Recommendation and Pic o' the Day!
Oct. 20th, 2006 01:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
phoenixastraeaWell, thanks to acebaretta, I am now the proud owner of the 'Shawn Michaels: Boyhood Dream' DVD and man is it good. I was at home waiting for the cable guy, which allowed me to experience maximum wrestling viewing pleasure.
I've only viewed two out of the six or so matches; the first one was his first Championship win in an Iron Man match at WM 12 with Bret "Hitman" Hart and...I have to say, it was an incredible match. They didn't show the entire 60+ minutes of it, but they did show his incredible 100 foot descent on that ripline with "Sexy Boy" playing in the background. I cannot describe the joy of watching that; you just don't see stuff like that anymore. It also showed the first 20 or so minutes and the last 15 minutes, where Shawn really wrestles like a champ. When he won...well, all I have to say is that it really sent shivers up my spine when he won. I haven't felt like that after seeing someone win the championship in a LONG time. Not simply because it's Shawn but because the build up and the intensity and the importance of this match was perfectly orchestrated so that by the time the match was over, your heart positively swelled with admiration. Watching Shawn clutch the belt to him like a first-born child shows how incredible it was...and how little respect it receives today as opposed to 10 years ago.
The next match I watched was also incredible. It showed Shawns first title defense against none other than Diesel. Damn, I didn't realize he was that damn big. Again, an incredible match with some great spots and a shocker moment that made my jaw drop. At one point, Diesel gets this guy at ring side, grabs him and RIPS OFF HIS FALSE LEG AND ATTEMPTS TO BEAT SHAWN WITH IT ZOMG!!!!ELEVENTYONE!!! Sorry, but it was a total capslock moment. I haven't seen anything like that. Ever. Wrong doesn't begin to describe it. At any rate, Shawn turns it around and wins the damn thing, false leg and all; what really made me quiver was his reaction at the end of the match. I think I watched it several times...Shawn just...goes nuts. His intensity is in full peak, he's jumping around like a maniac...but what really got me was his in-your-face attitude. I'm so used to his Christian demeanor now that this really blew me away. After he beat Diesel, he flipped both birds and practically shoved them both in Diesel's face; you can also CLEARLY see him saying "Fuck you fuck you fuck you" over and over and over again as he's flipping him off. ABSOLUTELY incredible. Had me at hello incredible. THAT is what real wrestling is all about; there was REAL anger there, REAL hatred, REAL intensity, and REAL passion for a title and a belt and a way of life that just doesn't seem present today.
I didn't mean to go on at such length, but after watching only two of those matches from '96, I was transfixed by it all...I can't wait to finish the rest of it...but to me its like an excellent meal; I've got to savour the flavor...
To top it off, I think this deserves a special pic o' the day...
Yeah, I never get tired of this picture. Best use of a championship belt ever. EVER I say.
acebaretta, I am now the proud owner of the 'Shawn Michaels: Boyhood Dream' DVD and man is it good. I was at home waiting for the cable guy, which allowed me to experience maximum wrestling viewing pleasure. I've only viewed two out of the six or so matches; the first one was his first Championship win in an Iron Man match at WM 12 with Bret "Hitman" Hart and...I have to say, it was an incredible match. They didn't show the entire 60+ minutes of it, but they did show his incredible 100 foot descent on that ripline with "Sexy Boy" playing in the background. I cannot describe the joy of watching that; you just don't see stuff like that anymore. It also showed the first 20 or so minutes and the last 15 minutes, where Shawn really wrestles like a champ. When he won...well, all I have to say is that it really sent shivers up my spine when he won. I haven't felt like that after seeing someone win the championship in a LONG time. Not simply because it's Shawn but because the build up and the intensity and the importance of this match was perfectly orchestrated so that by the time the match was over, your heart positively swelled with admiration. Watching Shawn clutch the belt to him like a first-born child shows how incredible it was...and how little respect it receives today as opposed to 10 years ago.
The next match I watched was also incredible. It showed Shawns first title defense against none other than Diesel. Damn, I didn't realize he was that damn big. Again, an incredible match with some great spots and a shocker moment that made my jaw drop. At one point, Diesel gets this guy at ring side, grabs him and RIPS OFF HIS FALSE LEG AND ATTEMPTS TO BEAT SHAWN WITH IT ZOMG!!!!ELEVENTYONE!!! Sorry, but it was a total capslock moment. I haven't seen anything like that. Ever. Wrong doesn't begin to describe it. At any rate, Shawn turns it around and wins the damn thing, false leg and all; what really made me quiver was his reaction at the end of the match. I think I watched it several times...Shawn just...goes nuts. His intensity is in full peak, he's jumping around like a maniac...but what really got me was his in-your-face attitude. I'm so used to his Christian demeanor now that this really blew me away. After he beat Diesel, he flipped both birds and practically shoved them both in Diesel's face; you can also CLEARLY see him saying "Fuck you fuck you fuck you" over and over and over again as he's flipping him off. ABSOLUTELY incredible. Had me at hello incredible. THAT is what real wrestling is all about; there was REAL anger there, REAL hatred, REAL intensity, and REAL passion for a title and a belt and a way of life that just doesn't seem present today.
I didn't mean to go on at such length, but after watching only two of those matches from '96, I was transfixed by it all...I can't wait to finish the rest of it...but to me its like an excellent meal; I've got to savour the flavor...
To top it off, I think this deserves a special pic o' the day...
Yeah, I never get tired of this picture. Best use of a championship belt ever. EVER I say.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-10-20 02:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-20 02:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-20 02:39 am (UTC)London & Kendrick would look pretty darn good like that, too. *wonders if there's some way of arranging all four of them*
no subject
Date: 2006-10-20 03:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-20 03:22 am (UTC)Damn, now my brain is trying to create a scenario that can slash all four of them... ow! ow! >.< plotbunnies..!
no subject
Date: 2006-10-20 03:41 am (UTC)And if you can work up a plot with the four of them, I think I'll owe you my first born...
Well, now that I think of it...London and Kendrick were actually trained by Michaels...hmmmm...that could be your connection! Call it "Training Days"...;^)
no subject
Date: 2006-10-20 11:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-20 02:43 am (UTC)The match against Diesel... *grins* FtV has alternate commentary for that match with Coach and Kevin Nash, and it's funny as hell. Kev points out that the reason they were able to do that match and do it so well was because they're best friends---you can trust your friends to do things to you that you'd never let your worst enemy do. (Like, say, the choking-Shawn-with-a-belt thing... that was REAL.)
The fake leg... that just came up on Raw, actually. Was it last week? I think it was... the Cade & Murdoch v. DX match... somebody used a boot to whack Shawn in the head with. It was an homage to that moment. Oh, and the guy was a retired wrestler... Mad Dog Vachon, I want to say. Darn. I might just have to dig that DVD out and watch it. Again. *g*
Good good stuff. And yes, I wish the belt still got that kind of respect. And that Shawn still had that kind of attitude. I have nothing but respect for him and his lifestyle, since that's what he's chosen, but it's not something I particularly agree with... and while I do think he's a better wrestler now, he doesn't show that level of intensity very often anymore.
Right. Tired post-class-post-work-post-class-pre-taking-hubby-to-graveyard-shift Day From Hell rambling done now. Really. ;)
no subject
Date: 2006-10-20 04:08 am (UTC)Yes, the emotion is what really does it. Even though he and Nash were friends, you could FEEL the hatred he had for Diesel. I miss that intensity, but like I said in the previous post, I would argue that its because he doesn't have worthy adversaries like Diesel or Bret. The wrestlers today (GOD I sound like an old armchair general) don't seem to care as much. If the wrestlers DO care, not enough emotional importance is attached to the matches or even to the build up on these titles. Its an interesting idea, that they were able to interact so heatedly because of their friendship. I'm sure they had a TON of fun doing that.
I also figured that the guy with the leg was part of the show, but it was still terribly shocking. I just loved the idea of going to the announcing table and stealing boots/legs/whatever and using them as weapons. Infinitely amusing.
OH and since we're on the topic of Nash, I have a hilarious video for you. You might have already seen it, but its Nash in TNA and I haven't stopped laughing for the past hour. Trust me on it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH1F047qWQo
no subject
Date: 2006-10-20 11:29 am (UTC)From the Vault has nothing but complete matches... but it doesn't have very many of them. Well, okay... eight, I think? Without looking at the DVD, I think so. But compared to the stuff they've been releasing for the last couple of years... *shakes head* They need to do a better one for Shawn, they really do. And actually doing something on DVD for Trips would be nice, too, now that I come to think of it.
And mentioning him... the last match on FtV is the Unsanctioned Match between those two in 2002. While I'm fully aware that it was expected to be his only match back (hah!), comparing the "full-on violence" of that match to, say, their HIAC match... makes me laugh. Hunt was being soooo careful with Shawn in that Unsanctioned Match, even with the sledgehammer attack after the PPV went off the air (which is an extra on the DVD), that it's a split between making me laugh and making me go, "Aww" at some of it. Watching the two matches back-to-back, which I've done, is eye-opening as to just how much control Hunt has in the ring, really. And on just how much Shawn's improved since his comeback. (And of course... watching Trips Pedigree Shawn anytime is rather amusing, since he does it differently than doing it to anyone else. Overprotective just a little... very sweet to see. *g*)
no subject
Date: 2006-10-20 04:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-21 01:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-20 04:22 pm (UTC)And of course, the Hunter/Shawn Street Fight. God, that's like, my comfort match. It's stupid, but whenever something on Raw (Diva Search, Bra and Panties Matches, their joke of a tag-team division, Jerry Lawler, take your pick) makes me bang my head against a wall, I pop that DVD in (I have the Summerslam DVD, so I have the entire match), and smile. Because I love the chemistry. The storytelling - as Hunter is so fond of pointing out. The HISTORY between those two and their ridiculous amounts of talent in the ring.
After he beat Diesel, he flipped both birds and practically shoved them both in Diesel's face; you can also CLEARLY see him saying "Fuck you fuck you fuck you" over and over and over again as he's flipping him off. ABSOLUTELY incredible. Had me at hello incredible. THAT is what real wrestling is all about; there was REAL anger there, REAL hatred, REAL intensity, and REAL passion for a title and a belt and a way of life that just doesn't seem present today.
Amen to that. Shawn's intensity was always his best asset. I mean, though I love Kurt Angle, I always had to spit-take when he talked about "intensity". Because while he's slightly intense . . . Shawn, in his champion/original DX days was intensity personified. He's shown glimmers of it in his run with Hunter - I'm specifically thinking of his suicide tackle and screaming beatdown of Hunter the Raw before their Summerslam match - but not to the degree he used to.
*sigh* Oh well, I have that belt pic to cheer me up.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-21 01:39 am (UTC)He is intensity personified, and I hate to get on his case for his conversion, but Christianity really mellowed him out and as a wrestling fan, I wish he wasn't so straight-edge now because of how its limiting him as a player. Of course, if he's at peace now with himself and fulfilled and happy in his life, then I couldn't be happier...but there is a decided difference...maybe its age, but I think most of it has to do with his whole "Don't do anything if it doesn't glorify God" attitude.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-23 03:56 pm (UTC)And hee, I just watched my comfort match Sunday afternoon/night. I'd just gotten home from working a double and crashing at Brooke's, so I was decompressing. And man, I just love that match more and more every time I watch it. It's definitely one of those matches that wouldn't be as good without the backstory and Ross and Lawler's commentary (as much as I dislike Jerry Lawler). Also, I heart Shawn and Hunter's whispered conversation while lying amidst a broken table. You can totally see Shawn's arm come up to block their faces.
I definitely agree with your opinions about his conversion mellowing him out. That's probably really good for him in his personal life - it's well documented that he had extremely little self-control and was on a one-way trip to an overdose - but it hasn't helped his career. I think he's still as talented in-ring as he's ever been, but you can just see the difference.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-24 01:56 am (UTC)So, is your comfort match on FtV or on something else? Cause if it's that comforting to you, I wanna see it too!
And yeah, he's mellow. I miss that...but better than than to pull a Pillman. I have a few friends on a wrestling board that I frequent that seriously question Shawn's sexuality. Based upon Marty Jannetty's comments on his Myspace about him and Shawn partying...I wonder sometimes about just how wild he got...
How's the paper coming?
no subject
Date: 2006-10-24 03:35 am (UTC)It's the final match on FTV, but it skips quite a bit of the full match, so if you can get your hands on the actual Summerslam '02 DVD/VHS, I'd highly recommend it. It's just one of those matches that you need to see in its entirety, due to the linear storyline. Every single move, countermove, and break in action has a purpose, and Shawn and Hunter really give the moments in between the action a lot of weight. Their looks and body language convey so much.
Sorry. I just really like that match, and I think everyone else should too.
Amen to that, girl. Better an uber-Christian than dead of an OD. And oh, MJ. Your love for Shawn is so ridiculously transparent. We love it.
Haven't started it, due to another paper I have due for that class. Don't worry, you'll see it.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-24 04:40 pm (UTC)And GAH, Marty and Shawn are such crack to me. I've got to improve on my iconing skills so I can express my love for their love. =^) Speaking of them, I know you're busy, but I'm in the process of writing a S/M fic and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind taking a look at it afterwards?
Classes going well?
no subject
Date: 2006-10-24 06:44 pm (UTC)Marty and Shawn aren't my crack-du-jour, but SURE! I'd love to take a look at your S/M fic.
Everything except Italian, who is making me its bitch. All my other classes are fairly easy, with manageable amounts of work. But IT52 is driving me nuts. I don't understand half of what she says, and I keep failing quizzes and tests because she's going SO fast. *headdesk*
no subject
Date: 2006-10-20 09:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-21 03:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-21 01:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-21 03:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-21 03:34 am (UTC)I should put up the shot of his other side...hehehehe.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-21 03:40 am (UTC)and heelll yes you should put up the other side of that...or even find a shot without the belt ;) :P lol
no subject
Date: 2006-10-21 04:27 am (UTC)