Professional Wrestling [Archive] - Page 3

Pharaoh

08-09-2009, 08:11 AM

Now on to TNA stuff.

Go check out youtube and search for "TNA Riot" - the last episode of Impact had a massive brawl with a ton of wrestlers and if you missed the episode the brawl is fucking amazing to watch. More entertaining than anything on Raw.

If you happened to watch the entire episode of Impact you'll know that the whole thing was set up really well through the interview segment to start the show (World Elite and Main Event Mafia unite) and was totally logical from a storyline point of view.

At this point the newsletters are claiming that Jim Cornette was involved heavily with creating the "riot" and I think the word is being spread simply to trash Vince Russo.

With Dutch Mantel and Jeff Jarrett not involved in creative (Fuck Yeah!) Russo is in charge and is unchecked - which isn't really a good thing.

Savio Vega (a road agent) was let go (can't remember if I posted that or not yet) too since he was tight with Jarrett!!

The shit is hitting the fan backstage in TNA and if the last Impact episode is anything to go by then business is about to pick up.

Apparently TNA's creative team (Russo and who? Cornette? Terry Taylor? Tenay? Borash?) chose to build up 3 stars this month. Hernandez, which is a fine choice IMO and while he has flaws the dude could be a gold mine. Matt Morgan - again he has flaws but he could be huge. And Bobby Lashley - WTF? Dude is a part time wrestler and part time MMA fighter. Pick a full time member of the roster...

Anyway, TNA has done a damn fine job building those 3 and pushing Eric Young. It's no secret Sting is on his way out (contract expires and he's wealthy enough to walk away) and that Steiner, Booker and Nash can't last forever. We all know it's about time TNA built some stars and it appears they're moving that way... which is what Russo likes to do.

It won't be long before the Motor City Machine Guns are right in the thick of things either, since they were involved in the riot (who wasn't?) and apparently Russo is a mark for them.

Oh, and in other TNA news they signed Elijah Burke. He's gonna debut at Hard Justice ppv as the Black Pope - his own gimmick.

And finally TNA are in deep shit for taking the IWGP tag titles off Team 3D and putting them on the British dudes. The tables match ended when the distracted ref turned and saw Devon was lying on a shattered table and despite not seeing Devon go through the table the ref awarded the belts to Brutus Magnus and Doug Williams.

The New Japan company (their belts are IWGP, not New Japan? WTF?) is pissed because:

1) TNA did not consult them on the title change
2) Doug Williams actually wrestles for Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan (in other words - the fucking competition)
3) The match ending was shithouse.

Way to go TNA - actually it was probably Russo's idea...

Same old Russo - some great stuff, some decent stuff, some idiot stuff.

kdawg32086

08-14-2009, 12:29 AM

Rob Terry's invinceability continues. Based on how invinceable he is, how has he not squashed everyone else in the company and taken the title?

Darth Thanatos

08-14-2009, 12:36 AM

And he's only wrestled a total of like 5 minutes in the ring. This guy is a joke.

DennyMcLain

08-16-2009, 05:05 PM

LOL @ KURT ANGLE!!!

Angle charged with HGH possession

Associated Press

MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. -- Pro wrestler and Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle has been arrested on charges of possessing a human growth hormone and violating an order of protection in suburban Pittsburgh.

Angle was arrested about 7:50 a.m. Saturday in a Robinson Township strip mall parking lot. His girlfriend, who said she obtained a protection order about 1½ hours earlier after the two fought Friday night, alleged that he had circled the lot staring at her as she sat in a coffee shop, according to a police affidavit.

Police said they found the human growth hormone Hygetropin in Angle's car, and the wrestler told them he had a prescription for the drug. He also told officers he had not seen the woman and was looking for a hotel because he was barred from his home.

Angle, 40, was charged with violating the order of protection, harassment, possession of drugs and paraphernalia and driving with a suspended license. He posted bail and is scheduled to appear for a hearing Tuesday on the drug and harassment charges and Wednesday on the charge of violating the protection order, a court clerk said.

Angle, the current heavyweight champion of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, was scheduled to appear in a TNA Wrestling event Sunday night in Orlando, Fla. Steven Godfrey, spokesman for Nashville, Tenn.-based TNA Wrestling, declined comment on the arrest but said the main event between Angle, Sting and "The Blueprint" Matt Morgan would go on as scheduled.

Godfrey also said TNA has a drug policy in place for staff and performers, but he declined to release the details.

Angle's phone number is unlisted. Messages left for attorney Michael Santicola, who has represented him previously, were not immediately returned.

Angle is a two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion at Clarion University in western Pennsylvania. He won the 220-pound championship at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, defeating Iran's Abbas Jadidi for the gold medal, and has been a professional wrestler since 1998.

In September, Angle was found not guilty of drunken driving in Moon Township outside Pittsburgh. A motorist told police Angle had cut her off while leaving a bar parking lot.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=4402589

P, TNA is fucking imploding.

Pharaoh

08-18-2009, 07:52 AM

In actual fact Denny TNA is moving along very nicely.

The Angle thing is obviously not a good thing, since he's the Champ. Some will claim TNA should have him drop the title ASAP and suspend him or take him off TV. And I think they should.

At the next PPV I'd have him wrestle Bobby Lashley - get "injured" and pinned in the same match. He could sell a neck injury and people would buy it - he's already had 6 broken necks and never had the fusion surgery that Austin and Edge had.

Putting the belt on Lashley would give TNA some publicity since Lashley is doing MMA as well. Only problem would be if Lashley got beat in MMA while TNA Champion.

Which is why TNA should just bite the bullet and have Matt Morgan win the title at the next PPV. Angle gets time off and TNA elevate "The Blueprint" at the same time.

Backstage TNA is getting their shit together. Scott D'Amore is back behind the scenes and if any of you were paying attention a while ago he was the guy responsible for writing/booking the women's division when Gail Kim and Awesome Kong were the hottest act in TNA.

He'll help Vince Russo elevate guys like Hernandez, Eric Young and Matt Morgan and rebuild the X Division/Women's Division. TNA have used and abused their "Originals" long enough and with Russo and D'Amore handling creative I'm pretty sure the young guys will get their chance to shine.

Despite popular "smark" opinion that is one thing Russo has always done - promoted young talent. The Rock, Stone Cold and Mick Foley didn't arrive in WWF ready made. The creative team helped make them.

Does anyone remember Rocky Mavia, the cookie-cutter, cheesy ass babyface that had the crowd chanting "Rocky Sucks" while he was supposed to be the "good guy"?

Does anyone remember "The Ringmaster" Steve Austin, managed by the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase (Snr) and stuck at the bottom of the card?

Surely you guys remember the Mankind character that got super-over with the crowd?

Russo was in WWF for all of that.

WCW? Different situation due to the merger and certain talent having creative control in their contracts. But the record shows that he tried to use the young talent WCW had at the time. Maybe if they hired him before losing Jericho, Big Show, Benoit and Eddie Guerrero the company may have survived.

I always thought WCW should have developed a more MMA-like style given the restrictions the AOL/Warner people put on them. Certain storylines couldn't be done in case people got offended, but if you have a more "real life sports" show you don't have to come up with so many crazy stories cause you would have a ranking system and people would want to move up the ladder to get the gold....

But whatever.

Now that TNA has finished their Hard Justice PPV we should get a real look at what TNA can do with their talent under Russo. He's gotta build to their Bound For Glory PPV (their Wrestlemania) and I think he'll score a home run or 2.

Expecting a perfect show is too much - even Smackdown isn't all great.

Pharaoh

08-18-2009, 08:13 AM

Oh, btw - the ex-girlfriend of Angle is Rhaka Khan - the female wrestler!

Went from Karen to Khan!

Dude went from a sexy chick to what looks like a chick with a dick

D's Nuts

08-25-2009, 10:45 AM

Great, DX is back and now they are pandering to the kids of the WWE. What a joke.

I realize we have all said this about 100 times already but the product is too 'dumb' for smart fans. This PG bullshit is clearly not getting them anywhere. Vince did his best when it was the attitude era and went up against wcw. Call me when it gets exciting again.

Raw is a joke.

DennyMcLain

09-02-2009, 09:36 PM

Now that Hardy is :dismissed: from Smackdown for a while, suddenly here comes the old man, and SUDDENLY he gets a title shot. CM Punk needs to beat the Undertaker, and set up a Morrison/Punk showdown. THAT would be a fucking helluva PPV main event.

Pharaoh

10-24-2009, 07:50 AM

You guys can't update this without me?

Fuck!

Ok, where do I start?

WWE: Linda McMahon is no longer CEO - she's running for your Senate! Vince is now CEO but people are wondering if that will change since he's so focused on the wrestling product that he can't do the day to day business.

Shane McMahon has left WWE!!! He was on the corporate side and no one knows what his next venture might be. Even though everyone always knew Stephanie and HHH would end up running the show when Vince died Shane's departure is a massive shock because everyone just assumed he was gonna stick with the family business and be "Linda" to Stephanie's "Vince" (that would make HHH what? He does have a thing for man-like chicks = remember Chyna?)

On the wrestling side: Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes have been well positioned lately v DX and in segments with Orton, which will lead to DiBiase's face turn as already mentioned a while back.

Other things wrestling related with WWE? Nothing! They suck cause its the same old shit every fucking week. Still havent seen Bryan Danielson debut though. That will be interesting because over in...

TNA: Nigel McGuinness arrived and laid the smackdown on Kurt Angle! Nigel was supposed to sign with WWE but apparently failed his pre-signing wellness test and they told him to fuck off. So TNA signed him cause they don;t test for shit!

Anyway, McGuinness is now known as Desmond Wolfe cause Vince Russo is so fucking creative he did a google search for the most popular Bristish name and that's what came up!

Yep, that Vince Russo sure has talent!

The best thing about TNA right now is that they seem to have finally woken up and realised that even with all those old superstars from WCW (Sting, Nash, Booker T, Scott Steiner) and WWE (Foley, Angle, Rhino, Team 3D) the ratings have stayed the same forever. FOREVER!

So they are turning to the youth! FINALLY!

AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, Matt Morgan, Hernandez, Eric Young, Nigel McGuinness, The British Invaders, Motor City Machine Guns, Amazing Red and Abyss are all being pushed or soon will be and IMO it's about time.

If TNA actually improves it's ratings and buyrates Russo might get some credit but I doubt it. I'm guessing internet fans will use the "people wanted that for years" excuse.

In all honesty Russo has nothing to lose here. Ratings, buyrates and just the entire vibe around TNA with those old guys was "WWE-lite". By turning the show over to the youth he can create something different which is a good thing.

And really, how low will the ratings go? They've been hanging between 1 and 1.4 for the last 3 years for crying out loud.

Anyway - it's good to be back.

Glenn

10-24-2009, 03:11 PM

Which do you like more, wrestling or the Pistons?

Vinny

10-24-2009, 03:29 PM

Ted Dibiase? The million dollar man>??? He's not dead???

Pharaoh

10-25-2009, 07:46 AM

Glenn, how dare you ask me that.

I'd rather watch every single Piston game EVER than watch a year of Raw or ECW or WWE Superstars or Smackdown or TNA.

The "creative" teams in WWE and TNA must be living in a different world than the rest of us since they still book the shows like it's 1996-2001.

From the time WCW Monday Nitro (1996 IIRC) hit the airwaves and started to put real pressure on WWE the shows all do the same damn thing. Yet WCW died (it sucked for over a year before it's death) in March 2001!!!

So:
Why does WWE still give away PPV calibre matches on free TV?

Why are storylines moved along at such a rapid pace, with no "real" issue being fought over or surprises, despite wrestlers now only appearing on 1 "Brand" each week (with some exceptions)?

Why does TNA have cage matches, ladder matches and potential money making matches on their own taped tv show?

And people wonder why guys like Paul Heyman and Jim Cornette get pissed off and leave WWE/TNA...

Until someone like Heyman, Cornette or Eric Bischoff can somehow get power in TNA or somehow get maybe Ring of Honor upto a level to realistically compete with TNA and WWE the same old shit will happen and the wrestling business will remain at it's current flat level.

Only hardcore fans watch now. The people that made the "Monday Night Wars" ratings go through the roof (monday wrestling audience rating was around a 10!) have long gone.

And I dont see some "new" superstar like The Rock or Steve Austin on the horizon, especially with WWE being so scripted and plotted. TNA doesn't have the brains or the balls to help any guy reach that level and even if it did the majority of casual fans don;t even know TNA exists because they have no Brand recognition, no Brand awareness and a shit marketing/licensing/merch department.

Kevin Nash loves to tell the story that he gets asked by people in the street "when are you gonna wrestle again?" He laughs it off and tells them "next Thursday"

If I had any kind of position in TNA I'd be asking myself "WTF" and heading down to the marketing guys and kicking their heads in. With a talent roster that boasts Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Nigel McGuinness, Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, Team 3D, Chris Daniels, Abyss, Beer Money, the Motor City Machine Guns etc how is it possible this company can't get a better rating?

Simple answer: Fuckers don't know it's on and/or the creative team was/is stupid and turned TNA into WWE-lite.

BTW, Vinny - The Ted DiBiase I mentioned is the son of the "Million Dollar Man". And Ted Snr ain't dead. He, and many other stars from the 1980's managed to make it too.

Pharaoh

10-26-2009, 07:47 AM

If you ever wanna know what Jim Cornette really thinks of Vince Russo check this out:

http://www.jimcornette.com/Commentary.html (http://www.jimcornette.com/Commentary.html)

Glenn

10-26-2009, 08:04 AM

Is that the guy that used to carry a tennis racket around?

Timone

10-26-2009, 08:20 AM

Indeed.

http://www.therealmccoys.com/images/signed/wa01202.jpg

I think he managed both Vader and Yokozuna, too. Quite a resume.

Pharaoh

10-26-2009, 08:56 PM

Yeah, and he happens to be one of the better bookers in the last 20 years. Dude has been everywhere, seen everything and knows what does and doesn't work for a wrestling angle.

Unlike some other people...

Fool

10-27-2009, 12:14 PM

MoTwon?

Pharaoh

10-28-2009, 09:18 AM

Huge, Huge, Huge News:

TNA are gonna be working with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's legit.

And on Twitter's Trending thing today TNA got more searches than the NBA because of it!

Massive News!

Could be the beginning of the Monday Night Wars II!

That's how huge this could be

D's Nuts

10-28-2009, 05:38 PM

Except that TNA is on Thursdays when WWE has 0 programming.

Pharaoh

10-29-2009, 12:24 AM

And Dixie Carter, TNA's boss (even Bischoff can't replace the owner, unless he buys most of the company...) has stated numerous times they wanna go head to head with Raw.

The addition of Hogan gives them that huge name outside of wrestling to attract casual fans and old fans. He'll get them on the tabloid shows, get them the publicity they've never had.

I read a report that said Bischoff's production company has been hired by TNA to create more content. Maybe they have a show on Monday and Thursday like WCW used to have?

And I'm sure some people are gonna think "Death of WCW Part II" but this time there is no massive merger, no one telling them what they can and can't put on TV and they have some of the best in-ring talent in the World.

And keep this in mind. The dirtsheets are talking about the following people going to TNA:

Shane McMahon (just left WWE! They say "never say never" but I really can't see this happening)

Ric Flair (is at odds with WWE again)

Bret Hart (just said AJ Styles is "pound for pound the best in the World, or at least top 5" and that if he only had 1 more match he'd wanna wrestle Kurt Angle)

"Mr. Kennedy" Ken Anderson (is available to wrestle for anyone now that his 90 day no compete clause is up)

Rob Van Dam (is available to wrestle)

All except Shane have an axe to grind with Vince or WWE in general and have all except Mr. Kennedy have some real connection to Hogan/Bischoff (Flair and Hart in particular)

I wonder what this means for Booker T, who was written out of TNA at their last PPV? His contract runs out in November but he's tight with Bischoff.

And what does this mean for Vince Russo - it's no suprise that Hogan and Bischoff have serious issues with him.

Pharaoh

11-08-2009, 08:46 AM

Dixie Carter gave a speech to the TNA locker room prior to the last Impact taping (show aired last Thursday).

In no shock to me they actually taped her speech and aired it to start the show!

LMAO - how the fuck does that work into the "keyfabe" side of the business, the part about good guys v bad guys, grudges, hatred etc

You show all these wrestlers, refs, creative team members sitting there listening to her give the big "time to step up" speech and I'm just thinking "WTF?"

It's not like TNA is the Pistons and the guys are all working together to become the best wrestling company in the world.

They are for real - but you're not told that when you watch it. You're being told/shown that Samoa Joe is a sly motherfucker, that Desmond Wolf is attacking Angle to prove himself, that Rhino is crazy and believes managment wanna replace him with youth.

The people who approved the broadcast of the speech need to see a shrink UNLESS Bischoff is gonna come in and "break down that third wall that tries to make the fans believe".

He always loved to mix real life into stories. Maybe TNA are gonna do it again?

Fool

11-12-2009, 01:01 PM

Wrestling is owned by the chick from Designing Women?

Why the hell doesn't Meshach Taylor own every belt?

THE BOUVIER BACK BREAKER WILL FUCK YOU UP!

Pharaoh

11-13-2009, 07:48 AM

Wrestling is owned by the chick from Designing Women?

Why the hell doesn't Meshach Taylor own every belt?

THE BOUVIER BACK BREAKER WILL FUCK YOU UP!

LMAO

Although you're not the first person to make the "Designing Women" comment.

Technically TNA is owned by Panda Energy. Dixie is the boss' daughter.

Jim Cornette trashed TNA for airing her speech, called her a "money mark" and claimed that Russo and his cronies are taking her for a ride.

She ain;t bad to look at - I'd take her for a ride.

Glenn

11-13-2009, 10:49 AM

Wait, there are cronies in wrestling these days?

Fool

11-13-2009, 10:51 AM

Yeah, I wiki'd her and saw she got in on it because WWE was a monopoly and she figured she could make some cash being it's competitor.

Pharaoh

11-14-2009, 06:51 AM

Paul Heyman believes that TNA has only managed to survive this long because they took a look at Vince McMahon's market share (let's say 90%) and figured that if they could produce a similarly styled show that they could guarantee themselves "X" percent of the market.

And that's why TNA has always been WWE-lite, or the new/old WCW.

It will be interesting to see what they do with Hogan, if Bischoff has anything to do with the company in creative and if they try to change the business.

They better hurry up though.

Gabe Sapolsky (former ROH booker/current DragonGate USA dude) is teaming with Davey Richards (fucking great in-ring performer) to start a new promotion.

It's called EVOLVE and based on what their website looks like the promotion is gonna be treated as a legit sporting contest where wins, losses, draws and winning percentage mean something.

As usual the indys are gonna change the game and TNA or WWE will copy, much like they did with ECW. That said this "real sport" thing is not gonna work for WWE or any promotion that wants to feature high flyers.

The high flying is what makes a match look fake. Watch a Bourne movie and check out the fights - close combat, lots of fists, forearms, elbows. That's a real fight. Not some Shooting Star Press.

Pharaoh

11-17-2009, 07:36 AM

Well, TNA had their Turning Point PPV (Hogan still hasn't actually appeared for TNA due to Australian Tour)

After Carter's speech about stepping up, change and shit the 2 Main Events certainly did.

Desmond Wolf (Nigel McGuinness) v Kurt Angle was apparently extremely good, as was AJ Styles v Chris Daniels v Samoa Joe.

"Smarks" are whining that "casual" fans are gonna be pissed that they paid $35 for the PPV and Hogan wasn't on it.

I say the smarks are fucking morons. Those casual fans are the people TNA is trying to reach by signing Hogan. They come to see Hogan and (TNA hopes) they stay because the 2 Main Event matches featured some kick ass shit.

The casual fan has no fucking idea who Wolf is - but after the match with Angle they'd be impressed. Maybe some casual fans don't even know who the fuck Angle is - they'd be impressed after this PPV.

And those same casual fans would have seen AJ, Daniels and Joe put on quite a show (apparently). And when WWE has their Survivor Series headlined by Cena v HHH v Shawn Michaels this month any casual fan who sees both shows, or highlights of both shows is gonna see that TNA is offering a real alternative to WWE.

Here's hoping TNA continues to build momentum behind Styles, Joe, Daniels, Wolf, Morgan, Hernandez and others. It's about fucking time this company started to wake up.

Fool

11-17-2009, 10:01 AM

That sounds right. Hogan is the draw, not the show. If grampa is the show, you might as well shut it down.

Pharaoh

11-17-2009, 08:24 PM

Well, some of the internet fans are mental midgets and think they know the business better than the people in the business.

How can you bash a the #2 company when they sign Hulk Hogan and have a working agreement with Eric Bischoff?

The ONE consistent complaint about TNA has been that they're shit at marketing their product. The stories are crap/decent/good/great just like WWE but no one knows shit about the company or the wrestlers.

Internet fans have complained about that for YEARS!

So TNA finally does something to get publicity and the internet fans STILL complain?

WTF?

Stupid smarks.

FillyCheezeSteak

11-23-2009, 10:01 PM

So tonight on RAW I saw the preview for the straight to video release of The Marine 2 with Ted Dibiase so let me ask a stupid question. Does this mean that Dibiase will be the next guy to "get a big push" and is there something major in the works for him?

Pharaoh

11-24-2009, 09:49 PM

They're planning on "turning him face" - which would mean he's gonna become a good guy.

I'm guessing something will go down with Orton soon enough.

BTW, the movie is likely to be shit (big surprise)

And did anyone notice the blatant attempt to push some newer guys on that Raw?

People have only been complaining all year about WWE featuring the same old crew at the top.

Now that Sheamus has got the shot at Cena internet smarks are complaining he's not worthy! LMAO!

Dumb shits

Pharaoh

11-26-2009, 09:38 AM

Obviously I'm not following wrestling as much lately cause I simply don't care enough but...

While here in Oz for his "Hulkamania Tour" Hogan has been giving radio interviews and plugging him going to TNA to "run things".

He's claimed he's gonna fire the writers - I believe he means the whole show will not be scripted like a movie is. They'll go back to the tradional way with bulletpoints and outlines and stuff.

It seems that Hogan actually has some stake in the company, and he said as much when he acknowledged that in past storylines TNA has said people have shares or whatever (Foley/Jeff Jarrett) but they didn't and he actually does.

To WWE:

Obviously Vince McMahon pays no attention to TNA...

Which is why on Raw they had a "Break Through Battle Royal" for all the mid card talent that deserves a shot at the top. Apparently to qualify for this battle royal you couldn't have been a world champion - Mark Henry, Jack Swagger and Matt Hardy were in the match and all are former ECW Champions.

That's how you build a Brand, ladies and gents. Actually - no one gives a fuck anymore about ECW. Poor Christian, Shelton Benjamin and Steven Regal.

Anyway, Shaemus (sp?) won said battle royal and will face Cena for one of the World Titles at the next PPV, TLC.

Don't worry - this noob will not Main Event the PPV.

That spot goes to HHH/HBK as DX v JeriShow (smarks name for Jericho/Big Show, who are the Unified tag team champions) will be the only actual Tables, Ladders, Chairs match on the show.

If anyone wants to order that PPV the other matches at this stage =

Christian v Shelton Benjamin in a ladder match for the ECW "title"
Batista v Undertaker for the other World Title.

The Cena match is either a tables match or a "chairs" match.
The Taker match is either a tables match or a chairs match.

Who fucking cares?

TNA needs to go Live and bring Hogan out before January, when WWE starts to gear towards WrestleMania, Otherwise the little spike in publicity they got will have been forgotten

Darth Thanatos

11-26-2009, 02:23 PM

I actually like Sheamus and think he's a beast. There's plenty of noobs who get a title shot. John Cena back in his rapper days got a shot at Brock Lesnar's title...............and main evented the PPV! I don't think Sheamus getting a title shot is that huge a deal.

Pharaoh

11-27-2009, 07:49 AM

And that's why WWE has pushed Shaemus into this spot. He's the new Umaga/Kane type of dude that can go into the main event when they have nothing else brewing or they're in a holding patten.

But once WWE is gearing up for Mania (starts in January, kicks in come February) Shaemus will move back down the card.

BTW, it should be noted Shaemus is HHH's "boy" - Shaemus comes to work early, stays late, works out with HHH, picks his brain, spends time with the vets in order to learn etc

In other words he is exactly what WWE want in a young dude.

Jack Swagger hasn't figured it out yet.

Oh, and while Shaemus is getting this push keep watch on Kofi Kingston. He's actually getting the long-term build up that should see him win the Money in the Bank ladder match at Mania, if John Morrison or The Miz don't win it.

WWE's mid card is looking great right now - they just need to play their cards right and slowly move these guys into situations with the established main event players.

Tahoe

12-04-2009, 09:58 PM

OT but I watched the Mickey Rourke movie last night. It was damn good, but I'm a Mickey Rourke fan too.

Vinny

12-05-2009, 01:34 AM

OT but I watched the Mickey Rourke movie last night. It was damn good, but I'm a Mickey Rourke fan too.

Wow, so did I. Damn good indeed.

Pharaoh

12-05-2009, 07:32 AM

I haven't seen it - I have it, just haven't found the time.

Apparently he really deserves all the credit he got for that performance.

D's Nuts

12-05-2009, 05:32 PM

Smackdown was great this week. One of the better put together shows in recent memory. All great matches, built storylines, all seemed relevant.

Not like RAW where the guest host schtick is getting stale/old. Mark Cuban hosts this week. Maybe it will get better?

Pharaoh

12-10-2009, 09:05 PM

Cuban apparently went through a table! LMAO

I haven't read the review yet cause my pc just got fixed.

But BIG NEWS from TNA.

On January 4th, they are going head to head v Raw!!!

And you know they are gonna try to have a kick ass show, and while WWE doesn't acknowledge TNA as competition you can bet your balls they'll have some special shit for that show.

Pharaoh

12-11-2009, 09:02 AM

Here's another time when TNA and WWE will go head to head:

TNA and Spike TV released official details on TNA presenting four hours of Impact in two separate episodes on New Year's Eve (Thursday, December 31).

The two episodes will be titled "New Year's Knockout Eve" Parts 1 and 2. The first episode will air at 7:00 p.m. EST, then the second episode will air in the regular timeslot at 9:00 p.m. EST.

The second hour of the first Impact episode will be going head-to-head with WWE (http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TNA_News_1/article_37262.shtml#) Superstars on WGN, which usually leads into Impact on Spike TV.

TNA will then be head-to-head with WWE Raw on Monday, January 4 for the three-hour live Impact against Raw's first Monday night show of 2010. TNA will have a total of seven hours of Impact over a four-day period to end 2009 and start 2010.

Interesting time for TNA fans - what changes is Hogan gonna force on the company?

D's Nuts

12-17-2009, 04:37 PM

Bret Hart has resigned with the WWE. Contract runs from January 1st through April 10th I believe. Rumor has it that the contract stipulates that he will participate in 1 match. Let the wild rumpus begin!!!

Pharaoh

12-18-2009, 07:19 AM

IF Hart wrestles it will be vs Vince McMahon at Mania so Bret can get his "revenge" after what happened in Montreal, 1997.

Not long after Bill Goldberg legit kicked him in the head, which gave him the concussion that forced him to retire Hart suffered a stroke. Obviously it was years ago but the dude ain't getting any younger.

One last match may be what he wants. Or maybe Owen Hart goes into the Hall of Fame? I know WWE is doing a DVD on the Hart Foundation and since Bret and Jim Neidhart are the only 2 dudes alive part of Bret's deal might have been to oversee that?

Hart has always said he wants to preserve his legacy - and that means not pissing Vince McMahon off and every now and then working with Vince on certain things.

You gotta admit though - Hart appearing on RAW on January 4th would be a pretty big deal. And it can be easily accomplished:

The Hart Dynasty become the new #1 contenders to the Unified Tag titles on any Smackdown prior to January 4th.

On the January 4th RAW DX defend the tag belts against some bums and after DX win the Hart Dynasty come out onto the stage to issue their challenge...

Then they introduce their "Mentor" - Bret Hitman Hart!!! Crowd would go crazy, even though Hart would technically be the heel.

Then at the Rumble Bret helps the Hart Dynsaty win the tag belts (does something to Shawn Michaels which makes him get pinned) HHH and Shawn have heated words after the title loss and later that night HHH gets eliminated from the Rumble by Shawn.

On the next RAW HHH and Shawn have words/Vince blasts Hart for interfering in the tag match and costing HHH a title (it's already been acknowledged that HHH is Vince's son-in-law)

Hart tells Vince to go away. Vince gets in his face and is spewing all kinds of shit about Bret being past it, says something like "I should wheel you out the back and shoot you like a lame elephant" - which is something similar to a comment Hart said in the 'Wrestling with Shadows" thing.

Bret knocks Vince the fuck out. Some weeks later Vince can be in the ring trashing some other old timer (could be Jim Neidhart simply to keep the thing connected) when Bret comes out again. Vince calls for security but Hart just says he's there to issue a challenge. WrestleMania. Vince v Bret. The first and last time.

Obviously Vince accepts and it's on. Meanwhile...

At No Way Out Shawn Michaels would win the World Title in the Elimination Chamber and then go on to face HHH at Mania after DX breaks up and HHH goes back to being heel. HHH would pin Shawn to take the title but it wouldn't/shouldn't be the Main Event.

The Main Event would be John Cena v Undertaker in the other World Title match after Cena wins the Rumble. Can Cena pin Taker and end the streak?

Those 3 matches would certainly help WWE counter the UFC PPV in the same month and the Hart v Vince thing might actually get some old viewers back.

And if the ball got rolling on January 4th no one would be talking about TNA going head to head with RAW - all the talk would be about Bret Hart being back on RAW.

Pharaoh

12-18-2009, 07:39 AM

And since I'm in the "booking" mood:

TNA and 1 undercard storyline that could actually make people give a fuck about a dude they are supposed to be high on:

Jay Lethal (the dude that pretends to be Randy Savage) has an "Open" Challenge thing going on where he loses to old timers. Eventually people hope the pay off will be a match v Randy Savage where Lethal wins.

My question? Who the fuck will care about Lethal by the time you manage to get Savage into the story? Today's fan is not gonna care about Lethal if he loses every other week to some bum he's never seen or heard of. It will just make Lethal look like shit...

Unless you have Lethal only lose a few times. Instead of losing constantly why not have him cut some promos wondering about his losing streak, wondering if he really is capable of being the "Macho Man", wondering if he should find some other inspiration...

And have them play it up that as Lethal gets closer and closer to the end of his rope and is gonna go mental he starts to get "gifts" from "someone". All these gifts obviously reference Savage in some way.

At a PPV Lethal would be "scheduled" to meet the person sending the gifts. Everyone would think it's Savage... but it's really Lex Luger (connection to TNA is he is actually Sting's best friend/connections to Savage = Miss Elizabeth. What part he played in her death might kill this idea though).

Anyway - after seeing that it's Luger and not Savage Lethal would go fucking nuts and destroy Luger. After Luger gets his butt kicked Savage would come out on stage - do some pointing and shit and that's it.

The next episode of Impact would then see Savage and Lethal doing a promo in the ring, with Savage putting Lethal over. Then later on show them backstage shaking hands as Savage grabs his bag. To give a hint of something down the road you can then have Hogan enter the frame only for Savage to brush him off and walk away.

In my scenario:

Luger and Savage get a pay day (Savage would get 2 cause Hogan has more power than Sting lol), Lethal gets "put over" by 2 dudes that are pretty fucking famous, no one would remember the losing streak v old timers cause they'd be too busy talking about Luger/Lethal/Savage and you've planted a seed of a Hogan/Savage situation down the road if you wanna go that way.

And btw - don't be surprised to see TNA do a lot of "worked/shoots" now. Russo loves them and Bischoff believes they can be a big deal...

Which is why TNA is doing the Jarrett/Angle thing and involving Foley, Hogan and Nash in "shoot" style segments. IF TNA limit this stuff to backstage segments while AJ, Joe, Wolf, Daniels (and Angle) put on kick ass matches they might have a chance.

Being different from WWE IMO means having matches that last more than 10 minutes. With the in-ring talent TNA has they can afford to give these guys some time.

Pharaoh

12-30-2009, 05:53 AM

Bret Hart will guest host Raw on.... January 4th!

LMAO @ TNA. McMahon claims they ain't competition but here he is, pulling out the big guns. The only bigger guns than Hart would have been Austin and The Rock.

TNA is in for a major battle on January 4th. IF they get more than a 1.0 rating they should be over the moon

BTW: a link to a pretty detailed account of the Montreal Screwjob that basically changed the course of professional wrestling forever (which I may have already explained?):

http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/columns/125208/The-Piledriver-Report-12.23.09:-The-Return-of-Bret-Hart-and-the-Remembrance-of-the-Survivor-Series-Screwjob.htm

D's Nuts

12-31-2009, 01:26 AM

I haven't been this excited since I was 7 and got a Nintendo for Christmas. Bret Hart is on my Mt. Rushmore of wrestling. (The Rock, Stone Cold, Macho Man, Hart). RAW has been a bunch of doo doo the past few weeks so this should interject some life and energy into the mix. I hope they do this right and make it interesting. Knowing the PG nature of WWE now, it's probably going to be crap. Oh, crap.

Pharaoh

12-31-2009, 06:23 AM

Not really, at least concerning Hart's storyline. The guy was pretty vocal about the direction the WWE was going before Montreal. He's a PG kind of guy.

The only problem I see is: what if WWE creative blow their load with Hart in 1 night?

IF they have confrontations between Triple H and Hart, McMahon and Hart and then Hart and Shawn Michaels what comes next?

The amount of stuff Hart's return generates could last years, but obviously they're gonna get it to the final stage at Mania - that's a shame, but there are a lot of options.

I wanna see how WWE play it, and I wanna see what Hogan and Bischoff (you know he'll be involved in creative for Hogan's stuff) do in TNA to counter attack.

This ain't Nitro v RAW from 96-99 but it's probably the closest we'll ever get to that level.

DennyMcLain

01-01-2010, 11:21 AM

The best angle, IMO, would be news that Linda McMahon and Vince are having "differences", which leads to Linda abandoning the guest GM gimmick and installing Bret Hart as the permanent GM to get back at her husband.

Bret Hart "running" the show Vince is most proud of, and most closely associated with, would drive him up the wall. He wouldn't be able to bully his way around, like he did with Theo Long. Plus, he'd get to have his way with DX. But I'd write it that the only heel turn he'd have is with DX -- he'd be fair to just about everybody else. This would turn DX, and considering The Marine 2 is out (I'm waiting for DiBiase to turn and cause the end of Legacy), a heel tag team would be needed.

Pharaoh

01-01-2010, 08:55 PM

You won't see Linda McMahon on the show anymore. She's running for Congress or something and wants to distance herself from the WWE product (due to all the years in between the PG stuff aka the Boom Period/Attitude Era lol)

I think HHH needs to turn heel, especially now that Raw basically has no top line heel.

But with Hart coming in Shawn Michaels might be the best man for the job. In the storyline dating back to the last Mania:

Shawn Michaels lost to the Undertaker and then essenitially retired. He took odd jobs in a restaurant and was happy to stay away from the business... until HHH came calling talking about a DX reunion. Shawn agreed to return...

And now the run around with Hornswoggle, acting goofy and generally being silly.

Is THAT what Mr. WrestleMania came back for? Is THAT what an ICON should be doing? Running around acting stupid with DX?

McMahon also said no to his rematch with Taker.

So, in storyline you could have Michaels get fed up with the goofy shit and announce that the loss to Taker is eating him up inside. He's won world titles, won the Grand Slam in the WWE, he's done it all and he's the fucking man and now he's gonna do everything he can to beat Taker.

Even if that means helping McMahon "get" Bret Hart ... again.

That's an interesting turn - since Michaels wouldn't exactly be a heel.

He's just a man willing to compromise certain morals to get what he needs - a rematch with Taker.

But I have ZERO faith in WWE to book that in an interesting way. It's all gonna be simple, basic, formula so the PG audience can understand it.

Pharaoh

01-04-2010, 07:26 AM

January 4th is here boys.

Possibly the first and last time TNA v WWE.

Here's hoping for some really good shows with some sweet suprise "guests".

Rumoured for TNA = Scott Hall, Sid Vicious, Ric Flair, Rob Van Dam, Shannon Moore (one of these things is not like the others lol) and the return of Angelina Love.

Apparently WWE will have the Smackdown brand's Hart Dynasty on Raw (I wonder why?) and some Diva who's name escapes me right now

Very interesting night in store.

Enjoy

Pharaoh

01-04-2010, 08:08 PM

First shots fired by TNA tonight.

During the UFC show prior to Impact they have been doing cut aways to the "Impact Zone"

Shown so far?

Scott Hall and Sean Waltman (X-Pac)

Shannon Moore and .... JEFF HARDY!

Hardy is still facing drug charges but his mere appearance is HUGE!

Pharaoh

01-05-2010, 04:48 AM

I'll break down the whole 3 hour Impact later but...

Appearances included:

Jeff Hardy - HUGE surprise. Just fucking HUGE!

Scott Hall & Sean Waltman - expected but still good

Ric Flair - probably qualifies as a big surprise.

Eric Bischoff - like Flair was a big surprise to see him on camera

Sting - big surprise to see him on the show. Thought they over-did it.

Apparently AJ Styles v Kurt Angle in the main event was pretty fucking good based on all reports I've read.

Now, no matter how good you are any 3 hour show is gonna drag but TNA really delivered some serious surprise appearances and their main event match was top notch so that's AWESOME for TNA.

The only problem for them now is what they could do to top it if they get another LIVE Monday Night slot next month or the month after?

Dixie Carter has lots of coin, and so do some of the wrestlers but they'd have to get people like Ken Anderson, Rob Van Dam, Paul Heyman, Randy Savage, Lex Luger to appear if they wanna "top it".

In saying that they really don't need to top it. TNA should have got a lot of people's attention now. If you are gonna watch wrestling then why not TNA?

Pharaoh

01-05-2010, 07:50 AM

I'll break down the show tomorrow but right now:

I think TNA over-did it with the old stars and veterans.

Did we really need Val Venis (aka Sean Morley) there to play poker with the chicks?

Did we really need Orlando Jordan there to interact with D'Angelo Dinero (Elijah Burke)?

Did we need the Nasty Boys on the show at all?

The Hall, Waltman, Nash, Hogan, Bischoff thing is just awesome. A lot of history there. That was needed.

Flair on the show? Not needed but awesome. I wish he had some interaction with Sting, whose appearance in the rafters is so 1997. (Much like Hart v HBK lol). But Flair on the show anywhere is good.

Hardy arriving is kind of like Lex Luger's arrival on Nitro's first episode - in all honesty there isn't a "bigger" star than Hardy to bring in to wrestle regularly (provided he gets off the drug charges.

TNA fired a lot of shots and made some noise. Good for them.

Not happy Desmond Wolf got beaten... kinda weird.

On the WWE side Hart and Shawn Michaels actually hugged! Never thought I'd see that. And Vince McMahon "turned heel" on Hart by kicking him in the nuts to close the show.

The rest of RAW was just the usual shit except a segment with Hart and Jericho. Jericho is fucking money and has been for the past 12 months+. And during that time he's had ZERO World Title wins. Vince McMahon is a fucking idiot and needs to wake up.

Maybe TNA wakes Vince up a bit and WWE starts to book their shows better. They have the talent. Creative just needs to be creative lol

BTW, Bryan Danielson wrestled in the "dark" match on Raw v Chavo and won. This may or may not mean he's getting a TV debut soon. If they want a guy that can actually wrestle than Danielson is the man. They have a lot of options with him depending on what they wanna do.

The teacher vs student thing is easy (he was trained at Shawn Michaels' school) and would result in awesome matches plus would elevate Danielson straight away. But fuck RAW.

I think TNA won the first round - even if ratings won't reflect it

Darth Thanatos

01-05-2010, 02:16 PM

I think they should put him on Smackdown and have him feud with either CM Punk or the now exclusive Chris Jericho.

Fool

01-05-2010, 03:05 PM

Glenn

01-05-2010, 03:21 PM

Does anyone actually buy that TNA actually stands for "Total Nonstop Action"?

Sincerely,

We The Fans of Detroit

Fool

01-05-2010, 03:34 PM

Does anyone actually buy that TNA actually stands for "Total Nonstop Action"?

Sincerely,

Wayman Tisdale Fans of Detroit

Fixed.

Pharaoh

01-06-2010, 02:26 AM

Isn't it What The Fuck, Detroit?

As for the politics, think about it like this: Internet fans, the real hardcore die hard critical motherfuckers (smarks lol) search everywhere for every little piece of backstage gossip they can find and there are newsletters full of 2nd, 3rd or 4th hand "information" on backstage politics, future angles or real life shit that someone could read if they wanted to. And naturally over time a lot of shit leaks out or is brought up in interviews long after the fact.

Now think about this: I only know what I know through dumb luck. I don't and have never subscribed to any newsletter and have never actually belonged to a wrestling fan forum. I have read a few different ones at different stages but I never frequented them like I do here.

The sheer amount of politics in wrestling is fucking crazy, though it's a product of the business. Your opponent holds your future in his hands each and every night - not just through looking after your body and not injuring you but in how his promo treats you, how he bumps for you and how he responds to your big moves.

The booker/creative team has a major say in that, but so does the road agent/producer (who is an extension of the creative team/booker) that handles your match.

In the end though the match is where it counts. And your opponent could be booked to beat you in 3 minutes but he can still make you look good during that time frame.

Anyway,

HHH is known for basically shitting on his opponents in his promo - which is rather odd. IF you are about to square off with a dude why downplay his ability to beat you? If you win (and HHH always does) then good for you, dickhead - you beat a bum. But if you portray your opponent as someone good, someone skilled and someone capable of beating you then when you DO win it makes your victory seem so much bigger/better...

Am I right?

Of course I'm fucking right.

Pharaoh

01-06-2010, 02:34 AM

And Darth - Danielson v Punk or Jericho would be sick. Danielson v Morrison or Rey Mysterio would be sick...

IF WWE gave them 20 mins on PPV and didn't punish them for stealing the show....

Did you guys know that does actually happen? God (or HHH) forbid you get too over. If you do not bow down to HHH, HBK and certain players backstage you will be dealt with.

At least Taker is willing to wrestle the younger dudes and sell for them. HHH wants to crush everyone that is not part of his circle (jerk)

Timone

01-06-2010, 05:08 AM

P has completely won me over with these write-ups.

I've never watched rasslin' (except for the Hogan cartoon in the 80's). I will never watch rasslin'. But I like reading P's breakdowns of the politics of it all.

Agreed. I haven't given a shit about wrestling since like 03, but I can't help but view this thread and see what Pharoah has to say.

Pharaoh

01-06-2010, 05:35 AM

Well, thanks guys and to keep it rolling:

Here is my "gimmick/character" for Danielson... he's a wrestler.

That's it! Amazing, right? Completely creative!

He simply walks to the ring with ZERO music (at least in the beginning), picks apart his opponent limb by limb and then scores the pin. He then gets up, wipes himself with a little towel and walks to the dressing room.

They can have backstage segments with him where they ask what his goals are, what his plans are etc and he just says "I'm here to win matches and win titles - I don't care who I have to beat - I will. I am the best wrestler in the World". That kinda shit

The towel thing is "cool" if he's a heel cause it could be his big fuck you to the crowd - "here take my sweaty towel, you fucks".

If they wanna use him as a "face/hero" then he could wipe the sweat off him and give it to chicks in the crowd (planted at ringside) who would act like he just licked thier clit.

Obviously there is a reason I'm not a fucking booker but I think there are enough "nuggets of gold" in that idea for someone to actual use that idea for a gimmick.

TNA or WWE should hire dudes to search internet forums for ideas - I once spent a week or 2 reading a "Be the Booker" thing where a guy booked WCW (WCWTrio Ownership) for 2 or 3 years and it was awesome to read how the story unfolded.

Hire that guy to write shit - he couldn't possibly do worse than what we get now

Pharaoh

01-06-2010, 06:08 AM

I was gonna review the 3 hour Impact but right now I'm too tired to do it so here is the first hour snips from 411's review and then my take on it:

X-Division Steel Asylum Match

Featured Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley), Homicide, Kiyoshi, Consequences Creed, Jay Lethal, Amazing Red and Suicide.

Brooke Hogan is front row ringside.

Rating: ** The ending was bullshit, Homicide was embarrassing, but the action before that was good and Hardy was the biggest shot fired so far.

Hardy climbs the Asylum and and poses, Ravenesque, on top of the cage. And yes, Orlando was singing along with that crap song. That had to be an audible once they talked Hardy into signing, no way was that the planned finish all along. Right?

Jeff is shown backstage with Shannon Moore. We now get clips of a motorcade with Hogan's limo. Yeah I'm sure Hogan gets police escort.

Christy is with Nash. Talks about money and Hogan and putting the band back together.

Knockouts Title Match: Tara © vs. ODB

Winner, and NEW Knockouts champion: ODB via pinfall (schoolgirl with tights...and crack)
Rating: * No No No TNA. This is not how you start the biggest show in your history, unless you're TRYING to look bad before Hogan comes out and saves the show.

Tara hits the Widow's Peak post-match and then puts the spider on ODB!

FLAIR! FLAIR IS HERE! He goes into AJ's locker room.

Christy is interviewing fans. Foley shows up and although he has been barred he's still going to try and get in. He fully understands why they don't want him on the show, but he understands the significance of Hogan coming to Impact, and he promises to be on his best behaviour. Security won't let him in and he doesn't kill them? OK...

Bobby Lashley is out with Kristal or however she's spelling it this month. Please God don't give him a live mic. The crowd goes mild. Well, Kristal has the mic. Tonight is the biggest night in TNA history. Bobby wanted to come out and send a personal message to Hogan. She says Bobby is a star in MMA and wrestling, and nobody can match him. She then calls wreslting fans inbred toothless degenerates and animals who get what they want while men like Bobby have to make their way. Wow, effective heel turn. She says Lashley is asking for his immediate release from his TNA contract, because they have better things to do.

Velvet Sky tells the camerman to follow her, and what he sees might melt the camera. I love you camerman. She says the show is all about the ratings, and people want to see...poker shows, according to Lacey. Velvet takes 2 cards and Lacey wants 5. Yeah anyway, the upshot is that they're playing strip poker. Fuck the rest of the show, STAY HERE. DAT AZZ...CUBED!

Back from commercial and we have more shots of the motorcade.

Scott Hall and Waltman are background discussing everyone who's coming in. But wait! They can't come in! Security says they're not on the list! Hall chokes out a bitch but the other security goons break it up. If they brought those guys in just to show that they wouldn't be signed, it's a great move.

A second limo pulls up next to Hogan's and someone gets out of it and into Hogan's.

Hall and Waltman are in the Impact Zone. ANOTHER commercial. They MUST be bringing Hogan out at 8:58pm. Apparently TNA is the #1 trending topic on Twitter right now.

So, 2 matches and both were shit and a lot of stuff crammed into that hour when RAW wasn't even on the air. I'm guessing they did it to "catch" RAW viewers and keep them.

ODB beating Tara for the Women's title is stupid, considering she's a southern trailer park sterotype and TNA should be moving away from a regional feel.

The arrivals of Hardy and Flair in the first hour are fucking massive and should have grabbed everyone by the balls. Hall and Waltman at that point are just added extras, cause after seeing Flair and Hardy they should have hooked viewers before RAW even started.

So IMO at that point there was no need to show Hall and Waltman. Should have saved them for a bit later.

Lashley's heel turn is blah/blah for me cause the guy has no fucking personality and is just a big dude. Probably gonna lose the wife eventually, as all real life marriages end cause of wrestling lol He needs to act like a cunt as a heel and he'll get over. Plus if he smashes some dudes in rapid fire style like Goldberg used to do it would help.

Good idea bringing out Hogan before the top of the hour - they got him out there before RAW started with Bret Hart.

It looks like a great hour for TNA. Big surprise guests, an important title change, Lashley turning heel, Foley unable to enter the building, Chicks playing strip poker, the Steel Asylum (while crap is different to anything WWE has) but FUCK!

You had approx 45 mins to show WWE fans you don't present the same weak shit they do and that's what you give 'em? 2 matches that were just shit, short clusterfucks and a bunch of stuff flying at them thick and fast and you don't have time, as a viewer, to digest anything at all.

It's one giant segment orgy going on.

Is any of it good? Yeah - most of it. The arrival of those big stars is a massive key to the battle for TNA as they'll draw viewers (short term). The Lashley heel turn could be huge if done well. The Foley and Nash bits could result in some long-term storylines that should be interesting. And Flair might end up being AJ Styles mentor or some shit (which wouldn't make sense but would certainly help AJ go Global)

But Russo and whoever else wrote this shit has a serious pacing problem. As the writer you need to give the audience time to think about what just went down, what it means to that character and where it could lead.

What are the consequences of what just happened? TNA's answer? Who cares - we got more important stuff to show you.

Switching to some other massive angle/segment just makes the viewer forget what just happened and focus on this newer, important segment. Shit gets lost in the shuffle.

Fuckers need to lay off the speed and slow the fuck down. Of course I've been hoping for that for a while now and TNA hasn't delievered yet - why would Hogan, Bischoff, Russo, Nash etc be any different?

Pharaoh

01-06-2010, 06:40 AM

BTW, I found the link to that Be the Booker thing I just mentioned.

For those that wanna check it out (103 pages and still an on-going story) here it is:

http://www.wrestlingforum.com/booker/211904-wcw-2001-trio-ownership-103.html

The guy posting it obviously has a lot of time on his hands and loves wrestling and if you can breeze past the replies and just read his posts it's a damn fine thread he's created.

My whole thing is: If fuckers like this dude can write segments, matches, behind the scenes stuff for his "dream" promotion then why can't fuckers who get paid to write come up with good shit?

I honestly believe that you guys could name ANY 2 wrestlers or tag teams and I could come up with a decent story outline in under 5 minutes.

Shit, I'm sure you guys could too.

Now ask yourself why the fuckers at WWE and TNA can't manage to do that?

The answer? Politics! Who is over with the crowd is not as important as who is popular backstage, who has powerful friends, who is a good boy and who is viewed as a "problem" because they actually care about the business and make suggestions about their character "too" often (Matt Hardy - I'm talking about you. Tweet this, you fucker).

Look at a guy like CM Punk - he's over like a motherfucker because he's new and different and what's he gonna do on Smackdown? Save a fan? Make him become "Straight Edge"?

Punk should be holding a World Title, main eventing every Smackdown show and winning 20 minute matches against Bryan Danielson, Rey Mysterio and John Morrison because "he lives the Straight Edge lifestyle, which means he's better than you"

Instead Undertaker v Batista is on again, maybe with little Rey thrown in to make it "new and different".

Get fucked.

God I pray TNA don't blow this chance.

FillyCheezeSteak

01-06-2010, 11:35 AM

I watched the majority of the TNA show and it was definitely a nice change from WWE, but that Steel Aslyum is the most horrible idea in all of sports. The concept is great, but you literally couldn't see shit the entire time and it was rough on the eyes and not the best way to start a show. Concept gets an A, construction gets an F.

Pharaoh

01-08-2010, 05:27 AM

In the aftermath of the TNA show Hogan has stated that the Steel Asylum will be put to death. They wanted to do some big bump off the cap (I'm guessing a Jeff Hardy Swanton Bombo onto Homicide or someone else) but it couldnt happen cause Homicide couldn't climb the cage.

His stock likely dropped a thousand points, but in all fairness to the dude it looks like it would be hard to climb. These guys don't even use the cage that often (I think this was the 3rd time or something).

Probably would have been better doing an Ultimate X match - but you wouldnt have the visual of Hardy doing a big move off the structure so that's why the cage was used.

Pharaoh

01-08-2010, 05:39 AM

I was gonna post the final 2 hours of Impact and then review it but fuck it. Heres the best I could be bothered to deliver:

So, WTF? They started off the 2 hours v RAW well enough - Hogan, Hall, Waltman, Nash and Bischoff in the ring = a ton of history and a lot of stuff that needed to be said.

Sting being in the rafters at the end of it was crap though and not needed. It just reeks of cramming as much shit in as you can to create interest when sometimes less is more. Sting being there was pointless, though some might say it adds to the anticpation factor. I disagree - at that point a simple cross to the commentators being stunned and shocked and all that shit would have been a smarter move and allowed viewers to digest the NWO reunion.

I like the fact they played on Hall and Waltman's "demons" - both have been to rehab for drinking. Hall even had that gimmick at one stage in WCW when "worked shoots" were all the rage. I also like how they played off the "we're older and wiser" part with Hogan and Bischoff in particular playing to the crowd and home grown TNA talent that the mistakes of the past won't be repeated. Time will tell but it certainly played well to the Orlando faithful, who were hot all night.

Ripping up the format (breaking the fourth wall) IMO was for all the smarks out there and was meant to be symbolic - "We're taking over now and everything is gonna change". To the casual fan or people who haven't followed wrestling for 5 years or so it was a "WTF" moment that didn't really mean much or have the same impact. Some would have been asking "What's a format?"

The problems for TNA in these 2 hours began as soon as that segment ended - a ton of people would have switched to RAW to see Bret Hart and his confrontation with Shawn Michaels. And TNA should have anticipated that and if they wanted to use Sting he should have come out after the NWO segment and talked about the past as well. Instead TNA booked their women's tag title match and I guarantee they lost people to RAW right then and there.

The were gonna lose viwers regardless, but you don't wanna present something "less than" what the WWE present. Either put on a quality wrestling match or hit them with another promo from a legend like Sring or Ric Flair. It was a poor move and even though the chicks may have put on a decent match (better than a WWE divas match) that point doesn't really matter. The object of the game was to steal viewers from RAW and keep them - Sting, Hardy or Flair in that segment would have at least made people think twice about switching channels.

Shit - Angle, Foley, Jarrett, Joe, AJ or Wolf would have done a better job keeping the audience than the women simply because WWE has trained fans not to give a fuck about the women unless they're half naked.

After that we're on a downhill slope as Val Venis shows up (why?), we spend time fucking around with the Nasty Boys (why?) and Foley before Morgan and Hernandez win a squash match. WTF is that shit? Wasted time again. Then TNA give D'Angelo Dinero promo time where he downplays Desmond Wolf (stupid move) and then Orlando Jordan (why?) pops up. TNA then proceed to take all the momentum built up behind Desmond Wolf and flush it down the fucking toilet by having D'Angelo Dinero score a pin on him cleanly!!!

What a fucking moronic use of air time. TNA hurt one of their top tier stars (Wolf) and wasted every other second of that period by using has-beens and never-beens (and Morgan and Hernandez lol). How the fuck is that possible? They have been building to this show for weeks and that's what they came up with for that period of time? Why? Why? Why?

So after wasting the better part of 30 or 40 minutes TNA then have Rhino found laid out backstage (he's a heel - fans would be happy he got smashed) before we get an interview with the best in the business right now, The Champ AJ Styles. But wait - he only gets 10 fucking seconds before Bischoff comes in to drop the bombshell that AJ v Angle will be the main event tonight (he ripped up the format, remember?) And was Bischoff mocking AJ with the little hand clap thing or what? You don't do that to your #1 gun. That's just stupid.

AJ is really TNA's secret weapon in all this - the guy can put on awesome matches with every fucker you can think of. He has produced quality matches v Daniels, Angle, Joe, Morgan and Abyss. That's every kind of opponent, gents. That skill is hard to find and it's that skill that seperates him from 95% of the WWE roster.

Anyway - they wasted most of their 2nd hour on shit, even though it went up against RAW head to head! Morons!

The second hour v RAW (third hour overall) kicked off with Jarrett in the ring talking about being the Founder and hoping to push young guys before he gets cut off by Hogan talking shit to him! Who's the bad guy here? Jarrett for starting the company and giving a ton of people a chance (despite never even threatening WWE) or Hogan - the guy bringing in all these old fuckers in order to have a shot at competing with WWE (even though they will likely keep the young guys down?) Shades of grey is nice - but this is getting recockulous.

They did what they could with the segment and it likely accomplished what they wanted (Jarrett is now just a wrestler, likely has a problem with Hogan and support from certain TNA wrestlers vs the Hogan crew) but I just think it was stupid to go in that direction. The crowd was pumped for Jarrett too - so Hogan came off as the bad guy - not a wise move by TNA there.

After Jarrett we get a very short interview with Christopher Daniels and he gets shafted so they can focus on Foley getting into the building! So the 2 guys that put on a classic at their last pay per view show (AJ and Daniels) get screwed on promo time. Smarks everywhere complain - claiming it's a sign the "great wrestlers" will get pushed down the card for the "entertainers". LMAO - maybe AJ and Daniels got almost no promo time is because they're not great on the mic? Maybe their promo time was kept to a minimum so they wouldn't be exposed? Couldn't be - if you believe the smarks. Wankers.

That's why I don't frequent wrestling forums - fuckers bash everything even when there is likely a reasonable reason for it. AJ and Daniels don't get much mic time? Must be because Hogan's gonna push them to the bottom! WRONG! It's cause Hogan wants to protect them and knows their strength lies in the ring, not on the stick. Whatever...

In case you didn't catch Hardy at the start of the show they get him on camera again - good move IMO. He was the 2nd biggest face in WWE for the last 12 months and sells a ton of merchandise. Then we get Samoa Joe v Abyss and it doesn't turn into a clusterfuck of weapons, bullshit and bums running in to provide interference! That's great. Joe looks like a tough fucker for making a big guy tap out so rumours of him not being "well liked" by Hogan and Bischoff might be wrong! WOW!

We then get Lashley's wife talking shit and Bischoff looks like he don't give a fuck - maybe "Uncle Eric" isn't gonna be a heel after all. Or maybe Lashley isn't all that good to begin with? Then we find Beer Money (the best team in the biz for the past 12 months) laid out backstage. That likely sets up something with Hall, Waltman and Nash. It should. Then the Nasty Boys break in (arrest those fat fucks)

Finally we get a Kurt Angle sighting - and he's intense. He's gonna beat A.J for the title tonight! Maybe, maybe not. I wouldn't put it past them to switch the belt tonight - it wouldn't do Styles any good though - losing to any former WWE star on this show is a bad idea.

Hardy and Moore with big yellow envelopes - did the envelopes contain contracts or not? The suspense is killing me... mot. They're on the show - so they must have signed something already. The Nasty Boys trash Team 3D's locker room! So 3D are important enough to have their own locker room but they aren't on the show? Why not? They'd fit right in with all these other old timers and are a team everyone would know ...

Who cares about Team 3D? We've got AJ v Angle for the title in what could be the best free TV match you'll see this year. These 2 are awesome, know what they're doing and quite simply can put on a match to rival anything WWE can put on IF they're given the time (20 minutes). And tonight they put on a show, delivering when they needed to most. This has got to boost AJ's stock with Hogan and Bischoff, right?

Hogan comes out - puts over AJ and Angle as the best in the World before we end up backstage to see Foley get his ass kicked by Hall, Nash and Waltman as Bischoff looks on. Hogan arrives and .... tune in next week.

The last hour was pretty good but the middle hour was shit. WTF were they thinking? Not my problem - let's see what happens next before I kill it.

BTW, ratings are in for Impact:

Impact's first hour = 1.69 rating and 2.5 million viewers! That's the most watched hour in history. Pity they didn't do a better job in that hour then, hey...

The second hour slipped to 1.44 but featured the most-watched 15 minutes in TNA history for Hogan's segment (got a 1.88)

The second hour DID also featured the least-watched segment of the show with a 1.16 quarter-hour rating at the end of the hour (featuring Pope vs. Desmond Wolfe and an A.J. Styles interview) opposite the start of Raw's DX vs. Chris Jericho (http://www.wtfdetroit.com/l) & Big Show tag title match.

Impact's third hour slipped even more to a 1.22 rating. They peaked for the final 15 minutes (during the Vince/Hart showdown! WOW!) with a 1.30 rating for the end of the Kurt Angle (http://www.wtfdetroit.com/l) vs. A.J. Styles match and the Foley/NWO/Hogan thing.

So, they "technically" had a great night. I think their highest previous rating is a 1.3 or something so every hour hit that or came close to it. TNA will claim they "won" the battle simply by being there. They're right but when you consider that the numbers actually fell during the course of the night you can see they didn't do enough right to keep people interested or away from RAW.

Obviously you can't load every single segment with hot shit otherwise people will think you're booker is on speed but certainly there were things TNA could have done better, or differently in an effort to present to a wider audience that they are "different than" WWE.

All things considered though this could lead to them going live every single Monday Night! If that happens then things will really get interesting.

Fuck! How long is my 2 hour review? It'll take 2 hours to read it.

Pharaoh

01-08-2010, 06:00 AM

Just read Vince Russo's facebook blog or whatever you wanna call it:

http://www.facebook.com/notes/vince-russo/bischoffhogan/242376117444

Which brings me to Monday night. On record here I will say that I have NEVER worked on a show any harder then that one you witnessed on Monday night. That show was being crafted for 6 weeks--every, single day of the week. We never stopped--NEVER. We tweaked, and tweaked, and tweaked until we couldn't even tweak anymore. We ran young Matt Conway, the junior creator of our staff--into the ground--he will never be the same again. Ed took time away from his elderly parents, who need him more than anything now--and I took time away from the thing I love most--my family. We didn't come up one, single day for air--not one. Eric called me on Christmas day--not to exchange pleasantries--but to work--and he did the same New Year's day. IT NEVER STOPPED!!!

6 weeks?

And that's what you guys came up with?

Russo, Ferrera, Hogan and Bischoff - the guys at the top of the creative food chain during the NWO/Attitude Era "Boom Period" took 6 weeks to book that show!

Fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mind-boggling stuff, folks. Mind-boggling

Pharaoh

01-08-2010, 06:02 AM

Good to see that apparently Hogan/Russo/Bischoff can work together.

Many "experts" wondered if Russo would be the first dude fired.

Pharaoh

01-08-2010, 06:12 AM

Rob Van Dam's take on Monday Night:

http://www.robvandam.com/

I’m sure that wrestling had it’s highest ratings in awhile so that’s good and TNA must’ve had their largest viewing audience. Many people have told me that they were glad I wasn’t on Monday night. I don’t think that I feel more inspired to return than I did before Monday, for that matter. I do hope that public interest in wrestling does grow as it would be good for everybody...except that guy that tried to blow up that airplane in Detroit. He’s fucked!

Pharaoh

01-08-2010, 07:12 AM

Bischoff's tweet:

http://twitter.com/EBischoff

Had a blast Monday night. Been as LONG time since I have felt this way about the wrestling business! Thanks to all who watched. More to come

Apparently there are talks of TNA going Live every Monday Night - Kevin Nash said it on his twitter account and it's been thrown around a bit in the last 24 hours.

Unlikely they move out of Universal though - it's simply more cost effective to shoot there.

AND in other news for TNA rumours are swirling that 2 stars will be appearing on their January PPV.

Most people are talking about Angelina Love and Ken Anderson (Mr. Kennedy - they can't use that name) as the 2 most likely people.

If it is those 2 that's awesome news for TNA.

And has anyone noticed there is nothing to report with WWE? It's just same old, same old with them.

I guess it's gonna take more than 1 night for Vince to worry about anything.

Consider the following:

Hogan, Bischoff, Flair, Foley, Hall, Nash, Jarrett, Russo, Ferrera and Raven have a massive amount of experience booking wrestling.

At one stage or another those guys (along with a few others in TNA) have either had the book themselves or been extremely tight with the head of creative.

The amount of knowledge those guys could bring is huge. The only question is if they can manage to come up with tha ONE storyline that the general population (non-fans) can get into.

Cause with all this bullshit floating around about the new Monday Night Wars one simple element has been forgotten about the previous Monday Night Wars:

WCW and WWE both had ONE single storyline that the general public could get into and identify with.

WCW had the New World Order attacking the establishment (and Bischoff has stated it was his vision of WCW v the tradionalist view that made the NWO angle what it was)

WWE finally woke the fuck up after 80+ weeks of getting smahed and came up with Austin v McMahon - the employee v the Boss.

IMO unless WWE or TNA come up with a great storyline for the right character that the general public identify with this will not result in another BOOM

Pharaoh

01-09-2010, 04:53 AM

Mick Foley has a blog on TNA's own site:

http://www.tnawrestling.com/content/view/1857/84/

If I had one fault with the show, it would simply be that there were so many big things happening, so quickly, that I'm not sure our television audience had a chance to digest and appreciate all of them. Hopefully, we will find a way to make the most out of all these big surprises in the upcoming weeks; to continue the momentum that Monday afforded us, and to keep that buzz going

Pharaoh

01-09-2010, 04:56 AM

Former WWE star JBL blogs on the death of Steve "Dr. Death" Williams, who died from cancer.

In the blog JBL writes about the death of so many young wrestlers:

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=194176253533&topic=13659

MikeMyers

01-10-2010, 09:46 PM

Used to be a huge fan between 97-99 and then it went downhill fast. It was nice to have competition and thats when ECW was legit. That was some crazy wrestling. These dudes would go at it in high school gyms and all the matches were hardcore. Then it went out of business and WWE bought it and its all commercialized. I also enjoyed TNT with NWO and WWE had Stone Cold and the Rock. All of them had their good spots but I liked WCW better because it had the old timers. Have no idea whats going on now since I haven't watched it in 10 years

Pharaoh

01-10-2010, 10:52 PM

Used to be a huge fan between 97-99 and then it went downhill fast.

You caught the beginning of the end of WCW and the start of WWE's best years.

The WWE started producing shit around 2002 and it's been downhill ever since.

It was nice to have competition and thats when ECW was legit. That was some crazy wrestling. These dudes would go at it in high school gyms and all the matches were hardcore. Then it went out of business and WWE bought it and its all commercialized.

ECW was not ONLY about hardcore wrestling. They featured "quality wrestling" matches before WCW thought they'd steal the idea and call it the "cruiserweight" division . Guys like Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Rey Mysterio and Chris Jericho got their first real North American exposure in ECW.

WWE and WCW would constantly steal ideas from ECW (though Bischoff actually claims he never watched ECW. Maybe he didn't, but someone in WCW did and they stole a lot of stuff from ECW)

WWE "stole" the Dudley Boys and started doing TLC matches because of ECW. Dudes started going through tables left and right, Steve Austin drank beer after matches (The Sandman did it in ECW before and after his matches long before Austin left WCW).

Once ECW went out of business
Jamie Keller (?) killed WCW's tv timeslots on TBS and TNT (Bischoff had a group ready to buy WCW and keep the tv timeslots but Keeler killed the deal and WCW was then worthless to everyone except WWE )
the WWE become a publicly traded company

and that was that - WWE stopped pushing the envelop and played it safe so they didn't offend shareholders.

I also enjoyed TNT with NWO and WWE had Stone Cold and the Rock. All of them had their good spots but I liked WCW better because it had the old timers. Have no idea whats going on now since I haven't watched it in 10 years

LMAO (you'll find it funny in a minute)

Last Monday Night Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels shook hands and hugged after discussing the Montreal Screwjob from 1997.

And TNA (a company Jeff Jarrett and his father Jerry founded after WCW was killed) went head to head with Raw for the first time. The big story in TNA? Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman (XPac/Syxx) in the ring together.

So Mike, get back into it and start watching - cause it's 1997 all over again

Pharaoh

01-29-2010, 08:18 AM

And now for a very brief update cause I wanna be fair to TNA and WWE and see where all their plans are going as we head towards WrestleMania (you know TNA are gonna wanna do something massive before it):

After Hart came back to WWE and had his thing with Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon TNA decided to do an Orlando Screwjob EXACTLY like Montreal but involving Angle and AJ Styles with Hogan in the Vince role.

TNA has Earl Hebner (ref from Montreal - so it is connected) ring the bell and cost Angle the match! LMAO - Earl just said on Impact that Bret didn't screw Bret, Vince didn't screw Bret, Shawn didn't screw Bret - Earl screwed Bret and he screwed Angle!

LAME! But hilarious that TNA would get Earl to step up and try to claim "heat" from Montreal in an attempt to "weaken" WWE's big storyline.

And if that isn't the desired goal then I have no idea why TNA did the screwjob for.

TNA is kinda weird right now due to the changes being made thick and fast and the show trying to roll on. WWE is playing the waiting game (which sucks, let's play hungry, hungry hippos) until after the Royal Rumble where some shit will go down that leads to Mania.

In another month or so the pictures in both companies should be a lot clearer.

Pharaoh

02-01-2010, 08:11 AM

Way to go WWE - Edge won the Royal Rumble and "no" website I read thought he'd be in the Rumble in the first place.

I'm certain many will claim that they thought Vince McMahon would do this... and I'll call bullshit right now.

Firstly all the hype about WrestleMania has been about Shawn Michaels wanting to face The Undertaker again (please don't do that) or it's been about dudes wanting to win the Rumble so they can wrestle for a World Title at Mania.

With Edge as the winner it kinda throws out all stroylines. It prevents a Michaels v Taker match, or a Batista v Taker match or maybe even a Cena v Taker match (how quickly everyone forgets the Tombstone piledriver Taker gave Cena for no reason at the end of a Raw last December or November)

Edge winning also means that if he doesn't challenge Taker then he's gonna take on Sheamus. WTF? Is that a WrestleMania main event?

Fuck No!

But a WrestleMania card of Edge v Jericho for the World Title, plus Shawn Michaels (representing Bret Hart) v Triple H (representing Vince), plus Undertaker v Cena plus Randy Orton v Ted DiBiase in the RAW title match and Money In The Bank could be huge.

And easy to get to:

Edge v Jericho is already set up (except Jericho ain't Champ...yet). due to their tag team last year before Edge got injured. You simply have Taker lose the World Title in the Elmination Chamber and have Jericho hold it for a bit.

Reward for Jericho's brilliance over the last 2 years and an easy way to get the belt off Taker without him being pinned.

Edge would obviously win the belt at Mania but not in the Main Event...

Michaels v HHH is easy to do too, since Michaels eliminated HHH from the Rumble. A popular theory is that WWE will somehow work McMahon into it since HHH is the son-in-law, have Bret get involved and then have the DX partners face off before Michaels leaves for months on end again.

Cena v Taker would see Cena either end the streak (the old loyal company man man losing to the new loyal company man) or we could see Cena lose, shake Taker's hand and then we don't see Taker for months on end again.

Cena wouldn't really suffer from the lose - he needs time off for back issues anyway...

Which is why WWE finally breaks apart Legacy, but with Randy Orton turning "face". Orton can win the title at No Way Out in the Elimination Chamber (both titles changed hands there last year) and then on Raw Rhodes and DiBiase can demand their shots.

Orton refuses, since he won it without their help and it was actually Rhodes' interference at the Rumble that cost him that match. So Orton tells them to fuck off, at which point the 2 attack him. He would have to take the beatdown too - no one should save him.

Then as we head from No Way Out to Mania have Rhodes and DiBiase attack Orton at random times. Have a guest host put Rhodes and DiBiase in a challenge situation to see who gets to face Orton at Mania. DiBiase wins the challenge (beats Evan Bourne faster than Cody did lol).

Before Mania you can have Rhodes v Orton, which naturally ends up with Orton getting beaten down again. Anyway, it leads to DiBiase v Orton at Mania.

Shaemus? Fuck him - put him in Money In The Bank to catch the dudes doing crazy ass stunts. Evan Bourne should be in MITB just to do crazy shit. Christian, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, Mr. MITB Shelton Benjamin, R Truth and Punk's sidekick can make up the numbers too.

Christian would win it, or maybe Kofi - depending on "racial discrimination" cases pending lol

Other matches?

IC Title between Morrison and Drewey
US Title between Miz and MVP
Women's clusterfuck

and the real main event: C.M Punk v Bryan Danielson!!!!

How do you get that? Simple - Punk does his alter call, Danielson comes out of the crowd "to be saved". Punk wants to shave his head - Danielson grabs the mic and rants on Punk being full of himself, "your way ain't the only way. I live clean but don't preach whatever" etc and it's on.

Pharaoh

02-01-2010, 08:24 AM

And if Mania went down that way you have:

Orton as Raw World Champ

HHH, Miz, Shaemus, Rhodes and DiBiase are the heels on RAW

Kofi would be the Jake Roberts kinda "face" - wrestling dudes before they battle Orton.

On Smackdown Edge is Champ

Jericho, Punk and Batista would be the top heels

Morrison and Danielson would bump for the guy that's gonna challenge Edge

And Christian has the MITB briefcase so you could have ome fun with the Edge/Christian "relationship" from their tag years plus on ppv's you could have Orton and Edge interact, playing off their Rated RKO heel team and "how times have changed".

Simple seems to work pretty well IMO - and this shit is too easy

Pharaoh

02-02-2010, 09:25 AM

Well, after Raw it looks like Cena v Batista is gonna involve Hart and McMahon...

So who faces Taker?

Possibly HShawn Michaels, since he's "losing it".

OR WWE could have a triple threat with Shawn Michaels v Taker v HHH!

It's different than last year's match ... but Taker still has to win in the end. His streak is too valueable to waste on guys already in the main event scene.

IF Taker loses to anyone it's either Cena or some young dude that could really use it to springboard from "star" to fucking legend ...

Like CM Punk - but he ain't getting that much love politically to get that kind of push. Shaemus is but if they did that the crowd would riot. lol

DennyMcLain

02-04-2010, 05:12 PM

Shatner was off the hook on Monday.

Also, I'm getting really sick of these so-called "guest hosts". Shatner is batshit crazy... has been for some time.

Pharaoh

02-05-2010, 08:12 AM

The guest host thing is gonna continue for a bit longer - at least up to Mania.

There have been reports of The Rock coming back to "guest host" but Rocky has said he wants to do more than that.

Anyway - here's a quote I found on a wrestling site that shows you the difference between TNA (suprise! surprise! surprise!) and WWE when they're firing creatively (suspense):

There is a distinct difference between 'suspense' and 'surprise', and yet many pictures continually confuse the two. I'll explain what I mean.

We are now having a very innocent little chat. Let us suppose that there is a bomb underneath this table between us. Nothing happens, and then all of a sudden, 'Boom!' There is an explosion. The public is surprised, but prior to this surprise, it has seen an absolutely ordinary scene, of no special consequence. Now, let us take a suspense situation. The bomb is underneath the table, and the public knows it, probably because they have seen the anarchist place it there. The public is aware that the bomb is going to explode at one o'clock and there is a clock in the décor. The public can see that it is a quarter to one. In these conditions this same innocuous conversation becomes fascinating because the public is participating in the scene.

The audience is longing to warn the characters on the screen: 'You shouldn't be talking about such trivial matters. There's a bomb underneath you and it's about to explode!'

In the first case we have given the public fifteen seconds of surprise at the moment of the explosion. In the second case we have provided them with fifteen minutes of suspense. The conclusion is that whenever possible the public must be informed. Except when the surprise is a twist, that is, when the unexpected ending is, in itself, the highlight of the story."

D's Nuts

02-11-2010, 10:27 PM

Pharaoh

02-12-2010, 08:36 AM

Rock looks to be coming back over the course of the summer. How awesome would it be to have him as GM of RAW for 3 months?

Also, decided to tune into TNA tonigh for shits and giggles. Hogan apparently has the ship going in the right direction. Promos have been decent, good matches, interesting.

Also, WWE letting Mr. Kennedy (Anderson) go is the dumbest thing I have seen since the Shockmaster.

Apparently Rock wants to do something different. Something new and edgy and more like the old Attitude Era. This rumour has been going on for months and Rock keeps mentioning it in interviews so he must be coming back.

IF he comes back it will be awesome. He wouldn't come back for "shits and giggles" - he'd only do it if it was "right". And summer will be the perfect time cause I expect Shawn Michaels and Undertaker to take their usual time off.

TNA? I'm giving them time to work through some shit but it does look promising. I just wish they didn't have the "throw a tonne of shit at the wall - some will stick" attitude.

I still don't know why a more realistic approach to the "sport" hasn't been attempted. Sure, you could still have the same cast of wrestlers and/or characters but if you are gonna "pretend" it's real then take that to it's logical conclusion:

Bad guys would do everything in their power to get in the good graces of a GM/Authority figure and would team up with other bad guys in an effort to attack and "injure" the good guys. Some weird "friendships" would form, simply because of the mutual benefit.

How those friendships play out gives you a ton of stuff to write/play with as time moves on while also allowing you to position your Top 5 good guys in peril.

Because let's face it - the hero is only a hero if he has to overcome massive odds to win the day.

Otherwise who cares?

Beating a heel 1 on 1 is easy. Beating him, his girlfriend, his best buddy and his paid bodyguard? That's impressive.

That's why heel stables are the shit, why they work 99% of the time and why the guy who plays Superman (Hogan, Sting, Goldberg, Steve Austin, Cena) end up being bigger than Andre the fucking Giant.

But "creative" wanna get creative with things and take stories every which way until it defies all fucking logic.

Oh, and in Vince McMahon's defense Kennedy had been injured a lot and nearly crippled Orton in is first match back. Orton was pissed and since Orton was/is one of the top dudes Kennedy got fired.

Check out that Raw episode when WWE did their Lakers v Nuggets thing. That was the match

D's Nuts

02-16-2010, 12:51 PM

TNA officially moving to Mondays March 8th. Every other week will be live.

Last ECW tonight with a new WWE NXT starting next week. It will follow 8 developmental wrestlers who are paired with veterans to show them the ropes. More reality based and behind the scenes look. Sounds interesting.

FillyCheezeSteak

02-16-2010, 08:51 PM

That does sound intriguing. I think i would definitely watch that and see how they pan out.

Pharaoh

02-17-2010, 07:52 AM

The main event match of that March 8th Live episode of Impact will be .......................

spoiler alert

Hogan and Abyss v Flair and Styles!!!

Ending should see Abyss pin Flair or Styles pin Hogan. Nothing else! That would be a huge statement IMO

Anyway:

They've done a good job building The Pope, Wolfe is still in the mix and Ken Anderson is right there too. That's fine with me. I could do without some things on Impact but I'll let it slide for a while.

And LMAO at the NXT show: It was announced that "Pro" The Miz will "mentor" Daniel Bryan (aka Bryan Danielson aka American Dragon aka Best Wrestler in the World)

Imagine the message boards!!! Smart marks ("smarks") all going crazy claiming Miz has no fucking right to mentor Danielson.

Newsflash: Danielson's look is horrible. He is THE vanilla midget Nash, Hall, Shawn Michaels, Sean Waltman and HHH used to talk about.

His in-ring ability is amazing, outstanding etc but in order for people to wanna pony up their hard earned to see you in person, buy your shirts, purchase a PPV with you headlining people need to connect with your character.

And you can't get your character "over" if you suck on the mic (AJ Styles I'm looking at you). The ability to create/sell your character to the fans is the single most important part of the business.

They can teach you to wrestle, or kind of wrestle. Especially if you're a heel. But no one can give you the charisma that The Rock has/had or the believe-able character of Stone Cold Steve Austin (or Goldberg).

DrRay11

02-17-2010, 12:20 PM

too stupid; didn't read
kidding i just don't care

Glenn

02-17-2010, 01:05 PM

"Styles"? as in "Furious Styles"?

Pharaoh

02-18-2010, 06:56 AM

"Styles"? as in "Furious Styles"?

GD - I have no doubt whatsoever that Mola could cut a better promo than A.J Styles.

I also have no doubt that if Mola wanted to become a wrestler (and portray a heel like Randy Orton) Mola would be more over with a crowd than A.J Styles.

People need to understand that pro wrestling is a business like any other. Certain things work because it's the fucking way it's gotta be.

Case in point? Dudes that use the the high flying or "technical" style, are of a "smaller" size than the main event level wrestlers (aka AJ Styles, Chris Daniels, Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Jeff Hardy) get over with the crowd based on their in-ring performance...

in the beginning! It's been that way forever and will always be that way. However, it is possible to rise above the "being over" level and get to Main Event status like Jeff Hardy and CM Punk.

Punk is brilliant on the mic and can cut a killer promo, even in today's dumbass PG WWE. He is a rare talent.

Hardy? He's not rare IMO. The guy spent years nearly killing himself in the ring with his moves and fans loved him for it. They bought his merchandise so often that he was at one time 2nd only to John Cena! The love he gets is the Mick Foley love - the "we love you cause you nearly died for us" love.

But Hardy can't cut a good promo. He sounds forced and is just a fucking joke on the mic. Styles has better mic skills!

Yet Hardy is over like a motherfucker, his fans buy anything with his likeness and has even main evented a WWE PPV despite being on his last chance with the company due to drugs and being such a small dude.

A.J Styles? His pretending to be Ric Flair. Blame TNA "creative" or whatever but if Styles had balls, had any kind of creative instinct or had any idea of his wrestling character then this shit wouldn't have happened.

He should have straight up said to Dixie Carter, Hulk Hogan and Eric Buischoff: "Fuck No - I ain't no heel. I'm the good boy. I'm Luke Skywalker. And Abyss is my Darth Vader".

Abyss as a crazy killing machine is better than this retarded Abyss. Model Abyss on Big Van Vader's run from WCW and it's a winner.

D's Nuts

02-27-2010, 05:43 PM

Did anyone watch WWE NXT?

I thought it was pretty interesting. It's still wrestling but they pair rookies with pro's. Miz has Daniel Bryan (Brian Danielson) and I thought they stole the show. Jericho and DB had a match and Jericho worked him pretty stiff I thought. DB tried a dive through the ropes to Jericho outside but Jericho caught him and slammed him into the announce table. Pretty sick welt on his ribs. I thought he might have broken a few but WWE didn't say anything other than bruising.

DennyMcLain

02-27-2010, 08:10 PM

I find it amusing how McMahon believes nobody is watching any wrestling but the WWE brands. Is he that dense to think NOBODY knows who Bryan Danielson is? Or, does he simply not give a flying shit?

Pharaoh

02-28-2010, 06:11 AM

Did anyone watch WWE NXT?

I didn't, but apparently it got better ratings than ECW ever did.Not surprising since Vince took a beloved hardcore promotion and turned it into shit pretty quickly.

I thought it was pretty interesting. It's still wrestling but they pair rookies with pro's. Miz has Daniel Bryan (Brian Danielson) and I thought they stole the show.

Which was the whole point.

This show is designed to get the next group of "young" stars over with the audience before they move on to Smackdown or Raw. WWE believes the new guys have suffered due to the fact the audience doesn't relate to them in any way.

And the name of the game is to be loved, or hated. Indifference is the kiss of death.

WWE could have helped the young dudes with vignettes like they used to do or with more mic time but this is far more interesting...

Jericho and DB had a match and Jericho worked him pretty stiff I thought. DB tried a dive through the ropes to Jericho outside but Jericho caught him and slammed him into the announce table. Pretty sick welt on his ribs. I thought he might have broken a few but WWE didn't say anything other than bruising.

Stiff implies Jericho took liberties. I doubt that happened. I believe you mean "tight". Tight means they worked like Benoit - up close and personal.

Danielson is a world class worker - quite possibly the best in the world (which is a huge, huge statement considering Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle still wrestle). He's like Benoit. Jericho would have loved facing him.

Anyway, apparently the show has a couple of other dudes that could be big stars - one looks a little like Cena. I haven't seen it though.

BTW, it's not known how a wrestler wins the show yet. And regardless of who wins the "contract" for Raw or Smackdown (wouldn't they have 2 winners? 1 for each Brand?) you can guarantee that at least 3 of these guys makes it to the main roster after this.

Which is awesome. It's about time WWE did something new and fresh.

Pharaoh

02-28-2010, 06:21 AM

I find it amusing how McMahon believes nobody is watching any wrestling but the WWE brands. Is he that dense to think NOBODY knows who Bryan Danielson is? Or, does he simply not give a flying shit?

Of course Vince and his cronies know people will know or find out who Daniel Bryan is/was.

The idea isn't to erase Danielson's past - they're acknowledging the Indy scene in general for the first time ever and have rarely, rarely acknowledged any other company at all.

But for him they're making this huge exception, because he is/was THE biggest indy star in the business. So they'll fill you in on his abilities and reputation in time.

(I'm waiting for them to acknowledge or mention that he was trained by Shawn Michaels. Not sure how much HBK trained him but Danielson did "graduate" from Shawn's school)

The name change is simply to copyright his career. WWE will own every single thing he does as Daniel Bryan - good and bad. If he pulls a Brock Lesnar or a Jeff Hardy on them they can claim that it just goes to show a great indy wrestler doesn't = shit in the WWE.

If Shawn Michaels, Triple H and The Undertaker like him he'll likely be pushed to the moon.

And every internet smark is dying to see CM Punk v Daniel Bryan!

D's Nuts

02-28-2010, 11:36 AM

I thought one of the freshest aspects of the show was the announcing. For the first time in forever, there was a heel announcer and a face announcer. They argued, got into it with each other and that made it way more interesting.

I meant stiff meaning that he was extremely aggressive and a few things looked like they connected and caught Daniels by surprise.

Jericho also did the lion tamer while driving his knee into Daniels head. Loved it. Much more realistic and effective.

Pharaoh

03-01-2010, 06:59 AM

So they worked very "tight" - probably worth watching.

I think if Danielson is used as a Benoit type, or even an Angle type he can be a massive star. They just have to play their cards right.

And for all the crap WWE takes for pushing the same old, same old how about this list: Orton, DiBiase, Rhodes, Punk, Danielson, Morrison, Shaemus, McIntyre and Miz...I didn't even mentioned Evan Bourne or Jack Swagger or the Hart Dynasty. Lots of young talent on show, and in fairly good position on the card.

TNA? Hogan, Flair, Bischoff, Hall, Waltman, Nash, Foley and Jarrett take up a lot of air time while certain other dudes are left off the show or get very little time...Give them time, give them time (hurry the fuck up TNA)

Anyway, I think there are several wrestlers in WWE that want to bring a more "realistic" style into the ring. Not a MMA style, but incorporate more real shit.

The typical WWE Main Event brawling style (Austin v Rock at Mania is the perfect example) has been around since the Attitude Era. That's 10 fucking years!

You really can't keep going with that style and NOT have the matches seem boring or old or stale, especially when certain guys (Cena, Batista, Shaemus, Triple H, Orton) stick with their regular routine.

A few MMA touches here, some submission moves there and a little more man-to-man, hand-to-hand combat would be better than the dull rest holds they use now.The days of sleeper holds, chin locks, head locks as "legit" holds is over thanks to MMA.

Give Taker props for incorporating an MMA move into his arsenal - and it's worked extremely well. Why can't other top dogs do that?

Pharaoh

03-01-2010, 08:18 AM

WWE has released:

Gregory (Shane) Helms/Hurricane, Paul Birchall, Charlie Haas and Maria.

TNA would be wise to hire them all!

Seriously, get rid of the Nasty Boys, Sean Morley, Orlando Jordan, Hall and Waltman and run with these guys:

Have Helms team with Shannon Moore like they did in WCW. Those 2 guys v the Motor City Machine Guns v the Young Bucks (Generation Me) would be sweet.

Maria would be a smart signing since she's gonna be on Celebrity Apprentice. Have her team up with Angelina Love v The Beautiful People

Haas coud save Angle from a beatdown by Anderson and after Anderson comes out of top of that feud Angle and Haas can team up for a while so Angle can chill out some. Dude needs to lighten his workload - doing tag teams for 6 months to a year would do that.

Birchall? Join the British Invasion. Then have Wolfe become their leader. That's your heel stable. And it could be awesome since Wolfe can work the mic

This shit is so easy...

D's Nuts

03-01-2010, 11:39 AM

Bourne and Swagger are a joke right now. I like both of their styles a lot but they are getting buried on TV.

I thought Swagger had some real promise when they let him start with the ECW Championship and then move over to Raw. He was booked really well upon his arrival but seems to have fallen out of favor in the back. Maybe it's because he refuses to blow HHH unlike Sheamus?

D's Nuts

03-01-2010, 11:39 AM

Also, Evan Bourne is like 0-27 over the last 3 months in singles matches.

Pharaoh

03-02-2010, 05:57 AM

Apparently Swagger doesn't put in the time and effort WWE expected so his push suffered.

He's likely to be moved at the Draft so Smackdown can rebuild him.

I think it's pretty easy to rebuild him - all you gotta do is have him dominate some jobbers for a couple of weeks, have a face to face staredown with a popular guy and then have him attack that popular guy.

This ain't rocket science - the same shit that worked in the 1980's will work now as long as you make people care about the characters.

As for Bourne? He's too small and Vince ain't gonna push him as a money maker. He'll be the underdog dude that can sell for the big boys while scoring the odd win here and there to keep him from being a real bum.

He's another dude that should be drafted to Smackdown. They have more "wrestlers" on that show.

Pharaoh

03-10-2010, 07:10 AM

Mania show so far:

Edge v Jericho for Jericho's world title that he won at No Way Out in the Chamber. I believe I actually mentioned this was gonna happen...

Shawn Michaels v Undertaker - Career v Streak. So apparantley if Michaels loses he retires (like how Flair retired...?)

Shaemus v Triple H

John Cena v Batista for the world title

Vince McMahon v Bret Hart

Money In The Bank with Evan Bourne (as I predicted), Christian (as I predicted) and some other dudes I forget right now.

TNA v Raw last night saw TNA basically maintain their own 1.0 rating which will make certain people laugh....

But here's the real shit:

They get that 1.0 rating on a Thursday night after wrestling fans have watched WWE Superstars. On a Monday - going head to head with WWE they didn't lose much - if anything!

That's super fucking impressive IMO. Especially when WWE had Vince McMahon v John Cena as the main event, Criss Angel as guest host and Undertaker-Shawn Michaels opened the show!

It's a pity the highest rated segment for TNA was a bunch of old dudes though. Stupid people are killing what could be for real wrestling fans.

BTW, on TNA Rob Van Dam debuted and was beaten down by a returning Sting - who apparently is now a heel. Don't know why he's a heel - it's TNA - everyone is doing the shades of grey shit

DennyMcLain

03-10-2010, 10:58 AM

Steve Austin next week will kill in the ratings.

DennyMcLain

03-16-2010, 02:12 AM

Y'know, I really WANNA give TNA a shot, but up against Raw, it just reminds me of a high school musical vs. a rock concert.

Shit, Beer Money is still pulling that "rubbing fist with hand" anticipation thing that was "in" when the F was still in the WW. Though Morgan is fun to watch. His mic skills are getting better, too. And Tazz is a fuckin huge improvement over that asshat West. At least they pay attention to the match now.

Pharaoh

03-27-2010, 09:59 AM

Well, TNA continue to fuck this up and it's not looking good IMO.

How hard is it to book a wrestling show that is everything WWE is not?

Rule #1 should be the matches have to be better and longer than Raw's.

Rule #2 should be to keep the backstage segments/bullshit to a minimum.

Rule #3 should be to highlight the cruiserweight, female and tag team divisions since WWE do not highlight any of that.

What does TNA do?

They have short ass matches and after every single one they have some post match angle. The matches are therefore meaningless because TNA has trained their fans to wait for the post-match angle.

TNA also have a ton of segments and backstage bullshit going on in every show. Why? Can't they advance the storyline without the post-match angle and the backstage segments?

Why can't a guy be a guest on commentary like WWE uses (it works, is a good idea so steal it). And when 2 guys have a beef they don't have to brawl on every show. Have them exchange trash talk from afar.

And the cruisers, females and tag teams all get stiffed while TNA drags another old time legend or some other dude that is only there to cash in on his name.

TNA has no idea how to use Rob Van Dam. RVD knows it - but signs anyway cause it's easy money.

Fuck 'em.

Wrestlemania is on this Sunday and it will kill whatever TNA plans to do on Monday - the fallout from Mania Raw episode is always a huge show.

DennyMcLain

03-27-2010, 10:48 AM

Pharaoh

03-27-2010, 08:47 PM

Isn't the TNA creative staff all 80's and 90's WWF(E) veterans?

If I ran the show, I'd use backstage cameras like reality TV cameras, posted everywhere. Then, if shit goes down have a camera crew rush over there -- right in the middle of the fucking match, and preferably the shit has something to do with the participants of the match! This would keep viewer interest, since you have no idea what's about to happen at any given moment.

But whadda I know. I'm just a cartoonist.

So you're trying to steal my idea of a roving camera crew/hidden cameras?

The fact is it's a brilliant idea and hasn't been done before to the extent I'd do it.

And TNA's creative team is a clusterfuck or Vince Russo, Ed Ferrera, some younger dude I can't remember his name (not a wrestler). Bischoff overlooks the stuff, Hogan would have a say and it's highly likely that guys like Flair, Nash, Foley and Jarrett have some kind of input too.

I'm all for having a bunch of guys throw around ideas but you need to have some kind of direction you're heading in and a payoff at the end of the story.

And right now it seems they're still throwing as much shit at the wall as possible hoping something works.

It's been months! The approach isn't working.

And the worst thing in TNA? I have a feeling this whole "Hogan won't wrestle cause he promised his kids" thing is to generate sympathy for him from the crowd, who will then chant for him to wrestle "One Last Match" and in that match he'll either beat AJ Styles for the title or he'll beat Sting to get his win back from 1997.

It's an ego fueled story that is designed to get Hulk Hogan over with the TNA crowd! The guy is damn near dead and their top story involves him! If they spent half as much time pushing the younger guys maybe the show wouldn't suck monkey spunk

DennyMcLain

03-29-2010, 10:45 AM

LOL. I've had that idea for a while. If you look back in the past posts of this topic, you'll find it under MY name. :)

I'm sure it's a great idea many people have had, and I'm shocked it hasn't been incorporated yet.

It was announced recently that TNA is in bad financial shape. They simply don't get it that, though it costs a small fortune to trek an army across the land, that a traveling show can be extremely profitable. Like a rock tour, ticket sales make up for the expenses, which leaves merchandise sales as pure profit.

If you hit up an arena that seats 10,000, and you fill 9,000 seats at $25 a pop, that's approx $225,000 on one show. Do it once a month, and keep it on the east coast to stem traveling costs. Toss in a boatload of show-specific merchandise (you can only get it at the arena) that fans will sop up, and you've got yourself a tidy sum of money.

Pharaoh

01-23-2011, 06:42 AM

OK, well we lost all the stuff I posted about TNA, Hogan, Bischoff, Flair and WWE pushing young talent.

I really vcouldn't giv a fuck about TNA anymore - I barely check their results or news at all. Same for WWE

The industry is in dire need of a change to the tv product and no one seems able to see it. The longer it takes to change the stronger UFC becomes...

And while it would be easy for me to sit here and break down a 2 hour show into 8 quarter hour blocks and book/write stuff for every single quarter hour the fact remains peeps get paid a lot of fucking coin to do that job and I ain't one of them...

So fuck TNA, fuck WWE and until I feel the urge to wate 5 mins on this thread it's as done as the Spurs...

DrRay11

01-23-2011, 11:10 AM

thank god

Pharaoh

01-25-2011, 08:33 AM

lmao - you replied to that? Why? If you don't care then don't read the topic, dude

DrRay11

01-25-2011, 08:39 AM

no, I was just thankful that you're not going to waste more time on those plotlines no one reads

Well, if you only spend 5 mins I guess it's not too terrible.

Pharaoh

01-26-2011, 08:02 AM

Dude, how hard do you think it is to come up with a story outline featuring 1 good guy vs 1 bad guy?

Less than 5 minutes, man!

The key to any movie, tv show or entertainment in general is the characters. If a wrestling company actually built long lasting characters then the stories would be the easy part

Timone

01-28-2011, 10:13 PM

What's your favorite match of all time, 'roah?

Pharaoh

01-30-2011, 09:44 AM

I think the Bret Hart vs Steve Austin match at some Mania was fucking killer due to the double turn after Austin simply passed out and didn't quit...

I think Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle at Mania is pretty much a classic

I think Ric Flair vs Rick Steamboat from 1989 (they had 3 major matches that year - pick 1) is on the same level as the above...

I don't think you can seperate one of those and say without a doubt it's the best match ever - but all 3 would be included in the discussion...

and maybe some I didn't mention... i ain't into it much anymore and would have to go back through the years and watch

Timone

01-30-2011, 10:04 AM

Hart/Austin is definitely a classic. That feud was one of the all-time greats. Their first match was good, too.

Steamboat/Savage is also obviously up there, even though I don't like the finish.

I love Foley and think his stuff with HHH in 2000 was awesome.

Glan vs. his sexuality is also another great wrestling match.

Timone

01-30-2011, 10:11 AM

Savage/Warrior from WM 7 is probably my personal favorite, but I grew up loving the hell out of that match. I dunno if it holds up well.

Pharaoh

01-31-2011, 08:54 AM

LMAO - I wonder if GD will ever read that..

The thing with "best match ever" discussions is that it's all subjective. I've read some articles make a compelling case for Hogan vs Andre at Mania 3 as the best match ever!

Now if you've seen it it's fucking shit IMO! Not a lot of action since Andre was huge (The Giant lol) and Hogan was the
"face in peril" for most of the match...

But the lead up to the match... the whole booking/writing of the scenario made that match massive! And the history Hogan and Andre had as "best friends"... Heenan as the manager out to end Hogan's title reign turning Andre aginst his friend....

Now - i fucking hate the match. The lead up is great but the match is crap... but no one cared back then though so a case can be made it was the best thing ever.

For me the match has to be fairly realistic and the reason they're "fighting" has to be logical... I'd prefer a straight up match as opposed to a ladder match or cage match - but that's just me.

Timone

01-31-2011, 10:42 AM

Yeah, Hogan/Sting after Hogan went heel was the same shit. Great hype, terrible match (with a god awful finish).

Not like either of them are Bret Hart or Ric Flair, but they could've at least booked it better.

Pharaoh

02-02-2011, 07:43 AM

That's the issue today IMO - it's the booking of the characters that lets everything down.

You can teach anybody to wrestle... if they are willing to take the punishment....

But in order for fans to pony up their hard earned cash you need characters that people care passionately about...

No one watched Die Hard II cause they wanted to watch great explosions or great drama or great acting... they watched it cause of the character

and that's the secret to any big show, movie, book or whatever... it's about the characters

Glenn

02-09-2011, 07:35 AM

My people are telling me to keep an eye on Alberto Del Rio. Those who know, think that Vince has him on a rocket as the next big Latino star (since Mysterio is DONE.)

Del Rio has a lot of charisma and excellent heel skills.

Pharaoh

02-09-2011, 09:08 AM

Yes GD - he won te Rumble and will get a world title shot at Edge or whomever come Mania. Dude has got skills and could be another young guy they run with...

but make no mistake: He is not going to be a "real" main player.

They have Orton and Cena in those spots and everything will focus on them at every big show... unless Triple H comes back and takes the spotlight.

Apparently WWE has signed some masked Mexican called Mistico or something like that - a guy like Rey... might be Rey's farewell battle...

Or that's how I'd do it - have the new masked guy challenge the old masked guy "mask vs mask"... if Rey won't go for that make it a "retirement" match... Rey can lose and put the new guy over and say his goodbyes

FillyCheezeSteak

02-14-2011, 11:35 PM

I'm sure Pharoah new The Rock was coming back, but I was just watching and I'm blown away. The dude has still got it!!! There were a few pauses and a couple of stutters/repeats mixed in there, but he seriously was on point and the whole Rock/Cena clash could be the defintion of EPIC.

Timone

02-14-2011, 11:53 PM

if I had known it was going to happen I would've watched

Pharaoh

02-15-2011, 07:21 AM

WWE did a great job not letting the news out... they can do it if they want work hard enough.

As for Cena vs Rock... I doubt it happens. Rock has gone on record just recently on his facebook page claiming he's happy his last match was with Mick Foley vs Flair, Batista and Orton at some Mania... he went on to say he just wanted to thank the fans for helping him fulfill his dreams in wrestling but now he has new dreams he wants to chase...

so for him to turn around now and wrestle... well - not saying it won't happen but I'd be surprised if they just threw it on the show with little build up. Rock vs Cena is essentially "Attitude Era" vs "PG Era" and if they want to make the match happen then it should be built up over a few months

It's the same thing with Cena vs Taker, or Sting vs Taker or some other "dream" match - to produce a massive buy rate for WrestleMania the major attraction has to be some epic battle... something non-fans care about or casual fans are willing to pay big money to see.

You have to remember that Raw gets approx 3 million viewers.... yet every pay per view struggles to hit 300,000 buys! It's not because everyone is having a PPV party - it's cause people don't wanna pay their hard earned to watch the same old shit.

But Mania? They can get 1 million buys - if it's built properly... and having The Rock tease a confrontation wioth Cena, or Miz or Taker or everyone is a good start... though it's unfortunate that Alberto's Royal Rumble win already is an after thought.

By the time Mania rolls around Alberto's "big" guaranteed title shot won't be worth shit on the big stage of WrestleMania!

Imagine The Rock as host, Taker vs whomever, HHH's return, an appearance from Shawn Michaels due to the HOF, possible Sting appearance, Cena, Orton AND Money in the Bank ladder match...

Who will care about Alberto?

DrRay11

02-15-2011, 07:54 AM

Are you shitting me? The Rock was on last night? Son of a bitch. And I actually watched the first match before going to sleep.

DrRay11

02-15-2011, 10:56 AM

5webrAZSBhY

Glenn

02-15-2011, 11:26 AM

That was cool, seems like they did it kind of backwards, though.

DrRay11

02-15-2011, 11:50 AM

lul. i wonder why they did that

Fool

02-15-2011, 12:10 PM

84% of wrestling fans are dyslexic.

lol @ 5+ minutes of just standing and looking at the crowd.

Timone

02-18-2011, 01:43 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling_throws

Timone

02-18-2011, 01:50 PM

Sitout rear mat slam

The wrestler takes hold of their opponent from behind, holding them by either their hair or the top of their head. The wrestler then jumps backwards and falls to a sitting position, driving the back of the opponent's head into the ground between their legs. A variation sees the wrestler run up the corner turnbuckles, perform a backflip over a chasing opponent, and at the same time grab hold of the opponents head and perform the slam. In another variation the wrestler could put the opponent in a straight jacket before dropping him/her in a sitout position.

DrRay11

02-18-2011, 04:04 PM

could put the opponent in a strait jacket

rofl

Timone

02-20-2011, 03:19 AM

This shit had me loling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbIt7KAZThI

Timone

02-20-2011, 03:22 AM

THIS TOO!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_ORMwh3uHo

Timone

02-20-2011, 03:30 AM

lul

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j1Ivi_yJ5s

Pharaoh

02-20-2011, 09:14 AM

You know why Jericho was so over in WCW, why he started to take off?

Because no one in WCW gave him any direction, any script or any fucking info - he came up with all his own stuff.

The Turner letter was written by Jericho less than 1 hour before the show went on air. Bischoff was supposed to write it, but blew it off so Jericho had no choice but to write it himself!

WCW put all their time and effort into the NWO yet other guys like Jericho, Benoit and Eddie Guerrero were doing the hard work - the matches and getting their own stuff over with the crowd.

Jericho boasts that he deserves all the credit for his 2 biggest feuds in WCW (v Malenko and v Goldberg) and he's right! Malenko and Goldberg played no part in the feuds until the very end...

Goldberg even refused to feud with Jericho because he didn't do "comedy"... when they were both in WWE at some point Jericho and tough guy Bill had a legit fight backstage - it ended with Jericho having Goldberg in a front face lock and Goldberg tapping the concrete lol

Timone

02-21-2011, 02:43 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC9EvT1n2Jc&feature=feedrec_grec_index

DrRay11

02-21-2011, 09:23 AM

i lol'd

DrRay11

02-22-2011, 10:15 AM

HHH vs. Undertaker at Wrestlemania?

DennyMcLain

02-22-2011, 02:59 PM

The Rock, now this. WWE's going for a TNA TKO, it seems.

Glenn

02-22-2011, 04:15 PM

I flipped by last night and saw Jerry Lawler in the ring being insulted by that Michael Cole doosh.

I had to turn.

DrRay11

02-22-2011, 04:47 PM

When Cole came in the ring, that's when I turned it off and went to bed.

Timone

02-24-2011, 09:11 PM

http://www.youtube.com/wcwpayperviews

Pharaoh

02-25-2011, 07:47 AM

Yeah, looks like HHH vs Taker at Mania - Career vs Streak again...

If you think about this storyline goes all the way back to Flair vs Michaels...

HBK retires Flair... leading him to wonder "what else is there to do in this business?" and ending Taker's streak was it! But he failed at the next Mania, so that led him to putting his career on the line vs Taker the next Mania and losing.

HHH, having warned Michaels against putting his career on the line, and having seen HBK and his mentor Flair retire (according to WWE) recently tries to put Taker's streak to bed on his own - cause he got nothing left to lose lol

I could detail it up and use it.... but at the end of the day it's HHH v Taker, Career v Streak at Mania with a long term storyline behind them

As for Lawler vs Cole - likely a match at Mania simply cause Lawler has never wrestled on a Mania event! And since Cole has huge heel heat why not get Lawler his match and the fans can see Cole take a beating? It's cheap - but not every match is going to be a classic - it breaks up the big matches

Timone

03-03-2011, 08:00 AM

@HitmanBretSHart (http://twitter.com/HitmanBretSHart)

@kevmtaylor71 Hogan's nothing but a two-faced, backstabbing, steroid freak who deserved everything he got.

Timone

03-03-2011, 08:00 AM

Always been a Bret fan, but the guy looks like my grandma these days. No joke.

Timone

03-03-2011, 08:08 AM

'Bret Shart'

Timone

03-03-2011, 01:51 PM

@HulkHogan4Real (twitter.com/HulkHogan4Real)

Listen to where Bretts speaking from,it's funny he's done everything he's saying I did. HH about 2 hours ago via Echofon

Bret's response:

@HulkHogan4Real That's not what John Graziano thinks, dickhead. about 1 hour ago via web

Timone

03-03-2011, 06:04 PM

Last and only comment for Brett,I hope he finds happiness in life,I feel bad for him and I have totally forgiven him much respect HH

Why do I get the feeling this is leading towards a match at WrestleMania?

Glenn

03-03-2011, 07:25 PM

I was just gonna say "smells like a gimmick".

Pharaoh

03-04-2011, 09:34 AM

The problem with this Hogan v Hart thing is that Vince doesn't really care about the internet.

I don't think you guys appreciate the level of "isolation" that is within WWE.

The wrestling business is fucking weird as weird can be - and Vince has his whole world built the way he wants it, he pushes who he wants, he brings in who he wants and if you wanna succeed in WWE then you play the political game and do what you can to get Vince's ear.

He's Christopher Nolan and WWE is his Inception. He fucking changed the business of pro wrestling, took it national, took it fucking worldwide!

In order to succeed in WWE ... well in Shawn Michaels' book he claims that Vince held a "meet and greet" kind of thing backstage - every dude had like 5 minutes of Vince's time and one by one they would go into the office and say or ask whatever they wanted... or just not bother.

Shawn Michaels claims he walked into the office stood in front of Vince and said "What do I need to do to become the #1 guy in this company"...

Apparently Vince said "You just did it" and they then started to brainstorm ideas, try some shit and wtf do you have now? Th eIcon, Mr WrestleMania, the Showstopper, The Main Event blah blah blah...

I'm certain this kind of meet and greet thing still happens. And if guys like Orton, Cena, HHH, Shawn Michaels and Undertaker think you're a good dude then you've likely got a job for life and on the fast track.

Thank God for UFC - straight up shit. I find it funny how WWE has all these rest holds in "fake fights" yet in a real fight guys don't go for rest holds - they try to put you in holds that will knock you out or break your shit off!

Timone

03-04-2011, 09:44 AM

I don't like wrestling anymore, but I'm more likely to become a fan of it again than I am to become a fan of UFC. Just can't get into MMA at all, but that's just me.

I think Hart and Hogan have had legitimate "heat" since the mid 90s or something, anyway. I'm a loser for knowing that, I know.

Pharaoh

03-05-2011, 08:37 AM

Since whatever Mania Hogan came back at and beat Yokozuna for the title straight after Yokozuna beat Bret Hart...

The "agreed" idea was that Mania would go down the way it did - Hart gets cheated by Mr Fuji and loses the title to Yoko. This way Hart still looks strong since he didn't lose cleanly. Hogan saves the day and with Bret's blessing from ringside gets a match v Yoko right then and there - Hogan wins the belt and the good guy celebrating is the last camera shot you see (a Mania tradition)

What was supposed to happen was that Hart would then kind of go "tweener" for a bit and challenge Hogan for the belt. Hogan would do the "right" thing and give Hart the title shot at the next PPV. Hart would win the belt and it's essentially the "passing of the torch" from Hogan to Hart as the face of WWE/F

Hogan backed out of the deal - but only after he got the title - which is hilarious on so many levels. Hogan used his position to screw Hart out of the match at the next PPV and instead wrestled Yoko in a rematch and lost the title thanks to a camera man throwing a fireball at Hogan...

So basically Hogan got cheated out of the title by Yoko and his crew... then Hogan fucked off.

For those that don't realise - Hogan left "strong" in wrestling terms. He saved the day and beat Yoko after Hart got screwed - so Hogan is seen to be better than Hart and Yoko at Mania. In the rematch Hogan got screwed so he is kept strong because he didn't lose clean...

Eventually Hart ends up beating Yoko for the title... but the passing of the torch never happens and beating Yoko again isn't anywhere near as big as pinning Hogan on PPV.

This is part of why Hart hates Hogan and it might seem hard to believe but it's also part of the reason WCW did not push Hart to the moon since Hogan and Bischoff are tighter than a Nun's cunt!

Hogan is/was the biggest player of the political game ever! He screwed a bunch of guys out of title runs simply because he could.

To give you all an indication of how fucked up Hogan is: Remember that Mania where The Rock fought Hogan? It was supposed to be Austin v Hogan - but Hogan refused to lose to Austin!

And the Hogan v Austin match that was supposed to happen was talked about year after year for a while but each time Hogan refused to lose... and eventually Austin's health got to the point he really shouldn't be wrestling so it never happened!

Rambling event over with