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Daily Network Thread - 2/27/14

The Network functionality is improving daily, and now we get word that all available MSG broadcasts are going to be added? Just unemploy me now! Brian Bayless is going to have a thread for the NXT Arrival show tonight, and that should be the highlight for the live stream today. You got something you want to share, put it here. You got a gripe about the technical problems? Put it here. You have chosen to shelter yourself in pizza boxes, unkempt body odor and broken relationships? Put it here, because you're not alone.

Comments

  1. Well, the first shit prank story comes in at around 1/3 of the way, which is pretty late for a wrestler shoot interview.

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  2. What if we're watching Impact tonight?

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  3. PS3 still won't work. Roku is hit or miss. The Library is still incomplete on it. Haven't tried PC or iPhone yet.

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  4. Separate threads for both

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  5. You will be one of there 7 viewers.

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  6. Cheap plug:

    Just posted the Ahmed Johnson shoot recap. One of the best shoot interviews.

    http://www.rspwfaq.net/2014/02/highspots-shoot-interview-with-ahmed.html

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  7. I would never make it in the wrestling business, the pranks would drive me nuts... I just don't have the correct sense of humor for them.

    Man what a fucked up childhood. I agree that it is a miracle he turned out as well adjusted as he did and isn't doing 25 - life now.

    Good review as always, and a good shoot considering I don't know/remember much about the guy.

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  8. I've always really liked the song WWE uses to dub over Enter Sandman.

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  9. http://youtu.be/ZTN3ntW-WHA

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  10. Did you post it... RIGHT HERE ON THE BOD?

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  11. Cheap plug it was

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  12. "...broken relationships?"


    IT WASN'T MY FAULT!!!

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  13. The live stream has worked better than expected. I've been able to view it online, on my iPhone/iPad, and on the PS3 since day 1 with little issue. I had major issues with the vault until last night on my PS3. I was able to search through and rewind shows with very little buffering and without it crapping out on me. Looking forward to Arrival tonight to see how the live stream holds up to potentially higher traffic.

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  14. I still haven't had a whole lot of time to watch but I haven't had any issues watching the archives on my Apple TV but the one time I tried it on my Roku they didn't work. The live stream has worked fine on my PS3, Apple TV, Roku 3, Computer, and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 so I am feeling good about Wrestlemania... well not the card, but the ability to watch it on the network.

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  15. Is Impact live or taped tonight?

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  16. Oh and while I find that the search function "works" in that it returns results it doesn't seem to be very intelligent... like I searched "CM Punk" and got some pretty odd results; granted they all had Punk in them but it isn't really what I would expect it to return.

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  17. Speaking of Ahmed Johnson, one of my favorite Ahmed Johnson things

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNuz1sO8hss

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  18. About as underwhelming a return as Batista's.

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  19. I presume you mean all the ppvs aren't showing up on the Roku. If so try changing the parental controls on your Network account a few times. They should all show up then.

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  20. Scott has got to be stacking money to his ceiling with all the traffic the network has brought the site this week.

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  21. I think they are all taped now

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  22. Your post inspired me to pull up the match. Man, the Alliance really threw together a ragtag bunch.

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  23. This "having to work for a living" bullshit is really cutting into my viewing time. Don't these fools know that I've got World Class to watch?!

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  24. Todd Grisham: "It's Fuj."

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  25. Should we form a "Network Subcribers Union" and demand time off in order to watch old episodes of Hardcore TV?

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  26. They do one a month live, don't they?

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  27. Stranger in the AlpsFebruary 27, 2014 at 9:45 AM

    Nor mine. Because you see....I bring lost souls....together.

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  28. February was a really slow month here page-hit wise. The network release is helping


    January seemed to be really good though from what I saw

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  29. I definitely don't. For what... COdy to go back to being a directionless midcard heel? Maybe he'd beat Goldust at mania, and a week later he's Sheamus' designated jobber.


    I'd much rather have seen the Rhodes boys continue on as a dominant tag team-- seriously, they could have gotten a year easy out of them at the top of teh division, having killer TV matches and trading the belts with Real Americans, Usos, and eventually The Ascension. Then when the team is officially at "most dominant/memorable team of the decade" level, then Cody should be ready for a main event singles run.


    In short, Cody vs Goldust now would feel wrong (why would they suddenly hate eachother?) and would put Cody right back where he was as a midcard nobody heel.

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  30. One of my favorite parts of WrestleMania III just happened. After Piper beats Adonis and Beefcake cuts Adonis' hair, a fan jumps in, Piper shakes his hand and gives him a hug, and when Piper leaves, security just jumps all over the guy as the cameras cut away.

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  31. My biggest gripe is how annoying the seeking function is. They have to fix that.

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  32. Fuj is rockin the nose ring and skinny jeans

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  33. I have never seen so many multiple hundreds-post threads ever on the Blog. Discussion is through the roof here. It's pretty awesome.

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  34. I know you do. Forget Jimmy Carter YOU are history's greatest monster!

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  35. The Chuck Woolery of the BoD

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  36. Loving the OLD MSG shows.

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  37. Is anyone having problems watching the Network on their laptop where the live stream won't come up at all and when you play archived content, it gives you the 5-second clip of "PG 14" or "PG" then goes to black and nothing comes up? Any suggestions?

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  38. I hope it is lucrative for him, I know how much effort it is to maintain something like this.

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  39. 130,000 not 1.3 million.

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  40. On a big WCW 2000-2001 kick right now for some reason

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  41. I posted this earlier, but it's buried now. Did anyone else get charged $10.08? That's like 0.9% sales tax. I'm not going to bitch about $0.09 a month, but that's weird.

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  42. I do too.


    I also hope anything the other contributors and myself post help add to the site's revenue

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  43. I still say Shane Helms should have brought over the Sugar Babies in the WWF.

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  44. It's just an account hold to verify that your account is legit. The charge will go away soon.

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  45. Sounds like a gimmick in the making to me

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  46. It should. Especially yours, it seems to generate a lot of commentary, and while I doubt most people here click ads I bet he gets good impressions and therefore makes some coin.

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  47. Except when it breaks kayfabe and legit gets someone in a relationship. THAT FUCKER!

    On the brightside it did give me a chance to make one of the like 4 Simpsons references that I know...

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  48. They wouldn't allow him to be Shane, thus Sugar Shane was no more. Therefore the Sugar Babies were no more. I can't wait to dig into some latter day WCW stuff.

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  49. With all MSG houseshows, will it also include the curtain call show? Has that particular HBK/Diesel match match been shown in it's entirety before because I thought if WWF had footage of that match they would of put it on DVD a long time ago.

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  50. No, I signed up in full. It was just weird that my first monthly charge was $10.08 instead of $9.99, or even $9.99 plus tax.

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  51. The daily update stuff gets a good amount of hits. The shoot interviews are okay too. Andy's RAW rants get a ton. The letter I posted from the F4W Newsletter about the WWE employee slamming CM Punk got a shitload of page hits.

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  52. its cool to see everyone just talk about wrestling instead of bitching about the current product

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  53. I don't think it was recorded as an official broadcast.

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  54. I wonder what he's up to now...

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  55. I think he meant at $10 per order, it's 1.3 million.

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  56. if I recall, he was helping out at Booker T's wrestling school. That was a couple of years ago though.

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  57. My Wife ( that odd grey area between casual fan and well Smark) and I have been enjoying the BattleBowl's From WCW

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  58. I'm at work and can't watch!

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  59. At least Owen's pranks seem kinda clever and funny, unlike all the other stories,where these supposed "ribs" are just guys acting like sociopaths.

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  60. Is the charge still pending or did it actually go through?

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  61. The archives are working on PS3! I watched too much last night, including the Worst Characters roundtable, This Is NXT, the Eddie \ JBL title match from Judgment. Day 2004 (good lord is it gory!) and the Undertaker \ Brock Lesnar "biker chain" match from No Mercy 2002. That last one was an absolute dog. What was up with that FBI run-in on Lesnar's behalf?

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  62. I think that's my favorite aspect of the Network: "oh, you don't like the product...here's a shit-ton of great footage to put you in a better mood!"

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  63. The search function on PS3 is pretty terrible.

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  64. I am waiting until they fix the xbox360 app before I will dive more into the network.

    Why is it so hard to fix this?

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  65. I'm bummed they're likely not going to get this XBOX thing figured out by tonight's NXT show. Luckily I can just hook my laptop up to my TV and still get HD picture, but the sound is just so bad coming out of my TV.

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  66. someone hjas actually started a twitter campaign to hijack raw on mon

    http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/314633/Various-News:-Fan-Rallying-Others-to-Hijack-Mondays-Raw,-Wrestling-Birthdays,-More.htm

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  67. 3 count v Jung dragons in the platinum record ladder match rules!

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  68. MAH GOD!!! WHAT IS THE FUJ DOING IN THE BoD?!?!

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  69. 800,000 os the break-even.

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  70. I don't think the guys today really prank, though. I haven't heard of any real ribbers.

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  71. Wrestlers really did like playing with feces.

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  72. It's possible that it's state sales tax.

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  73. Everyone always talks about how great a guy Owen was, then they proceed to tell a story about a rib he pulled that cost them thousands of dollars.

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  74. i love how everyday, wwe's update on functionality basically amounts to "we're working on, leave us the fuck alone!!!! we know!!!!"

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  75. I liked you on the show Greed.

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  76. liar

    one does not enjoy battlebowls

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  77. So, I assume it's working good for those in Canada? How hard was it to sign up in the Great White North? Can you use a Canadian Credit Card? I have Blockless for getting US stuff, will that work? Thanks :-)

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  78. "for some reason"

    b/c you feel bad about having the network early and have decided to punish yourself as atonement?

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  79. Nope. Usually one of the shows is on a 1-2 hour delay. Most of the shows now are taped weeks in advance.

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  80. Going to watch Mania VII and watch all the WWF PPV's in order.

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  81. Wahoo McDaniel vs. Billy Graham at Starrcade 1984...what a strange clash.

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  82. The Fuj is like my Joker. The BoD wasn't the same without me, so he left. Now that I've made my RVD style return, he's come back to kill a bunch of boy scouts.

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  83. Man oh man.. I laughed so hard at that Jay Leno story.. That was such a good prank. I can literally picture the whole thing in my head. The kicker for me was Davey getting mad that he wasn't on the show... Genius!!

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  84. Working 12 hours a day is becoming a chore lol

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  85. I think I remember that power bomb through the table. He killed the guy, Rumble 97' maybe?

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  86. Same here, how do I get a job where I can goof off and watch the network all day?

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  87. Ahmed told those stories about his father in an old WWF Magazine that I read WAY too young.

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  88. This is getting ugly. I think they should hot shot Triple H - Bryan this Monday with the stip being Bryan gets into the main event with a victory.

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  89. And Owen was brave, would you pull pranks on a guy that looked like Ahmed.

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  90. Even better would be to do that at WM, but if Bryan loses he can't complete for the title for a year. So, he beats Triple H, then as Batista vs Orton starts, Bryan comes out and says "Nobody said when I could challenge" and turns the match into a triple threat. That'd be perfect. Defeat Triple H & win the title all in the same night.

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  91. I don't think the subscriber numbers can be really considered concrete until after Wrestlemania. I can see a lot of people that are on the fence deciding at the last minute to order the Network in order to see WM30. That's usually what happens with pay per views.

    For the life of me I can't understand how the WWE would not want to make the fans happy and put Bryan in the Main Event. It's what most people want to see and the more people are interested in Wrestlemania.. the more they will buy the Network. Even if he loses, Bryan in the main event is what's 'best for business'.



    Maybe in a weird way.. if the sub numbers are low, they may change their mind and add him in.. It'd be great if there were a petition or campaign where fans would not buy the WWE Network unless Bryan was in the main event.. That would probably make them pay attention!!

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  92. Big ups for posting this dude, Ahmed was one of my favourites. Respect!

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  93. The bit about the blood and skin sticking the walls definitely sounded familiar, I'm sure I read that same magazine as a young lad.

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  94. Today is a wwe network vacation day. On demand is working perfectly on Apple TV as I type, and then off to Full Sail for the NXT show in a few hours!

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  95. Surprised they allowed something that graphic in those magazines

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  96. Sounds like an awesome day. Have fun tonight. Going to be a great show.

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  97. The thing that always bothered me about the story of why Ahmed left the WWF - all he had to do was say, "Hey, my sister has cancer and is dying, can I have some time off?" For all of OUR complaining about Vince, he actually seems to show some compassion to the talent in rough situations. Had Ahmed spoken up about what his sister was going through, there would probably be a much better ending to his story. I have no doubt Vince would have put the belt on him at some point, even for a short run.

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  98. Didn't realize that, interesting.

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  99. I remembered the bubbling skin.

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  100. That's an interesting point. I think there was a warning on the article about graphic content. If memory serves this was a 1997 (probably Summer of '97). It was the first real blending of real history into a character.


    He talks about how messed up he was by his father and his anger issues. I think he flipped a jeep at one point and that's why he left football.

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  101. I'm going to assume that Ahmed's reaction to a simulated lynching was appropriately explicit.

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  102. One didn't seem to follow the other here, at least not as I read it.

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  103. There was a proposed angle in which the Truth Commission was supposed to drag him up the ramp by a rope and he didn't want his sister to see that. He then got a call that his sister was really going downhill so Ahmed quit, right before the show.


    I think that there was the thing with his sister, his injury-prone nature, and the fact that he wasn't a project for Vince anymore at that point.

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  104. Yeah, I saw that, I just didn't think it read as this all happened one right after the other. There was the dragging incident he didn't want his sister to see, then the cancer soon after.


    Even after he wasn't a project anymore, he was still getting some good pops. He walked out to help his sister and cost him a good spot on the roster when all he had to do was say something to Vince.


    Where's Farva? HE'LL back me up!

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  105. Was it D'Lo that took the Pear River Plunge on the hood of a car? I remember losing my mind with excitement seeing that on Shotgun.

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  106. Hell, it wasn't even that--before Crockett basically monopolized the NWA World title, the U.S. belt was his top title.

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  107. I think those must have been separate championships with the same name. When they were introduced to Crockett-land it was via a tournament, which wasn't the case with the other titles that Crockett swallowed up, including the Florida championship.

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  108. Honestly, if ANYONE else did the shit that Owen and Davey did to me, I'd be pissed. But for some reason, there's something about the mental of image of Owen and Davey doing that type of stuff that would just make me say "Yeah, those assholes got me."

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  109. Nah, they just play video games in Kofi's hotel room while Triple H bitches that no one has passion anymore.

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  110. That was my thought as well after reading the story

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  111. I know Ahmed became injury prone later on, but the injuries only started when he was working with Simmons, who was intentionally stiffing him. I wonder if Ahmed would have stayed on top longer had they not signed Simmons and gave Ahmed safe workers to work with.

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  112. Really intense shoot interview from a guy who should have been ten times the star he was.

    Fuck Farooq and his constantly-changing spelling.

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  113. Did you know Ahmed Johnson actually invented the Elimination Chamber match?

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  114. Was it the Raw magazine or the actual WWF mag because the Raw mag did try to attract an older audience.

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  115. I've always believed that pushing the right black wrestler to the top would attract a whole new demographic and make them boatloads of money in the process too and Ahmed just seemed to be that guy who could have become a mainstream crossover star too.

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  116. Also hearing Ahmed's story about his weight gain made me sad and feel bad for the jokes I made about his weight.

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  117. Yeah... I don't think those stories are even close to being true.

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  118. He'd have to be a pretty raging sociopath to lie about it in real life.

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  119. It worked with the Rock. Who wasn't 100% black but was certainly embraced by the that demographic.

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  120. Well if the rumours about him are true...


    I'm not saying he wasn't abused at all. I just think his story is so ridiculous it's like that 'oh, you don't know your born' Monty Python sketch they where they exaggerate how tough they had it until one of them was killed, brought back to life, and killed again.

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  121. That Leno story is tremendous. Owen was in a class by himself on those pranks.

    And....no one gonna touch those Austin accusations. FWIW I seriously doubt he defaced the guy's car because if that shit got back to him at that time he would have likely been dumped.

    As for the racism accusations...eh Austin grew up in rural Texas and probably grew up around some people like that so if he was or wasn't it wouldn't shock me. Maybe he method acting for his role in The Longest Yard. The Rock was half black and he loves that guy but of course they made each other enough money to last many lifetimes.

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  122. Pretty much.


    I mean people said Bill Watts was racist, but clearly he had no problem booking black wrestlers in headline positions. People's positions on race are flexible when millions of dollars are involved.

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  123. Ahmed was better than Goldberg.

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  124. I'm pretty much in line with you. Doubt he defaced the car but it wouldn't shock me if Austin's told a few racist jokes either. My grandpa comes from the same whereabouts as Austin and he's not--how do I put this--a proponent of diversity.

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  125. If his father was so psychotic as to deny his children food unless given directly I don't see it as a long road to the abuse Ahmed describes.

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  126. You can be racist and make money against people who dislike.

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  127. I find it ironic he calls Austin a potential racist, yet claimed he got along really well with Bill Watts and Michael Hayes.

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  128. That's pretty circular logic, don't you think? The most extreme stories have to be true, because you've also chosen to believe that the less extreme stories are true? Who's to say that the denial of food story is true?

    FWIW, Ahmed has completely contradicted his comments about Vince from this shoot in later interviews. Calls him a blatant racist, calls him "the devil," and references all kinds of race-based issues that he encountered in the WWF. That's a pretty far cry from saying he was "treated like gold" in this shoot.

    It's a LOT harder to take someone's claims at face value when they can't keep their story straight over time. These aren't minor details that he may have lost over the years, these are incidents that are diametrically opposed to what he's claimed in earlier interviews.

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  129. I was there that night.. it was pretty crazy!

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  130. Isn't your logic also circular? Ahmed's stories about the abuse have stayed constant, his opinion on Vince has changed. But because he's lying about one thing he's a complete liar. In fact, your argument would support Ahmed telling the truth about the abuse because that hasn't changed and he's shown he's willing to lie.

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  131. The Love-Matic Grampa!February 27, 2014 at 2:27 PM

    With Austin, I wouldn't be surprised either way. However, there's a lot of distance (usually) between having outmoded beliefs and being The Grand Wizard of The KKK. Just because someone uses the n-word casually in conversation doesn't mean they're going to run out a burn a cross on someone's lawn...or worse.


    As for the Rock, I've got my own theories about that relationship, but I'm not sure I want to start that particular debate here.

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  132. Dusty was their partner. WCCW also had a completely separate 6 man title, which the Von Erichs and Freebirds often fought over.

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  133. Well the Crockett ones are probably the most confusing, given how they absorbed several promotions. So there were quite a few cases off titles being unified, abandoned, or replaced until they straightened it all out.

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