Post by stevo22 on Feb 16, 2011 16:21:17 GMT -8
I'm not saying you're wrong, by any means (everyone is entitled to their own opinion), but I would like to offer a different opinion than the one I just read. In fact, I only registered so I could offer a different opinion. I would hate for anyone to stumble upon this and think the events that unfolded last night were anywhere near as disjointed as you've proclaimed them. I'm relatively new to EXW so I'm not posting from experience but just telling you how I see things.
First, let's tackle what I agree with.
Pretty much all of your 'highs.' I would add that in addition to it being great to see Beaver as a manager, it was even greater seeing him get decked by Cutler Wright. I wouldn't want to be Beaver to begin with, and I want to be him even less when he's taking a shot like that. Ouch. Rexx Reed and Cutler Wright put on a great match. I wasn't fortunate enough to see their first outing but if this is any indication, it was great.
Sal and Ray with some mic time is obviously a surprise and they were surprisingly good. I wouldn't mind seeing more of them in the future. Kyle Hawk did wonderful in both showings and as far as I know, he won't be in Payson, but I hope to see a talent like him becoming synonymous with elite wrestling. And lastly, that intro might induce a few seizures, not unlike the infamous banned Pokemon episode, but it certainly was xtreme. Haha. I wouldn't mind that being toned down a bit.
Now for what I don't agree with.
The biggest one has got to be the crowd "not being into it." Were you even at the show? From the opening, seizure-inducing, Rage Against The Machine using intro, to Sal on the mic, to Chuey and Shane going at it, to Cutler belting Beaver, to Kyle Hawk's valiant effort against Hellman, to the main event - the crowd was behind it all the way. Aside from transitions, I can't think of one time the crowd wasn't responding in some fashion - even if they were jabs at the Sheik's amazing accent.
It was a pretty solid show from where I was sitting. At first, a few things seemed random, but by the end of the show it was apparent that everything happened for a reason. Sal and Ray going one-on-one followed by Chuey and Shane doing the same was a good way to give the tag teams that were eliminated from the tag team title tournament an opportunity to sort out their differences and explore each other's strengths and weaknesses going forward. It makes sense that after the strong showings from both matches (the word "strong" being used ironically in Sal's case) the Sheik decided to put those teams in a "last chance" match at Up For Grabs to determine a third team for the tag title match.
That was probably the closest to random anything got and it makes a lot of sense in hindsight. It's kind of like trying to figure out what the picture is when you've only completed 20% of a jigsaw puzzle.
As for the main event stuff, I didn't really mind the Freak Squad taking a back seat to the developments between Derick, Val, Tyson and Lawrence Tyler. Don't get me wrong, there's no such thing as "too much Freak Squad," but they've said plenty regarding the tag team tournament and their efforts in their matches have certainly showed they're ready for the big match at Up For Grabs. They didn't get to "shine and celebrate" like you wanted them to, but don't they do enough of that anyway? Nevermind that they might want to save the shining and celebrating for another day - like, oh, I don't know - Saturday if they actually win the big match.
In fact, I'd argue it's better they got a little less time to do their thing on this show. They got about equal time as Moshpit Mike & Mike James (their opponents) and Ray/Sal/Chuey/Shane (potential opponents). Looks like the tag setup was distributed evenly for a change.
That's just the thing, though. It's called EXW Up For Grabs, not EXW Tag Team Tournament Finals. There's more going on than just the crowning of EXW's first tag champs. With the exception of the Elite Division Championship match between Hellman and Vegas, both major title matches are following an "up for grabs" theme. The tag team title tournament has been established well enough. Hell, the last Xtreme Tuesday was solely dedicated to it and this Tuesday's main event was as well... it felt appropriate to cap off the night with a confrontation that additional interest in Up For Grabs could be invested in. That's just my two cents about that.
As for the ring announcer, I love him. He's great. He doesn't stroll around the ring and talk everyone's ear off. He gets in there, does his job (efficiently, mind you) and with a really good voice. I could just as easily picture him in the big leagues doing it, as opposed to someone acting more chummy and less professional. I don't go to have a conversation with the ring announcers. I go to see some wrestling. He gets the info out and then gets outta there. What more could you ask for?
Cutler Wright as a face is interesting to me. I'm not disputing that he may be better as a heel, but I liked what I saw as a face. He got really over. His mic work was somewhat reminiscent of Y2J and I felt like a "Vegas supporter" for the first time.
As for Sal and Basura back together - your guess is as good as mine. But nobody said they wanted to team together. Who knows how they'll function at Up For Grabs. I understand your comment regarding adding another tag team into the mix, but from my perspective, the two potential teams for that slot put on a pretty good show Tuesday and have earned a second chance. That said, I don't think there are too many instances where I would turn down three tag teams going at it for the top prize in the division. I think it'll be exciting and I'm interested to see what goes down.
So... that's my rant. I figure someone ought to offer an opposing viewpoint. I respect your passion and all but it seems like a skewed and jaded perspective. I don't know which show you were watching but I know what I saw. Like I implied earlier, my knowledge of EXW history only goes back so far, however, what I'm seeing now looks great. Everything is happening for a reason (I should hope) and it's all compelling in its own regard. It's hard to offer commentary on something that is developing when you don't know how it's going to end, but maybe that's why critics who try to do so catch so much heat. Or maybe I'm just optimistic. Who knows. But I saw very little in the way of flaws. I'm crossing my fingers that this is a recurring trend.
First, let's tackle what I agree with.
Pretty much all of your 'highs.' I would add that in addition to it being great to see Beaver as a manager, it was even greater seeing him get decked by Cutler Wright. I wouldn't want to be Beaver to begin with, and I want to be him even less when he's taking a shot like that. Ouch. Rexx Reed and Cutler Wright put on a great match. I wasn't fortunate enough to see their first outing but if this is any indication, it was great.
Sal and Ray with some mic time is obviously a surprise and they were surprisingly good. I wouldn't mind seeing more of them in the future. Kyle Hawk did wonderful in both showings and as far as I know, he won't be in Payson, but I hope to see a talent like him becoming synonymous with elite wrestling. And lastly, that intro might induce a few seizures, not unlike the infamous banned Pokemon episode, but it certainly was xtreme. Haha. I wouldn't mind that being toned down a bit.
Now for what I don't agree with.
The biggest one has got to be the crowd "not being into it." Were you even at the show? From the opening, seizure-inducing, Rage Against The Machine using intro, to Sal on the mic, to Chuey and Shane going at it, to Cutler belting Beaver, to Kyle Hawk's valiant effort against Hellman, to the main event - the crowd was behind it all the way. Aside from transitions, I can't think of one time the crowd wasn't responding in some fashion - even if they were jabs at the Sheik's amazing accent.
It was a pretty solid show from where I was sitting. At first, a few things seemed random, but by the end of the show it was apparent that everything happened for a reason. Sal and Ray going one-on-one followed by Chuey and Shane doing the same was a good way to give the tag teams that were eliminated from the tag team title tournament an opportunity to sort out their differences and explore each other's strengths and weaknesses going forward. It makes sense that after the strong showings from both matches (the word "strong" being used ironically in Sal's case) the Sheik decided to put those teams in a "last chance" match at Up For Grabs to determine a third team for the tag title match.
That was probably the closest to random anything got and it makes a lot of sense in hindsight. It's kind of like trying to figure out what the picture is when you've only completed 20% of a jigsaw puzzle.
As for the main event stuff, I didn't really mind the Freak Squad taking a back seat to the developments between Derick, Val, Tyson and Lawrence Tyler. Don't get me wrong, there's no such thing as "too much Freak Squad," but they've said plenty regarding the tag team tournament and their efforts in their matches have certainly showed they're ready for the big match at Up For Grabs. They didn't get to "shine and celebrate" like you wanted them to, but don't they do enough of that anyway? Nevermind that they might want to save the shining and celebrating for another day - like, oh, I don't know - Saturday if they actually win the big match.
In fact, I'd argue it's better they got a little less time to do their thing on this show. They got about equal time as Moshpit Mike & Mike James (their opponents) and Ray/Sal/Chuey/Shane (potential opponents). Looks like the tag setup was distributed evenly for a change.
That's just the thing, though. It's called EXW Up For Grabs, not EXW Tag Team Tournament Finals. There's more going on than just the crowning of EXW's first tag champs. With the exception of the Elite Division Championship match between Hellman and Vegas, both major title matches are following an "up for grabs" theme. The tag team title tournament has been established well enough. Hell, the last Xtreme Tuesday was solely dedicated to it and this Tuesday's main event was as well... it felt appropriate to cap off the night with a confrontation that additional interest in Up For Grabs could be invested in. That's just my two cents about that.
As for the ring announcer, I love him. He's great. He doesn't stroll around the ring and talk everyone's ear off. He gets in there, does his job (efficiently, mind you) and with a really good voice. I could just as easily picture him in the big leagues doing it, as opposed to someone acting more chummy and less professional. I don't go to have a conversation with the ring announcers. I go to see some wrestling. He gets the info out and then gets outta there. What more could you ask for?
Cutler Wright as a face is interesting to me. I'm not disputing that he may be better as a heel, but I liked what I saw as a face. He got really over. His mic work was somewhat reminiscent of Y2J and I felt like a "Vegas supporter" for the first time.
As for Sal and Basura back together - your guess is as good as mine. But nobody said they wanted to team together. Who knows how they'll function at Up For Grabs. I understand your comment regarding adding another tag team into the mix, but from my perspective, the two potential teams for that slot put on a pretty good show Tuesday and have earned a second chance. That said, I don't think there are too many instances where I would turn down three tag teams going at it for the top prize in the division. I think it'll be exciting and I'm interested to see what goes down.
So... that's my rant. I figure someone ought to offer an opposing viewpoint. I respect your passion and all but it seems like a skewed and jaded perspective. I don't know which show you were watching but I know what I saw. Like I implied earlier, my knowledge of EXW history only goes back so far, however, what I'm seeing now looks great. Everything is happening for a reason (I should hope) and it's all compelling in its own regard. It's hard to offer commentary on something that is developing when you don't know how it's going to end, but maybe that's why critics who try to do so catch so much heat. Or maybe I'm just optimistic. Who knows. But I saw very little in the way of flaws. I'm crossing my fingers that this is a recurring trend.
