The Thread Killer

I only stopped watching WWE partially because of the low quality wrestling. The main reason I stopped was due to the nonsense that had nothing to do with wrestling. From what I've seen, that hasn't changed. It's not Pro Wrestling, it's Sports Entertainment. Vince McMahon is challenging God to wrestle. Vince McMahon is making people kiss his ass on television. The "Divas" get all sorts of air time, and I don't want to see them. They bore me. But that's the problem. What gets WWE ratings? Ass Kissing segments, and Diva Search segments. I just don't like the WWE's style of storytelling. The shock stuff stopped being amusing in 99, and I really don't need to see Vince McMahon on television. People can say what they want about Jeff Jarrett giving himself so much time on television, but at least he can still be in a watchable match. His match with Raven last week was hardly a classic, but it was a watchable TV match. I'd take that over seeing Vince McMahon's ass, or over many other WWE storylines. All I've been hearing about lately is Finlay. Finlay this, Finlay that...he's the best active wrestler today, blah blah blah. So I watched Smackdown last week. He beat up a jobber, and then threw a midget at him. I don't deny that Finlay is awesome, but seeing him beat up a jobber and then throw a midget? I dunno. Not for me. Having said all that about WWE, to be fair I don't even watch IMPACT usually, I'm lucky that I am Canadian, so I get to see TNA Xplosion, which highlights all of the angles from IMPACT, plus throws in a bonus match or two. However, if it was down to WWE vs. TNA based on their television shows, you are right Loss...WWE would probably win. However, I have seen every TNA PPV since they debuted on Spike...and I can say that they have not yet had a PPV that I consider to be a bad show. They've had weak PPV's, but they've also had excellent ones. I would watch a TNA PPV without seeing the month of television leading up to it, out of confidence based on the fact that I have yet to feel ripped off by a TNA PPV. I have tried to watch WWE television a few times over the past couple of years, and I always get bored or disgusted with what I see. TNA does not bore me yet. (I can see that changing if Scott D'Amore and Team Canada keep getting so much air time.) I don't agree with everything they do...but I still like what I see so far. For the record, I was also a die hard ECW fan. I used to drive down to Buffalo to see them live, I watched and taped the shows, and collected the tapes. Hell, I even own a "EC F'N W" shirt. So I plan on watching the "new" ECW. I watched the special last night, and I really enjoyed it a lot...although I went to make a sammich during the Jazz/Mickie match. I am going to give the new ECW a chance...which is owned and operated by WWE, so I am not so blind in my WWE hate that I will ignore whatever they do.

If you want an unpopular wrestling opinion, especially online...it's easy. I am a TNA fan.

Wha? Link please!

I don't know why people keep saying that Stampede is on the Fight Network. I now get the Fight Network, and Stampede isn't on there. They have ROH, they have FMW, NOAH, Memphis and St. Louis...but no Stampede.

I respectfully disagree. While I agree that many of the posters at DVDVR are major league dickheads, and that the mods there all deserve to be slapped in the teeth, the Lance Storm thing is different. If you remember, Storm actually made the statement that people who aren't wrestlers are incapable of discussing what makes a good worker, and that even trying is "insulting." He's very wrong on both points, of course. Secondly, Storm did work in Japan. He worked in WAR, and he also worked against some Japanese talent in ECW. I honestly don't think Lance Storm is all that great of a wrestler. He seems like a fairly nice guy from his site, and I love his taste in books...but go back and watch his most famous matches. He had very little ability to tell a story in his matches. He seemed technically sound enough, however he was almost robotic in his execution. Look at Storm, a guy who spoke perfect English, and then look at Kobashi, a guy who doesn't. Kobashi conveys far more emotion in his matches than Storm ever could. Even Misawa, who shows very little emotion in his expression tells a better story than Storm. Not to bring up a bad attempt at an angle, but I truly do feel that Storm was "boring." How many of his matches can you name that you rate as all time classics? Secondly, his execution of brawling moves was weak. His punches and kicks have especially come under fire for looking very fake. He himself has admitted this, but claimed that he'd rather look fake than risk hurting somebody. As Mick Foley said, there are plenty of wrestlers who can throw fake looking punches that actually end up hurting you. Then there are those who throw real looking punches that look real because they are (Vader.) The best are those who throw real looking strikes that aren't all that "stiff." If anything, it was Lance Storm who came off looking like a whiner when he went after the DVDVR. It was obvious that he was insulted that Kawada was listed as #1 in the 500...since in his mind, he was just as good as Kawada.

Shinsuke Nakamura. I don't know much about him, since he's from New Japan and I don't watch New Japan (I'm a NOAH guy, and thank gawd they send their guys to ROH so we don't have to worry how Johnny Ace is going to screw my favorite guys up) but from the sounds of it he's one of NJPW's top names. He's a former IWGP, NWF, U30, and IWGP Tag Team Champion...and that ain't nothing to sneeze at.

Holy crap dude...chill out and take a rest already. I'm hardly the authority on what's good and not good around here, however I found that article to be nothing more than a poorly written opinion piece where he made snide little smarky comments about why the new ECW was going to fail...without providing any actual insight or new ideas. You could go to any messageboard, and find something equal to that, or in many cases superior. I'd wager that half the guys around here could write up a better column explaining why the new ECW will or won't work. If you're going to have an opinion, it would help if it's something you can back up with actual examples rather than "OMG Heyman is over rated!" I have no idea if the new ECW is going to fail or not. If McMahon carries it out the way he's carried out every other idea he's had since WM 17 or so, then it probably WILL flop...but it's too soon to say and as I said, that article you posted provided NO insight whatsover. It was a couple of paragraphs of Bruce Mitchell making smarky comments. Then again, I don't expect much better from the Torch. And if you can't handle people questioning your opinion, or if you can't defend your opinion and throw a spaz every time somebody takes a shot at it, maybe you should go back to TSM...but I wasn't saying you should. I was saying that column wasn't a good read...and it wasn't.

That's supposed to be a GOOD read?

So since I was bored, and since I'm planning on watching ECW when it starts up again probably, I thought I'd sit down and check out RAW tonight. This would be the first time in YEARS that I've done that. What a boring ass pile of CRAP. Then I go online, and see some people commenting about how this week's show was "pretty good" or "better than recently." I'm thinking to myself that either people are FAR too easily entertained...or I've become spoiled from watch mostly ROH, Puro, and TNA to the point where I have a very low Sports Entertainment tolerance level...because that show freaking sucked.

Yeah see here's the thing...I post there off and on, so does Josh Johnson (who owns it), so does Dr. Tom, and there are other good people there who post on a semi-regular basis. Just because some of the posters there are morons, (and I am not for one minute saying there isn't) don't brush the entire board with the same brush. The problem is that Jingus is determined not to ban ANYBODY no matter how they post, including idiots like Carnival and Lesson In Machismo, psychos like Leena, trolls like "Lactose" or "The Neocon" and out and out stupid gimmicks...so people get away with murder over there. The fact that they don't ban blatant trolls or gimmicks is a pain, and it takes away from the board, but there are still some good people there. I don't post in their wrestling folder, because there are so many stupid people, but it's not just a site for trolls. Hell, it's no worse than the Hardcore Discussion folder at TSM, Non Stick Wrestling at DVDVR, or the new WDI.

My biggest problem with that Loss, is that for me, it's been very hard to find information and then access to those kinds of matches. There are good resources out there if you're looking for information about the best AJPW stuff...and easy ways to get the matches once you've identified what they are. I have Barnett's Best of AAA in the 90's collection...but beyond that, I don't know where to get any information on which are the best Lucha matches to see, and anywhere to get them easily. Ditto for the territory days. If there were some easy to find sites that listed the best stuff from Mexico and the Territories, and then a good resource to get them, I'd probably go after some more stuff. From what I have seen, people around here have put together some excellent comps in the chronicles folder, but I have nothing to trade them for these tapes and DVD's and no technology to do so, so that leaves me out in a lot of cases.

I was going to make a bunch of recomendations, but I have an even better idea, which is a much easier way to help out. CLICK HERE. That is a pretty complete list of all of the greatest matches in AJPW from 1990 - 1999. If you were to get all of the matches that are rated 5 Stars by Meltzer, you'd have yourself one helluva jumping off point. Then you'd know who you like, and where to look from there.

Blind TNA hate annoys the hell out of me too. I don't mind people stating their problems if they make sense, but some places (DVDVR, TSM) if you try and discuss any positive things about TNA you get overwhelmed with idiots making really intelligent contributions like "I wish this company would just die already" or "Jarrett sux." I've watched every TNA PPV since they've been on SPIKE, and the product ain't bad. It's not great, but it's hardly as bad as all the hate it gets from a lot of smarky types.

What's the difference between a standard squat and a Hindu Squat? I know that Ken Shamrock starts every workout with 250 - 500 free squats, and he can do 1000. EDIT: I checked. Hindu Squats. Yeah those are the same kind that Shammy does every workout. I can't imagine doing them before a match, but Shammy claims he does 250-500 a day, and he can do 1000.

Does anybody have a copy of the infamous "Gordy List" that those guys over at tOA go on about in judging if people deserve to be in the Observer Hall of Fame? I myself have recently changed my mind on who I actually think is the greatest wrestler of all time...and I'm semi-curious to see if the Gordy List criteria is close to my own personal criteria: 1) Can he actually wrestle? 2) Has he ever held a major championship? 3) Can he give a good interview? 4) Can he wrestle different styles? 5) Is he as good at Tag Team Wrestling as he is Singles? 6) Has he ever been involved in any famous feuds, angles, shows or storylines...ones which actually "drew" business? 7) Was he ?over?? 8) Will people remember him as a legend? As I said, with my continued exposure to more international stuff, my own criteria for what makes up a "great" wrestlers is changing...I wondered if anybody else had input.

He was pretty big in Texas with Fritz Von Erich too, in Puerto Rico of course, and also in the Montreal territory. He had a run in the AWA too, didn't he?

Who is TJ related to?

According to an interview he did at WWE.com, he wants to go to Japan. He says the style over there fits him better, and he wants to get some seasoning and come back. I think Johnny Ace and Muta have some sort of deal where any "hoss" that gets released from WWE automatically gets a shot in AJPW...if you look at Palumbo, A-Train, Morgan, Jamal, etc. Sadly, if you have seen any recent AJPW it looks nothing like the AJPW we all know and love...that aura has gone to NOAH...but it's work I guess.

Or they could bring Chyna back, and she could try and apply it to her, only to find out the horrible secret that Sean Waltman found out... The horror...

SILENCE FOOLISH MORTAL! THOU SHALT NOT MOCK THE KING OF KINGS AS HE SITS ON HIS MIGHTY THRONE! OFF WITH YOUR HEAD I SAY!

That picture of Triple H actually made me bust out laughing sitting here at my computer. That is one of the most ridiculous things I have seen...and I actually saw The Gobbedlygooker hatch LIVE. Of course, I have no comment on this show. The day McMahon gets 50 bucks of my money is the day I start writing a column with Dave O'Neill. I'll be watching Lockdown, thank you very much. I was impressed to see that they gave the Smackdown World Title Match a whole NINE minutes. WOW.

I think the time off did him some good, plus that smaller six sided ring was practically made for him. It really cuts down on his blown spots.

I'm ordering this show, and I am really looking forward to it. I love TNA. I've ordered every PPV since they got on Spike, and I've never been disappointed. F all the haters, and you know what? I'm looking forward to Joe vs. Sabu. Sabu has looked good since coming back from injury, his series with Abyss was damn good. I still like Sabu, so F all the smarky types who like to take shots at him because they think it's "cool."

I can think of about a zillion things I'd rather buy than a championship belt. I think if you buy one for yourself...not an autographed one, or one that actually belonged to somebody...I mean if you buy a duplicate belt just because you wanted to have one...you need to sit down and have a serious look at your life. You either have money to burn...or another more serious problem. Like, time to legally change your name to Lou Zer. I was once in line at an ECW show in Buffalo, and Balls Mahoney and Axl Rotten were working the tables. Balls was selling that chair that he smashed over Steve Corino's head, the one that was shown on the clip at the start of ECW on TNN every week. They were selling it for 100 bucks...and for about one second I considered buying it. Then I said..."What the HELL am I thinking?" I have a piece of smashed table autographed by Sabu. I have a Funk U T-Shirt that Terry himself sold me at an indie show. I have a ticket stub from the last show the Road Warriors ever worked before Hawk died, and it's autographed by Ted DiBiase. That's as far as I go with memorabilia.

I saw a shoot interview with him where he claimed he knew he was being tested, so he deliberately flunked the test, so he could get his release...but then WCW wouldn't hire him because of it...so that's when he got cleaned up. Then again...rumor has it that wrestlers sometimes lie.