The Thread Killer

I love what Jim Ross said in that column he did on wwe.com, that McMahon has totally lost touch with what wrestling fans really want, and what real people are interested...that he is so out of touch he takes a limo when he gets his haircut. I guess when I look at WM20 as a single event, I saw that at least for that one night, Triple H tapped out in the middle of the ring to Benoit. It was the Main Event, the 20th Anniversary of their greatest event ever, in their holiest of holy arena. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I'll plead ignorant about what happened before and after. I was at somebody else's house watching the show, and I never watched one episode of RAW after that...I wouldn't watch that crap if you paid me.

I dunno sek. Their relationship with the NWA (such as it is) is pretty shaky right now, from what I understand. I don't even know if the NWA has a sitting president right now, I think the old one stepped down and their website is hopelessly out of date...or it was last time I checked. I am pretty sure that this announcement is going to be about going on the road, doing IMPACT tapings or house shows around the country, not just at Universal Studios anymore...OR that they are getting a new more viable time slot, maybe even opposite WWE.

My argument against Miavia is this...at that particular time in wrestling history I think if Hogan played his 80's schtick in the WWF he would have been booed out of the building. That was right when he was finding that out in WCW...and Austin was about to explode in the WWF. That was around the birth of the anti-hero. For the record, I thought Rocky sucked too...mostly because of his hair and ridiculous ring attire. I also don't think that the anti-hero thing has been good for wrestling...it makes the heel and face roles much less defined and results in almost everybody wanting to act like a badass and not look cowardly. Obviously I would be a moron to say that Hogan didn't draw money, the man was a human cash register for gawd's sake. If you are saying "who is the most popular wrestler ever with the fans" then I would probably say Hogan or Austin. But my point is that in the overall package, he was not as convincing at playing that role as other people were...people who didn't get the publicity he did. It brings up an interesting argument. McMahon once said that he could have done what he did with Hogan with somebody else in the 80's but he "chose" Hogan. I wonder if that's true...or if Hogan was as good as some people think he was. In the 90's in WCW before turning heel, Hogan proved that his tried and true formula didn't always work...but could somebody else have done what Hogan did in the 80's if not Hogan?

From Meltz: "Regarding TNA's big secret, the idea that it will change the face of wrestling, if it's what I'm expecting, is way overblown. Personally, to me, signing Christian was a bigger deal in the long-run, although it's possible this would be slightly bigger short-term, but only slightly if at all." Some people (at SK's board so take that for what it's worth) are speculating that it's an announcement that Chris Benoit has reached a verbal argreement with TNA for 2006 when his WWE contract expires.

Yeah Rico has gone back to being a cop again. And if they sign Haas, I will personally be very happen. And if Kanyon comes in, I will mark out, because...say it along with me now...who better than Kanyon? And NO NO NO NO. NOBODY is as bad as Glen Gilberti...NOBODY. I had to sit through his world title shot push in TNA back during the weekly PPV era...and it was AWFUL. That man SUCKS in the ring. SUCKS I tell you, and his on screen character makes me want to burn things.

I disagree. I think a face should be judged by how well he plays the role overall. Let's be honest...a great deal of wrestling fans are idiots. They cheer for stuff like "HLA." Does that make the Bischoff on screen character a face for providing it, and the bimbos faces for doing it? I think not. A great face plays the part of a "good guy" to perfection. And no...I never wrote Funk or Steamboat a letter. The Funk match I mentioned happened when I was 7 years old...in Japan...and I only saw it a couple of years ago. By the time I was 33, I was past writing wrestlers. And I never wrote Steamboat either. Maybe I'm unlike most fans...I started watching wrestling in 1980, when I was 10, but I knew it was fake then. This is why when characters I liked got hurt or attacked and it sucked me in, it was like watching a good movie...and when people like Hogan got attacked I laughed a lot. Was the Earthquake attack the one where he was kicking his legs comically and foaming at the mouth afterwards? If so, that was FUNNY. Hogan is like the worst actor EVER. That's why he was so great in the nWo...he's a HAM.

Credit where it's due...Captain Trips did put over Benoit in a huge way at WM20, and put Batista over at WM21 and beyond. It's the rest of the year I find him to be tiresome. Actually...that's not totally true. It's his WIFE I can't stand. Him I can live with.

I agree. That was an excellent article. His work on Candido was also first rate. Da Meltz does take a lot of crap but his work lately has been excellent, no doubt about it. Even the jaded cynics club over a tOa have been off his back lately.

LOL remember in Mick Foley's book? "Maybe sucking your gut in and walking around on your tip toes for 20 years is enough to make you a legend in Mexico." And the classic: "He hit me with his dropkick, or as he called it...his dropkiss"

Rudo, dude...just because Hogan was OVER doesn't mean he was a good face. Hell, look at Austin. He was a TERRIBLE face. When he first started getting cheered he actually used to say that he didn't care what the fans thought, and that he didn't need them making signs with Austin 3:16 on them. (He changed his tune when he found out how much money he could make from the Austin 3:16 shirt.) In the end, he did end up connecting with the people by doing the "gimmie a hell yeah" and the "WHAT" thing...but this is not a guy who gave high fives and thanked the people for their support. Somebody being POPULAR doesn't make them a FACE. You're saying just because he was a big name (the biggest ever) that makes him a good face. Face it, Hogan was a cartoon character. He wasn't able to get across with sincere emotion, and he was protected. This is why he fought "monsters" like King Kong Bundy, Kamala, Killer Khan, etc. Of COURSE people are going to cheer for Hogan against them, but McMahon had to protect him from fighting people that were over. Remember the Orndorff feud? There were tons of people cheering Mr. Wonderful when he turned on Hogan, so much so that Hogan even had to address it on Tuesday Night Titans...saying that anybody who cheered Orndorff was just like him...a cheap shot artist. As I said earlier, on the Jake The Snake DVD, Jake talks about how they once shot a "Snake Pit" segement where Jake attacked Hogan and gave him the DDT. The people cheered, and chanted "DDT DDT DDT." Afterwards, McMahon told Jake that he was too popular to be facing Hogan, and they shit canned the whole angle. (For the record, Jake is full of shit about most stuff but I do believe he was telling the truth about this.) Kids liked Hogan, and bought his stuff. People who knew better could see through the fact that he was totally unbelievable as a face then. Like I said, I totally dug Hogan's face turn after WM18 because it was sincere. I saw the Hulk Rules DVD and when I saw some people who were little kids when he was big the first time, coming up to him and thanking him and crying and shit, it was moving...but that doesn't change the fact that Hogan was tons better as a heel in the NWO and as Humble Hogan in the WWE then he was in the 80's. Dusty Rhodes? Now THERE is a man who was able to connect with the people. His promos came across as real. Son of a plummer. The fact that based on his promos alone he was able to get people to cheer for him, despite the fact that he is not one little bit athletic looking...that's a face. What about Terry Funk in Japan? Have you seen him and Dory against Abdullah and The Sheik from 12/15/77? After WWII, Japanese wrestling promoters had an easy gimmick. Book American wrestlers, they fight the Japanese hero, and the fans cheer the home country hero. It?s simple. The Japanese did not like Americans because of the harsh sanctions on Japan after the war, so they liked to see a native son beat an American at something. Of course, there were guys like The Destroyer who the fans grew to love, but I think it would be fair to say that most fans disliked Americans. One other thing the Japanese people loved back then, was MONSTERS. Think about it, this is the country that brought us, Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, etc. So one of the other popular booking ideas of that era was to bring in evil looking heels, who did things like bite, scratch, and stab. The fans would actually scream at the sight of these men, like ?The Vampire? Freddy Blassie, The Original Shiek, and Abdullah The Butcher. Men like these would cheat (which the fans hated) and act like animals, which they loved to hate. Giant Baba, understood that you could only book America vs. Japan matches so many times before the fans got bored of it. So he decided to use the annual ?Real World Tag Team Tournament? in 1977 to change things over. The way the tournament worked out, was that only one team stood in Abdullah and The Shiek?s way? The Funk Brothers. The Funk brothers were American, but at least the Japanese fans respected them, because they wrestled. Both of them were former NWA World Heavyweight Champions, a title the fans respected. Both of them showed respect to Japanese Wrestlers, they shook hands, and bowed. So when the choice came down to it, and the fans had to pick who to cheer, the choice was easy. In order to make sure his plan worked, Baba told The Funk Brothers and Abdullah and The Shiek to pull out all the stops. The heels must be booked to look as evil as possible. n order to make sure the fans cheered, the Funk Brothers had to put up with extra violence. Watch this match. You will see an unusally hyped Japanese crowd, and you will also see Abdullah The Butcher and The Shiek do what they do best?stab people with stuff. It?s a brilliant piece of booking, and a match I still love to watch today. Watch Terry selling, and that is how a face gets sympathy. Hell, watch him against Tiger Jeet Singh in the IWA King of the Deathmatch Tournament in 1995. Funk fights Singh in a "broken glass" death match and if he doesn't have your sympathy after that, I'd be surprised. Here he is backstage giving this calm, rational interview (which for those of you who have seen a "heel" Terry interview will note is a switch) saying how he hopes the good lord is with him, and thanks the people...and then he gets tortured. Now THAT is a FACE.

That, and the fact that all his "all my Hulkamaniacs" bullshit was so see through. I was a 14 year old kid when he won the title, and I didn't buy him. To be a wrestler, you have to be a great actor, and Hogan wasn't...I'm sorry. His promos were goofy, and I could just tell he didn't give a shit. Remember his pointing to his hand and shouting "THIS IS WHERE THE POWER LIES!!!" What the fuck was THAT? I remember the Rockers vs. Reaugaus feud, where they were attacking Marty's leg, and Shawn Michaels laid over the guys leg to protect him. Now THAT was a face move. That got me to feel bad for The Rockers for the first time ever.

I think they actually have inked Moore, yeah. Kidman? Meh. He looked like a freaky hunchback on roids the last time I saw him in that team with Paul London...and rumor has it that he's having mental problems or something.

If you read Foley's first book he credits Hayes with giving him some good advice on his way up about cutting a promo. I also thought back in the day that the then WWF did the right thing giving the Hardys Hayes as a manager...so of course they scrapped it. You guys are right though...how sad is it that a long retired road agent can cut a better promo than 90% of the WWE roster. You'd think that somebody would figure out that what you get when you are allowed to contribute to your own promos and you don't have to follow a script written by a failed soap opera writer.

I agree about Steamboat. Here was a guy who was a career babyface. You never had to worry about him turning on you, and you knew he'd do his best to drag a half decent match out of his opponent. I also agree about Slaughter. I know I am dating myself here, but I was actually a fan watching the product at the time during his feud with The Iron Sheik and damn did he play the patriot to perfection. Gotta give Sting credit too. He was a face for the majority of his career, a few stupid pointless heel turns aside. You always knew he was going to fight for the fans of WCW. Once again, I was a teen while Hulkamania was running wild, and I never bought it for a MINUTE. I didn't like Hogan back then. His promos made me laugh, his matches sucked, and he always came across as insincere to me. I was a massive Jake The Snake mark back then. Strangely enough, I found Hogan's face turn at WM18 and the next night in Montreal much more compelling. It really moved me as a fan to see his reaction to the fans cheering him again. He kept saying that "the fans brought Hulkamania back" for that run, and he wasn't kidding. I found that much more believeable than all that "train and say your prayers" crap. So even though he was crazy over, I wouldn't rate him as a great face. A great face is somebody who acts like a hero and does the right thing, and sells that to the fans with sincerity. When Jake DDT'd Steamboat on the concrete, as fan I was worried. If he had done it to Hogan (interesting story about that on Jake's DVD by the way) I would have laughed and cheered.

In my opinion, getting a mention in SI would be huge for TNA. They need all the publicity they can get, and a mention or article in SI will get them plenty of it. The huge announcement is not the SI article. That is a different deal altogether. I would think that the announcement would be either a new time slot, more time for IMPACT, or the signing of a major name like Goldberg or Lesnar. What sek says is true. Almost every guy who gets cut gives some sort of interview to Get In The Ring or whoever, saying they'd love to work in TNA. I also agree that if you look at a lot of the guys in AJPW, like Albert, Chuck Palumbo, Johnny The Bull, Bull Buchanan, Rico, or even guys like Matt Morgan who went to NJPW...or guys like Test who has been sniffing for a job from what I read...TNA hasn't fallen all over themselves to sign every single person that the WWE cuts. Look at way back when Zach Gowan got cut. He was getting a bit of a Jesus push, in an angle with Hogan and McMahon was even working some house shows and doing an angle with him in the WWE. He got cut, worked a couple of matches in TNA again, kissed their asses on his blog basically begging for a job, and they didn't touch him...despite the fact that he was a "known" wrestler. Now he works a 9-5 job and goes to Big Japan. Ouch. I honestly think that TNA is content to sign the guys they need like Christian, Team 3D, Rhino or hopefully Haas...guys that can contribute to the product...but they are not going to sign every other guy just because they got some TV time on the E. The point is well made that TNA can't totally look like a fed full of WWE rejects. They will already carry that stigma with Double J as their main headliner. There has to be that mix of known guys like Raven, Team 3D, Rhino, Jeff Hardy, Christian etc...and then guys like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, Abyss, Monte Brown, AMW, and of course Shark Boy...people who are fresh and new to the fans. I am not a blind TNA mark who will argue that every single move they make is genius...but I think that with lots of free publicity from this deal with the White Sox, their highest rating ever, and a potential announcement at the PPV, they're doing okay for themselves. Remember, they are reportedly breaking even now, and this is the fed that had some people predicting they'd be in the toilet every other week. TNA keeps going, and in my opinion right now they are doing more right than they are wrong.

Stolen from Inside Pulse... As much as smarks like to look down on celeberty involvement, this one seems to be working. In fact, there is serious talk that Sports Illustrated might do a story on it, which would he HUGE for TNA. Best rating ever is good news for TNA, especially considering the awesome promo by Christian this past week. The big surprise is rumored to be an expanded show or new time slot. I also like how she sees that focusing on guys like Joe and AJ is just as important as signing every WWE castoff. Good news for us TNA fans.

I used to have a buddy when I was in High School who had a Satellite Dish (and this was back in the days when the Dish was so damn big it took up half your backyard.) He would always tape World Class for me. Some of my happiest memories are saving those tapes for the weekend and then finally getting the TV to myself and watching hours of World Class. My favorite was Bruiser Brody of course...and any time that Abdullah came through and he and Brody would have one of their famous all around the arena brawls, culminating in Brody bashing Abby over the head with a garbage can repeatedly. They were just nothing brawls, but those two used to match up so well, I loved to watch them go at it. Abby would either chop Brody in the throat with that upward thrust, or stab him in the head with a fork, and Brody would answer back with a huge overhead punch, and they'd just go back and forth. They'd always end up in a no contest or double countout, and you always knew that would happen, but it never mattered to me. I saw those guys fight in AJPW in 81, WWC in Puerto Rico, Central States, Montreal International Wrestling (where ABBY was the face and BRODY was the heel) but my favorites were always their brawls in Texas. I'd pay big money to get an Abby/Brody comp or a tape of their best brawls from World Class. Good times.

I agree. I would LOVE to see Misawa, Kawada, Kobashi or Taue live and in person, and I'd probably be marking the fuck out if I was ever lucky enough to see one of them live up close. I know that all of them are nothing close to as good as they were when they were in their primes about 10 years ago...but it would still be a BLAST to see them live. Hell, I would have driven down from Toronto to see Kobashi if that had been possible for me.

Hey sek, did you see Kobashi vs. Sasaki from the NOAH Dome show this past summer? It was a serious chop fest too. I wouldn't say it was a MOTYC, but the atmosphere reminded me of Rock/Hogan, and it wasn't boring to watch, that's for sure. I read somewhere that Kobashi got one of his teeth broken in half during the match with Joe...any sign of that happening?

After one of the fights at the UFC show tonight (which was otherwise disappointing, by the way) UFC President Dana White came out to make some major announcements... Liddell/Couture III is signed, sealed and will be delivered on February 4th 2006. Tickets go on sale tomorrow. Awesome. Former Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir is finally making his comeback in 2006. Arlovski vs. Mir WILL finally happen in 2006. Dana thanks the fans for their support of The Ultimate Fighter. The coaches for season 3 are announced and they are KEN SHAMROCK and TITO ORTIZ!!! Both Ken and Tito make their way out. Ken gets cheers, Tito gets a mixed reaction. Ken and Tito get into a shoving match! This going to make for some VERY interesting television, since these two guys legitimately HATE each other. Finally, Dana announces that he has RE-SIGNED BJ Penn. For those of you who don't know him, Penn is a former UFC wonderboy, who choked out Welterweight Champ Matt Hughes easily to win the belt. He then violated the terms of his contract by taking a fight for K1 in Japan...and then got busted for punching a cop. I guess he and Dana have patched things up. Fight results for those who care... Jeremy Horn defeated Trevor Prangley by Judges Decision. This was a rather boring fight, and it looked like Prangley actually won...but as Dana says, never leave the fight in the hands of the judges because you'll never know what they'll do. It was amusing to hear Horn try and justify the judges call and get booed like hell...although he did also admit that even he thought he lost. Georges St. Pierre defeated Sean Sherk by TKO. This was a pretty good fight...GSP looked awesome, and after the fight he literally got on his knees and begged for a title shot. Funny stuff. Matt Hughes defeated Joe Riggs by Tap Out. This was NOT a title match because Joe Riggs couldn't make weight. Kudos to Hughes for taking the fight anyhow, as he could have opted out. Joe Rogan rightly pointed out that Riggs probably had nothing in the tank after trying to hard to cut weight. Gabriel Gonzaga knocked out Kevin Jordan. This may have been the worst fucking fight I have ever seen in my life...EVER. Both guys were WAY out of shape, sloppy as hell, and afraid to engage. The announcers were openly mocking how bad they were, and the fans were chanting "GO HOME" at the fighters...that's how bad it was. With like 30 seconds to go, Gonzaga finally rushed Jordan and knocked him out with a sick looking forearm...and then celebrated like he had won a gold medal. This was a fucking abortion and I'll lay hard money we never see either guy in UFC again...with good reason. This was awful. Rich Franklin knocked Nate Quarry the fuck out. Man...Nate almost got himself KILLED in this one...TWICE. I was amazed that the ref didn't stop it after a knockdown...but then Franklin hit Nate SO hard he knocked him out on his feet...Quarry was literally OUT before he hit the ground. Sick looking ending. Afterward, Franklin said he felt he had to do that to make up for the fight before theirs.

Everybody assumed it was Angle, but maybe it was Eugene. It is difficult to resist saying that if I was saddled with that gimmick, I'd be suicidal too. And YES...I have heard the stories that he thought it up himself and "asked" for the gimmick.

Take a look at Piper in that movie "They Live." He was ripped. If you can get a copy of it, check out Dynamite Kid's book, lots of interesting info about roids in there. He points out that a lot of people don't understand that you can go on the juice to slim down too, like Hercules did when he changed his gimmick. He even claimed that Billy Jack Haynes was on roids, which I never would have guessed.

I have seen Bret say in a television interview that he thinks he could get into good enough condition to have one last match, and that it bothers him that he had to retire on somebody else's terms not his. I have heard him say on a radio interview that it is far more interesting to him to consider working for TNA than the WWE as well. He has said he may appear on WWE television but never as part of an angle or storyline. I'm not saying it's going to happen, I'm not even saying it's a good idea...but these are things I have heard Bret say during interviews here in Toronto...so it's possible.

Bret has said in a couple of radio interviews that he would like to work with TNA in some capacity to help them. Off the top of my head, I can see him managing a team of Canadian kids in a feud against Team Canada, or taking Larry Zybsco's place as the NWA Director of Authority. I think Bret being involved with TNA would be a HUGE coup for TNA, based on name recognition alone. His face on the shows would probably convince a lot of people to tune in and see him, even if he wasn't wrestling. Besides...and I know this is WAY out there...he has said two things in interviews that I have seen. Firstly...he would like to see if he would be able to wrestle again as a challenge to himself, to see how much he has recovered from his stroke. He has also said he would never appear in a WWE ring again. He has been resolute in saying that...that he will never work for the WWE...but he has said that the way his career ended has left a bad taste in his mouth. He wanted to go out on his terms. I would say one last match is very possible. If the rumors are true and Benoit could end up in TNA as well...then anything is possible. Of course, this whole line of thought involves a hell of a lot of speculation and wishful thinking.

Strange, I remember Zach Arnold reporting earlier in the year that they don't test for roids. Ah well. I have been off PRIDE for quite some time anyhow.