Your Favorite Wrestlers Ever: Jake Duvall

Now that my own favorites list is out of the way, I posed the question to some of my colleagues in the fan/writer community. Who are your favorite five wrestlers?

Today's list comes to us from TWB superfan and Twitter enthusiast Jake Duvall. He's from the South, but that hasn't stopped him from being a huge Chikara fan or indie wrestling fan either (although with RPW and NWA Anarchy, it's not like the Peach State has a dearth of good indies to work with). Here's his list, which is very comedically tinged.

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Two of the greatest
Photo Credit: WWE.com

5. Chuck Taylor - One of two professional wrestlers that have ever inspired me to purchase a t-shirt of their likeness, and one that I finally had the pleasure of seeing in the flesh during WrestleMania weekend. While
I'm not giving much of a TOOT concerning his wrestling ability (although anyone will be hard-pressed to debate that he and Gargano have the potential to be one of the best teams of all time if ever given a shot at the big leagues), his antics are absolutely hysterical. After watching his "training montage" and several clips of him scaring the shit out of children, I was in love. Chikara and DGUSA have him to thank for me even bothering to check them out (and have since become a huge fan of both promotions.) He's easily one of the most entertaining wrestlers on the indy circuit, and hopefully he won't decide to go the route of a "serious" gimmick anytime soon.

4. Norman Smiley - Norman Smiley's WCW Hardcore title reign was one of my favorite periods in wrestling…not to mention when he threw Chavo Guerrero's toy horse into a wood chipper, demanding that the correct pronunciation of his name was "Smi-LEH," etc. And he invented the Big Wiggle, which is something I automatically resort to doing when dragged into some awful dance club. It's hard to be a character that's NEVER boring, and anytime Norman was on, it was always worth watching. May possibly be my next write-in for the 2012 presidential election.

3. Chris Jericho - Even though my love of him diminished a bit when he got offended by the handsome and talented Jim Norton making a joke about Christopher Reeve, how do you not love him? Wrote the most entertaining wrestling book out there, and has played pretty much every role possible and played it to perfection. Jericho was also responsible for by far THE funniest WCW moment of all time: the 1,004 Holds List. (Honorable mention: Ralphus) Aside from his comedic exploits, I remember the first time I ever saw the Lionsault and almost shit. This was pre-Internet, and always a fan of the high-flying stuff, I was so amped to see someone do a moonsault by catapulting off the ring ropes.

2. Santino Marella - I will defend this man to the death, and have threatened home invasions involving my own urine and feces for those who talk negatively about him when they comment on this blog. He portrays a half-retarded Italian with a unibrow, plays a fake trombone to celebrate his victories, and was responsible for the Honk-A-Meter. His finishing move is a fucking two inches away POKE. And does anyone remember his promo as a heel against "Rey Mastrio"? Me and my wrestling friends are all huge marks for him, and I think one of us petitioned WWE Shopzone to actually sell his proposed WWE Magazine cover from that segment.

Bottom line, if you don't enjoy this guy, you are a fucking moron.

1. Ricky Steamboat - The only non-comedic pick of mine, and it trails back to the fact that I pretty much worshipped the guy as a kid. Some young's had an Ultimate Warrior phase, some loved Hulk Hogan, some were into Sting… I always cheered the loudest for the Dragon. When I wrestled a bean bag chair on my trampoline, I always mimicked his hip toss, and regularly broke out flying body presses solely because I'd watched him do it a million times. Plus, he blew fire, which makes him better than any wrestler that's ever existed.

This Week in DVR: I'm a Good Guy Now, Fella

It's a fellabration!
Photo Credit: WWE.com

I watched what I couldn't watch live on my DVR and the Internet this week. Here's what stood out:

Matches

Colt Cabana vs. Joey Ryan on NWA Hollywood - Solid main event with a lot of good storytelling vis a vis Adam Pearce as the guest ref. I thought some of the TV editing cut off a good bit of this, going to commercial when Cabana was shoving Pearce. There was one flubbed spot on Cabana doing the Asai moonsault (which I can't criticize too badly because it was COLT CABANA DOING AN ASAI MOONSAULT), but the action was really good throughout. Some great brawling, and nice showboating tactics from Ryan. The DQ finish left me a little flat, but it was still a decent match.

Heath Slater vs. Trent Baretta on Superstars - Wow, who knew Heath Slater could work? Maybe he didn't get as much of a stage to shine as well as he did in this match, or maybe he did some overtime in FCW, learning from guys like William Regal and Big Dust. Either way, wow, what a match. Slater brought it on offense, which is good, because it's the first time I've been impressed with him when he was bringing the heat, and the first time I've been impressed with him overall since WrestleMania:

That will never get old. Ever. I think where I started to feel this match most was when Baretta ran to the corner and anticipated Slater coming in behind him. He did a leapfrog, but Slater just sidestepped him and kicked him in the gut. Really clever spot. I like his spinebuster too. Baretta was a great opponent for him too, because the former Dudebuster bumps well and has such reckless abandon. He's a great nouveau-style jobber. Solid finish with a good sequence in the corner going to Baretta whiffing on a corkscrew and Slater dropping him with an inverted DDT. Really good stuff.

Chris Masters and Santino Marella vs. Michael McGillicutty and David Otunga, non-title, on Superstars - No, it's not a typo. Otunga has made the honor roll. I think that's a credit to WWE that they've found a role where they can hide his deficiencies well and put him with a guy who can carry the load, even if McGillicutty is a little green himself. Of course, playing off two of the best workers in the company will do a lot to help that along as well. Masters didn't spend a lot of time in the match, but that's okay, because how about Santino? The more I see him, the more impressed I get with him as a total package guy in the ring. He just plays the crowd so well, and his expressions and bantering in the ring is second to none. He even has some cool moves, like that spinning fireman's carry takeover he did earlier in the match. I thought it was good tag fare.

Shows

NWA Hollywood - Okay show this week. The undercard stuff was underwhelming but alright, excepting the blindfold match. I really don't think it's possible to do a good blindfold match, to be honest. The main event stuff was well done, and this Erik Watts guy has a real good look. Very imposing. The injury angle with Cabana getting spike piledriven was okay, and I'm guessing they'll push him and Pearce as two guys with neck injuries going forward.

Superstars - Another really good show this week... baaaaaht, chu already knew that. It looked like they went with all extended length matches, which is good, because it lends itself to some good action. I thought that the first two matches were really good, and the main event between Jack Swagger and Alex Riley was just okay though. Riley is still really green, although he has some promise. When he learns how to work some basic psych into his matches, he'll be a lot better, but I pray to God that he ditches that awful "grenade" spot. Let's just forget for a second that Chuck Taylor's introduction of imaginary grenades into wrestling matches is so sublime that it renders anything else, imitation or not, just the very definition of moot. The gesticulations involved with Riley's grenade are just too drawn out and bad. And this is coming from someone who grins and bears it every time Cena goes into a Five Knuckle Shuffle. That grenade makes the FKS look like the People's Elbow and the People's Elbow look like a tombstone piledriver.

Impact - The show was mostly based on "Joker" Sting, Immortal and Kurt Angle as characters, centered around obtaining "stroke" and using the Network to engage in a power struggle. So therefore, I didn't much care for this week's Impact. About the only thing that was really enjoyable to me was the promo segment with Alex Shelley, Brian Kendrick and Austin Aries, but you probably already knew that.

Smackdown - Decent show with underwhelming wrestling. Triple H's segment to start was okay, not as good as Monday's. I liked seeing more Zack Ryder, but I hope this doesn't mean he's not wrestling anymore. The out-of-ring segments were stronger than the matches on the whole, especially the ones involving Daniel Bryan and Wade Barrett and the confrontation between Mark Henry and Sheamus. I like that Sheamus is going face too. People have been sporadically cheering him for a year or so, and I really look forward to a series of slugfests between those two big hosses.

From the E-Feds to Reality: Team Tremendous

The Good Prof definitely was the best teacher

Note, this feature's too young to reboot. SORRY.

For those who don't know, TH is an e-fed enthusiast. Even in years when he wasn't watching wrestling, he was still e-fedding. He ran several characters in several feds at a time at his peak, but now, he resides only in Empire Pro Wrestling with one character. Still, he's handled and seen a ton of characters. Some may work in the real world, some may not. This is one of those characters from the former.

Names: Professor Tremendous and El Tremendo, Team Tremendous (handled by Dan West and Bill Dempsey, respectively, described by some as the Lennon and McCartney of e-fedding... funny, they're both still alive and neither have been rumored to have died either)

What's Their Deal: Well, I'll describe both of them in detail in a bit, but they're both crackpots. Like, major league, real deal, lying, cheating, stealing, disingenuous and yet preeminently hilarious shysters. Prof T was, as his name might suggest, a teacher, albeit in name only. He became more like a den father for a band of social rejects and the scum of the earth. EL Tremendo, meanwhile, was more like a crackpot luchador, like a fucked-up, comedic dynamo that found a lot of singles success after splitting from Team Tremendous and carrying on in a different fed.

Were They Successful in E-Feds: I'd say both their title résumés speak for themselves. They each won a bunch of titles, with the best of the bunch being Prof T's MBE World Championship.

Could They Get Over in Reality: It depends on where, actually. Both guys were known for raunchy humor at times and absurd humor at others. I'd imagine them as Santino if Santino weren't restrained by the WWE's usage for him. Of course, that begs the question, if Santino were turned up to 11 in terms of absurdity, would he still be over? Well, one thing's for certain... I'd probably still enjoy the hell out of him.

See, the Tremendous Ones were both guys I dug the hell out of. I'd go so far as to say Prof T may be my favorite or at least second favorite character of all-time, and El Tremendo is up there as well. I spent many a RP laughing my ass off at the scenarios painted out or the banter between Prof and his minions or the interviewer.

I guess that's where a lot of the charm with the Good Professor lay. He had minions, most of them being inept. With a personality as eccentric as Prof T's, the interplay between him and his minions was really the best. Tremendo didn't have minions though, but Bill was such a gifted writer at crafting really, really fucked-up situations and fleshing them out in the most humorous way possible. I really think they'd have cleaned up in a raunchier time in WWE. Then again, the key is raunchy. I'm not sure if either character would work in a neutered setting.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

This Week in DVR: Cobra Legs? Cobra Legs.

CROSSFACE CHICKEN WING!
Photo Credit: WWE.com

I watched what I couldn't live on my DVR and on the Internet. Here's what stood out:

Matches

SoCal Crazy vs. Freddy Bravo, Be a Star Television Tournament Qualifier, on NWA Hollywood - Fast-paced opener with a lot of really crisp moves. I really liked Crazy's running roll-up towards the beginning of the match. Bravo throwing a temper tantrum only getting a 2 count off his signature swinging cutter. Nice finish with La Mistica by Crazy.

Lucky Cannon and Tyson Kidd vs. Byron Saxton and Yoshi Tatsu on NXT - I thought this was a great morality play-cum-unintentional handicap match. Tatsu played the face in peril so well, and I liked the limb work from both heels. The chaos at the end was good from a storyline perspective. Entertaining faire.

Santino Marella vs. Zack Ryder on Superstars - This is what professional wrestling is all about. Okay, it's part of what wrestling should be all about, but man, what a fucking awesome match. The oneupsmanship at the beginning was more than amusing. Both guys worked the crowd like pros. I also loved the whole Cobra-to-the-legs spot, which was MADE by Ryder selling it like he pulled up lame. I kinda wished they had gotten a few more minutes, as the Cobra to end the match seemed a bit abrupt, but yeah, fantastic stuff.

Tyson Kidd vs. Trent Barretta on Superstars - Nice installment in their series of matches. I liked Armando Estrada's involvement too. Classic managerial interference. Anyway, a solid overall match, well-worth the Superstars main event slot.

Mickie James vs. Winter on Impact - A shining nugget in the sea of poop that was this week's Impact. I really don't like the whole Winter/Angelina zombie lesbian hypnosis angle, but hey, this match was good, a little stiff but well laid-out.

Cody Rhodes vs. Daniel Bryan on Smackdown - You knew this match was going to be here. Search your feelings, you know it to be true. Be that as it may, as unsurprising as it was that this was a standout match, it still should be expounded upon. This was a mostly strike-and-struggle based match, the kind of affair that Bryan excels at. I liked the surfboard attempt that Rhodes kept blocking. Rhodes landing his Beautiful Disaster kick right out of Bryan's Matrix-corner flip was really slick too. People might rag that Rhodes started tapping to the LeBell Lock way too soon, but I think it shows smart strategy by Rhodes. It allowed him to escape too much punishment so he could attack Bryan afterwards. Really good match.

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Heath Slater on Smackdown - A surprisingly solid match between two guys who are hit or miss for me. Slater bumped well, and what can I say, I like Zeke's bodyslam-palooza.

Sheamus vs. Mark Henry vs. Christian, Number One Contenders Match, on Smackdown - I thought this was a well-laid-out triple threat match by WWE standards. All three guys brought their working shoes, and the story developed nicely. I wonder if the finish of the match is going to play more into Christian's (unwanted) heel turn though, seeing as Orton RKOing Henry caused Lil' Naitch to hesitate just enough to allow Sheamus to kick out. Good stuff though.

Shows

NWA Hollywood - Solid week of television. Again, their recap of the Kaos/Willie Mack feud was top notch. Buggy wasn't even that offensive this week. Good stuff.

NXT - I'm this close from giving up on NXT again. Just dreadful, outside of seeing how the Maryse/Yoshi/Lucky/Saxton angle plays out. The only other thing that was worth watching, the Novak/Regal feud, died when Novak got eliminated. Maybe Season 6 will be better, but this right now feels reheated boring. Also, why was Chavo worried about waiting until the ref turned his back in the main event before he hit Titus O'Neil? It was a no-DQ match! Ugh.

Superstars - Three strong matches, and apparently, Tyson Kidd's managerial search will be an angle on this show for a few weeks. I guess we could do worse. The only way that might have improved the show is if Ryder and Santino got the main event slot with main event time. That being said, it's a minor quibble.

Impact - Impact opened with a match, an albeit boring one but a match, but on the surface it was different. Yeah, the next three segments undermined that. Wrestling matters, guys! I mean, I can't hate on the Disco Inferno/Ken Anderson segment enough. Seriously, let's have a segment with a guy who wasn't involved with Sting at all other than place of employment, use business exposing terms and have fake tension, ending with Disco blading... yep. The EY/Gunner and then ODB and Sky "let's call each other promiscuous bitches" segments afterwards were just as bad. But no, wrestling matters. Just a dreadful show.

Smackdown - Another solid episode. The opening segment followed a tired formula, but the participants, especially Sheamus here, made it work on an alright level. Although, if I were Christian, I'd be pretty pissed off at Teddy Long. He does the crowd applause thing to outright give Orton a title shot at him, but when he gets the same crowd response in the same test for a shot at Orton? Oops, #1 contenders match instead of outright title shot. Seriously, if anyone boos Christian for attacking Teddy Long if it finally happens, they should be kicked in the shins. Regardless of that nitpicky detail, I thought it was a good show. The wrestling was on point, and they got me interested in a full angle surrounding The Great Khali. That should deserve a Nobel Prize in some field... what would it be, literature? Peace? I say go with physics, since I thought it'd be physically impossible for me to care about a tall cripple with chest herpes.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!