So, I've been away … again. I intend to spend the rest of the day writing a series of blog articles detailing where I've been, what I've been doing, and what I've been thinking over the past few weeks—stopping briefly to watch Gold Coast play in the WAFL quarter-finals—even though they're no doubt going to get thrashed by Freo, who've trounced every team they've played, all season long. *Sigh* Oh well; at least if The Dockers go all the way, it'll still be better than having a Victorian team win the premiership. Sorry Melbournians, but you know how the rest of us feel when it comes to Aussie rules … Same as how we feel about NSW when it comes to league, New Zealand when it comes to union, and England when it comes to cricket.
In the meantime, enjoy watching some buff Mexicans, in tights and sexy masks, doing cool flips and shit:
It's been a long time (years?) since I've laid in bed with a tablet computer and watched wrestling music videos on YouTube. It seems "the scene" has gone downhill in the intervening years, and alas, this was the only half decent one I could find that I hadn't seen before. Things to watch out for:
0:00 - I don't know if this was broadcast live, or taped and then edited, but take some time to appreciate the excellent camera work. It really adds to the excitement and drama.
1:08 - Notice that when the one bloke dives over the rope, he subtly grabs onto the other bloke's head to stop it bouncing on the floor. This is the kind of skill and professionalism that wrestling nerds geek out over.
2:00 - Unlike with the previous two dives we see, here he uses his foot to launch himself off the middle rope. This is exponentially harder and is quite dangerous, since it carries the risk of hitting the top rope with your leg, and losing your forward momentum. In the past, I have seen many videos of people fucking up this move. Very impressive.
2:35 - In Mexican wrestling, ripping or removing your opponent's mask is considered the worst thing you can do to them, so I'm guessing this match must have been the culmination of some sort of major storyline.
3:20 - I noticed this trend when I looked at She-Ra music vids on YouTube. Instead of fading out nicely, the video just comes to a dead stop. Very sloppy work, and a disappointing end to what was otherwise a nicely put-together little production.
Anyway, I hope that holds you over until I get my main post posted. See you then.
10 comments :
Would you believe I watched several matches (is that what they're called) of UFC a few weeks back? My daughter's bf is into it so we sat and watched and I enjoyed it.
I don't know what the above is called, is it the same thing?
Right it's Easter now and three weeks since we heard anything. Alex, are you okay?
Am also keen to hear from you Alex. Hoping you're ok
No, the video above is nothing like UFC. UFC is a sporting contest, like boxing. The video is a theatrical performance, like what you'd see from acrobats at the circus.
What did you think of UFC? I lost interest in it once they started breaking the matches up into rounds. In the old days, the fighters would just go until somebody won. Also curious if BF is into it solely as a spectator or does he compete?
Okay I watched the video. This was well choreographed and I have to wonder: with all the risk of injury gone (well, most of it), where's the fun for the spectators? Also though, it looked like they were working really really hard. This is a job where you need to be strong and at least a little fit. Now I'm wondering if they are builders in their off months?
Actually, despite it being "fake", this kind of wrestling carries a far greater risk of injury than combat sports like kickboxing and MMA. There have been a number of high-profile cases over the years, where performers were either crippled or killed in the ring. Then there's the people who suffer the effects of cumulative trauma - the most famous of which was Chris Benoit - who committed suicide after murdering his wife and son. After his parents pushed for an autopsy, they found that his brain was a scarred mess.
There have been plenty of UFC fighters who have crossed over into wrestling, and all of the ones I've seen interviewed have said that wrestling is tougher and more grueling. Not only are the moves more punishing on the body, the matches are often longer - anything up to twenty minutes, without a break, for a main event - and a big-name performer will usually have a minimum of one match per week, week in and week out. Typically, the only off months they have is when they're out injured. As you can imagine, abuse of steroids and painkillers is rife, and since it's technically not a sport, there's no authority that administers testing. Sadly, a lot of these guys end up dying in a hotel room, from an overdose, in their forties.
I've never watched it, but there's a documentary series called "The dark side of the ring", which is said to be pretty good. I believe SBS has all the episodes up on their website.
As for the spectators, a lot of people get into the story lines - who's the champ, who's feuding with whom, who's allies with whom, etc. On the one hand, I guess it's strange, but people get into movies and TV shows despite knowing it's just actors reading from a script.
For me, I watch it for the same reason I watch gymnastics, parkour, break-dancing, synchronised swimming, and old Chinese action flicks - I just love watching them move. This makes me the sort of spectator who is looked down on by serious fans - the way movie buffs look down on people who go to the cinema to see explosions, and car chases, and giant robots punching each other.
Oh, and here's something that blew me away when I first found it out - there's actually very little choreography involved. Most of the time, these guys don't know what moves they'll be doing from one minute to the next. They play off the crowd, talk to each other in the ring, and just make it up as they go along.
Also, Japan had a top-notch women's wrestling scene in the '90s. However, most of all the really good music videos have been purged on copyright grounds.
Here's one of the better ones I could find. This one's also not bad, but you can skip the first 30 seconds, since it's just still shots. By the way. that last clip is Megumi Kodu, showing off her invention, the "Kudome Valentine", which is generally considered to be one of the most dangerous moves in wrestling. Here's another look at it.
Actually, Japanese wrestling's interesting, because they have promotions which are super serious, along with promotions which are super goofy. There's one that has story-lines based around magical heroes that are fighting off an invasion by inter-dimensional invaders. There's another that has a "possessed" doll as a competitor.
The BF just likes watching it, but he's an ex judo competitor so is heavily into UFC.
I liked it, I found myself drawn in, even though it was pretty violent at times.
One guy was just taunting and not engaging and I found myself hating him so much. I was surprised by how into it I got.
My grandmother used to love watching the wrestling. She was a Toorak dame, had her hair set every week and was quite posh. And loved the wrestling. So funny.
I used to watch the wrestling when we were kids. Killer Karl Cox, and Mario Milano.
Also did anyone watch GLOW? I really quite adored it, and found the second season as good as, if not better than, the first. I recommend.
I'm willing to bet the wrestlers from back in the day weren't nearly as mobile as what you see now. I wonder if Oz even still has wrestling promotions?
Also, I haven't heard anything about GLOW. What's the gist of it?
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