Greatest WWE Crowd Reactions - Part 1 - WWE Top 20

Some REALLY good choices here.  Frankly I'm kind of excited to see what they picked for the top 10 next week.  If we're confining it to WWE matches, then I'd have to think Stone Cold's run-in during the Rock-Mankind title switch is #1 by a wide margin because that was one of the loudest noises of any kind, wrestling crowds or otherwise.

Inside Scott's (in)Box: 'Changing Your Mind'

...Well this escalated quickly. Much like Glenn Jacobs is to Diesel, it looks like I'm the new, flabbier, Caliber, and now have 'posting questions from Mr. Keith's inbox' duties, as well as officially handling QOTD from now on. So the first person I get to disappoint with a response that's not from Scott, but instead from me, is Brent. Brent says:

'Over the course of your time watching and, especially, reviewing pro wrestling, what wrestlers have you changed your opinions on, both good and bad? For example, I remember you not caring for Ronnie Garvin matches years ago, but it seems you like his matches more now (hope I'm not wrong on that perception). And are there match styles you like or dislike more than you did when you started doing this? Thanks for the writings.'  

 Brent Z.


Hulk Hogan.

...Seriously.

Bodyslam: Pro Wrestling TV Show pilot

Hope this makes it to series.

Punk/Lesnar at WrestleMania

A few days ago you'd suggested a possible Triple Main Event for WrestleMania of Cena/Undertaker, HHH/Bryan, and Punk/Lesnar, with the latter being for the WWE Title.  It seems every tenth WrestleMania is the time for a great worker who's never really had his "moment in the sun" to finally get it.  Bret Hart at X, Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero at XX, and now it seems C.M. Punk would be a great candidate for XXX.

Do you think with Punk wrestling the company's biggest draw (besides Rock) in Lesnar that WWE would have that match go on last, or would they close Mania with Cena vs. Undertaker instead?

And will Daniel Bryan have to walk Stephanie McMahon's dog on the Raw before the show?

If they DO go with Cena-Undertaker at WM, there's no possible universe where that doesn't go on last.  Punk's only shot at legitimately main eventing the show would be involving himself as the avatar of either HHH or Vince, although Punk with Vince v. Lesnar with HHH might work for that dynamic.  Even then Cena-Undertaker is still a bigger match IMO.

Saturday Promo: Ric Flair Reaches Puberty

Typical Flair stuff but something happens one minute in.

Question Of The Day: The Return

Howdy folks, I figured since we lost our unofficial community organizer, I'd take a run at doing the QOTD, which will hopefully be more successful than my video game reviews. Of course that pro-wrestling show with Xpac and Vampiro on MTV was more successful than my video game reviews, but hey, who's counting (besides me).

So, here's the question for this lovely Saturday Afternoon:

What's your favorite comeback? 

Spring Stampede 1998

Spring Stampede 1998

Date: April 19, 1998
Location: Denver Coliseum, Denver, Colorado
Attendance: 7,428
Commentators: Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

Allegedly we have a double main event tonight but in reality only one of the matches has received any focus at all. The two matches are Sting vs. Savage for the world title and Giant/Piper vs. Hogan/Nash in a bat match. Take a guess as to which is getting all the attention. Hogan and Nash's problems have gotten nearly all the focus for the last few months and I'm sure they'll dominate the show tonight. Let's get to it.

Thunder - April 16, 1998

Thunder

Date: April 16, 1998

Location: Fargodome, Fargo, North Dakota

Commentators: Lee Marshall, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

It's the final show before Spring Stampede and by now the news has broken that Nitro lost in the ratings on Monday for the first time in nearly two years. It should be interesting to see if things change up at all tonight to try to right the ship. Other than that tonight is going to be the final push for the PPV, meaning more NWO whether anyone likes it or not. Let's get to it.

Shameless Plug

So I get back from Battle of Los Angeles only to discover a BLOG OF DOOM RAP BATTLE was held during my absence. Figured I'd use this as an opportunity at a shameless plug. I anticipate this plug leading to ZERO BUYS, so I wanted to thank everyone in advance for their hard-earned money. 

http://doctorscott.bandcamp.com/album/best-life-ever

Well, the rap battle was around zero buys too, so you didn't miss much.

Match of the Day: Steamboat & Douglas v. Blonds

Hello again Scott, I just found this little gem on youtube. it's the
match where the Blondes first won the titles. It's a very good match,
but the crowd seems a little off. Was this during the period when they
were taping at Disney? Well anyways hope everyone enjoys it:

Disney tapings didn’t start until after the Blonds won the titles.  This was from Worldwide, although they had another match before this that hit ***** and circulated on a bunch of tape traders’ lists.  It was a hell of a feud. 

Newman's Take: PRIDE 2

-No introduction for this one sorry as I legitimately know nothing about this event! I’ve been told it’s somewhat of a bust though so we shall see. We have two Gracie fights on tap as well as the PRIDE debut of Kazushi Sakuraba.

Cucch's Book Review: "The Three Count" by Jimmy Korderas

And now for something completely different...

Promo of the Day: Paul Orndorff interview, 'Mean' Gene cracks up

Okerlund's deadpan reactions to Orndorff's outrageous lies are almost as funny as the interview.  The straight man is really a lost art in promos these days because everyone has to be either totally useless (Josh Matthews etc.) or scripted to be as "witty" and cutesy as the wrestlers (Michael Cole, Lawler).

Smackown - September 6, 2013

Smackdown

Date: September 6, 2013

Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

We're almost three weeks into the new Corporation and not a lot has really changed. Daniel Bryan is still getting destroyed every week, the roster still won't help him and it still makes all the good guys look like cowards who won't stand up for anyone. The other main story is Punk vs. Heyman which is set for a handicap tag at Night of Champions. After that I could see the two stories merging with Punk helping Bryan in his war with the Corporation. Let's get to it.

Jake 'The Snake' - NFL Odds maker

A new vice for lack of a better word.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/23512001/nfl-week-1-picks-jake-the-snake-roberts-picks-every-game-vs-the-spread

Please, everyone knows the NFL is obviously fixed.  

Smackdown Thread

Tonight, HHH will give the roster an "open forum" to state any problems they have with his handling of Cody Rhodes.

Which Shoot Interview Would You Like to see Reviewed Next?

Here are the choices

Tully Blanchard
Magnum TA
Steve Williams

Vote by Clicking on the Link Below. At the request of Fuj, I have changed it so you can leave comments on the blog instead of the Pollcode site. Voting ends Sunday at 8pm.

http://poll.pollcode.com/wwmjq

The SmarK DVD Rant for Star Trek The Original Series: Origins (Blu Ray)

The SmarK DVD Rant for Star Trek The Original Series: Origins

Pretty simple compilation disc here, as we get the “origins” of the major players in Star Trek Into Darkness in case new viewers want to know where they came from. Which means 5 episodes of the original series, four of which were in the first season. So basically a few episodes of the first season repackaged into a new single disc. But they’re all good ones, at least.

Note: Although the season sets allow you to switch between the new-fangled computer graphics and the original pie plates on strings, this disc only gives the fancy new versions.

BoD Afternoon Update

Tonight's Smackdown Preview

http://www.wwe.com/shows/smackdown



Sami Zayn to make WWE Debut at House Show in Montreal Tonight

Tyson Kidd is also scheduled to make his return on this show too.

http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/96-wwe/32996-wrestler-scheduled-to-make-wwe-debut-plus-another-comeback-tonight



TNA One Night Only "Knockouts Knockdown" PPV Airs Tonight

Here is the lineup:

*Gail Kim vs. Alissa Flash
*Lei'D Tapa vs. Ivelisse Velez
*Tara vs. Mia Yim
*Miss Tessmacher vs. Santana Garrett
*ODB vs. Trinity
*Jackie Moore vs. Taryn Terrell
*Hannah Blossom vs. Sojournor Bolt vs. Taeler Hendrix
*Velvet Sky vs. Jillian Hall
*Mickie James vs. Serena Deeb
*Gauntlet Match featuring winners.

Credit PWInsider.com


Also, I will post the Smackdown Thread Tonight. I have forgotten about that for the past month or so.

BoD Daily Update

Hulk Hogan Interview

A lenghty interview in which he talks about both the past and the present

http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/television/q-a-hulk-hogan-talks-tna-past-matches-and-memories/article_7fc69a85-ec53-5599-8bd2-077c4de28b62.html



The 10th Year Anniversary of the "Death of WCW" Book to be Released in 2014

According to co-author Bryan Alvarez, he has just submitted 40,000 words for the new edition. He says that it includes a lot of stuff cut from the original book as well as quotes from "big names" that are on and off the record. It also includes an epliogue about TNA being the successor to WCW.

Credit Bryan Alvarez, Figure Four Weekly Newsletter



Writing Assistant Injured on RAW

During the backstage segment in which the Big Show was tossing around various items, he accidentally hit a writing assitant in the head with a chair

Credit Bryan Alvarez, Figure Four Weekly Newsletter

Promo of the Day: "The Prince"

http://youtu.be/J3MkuJdfPw4?t=1m32s

I have it skipped to 1:32 to where it starts... Just watch...

I bet Debbie Combs is scared now.  

The SmarK Rant for WWE NXT: 09.04.13

The SmarK Rant for WWE NXT – 09.04.13

Taped from Orlando, FL

Your hosts are Tom Phillips & Alex Riley

Impact Wrestling - September 5, 2013

Impact Wrestling

Date: September 5, 2013

Location: Wolstein Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

Tonight is the second end of the Bound For Glory Series as we're having a gauntlet match for twenty points so we can have one more match to jump someone into the final four. Also we have Bully Ray vs. Sting, which may or may not be for the title depending on whether you listen to what Hogan says or not. Let's get to it.

Kevin Kelly talks WWF 2000

Hey Scott - wanted to share the latest Place to Be Podcast! Kevin Kelly recaps the first half of 2000 with some awesome stories (as usual).  Thanks again for sharing!

 

http://placetobenation.com/place-to-be-podcast-episode-250-kevin-kelly-2000-part-one/

TNA Impact Thread

Tonight's matches include:

Sting vs. Bully Ray
A "Last Chance Gauntlet" featuring all 12 members of the "Bound for Glory" Series with the winner receiving 20 points.

Also, find out which member of Aces & Eights will face Bully Ray for his title at No Surrender next week plus a special performance by Mickie James.

ROH TV: August 31st--September 1st Edition

Tonight, the world title tournament continues with fan favorite ACH taking on NJPW's Karl Anderson, as well as Adam Cole facing Mark Briscoe in the main event.  The TV title will also be defended.

Show opens with a recap of Jay Lethal vs Sonjay Dutt from last week.

Kayfabe Commentaries Timeline Series: 2000 WCW as told by Vince Russo

This interview was released on August 27^th of this year. It is a two-disc set that clocks in at just over two-and-a-half hours long.

If you want to see your blog explode

If you want to see the collective heads of your BoDers to explode while simultaneously upping your page hit and comments section, post this and just get out of the way.  Mark

http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/kellerstake/article_73146.shtml#.UijVVfXD8uo

T

he man makes some good points.  This angle is not turning business around, and HHH is not the guy to put the good of the business before himself.  I'm still cautiously optimistic, but they REALLY need some babyface hope spots soon.  Like, with Austin, people paid to see him get revenge on the boss, not stand in line because they're in fear for their job like in real life.  So I see where Keller is coming from there.  

Promo of the Day: Dave Shultz Mean Gene

Thanks to Fuj for sending me this one.  I LOVE this promo and even Gene is cracking up halfway through it.

Forever Evil Discussion Thread

There was a little bit of discussion of the villains month and Forever Evil in the Flashpoint thread, but if anyone wants to talk about/review/bitch about the assorted Villains one-shots and Forever Evil, have at it!  I’m pretty disappointed thus far considering it was an intriguing premise coming out of Trinity War, although I should note Forever Evil itself is amazing after the first issue.  The villain stuff is a mixed bag, although I haven’t read all of them.  Creeper was terrible and a messy slog to get through, Desaad didn’t really make much sense to me, Count Vertigo was OK but covered much of the same ground as the animated Green Arrow short, Cyborg Superman was a totally different take on the character and was just him being evil for 22 pages instead of really saying anything about him, and Joker was a huge disappointment.  His aunt scrubbed him with bleach?  Really?  So far they’re a bunch of OK fill-in issues. 
Also, apparently Batwoman was cancelled.  (Edit:  Apparently JH Williams is leaving, but the book will continue.  Which is even worse in some ways.)  I was losing interest anyway, but this gets canned and Batwing doesn’t?  REALLY? 

TV taping experience

> Hi Scott
>
> Just wonderering, was it true that you actually attended a Smackdown taping in June 2005? Where Kurt Angle fought Booker T & Sharmell in a disturbing handicap match? If so, was it embarrassing to watch this match in person?

Yeah and I was sitting right behind Michael Cole too.  I don't even remember that match, but I do remember Taber Corn chants and Holly-Gunn v someone in a tag team 30 minute Iron Man match.  Not a great show.

BoD Daily Update

Notes on the AJ Styles Promo From Last Week's Impact

The promo was actually created by AJ himself. In regards to AJ's contract status with TNA, he ahs signed a three-month extension that will keep him in TNA until the end of the year.

Credit Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter



More Notes on Last Week's WWE Tryout Camp

The camp featured 30 guys, with Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards the two standouts. According to Dave Meltzer, he was given the impression that both men would be signed to developmental deals. However, that is not official and it wouldn't happen for at least a few more months if it did as both guys have to finish their commitments to RoH and Edwards has an upcoming tour with Pro Wrestling NOAH, not to mention that they would both need to pass their physical exams. Other independent wrestlers in the camp included Joey Ryan, Todd Hanson, Sean Burke, and Tony DelFonzo.

Credit Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter



Kassius Ohno Update

Ohno, who has not only been removed from NXT television but also the show's opening montage, is now putting over guys at house shows.

Credit Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter

NXT - September 4, 2013

NXT

Date: September 4, 2013

Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida

Commentators: Tom Phillips, Alex Riley

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

Things are getting interesting again in NXT as we started a series of new stories last week. On top of the card we have Sami Zayn wanting the NXT Title but having to deal with the other Real American, Jack Swagger. Other than that we have Sylvester LeFort strengthening his stable with the addition of Alexander Rusev. It should be a fun show tonight so let's get to it.

Promo of the Day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O8Nr9HFFoo

Steiner was kind of drifting into crazyland there with the "47 degree axis" stuff, but pulled it together again nicely for the save at the end.  I give a 4/10.  

Opinion

Why is it that people are so adamant WWE will never turn John Cena heel?  People said the same about Hulk Hogan at one point which is what made his turn shocking in 1996.  Now that they have two guys that are getting close to his level in popularity (CM Punk & Daniel Bryan) isn't it time?  I'm predicting he loses to Daniel Bryan early next year in his return match and than becomes a tweener heading into his feud with Undertaker ultimately turning heel after or at WM30.  Cena becomes heel by ending the streak?  Punk & Bryan can sell the same merchandise as Cena.

Hogan wasn't drawing money as a babyface in 1996, and in fact without that turn the company was probably going to go into a downward spiral with Hogan on top, and everyone knew it.  John Cena (even though he gets booed by smart-ass fans) draws thousands of people to house shows every night, makes ratings go up, and sells merchandise numbers that would make 1996 Hogan cry like a little baby.  JOHN CENA IS NOT TURNING HEEL.  Nor should he.  Companies that base major business decisions on whiny internet nerds like us, such as TNA leaving the Impact Zone, deserve what they get.  

Flashpoint Paradox

I've been blowing through the DC Universe movies on Netflix recently (JL: Doom, All Star Superman, Superman/Shazam, a few others) and I figured I might as well carry on and pick up Flashpoint Paradox, based on the mini-series which I love/hate in various degrees.  Love it because of the brilliant 100 Bullets version of Batman that Azzarello & Rizzo came up with and the Kubert artwork in general, hate it because of Geoff Johns' fanwanking of Flash into THE GREATEST HERO THE UNIVERSE EVER KNEW.   Plus they totally didn't stick the landing, as we kind of discussed two years ago when the New 52 launched.  So I'm happy to say that the movie version is kind of friggin' awesome, taking all the good points and junking most of the bad.  They even came up with an ending that makes way more sense than whatever bullshit nonsense with Pandora and the Wildstorm universe that the original series put out there.  As with the comic, the movie mainly makes me want to see a whole movie about Thomas Wayne: Asskicking Batman and that whole backstory.  As with the comic, it still bugs that someone as versed in Barry Allen's history as Johns is would just suddenly decide that Nora Allen, who was very much alive in 1986 when we last saw Barry in continuity, was now dead years before Barry even became the Flash.  But at least given that she's dead, Barry's motivations kinda sorta make sense here.  That being said, this is a VIOLENT movie, with the writers exacting wholesale slaughter that wasn't even done to this degree in the original books, which themselves were pretty violent for the sake of.  I will say, unless you're a big DC geek, you're gonna be sitting there glassy-eyed wondering what the fuck is going on for a lot of it, because big chunks of it rely on knowing that someone in the Flashpoint Earth was someone else in the "real" Earth, and if you don't know who that person is then it's pretty meaningless to you.  Like really, does anyone give a fuck about Grifter?  His New 52 book only ran like 8 issues!  

Anyway, it's very faithful to the original source (the electric chair scene is almost beat-for-beat from the book), and that's both good and bad, because there's a lot about the original I wish they would have changed.  But I liked it a lot and it's worth the $12 or so for the DVD.  Plus then you won't have to go back and read the original series.

Promo of the Day: Paul E. Dangerously fires Medusa

Just awesome.  When Medusa clocks him with the high kick my mom was nearly jumping off the couch cheering for her.  I often work “And because you’re a WOMAN and you’re too stupid to understand…” into my daily conversations.  Sadly, not many people get the reference.

The SmarK DVD Rant for Wargames

The SmarK DVD Rant for Wargames: WCW’s Most Notorious Matches

I have of course reviewed these a bazillion times, but they sent me the DVD so let’s review them again! The very first one is at the very least due for a redo, although I’m disappointed that I didn’t get the Blu Ray so I can do the extra matches. Honestly, I’m just happy that I will now have a master copy with ALL the matches, uncut and in order. I only held off buying it because I figured I’d be getting it to review.

Hosted by Dusty Rhodes, naturally.

nWo: The Revolution

Weird that Bryan & Vinny were reviewing the nWo DVD on their show this morning, because I actually got bored last night and watched it on Netflix myself.  I was just as unmoved as they were, as it's pretty much a one-hour condensation of five years and still manages to feel like it overstays its welcome by 15 minutes.  Most of it is reused interviews with the exception of new talking heads from guys like Joe Hennig, Matt Striker and Cody Rhodes, and most of it is very, very kayfaby with only occasional glimpses into what was actually going on.  I was amused by Cody's tales of 11-year old Cody calling Dusty Rhodes to ask if Rey Mysterio was OK after the lawn dart incident and getting kayfabed by his own dad, but that's Dusty for ya.  Goldberg wasn't even mentioned, everything was blamed on guaranteed contracts, and Jay Leno was portrayed as the height of the promotion because MAINSTREAM.  I also found it weird that they played up the REALNESS of the angle (ironically championed by Dusty Rhodes, as he pointed out the folly of doing the same stuff over and over) but didn't even touch on Bischoff's grandstand challenge to Vince McMahon and the giant real lawsuit that resulted.  They also didn't touch on Fake Diesel and Razor.  And Vince Russo was there, denying everything as usual.  

It was an OK use of an hour, but time to bury this dead horse already.  

Austin vs Today

Hi Scott,

Just read about you naming Austin #1 worker out of Austin, Brock, Rock, Cena.

I've been thinking a lot about what I used to like about Austin during the Attitude era, and what's missing from a lot of today's wrestlers, and I think a lot of it is attention to detail. Austin did all of the little things really well - things like rolling onto his stomach to avoid a pinfall after a big move, or after kicking out; the way he'd sell moves convincingly without going over the top, making guys look like a threat even though he was billed for a long time as the top guy; the fact that he could throw a punch.

There's lots of other things of course, but it's these little things I pay attention to now when I watch his (and others) old matches on YouTube compared to some of the stale, lazy crap being thrown out on WWE TV nowadays.

Wondered what you thought about the lazy style of some of today's workers.

I

don't think it's lazy, it's just the style that they're taught in and it doesn't lend itself well to details like that.  I honestly don't blame the guys for it, because they're working stadium-style (big cartoonish selling and exchanging finishers) and the previous generation learned arena-style (details in selling and psychology).  It's just different, not necessarily worse or better.  

BoD Daily Update

"Total Divas" Ratings Continue to Rise

http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/96-wwe/32961-total-divas-rating



Titus O'Neill Dating Reality TV Star Omarosa Marigault

The company is trying to get some press out of this

http://www.wwe.com/inside/titus-oneil-dating-omarosa-26146157



Lex Luger Interview on his New Book

http://www.wrestlingepicenter.com/IWR/interviews/LexLuger2013.html

Bryan/HHH, WM XXX

Scott,

        You wrote that someone needs to beat HHH's ass, and isnt the obvious person there Daniel Bryan himself.  You can have Bryan finally beat Orton for the belt at HIAC and retain through the end of 2013 when Triple H decides the only man he can turn to is another former enemy, Brock Lesnar.  At the Rumble Brock beats Bryan with Triple H's help and CM Punk wins the Rumble.  This would set up Brock/Punk for the WWE Title and Bryan/HHH in a gimmick match (streetfight/I Quit) at Wrestlemania.  Throw in Cena/Undertaker with the story being Cena coming back from injury going for one last achievement to add to his legacy.  That's a hell of a triple main event and NO involvement from Rock, Austin, or Vince. 

  

Y

eah, I'm pretty sure Bryan is getting screwed at NOC and then wins it at HIAC.  And I'm also pretty sure that Brock will the ultimate corporate champion, the hired gun who's good for business and destroys everything.  That will also get Punk involved.  So yes, your idea seems very likely and I endorse it.  

Idea

Scott,

Quick idea I wanted to run by you. Since the WWE seems at least somewhat interested in reestablishing the tag team division, why not stage a "Tag Team Money in the Bank" ladder match? With teams such as The Usos, The PTP, The Wyatt family & The Real Americans, I think that this could add to the relevancy of the division. Or, do you think this would make one too many MITB briefcases floating around the WWE?

Thanks for the opinion.

The teams you listed are the ONLY ones in the division.  I think they should worry about establishing the tag titles as something people care about before they start coming up with more briefcases.  

Monday Nitro - April 13, 1998

Monday Nitro #135

Date: April 13, 1998

Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Larry Zbyszko, Mike Tenay

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

Tonight is the go home show for Spring Stampede, but much more importantly than that it's the night that the WWF won a round in the Monday Night Wars. Over on Raw there was the first ever Vince McMahon vs. Steve Austin match, but it should be interesting to see what Nitro was offering that the fans decided wasn't good enough. Let's get to it.

WWF Championship Wrestling February 16th, 1985

Just a quick note, I will now start posting WWF reviews on Sundays, in addition to Tuesdays. This Sunday, I will be reviewing the "War to Settle the Score" MTV special. I will also start adding house shows, Saturday Night Main Event, TNT, Prime-Time Wrestling, PPV's, and the last four TBS shows will be coming up soon as well. Those were the only shows that were actually filmed in the TBS Studios.  

February 16, 1985

Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon

This week, Jesse Ventura returns to action. Plus, Nikolai Volkoff & Iron Sheik and Piper’s Pit with guest Don Muraco.

Cucch's Book Review: "Animal"

No turnbuckles were harmed in this review...

Random questions via the Rumble

So I've been watching some old Royal Rumbles and I have a few questions....

1) In the 1991 Rumble match, Brian Knobs appears but Jerry Saggs doesn't. Also, there is absolutely no mention from the commentators about the whereabouts of Jerry Saggs. I was a hardcore WWF/E guy (kid) at the time, but I was like 6, so the details are sketchy. My question is A) Where was Saggs? and B) Did Knobs come in by himself at first, with Saggs to follow later? Seemed odd splitting them up, especially considering they won the tag belts like 2 mos. later. 

2) Dustin Rhodes. Why did he make a one-time only appearance at Royal Rumble 91 and then go to WCW? Was it something to do with Dusty's departure? I don't know exactly when Dusty left, but I assume it was sometime between the Rumble and WM 7, since he wasn't at WM that year. Was Dustin under contract and scheduled to be used further and it just never happened or was it always meant to be a one shot deal?

3) What was the deal with Bret Hart losing the IC Title two days before Rumble 92? Was it simply to set up the Mountie/Piper/Hart stuff that followed or was Bret really hurt? I'm assuming the fever story wasn't the truth.

1)  Sags was injured and replaced by someone else.  

2)  The Rumble was the end of Dusty's WWF career, and he just wanted to get Dustin on a national stage to give him some exposure and kickstart his career before leaving.  I don't think he was ever meant as more than a one-shot deal, and really he was much better off in WCW anyway where daddy could make all the midcard heels bump for him.

3)  Bret was definitely exaggerating the fever.  The whole deal was just to set up the Piper match at Wrestlemania and give Piper someone he could beat convincingly without affecting anything in the midcard that mattered.  There was also rumblings of Bret jumping to WCW around that time, and here's the bit from the Observer talking about it...

One of the stranger stories of the past week involves the Intercontinental title. Officially, as the storyline goes, Bret Hart went to the ring with a 104 degree fever on Friday night (1/17) in Springfield, MA and lost the title to The Mountie. Mountie in turn dropped the title at the Rumble two days later to Roddy Piper. As has become pretty common knowledge as the week went on, Hart had negotiated and at one point agreed to a deal where he would debut on Tuesday (1/21) at the Clash of the Champions for WCW in Topeka where he'd come out with the Intercontinental title as something of a payback for the WWF bringing in Ric Flair and having him wear what WCW considered their world title belt (of course the situations are completely different in that Flair was fired by WCW after the company attempted to cut an existing contract almost in half, which somehow six months later WCW feels is the WWF's fault for, to the extent they went to court over getting the belt off WWF television shows. So this idea was to gain revenge on the WWF, but the difference is that Hart would be walking out on a valid contract). The fact Hart was losing the title in Springfield was the world's worst-kept secret being that the WWF syndicated shows went out on the satellite Wednesday, which means anyone with a dish (which probably means well over one million potential viewers) would have been able to watch on Wednesday them talk about, in the past tense, in detail, an angle that was going to occur two days later.

It should be noted that the decision made to change the Intercontinental title from Hart to Piper was made weeks ago, before any talks had even started with WCW. So despite rumors to the contrary that are sure to spread, it wasn't a last-minute decision made by Titan to get the belt off Hart for fear he was leaving. If anything, Hart knowing he was going to lose the title may have been an impetus in his exploring the option of a jump. Apparently WCW offered Hart a guaranteed deal that was substantially more than he had been earning as Intercontinental champ. However after apparently agreeing to the deal, Hart had to back off because he realized his contract with the WWF, which he thought had run out, had rolled over and he couldn't give notice for several more months. However, WCW sources indicate that Hart, who had backed out of the deal as of a few days ago, will be coming in after all in not too many months. Hart was promised that after losing the strap to Mountie at a house show that he would be getting it back at Wrestlemania, even if it meant in a babyface match against Piper. However those are the kind of promises in wrestling that aren't often kept. In this case, since word got out on several wrestling 900 numbers over the weekend (which said that Hart would be starting at the Clash on Tuesday, and I'm sure many people, with Hart not appearing at the Rumble--which was to sell the illness and allow Piper to get the match and the strap; believed that confirmed the reports he was jumping) the plan WCW was attempting, Hart probably isn't in exactly the most favorable political position in the WWF right now as a possible lame duck. As far as similar rumors involving Curt Hennig, first off, he's still months away from returning to the ring to begin with. Second, he just signed a new contract as an announcer with the WWF from what I'm told, although he is long-time friends with Rick Rude (they both grew up together in Robbinsdale, MN) and nearly everyone in wrestling is envious of Rude's contract with WCW (rumored to be $300,000 for working 142 dates).

Vince vs. HHH

Scott,

 

Regarding the inevitable HHH vs. Vince thing at WrestleMania 30, what do you think of HHH & Orton facing a McMahon team of Rock & Austin?  Doing a tag match would prevent Austin or Rock from having to work a full singles match and would allow them to just do a bunch of hot tags and run through their signature spots.  I think it would make sense for Vince to turn to his two biggest Attitude Era stars to combat HHH's new regime.  Not sure if Rock's most recent injury prevents him from being able to work again (or if Austin really has any interest in working again for that matter), but if so I think this could work. 

 

A

)  Neither has the ability to work a match at this point.

B)  A tag match to pay off this angle would be hella lame.  Really, it's gotta be HHH getting his ass kicked in a singles match to make it worthwhile.

Total Divas presented by Masked Reviewer: Episode 6

They go to Las Vegas.

BoD Daily Update

More Details on Edge's RAW Apperance Next Week
Edge is appearing to promote the season premiere of "Haven" on Syfy. As of right now, there are no other appearances lined up for Edge in the future

Credit Mike Johnson, PWInsider.com



WWE.com Article on the Rhodes Family Reacting to the Firing of Cody

http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2013-09-02/goldust-dusty-cody-rhodes-firing-comments-26146064



Jay Briscoe will appear at "Death Before Dishonor XI" on 9/20

He is scheduled to present the title to the winner of the tournament.

http://www.rohwrestling.com/news/jay-briscoe-update

10 Mind-Blowing Finishes That You Didn't Know Make Me Want To Punch Vince Russo (In the Face)

Hi Scott - Thanks again for passing along this article to be published at Place to Be Nation.  We really appreciate your partnership.  Here's the link for your readers:

 

http://placetobenation.com/10-mind-blowing-finishes-that-you-didnt-know-make-me-want-to-punch-vince-russo-in-the-face/

Always happy to share the love.  Or the hate in this case.  

What the World Was Watching: Monday Night Raw - December 1, 1997

by Logan Scisco

-Footage of the Legion of Doom losing that tag team titles on last week’s show to Jesse James and Billy Gunn is shown.  How will the LOD react to this defeat?

-Jim Ross and Jim Cornette are doing commentary and they are in Norfolk, Virginia.

-WWF Tag Team Champions Jesse James & Billy Gunn come out and James tells us that the Legion of Doom are not in the building.  Gunn says that they are going to wrestle the Headbangers in a non-title match tonight, but before they can finish their comments the Legion of Doom charge into the ring in street clothes and no face paint and run off the champions.

TNA DVD Compilation

> Hi Scott
>
> Have you ever notice on shoptna that TNA never released a dvd compilation for the past two years? Their last complation set was immortal forever? and they have not released a new compilation since. No best of Impact, no best of Aries, no best of bully ray, nothing.
>
> How would you improved their DVD marketing if they are not releasing them?

I think they're kinda going all in on the YouTube thing.

The SmarK RAW Rant–09.02.13

The SmarK RAW Rant – 09.02.13

Live from Des Moines, IA.

Your hosts are Michael Cole, JBL and Jerry Lawler

Ooo, now I get to CHOOSE which crappy “ad experience” I get on Hulu.

Matt Striker's Cheat Sheet to WWE Commentary

Hey Scott,

Matt Striker, your teacher, revealed the tricks of the trade to working behind the commentary table at WWE.

http://temple-news.com/arts/2013/09/03/corrigan-success-tips-from-matt-striker/

Is "Be annoying as hell and make shit up all the time" on that list?  

The PG Rant: Monday Night Raw, September 2, 2013

So when last we left our heroes, they were all punished by being forced to watch the main event.  I could keep typing for hours and not come up with a snarkier line than that.  Daniel Bryan held his own against all three members of the Shield, but eventually they got tired of playing by the rules and left him flat on his back.  And to add insult to injury, he was spraypainted on SmackDown.  The sign at WWE headquarters should read “IT HAS BEEN [17] DAYS SINCE WE ENDED A SHOW ON A HIGH NOTE”.

TONIGHT: CM Punk and Daniel Bryan have things to say!

- The PG Rant for Monday Night Raw, September 2, 2013.

- Live from Des Moines, IA.

- Your hosts are Michael Cole, JBL, and Jerry Lawler.

- Note to self: insert page break here.

No Postgame tonight.

I might do it tomorrow night, but a holiday weekend of partying, needing to watch Breaking Bad with the girlfriend and general exhaustion are gonna preclude it from getting posted tonight.

TNA cancels live event

http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/tna/TNA_Cancels_Live_Event_Former_TNA_Knockout_Gives_Birth_Names_Confirmed_for_Upcoming_UK_Tour.html
>
> Everything = fine.
>  
>

Best to leave the snarky TNA one liners to the professionals.

Live RAW Thread

Posting it now in the event that TPrincess was away tonight.

Blog fodder

Scott, scouring the web trying to pass time on the overnight shift.  Figured id get your opinion on some completely random stuff.

1) If you had to bet your house on: The Rock appearing on wwe tv again but not wrestling, never appearing on wwe tv again, coming back at some point and doing a short run that includes a WM match, which do you pick (excluding HOF tv appearances.)

2) Where in the blue hell is Big Johnny in this Bryan/HHH angle?  Hed be the perfect HHH lackey.

3) If Hogan decides he doesnt want to turn NwO, what happens?  Doesn't he position himself as the top opposing face and eventually go over the entire NwO, thus killing it in less then a year? 

4) Rank these in order of ability to work: Austin, Rock, Cena, Brock.

1

.  Safest bet would be appearing but not wrestling.  The injury from last WM was apparently really bad and I can't see insurance companies letting him continue doing that with $20 million paydays on the line.  But I can't see Rock staying away from WWE forever either. 

2.  He got fired ages ago and replaced by HHH and his cronies in real life.  I think he's still working as a road agent for house shows, but Johnny is very much a product of the previous regime and was gonna be one of the first to go when HHH took over.  

3.  Yeah, I couldn't see Hogan as a babyface opposing the nWo working out for them very well.  

4.  Austin could do anything pre-injury and almost as much post-injury.  Brock is a freak of nature but within a limited style so he gets #2.  Rock was great with someone greater than him but didn't tend to carry weaker guys to strong matches so he's #3.  Cena always delivers in the big matches and can carry guys within his one style of match, but he's a total product of the WWE system and he'd be lost if forced to do things like they did in the old days.  Which isn't to say he's not great in own way but he can't touch any of the other three.  

My Amazon Review of The Hardcore Truth

(I was inspired to actually write an Amazon review for once and decided to post it to the blog to hopefully drum up more business for Bob and co-author Ross Williams)

Bob Holly's "The Hardcore Truth" is a fantastic wrestling book, probably one of the best I've read. Not only amazing to read the behind-the-scenes drama of WWE from someone who was there the whole time, but someone who held no illusions about his position in the company. There's no stories about Bob Holly heroically diving in to perform CPR on Owen Hart or influencing the giant news stories that happened around him, just a guy who lived his life like his wrestling career: Head down, mouth closed, roll with the punches and give as good as he gets. It ends up being kind of a sad story because of how matter-of-factly Bob states that he gave everything to the business and it destroyed his body, but at the same time Bob holds no regrets and ended up set for life, so it's hard to feel too sad for him when he's clearly very happy with how his life ended up. Most importantly, I came out of this with a lot of respect for someone who had always been a fringe player, and made me appreciate what he gave to the business just a little more than I had before. This is a great read and I highly recommend it for all wrestling fans who yearn to hear more about the bygone Attitude era from someone who saw it all and has no dog in the fight or personal biases. Except for Steve Blackman, apparently, because Bob LOVES that guy.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Hardcore-Truth-Holly-ebook/dp/B00BAH7XDE/ref=cm_aya_orig_subj

Focused booking

Hey Scott, 

Is this the most focused WWE booking has been in ages, or is it just me?

Orton vs Bryan is the single big title feud, but from it we get involvement from The Shield and Wade Barrett on one side, and Ziggler/Henry/Big Show/Miz on the other. 

Elsewhere, Punk's feud with Heyman has been building nicely for a while, there are several over tag teams, and even the Divas have something to do! 

I'm not saying that Curtis Axel's setting the world on fire, or that Cesaro couldn't be better used, but for once I'm looking forward to post-Summerslam/pre-Royal Rumble WWE and the solid, logical booking is a big part of that. I also realise we're building to a HHH/Mcmahon thing at WMXXX, but you can't have everything.

Curious to hear your thoughts.

Thanks, Ioan

It seems more focused because Vince and HHH are both directly involved and thus that's what they're paying attention to.  Vince is not gonna involve himself in something that's midcard fodder, so it's in his best interest to make sure the storyline is well-constructed and delivering ratings, which this one is.  

Glen Jacobs Shoot style

Hi Scott,

I'm sure you have many emails, hope this finds you well.

Not sure if you have seen this, Glen Jacobs (Kane/Isaac Yankem etc) wrestling all shooty style in Japan. Interesting, didn't know the big guy could go in this style.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUAwy0W3xtw

That wins the award for strangest Match of the Day in a while.  

NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #58

 

August 20, 2003

Your hosts are Don West and Mike Tenay

The show starts with Raven and The Gathering, including the returning CM Punk, brawling with the New Church, which has now replaced Brian Lee with Sinn. Raven calls out the mystery man then the lights go off and when they come back on, Raven is bleeding and is now being hung by the New Church. They are doing a tremendous job with Raven as a face.

Scott Hudson is backstage talking with Jerry Lynn. After Lynn talks about how he has never been a primadonna, he says is losing money because of Callis. Shortly after that, Callis interrupts and informs him that he will only fine him $5,000 then has Red-Shirt security remove him from the building.

 

Random ass idea

I was thinking about hosting a rap battle on the blog. Basically just start a thread where everyone just lays out freestyles and whoever gets the most upvotes wins. If I did that would you be willing to offer the winner a repost, rant, or Scott Sez of their choice? Lemme know what u think, I know that isn't normally your kinda thing but it could be fun.

Christian:  "Tomko, give me a beat!"

Tomko:  "No."

Hogan, Vince and a Cement Mixer

Two scenarios for you:

1.  On the way to meet Vince McMahon for the first time ever, Hogan gets run over by a cement mixer.

2.  On the way to meet Hulk Hogan for the first time ever, Vince gets run over by a cement mixer.

How does each scenario affect the survivor's career and the wrestling industry as a whole?

1

.  He would no-sell the mixer and pop up, deliver three punches to the truck, and drop the big leg on it to win his title back, brother!  Or rather, Vince would try out a series of guys on top like JYD, Snuka, Kerry Von Erich and probably eventually buy Lex Luger from Crockett and run with him on top.  Business would probably be fine but not explode on MTV or create national headlines with Wrestlemania and such.

2.  Vince would flip the double bird to St. Peter on the way to the afterlife, and the wrestling business as we know it would be dead by 1988 when Crockett spent himself out of business and there was no national template for WCW to follow.  Probably it would just be a bunch of indy promotions constantly searching for money marks and the carrot of a national TV deal.  Vince was really FAR more important to the business as a whole than Hogan was.  

The History of Console Games

This is a pretty damn cool infographic...

Why Miz?

Dear Scott,

Big fan and all that jazz.  I was recently thinking about Miz's WWE title reign and the main event of WrestleMania 27 and how weird the whole deal was.  I understand they were setting up Rock/Cena.  But considering that the role of Miz could've gone to anybody, why did it go to Miz?  Right gay in the right time or did WWE brass really think Miz was going to be an A-Lister?

P.S. 20/20 hindsight and all, how perfect would it have been if Punk had been the heel champ against Cena?

I assume you mean right GUY at the right time.  Although that would explain a lot...

But yes, they legitimately thought Miz was going to be an A-lister who could get them big mainstream cred and do talk shows with the belt and stuff.  To say that it failed spectacularly would be an understatement, but at least they tried.