Suzuki and Liger have been feuding violently for most of the year. Suzuki is, on the surface, the furthest thing from Jyushin Liger it is possible to be, while still being a New Japan wrestler. They are, however, two sides of the same profession.
The Spectacle of Excess Posts
We must imagine Generico happy, no longer striving to impress audiences or wrangle opponents, no longer, we hope, hurting himself for art and entertainment. Sami Zayn is less lucky.
I’m pleased to present a great new find for our wrestling artist interview series! Steven Fain creates remarkable portraits of remarkable wrestlers—often in the bold medium of Sharpie on paper! Fain makes sure we know he’s an untrained (though I prefer “self-taught”) artist, but I say it takes great talent to capture such precise lights and shadows with one of these iconic but blunt, indelible markers with which I for one have messed up more…
Part 4 of the Road to R-Evolution: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Kevin uploads a new episode of his Weekend Escapades web series on January 1, 2014, covering the end of one year and the beginning of the next. It features the usual shenanigans: Kevin blearily explaining his next few shows in the pre-dawn dimness, filming Colt Cabana taking a shower, wandering around Chicago in the dark, admiring the Christmas lights of Muncie Indiana. Near…
The revolution is upon us, and I am so grateful for the first submission of AEW analysis to the Spectacle of Excess! Guest contributor Denali W. has taken a deep dive into the layers of story in the Double or Nothing Rhodes Brothers match. Take a look: All it took to sell this match to me was exactly four sentences from a four minute promo that I saw in gif form at the beginning of May:…
Yoshi-Hashi doesn’t have a lot of the things wrestling stars have. He’s not beautiful like Ibushi, or charming like Taguchi, or hard like Ishii. He doesn’t have the natural charisma or athleticism of Nakamura or Okada. He’s not comfortable on mic or powerful in his crowd work. He’s pretty awkward, usually, visibly anxious and vocal about being in pain. His shoulder is always taped, and unlike other wrestlers who wear sleeves or pads or black support wraps, he just wears tape. He’s open about injury in a way most wrestlers, pretending to be gods, aren’t. He’s a good wrestler, technically, but there are lots of good wrestlers.
[Content warning for discussions of suicidal ideation.] In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker arrives on Dagobah to begin his Jedi training. We see him meet Yoda, see him lifting objects and being lectured by his teacher, see him confront the apparition of Darth Vader. It’s implied that he’s on the planet for a month, maybe two. All this goes by in about 30 minutes on the screen; two months of Luke’s life compressed into…
It’s August, 2015, and it’s the go-home show before TakeOver: Brooklyn, the very first TakeOver to be held outside of Full Sail University. Kevin Owens–who will be gunning for Finn Balor’s title one last time before heading off to the main roster–comes to the ring to hype the match, and when he mentions Brooklyn, the Full Sail crowd erupts into boos and “Brooklyn sucks” chants. They’ve always been able to witness TakeOvers, the payoffs to…
Part 3 of the Road to R-Evolution: Part 1 | Part 2 When people talk to me about the wrestlers they love, one of the emotions they mention over and over is pride: a deep, suffusing pride. “When he looks out at the audience chanting for him and his face lights up, I just feel so proud of him.” “When she walks to the ring with that swagger, I’m just so proud.” “When they held…