Cross Face Chicken Wing

HHH is the one of the main reasons I stopped watching wrestling. I give it a try every year around Wrestlemania again, and always end up throwing in the towel because the modern product is unwatchable. This year's I've stuck with it throughout the entire Mania build and am actually going to watch Mania. I can't believe I'm saying this, but HHH is a big reason why. He's been great in his role. Absolutely outstanding. Hopefully it carries through to a good match at Wrestlemania.

Hopefully sitting somewhere in the audience, enjoying the show. Or hanging out backstage, enjoying the show. As long as he doesn't show up on screen, it'll be great to have Shane in the house.

I always mark out when heels just say the hell with it and walk back down the aisle to the dressing room in the middle of a match. Two thumbs up for Martel doing that in this match.

That's funny because Funk used a moonsault (aka flippy move) in his older days on the indies. Young Indy wrestler: Mr. Funk....um.....nice to meet you, sir.....I'm a big fan.....um, do you have any advice for a young wrestler like me? Terry Funk: I'll tell you three things that'll help you make it, son: 1. Hard work. 2. Know how to sell. 3. Flippy moves. You gotta have flippy moves.

I did like his fake Terry Funk voice. But I crack up whenever somebody does a fake Terry Funk voice.

I've enjoyed the first couple of Ross podcasts, but the episode w/ Foley was absolutely brutal. Ross interrupts him repeatedly to make lame snarky jokes that add nothing to the conversation. I would've hung up after 10 minutes if I was Foley. Then you get Ross bitching about fans not being patient in one segment, which is followed up a few segments later with whining about lack of long-term planning in wrestling today. And the part where Ross (and Foley, to be fair) start going off about dirt sheets and pimply-faced kids in their basements is just hilariously awful. Zit-faced kids in their basements? Really, Jim? That was a dated cliche 8 years ago. It's sad that Ross (and Foley) don't realize that it's actually them who are speaking like the pimply-faced kids in their mom's basement that they're trying to mock and ridicule.

Fellas, we're supposed to be talking about wrestler's political affiliations, real or imagined. Not this other stuff. I blame Obama for this thread going off track.

Ok I might have to change my stance. Watching RAW before bed last night, the wife asked what Triple-H was doing at Wrestlemania. I told her about wrestling Daniel Bryan w/ the winner going on to wrestle in the title match. She says, "Well, isn't it obvious that Triple-H is going to win since he's the main guy who writes the show?" So apparently even my wife is aware of Triple-H's douchery and behind-the-scenes role. Perhaps there truly are more smart fans than I think.

I would guess Bryan is solidly liberal, or to the left of liberal, and will remain that way through thick and thin. Punk seems like the type of who would support some type off-the-wall candidate that nobody has ever heard of, then if that candidate ever begins to get somewhat popular or mainstream, he'd ditch him and find someone else to support that nobody has ever heard of.

I don't know why I care, but I do: Republican Ric Flair The McMahons Bill Watts Democrat ???? Independent Jesse Ventura I'm drawing a blank on any others that we know for sure, or can reasonably assume based on comments, should be lumped in with a specific political party. (And feel free to take this thread totally off the rails, if you wish, by using past promos or out-of-the-ring misdeeds to affiliate certain wrestlers with certain political parties)

The thread title was Most SUCCESSFUL Gimmick Based on an Actual Job. But I'm enjoying all the references to random wrestlers who basted their gimmicks on actual jobs, so carry on

I'm not sure Tennessee was the proper state to do an "occupy" angle, but I enjoyed it. Still can't believe how great HHH has been the last couple of weeks. Steph was also excellent last night. Now this angle needs a solid pull-apart brawl or two.....

TV executives sticking their nose into content? The hell you say! That NEVER happens in the TV world

Breaking Bad is done and Mad Men has one more season left. When Mad Men finishes, does AMC have anything going for it besides Walking Dead? Yeah, it's a long shot, but stranger things have happened. The TV world is becoming overpopulated with dramas about troubled leading male characters. Maybe AMC doesn't want to bother with another "Cold Winter Sun" and thinks people who like zombies will also like some rasslin'.

Sure, there are more "smart" fans than 10-20 years ago -- Google anything wrestling-related and the top results are going to lead you to a website that rips off Meltzer or to some other insidery type of site. But very few people really dig into the smart stuff or care all that much about it. Of the 15 or so adults that I know who still watch wrestling, I would maybe consider one "smart." Any time wrestling comes up in casual conversations with people who occasionally watch, they have no idea about most behind-the-scenes stuff and they don't give a shit. When I went to Raw a year or so ago, I didn't hear a single person talking in a way that would make them "smart." Ditto for at the bar before and after the show. Yes, all of these people probably visit some type of smart or insidery type of website on a fairly regular basis, but that's unavoidable in this day and age. I don't think knowing that CM Punk walked out of WWE or Hulk Hogan is nearing a return to Raw makes you "smart." Perhaps it's time to up the standards for what is considered a "smart" fan. If spending a few seconds on a smart website every couple of days makes you a smart fan in the eyes of Disco and others, then yes, we need to change the definition of what makes a smart fan.

If I remember right, he owns the building he lives in that has several businesses on the bottom, so he's got that income stream, even if he's not wrestling. Plus he doesn't drink. If I didn't drink, I'd be a millionaire.

These are all valid criticisms of the way Bryan's been booked and the many pitfalls that come with wrestling HHH at Mania. But enjoy the moment. The HHH/Bryan stuff was REALLY good last night. Maybe it's because my bar for HHH is set as low as it can go, but I can't believe how I've done a complete 180 on the whole Byran/HHH angle. HHH was perfect in his role last night. I'm trying to just be a fan as I watch and judge the Mania build. That's probably easier for me than some others on the board since I haven't been invested in the modern product much over the last 12 years. I don't think I could watch RAW any more if worries about future booking clouded my enjoyment of the entertaining as hell angle that was happening in the ring, in the moment.

I never thought I would say this, but I'm really looking forward to HHH/Bryan at Mania. HHH was great tonight. Shit, I never thought I would say that, either...

I was going to do the same for Elimination Chamber and couldn't believe that the only seats I could find were nosebleeds. Face value for the tix was also high. I usually have no problem getting tix from a connection on the secondary market, but not this time. Re-sale prices were sky high. It'll be interesting to see if this surge (can we call it a surge?) continues if we get more HHH, Orton and Batista shoved down our throats at Wrestlemania.

I seem to remember Flair saying in his shoot that he gave up his fight to call it on the fly and worked with Savage to plan it out.

I had a similar incident with a credit card call center a few months ago. My brother had the same go-round with a satellite TV company a few years back. This story is totally believable. The lady who laughed at him for taking the day off of work was 100 percent right for doing so.

Putting Orton/Batista on last at Wrestlemania would be like playing the Pro Bowl 5 minutes after the Super Bowl finishes.

Tried watching Money in the Bank 2012 on Apple TV last night and it was choppy at best. Eventually, it just quit working altogether. Tried to watch on iPad and the same thing happened. The massive sign-ups for the Network are a great thing for WWE -- even if it results in some early issues. But if these issues last another day or two, it will turn the other way. I know I'll cancel if there are still issues later in the week.

If I was at Wrestlemania and Orton/Batista was the last match, I wouldn't boo. I would try to get as many people as possible to start heading for the exits. A mass of people leaving Wrestlemania early would be a better visual than booing.

"In fact, you could argue that the launch couldn't have gone worse." Nonsense. The fact that so many people are trying to sign up is a good thing for WWE. Nobody is going to decide not to subscribe to the network simply because they had a an issue signing up right at launch. Now, if the problems persist through Wrestlemania, the torches and pitchforks will be out.