JHawk

I am definitely interested in both buying and talking about this set.

If he really wants to get fired, he can wait until Steph's six months pregnant and tell her she's getting fat.

I always wondered how "Creative has nothing to do for you" was a valid excuse anyway. Um...how about having them wrestle until you come up with something? Problem solved. Anyway, I'm pretty sure there are federal laws that prevent WWE from firing a pregnant woman, so how much of a case does WWE really have?

My first thought when I saw the topic title was Dick Murdoch.

OK. I already own Sammartino-Graham with the HOF DVD, so no. The heat was probably awesome, but Putski sucked. No. I have a Graham-Dusty MSG match which had a screwy finish that killed it. No. Graham sucked by 1982. No. I'll pass.

Screw SummerSlam. They should have done it at Mania. The man who has held the title for a full year against the man who has never lost at Mania. It's money in the bank and writes itself.

Mark Henry needs to stop wrestling. It seems like either Henry injures somebody or he injures himself within six months. One of the reasons Ahmed Johnson was let go was how often he hurt guys, albeit unintentionally. The difference between Ahmed 1998 and Henry 2006? Ahmed was over.

Fred Beell

Israel Matia

Michael Angelo He jobbed in Detroit a lot.

Steve Simpson

Gene Stanlee

Christopher Daniels

Whatever happened to the wrestling show I used to watch on UPN every week? I mean, there's this shitty soap opera on UPN now that has some of the same characters...

Kurt Angle: Has always been good on the mat, which is a given considering his Olympic background. Could have been one of the all-time greats had he started earlier and not been so injury prone. The lack of leg work leading into the ankle lock is his biggest flaw, as well, as his need to use high spots (the top-rope belly-to-belly, etc.) in matches where they're not needed. Shawn Michaels: I love this guy's matches from an entertainment standpoint, but so help me God I'm going to break my TV one of these days when he insists on doing that damn kip-up. AJ Styles: While I enjoy his matches for the most part, often the psychology just isn't there. Christopher Daniels: I love this guy. I love the gimmick, I love his matches, I love his promos. His size is the only thing keeping him from being a major player in the industry long before now. Kenta Kobashi: Haen't seen too much of him, but the match with Samoa Joe was awesome. John Bradshaw Layfield: I'll always question the decision to put the belt on him when they did since he wasn't established as a top guy yet. However, going into the JBL gimmick finally gave him something to work with, and his credibility has gone up tenfold. He also has the best lariat since Stan Hansen, bar none. Necro Butcher: I've never seen one of his matches.

Hogan was such a huge draw in the AWA that Hogan went to a series of Dusty finishes with Nick Bockwinkel where Hogan would get the pin and seemingly the title, but Bockwinkel would keep the title because of the over-the-top-rope rule. Normally the reversals were announced on local TV after the fact, but one night they did the reversal in the arena and the crowd started to riot. To this day I doubt Verne Gagne knew what he had.

Knowing the behind the scenes stuff after the fact doesn't change how I felt about the match itself. Maybe it changes how I feel about the people involved, but not the match itself. However, I simply cannot watch TV wrestling if I know what's going to happen ahead of time. It's one thing to miss a PPV and watch it two months later knowing what happens. It's another when you sit down for a live Raw and every website even remotely involved with wrestling has a giant "TRIPLE H TO WIN TITLE TONIGHT" headline right on the front page. Best case in point. My favorite match of the year is the Royal Rumble. The fun used to be the speculation of who was going to win. Now it gets leaked weeks ahead of time, and there's absolutely no fun in it.

I have to say that the Bill Watts shoot interview, where goodhelmet pulled most of this from, is absolute gold from start to finish.

A lot of it's the time of year too. I barely post anywhere this time of year because I'm so swamped between work and shopping. You guys know me, though. I'd call myself the oldschool guru if I was allowed to without being seen as pompous

Here's all you needed to know about the Hardy-Taker ladder match, and you can read my old Raw recaps on TSM to prove it. I went into that ladder match thinking, "Yeah right, like Hardy can beat Taker." By the time that match ended, even I thought Hardy might just take it for a cup of coffee. The story of the match was that good.

I agree with all of that aside of backing away from Andre at Survivor Series 87 out of fear. I'd go with the biased referee theory there, as Joey Marella ruled a high five to Ken Patera to be a legal tag.

Supposedly she volunteered to go to OVW for that angle, mostly to improve in the ring. This makes absolutely no sense.