these sparingly due TV restrictions which meant that the referee had to be seen to be in real control of the bout. Usually this had to be confined to odd bit of stroppiness on the heel's part such as picking arguments with the grannies in the crowd.
Wonder what happened to that Sammy guy?
JUST WOW!!!!! Super early Sammy! I’m not going to lie I’m just now knowing of him but man was he so sure of himself
Can’t spell awful without AWF... well played Zane, that was a strong finish right there 😂😂😂
Digging your channel, and your collabs with other UA-camrs are always fun as well👌🏽
Later, skater ✋🏽
5:25 V1 from OSW has made me a mark for RULES!