The Thread Killer

Yeah, I have been trying to figure out a good answer to this question too. Charles, do you have any idea what style of fighting you're more likely to enjoy? Like if you think you'll enjoy grappling, I would probably recommend some early Pancrase or Abu Dhabi. If you like striking, I would recommend some of the best of K1. Do you think you're more likely to follow UFC, PRIDE, or both?

That person would either have to be: 1) A troll, deliberately trying to get a reaction 2) An idiot 3) Dave O'Neill

I know this might seem like an odd question, but I was just wondering if any other skins for this board will be made available.

Hang on a minute...they have porn online now? When did that happen?

I'm probably going to go with Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio vs. KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji in NOAH from the Budokan on 07/16/06. However, I need to qualify that by saying that I am in the middle of watching ROH's Glory By Honor V Night II from 9/16/06, and I understand from popular opinion that the last two matches from that show might make me change my mind. KENTA vs. Danielson is getting a lot of buzz. I also have yet to see the Danielson vs. McGuiness title vs. title unification match from 08/12/06, or the Do Fixer vs. Blood Generation match from Supercard of Honor on 03/31/06. I intend to see those events, and they may change my vote as well. Also, I saw NO WWE shows during 2006, so if they had a MOTYC, I wouldn't know. Picking at MOTY is always hard when you haven't seen every big event. I saw pretty much every NOAH and SEM show this past year, but I am way behind in my ROH viewing.

They're both adopted. They were adopted by a guy named Bob Shamrock who took in street kids and tried to set them straight. For a while, Frank had a big falling out with Ken and Bob, and was calling himself Frank Warez (his real last name)-Shamrock. Don Frye made some public comment about it, and that was the basis for the heat between Frye and Shamrock leading up to their fight in PRIDE. The family has put their bad blood behind them for now, from what I understand.

Frank would kill Ken...and I would hate to see that fight anyhow since those two have a rough relationship under the best of circumstances. What's the deal with this IFL anyhow? They air on Fox Sports in the U.S. right? I don't see any of their events anywhere on TV here in Canada.

John, have you ever made a list of the more "famous" venues in which you have seen wrestling, or have you hit so many that you really haven't missed any? You've been to Japan too, right? I would have loved to go to the Budokan during the 90's, but I only became interested in AJPW after the NOAH split. I actually tried to get the money to see Misawa/Kawada at the Tokyo Dome for Destiny...but it was so much money I couldn't afford it.

You want to talk about a building that has some great pro wrestling history behind it, look at Maple Leaf Gardens here in Toronto. I know the NWA World Heavyweight Championship changed hands there at least once, when Harley Race beat Terry Funk, and I'm pretty sure that Lou Thesz and Buddy Rogers had a big match there too. There's a site about it here. I can't even count the number of NWA and WWF shows I attended at that arena myself. I was sad when they moved to the SkyDome and then the Air Canada Centre. I hate to see arenas with such a history close down.

I saw the show last night. I have mixed feelings about it. It was a fair show, good at some points, disappointing at others. - The "VKM" are just stupid. They were fine as The James Gang, I really don't know why they're doing this. On the positive side, I was a huge fan of Raven's Flock and I am happy to see Bently, Kazarian and Devine as his new followers. HOWEVER...Raven was wearing a white leisure suit and some weird S&M turtleneck. ODD. So for this match? BAD = Match was nothing special, VKM angle is beyond stupid (and Raven's fashion sense is also bad) GOOD = New Raven's Flock, and you can't deny that VKM are over like mad with the fans in the asylum - The Naturals vs. Dutt/Lethal was meh. It was basically to promote The Naturals as heels, so you knew they were going over. I do like how they have been reborn with Douglas as their mouthpiece, it seems to be working. However, like the match before it, this match didn't really belong on PPV. The Naturals/Team 3D feud is brewing quite nicely. People can bitch all they want about Team 3D not being in the Tag Team title picture, but if they are going to keep running off to Japan every few weeks like this, stories like this one and angles are the best you're going to get from them. BAD = Match was nothing special, ending was a forgone conclusion. GOOD = The Naturals are really evolving as is their feud with Team 3D - Daniels vs. Sabin was pretty good. Sabin is SO much better as a heel it's not even funny. He is so wooden and unconvincing as a face, but when he plays a heel he just comes to life. The match started slow, but got going. It got some fair time...and the potential Jerry Lynn vs. Chris Sabin feud makes me happy. They're really been building to this for ages. I am wondering if (aside from playing the "pass the title belt" game) the X Division will be the one part of TNA that will not have much obvious Russo influence...in that long wrestling matches will still happen. BAD = Nothing GOOD = Solid match, Sabin is coming along awesome with his heel turn, Lynn angle is a great idea - The Nash/Shelley/Starr backstage segment was really funny. They are so obviously booking this whole Nash mentoring Shelley and Starr angle to the internet fans. "If you follow my lead, you'll get to work with some of the big stars like I did." "Like Lazertron?" "Yep. And George South." Then during the Shelley/Star vs. Killings/Hoyt match. "What happened to your arm?" "I injured it two nights ago in Japan, defending my International X Division title in the Budokan. I was going for the firebird phoenix 375 splash and I hit my arm." The match was a nothing match. I don't like Hoyt, I don't know why they're wasting Killings in matches like this, and I would like to see them do more with Shelley and Starr...but it looks like those two will end up feuding. BAD = Wasting Killings with Hoyt. Hoyt is also bad. Shelley and Starr's skills being overshadowed by the story. GOOD = (As much as it pains me to say this) In his non-wrestling role, Nash is actually very funny and entertaining. His commentary can be laugh out loud funny. Get rid of West and put him with Tenay. - The Christian/AJ Styles match was a million times better than I thought it was going to be. I figured it would be average at best, and was shocked. Christian really surprised me here, he really wrestled a good match. AJ Styles selling still bugs me at times, but this was a very fun match. The segment after the match with Rhyno trying to get Daniels and Styles to shake hands so they didn't end up like he and Christian was actually pretty good. BAD = I hope this isn't leading to Styles vs. Daniels AGAIN. They just feuded! GOOD = The Match was very good. Christian was great. Rhino's involvement was well done. - The tag match was okay...but TOO SHORT. If they had cut out those first two nothing matches, they would have had more time for this and the Main Event. The matches LAX had with Styles & Daniels were way better. Also, the ending was beyond stupid, and the fans shit all over Cornette stripping LAX of the belts, and rightfully so. If they do another tournament, I swear I'm going to lose it. BAD = The match was too short. Title stripping was STUPID. GOOD = LAX may be the best heel stable in years...an excellent angle being executed perfectly - Jim Mitchell is gold. - The World Title Match was...odd. Sting is in GREAT shape, and he bumped nicely for Abyss...especially in thumbtacks which was cringeworthy. The ending was unexpected. Sting acted well...he looked like he had totally snapped...they are really playing up this story that having the NWA World Title makes you crazy. Abyss didn't exactly look great coming out of the match though. Sting did NOT put him over in any way, shape or form. I don't see Abyss holding that belt for long, I'm betting he drops it to somebody ASAP on television. People online have been complaining about this a lot, and some it is valid, but some isn't. TNA mentioned as recently as the Christian/Jeff Jarrett feud that you could lose the title for doing something to get yourself deliberately disqualified. The whole story has always been that you get a ton of rope in a World Title Match, (you can brawl all over the arena, use weapons, run ins are tolerated to a degree) but if you TRY to get disqualified you will lose the title. Sting punched the ref after the ref threatend to DQ him TWICE...so his losing the title for it makes sense if you have watched TNA before. The people who say it doesn't makes sense are wrong there. It may not make sense from a booking standpoint...but from a STORYLINE standpoint, you can't say that this is some new stipulation or something. As a match, I would say it was fair. BAD = Abyss didn't come out of this looking good...and now he's the champ. GOOD = Sting looks motivated, for what it's worth. The continuity and storytelling was good - The main event? It was going well...but it was too short. I hate to say, but from my perspective, Angle's match with Michaels at WM21 was better than this for one reason. Length. I was just really starting to get into it when it ended. Angle looked fine, he can still go, no concerns there. Joe was doing well. They just didn't give it enough time. I don't have a problem with Joe tapping...the guy was booked like a monster for 18 months, and he didn't get squashed here...Angle was bleeding like a stuck pig and Joe almost killed him with a couple of moves (especially when Joe slung him into the crowd barrier.) It's pretty obvious that they'll fight again. BAD = Match was too short GOOD = Match was very good while it lasted, and a rematch appears likely So overall? I'd give this PPV a C+ I don't like frequent title changes, and TNA used to be great for not treating the belts like a joke. The X Title has been switching hands like mad lately, the Tag Titles got held up, and the World Title changed hands last night. That's too much. The VKM angle is DUMB. However...this show wasn't a total washout. It was fair. Of course, a lot of people online were "OMG THIS IS IT TNA IS OVER THEY'RE GOING OUT OF BUSINESS!!!" This is an actual word for word quote from some idiot at TSM: This is one of the things that drives me NUTS about some fans. HE HADN'T SEEN THE SHOW...but OMG THE SKY IS FALLING! These are the same people who read the spoilers every week before seeing how the show is put together for broadcast, and then piss and moan about the bookings. The net is being overwhelmed today by people who are complaining about the show, 75% of whom DIDN'T SEE IT. I swear, some fans complain just to look cool to their messageboard buddies. TNA does need to adjust their creative team, I just hope THEY figure that out. Russo or whoever gave the greenlight to all of these title changes need to understand that matches need to be longer, and a championship belt is not a hot potato to be tossed around. I hope if Russo is the one who caused the problems with this show, Jarrett and Mantel realize that and reel him in. Or ask Cornette to do it!

Here's another one I saw. Jake Roberts and I never worked together for the title during the 80's because we had no chemistry in the ring. That's right. It had nothing to do with the time he DDT'd Hogan on the Snake Pit, and the fans started chanting "DDT DDT DDT" instead of "Hogan" so loudly that they couldn't even air it.

The entire WMIII story from start to finish is hilarious to hear Hogan tell it. There were almost 1000,000 people there, Andre weighed 700 pounds, he wasn't sure if he was going to put Hogan over until the night of the event, which he did, for the title...and he died shortly afterward.

I will bet you five hundred billion dollars Angle would pass a commission exam. It's Nevada. Stephen Hawking could pass a commission exam. Dana White is actively trying to get Angle into UFC. Meltzer talks to the guy every week, this isn't speculation from him. The Strike Force thing... eh. How long does the deal run, does he have an opt-out, etc. Sweet! I want to see Stephen Hawking vs. Tim Silvia!

Yeah that can't be right. To not have any of the Snuka matches would be madness. I remember that old Coliseum Video Roddy Piper's Greatest Hits was packed with matches from the Snuka feud.

Damn, worse than Katie Vick, or Hunter's "you nappy headed people" speech towards Booker T before WM19?

Nobody should EVER get compared to Dave O'Neill...even as an insult. That has to be the meanest thing you could ever say to a person.

I approve of all of the Iron Mike Sharpe love. The man was Canada's Greatest Athlete, you know. If only that forearm injury hadn't crippled him for all those years.

Meltzer didn't like Monsoon?

There's a really funny story in "Wrestling At The Chase" where Heyman breaks kayfabe in front of a bunch of St. Louis fans, and Bruiser Brody slaps the shit out of him.

I don't watch WWE, I think McMahon is a scumbag, and I am not in any way, shape or form a WWE apologist...however the least I can say is that Eddie's widow must be okay with it on some level, or she wouldn't be involved, and at least she is going to be making some money from it, since she'll be appearing on screen. I had read somewhere that Eddie's death had hit the family quite hard financially, so if this can help her, I guess that's a good thing. I guess?

I was out of work for almost six months, so as a result, I hadn't bought anything new to read in ages. Now that I have a new job, and money coming in, I caught up on my wishlist. I just finished reading a bunch of wrestling books, some of which were mentioned in this thread, so I figured I'd dig it up again and throw in my two cents. Hardcore History by Scott Williams is actually quite good. It covers the history of ECW from start to finish. I think because the author is a reporter, he has a very good grasp on how to properly structure a story, and conduct interviews which get the information you need to tell the story. He had cooperation from many former ECW stars, and Dave Meltzer as well. The book does not come across as totally buying into Paul Heyman's supposed genius, nor does it do a total hatchet job on him. (That's a surprise since he thanks John D. Williams in the forward.) The book also provides some great insights into Heyman's problems with Stephanie since he joined the WWE. If you were an ECW fan, even casually, I'd get this book. I know there is now a WWE version of ECW history...endorsed by Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer...but I'd skip that and get this. Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling is very similar to the ECW book. Written by a reporter, it gives a fair account of the Hart Family and their legacy left through the Stampede promotion. He gets interviews with many of the key players, Bret Hart, Bruce Hart, Keith Hart, as well as tons of the older stars such as Bad News and Abdullah. The later chapters of this book read like a modern day horror story...I was totally floored as I read of the implosion of the Hart family after Owen's death...and I came out of this having little respect for Martha Hart, and to an even larger extent, Bruce Hart. I actually know a guy who briefly trained under Bruce Hart last year, and he confirms the worst of the stories in this book. Even the so-called "beloved" Ed Whalen doesn't escape close scrutiny, and we see things behind the scenes that Whalen did to both help and hurt Stampede wrestling. I should note, if you are one of the people who loved Dynamite Kid's book, you should read this one. The author interviews Tom Billington's ex-wife, and gets her side on a lot of the things covered in that book. There is at least one chapter devoted to Dynamite Kid, and like Billington's book, it's very interesting and adds even more insight into this amazing performer. My only gripe is this...I myself used to watch Stampede Wrestling in the late 80's. McCoy spends a ton of time on the glory days of Stampede, but then pretty much skips over the era which I was most familiar with. Guys like Benoit barely get a mention, and even worse, some of the top talent from that era like Beef Wellington and Gary Allbright get no mention at all. Still in all, I would highly recomend this book. Wrestling At The Chase: The Inside Story Of Sam Muchnick And The Legends Of Professional Wrestling is a good book...but I have a few problems with it. To say that Larry Matysik looks at St. Louis through "rose colored glasses" would be an understatement. He dishes next to NO dirt on anybody...and in many cases he actually glosses over some obviously unpopular people. Dick Murdoch is referred to in glowing terms...which as a worker, you can't disagree with. As a human being? It's pretty much a documented fact that Murdoch was a total racist jerk, and that gets no mention whatsoever...Murdoch is made out to be a saint. We hear about how Butch Reed got held back in St. Louis and Kansas City, and Matysik actually asks "could it be because of his skin color?" when Matysik was one of the few people who could say for a fact if it was. Same problem with Brody. Larry Matysik pays some lip service to the reputation Brody had, and mentions his no showing events due to money disputes...but then he goes on to dedicate a chapter to what a great guy he was. I was shocked that he admitted that Brody destroyed the evidence of David Von Erich's suicide in Japan...because he shares next to no inside information aside from that incident. Surprisingly, one of the few names that Matysik has less than great things to say about is Harley Race. He dedicates a few paragraphs to talking about how once Race was part of the ownsership of the St. Louis Wrestling Club, he started refusing to do jobs for anybody, except Giant Baba. He especially takes exception to Race losing the Missouri title to David Von Erich via countout. I find that ironic for two reasons, firstly, Matysik seems reluctant to say something bad about ANYBODY, and secondly, in every wrestling book I've read...Mick Foley's, Dynamite Kid's, Billy Graham's, NOBODY has anything bad to say about Harley Race. We find out later in the book that Race and Matysik ended up being business rivals, and that might explain why Race is one of the few people Matysik says anything remotely resembling negative about. Of course...he doesn't mention that Brody went over 6 years without ever jobbing. In fact, he tries to make it sound like Brody put Jumbo over in Japan, when the match he's talking about was a countout...just like Race and Von Erich! Matysik also gives you the impression that every match that ever took place in St. Louis was a five star classic, at one point he brings up the infamous Flair/Brody 60 minute match which caused all the hoopla over at the Wrestling Classics board a while back. Matysik talks about how Brody and Flair didn't keep one hold on for more than a minute, and the match was all action...when there is video tape evidence (which I have seen) that proves otherwise. Matysik does an excellent job of explaining the Muchnick booking philosophy, however he paints it as the "right" way to do things. Obviously, that is up for debate. No managers except for Bobby Heenan...and no manager interference. No ref bumps. Blading should be rarely done, if ever. No brawling outside the ring. He even alludes to people getting disqualified for jumping off the top rope. Matysik goes into how feuds must be logical and not require outlandish reasons for starting...but then tells a story of the Dick The Bruiser/Ric Flair rivalry which was born when The Bruiser stomped on Flair's robe and called him a SISSY! Ooooh. Cutting edge stuff there! Some of the things Muchnick did however, were very logical and should be required reading for anybody wanting to book a fed. His approach to championship titles, and to the fans is admirable. There is a lot of good in this book, no doubt. Here's the thing...I've SEEN Wrestling At The Chase...the actual Television show. It's carried on the Fight Network. It's filmed in a Hotel Ballroom...with one static camera, and a ring which is HUGE...24X24, as opposed to 18X18. Some of it is good...but some of it is boring as a dog's ass and plain old outdated...as are a lot of Matysik's ideas. Many of the things I love about wrestling would never have been allowed back then, and I don't think Matysik truly understands that. The book itself is laid out in a goofy fashion as well, chapters are interupted with wrestler profiles every other, and he actually reprints some of his old St. Lous Wrestling newsletter articles which are about as engrossing as watching paint dry. There can be no doubt whatsoever that Vince Russo should have been forced at gunpoint to read this book. It highlights what is wrong with wrestling today...but maybe that's part of the problem. Rather than telling many interesting stories, Matysik gets caught up in talking about how great things were back in the old days. If you can get a copy of this, it's worth a look, but be prepared to roll your eyes a lot. Superstar Billy Graham: Tangled Ropes is one of the best, if not THE best Wrestling Autobiographies I have ever read. He goes the exact opposite of Matysik, Graham dishes dirt on EVERYBODY...Murdoch was a bigot, Gagne was a doofus, Backlund was a rube...and he himself was a junkie. He tells about how Jimmy Valliant was once so fucked up on drugs he bladed his arm, with a scalpel, while Graham had him in a headlock...because he thought it would be a good time to get juice. He tells a hilarious story about Mad Dog Vachon getting drunk on an airplane, and threatening to jump out the door...and Graham suggests that if he'd been there, he would have pushed him. Graham is just as hard on himself as he is on anybody else in his book...he details his descent into hell with drug abuse, no shows, infidelity, and self pity. He talks candidly about his overdoses and the lies he told. Part of the book can be seen as an attempt to suck up to Vince...but in all honesty he just tells as he remembers it and tells one hell of an interesting story in the process. Graham had one of the most roundabout routes to wrestling stardom I've ever seen. He went from Bodybuilder to Preacher to Bouncer to Football Player to Wrestler, with a bunch of other careers inbetween. Even if you don't like Superstar Billy Graham, it's hard not to enjoy this book. I liked it so much I bought the DVD "20 Years Too Soon" and was impressed by that as well. Highlights are the awesome Graham Promos (which are STILL better than a lot of the stuff we see today) and the Graham vs. Dusty Rhodes feud which sold out Madison Square Garden three times. If you're a wrestling fan...you should read this book, it's that simple.

I was reading HTQ's recap of the Observer, and saw this... You know, I'd hate to think this is actually true...but the sad thing is that it probably is. Unreal. For somebody to work on a creative team in wrestling, and not know who Brody and/or Hansen are? Un-freaking-real.

Harley Race Killer Kowalski Don Leo Jonathan

He got caught with some pot, it's not like he killed somebody. What should they have done to him? According to the statutes in Ohio, he can probably plead out and get a whopping $100 fine. This isn't that big a deal from a legal standpoint, it's impact from a moral standpoint is debatable, and it's impact from a PR standpoint is minimal. I can't see Vince complaining about bad PR from this, when this past week he had simulated oral sex on his show, and last week people getting covered in shit. What's he going to say...that RVD and Sabu sullied the WWE's image?