Anyone watching this? I’m very into pro wrestling, and I know there’s a lot of criticism that this series is catered toward non-fans and just rehashes a lot of stuff that knowledgeable fans already knew. I think that’s accurate, but I also think these stories don’t get old no matter how many times I hear them. It does seem like a major limitation that it was mostly filmed before all the sex trafficking stuff came out - just a giant elephant in the background that it’s not possible for the series to address…but then again, I haven’t made it to the last episode yet, so will be interesting to see how it gets handled there.
Some other random observations, based on this plus the million other wrestling documentaries I’ve seen:
*Eric Bischoff seems legit retarded. I know he fancies himself this genius who outcompeted McMahon for 83 weeks, but honestly he sounds like an idiot, and he himself tells story after story where he basically gets taken advantage of by other people (Brian Pillman, the North Korean government, etc.) because he’s kind of a gullible rube. The disconnect between that and how he perceives himself is kind of shocking.
*Bret Hart - great wrestler, total mark for himself. He’d benefit from taking himself a little less seriously, and maybe being reminded that wrestling is scripted.
*Tony Atlas - comic genius. This guy pops up in various docs and is consistently hilarious. Pat Patterson “grabbed mah peckah”. Dying. His iron sheik impersonation is also fantastic.
*Triple H - I think he’s an opportunistic douche and was overrated in the ring and on the mic, but he comes across as if he has more than two brain cells to rub together, which is a feather in his cap.
I’m sure I’ll think of more hot takes, but interested to hear if other people have been watching.
It's hard to separate the Golden Era of WWF from my childhood nostalgia. I feel like as a wrestling fan we are always chasing that high of marking out when we thought wrestling was real as kids.
Man, this analogy is perfect. Due to age and due to the evolution of the product, I will never again experience the emotions wrestling made me experience as a kid…but you still keep watching, hoping something somehow magically makes you mark out the way you did as a kid.
Watching savage and steamboat blow off their feud at wrestlemania iii when I was 10 years old was easily the highlight of my year. Heart was pounding, adrenaline was pumping. If I watched it now, I’d probably appreciate the athleticism but be too jaded to enjoy it beyond that. And in any case, that angle and that match, or anything like it, would never happen today.
Amazing match. And I loved Hogan vs Andre. After the Steambiat match it was hilarious how Ventura kept ranting about Savage pinning Steamboat when the ref was knocked out
I came close with Cody winning at Mania this year
Yea. I mean I can accept that today’s athleticism is much better but I love the over the top gimmicks and promos. Plus, like you said it was amazing to watch it and think it’s real. Like I was devastated when Andre ripped Hogan’s shirt and challenged him for the title. Furious when Hogan got cheated on Saturday Night Main Event against Andre