Cross Face Chicken Wing

Stephanie floating the idea of a pay subscription model for the WWE Network. http://twitter.com/Ourand_SBJ/status/266258436898029568 Why not offer something like this in an online only format? I'm guessing probably because it would a) piss off the cable TV industry if they are bypassed, or not get in front of enough eyes if they didn't use the cable TV industry to help market the channel.

I haven't seen the PPV w/ the "my nigga" comment, but I don't see why it couldn't be spun as something a character on a scripted show said, and not as a racial slur. I'll stop now because I'm starting to sound like Vince's campaign manager. I agree 100 percent that Vince winning anything would be a major longshot and highly unlikely. But it's not impossible. Rape accusations, racial slurs, drug use, treating employees like garbage...it's all been overcome by local, state and federal candidates -- from states other than Minnesota -- before.

I admit, I haven't paid attention to WWE in the last 10 years. Where is this rape stuff coming from? Clinton had whispers of rape thrown at him, too. A republican being accused of racism or using a racial slur? You don't say! Again, I'm not saying Vince is an ideal candidate. He's not. But everything brought up about him in this thread isn't a deal breaker. As far as leaves in the vagina......whew, that's a rough one. I've never read that Playboy interview, but I still don't think it'd be a dealbreaker. A month or two before the election, Ventura was quoted in Playboy saying that organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people. Franken talked openly in books and other media accounts about rampant drug use and sex as a young comedian and as a cast member on SNL. Both still managed to get elected.

Vince has no patience for the media, can't have his ideas challenged without reacting aggressively, and is a war profiteer and drug addict that has fired people who are good in media settings and would be happy to cut ads against him. He hired a doctor to dispense illegal drugs so his wrestlers could look more muscular, and is an accused rapist. He has built an infrastructure that allows him to fuck women who work for him without fear of reprisal, and there is video footage of him using the N-word on WWE programming. He doesn't provide health care to his wrestlers, and doesn't even consider them employees. And you think he would be a good candidate? Come on. Ventura also had no patience for the media. He kept it farily under control during the campaign, and I think it actually helped him. Remember, the public hates the media almost as much as they hate politicians. Ventura's temper with the media really came back to bite him in the ass after he was in office, though. The schtick got tiring. All of the other things you mention can be overcome. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Vince is anything close to an ideal candidate. He's not. But he'd have a better shot than Linda, IMO. Again, it all depends on the political winds, quality of opponent, and the quality of Vince's and his team's campaign strategy (and money, of course).

I'm a lifelong Minnesotan. Here's how Jesse Ventura became governor: The democrat in the race was Skip Humphrey, son of former vice president Hubert Humphrey. Unfortunately for Skip, he only inherited a tiny fraction of his father's character and charisma. Most people saw him as someone trying to ride his last name into office, or as a slimy lawyer type because of his role in suing tobacco companies. The republican was a former democrat turned moderate republican named Norm Coleman. Norm tried to position himself as the populist center candidate in the race, but failed. Hardcore conservatives were not fired up by Coleman and Minnesota liberals will never vote for a guy w/ a 'R' next to his name, regardless of how moderate he claims to be. Coleman also went on to win a senate seat, but lost it after one term to Al Franken. So yes, Mr. Coleman has lost elections to a pro wrestler and a comedian known for characters such as Stuart Smalley. The entire race got thrown off when Coleman decided to let Jesse Ventura particiapte in a debate. Coleman felt that Ventura would siphon votes off of the liberal Humphrey. Turns out, Ventura siphoned votes off both guys and ended up hurting Coleman most. Being included in the debates allowed Ventura to position himself as the populist candidate from the center. While Coleman and Humphrey kept repeating bland talking points, Ventura charasmatically answered questions in a manner that seemed much more real and honest than the other two guys. Ventura also ran a great campaign (managed by Dean Barkley, I believe). His ads were groundbreaking, he targeted youth voters successfully (not easy to do) and took some chances that underdog candidates always refuse to take (even to this day) for some reason. Ventura openly admitted he was an underdog and tried to use that "us vs. them" mentality to his advantage. So, could Vince McMahon get elected to some sort of office? Of course he could. It all depends who he runs against, which way the political winds in Connecticut happen to be blowing, and how he and his team run the campaign.

I was hoping Dylan would take the bait and write a Valentine dissertation or give him the Patera treatment. I got the dissertation and it sounds like the Patera treatment is forthcoming. Looking forward to it.

The Greg Valentine vs. Ron Garvin submission match discussion over at the 1990 yearbook thread got me thinking about Greg Valentine. Actually, it got me thinking about how aware I am of Greg Valentine, but how little I know about him. I feel like I've seen a fair amount of Valentine matches, but none really stand out as either good or horrendous with the exception of the dog collar match at the first Starrcade. I also feel like Valentine's name gets brought up in discusions fairly often, but never in-depth. Valentine was in the WWF when I was growing up -- I even own his rubberized action figure -- but I don't even really have many nostalgic memories of Valentine moments. Wrestlers from Valentine's era often talk about him fairly positively, but never in an over-the-top gushing way. It sometimes feels like they say nice things about Valentine just because he's another old wrestler and was a decent guy so they should throw a few compliments his way. From what I can tell, most people think Valentine was decent to good, but I feel like he's one of those guys where I might be missing something. Is he really just a guy from the 70s and 80s that was decent but not good enough to be memorable? For a guy that was around so long and doesn't have a huge crowd of detractors, why does it feel like I should know more about Valentine and have a higher opinion of him? The answer is probably as simple as, "Well, he wasn't all that memorable." But I have a sense that that answer might be a little oversimplified, and would like to hear from people that know more about wrestling and Greg Valentine that I do.

The WWE is like a lot of big-time corporations. 1. Build your product through hard work, innovation, and some luck. 2. Become massively popular and establish your brand as THE brand. 3. Become really conservative and do whatever you can to preserve your brand and market dominance instead of grow it even more. 4. Money continues rolling in. Stock holders are happy. Ownership remains oblivious to potential long-term problems. 5. Maybe those potential long-term problems become actual problems. Maybe they don't. Time will tell.

I'd go with the 90s. Not necessarily because I think it's the better decade, but because I've watched so much 80s stuff over the last five years. If I was stuck on a desert island, I'd want to see more stuff that I haven't seen before. I've seen very little of 90s All Japan, not much SMW, and very little WCW from 1991-93.

I enjoyed this match. It seemed like to haggard and underappreicated old-timers that are mad at the world and taking it out on each other.

Man, how funny would it have been to be a fly on the wall if Murdoch ever sat down to dinner with Regan and Bush? If they met today, it'd be three straight hours of talking about how Obama is ruining the country...... Actually, it proably wouldn't be that funny since I am able to hear that conversation whenever I have dinner with my parents or in-laws!

Man, that Razor's Edge bomb looked dangerous as hell. No way I'd trust a guy doing that to me. That was one of the best post-match melees I remember. I like how Cornette's racket sounded whenever he'd whack someone trying to enter the ring.

Who is the color commentator?

Last night's MNF finish was NOTHING like a screwjob wrestling finish. Screwjob wrestling fnishes occur when the ref has his back turned or is knocked out. The MNF finish occured with not one, but two refs staring right at the play, then an entire team of officials looking at a replay and still fucking it up. Piss off, Roger Goodell.

This has suddenly become the most overused joke in the United States: "Man, where did the NFL find these replacement refs? The WWE?" Huh huh huh.

I love it. R's complain about high taxes, then pass tax cuts that end up leading to a good chunk of people not paying any federal income taxes at all. If I were Romney (or any R candidate), I'd be like, "Sweet! Mission accomplished! Now let's start working on the other 53 percent that are still stuck paying federal income taxes." But what do the R's do? Start bitching about people who don't pay federal income taxes, largely due to tax cuts that they themselves pushed for and enacted! Whenever I think wrestling is too absurd to continue following, I just turn on Fox News. My faith in wrestlingis immediately restored.

No. I mean record the finish earlier, but do a very close up tight shot so nobody would know the arena is empty and it was recorded earlier.

Agreed. Doing that now with the 94 Yearbook (but Packers season has cut into my wrestling watching).

Got an IT question for you guys: What's the URL to subscribe to the podcast? I'm subscribed in iTunes, but new episodes are no longer automatically downladed. It's like the feed isn't recognized. I'm thinking I must have an old subscruption URL in there..... Thanks.

Ok I'm drunk. Again. And watching wrestling. While my wife has a heart-to heart with my buddy's girlfriend, I am watching the June 2, 1990 episode of WWF Superstars. Brutus Beefcake just cut some jobber's hair. Did jobbers get paid extra to get their hair cut by Brutus?

Nope.

How does polka dot Dusty hold up? Actually not too bad so far. I mean, it's bad, but Dusty makes it work better than anyone else could have. Sapphire is atrocious, however. I didnt remember her being so god-awful when I was a kid.

I'm currently watching the complete 1990 WWF season, strictly for nostalgia purposes. It was far from a great year for WWF, but there's plenty of under-the-radar type of stuff that I imagine will make the WWF's showing on the 1990 yearbook turn out just fine and even raise a few eyebrows. The most depressing part of 1990 WWF, however, is seeing an extremely obese Buddy Rose jobbed out and mocked and ridiculed by Vince on commentary.

How much did Bock travel compared to Flair? My perception is Flair was much more well-traveled. Am I wrong?

My question is answered in the WMX update. It's the History of Wrestlemania VHS.