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RF Video On the Road with Raven

This was filmed in December 2006.

This is a two-disc set, totaling at two hours and fifty-eight minutes long

It is conducted by Rob Feinstein and Doug Gentry, in his last on camera appearance before he passed away. The poor guy looked sick too. A graphic for him is on the screen before the interview.





The disc starts with Raven on a shopping spree in New Hope, PA. He is walking around with some girl, who has one fine set of tits but a busted face, then walks into the "Witch Shop." They talk about the Nip/Tuck season finale and some other TV shows before leaving.


He then talks to someone about his new character (the leader of the Serotonin stable) and how he wears a white suit. He then talks about meeting people at DragonCon and wants something that looks like it would hurt if it hit you but not too bad. He then wants Gentry to come over and be his guinea pig. Raven shoots the shit for several more minutes with the guys from the shop. He looks at various swords and masks along with other weapons. This is going on for far too long and is not at all interesting to me. The only thing remotely entertaining was Raven ragging on Feinstein and Gentry.


We are now shown Raven being picked up at the airport in Baltimore, MD on 12/28/06 as he heads to a show for Maryland Championship Wrestling. Raven then talks in the car about how the people in Philadelphia are bigger deviants than those in New York City and how Howard Stern said the same thing. Raven then calls Baltimore the ghetto version of Philly. Gentry talks about how he used to sell flowers as Raven seems interested and they talk about some notoriously perverted guy who used to pay boys to shit in their underwear and take it home with him and how Gentry sold him his socks for $10 when the guy offered to buy them and then heard that he would pay kids to go to the bathroom in his house.


Still in the car, Raven talks about falling in the trap of using drugs to be cool and how he wanted to be Keith Richards. He then says that there comes a time when you have to grow up once he realized that and stopped using. Raven then talks about Bob Evans after they pass it on the road and how he eats their pancakes with honey.


Raven then talks on his phone to his mechanic about having problems with his tires. They finally arrive to the arena as Raven wants to go to Bob Evans at some point. He is backstage as the camera work is too shaky to see who else is there.


We now see Raven get checked out by the Maryland State Athletic Commission. They take his vital signs as the old guy who is in charge talks about how Smackdown was in town recently and saw guys like Sgt. Slaughter and Dusty Rhodes but forgot everyone else. To say this guy's memory was gone is an understatement. The doctor then makes Raven do a sobriety test as Raven fucks around for a minute before taking it seriously.


Raven goes backstage and eats his food that he brought along from the Atlanta airport. Feinstein comments how it smells like shit as Raven responds by saying that it smells like Feinstein's mom. Guys on the show like Jeff Jones and Danny Doring walk by and say hi for a bit.


Doring then comes back and talks with Raven for a bit as Feinstein asks Raven about his opponent tonight, Nick Berk. They then talk about the ex-boyfriend of an ECW rat who is here and how he invested the boys money. Raven asks Doring about Chetti and learned that his wife became pregnant with their 5th child the day after he got a vasectomy. He also said that Chetti told his wife that he got a $1,500 bonus for Christmas and she ended up giving him $300 and keeping the rest. Doring then talks about how he told Chetti not to worry about the 5th kid because in the next ten years he will found out that he had fathered six or seven more.


Feinstein is now with Nick Berk, who is pumped about wrestling Raven tonight. They then meet for the first time briefly as Raven heads over to his gimmick table past all of the fans at the event as there still Christmas decorations up with KC and the Sunshine Band playing in the background. Raven signs some autographs and is not exactly the friendliest guy while doing so as he seems annoyed when fans request a picture. 90% of the fans are obese and wearing hooded sweatshirts and glasses. Raven seems to warm up a tad to the fans near the end. He did insist one fan get an extra picture after she gave him extra money and when she refused, he gave it to a kid. Some guy who claims to sell wrestling merchandise at a flea market attempts to cut a deal with him as Raven said he will talk to him later. Raven briefly comments on the covers on Women's Wrestling matches.


After leaving the gimmick table, Raven heads up to the locker room and talks with Berk. Raven comments on how he looks like George Hamilton with his mustache and how he has to rent "Love at First Bite." Berk then comments on how he recently was on WWE TV portraying Michael Richards in a skit. MCW owner Dan McDevitt comes out and says that Tom Brandi will not be here as he had a part of the show as Raven and McDevitt talk about the past and how Raven would like to work here in the future. McDevitt then wants Berk to fill the role of Brandi and they go through the segment as a girl walks by dressed as a slutty elf. Raven learns that his match was not advertised and how he got the spot right before first intermission. Raven then suggests how to make the segment better and he ends up schooling them both with his knowledge. The owner is actually incorporating his real-life divorce into the story. Raven stresses to let the heels get the heat as several other wrestlers on the show stand around and listen to Raven lay out how to do the segment and says that the heel shouldnt be too funny in bringing up the divorce as the fans will laugh and how they should say things to make the fans feel uncomfortable so he still maintains his heel heat. Raven then walks Berk through on what to do that will make the segment work. Chasity comes out and chills with Raven for a bit and looks great to be honest. Raven then talks to Berk after everyone else leaves and asks if he gets were he is coming from. Berk responds by saying that he listens to Opie & Anthony and how they are offensive and uses that style but Raven reminds him how this audience listens to that stuff so they will not be offended. Raven then suggests to study tapes of Jim Cornette and Paul Heyman when they were in WCW. Raven is teaching these guys a lot and just does a great job of it to be honest. The WWE would really benefit from him in NXT but that is never going to happen.


Raven is now getting dressed and asks the owner if he can go on after the intermission so it gets more time and so he can stretch for a bit. He then talks some more about the segment and how the heel should "pat him on the back then shove it up his ass." Raven closes the disc by alerting everyone that he has to take a shit.



DISC TWO


We leave off with Raven still in the locker room. He then gets a Bob Evans delivery and shares it with Doring, who jokes about how he learned a lot from who he traveled with. For instance, he learned from Raven on what to eat and also learned to wear a rubber with your wife from Chris Chetti and not tell your wife that you got a Christmas bonus.


Berk talks to Raven about how he talked to him when he was in ECW. Raven then talks to Doring about Francine and how she claims to be in love with her boyfriend as Doring doesn't believe her. Raven then says that he believes it is real as she can tell it in her voice. He then asks Doring if he ever got with her and he said that Francine told him that she was told who not to talk with.


Doring and Raven then talk about masturbating and it is a pretty funny conversation to be honest. Its all just shooting the shit stuff but actually entertaining, unlike Raven in the shops of New Hope, PA. Doring is always hysterical in shoot interviews.


Raven then tells Berk again that being funny kills heel heat and to not think funny when he interrupts the owner's speech but rather think mean. He even suggests some lines to him as they finish up talking as Berk thanks him. Again, Raven did a tremendous job giving advice.


After some more bullshitting, Raven heads backstage in the gorilla position and stretches as McDevitt and Berk have their confrontation. He then talks with Chasity and Jeff Jones and after a few minutes, peaks through the curtain and a few minutes after that, Raven is introduced and he runs in and clotheslines Berk, wrestling as a character called Nicky Benz, to the floor. Raven then cuts a promo before beating the crap out of him outside of the ring. They have their match, which isnt anything special, and Raven wins that. He limps to the back then talks to McDevitt in the locker room about how he should have not pulled the microphone away from Berk as it turns to a pissing contest and it hurts his sympathy a bit but most importantly, it kills the tension as the heel should be in control of his own segment and that is why there were two microphones. This is Raven offering constructive criticism and not being a dick. Overall, Raven puts over the segment and said it made the crowd sympathetic towards the face.


Raven then teaches Berk some more and how the heel needs to build heat so the face can make the big comeback. He says that when the face is on the ground set up, attack them. Raven talks about how as a heel, you need to be good enough that when you show ass, people still think you are a prick. Berk then thanks Raven for all he has taught him.


Final Thoughts: To begin, this was a documentary, not a shoot interview. No questions were really asked to Raven and he was filmed the entire time during his normal daily routine. The only stories provided were from Danny Doring as he ragged on Chris Chetti. The beginning with him at the shops was tedious but watching him at the show and seeing him shoot the shit backstage, interact with fans, and teach others about wrestling was fantastic. It was all raw footage and very, very interesting to watch. It doesnt make for an interesting recap to read though.


Raven really stood out here with his wrestling knowledge. He was teaching everyone and not in a condescending way either. Watching and listening him explain his reasons on how something will and will not work was something else. Also, watching an indy show from behind the scenes is about as dreary as you would expect. From the venue to the talent, it was sad at times.


Another problem was that the sound quality was rough as it was hard to listen when Raven was shopping and when he was backstage waiting for his cue to come out to the ring. The camera work was shaky at times too. However, I do recommend this shoot as the footage of Raven at the show is worth watching. My recommendation is to skip until he reaches the venue as everything else is dull. Luckily, a majority of the shoot takes place at the show.


You can purchase the video at RFVideo.com, who has a sale lasting through tomorrow for 25% off shoot interviews.

http://www.rfvideo.com/


Here is my schedule:

Friday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 10/4/86
Saturday: RoH Scramble Madness 11/16/02
Sunday: WWF Saturday Night's Main Event 10/4/86
Tuesday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 10/5/86
Thursday: Shoot Interview TBD

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mrbayless1982

Comments

  1. This guy is schlepping the indies and Joey fucking Mercury is an agent.

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  2. *couldn't (spelling crime)

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  3. WWE Unsure About How to Present a New Stable?


    How about having the black referee (whatever his name is) getting shot by the cops for shitting in Orton's gym bag. Then all the black wrestlers banning together and tearing up their own locker room in protest.



    /too soon?

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  4. ....



    ..........


    DAMN YOU!!!!!!!!!!! *shakes fist*

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  5. Why not make them a dancing group?

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  6. I think that's fairly obvious.

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  7. Public Enemy even had a dancing group so why not. They didn't really dance per se, they were like a drill team or something.

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  8. Which is exactly the majority of fans problem with Cena. It's why I didn't hate the promo Cesaro cut on him when he said "you're not a wrestler, you're a billboard", because he's right, Cena comes off like the biggest tool/doofus/jackass when he comes out dressed like that.


    For crying out loud, there's a Facebook group called "Laughing at Guy's who wear Jorts".


    And yeah, I know Austin/Rock/Hogan all wore their own merchandise, but the way Cena does it comes off as really obnoxious.

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  9. The S1Ws. They were like a militant step team.

    Boom got a new role for the Funkdactyls!

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  10. I was going to call them the B-52s but I knew that wasn't right. Nice catch. They didn't have chicks did they?

    Have you ever seen "Drop Squad" by any chance?

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  11. Raven filed suit against the WWE. He is never going to be hired by them

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  12. Doring is hysterical

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  13. No, I haven't. Movie?

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  14. Magoonie NOT Teddy BelmontAugust 28, 2014 at 10:51 AM

    What statement did Cena send exactly? That he needs to be saved by Show and Henry to get the job done?

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  15. Yeah, it was about the group of militants that would kidnap "sellouts" and try to rehabilitate them or whatever you want to call it. It's from 90 something starring Eric LaSalle

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  16. That would be a hell of a gimmick, take Woods and have him show Mark Henry old footage of him when he was World Champion and go from there. Tell Kofi about how the WWE didn't respect his Ghana heritage when he entered and tried to make him a Jamaican.

    A little too edgy for PG but like that's the kind of unseen footage that would be perfect for the Network to explain a change in character.

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  17. Steve Austin does a better job of selling WWE's storylines than they do.

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  18. Oh joy. Here comes 18 more "Cena should turn heel" threads coming up in the next 2 weeks. Thank you Heyman and Austin!

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  19. Hogan, Austin, Rock, or Cena never guest starred on the Simpsons.

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  20. Being on the Simpsons, especially at that time, was a big deal.

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  21. He should never "turn heel" like Hogan did in '96, but it wouldn't hurt him for the character to be more aggressive. Like Shawn in '96 against Diesel and Mankind. He was still a total babyface, but he had to pull out all the stops in those two matches.

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  22. Dave on Jericho is pretty great too, my favorite part was something like: "And then I had to stop going to Twitter because people were so negative saying I wouldn't but Bryan over, it's like...c'mon guys I just tapped out to him at the biggest show of the year TWO DAYS AGO."

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  23. Well, he did manage to have an affair with Mr Burns' mother.....
    "Heh heh...Taft, you old dog...."

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  24. Tremendous post.

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  25. You mean like he was just last monday? Oh wait, he buried the Wyatts, so that's still unacceptable. #LOLCENACANTWIN

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  26. He should continue to be exactly the same guy he has been for the last 10 years. Business is booming!

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  27. The Wyatts are bunch of jobbers at this point. Cena needs to take a chair to Brock....like he should have done to Wyatt at Wrestlemania.

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  28. Johnny Polo was much more entertaining than Raven

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  29. "There is a risk that spoilers for TNA's Bound for Glory PPV will get
    leaked as they are taping several Impact episodes in advance. The
    September 16-19 tapings in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania will include four
    weeks of Impact that will air after the PPV in October."


    and with their luck, everyone at the ppv will drop dead simultaneously, thus negating the next 4 weeks of impact


    b/c tna

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  30. So you want him to EMBRACE THE HATE... Kane tried and failed... The Wyatts tried and failed... Maybe 3rd time is the charm!

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  31. If he doesn't this time, coming off that Summerslam demolition by Brock, then he never will.

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  32. " see what happens?"

    and let play it out?

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  33. "2) The switch was from Swagger looking like a loser to...Swagger looking like a loser."

    pfft, he wishes he looked like me!

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  34. football will be back in a few weeks

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  35. I thought there would be tales of the disgusting, horrible things that Raven did to women he was sleeping with.

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  36. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonAugust 28, 2014 at 11:14 AM

    I can't even imagine Cena as a heel anymore.

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  37. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonAugust 28, 2014 at 11:15 AM

    I felt he should have turned heel in Nexus. But oh well.

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  38. Just pick something shitty on Netflix.

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  39. Truth already did this gimmick when he faced Cena for the title, then they turned him comedy again with a brief respite as part of Awesome Truth.

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  40. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonAugust 28, 2014 at 11:16 AM

    They were the FOI (Fruit of Islam) a security team.
    But just on the basis of you knowing that makes me want to breed with you.

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  41. The Chaperone?

    Too shitty?

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  42. I've never been a big Callahan fan, but I am interested to see how they handle Stevie Keen

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  43. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonAugust 28, 2014 at 11:18 AM

    No they didn't. That is how the FOI perform drills.

    http://youtu.be/WXal1CGaISQ

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  44. Wait, where did you hear about this price? I've been searching high and low, and couldn't find any mention of $9.99 anywhere.

    What a steal!

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  45. This was pretty pointless

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  46. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonAugust 28, 2014 at 11:20 AM

    That would be like Statler and Waldorf not going to see the Muppet Show.

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  47. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonAugust 28, 2014 at 11:21 AM

    Can't we just get Abeyance to fill it out 100 times and call it a day?

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  48. Extant1979 - Ghetto SuperstarAugust 28, 2014 at 11:21 AM

    "Who the fuck hired Raven?"

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  49. Wow, Vince Jordan is just setting the bar in being an insufferable ass in this thread today.

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  50. It was cool to see Raven discussing the match and how to get heat and draw face sympathy. Its something you can appreciate more by watching than reading what I wrote. The material makes for a dull recap

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  51. hey look, it's the unconditional Cena hater being offended that not everybody thinks John Cena is the devil.

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  52. ........................................................yep

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  53. He's not the Devil, he's played out.

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  54. See John Cena as a heel on the WWE Network for only $9.99!

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  55. I'm assuming that between disks when Raven had to shit, he went and did it in someone's bag. Wouldn't be a proper wrestling shoot/doc without it.

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  56. Chucky/Steiner had a larger audience during a hotter time for wrestling and actually had WEEKS OF BUILD-UP to it, which is flabbergasting if you think about it. Plus afterward announcers seriously had to hype that "we don't know what role Chucky will play in the Steiners match at the PPV." It's a little different than a throwaway bit of cross-promotion that was forgotten about as soon as it was over.

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  57. "Raven then talks about Bob Evans after they pass it on the road"

    i'd have laughed if this was "they pass him" and they're referring to the dude in roh

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  58. "who the fu--"

    oh, never mind

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  59. i saw him give his business card to someone once at a convention and he said, "this has my shoot name on it"

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  60. Have you watched any others like this one? It did make for sort of a dull read, but I think the backstage stuff would be really cool to watch. Especially with a guy like Raven who, while he may be crazy, has a very respected mind for the business.

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  61. Jake's is more entertaining. I have Sheik's and Honky's too, alnog with Sandman's

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  62. You know, around the time that the WWF was in Central New York every other taping, they would weirdly send around a lot of heels for the public appearances/autograph signings. I got Nash's autograph at a grocery store when he was still Shawn's bodyguard, and Adam Bomb's at the mall when he was still a heel. That was the first time I ever started to like heels, because those two were really nice in person (and I was a super-shy 8-year old, scared of everything).
    So, is Cena right? Those two were never heels again in my mind.

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  63. CruelConnectionNumber2August 28, 2014 at 1:04 PM

    They used new stuff from him for the Heyman DVD so maybe time will heal old wounds.

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  64. ...telling the wrestlers he doesn't have enough to pay them their full fee but "next month will be a bigger show," etc.

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  65. This is literally the first thing I think of whenever I see Raven or hear something about Raven. Not the great angles, not the great matches, just Vince looking like he just smelled something funny and saying, "Who the fuck hired Raven?"

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  66. Raven screwed up SO badly leaving a WWE announcing spot, he was absolutely tremendous on commentary. Thinking if he'd kept on he could be drawing a regular check from Vince and sitting in the chair currently occupied by JBL.

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  67. Cena power is towed on Sting and Hulk Hogan's legacy.

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  68. They didn't want him to lose his smile.

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  69. Teachers don't have vacations -- unless they are famous professors in college with massive million dollar book deals.

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  70. Sneaking out the back door with the cash...the usual.

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  71. No cameo from Mr. Fuji doing something devious?

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  72. Bayless, you did the best with what you had to work with, but this sounds horrible. I really wish Sheik had won the vote.

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  73. Didn't Tatanka do his Indian gimmick in TNA? So I'm sure he owns the rights to it, and even if he didn't, WCW aren't above giving ex-WWF guys similar gimmicks.

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  74. Just think though, guys. If it weren't for the Klique and 1995/1996 we never would've gotten that second incarnation of the Triple Threat! Then what would the French Fries have done?!

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  75. This is something that does needs to be watched to be appreciated.
    I was disappointed but seeing him at the show and behind the scenes was really cool and I like RAW footage like that.

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  76. "What the hell are YOU staring at???"

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  77. Hell, if it had been cancelled five years later, it could have had a Family Guy-style cult following and stood a chance of coming back. Same goes for The Critic.

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  78. "Vince notes that RAW did its highest rating ever last week, which was a 3.5 according to the Observer. So yes, even these horrible shows are doing better than today’s product."


    I love that Vince glosses over it, too, whereas today, we'd have a giant obnoxious DID YOU KNOW graphic to accompany it.

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  79. Not saying Kronik were workrate machines but they were incredibly over in late WCW and got sandbagged by the suckpile of a tag team that is the Brothers of Destruction. More like Brothers of Terrible 2001 Matches, amirite?

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  80. Austin does terrific interviews with non wrestling folks too. His interview with Josh Barnett was fantastic and his interview with the founder of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company is a must for any craft beer aficionado.

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  81. Austin's bit about the 50 pound pole vaulting rats on steroids that he squares off with in the wrestling ring is this marvel of escalating hilarity and over the top grandeur. The best wrestling promo he never got to cut in a ring.

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  82. Early Family Guy was a *HUGE* ripoff of The Critic.

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  83. His old blog was awesome. Somehow he never got good at putting that on TV, instead he'd CUT EVERY PROMO AT THIS TONE AND VOLUME THE WHOLE TIME NO MATTER WHAT!!!!! Totally didn't fit his gimmick.

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  84. I have this On The Road DVD and the only things I got out of it were:
    Raven is a deviant who likes strange food
    Chris Chetti is scared of condoms
    Danny Doring is the coolest, funniest dude on the planet
    And Jeff Jones is a massive dickhead.

    Otherwise I just found the whole thing to be boring. The Honky Tonk Man/Raven Face Off was a huge improvement over this.

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  85. After describing various sex stories: "This is the filthiest fucking shoot ever. Anybody know I can do an elbowdrop?"

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  86. Another great Doring quote: someone once asked him if he even had a Titantron video when he was in WWE's ECW and he said "Yeah. It was the trailer for "The Marine". Fucking classic.

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