The Thread Killer

As somebody who actually is of an age and lived in a place where I was able to watch Stampede on a regular basis, allow me to say that you couldn't be more right. Whalen sucked. He was a terrible play by play guy, his cliches were beyond tiresome, and he was so patronizing and condescending to the wrestlers it was pathetic. He once whacked one of the heels over the head with his microphone during an interview...seriously. That dude freaking sucked.

I think he's pretty much spot on there. If they're going to be doing this "guest host" deal for a while, why NOT ZZ Top? They're a great band, and they have a new Rick Rubin produced CD coming out soon...which I am assuming is one of the reasons they're doing this. They're legit fans, they're at ringside a lot during Texas shows quite frequently. Net geeks who are bitching about the entire concept of celebrity guest hosts, I can see. Ones who thought Trump and Green were fine, but ZZ Top aren't...and that's who Ross is referring to here...need to relax and STFU. Then again, maybe having that opinion makes me hateful and vile.

I haven't posted here in ages...I lurk, but I don't usually post unless I have a question or something to say. There is so much we still don't know about what happened, which I am sure will come out in due time. In the days and weeks to come, I am sure much will be said and written about the cause of Misawa's death. Like some of you, I have read elsewhere that this may have actually been a heart attack, and that his death may not have been as a direct result of the back suplex. Regardless of the cause of death, the bottom line is that for my money (and lord knows I spent thousands of dollars collecting his work, and it was worth every cent) Misawa was the best wrestler of all time. I know that is a heavy tag to lay on somebody, but in his case, I feel a compelling argument can be made. So many classic matches, so many which were considered in contention as "the greatest match of all time." Singles matches, tag matches, six man matches...feuds and rivalries. It is sad when anybody dies, but when somebody who had done so much to entertain others dies, doing what he was best at, it seems especially tragic. Years ago I joked with a friend that Misawa seemed so serious about his work that he'd probably die in the ring. Those words came back to me today and I felt sick. Words and rhetoric about the situation now don't seem to do my feelings or the situation justice. All I can do is echo the feelings of many and say this is one of the saddest days to be a fan of pro wrestling. We may never see his type again...something has really been lost today. That is what keeps coming to my mind...someone has been lost today, a kind of performer who we were lucky to see, and that we will probably never see somebody like him again. That's where my sadness comes from...selfishness, the sense of loss. R.I.P.

Read "Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling" by Heath McCoy. Blood was a major issue, they lost television and lots of support for too much of it. They also got regularly fined by the local athletic commission, which still governed Pro Wrestling. Too much blood and violence was a major issue between Stu and Bruce, and for the old time fans of Stampede, it's a fact.

This story, (and from the looks of it, a lot of the information SK uses) is blatantly lifted from "Pain & Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling" by Calgary Sun writer Heath McCoy. That is an excellent book. That exact sentiment is expressed by McCoy in "Pain and Passion" where he hails Bruce Hart's booking in the 80's as ahead of his time...and similar to what ECW and WWF Attitude ended up doing years later...McCoy mentions the Zodiac and Jason stuff as a specific example. On the Superstar Billy Graham DVD "20 Years Too Soon" Graham makes a comment at the end that even if he had known the effect the steroids were going to have on his body, he might have done them anyhow, because he loved wrestling so much and his jacked up body was what made his career and success possible. I remember that distinctly, because I was pretty shocked that he said that after 90 minutes of stories about how his entire body was breaking down due to steroid abuse. Then again, I don't doubt that he contradicted this statement elsewhere in other interviews...it seemed the main purpose of his WWE DVD was to shift any blame for Graham's health away from McMahon and Company, and onto Graham himself. Some of the grovelling and kissing up in his WWE produced autobiography is quite shocking.

One of the things I loved about this board is the lack of drama...and the focus on discussion of Pro Wrestling Only. "Wild Pegasus" has managed to get banned at TSM and even The Pit for gawd's sake, where it's practically impossible to get banned....for this exactly this kind of weirdness, which has been amply displayed above. Please don't let this kind of goofiness infect this board too, I implore you all.

It might be talking about this article which came out recently, Loss. Slam Wrestling article on Luna Vachon

I know for a fact that Superstar Billy Graham and Dave Meltzer remain in personal contact, and may even consider each other friends. Graham hates Backlund. Plus there is the fact that a lot of people think that Backlund is boring as a dog's ass.

Have you seen his "Pick Your Poison" DVD? The last couple of minutes is basically him begging the WWE for a job, and them talking about how his demons have ruined his life.

Ring of Honor has a weekly two hour television show which runs opposite RAW here in Canada. It's on The Fight Network, and it's re-run several times during the week. Their PPV's were getting special 30 minute preview hype slots on The Fight Network as well. I know The Fight Network is a specialty channel, but ROH and their PPV's get plenty of hype on that channel. ROH has never run a live event in Canada, but I do believe that they got a fair contingent of Canadian fans when they ran shows in Buffalo. It's odd that they haven't tried to run Toronto since they have television here. The exchange rate is now pretty much at par, give or take. In fact, at one point recently the Canadian dollar was worth more than the U.S. buck, but it doesn't matter...when you order from Viewers Choice Canada you pay in Canadian funds. So the point is, they got plenty of hype on cable, and they have weekly television too. They run commercials for the PPV's on The Fight Network as well. People just didn't care.

Well, here is where we find out how good Brock really is. As per Meltzer: Frank Mir was at one point poised to become the premier fighter in the UFC and one of their main poster boys (see Ortiz, Tito.) He had it all, good looks which could bring in the female fans, excellent fighting skills (he comes from a martial arts family) and on top of all that, he is actually from Las Vegas, their home base. Mir could have been the face of the UFC, and he was going to be. He did us all a favor when he beat Tim Silvia for the World Heavyweight Championship in 2004, in under a minute...and he broke Silvia's arm in the process. As much as I can't stand Silvia, the man is not a pushover, and the fact that Mir beat him in 50 seconds goes to show you that he can fight. Unfortunately, he decided to celebrate winning the title by going out and buying himself a motorcycle, which he promptly crashed. From what they say, his entire leg was pretty much shattered. A lot of people said he would never be back, but he did return almost two years later. By then, the Frank Mir hype had more than fizzled out. It didn't help that he looked awful in both fights, losing his first, and getting a boring decision win in the second. He had gained a ton of weight as well. Then he got beat by Brandon Vera. I thought that was pretty much it for Mir after that. Mir did make somewhat of a comeback this past August when he beat former K1 fighter Antoni Hardonk in just 1:17. He did look like the Frank Mir of old, but then again Hardonk is not an established MMA name either. The bottom line is, Mir is not a "safe" first opponent for Brock, and if Lesner beats him, that will be impressive to me. How he performs in this fight will tell me a lot about how good he is.

As a long time MMA fan, I am keeping an open mind regarding Lesnar's abilities as an MMA fighter. He is one hell of a natural athlete and his real wrestling background is well documented. In theory, his takedowns and ground control should already be quite good. He comes into MMA with a better background than a lot of guys who made it. The encouraging thing is that he is apparently training with some very good camps, and he is taking his MMA training very seriously. I am going to reserve judgment on how good or bad he is going to be until I actually see him in the Octagon.

AJPW from 1993-1997 says hi, Shawn.

It's moments like this that illustrate why UFC has overtaken the WWE in popularity with so many. The emotion of a fight like that could never be manufactured by a McMahon...and it was REAL.

In the name of all that is good and holy...will people PLEASE stop comparing Shawn Michaels to TERRY FUNK?

I forgot about the burning of the American flag...the fans shit all over Cornette's reaction so bad they had to scrap the whole thing. I must have blocked it out. I never understood what Petey Williams role was supposed to be in all of this...especially since he doesn't have a partner. I blame Bubba Ray for treating LAX like chumps more than I do Russo...and I keep hoping that the Machete/Apollo stuff is just a rumor and it never actually happens.

Well, Meltzer is saying in his news update today that they'll go into details in the next issue why this is going down, so I suppose we'll have to wait a while for his take.

I think that Vince Russo has no idea how to book Joe, but in fairness I don't think Jeff Jarrett, Dutch Mantell, or even Jim Cornette do either. Jarrett only books to get himself over, when Mantell had the book by himself he was as much of a screw up as Russo, and Cornette is stuck in 1983. People like to laugh at the idea that Johnny Ace wanted Samoa Joe to be Umaga, but let's face it, Cornette probably would have loved that idea, and probably likes the Umaga character and concept. (Hell, I think it's worked brilliantly for what's it worth.) TNA needs a booker who knows and understands today's youth, market trends, and what's popular with wrestling's target demographic. Jim Cornette knows what white male rednecks from the South like to see, because that used to be the demographic he aimed for. Jeff Jarrett's main demographic is Jeff Jarrett, and he managed to convince Dixie Carter of that fact. I don't even think God knows what Mantell is thinking. People LOVE to bash Heyman, but you can't deny that he looks at what is the trend in youth culture, and books towards that. What did he give ECW fans? - Violence - Hot chicks in skimpy outfits catfighting - Alternative music - Most importantly, he appealed to the adolescent need to feel part of a counter-culture movement or underground...part of something that is NOT accepted by the mainstream. One of the few things he was able to do in WWECW was book CM Punk properly. Why? Because he paid attention. He booked Punk as an individualist who did things his own way, didn't like geeks, and had some MMA moves in his arsenal. Like it or not, MMA has replaced Pro Wrestling with kids as cool...and that's not going to change any time soon. Heyman knows this. Look at Gabe Saplowsky or whatever his name is. His key demographic is internet geeks. People who blow tons of money on DVD's, time matches, write reviews, give out star ratings, overanalyse the hell out of everything and take all the fun out of it...you know...people like US. This is a small but insanely loyal demographic and he books to their interests specifically. This is why he has been successful in his own limited way. I'm not saying TNA should try and get Heyman or Gabe but what TNA needs is somebody who understands the way your key demographic thinks in order to get guys like Joe over. Look at LAX, one of the few things TNA and Russo have NOT managed to fuck up. Why? They're cool, and they're current. Until they get that, TNA will just be a gig for guys like Joe, Low Ki, and other new generation guys, and it will continue to turn into a haven for guys like Angle, Sting and Christian, who still want to make money and be on TV, but not work as hard for it. That's what pisses me off, TNA could be so much more.

I know it's the popular opinion with some people right now, but I don't think TNA has killed Joe as a star. They've diminished his appearance as a perceived monster, since he's lost to Kurt Angle, (who in fairness is their #1 guy) three times. He's still in the Main Event/Upper Card picture, and he's still booked as a tough guy, he's just not undefeated or looked at as unbeatable anymore. That had to end sooner or later. Don't get me wrong, I HATE the way Russo is booking TNA right now, and I wish he wasn't there. I think they pulled the trigger on Joe/Angle way too quickly and rushed the feud...but it's not Joe is a total de-pushed nobody now. In the WWECW, CM Punk was undefeated, getting big pops, and coming up strong. They jobbed him to Bob Freaking Holly. THAT is killing somebody as a future star. As far as them wrecking the NOAH feud for ROH (if they did) from their perspective...why should they care? ROH is an indy that draws 500 fans to a show, most of whom are not TNA fans. I don't see why Carter and Company should extend ROH any courtesy. ROH has nothing to offer TNA. If NJPW and TNA have an agreement to work together exclusively, or at least an agreement that TNA contracted talent will not work for NJPW's competition, then TNA is right to honor that. As far as the ROH fans? Fuck them. Seriously, I would say 7 out of 10 hardcore Ring of Honor fans are idiots who have no freaking grasp on reality. They turned on Joe because they think they're cool. I've seen some of them bitching and moaning on the DVDVR and ROH boards, and it's hilarious. Check this gem of a quote out: Yeah...earth to moron. Wrestling is a business. Joe makes more money and gets more mainstream exposure working in TNA than he ever will in ROH. He might have more fun working in ROH, but until he's a millionaire who can wrestle wherever he wants whenever he wants just for fun like a Mick Foley or a Bill Goldberg, then he'll always go with the money. I love ROH, and prefer it to TNA hands down...but I think some people like to make TNA out to be the devil for every little thing, and really all they're doing is picking at straws.

The speculation I read (and this is just me repeating it, so don't shoot the damn messenger) is that TNA was getting pressure from NJPW. ROH is heading into an interpromotional feud with NOAH, and Joe was supposed to be the focal point of that feud. NJPW and TNA have some sort of agreement already in place, and since Joe is under TNA contract, and TNA controls all his bookings...he got pulled from ROH. I'd rather hear what Herr Meltz has to say about it though before I believe anything, since he'll probably be able to get confirmations from his connections in both feds.

I strongly agree that the idea of ending Taker's winning streak on Batista is beyond stupid. I'm not a Taker mark, but Batista is just one of those guys who does not need that kind of rub. He's an injury prone musclehead who probably won't be around too much longer due to his age. If Taker is going to lose to somebody at WM, it had better against somebody who would benefit from the win. Then again, this is the WWE, so they'll probably do it.

I've always wondered, what exactly did he SAY that pissed everybody off so much? I heard it was something about Misawa being fat or something.

Hey Charles, I don't know if you remember when I used to write the MMA column for TSM, "The Tap Out Wrap Up" but they are still archived at TSM. I agree with Rudo about PRIDE 19, 20, and especially 25. At the time I reviewed it, I said that PRIDE 25 was the greatest MMA show of all time. I don't know if I still think that, I've seen so many shows since...but you sure can't go wrong with PRIDE 25, that's for sure. The Middleweight Grand Prix (all three rounds) that year was outstanding as well, and even had some UFC guys in the mix.

The fact that Dixie Carter brought in and is sticking with Vince Russo is making me nuts. I agree...TNA could be so much better than it is right now.