The Thread Killer

I don't disagree with you...I wouldn't want to see him go anywhere near 205 Live again. I think his being on that show and in the CW division was half punishment and half Vince trying to make the CW division more "entertaining." When he left, they say Triple H took it over and wanted to make it more like the CWC. That's good. I think the only value Enzo or Cass have is together, as a team.

Bro, I said ON A POLE, bro. On a pole. Bro, people only want to see matches on a pole, bro.

The fact that the whole thing seems to be playing itself on the Today Show certainly makes it look like a work, but as I said - unless it is designed to promote Total Bellas, why bother? I don't see it leading to a Cena vs. Nikki Prenuptial Agreement on a pole match at Wrestlemania.

I wonder if it's true that Vince is one of those rich old guys who thinks he isn't going to die, or I wonder if he actually thinks about what his legacy is going to be. It has always been fascinating to me that it has never been good enough for him to be the greatest Professional Wrestling promoter of all time - he is almost embarrassed by that and wants to be more. I wonder if he even cares about how he will be remembered and what he will leave behind, or if he is just concerned with accumulating wealth and leaving an empire for his family. Or maybe he'll sell the whole thing to Disney or Fox.

I was going to mention the early PRIDE fights featuring Sakuraba, especially the Newton fight...but Edwin beat me to it. Those fights made me seek out Sakuraba's pro-wrestling work in UWF-I and Kingdom, and made me a real fan. I am also a big fan of the "Hybrid Wrestling" era of Pancrase, the Masakatsu Funaki and Bas Rutten years, before they brought in gloves and striking and started using the cage. I know a lot of people dislike that stuff and find it boring, but I really enjoyed it. It is an acquired taste and your mileage may very for sure, but if you like grappling you might want to check that stuff out. Of course...whether or not those early PRIDE fights and especially the early Pancrase stuff were really "shoots" or not is up for debate. Even if they were worked fights (which I think they probably were) they were certainly presented as shoots.

I don't know if anybody else caught this past week's episode on Bret Hart in WCW? It was pretty intense. We are in week three of this show now, and Eric is really starting to get into his gimmick and fight back against a lot of the popular online narratives about the "Death of WCW." I'm not saying I believe him (any more than I ever believed Bruce Prichard) but I find the show to be very interesting. If nothing else, he has provided some interesting details about the inner workings of the Turner organization and the way it changed once the Time Warner acquisition began. This past week Conrad used Bret's book as his source and at points Eric became near apoplectic over some of the claims Bret made, especially about contract offers and negotiations. He is adamant that some parts of Bret's book are outright lies. Like I said, I don't necessarily believe it but it is very entertaining. At this point, I much prefer this show to Something to Wrestle. That may be due to the fact I have tired of the STW formula, but I am really enjoying this show so far.

It is sure starting to look like some sort of pathetic staged story designed to promote Total Bellas, but that really can't be the case, can it? Either it is, and that's sad, or it's really happening and that's even more sad.

Enzo and Cass both back in the news over the past 24 hours... Meanwhile today... I am wondering if Meltzer's original report from way back that Cass wasn't popular backstage is true after all...although we have had no more reports about him being a Trump supporter. If Enzo really is free and clear of this sexual assault allegation, and if Cass really is being a pain backstage and killing his singles push, I wonder if there is any chance WWE brings Enzo back and puts them back together? Part of me thinks that might be the only scenario in which Cass is of any real use. Enzo does the talking and takes a beating and gets rag-dolled, Cass gets the hot tag and cleans house with a couple of simple power moves. Their formula seemed to work and there is no denying they were crazy popular and moved a ton of merchandise, which seems to be an important factor to WWE. Or are they both labelled too toxic backstage so Enzo stays gone and Cass gets pushed down the card? Or are the rumors of Cass having heat just rumors, and he continues to get a big push because of his big size? I didn't see the segment with him and Daniel Bryan this week...the way it read it sounds like it was designed to make him look bad...was it, or was it just to further their rivalry?

"Doot doot doot?"

I love the unabridged version of The Stand, I re-read that every year or so. I have the hardcover version, so it's like carrying a cinder block around, but I like it.

Thanks for adding this, Loss. Really glad to see this thread and I hope it leads eventually to a movie/TV specific thread, a music thread, etc. I had to read three pages to catch up on what everybody was talking about. I am late to the party, unfortunately. At my job, we work something called "The DuPont Schedule" which is 12 hour shifts...but they cram as many as they can within a three week period and then you get every fourth week off. So the good news is that you get an entire week off every month, the bad news is that they almost kill you to get to it. I am about to embark on my final 12 hour Day Shift and tomorrow starts my week off. But by the end of this stretch I am so fried. I barely have time to check my email or drop by PWO. I get up, walk my dogs, eat, go to work, come home, walk my dogs, make my lunch, go to bed...repeat. Ugh. I have a ton of TV shows saved on my DVR to watch this week, at least. I am going to contribute to this thread (post about my favorite shows, music etc.) when my week off starts. Right now it is 4:30 am and I have to get ready for work soon, unfortunately. Ugh. That's amazing. That takes a ton of self discipline and you are to be commended. Congratulations. I am probably going to have to do something myself, and soon. I have always been a bigger guy, but my weight has really ballooned over the past year or so, to the point where it is endangering my health. I actually had a cardiac episode a month or so ago and ended up in the hospital. I have to see a Cardiologist later this month, but I know he's going to tell me I need to lose weight. I am tipping the scales at well over 300 pounds now, and I'm around 5'11 so that isn't good. I know part of the problem is endocrinological, I've had serious issues with my glands and hormone levels ever since ending my cancer treatments years ago - but my crappy diet and sedentary lifestyle ain't helping either.

I came into this topic to mention three turns, Goldberg, Ahmed Johnson and Rikishi and I see that all three have already been mentioned. Can we add a subcategory for those who have turned so often that it has pretty much killed their career and made the fans lose all interest in them for the most part? We're looking at you, Big Show. Heel/face turns are only effective if you're emotionally invested in the character - if they redeem themselves by doing something heroic or hurt the fans by turning their back and doing something selfish. If the character has flip-flopped so many times that nobody cares about the person anymore, just expecting them to turn again...what's the point? Then again, the heel/face distinction seems to be dying thanks to VKM which is one of the things that is really hurting the business right now, in my opinion.

I always thought it would be good if there were other forums here for members to discuss our other interests...movies, television, music, etc. I figured if I have learned about different aspects of wrestling from the people here over the years, wouldn't it also be interesting to share notes regarding other forms of entertainment? I also wouldn't mind a forum in which we could get to know each other a bit better personally, talk about jobs, family, stuff like that. I like talking to a lot of the people here about wrestling, so it stood to reason that I'd like them as people. Not to mention there is such a diverse group of members here geographically, people from all parts of the world, I thought it would be interesting to talk to people about their lives in different parts of the world. But if I think back about the history of this board, maybe that is what caused New Millennium Blues to become Pro Wrestling Only in the first place. I get that this is Pro Wrestling Only and if I want to talk about those things, I need to look elsewhere. It's always kept me from getting to know some of the other members better because we're restricted to this one topic...but realistically I guess this one hobby dominates much of our lives anyhow. Having said all that, ironically, the only thing I really had no desire to discuss with anybody here was politics, because it's so damn divisive. No matter how reasonable the people, it seems like any time politics gets thrown into the mix it degenerates into hyperbole and insults. I too had noticed how political comments and debates had started to permeate other areas of PWO, and I didn't much enjoy that. I tended to avoid the Military Industrial Suplex because I didn't want to get into those types of arguments with people here, or let arguments from there affect how I looked at people elsewhere. So I can't say I'm really sad it's gone, either.

I have to go to bed now, since I have to get up at 5:00 am for work. I'll probably watch the rest of the show later, depending on the reviews. The important thing is that I got to see the Randy Orton match live. I'm sure it will all be downhill after that.

I'll probably be in the minority, but that segment actually made me smile a bit.

Crap, I totally forgot it was Rusev Day today.

Please tell me this bit ends with that big bass drum getting broken over the head of Elias.

The other night, I had an actual dream where Disco Inferno interrupted an Elias performance and started disco dancing around the ring. It's entirely possible I watch too much wrestling.

I'm not quite sure whose fault it is, but this match is...not so good.

Hey, that was your first post. Welcome to PWO, brother brother. Somebody should contact you shortly to offer you your complimentary fruit basket. Don't eat the dates.

Sentence I thought I'd never type: "Thank God...it's Byron Saxton!"

Thank you for sternly lecturing us on how important it is to remember the rules of a Steel Cage Match, Michael Cole.

So apparently, that match was some kind of public relations thing for their "Be a Star" campaign?

Are people booing Nia Jax during this interview?

If WWE ever teamed up Mauro Ranallo and Coach, we would all be doomed as the entire planet would be pulled into a massive vortex of suck.