The Thread Killer

I have ordered a couple of new books that are on their way to me as we speak. The first book I ordered is NITRO: The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner's WCW by Guy Evans. I have seen a bunch of people giving this book rave reviews online and heard people widely praising it on podcasts. One of the things I have enjoyed about Eric Bischoff's podcast is the details he has provided about the inner workings of WCW on the corporate and business end of things. Backstage stories about booking and who hated who are interesting, but I find the corporate aspect of WCW even more compelling. I remember Kevin Nash once saying that the WWF was a wrestling company that had a TV show, whereas WCW was a TV company that had a wrestling show. The fact that WCW was owned by a corporation that was run by executives who had no desire to be the wrestling business always fascinated me. Guy Evans managed to get interviews with all of the usual suspects for this book from the wrestling end of things (Bischoff, Russo, Nash, etc.) but he also managed to score interviews with high level Turner Broadcasting executives like Harvey Schiller, Bill Burke, Joe Uva, Scott Safon and more interestingly Jamie Kellner...the man who many people say really killed WCW. A number of people who have read this book have claimed that it has given them a totally different perspective on the whole "Monday Night War." Bischoff has read it and says that he thinks it is fair and accurate for the most part, with the caveat that he is less than thrilled with how he comes across in parts of the book. He certainly likes this book more than The Death of WCW, but from what I have heard this is hardly a puff piece. One of the reasons I ordered it is because apparently some of these executive interviews reveal details that even Bischoff was unaware of regarding the higher level of Turner Broadcasting's attitude and machinations toward WCW. I'm looking forward to giving it a read and seeing how it is. The other book I ordered was Death of the Territories: Expansion, Betrayal and the War that Changed Pro Wrestling Forever by Tim Hornbaker. I am a big Tim Hornbaker fan. He was one of the writers responsible for helping to uncover and expose the hoax perpetrated on baseball fans about Ty Cobb by disgraced (and deceased) sportswriter Al Stump. Without getting into too much detail, a writer named Al Stump wrote Ty Cobb's official biography. After Cobb died, Stump wrote a second sensational book about Ty Cobb, which basically totally destroyed his reputation. Stump then went on to sell a ton of Ty Cobb memorabilia and donated items of Cobb's (like a diary) to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In Stump's book Cobb is portrayed as a drunk, drug addicted, womanizing, egotistical, mentally ill racist, who also killed somebody. This book was so popular it was made into a movie starring Tommy Lee Jones as Ty Cobb and Robert Wuhl as Al Stump, in which Cobb is further portrayed as a rapist. This book and movie have basically shaped the modern perception of Ty Cobb that stands to this day with many people. The problem is, the majority of Al Stump's book and the entire film are total fabrications. Researchers have managed to expose this fact, and it was later discovered that the memorabilia Stump was selling and donating was all forged by Stump. The actual biographical information in his book was plagiarized and the remainder of the stories were invented by Stump. Tim Hornbaker did an incredible job of researching Cobb's life, and documenting and exposing the truth about both Ty Cobb and Al Stump's financially motivated fictional character assassination of him. (For the record, Ty Cobb was still an aggressive jerk - he just wasn't anywhere near the monster Stump made him out to be.) Hornbaker has also written books on the infamous 1919 Black Sox scandal and Shoeless Joe Jackson. Tim Hornbaker had already written a number of wrestling titles like "National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling" and "Capitol Revolution: The Rise of the McMahon Wrestling Empire." When I heard Jim Cornette and Brian Last raving about his latest book "Death of the Territories" I was intrigued because I already liked Hornbaker based on his work on the Cobb book. Since then, I have heard nothing but great things about this new book from a number of wrestling personalities and podcast hosts whose opinions I respect. Put it this way, when Jim Cornette thinks you have done a good job at documenting Pro Wrestling History, you must have done something right. Say what you want about Cornette, but the man knows and appreciates his wrestling history. I am also greatly anticipating the arrival of this new book. When both of them have arrived and I have read them, I will post reviews here.

I watched this show as an experiment, really. I wanted to see how I'd feel about the WWE product after taking a few months off from watching it. The Tag Title match was really good, the rest was just okay at best, except for the Main Event which was terrible on a wide variety of different levels. I'm done. I'm not watching this shit anymore. If you'd have told me a few years ago that I'd be following IMPACT and enjoy their most recent PPV over WWE, I'd have told you that you were nuts, but there it is. That was just stupid. I'm not even hate-watching this crap anymore, I'm done. At least until there is a change to the creative team or management, or if they luck into some must-see angle or match. But I have no confidence in their ability to not royally fuck it up. Except for NXT, but even that is hard to watch because you get behind somebody, then they get called up and misused.

A Hell in the Cell goes to a No Contest. Seriously? What an over-booked pile of steaming crap that match was.

It's remarkable how much smaller Lesnar looks after re-entering the USDA testing program.

This match is ruining this match for me.

If there was a drinking game where you had to do a shot every time Reigns threw a Superman Punch, you would die of alcohol poisoning halfway through this match.

The visual of Reigns running three-quarters of the way around the ring directly into the steel steps was just goofy. Also, I can tell Strowman is a heel because he's very shouty.

I fricking hate that jack-off motion Reigns makes with his arm every time he throws the Superman punch. Just throw the punch, moron. We don't care that you can repeatedly rub your forearm.

I am slow to accept change when it comes to my cages. I remember back in the 80's when they changed from the traditional steel mesh to the giant blue bars. I hated that too. I guess they made this red to differentiate it from the Elimination Chamber, but still. Part of the sell of the cage is it being steel, and the traditional gray sells the steel to me.

I don't hate the red Cell, but it doesn't look like Hell in a Cell to me. Seems too cartoony.

Hey Mick, Little Orphan Annie called. She wants her haircut back.

If it gets them away from the stupid storyline with AJ's family and results with the brawl they should be having, I'm all for it. Having said that, I fully expect the upcoming No DQ/No Countout match to result in a blistering display of mat-wrestling.

Yeah, I thought it was hysterical how UFC tried to promote her as likeable until she coached on The Ultimate Fighter and got exposed badly as mean-spirited and entitled.

Considering how little experience she has, Rousey's performance level is quite exceptional. She's more fun to watch than quite a few women who have tons more experience than she has. There is something to be said for her level of commitment and athleticism. And I didn't like her one little bit in MMA.

Ronda is so lucky to have such a close best friend like Natty, who she can totally trust and who will never ever betray her.

I'm sorry, the damage has been done. I used to like you, but now I know you're no better than that filthy chauvinistic reprobate Dave Meltzer, going around looking at women and commenting on what you see. My righteous indignation and irrational response knows no bounds. This is an outrage and I shall remain outraged until I find something else to become outraged about. Outrageous.

That's just crazy talk. We're a bunch of mindless consumers who need to be told what we like.

Oh, I thought it was a real thing that happened. Also I am very upset with myself for even remembering that happened.

What? WHAT?! Don't objectify women! Leave women's bodies alone! #Diversity #Inclusiveness #Progressiveness #Hashtag

Didn't Alicia Fox get suspended for quite a while for cussing out Ronda's husband at Wrestlemania? Also, why is she dressed up like somebody from Prince's entourage?

That's the thing. You take the WWE writing and restrictions away and let Joe and AJ have a match tomorrow that they lay out, I bet you anything they tear the house down. Joe's knees wouldn't enter into the conversation.

I wonder if during all that time Bryan was working so hard to get reinstated it was because he was dreaming about being involved in lame intergender matches in the midcard. I have no beef with the Miz/Bryan feud but Brie is too weak to be involved, honestly. She looked pretty out of place there, in my opinion.

I don't buy or agree with the whole "Joe is past his prime" talking point. Yeah, he's older and slower but he's had plenty of good matches since being called up to the main roster. He just needs to be booked properly (like he was in the Lesnar angle) and when he isn't, he doesn't look good. I don't attribute that to his knees I attribute it to bad writing. This whole stupid storyline with AJ's family is a perfect example. Joe can cut great heel promos, but they have him reading moronic children's stories because they employ shitty writers. That match with AJ was good, but it wasn't as good as the first match at Summerslam and just like with the Becky/Charlotte match, they are having these so-called "blood feud" matches start off like standard wrestling matches instead of brawls, because they suck at laying these angles out.

That was a good match and I really liked that finish. McIntyre is so much better than Ziggler though, their pairing really doesn't do much for him in my opinion.