The Thread Killer

Does anybody have a list of his TV/PPV matches with Cactus Jack in WCW? I wanted to go back and watch those, too.

When I saw Angle on Table for 3 with Edge and Christian, I remember thinking that he seemed a little...off. Just a step or two slower verbally than I remember him being. I also thought maybe he had lingering concussion issues too, or that substance abuse had taken it's toll on him. It sounds mean-spirited and I don't mean it that way. I'm not saying it to be insulting, but he really doesn't come across like the same guy since his return.

I didn't mind his interview, but I never realized until listening to him on Jericho's podcast how much Meltzer kind of sounds like he's hopped up on speed a lot of the time. I probably would have clued into that earlier if I listened to WOL more than just YouTube clips...but that would involve listening to Bryan Alverez and I'm just not going to do that.

I enjoyed his matches with Sting and especially with Cactus Jack in WCW, but what put me over the top in my Vader fandom was his trilogy of matches with Takada in UWF-I. I loved those fights. He really could work with just about anybody. One of the things that has always struck me about Vader is that you can go back and watch his classic matches and they hold up just as well now - which you can't say for a lot of people. I remember being really pleased when he ranked #14 in the GWE, to me it showed the high regard everybody here at PWO held him in. Anybody who only saw Vader in the WWF didn't really see him at all. All I could say to those fans is seek out his entire body of work. It is so rare to find a Pro Wrestler who actually changed the entire business, but Vader really did it. It's not hyperbole it's true. Vader made the whole concept of plodding super-heavyweights obsolete. He changed the game. An all time great, and his death is a huge loss to the sport. On top of that, from what I've read, seen and heard he was also a really nice guy. I have to admit that sometimes I have become desensitized to Pro Wrestler deaths, but this has really gotten me down today. 63 is too young to go, and I am so sad for his family and loved ones. Rest in peace, big guy.

With Cass, it will be interesting to see if he actually continues wrestling after being released, or if he quits altogether. I'm curious because some of the guys coming up in developmental over the past few years are of the age that they have grown up wanting to be "WWE Superstars" and have a "Wrestlemania Moment" not actually learn to be Professional Wrestlers. It's conceivable that a guy like Cass might take the attitude that if you're not working for WWE, what's the point? Drew Galloway seems to have kind of written the book on how to get released, work hard, build a buzz and earn your job back eventually, but I wonder if a guy like Cass would even be willing to do that. Time will tell.

I've seen other people say the same thing elsewhere but it bears repeating. Coach is almost fascinating to me (in the same way Vince Russo is) in that I can't fathom how somebody could be so closely involved in Pro Wrestling at such an intimate level, for such a prolonged period of time...yet still have no understanding of the simple basics of the sport or even a minimal understanding of what makes it work, and why. There can only be two possible explanations, either exceptional stupidity or - and this is more likely - supreme arrogance. As in: "They hired me to work here and I get paid, so I must already know everything about this business and don't need to study or learn." In Coachman's case, I sometimes get an "Ed Whalen" vibe from him, like because of his "legitimate sports" journalism background he somehow thinks he's above Pro Wrestling or looks down on it in some way. Either way, it's disrespectful to the sport, and maddening to witness.

Toronto in the summer rules! There is also Toronto Football Club to check out too. Lots and lots to do. There is a lucha company, that occasionally brings in names. Other indies run here too. Let me know if you head to Smash, we can greet and stuff. Would love to man, will definitely be in touch I would also extend an invitation to meet, but unfortunately I am a borderline agoraphobic who only leaves his apartment to work and get supplies. You're in much better hands with Grimmas.

I thought MSG had some sort of exclusivity agreement with WWE? Bischoff has claimed that WWF/WWE had exclusivity agreements with a bunch of the major arenas, most notably MSG...which froze WCW out of a lot of these places. You know Bischoff would have loved to have run MSG to stick it to McMahon back during the "Monday Night Wars." I can't imagine WWE letting anybody else run MSG, unless their agreement has lapsed or something.

This week's episode was a tribute to Dusty Rhodes. It was pretty unremarkable until the surprise Hulk Hogan appearance during the last half hour of the show. I have to admit, it was pretty surreal to hear Conrad Thompson asking questions of Hulk Hogan like he normally does of Bruce Prichard or Eric.

I was poking around and found the clip from the KC shoot where Sabu talked about his time in WWE. (We don't seem to be able to post YouTube videos anymore?)

Bro, they could put the pile of coke on a pole, and whoever gets to it can snort it during the fight, bro.

Regarding the logo, I posted my suggestion on Twitter for Loss but somebody told me it had already been used somewhere else by somebody or other. I don't know who else ever used this style of logo. I think it's pretty sweet.

The majority of the information about Sabu's personal life I learned during the aforementioned "Breaking Kayfabe" interview he did with Kayfabe Commentaries. That is a series of Shoot Interviews Sean Oliver does where he focuses on the personal lives of the subject and if you are a Sabu fan, I can't recommend that interview enough. I've seen pretty much all the shoots Sabu has done, but that is the one where he is by far at his most open and candid. He even comments during the interview that he is comfortable enough with Sean Oliver (due to the two previous interviews they had done, in addition to their working relationship) that he doesn't feel too anxious talking to him. That is also the interview where he gets into detail about his time in the WWE, what went wrong, how they tried to change him, and how he felt about himself there. C.S., I hope you'll like Drawing Heat. You have to keep in mind, that book was originally published in 1988, long before Mick Foley wrote "Have A Nice Day" and opened the doors for the million wrestling books that followed. I fully grant you that the book is pretty "Toronto-centric." It's mostly about how the Toronto Wrestling Office run by the Tunney family tried to run an independent promoter named Dave McKigney out of business. McKigney (known as The Canadian Wildman) was infamous for two reasons. Firstly, he used to wrestle a bear on his shows, until the bear attacked and killed his girlfriend. Secondly, McKigney was driving the van during the car accident that killed Adrian Adonis and he was killed himself in the accident. This book came out before the accident, but I understand the latest printings have a new final chapter covering the accident and McKigney's death. However, one of the main stars of Dave McKigney's shows was The Sheik. By this time the Sheik was long past his prime, however he liked working for McKigney. Sabu actually got his start working for McKigney too, wrestling as "Terry S.R." Professor Freedman got to know The Sheik as they both traveled with McKigney, and the chapters about The Sheik are pretty eye-opening. I might have suspected they were being embellished for dramatic effect, but all the other stories about The Sheik seem to bear those types of stories out. I appreciate you giving my side of the argument some thought, at the least.

Dude, did Sabu run over your dog or something? As the board's resident Sabu fanboy (immortalized when I was his high vote in the GWE) I strongly disagree with your opinions when it comes to him. There is no way Sabu acquiescing to Vince McMahon's and the WWE creative team's "tweaks" to his character would have ever worked, anyhow. If Sabu had changed who he was, he wouldn't have been Sabu. His Uncle made him Sabu. Sabu was not only trained by The Sheik, but he was his nephew and grew up around him. Sabu didn't have a father in the picture and pretty much idolized The Sheik from the time he was a kid. Sabu has gone on record as saying he has designed his entire career as a living tribute to his Uncle. So he did (and does) things the way his Uncle did, and would do them no other way. I know I harp on this point a lot, but in my signature there is a link to a book called "Drawing Heat" by Professor Jim Freedman. The Sheik features heavily in this book. Prof. Freedman was never a wrestling fan and knew nothing about Pro Wrestling when he started writing that book, so he met and got to know The Sheik from a totally unbiased perspective. The picture he paints of The Sheik (which has been pretty much confirmed in every Shoot Interview where his name has come up) is of a man who didn't have "a gimmick." His wife called him Sheik. His kids called him Sheik. He took being The Sheik deadly serious and there is no way that didn't rub off on Sabu. Secondly, Sabu (by his own admission) sucks at promos. Sabu tells a hilarious story where during his training, his Uncle asked him to cut a promo. Sabu tried, and The Sheik said to him: "Promise me you'll never do that again." They agreed that he (like his Uncle) wouldn't speak. Everybody else talks, and yells, and points at the camera, and threatens, and puts themselves over...so he wouldn't say a word. He'd just point up. He doesn't even like talking to people he doesn't know in private, which is one of the reasons he smokes so much pot. He has Social Anxiety Disorder and gets so anxious when he is asked to speak in front of people he doesn't know, that he stutters. This is noticeable in the aforementioned Kayfabe Commentary "Breaking Kayfabe" interview. There is no way that he ever would have become comfortable enough cutting promos - especially scripted promos - that it would have been enough to satisfy Vince McMahon and the WWE. Finally, the main factor is that Sabu hated working for WWE. Hated it with a passion. He freely admits that he "sold out" and worked there for the money but he was so miserable there that in the end, he kept doing things trying to get himself fired - and eventually he did. The big difference between Mick Foley and Sabu is that Foley was willing to do pretty much anything to succeed in the WWF and make money. I don't think Sabu is adverse to making money - especially considering the medical bills he has had to deal with over the past few years - but he has gone on record saying that there are plenty of things he wouldn't and won't do to make it. I don't think Sabu is a nobody. He will be remembered by a lot of hardcore fans. Hell, I think he is actually pretty damn unique, which is not easy to pull off in Pro Wrestling.

I hope you enjoy it and everybody is welcoming to you. Sadly, I haven't been to an indie show in the Toronto area since 1999 or so. Unless you count Ring of Honor, I guess.

I'm about an hour into the Chris Jericho episode. It's really good, as good as the Bret Hart episode, but damn is Bischoff a lot more prickly and defensive so far this week. I am also greatly enjoying that every time he uses the word "bro" Conrad calls him on it, and Bischoff's subsequent reaction. As much as I enjoy this podcast, I have to admit we are starting to see a lot more of the kind of behavior people were worried about when it was first announced. Eric Bischoff is really showing his arrogance at times, and doing his absolute best to portray himself as a creative visionary and business genius. In his defense, it seems to be his reaction the various misleading or outright false narratives which have come up over the years regarding WCW from various Shoot Interviews, books, documentaries and autobiographies - but it's still not a flattering look for him. I prefer funny/self-effacing Eric to indignant/defensive Eric.

For what it's worth, you have my support in any way I could possibly give it, Charles. I really admire this venture of yours. It shows a true entrepreneurial spirit.

I'm with Vic on this issue. I don't think Jim Cornette wants to be a big name with today's fan, nor does he want to be "relevant" in today's wrestling scene. He's pretty much retired. He does fanfests and appearances which are driving distance from his home, but he won't fly and he hates being away from his house for more than 24 hours. He won't go on the road full time and he claims he can't physically handle being at ringside as a manager on a regular basis due to the problems with his knees. And I don't think his hatred of modern wrestling is a total gimmick, I think he legit hates a lot of it. He has carved out his own niche appealing to old school fans and ranting about modern wrestling. Cornette was invited to Starrcast and turned it down, because he says appearing there after everything he has said about Omega and The Young Bucks (etc.) would make him a hypocrite. He could get some limited notoriety and make a bit of money by working with somebody like The Young Bucks in the short term, but he'd be slitting his own throat in the long term. His hardcore fans would view him as a sellout and stop supporting him...and if you don't think that support is real or important to him, you need look no further than his recent kickstarter campaign. He wanted to raise $25,000 to fund a graphic novel. He raised $70,000 in almost no time - certainly much less than he thought it would take. If Cornette needs the Young Bucks for anything work related, it's as targets.

Loss is finally coming out of the closet. He's a Nickelback fan, and he doesn't care who knows it.

I liked the "Why Bruce Got Fired" episode, and I remember laughing my ass off during the WWECW episode. There is a bit in there where Bruce imitates JR as the head of talent relations, asking prospective talent if they have any skeletons in their closet, like nude pictures on the internet, and I remember laughing my butt off at that bit, although maybe I was just in a goofy mood at the time. I also like the Houston Wrestling episode, although some people don't. Bret Hart in 96/97 is a good one too, so is Jeff Jarrett and The Macho Man. The Bobby Heenan tribute is good. I remember really liking The Million Dollar Man episode, as well. Bruce's obvious biases really shine through in the Paul Heyman and Vince Russo episodes, but both are not without interest. Oh...both the TNA episodes are can't miss. They are reportedly the most downloaded shows they've done, for good reason. The story he tells about the wrestlers not getting paid is mind-boggling, as is the story about Sting being inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame. It gives you a real insight into how Dixie Carter's "mind" worked. I'd avoid "Austin Walks Out" (even they admit that episode stinks) and the Edge episode, which is five hours long and it feels like about fifteen.

I'd like to see some sort of aversion therapy set up, where every time Bruce, Tony or Eric (or Conrad for that matter) mention the name "Meltzer" they automatically receive a mild (but still painful) electric shock. Similarly, Meltzer should receive the same shock every time he tries to tweet.

He has, but never all in one place or in one particular episode. They talk about it a fair bit in the infamous "Why Was Bruce Fired" episode, but as peachchaos said, he alludes to his substance use throughout the history of the show when it comes up during the course of conversation more than anything. He actually talked about it more during an interview he did with the Two Man Powertrip of Wrestling podcast a while back. Actually, he did that interview in response to Russo. After Prichard did his initial podcast on Russo, Russo replied in a podcast of his own and claimed that Prichard's memory couldn't be trusted because he was a pill user and a drunk. At different times throughout the course of his show, Prichard has confessed to doing cocaine, smoking a lot of pot and popping a lot of pills. He claims that despite rumors to the contrary, he never went to rehab to address the issue. He claimed he has no problem with the concept of rehab but that he never felt he was out of control enough to need to go. He has claimed he no longer does coke or pills and rarely smokes pot, but he still drinks a fair bit of beer. If you read between the lines, it sounds like the combination of his wife being diagnosed with cancer and being a father might have made him decide to slow down a bit. Plus, he did have two heart attacks, so there's that too. There was one humorous story (I forget on which episode) where Bruce says that he's not surprised people think he's been through rehab - his own brother (Dr.) Tom assumed he had been and was shocked when Bruce told him he hadn't.

Yeah, C.S. pretty much covered it. It was just like all the previous network shows so far, nothing new discussed or learned if you heard them cover the topic originally on the podcast - and their original Russo episode was over 3 hours long if I remember correctly. Unless you were really dying to see a couple of video clips of Vince Russo and his uni-brow wandering around backstage in the WWF during the 90's, or you have a burning desire to see some clips of "Vic Venom" on Livewire. If that's the case, then this episode is can't miss.

Yeah I forgot to mention that, good point CS. Conrad was clearly promoting Russo's podcast and Network, he mentioned it a few times in detail. It sure sounded like he was plugging him, which also made me suspicious about the whole thing being some sort of "work."

On the topic of podcasts being full of it and "working" people, I am getting suspicious of something involving Conrad Thompson and Vince Russo. The topic for this past Monday's episode of 83 Weeks was Bash at the Beach 2000, which of course centered around the infamous incident between Hulk Hogan and Vince Russo. Understandably, the majority of the discussion was about Vince Russo. Needless to say, Eric Bischoff did not have much nice to say about Vince Russo, despite Conrad saying that he liked Russo as a person and he was a nice guy. During the podcast, Conrad mentioned several times that he knew Russo would be responding to the show. The topic for yesterday's "Something Else to Wrestle With" on the WWE Network was...Vince Russo. Like the episode of 83 Weeks, the show was less than flattering, and once again Conrad discussed the fact that he was anticipating a heated reaction by Russo. Coincidentally (?) late last week, Vince Russo announced he would be appearing at Starrcast on Labor Day weekend, the upcoming Wrestling Podcast convention, which is being held in conjunction with the "All In" event being run by The Elite. Starrcast is being run by Conrad Thompson. Pretty much the minute that Russo announced he was going to be at Starrcast, Cody Rhodes announced that no...he wasn't and that he wasn't welcome there. Call me paranoid, but this whole thing smells like an attempt by Conrad Thompson to get more publicity for Vince Russo (who after being fired by Podcast One was thankfully starting to fade from any type of "relevance" in the Pro Wrestling business.) I am wondering if Conrad and Vince Russo are working some sort of stupid "swerve" or trying to get publicity for Starrcast. Like suddenly it is going to be announced that Russo is going to be at Starrcast anyhow, despite the fact he was told he isn't welcome. Or even worse Russo is going to appear at All In. (He had reportedly publicly offered to make an appearance at All In and cut a promo on "all the marks.") If this isn't part of some goofy publicity stunt, then I have to question why all of the sudden Conrad Thompson felt the need to host two of his shows with the topic being about Vince Russo in the space of a week...the same week where he was publicly uninvited to a convention that Conrad is running. Smells fishy to me.