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The inbox just keeps piling up, so let’s see if I can bang off a few questions here before work…

Hey Scott,

Read this piece on the dirtsheets, your thoughts?
”For some time, Sami Zayn has been receiving a lot of praise by WWE officials for his in ring work. But now word comes that the promotion wants him to stop climbing the ropes and playing to the crowd as much as he does. Word is that Vince McMahon is not a fan of stars doing that.”

The website you cited omitted Meltzer’s zinger to follow up, as he noted that Vince must have hated drawing millions of dollars when Steve Austin did the same thing.  I don’t know even know what decade Vince is living in these days, to be honest.

WWE sent out a DVD survey listing a bunch of stuff they want to get fans' opinions on and one of them was a Randy Savage DVD/Blu-Ray with a documentary.

What matches would you put on the set (with nothing being recycled from the first Savage DVD)? 

The first DVD was surprisingly good about getting all the major stuff.  It’s getting tough to find unique matches to put on there these days, actually, but I’d throw the Savage-Warrior match from Summerslam 92 on there (is that thing ANYWHERE on DVD besides the Summerslam set?)  and the Flair-Savage title change from 92 as well (the one infamously restarted by Vince, probably I’d put both versions on there for fun).  I’d put the original Savage-Steamboat TV match with the ringbell, maybe a couple of Dibiase matches from 88 (Wrestlefest 88 comes to mind), the crazy Tito Santana brawl from MSG that was on his Coliseum video, the Savage/Adonis v. Bruno/Tito tag match from the cage match video, maybe some WCW stuff that doesn’t suck…there’s probably quite a bit out there still.  Honestly you could pull hours of footage from Coliseum videos and recycle them for new audiences.

Scott,

Have you ever heard what WWE had planned in 2011, before CM Punk re-signed and the 'Summer of Punk' made him a new top guy?  If Punk was not necessarily in the cards beyond 'Money in the Bank', what was supposed to be next in a WWE without Punk?  Was Cena vs. Del Rio the next big program, since ADR had just won the MITB briefcase?  More Cena-HHH?  Cena vs. Nash?  I don't see any other obvious opponents for Cena from that summer to Wrestlemania, before the Rock-Cena match at Wrestlemania 28.  So, if Punk doesn't re-sign in 2011, what was in the cards for WWE that year?

You’re basing the question on the premise that Punk’s contract ending was not a work, which is not a valid premise.  They knew he’d be re-signing all along and everything on TV was scripted.

How would you bring the Intercontinental title back to something resembling its former prestige?

Is it as simple as jobbing the current IC champ to a big name like Punk, Del Rio or Sheamus and letting them run with the belt for a while? Or can you keep the belt on a rising mid-card talent but book a long-term rehabilitation plan to elevate that wrestler and the title?

Personally, I don't think the IC title needs to be put on an established big name -- I like it as a tool to elevate younger mid-card types. So I think you can keep the belt on guys like Langston and Ryback but do more to make their characters and storylines feel important.

How would you book it?

Put it on a rising midcard talent and then don’t fucking beat them every week.  Big E really needs to get the belt off Axel because it doesn’t help Axel or the belt, for instance, to be out there jobbing to Punk like Jobby McJobber on TV all the time. 

Hi Scott,
I was wondering if you could tell me if I'm remembering this correctly.  When Ric Flair came back to the WWF after WCW died, was there a period of time when they did their best to not have him cut promos because they didn't like his mic work?  My brain keeps telling me that this was a thing, but Google isn't helping me confirm it.

Sounds like something, but the WONs aren’t archived back to that time yet and my print copies are buried somewhere in the basement so I can’t confirm. 

Hi Scott,

Why did Vince never run Wrestlemania from multiple venues again after Wrestlemania II? I would have guessed that pulling in 3x the gate would offset any logistical headache and make it worthwhile. Any idea on this? Related question - we know that the first WM was viewed as a big success and kept Vince in business, how did WM II do, business-wise? And if it did well, that just reinforces the first question of why Vince never ran from multiple venues again.

It did not do very well business-wise from a PPV standpoint, although the actual shows drew well, but at least by that time Vince’s national expansion meant that he wasn’t going to be going to the poor house if the show flopped ala the first Wrestlemania.  Plus I’ve heard that the shows were a logistical nightmare and fans were annoyed by the “get four matches live, watch 8 on the big screen” setup of the arenas.  These days I’m sure they could pull it off, but why?  Personally I’ve never understood the appeal.  Yeah, it’s three times the gate, but it’s also three times the expenses, maybe more if you factor in the simulcasting and such.  Doesn’t seem like there’s much payoff.

http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/301343/Independent-Promotions-Working-Together-to-Form-United-Wrestling-Network.htm

"This collection of Promoters is excited to build a new sanctioning body for pro wrestling. Our goal is to work within our local areas to create new talent, recognize a common "United" Champion and plus our broadcasts. Although the idea of a sanctioning body isn't new, "United" is being executed with fresh eyes especially for the digital age. I know this is going to take time to launch and educate the public, but I'm positive the outcome will achieve our goals," states Marquez.

The criteria for participating are simple. There is no "Membership", "Franchise" or "Affiliate" fees. All sanctioned promotions must have a television broadcast or agree to terms to produce a broadcast to participate."

So if you're TNA and you see this, wouldn't you think this is a solution to keep you alive? You get footholds in a lot of markets you can't sell out yourself, you have the most attractive stars and the biggest TV deal by far. You become the pinnacle promotion and you share talent with the other feds (using them as jobbers, sending your younger guys out to get some seasoning) Send guys like James Storm out to do what basically ROH and TNA did at the beginning and have them make your local guy look like a million bucks but win in the end.

Am I naive enough to believe something like this would be a way better solution than what they're doing now? 

Yes. Promoters can barely agree long enough to order a cup of coffee together.  This will not go anywhere.

Reports are Triple H is big on again attempting to rebuild the tag division. What better way than to bring back the 10 on 10 Survivor Series tag match.  Team captains Cody and Goldust with the Usos, Los Matadores, Tons of Funk and Santino/Khali vs. Team Shield with the Wyatt Family, Real Americans, 3MB, and the Ascension.   This would open the show and whip the crowd into a frenzy.  Then you have a Team Bryan vs. Team Authority main event.  If they finally have Heyman join HHH, then you can run Bryan, Punk, Langston, Ziggler, and Christian vs. Orton, Ambrose, Ryback, Axel, Sandow.  Add another Cena/ADR gimmick match and Triple H vs. Big Show and you got a great old fashioned Survivor Series card. Interested to hear your thoughts

I think it’s time to let the old fashioned Survivor Series die.  The show stopped drawing for a reason.  And I really don’t see 3MB being involved in anything that’s going to whip anyone in a frenzy. 

Watching the Make a Wish clip with Mark Calloway got me to thinking:  what's the end game for Undertaker?  Every year we think he is retiring and every year he comes back.  With him only having to wrestle once or twice a year, I could see him pushing the Streak to 25-0.  So a few questions:

How much longer do you think Taker sticks with it?

Does the Streak stand?

Will he end putting someone over or go out on top?  If so, who?

I think he’s gonna stick with it for at least a few more years.  Doing one match a year allows for a LOT of rest between matches, and he can let it all hang out in the ring.  Ending the streak certainly does have value, although I just don’t think there’s anyone who both needs the rub and could properly benefit from it.  If they have someone beat him and then waste that with their usual 50/50 booking bullshit by trying to then use THAT to elevate someone else on a lower tier, then they might as well have not done it at all.  Really the only guys I could realistically see ending it would be Cena in a scenario where the alternative is worse for the fans than the streak ending (like, say, HHH or Paul Heyman getting permanent control of the company if Cena can’t end the streak) or Shawn Michaels coming out of retirement to do it, since fans would buy that he could and probably not hate him forever for doing it.

Comments

  1. Another way to elevate the IC title would be to eliminate the useless US title. There's too many dagnabed titles.

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  2. I had always heard that the butyrate suffered big time for Wrestlemania 2, and that the Nassau Coliseum in particular Drew poorly. In fact, there are some vintage shots from the event that show many empty seats.

    I think if you want another big stadium gate, but want to avoid a logistical nightmare, you run another annual stadium show for summerslam. August is a month when you can actually comfortably sit in a north east stadium. So you run your Mania in Cali, Los Angeles etc and your summerslam in Philly.

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  3. I call bullshit on that Vince/Sami rumor.

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  4. A 10 on 10 match sounds like a goddamn nightmare.


    I like the 4 on 4 or maybe 5 on 5 match format, and having 1 or 2 of them at a Survivor Series would be good enough for me. If it gets pulled out for the Authority angle, give the guys at least 25 minutes for the main tag portion and finish the match up with an extended 1 on 1 bit to make a it a legit show-closer.


    Ahhh, who the fuck am I kidding, I still wouldn't pay to watch it.

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  5. Agreed, Rock, Triple H, Austin, Orton all have done/do it.

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  6. Sweet Jesus, a thousand times THIS. The U.S. title should be merged with the I-C title and the World title should be merged with the WWE title. Since Smackdown and RAW are no longer separate brands, there is no damn need for so many titles.

    If they want to feature additional titles from time to time, bring the NXT singles and tag champs up occasionally for a match on the big show.

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  7. At this point I say let the Undertaker retire with the streak. If he does lose it have it to turn Cena heel when Cena is no longer a draw as a face (which isn't this year). Using it to cement a young star as a huge deal is a dicey prospect.

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  8. It depends. If he means DURING the match I can see it. But BEFORE the match I'm with you.

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  9. THIS. They need to actually start treating SummerSlam like the #2 show of the year, instead of just saying that it is.


    ... but we all know the Rumble is the #2 show anyway.

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  10. Your_Favourite_LoserOctober 25, 2013 at 1:21 PM

    just read something that there is in fact consideration for a war games next fall, but they're not sure if they should given the proximity to survivor series

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  11. I don't disagree with the main titles merging but it's too much to hope for. It's not happening. They like having two main titles to build multiple story lines for their umteen hours of television. They don't need the two midcard titles, though. They don't even utilize one or the other at ppvs on a regular basis anyway.

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  12. The WON was reporting back in late 86 and early 87 that WM3 was also going to be at 3 different venues. So I guess Vince was still considering it despite WM2 not working out that great. Thankfully he dropped that idea. I know I didn't really care for it back then.

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  13. Meltzer also reported that Vince had a backup plan of Hogan vs. Orndorff incase Andre couldnt perform.

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  14. I'd rather they not end it. They could always use it as a hook for a new character to say "I am going to beat the streak", etc. Just let it be his legacy and move on. Unless they are absolutely sure the guy they have do it is going to make it worth it.

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  15. To my mind the only person who should end the streak is Cena, and then ONLY if it's part of a committed heel turn.

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  16. It's not worth it to have Cena end the Streak, even if it's the kickoff to a heel turn. The only reason to end it would be if you have a younger guy on the cusp of superstardom that the company is 100 percent behind and is ready to give them the ultimate rub. Think Austin pre-WM14, Cena pre-WM22, Shawn pre-WM12 type of on the cusp.

    Or, have the Shield break the Streak en masse. Like, they face Undertaker and two partners in a no-DQ elimination six-man tag. First two guys get beaten, then it looks like UT will zombie up and beat all three by himself....before the Shield just overwhelms him, hit all their finishers, hit the triple powerbomb, then do a three-man cover so Ambrose, Reigns and Rollins can all share in the glory. This relieves one man of the pressure of being "the Streak-breaker" and builds up all three guys.

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  17. The trouble is that Undertaker's worth as a Wrestlemania draw IS the streak. He can lose anywhere else and put people over and I think he should, but not at WM.

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  18. I'd much rather see the World and WWE titles merged than the U.S. and the IC.

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  19. Your_Favourite_LoserOctober 25, 2013 at 1:51 PM

    crazy thought... have undertaker break the streak himself. allow himself be pinned, not unlike flair's last stand with hbk (before the infamous "i love you, i'm sorry').

    a countout or dq would of course be too cheap, but if taker decided not to fight anymore, that would be memorable

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  20. Threadjack:
    Former NFL Star Shawne Merriman has been training at the WWE Performance Center for the past several days as part of a tryout. According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, Merriman has not been offered a contract.

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  21. They're similar concepts, so they might as well just blend them. Call it a War Games Survivor Series match or some horseshit.

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  22. If they didn't do it with Orton, the time has passed.

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  23. Use a baseball stadium! Certainly no bias here, but Busch Stadium here in St. Louis is a pretty nice modern facility.

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  24. The only way I would be on board with ending the streak at this point would be if Taker makes it to WM 34 and Cena at this point is reaching Hogan-in-96 levels of antipathy from the crowd. Taker comes out to announce he's retiring himself and the Streak at 25-0, Cena challenges him, cheats to win at WM and turns heel.

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  25. Punk or Orton are the only people I would have had end the streak since it started being a deal. And Punk is because I'm an irrational mark for the man.

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  26. With word going around that WWE's planning to do Brock/Taker at Mania, here's a crazy thought:


    Have Cena and Bryan win both belts at HIAC, then close the show out with Cena coming out to congratulate Bryan while the Bellas hang off the arms of both dudes. Bring Cena into the Authority storyline as an ally of Bryan, but tease constant dissension between the two since they still don't like each other but put up with each other to please their girlfriends. Create the Mega Powers dynamic of Cena's Hogan to Bryan's Savage until Rumble where they're forced to team together "for the first time" to face Hunter's goon squad. They win but Cena does something stupid to piss Bryan off so Bryan can have his "there's lust in his eyes" moment (kiss the wrong Bella post-match?) and turn on Cena, setting up a match between the two as a double-title rematch at Wrestlemania. You can either build it as a unification match, or the winner chooses which belt he wants to give up (World Title, obviously).



    Concurrent to this, Heyman keeps building up his ranks in preparation for the Rumble match and making claims that a "Heyman Guy" will win. He adds one more thug to his stable (Barrett?) so he has three entrants into the match. Punk makes it his personal mission to eliminate all three as Punk does the Flair endurance trial in the match, with Heyman filling on commentary to pull an inverse Heenan and put Punk over by ragging on him the whole match. Punk looks like he's going to win as he's the only guy left and only number 30 left to go when the entrant is announced: Brock Lesnar. Brock eliminates Punk after some Heyman chicanery. Next night on RAW Heyman and Brock announce they've already made their decision on who they're going to face: they don't want either belt, because belts are meaningless (in keeping with current WWE thought) -- they want THE STREAK! They want it to prove that not only to ruin Taker's legacy, but to once again shove it in Punk's face by having Brock do what Punk couldn't the year previous.


    So Mania ends up with two marquee matches in: Brock vs. Taker for the Streak, and Bryan vs. Cena for both titles. Taker obviously wins, then try to squeeze one more match out of Brock for the next PPV so Punk can finally get his win back before Brock bounces.

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  27. Your_Favourite_LoserOctober 25, 2013 at 2:21 PM

    'wwe 2k15 presents Some Horseshit, live on ppv! Some Horseshit drops live at the cow dung palace this sunday!'

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  28. I have to think that Undertaker's draw as a perennial WM competitor with a streak on the line is more valuable than the rub any superstar would get from ending it.


    Imagine if Randy Orton HAD ended it. I don't realistically think he's in any different position than he is today. What we would have missed out on are the last few AWESOME WM matches taker's had with Punk, Michaels, HHH, etc.

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  29. They should have Sid end the streak

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  30. Give this man the book right NOW!

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  31. The Godwinns made their name with horseshit.

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  32. Makes sense to me. Who doesn't want to see a rematch of one of the worst Wrestlemania main events of all time?

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  33. Your_Favourite_LoserOctober 25, 2013 at 2:33 PM

    biscuit brah every time i see your avatar i think of dean ambrose

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  34. Merriman could barely play football without being juiced out of his gills.

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  35. Your_Favourite_LoserOctober 25, 2013 at 2:33 PM

    sid had a poop streak

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  36. RE: Savage, the WWE owns most of the Memphis shit right? They could put that Poffos/RnR Express match when Savage piledrives Ricky Morton through the table and a couple of bloody encounters with Lawler and hell even the 1992 USWA/WWF Invasion stuff with Savage and Lawler.

    There really is a lot of Savage stuff out there. But yeah that Warrior match from Summerslam is vastly under appreciated.

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  37. Orton fucking sucks.

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  38. I kind of agree. I think the both the U.S. title and I-C title could work. The U.S. title guy should be your consistent second-hour lede in on RAW and the IC guy should be booker as the top Smackdown guy.

    I would actually figure out a way to get the I-C title over to Ambrose. I think he could work as a top guy on a 'B' show.

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  39. He'd have a ready made feud with CM Punk, maybe he can be a Heyman guy!

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  40. Agreed, but at Wrestlemania 21 time he's a guy who had the gimmick to justify the win. Hindsight says they made the right call, but I see why they considered it.

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  41. You're right, re: Orton, but that was also like 8 yrs ago, when the prospect of Taker's retirement wasn't looming. I think the question was more geared toward the fact that Taker isn't gonna be around for ever, and may only have a couple WM's left in him, so maybe it's time to consider ending it?

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  42. The reason the Savage-Liz thing worked so well was that she was so firmly established as being in Randy's corner for years prior. Face or heel, she was there, until he went off the deep end during the MegaPowers thing. In kayfabe, the Bellas haven't been associated with Cena or Bryan long enough. I do think the idea has merit though, for something down the road.

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  43. I'm a fan of this idea, if they were to ever do it. He just keeps coming back to WM obsessed with the challenge. He finally meets a worthy competitor and MAKES the guy beat him until he has nothing left. They would have to figure out the perfect, can't-miss dude to end it though

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  44. I agree. It would have to be someone who benefits greatly from the rub and who has a long shelf life as a sure-fire draw for WWE. I partly think that's why it never ends though. They probably feel burned by Batista, Lashley, and Brock v1.0 still

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  45. Plus, Liz was insanely lovable... not just likable... every fan absolutely adored her.

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  46. Flair has said that his confidence was pretty low at the time he first showed up in WWE (after WCW folded). He may not have felt comfortable doing much promo work himself.

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  47. Where did you read that?

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  48. In one of his DVDs he credits his WM18 Undertaker match as the one that restored his confidence as any kind of performer.

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  49. Agreed. There's no reason he can't put someone over at SummerSlam or something, if he's going to just keep winning at Wrestlemania anyway

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  50. On the subject of the IC title and reclaiming its prestige... Scott's pretty much dead on here. You put it on a rising star, have him hold it and successfully defend it (and win non-title matches), and have a fellow rising star really want to beat the champ and/or really want the title.



    It really isn't that hard, and I don't know why they don't go back to that formula. When Ziggler had the US belt back in the day and was close to unbeatable with Vicki, you had something going. Then, Zack Ryder comes along and starts a bloody campaign to get a shot at it. It meant something. Then, December 2011 comes around, and Ryder wins. The crowd goes nuts. The match over the belt meant something. Then Cena-Kane-Swagger happened, and the US title meant nothing in about two months again.


    Why can't anyone be good at what they do? Why can't guys go on winning streaks (even if it isn't mentioned on TV)? Why is the focus on "who's the most entertaining" amongst broadcasters when the most engaging entertainment comes from the kayfabe world of wins and losses? Am I nuts? Reanimate Gorilla, and let's start talking about winner's share of the purse again, goddammit.

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  51. Not to mention that people actually liked Liz, and she was depicted as being virtuous - which made the idea her and Hogan fooling around seem insane.

    Nobody (other than Cena and Bryan apparently) likes the Bellas. And if it was revealed (kayfabe or in real life) that they were banging half the locker room nobody would bat an eye. Other than Cena and Bryan apparently.

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  52. Don't be modest, dude. Best baseball house in the best baseball city in the country. And I'm a Braves fan.

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  53. To be fair, this year was a good start toward that end

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  54. No one really owns the Memphis stuff. The rights over the tapes are so murky that apparently it's a free-for-all on releasing it. That's why the Wrestling Gold series was a ton of Memphis stuff, and why there's so much on YouTube. I also think the largest private collection of actual Memphis tapes belongs to Cornette, and that's all stuff he himself recorded as a fan.

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  55. Nah, it was pigshit with the Godwins. They were hog farmers. Hence the HILARIOUS way their initials spelled out HOG and PIG

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  56. That's the point of building the split until the Rumble. You'd have three months to build to it, which is an eternity in WWE now.

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  57. Yes. They should have consolidated the belts when they ended the whole Brand Extension thing. I don't get the logic of "well, they can't sell their toy belts if they do that!!" Says who? You're honestly telling me there are kids out there who, when given the chance to get a toy championship belt, are saying "oooh, Mom, I want the U.S. title!" No, the kid is going to get the WWE Title because that's the one they present as important and it's the one Cena has held a million times.

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  58. Ziggler would be an ideal candidate for a year-long IC title reign and some meaningful feuds surrounding it

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  59. Yes, exactly. She was beloved before Savage started treated her badly, so when he DID...the fans dug in behind her more than ever. No one cares about any of the "divas" like that.

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  60. Yeah, I think he said something similar in his book.

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  61. Was the Punk contract thing a work all along though? I recall on his DVD he mentioned only signing the new one the night of MITB. Obviously, that could be a work as well.

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  62. Your_Favourite_LoserOctober 25, 2013 at 3:11 PM

    http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/301797/Various-News:-Goldberg-Insults-Scott-Hall,-WWE-May-Bring-Back-Classic-WCW-PPV.htm

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  63. The should extend The Streak until it stops being a draw. Then turn The Streak heel so that the Universe wants to see The Streak beaten.

    Here's how you do it: each year, have Undertaker face someone who has even less of a chance of breaking The Streak than the person the year before. Turn it into a yearly squash match. It will be clear that Undertaker is just trying to protect The Streak and the crowd will turn against him. Eventually, throw him in with some promising but nameless rookie who looks scared out of his wits at the beating he's about to take. Have that guy get the plucky underdog win. It will make his career and the crowd would have wanted to see it.

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  64. Are you trying to say Meltzer might be wrong? Who would dare say such a thing? Lol.

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  65. I'm just going to add that the Savage blu ray set needs to include the Hogan bloodbath match from December 85' MSG. This was the best match between the 2.

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  66. I'd like to see someone spear him out of his boots after he does his "lights out" dance.

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  67. They would change his fucking name to "Isaac Payne" or some stupid shit like that. I'm surprised more failed NFL / College Studs don't try their hand at wrestling.

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  68. Punk has stated everywhere that he signed the contract that night, but he's careful in the words he chooses to use. Everything had to be agreed upon for weeks and perhaps the ink dried on that day.


    Personally, I thought his future hinged on the pipebomb promo. It was almost a mutual audition--if it went well, Punk was going over (because he was on a pretty big losing streak at that point). If Punk was going over in the big match and knew he'd be a focal point with some backstage pull, he was definitely staying.



    But all of what I typed is a mixture of what Punk said and some hunches I have.

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  69. Shawne Merriman NXT Name = Butch Suggs

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  70. I agree with this 100%, Cena Heel Turn, or don't end the streak.

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  71. That's very good. I like Isaac Payne for him though.

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  72. I wouldn't want to see Taker go out by basically doing an extended version of Jarrett laying down for Hogan. That's closer to what you're describing, honestly.

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  73. Your_Favourite_LoserOctober 25, 2013 at 3:32 PM

    not at all. taker would be putting up a hell of a fight 1st. not sure where you got the idea that i meant 'taker walks out and lays down'

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  74. Eh, just do the War Games AT Survivor Series. Don't change a thing for either. Boom, problem solved.

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  75. Eh, could be that I've just had a long day. My bad.

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  76. He's never wrong. It only looks that way because 'they' changed it.

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  77. Not really, just throwin it out there and the Orndorff thing was reported just as a backup plan

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  78. Man, WTF is up with Vince now a days? He wants Zayn to "stop climbing the ropes and playing to the crowd..."? SERIOUSLY? Maybe the "Cranky Vince" Twitter handle is truley and insight into what Vince is becoming.

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  79. Yea, the ink actually hit the paper at MITB but he and Vince had a handshake deal for weeks apparently.

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  80. As below, most of the footage is public domain. I don't see why this precludes WWE from getting it and doing a good job with it. They've got access to Lawler who can get Russell, and I'm sure Bill Dundee would do the DVD for food.

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  81. Now that's an avatar.

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  82. Many have said it isn't that far off.

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  83. I think Scott ended up answering a question that the original e-mailer didn't ask.


    Whether it was a work or "shoot" (for lack of a better term) that he only signed his contract the night of the PPV isn't important - it's what would have happened had Punk not caught fire.


    Up until that point, Punk had been both a popular mid-card face and a popular upper-card heel, and could obviously cut a promo, but in the months leading up to the "pipebomb", he was pretty much just managing the nWo B-team. If that particular promo hadn't gone over so ridiculously well (for instance, if Punk had completely botched the promo by stuttering or losing his train of thought, which happens to everyone from time to time), would they have still had him win and leave with the belt? Or would Punk have just been Cena's opponent du jour that month, doing the quick job and going back to the mid-card?

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  84. I really liked when both Ziggler and Cody were the second-tier champions - THOSE are the kind of guys that SHOULD be in those positions, guys with main-event potential that can put on good matches while refining their game.


    Not Curt fuckin' Axel.

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  85. Summerslam is a big show. They've always had important matches and they promote it as being a big deal. 12' was kinda weak, but you had the beginning of the Punk heel turn. And 11' had Punk/Cena II.

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  86. I would've agreed with you up until 2 weeks ago when I came across this dark match

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

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  87. Isaac Payne is actually a pretty good wrestling name.

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  88. I liked your comment before I even saw what your avatar was. Now I wanna 'super-like' that shit.

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  89. The Streak vs Abeyance?

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  90. He's an over-obsessive who, by his own admission, rarely sleeps. Add in being a Ruthless business man, toss in a dash of Trailer with some Carny Logic...yeah, he probably IS insane these days.

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  91. Big Dick McGillicuttyOctober 25, 2013 at 6:28 PM

    I nominate Crosby Stilsen Nash.

    Get it?

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  92. Pretty much had to. He went from managing an army of goobers to beating Mysterio in a #1 contenders match clean. So I'd say that he obviously signed sometime in between those two things happening

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  93. Yep, they'd get someone who is well-known out of the box and totally ruin him by changing his name. Might as well just pass on him.

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  94. Whoever emailed that 10-man tag in the Survivor Series STOLE THAT FROM ME in the live thread.


    I think bringing back a bunch of 4-on-4 or 5-on-5 tag matches would make the Survivor Series DIFFERENT, and DIFFERENT is BETTER.

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  95. I tell ya, in my 20s I got very little sleep and now in my 30s I only get 5-6 hours and I'm FUCKING MISERABLE, sometimes I sleep all day Saturday. Like ALL FUCKING DAY. I don't know how people live into their 60s on "no sleep."


    I've got one of those apena machines and everything.

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  96. Speaking of crazy Vince, did anyone see the memo that was given to announcers? I can't remember everything off hand but it's almost like he's so bored he fucks with the announcers to amuse himself.


    I recall Foley mentioning in his book something about WWE thinking Flair cut "80's wrestling promos", whatever the means. I've been watching a lot of old Nitros lately and I find his promos to be brutal - just rambling, with no real point, saying the same shit week after week. Granted, that's Nitro in a nutshell but I don't enjoy his promos as a rule. I liked him better in the backstage interactions in WWE or when he cut the occasional focused with a point promo.

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  97. I thought they had a good opportunity to turn the streak heel vs HBK. It seemed a lot of people wanted him to break it anyway, just give the others a reason to feel good about cheering for it to....but it was meant to be his retirement angle, so I see why they didn't go that route, but for all the talk that it has to be a heel end it, I think it's a better story for the streak ending to be a good thing.

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  98. Oh, we find Brian Lee and have Undertaker literally end Undertaker's streak.

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  99. I live off little sleep, so I understand why he feels that way. Sleep gets in the way.

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  100. Orton really wasn't ready at the time. Ideally, yeah, Orton was perfect - the legend killer kills the ultimate legend....but he was coming off the failed face turn and it took him a few years after that to keep himself out of trouble - if you consider being on his last strike today out of trouble.

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  101. Yeah, I got that sense too. The Punk-related question was mine and you hit it on the head: I was asking more about what else they had in store if Punk didn't end up being a top guy. I would guess Cena-Del Rio or something, until the build toward Rock-Cena. But who knows. I feel like if the big Punk push had been planned for a long time, he wouldn't have jobbed at so many PPVs leading up to MITB

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  102. I agree. They are both the kind of guys who used to be IC/US title types. I don't see Ziggler as a main eventer, just an upper-card guy who can do the occasional main event

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  103. The Cena/Tebow team would be the greatest heel tag team ever

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  104. Didn't Savage always treat her poorly? I thought that was the point of the pairing. Innocent, pretty girl hangs with jerk to make people hate jerk more. Savage would always be barking orders at her or acting like an over-possessive prick (George Steele feud), so it was a logical progression when the Hogan stuff came up and Savage blew it out of proportion in his head to be something it wasn't.

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  105. I know for a fact Sid has access to the right tools to get rid of even the toughest streaks.

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  106. I've said this before, but a great way to build a chickenshit heel would be to have him challenge, pester, and annoy the Undertaker from early November through January, just talking nonstop smack about how he's challenging the Undertaker at Wrestlemania and he'll end the streak and be a legend forever. Eventually, UT accepts the challenge to shut the little prick up at the Royal Rumble, as a tuneup for Wrestlemania. At the Rumble, UT wins decisively, but after the match the chickenshit heel jumps him and chairs the everloving fuck out of his knee. The next night, WWE announces that they're cancelling the Undertaker's Wrestlemania match. So the slimy little prick heel starts claiming that since UT won't be at Wrestlemania, then HE's the guy who ended the streak and he's better than HHH, Shawn, Flair, Edge, Orton, and everyone else who couldn't get the job done.

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  107. The only way I'd want to see another multi-arena setup is if they were going to do something really special, like a WWE/CMLL cross-promotional event with half the card at MSG and half at Arena Mexico.

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  108. Time zones might make that iffy. But a co-promotional show at, say, the L.A. Galaxy's stadium (or, heck, the Coliseum) would probably be a hell of a draw if Vince can finally allow another promotion to look even halfway decent.

    Alternatively, AAA might be a better fit, since that promotion's on more of a Sportz Entertainment vibe. Psycho Circus vs. The Shield would be a hell of a sight.

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  109. I actually don't know anything about AAA or CMLL; I just figured there was money in the idea of running a show at the two most noteworthy wrestling arenas in North America. If there was a way to make the timezones work, someone should be able to figure out how to many money on an MSG/Tokyo Dome show.

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  110. they only started pandering when they become stars. as much as everyone loves Sami, he's a nobody in this business.

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  111. I was just thinking of the early Megapowers period, when he was a face

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  112. I think Keith Richards said once that he only sleeps twice a week, and he's...well, alive.

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