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ABOUT

Wrestling. For fans, by fans, and starring a couple guys who have no experience whatsoever in the business. All of us are armchair bookers, some of us just take it to the extreme. So help us bring a different mindset to the business we all have loved for so long. As fans of the business since we were in grade school, we feel like we know what the fans mindset is lately. We come from different aspects of fandom. No matter what your personal preference is, WWE or AEW, NJPW or TNA, ROH or NWA, we have the news, thoughts and opinions on them all. We revisit classic matches, and talk about how we would change angles new and old. All fans welcome in here at SSP. An interactive podcast and blog where we connect with other like-minded fans of both classic and modern wrestling. "Sometimes, we hit the spot...most times, we're just a pain in the neck!"

About The Hosts:

"The One & Lonely" David Tucker

Favorite Match: As a spectacle, nothing will ever beat the Undertaker vs Mankind Hell In A Cell match from King of the Ring 1998. It may not be the most technical match of all time, but the pure crash and burn feeling of it is something that has not be replicated since.
As a pure wrestling match, my favorite match ever is Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels WM 25. The amount of chemistry they had in the ring was amazing. They showed everyone why they were two of the greatest to ever lace up a pair of boots.
Favorite Angle: The buildup and eventual title win of CM Punk at Money In The Bank 2011.

Worst Angle: The "return" of CM Punk after winning the title at Money In The Bank 2011 and The Summer of Punk.

I want to put these two as close together as possible, because WWE hadn't had nearly as hot of an angle in previous years as they did coming off the infamous pipe-bomb promo from CM Punk to John Cena. The buildup was outstanding, Punk was on his game, and Cena was the epitome of a babyface in his verbal spars with Punk and Vince. The Second City Saint's promos and reactions to Cena and Vince were outstanding. The overall tension of the angle, will he leave or won't he, will he leave with the belt, will Cena be fired was palpable. Money in the Bank comes, the crowd's overall heat with the angle was radioactive. The match they had was phenomenal. The Chicago crowd was red hot from the start. Punk wins and hops the barrier with WWE's biggest prize. I can't praise the program enough. And then...absolute crap. Listen, anyone can armchair book, but if you have a guy sign a contract in the eleventh hour, and no one else knows, you capitalize on it. If you "allow" your new top heel to leave with your companies most prized possession, in an angle like this that allows you creative freedom to do whatever possible to have your company explore new ventures, you fucking take it. You don't have the newly crowned heel champ come back 8 days later with only a "new contract" and a new/old theme. They could've had Punk do anything; show up on the indies, show up on different TV shows and build some heat, show up practically anywhere with the belt and make people fucking talk! Instead, Punk shows up at a WWE press conference at SDCC and then appears on Raw 4 days later. They successfully blow their entire wad within an 8 day span. 8 days! And how do they pay him back for signing that new contract? A long title run? A main event win at Summerslam? Nah, not in this WWE. Punk loses the title less than a month after winning it because of Kevin Nash. I'm a fan of Nash, but there was no reason for him to be involved at this point. Booking just gets worse from this point as he continues in a lackluster feud with Del Rio and Cena, and gets pulled from that to have a match against Paul Levesque, his words, not mine. He eventually gets the title back at Survivor Series 2011, but not before he has a crappy feud with Miz and Truth for beating him up in his Hell in a Cell match with Cena & Del Rio. The Summer of Punk came in like a lion, and went out with a whimper.

Favorite Wrestler: Mankind and Undertaker. No general reason, just always gravitated towards those two. Foley, as I began to trade tapes and watch his WCW and ECW stuff, called out to me. He was never the most athletic, never the most technical, but he could talk his ass off. He could make you buy whatever he was selling. And while he wasn't the most technical, he was willing to give every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears just to give people what they wanted to see.

Undertaker. As I get older and my views on wrestling change, the one thing that alwways was a constant to me was Taker. The way he changed flawlessly from the "Deadman" at the beginning of his career, to the Last Gunslinger type persona at the end was just something that no other performer could ever do. Recently watching they way he went out of the business was very surreal. Realizing that he was unhappy with his final few matches because he knew the fans had him on this pedestal was just mind blowing to me. I mean, this is THE UNDERTAKER we are talking about. Made me respect him even more.
Worst Match: Man. As a wrestling fan, we get subjected to a LOT of stinkers. But the worst match in my humble opinion would have to be The Rock vs Mankind in an I Quit Match at Royal Rumble 1999. This match is just brutally hard to watch. Something about the ELEVEN unprotected chair shots to Mick Foley's head while his wife and small kids looked on is just reminiscent of a mob death scene in the movies to me. I know its slightly hypocritical of me to state that Undertaker vs Foley is one my favorite matches and this match is the worst, but Mick Foley knew the insanity he was going to get into in that Hell in a Cell match. By all accounts, The Rock got overzealous with the chair shots and even though Mick's good will and good nature forgave The Rock, its still one of the toughest things to watch today.
Worst Angle: Two simple words. Katie. Vick.
Least Favorite Wrestler: As a Character, John Cena. As a Person, Alberto Del Rio.
Best Match You've Seen Live: Tyler Bate vs Pete Dunne for the UK Championship NXT Takeover Chicago. Crowd was scorching hot for this match. It was a match that no one expected to be nearly as good as it ended up being. Everyone thought the match, which was second on the card of five matches, was going to be a hard fought one, but no one ever thought it was going to end up being one of WWE's most well-received matches of 2017. Definitely one of my favorite matches of all time, and my favorite match I've ever seen live.

Worst "Match" You've Seen Live: Matt Hardy vs MVP Pizza Eating Contest No Mercy 2007. I had to put quotes on match, because while there was no winner, there were plenty of losers. Note to any fans or promoters, moments like this are slightly amusing for TV tapings. But in the middle of a Pay Per View, things like this are just completely meaningless. And this was at the same event as Batista vs Great Khali in a Punjabi Prison Match.
What Made You A Fan: Was a fan for sometime before I seen my first real Pay Per View, but when I watched my first PPV, I was hooked for good. Fully Loaded 1999, Austin vs Undertaker in a First Blood Match. I remember watching in 1998 & 1999, and having my mom rent me videos from Blockbuster. The first PPV I ever rented was Fully Loaded 1999, and from that point I was a fan. After that, I started renting more videos, and watching more wrestling at home and with friends. It all started with that one PPV though. Looking back, it was just ok, but it still holds a huge spot in my heart.

Ray Aviles
Favorite Match:Eddie Guerrero Vs Brock Lesnar No Way Out 2004. Being a huge Eddie mark, this was a no brainer. It was the ultimate triumph for a man who faced so many demons in his life. The moment he jumped into the crowd after winning still gives me goosebumps. The pure joy on his face after was magical. The match itself was also just a perfect Eddie match. It was a true underdog story that could not have been booked any better.

Favorite Angle: Kofimania, baybeeeee! Just a feel good story all around. After having all the odds stacked against him, he finally gets what he deserves. The championship nobody thought he would ever win, finally captured. A dream no longer but a reality everyone enjoyed. Just a shame how it all came to an end but that’s a story for another day.

Favorite Wrestler: The most obvious choice for me is Eddie Guerrero. The passion he had for the business is second to none. Even after being let go from WWE, the desire to turn his life around is truly been an inspiration to me even to this day. Nothing stopped him from climbing the mountain. His character work, his ring work, his promos I mean the list goes on and on. He is a true legend in the wrestling business and there will never be another wrestler like him.

Worst Match: With so many to choose from, I’m going with the first one that pops into my head. Alexa Bliss vs Bayley Kendo Stick on a Pole match. Just woof, this was bad and the pole stipulation should have never been a thing. Terrible from beginning to end. I honestly couldn’t even tell you who won, that’s how much I did not care for this match.

Worst Angle: Invasion angle. I know there are worse angles out there but this angle had all the potential in the world to be something great. Instead it was a big flop.

Least Favorite Wrestler: I’ll probably catch heat for this but my least favorite wrestler is the Ultimate Warrior. I’ll just say I find him very overrated and never really understood he appeal. His ring work was just not on par with the energy he had. I am not bashing anyone who likes him because I know how popular he is with everyone. So I’ll leave it at that.

Best Match: Pete Dunne vs Tyler Bate NXT Takeover Chicago. Energy of the crowd was on another level that night for that match. The ring work and storytelling from both wrestlers was just some of the best stuff I have ever seen live and it’s a match I’ll never forget.

Worst Match: John Cena vs Elias WWE Christmas Raw 2017. Even big match could not get a good match out of Elias, who they were obviously pushing to be a big heel. I only remember the bell ringing, falling asleep in my seat for most of it and Cena’s music hitting when it was over. Crowd was dead. So was I.

What Made You A Fan: My uncle and cousin were the first 2 people to show me this crazy world of wrestling back during the attitude era and I’ve been a fan ever since. Watching Stone Cold be a complete badass on screen is what really caught my attention. Then the beginning of Smackdown gave me the chance to watch weekly programming since I didn’t have cable as a child. I was hooked week after week. I would record every episode I could (sadly I do not have those tapes anymore) but those childhood moments of having me so invested in something like that is where I became a mark.