I Am Old School

Yours truly discovered something out about himself this past week, and I would like to announce it to the whole world.  Yes, I, Julian Radbourne, at the tender age of 29, am most definately, OLD SCHOOL.  How did I find this out? Are we sitting comfortably, then I will begin. 

After Armageddon last week, I began to read the many reviews. These ranged from crap to brilliant. My opinion - it wasn't that bad.  I began to read the reviews of some of the matches. So this column doesn't go on too long, I'm only going to concentrate on three matches. 

One reader wrote that William Regal didn't deserve to be in the WWF, because he was boring and his wrestling style sucked.  Chris Benoit (of whom more anon) often reminds us that this is the World Wrestling Federation. William Regal is probably the best British-born wrestler currently doing the rounds, and right up there with Benoit and Malenko as far as technical skill is concerned.  As for him not belonging to the WWF? Give this man a chance! Regal's style may not exactly match the punch and kick or power style we seem to see a great deal of these days, but after a couple of years of hard times, he deserves his chance, and while I don't think he'll make it to main event status, I'm sure there's an IC title run in him. And besides, he's British after all! 

Next, to the IC title match. The same reader said that this match was also boring, that it lacked high-flying/cool moves.  While it was obvious that Benoit was carrying "The None" Billy Gunn throughout this match, Benoit put on another excellant display of technical skill, to, against my prediction, come out on top.  Although I have to admit that, after his push earlier this year, Benoit as IC champ doesn't seem quite right.  Now this is where I came to the conclusion that I am definitely one of the old school brigade. If I recall, the in-house fan reaction to these two matches was slightly muted. These were good contests. 

Now onto the match that everyone seems to be talking about, and its finish.  The Hell In A Cell match, for me, exceeded all expectations and it is now a front runner for the TSR "Match of the Year" award. I had my doubts about this match, and in our group discussion here last week, I offered no prediction, even though in the back of my mind, I knew Kurt Angle would win.  But it seems that everyone is saying that this match had a poor finish. I disagree.

Kurt Angle is, after all, a heel champion, and he won in a typical heel way - get/let someone else kick the crap out your opponent, and then get the pin and the glory yourself.  As I write this, two other WWF title matches in the early 90's, Warrior v Slaughter at the '91 Rumble and Flair v Savage just after Summerslam '92, come to mind. In both matches, new heel champions were crowned after heavy outside interference.  Kurt is doing what every other heel champion has done over the past few decades - taken a short cut to win.

While discussing this with my TSR Awards host, The Professor, he said that the reason I probably like wrestlers like Benoit, Malenko, Regal, and to a lesser extent, Angle and Jericho, is because I was brought up on a stable diet of Saturday afternoon, technically sound British wrestling.  Don't get me wrong. I'm not entirely old school. Austin is one of my all time favourites, and this year I became a keen fan of the Dudleys.  By the way, where can I became an honorary Dudley? We've had Big Dick and Sign Guy Dudley, why not Short Ass Dudley? Wait, that's been done already.

Where was I? Not being entirely old school. Well, as far as women's wrestling is concerned, I much prefer the eye candy we see today than what we saw about 15 years ago. British fans must remember Klondike Kate, an ugly, enormous mountain of a woman who could probably crush Lita between her thumbs. (Please don't tell her I insulted her because she's bigger than me!)

So, as far as my leanings are concerned, I would have to say I'm probably about 80% old school. While I enjoy seeing a good brawl or hardcore style match, I still prefer to see a great technical match, even if it is met with silence.

And now a few personal messages.....  A special thanks to Luis Tirado Jr., editor of the 2 Extreme Newsletter, who gave me some favourable feedback about my newsletter review column. In the next week or so, a special Two (Extreme) Sheds Review, one-off column will be appearing in his newsletter. Thanks again LTJ.

And a thank you to Nico (or Niko, I can't remember how you spelled it.) Your offer to write for your ECW website was most appreciated. Sorry I couldn't take you up on it. 

Finally, don't forget that the TSR awards, from the Anglia Court Hotel here in Cromer, sponsored by The Mads Timm Appreciation Society, and hosted by The Professor, will be coming your way around Christmas time.  Hope you enjoyed
this little installment from an old school point of view. 

Until next time...