The Thread Killer

I decided ahead of time that I would watch the whole show because I wanted to be up to date on all the latest storylines and angles going into Wrestlemania. I figured with two weeks to go, this show might be loaded with hype, but at least it would be fast paced and would bring me up to speed on everything going on with the RAW brand. I tried, I really tried but I just couldn't sit through it. Starting right off the hop with the grating Stephanie promo, I just kept feeling the overwhelming urge to change the channel. 3 hours of that is just too damn much for me.

Watching Triple H's incredibly long promo tonight, it struck me...it's a good thing he's always lecturing the fans about how much they cheer and support Seth Rollins. Based on the crowd reactions when his name comes up, I think they'd forget, otherwise. Also, I'm really hoping Braun Stroman gets added to the Reigns/Taker match, otherwise I fear for the trainwreck that might ensue.

My main objection is to the whole stupid "burning down the barn to destroy the burial place of Sister Abagail" crap. And now Wyatt thinks he's a god, or something. On tonight's Smackdown, on one segment we had Miz and his wife taking shots at Cena and his girlfriend for backstage/insider reasons (which was extremely well done, for what it's worth - and I hate The Miz) but then a couple of segments later we have something straight out of the mid nineties Undertaker storybook. I was having the "Origin of Kane" flashbacks. It's not well written, it's not compelling, it doesn't make me want to see Orton vs. Wyatt more. It's just plain old stupid and makes me want to change the channel. Which next time it's on, I probably will.

This Randy Orton/Bray Wyatt storyline has devolved into one of the dumbest angles I can remember. Look at the reception Wyatt got during the first show after winning the title, and compare that to the crickets tonight. Whoever wrote this crap should be fired.

This, X 100. I am also a big fat guy. I stand 5'11, and weigh well over 300 pounds. I used to weigh around 200 pounds, when I worked out at the gym three times a week and did 45 minutes on a treadmill every day. When I stopped doing that, and replaced that workout regimen with a strict routine which involves my sofa, watching television, and the intake of large amounts of beer and pizza, my weight went up. I have no problem with being a fat guy. I'd have to be an idiot if I had a problem with it, because it's what I am. If I didn't want to be a fat guy any more, I'd put down the remote control and the pizza and beer, and go back to the gym. I don't want to do that. It's hard, and I didn't like it. What baffles me is those who think that if we stop pointing out the fact that there are fat people, somehow magic fairies will appear, sprinkle us all with sunshine and rainbows, and we'll all join hands and dance in a circle celebrating the fact that we're all different. I don't want that. It's stupid, and dancing around in a circle would make me short of breath, because I'm too damn fat. Plus I hate this stupid idea that we can't say fat because we don't want to "fat shame" the fat people. I don't give a damn if somebody "fat shames" me because I'm not ashamed of who I am or how I look. I'm amazing, and even if I am fat, I'm still dead sexy. People need to stop being so damn sensitive about everything and grow a thicker skin. Bull James is a fat guy. Kevin Owens has a big belly, because he doesn't like to go to the gym. These are facts, and I don't care if they're "fat shaming" because they're true. If we live in a world where you're not allowed to tell the truth anymore because you might offend somebody, then we're all in a lot of trouble.

If it's tiresome to you, just ignore the topic and move on. Obviously you don't want to discuss it, so don't post about it and everybody will move on.

What did I saw that was incorrect? Your righteous indignation regarding this issue is well documented...and a little tiresome.

I don't usually agree with much of what stro posts, but in this case...he's not wrong.

Apparently, the Jimmy Hart episode of Legends will be the final show.

Nothing wrong with that at all, that would be awesome! That's a women's revolution I can get behind. I'd actually enjoy seeing three women's por... Oh...wait, you said pronos. Never mind.

For the record, yes - the correct answer would be The Harris Brothers. Never before has a team been given so many chances, repackaged so many times, and worked so many different places with so much talent, only to produce exactly ZERO enjoyable matches. No matter how they were presented, no matter where they went, or who they fought, they stunk. Also, they're Nazis, so screw them.

It's been a couple of years since I last watched it, but for years I have maintained that Misawa vs. Kobashi on 10/31/98 for the Triple Crown was the greatest match I had ever seen. I should go back and see if it holds up still. I can't remember anything surpassing it in my mind. Tabe turned me on to that match, as prior I had always felt that Misawa and Kawada had the best singles matches in AJPW during the 90's. I kind of turned my nose up at Misawa's matches with Kobashi, I thought they were overrated. Tabe changed my mind. I still prefer the Misawa/Kawada rivalry, but that 98 match was pretty close to perfect, the way I see it. For all the people voting for 06/09/95, I don't disagree with you. However, does anybody think that their 05/21/94 match was close to being as good as that, if not as good?

We should probably assume Iron Mike was left out because this poll was just for Canada's Greatest Wrestler, whereas it's a documented fact that Iron Mike Sharpe was Canada's Greatest Athlete.

If I am not mistaken, this is not the first time Jericho has donated a significant sum of money to a crowd funding campaign to benefit a wrestler or their family. He donated $3,000 to help Rico Constantino pay for his medical bills and I think he has donated to the fund to help get Sabu a new hip. Very generous of him. I respect him for that.

If he is dead, that would make his role on the show even more awesome.

Thank you! I was just saying to one of my friends the other day, that Corbin's finisher makes no sense. It's like he's giving himself the Rock Bottom.

That comes on the heels of this... I can never predict how WWE are going to react to things. Sometimes they are stubborn as hell and stick to their course, sometimes they are quick to react. If they decide to react to this news, do you think it will blow back on how Kevin Owens is viewed as Champion? I don't like Kevin Owens, but in his defense, it's hard to get people excited amount your Main Even program when you give the match away for free on television. I just wonder if falling ratings and decreased interest in PPV shows will be blamed on him. I would ims oagine you could blame the holiday, but then again Smackdown is on the day after Raw, so I guess that really wouldn't work, would it?

I have also noticed an increase in tension here at PWO, and it is troubling. I am not sure that anything can be done about it. I think the first problem is that (as with most messageboards and online communities) there is a core group of members. Over the course of years, these people have gotten to know each other and their opinions and responses have become predictable. In other words, if I make a post which is critical of a particular organization or wrestler, I usually already know who is going to disagree with me, based on history. I can predict how some people are going to react, and what they are going to say. I guess it's a case of familiarity breeding contempt. Secondly - and this is the much larger problem in my opinion - is the tendency of some members to be insulting and profane. If I make a post which is critical of a particular organization or wrestler, you would think that the response by people who disagreed with me would be varied. If they really thought I was totally irrational in my arguments, then they might just ignore me altogether. But if I said something they thought they had a valid argument to, they could post a counter-point or structure an argument. That seems to be happening a lot less around here. Instead, you get insults. That contributes nothing to the discussion and only leads to bad feelings and tension. Honestly, I wish the moderators here would deal with these types of posts and members. Finally, I think a problem is some members making posts that are basically trolling - clearly meant to antagonize. For example, somebody posts a sweeping generalization like "boy, a lot of the posters around here have been idiots lately" or "I'm so tired of having to deal with these stupid WWE fans." I myself have been guilty of making snide comments on occasion. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that there are some members here who seem to only post criticisms of other posters. They don't start threads, they don't contribute to discussions, but you can always count on them to show up and insult other posters or make vague and unhelpful comments about how stupid everybody else is. If there was a rule in place that stated your posts need to contain some sort of substance, I'd follow it. Another type of trolling which has been going on is members attempting to start "discussions" by starting threads making inflammatory statements or posting clearly antagonistic opinions, in what appears to be nothing more than an attempt to rile people up. If you have an opinion about a subject that you think goes against the popular opinion, that's fine. But I think the way it is presented is what separates trolling from debate. Starting a thread with a topic like "Bret Hart is the most overrated wrestler on the planet" and then kicking off your discussion by saying you think The HonkyTonk Man was better, looks like trolling. Starting a topic and entitling it "Revisiting Bret Hart in context" or "Compare Bret Hart to the current generation" is more likely to generate discussion. But sometimes I am unsure if discussion is the goal, or if the poster just wanted to poke a hornet's nest with a stick to see what happens.

I was at that show, in the 11th row or so. It was years ago, but what I do remember is it being cold, being blown away by how huge Andre was in person (I had a seat right on the aisle and he walked past us to get to the ring) and I remember really enjoying the Jake the Snake (with no snake!) vs. Steamboat and Hogan vs. Wonderful matches.

That was brutal. I counted at least three headlocks or rear chinlocks where Owens basically laid down on the mat next to or behind Reigns, and the action in the match basically ground to a complete halt. And it was really early in the match, so it can't be because he was already gassed, could it? Was he trying to get heel heat by doing that, or do the agents tell him to do it? I cannot for the life of me understand the logic behind wrestling like that in a Main Event on a PPV. So BORING.

See, that wasn't so hard, was it? And now don't you feel better? That's too bad. I can't say that I'm terribly surprised, but it's still a shame. I remember one of the first times I ever saw Foley, he did that deal where he used to run along the ring apron and then leap into the air and drop an elbow on his opponent who was laying prone on the outside, usually on bare concrete. I remember at the time (and this was 20 + years ago) thinking that must be absolute hell on his hip joints, and wondering how he wasn't going to end up needing surgery if he did that move with any frequency. We all know he did end doing that move quite a lot - I believe in his first book he claims that exact move helped him get his first job in WCW. And now look what it has done to him. This is a guy (annoying/creepy personality traits aside) that has literally crippled himself to entertain the fans. I appreciate what he put himself through to try and entertain me, especially since I know he would bust those moves out for a tiny ECW crowd just as quick as he did on WCW TV. I hope he is going to be okay. The only solace I can take now is from knowledge I gained during one of my previous careers as a Social Worker, of all things. I worked for a while with Seniors, trying to educate them on the seriousness of hip injuries. There was a time that if you had a hip replacement, the odds were 1 in 4 you wouldn't even survive the surgery. If you did, your mobility would be very limited and you would be in a lot of pain. Thankfully, medical science has made a ton of gains over the past 20 years. For people who come from an athletic background, they actually have replacement hip joints which are just as flexible and even tougher than the real thing. I know they were looking at a model where NFL players could have a hip replacement, and still play, believe it or not. So as sad as it is that it has come to this for Foley, at least this procedure is not the crippling or dangerous process it was a few years ago. Of course, it's really expensive. For Mick, that might be a fate worse than death.

I wonder what Foley loves most, Money, The Divas or Christmas. His ultimate dream is probably finding a way to get paid for hosting a Divas Christmas Special.

Shawn openly admits that in the (really well done) WWE Rivalries special they did on Shawn vs. Bret, where the two of them are sitting there side by side, being interviewed by JR. Which is a must see, if for nothing else than to see how much Shawn has since moved on, and how much Bret really still hasn't.

Except for it obviously was complicated. It was pretty much the dictionary definition of complicated, actually. A situation consisting of many interconnecting parts or elements. If it wasn't complicated, then the Montreal Screwjob would never have happened. The fact that you clearly favor the viewpoint of one of the "interconnecting parts" rather than have the ability to look at entire situation and acknowledge it's complexity does not actually make the situation any less complex.