Al

One thing that isn't often mentioned about World Class is how young everyone was. At the time of the cage match, Kerry was just 22 years old. Gordy guarding the door was just 21. Hayes was 23. David Von Erich died at the age of 25. Mike Von Erich was 20 at the Cotton Bowl, 21 at his toxic shock syndrome episode and committed suicide at 23. Chris committed suicide at 21. Gino Hernandez OD'ed at the age of 28. I can't help but think the relative youth of the roster contributed a bit to the problem.

Well honestly, is there anything to indicate Kerry was a bad father? He seems like a good enough guy that was overwhelmed by his personal demons. If they want to have a positive outlook, good for them.

I thought they did. WWE Prime Time Debut, 2008 WWE 1-2-08 1-8-08 TV-PG I think Strongbow was one of the better draws in the Northeast in the '70s, not just in the WWWF. I think he's a stronger choice than Jesse Ventura last month, honestly.

Not so much that they demand government intervention. Maybe I'm wrong. I think he looked more muscled and less flexible? Or maybe the hair loss just made him look like crap.

Professional wrestling's reputation has been in the toilet for a long time. I think of David Schulz on 20/20, that's the public's image of most wrestlers. I've commented before that the Congressional hearings will lead to nothing. Already the talk is that they will center entirely on baseball (which is because of the Mitchell Report hitting the newswire). The problem is that the public simply does not care either way about the general plight of professional wrestlers. They can't unionize because they are utterly replaceable. The initials WWE mean 10x more than the name power of any individual wrestler. Please keep in mind that I do not dispute that changes are needed in professional wrestling. I think Benoit was largely the result of a domestic dispute and that wrestling played a minimal role in it. But it is a problem when guys like Benoit and Eddie Guerrero sacrifice their lives to become successes. Benoit had his neck fused together, pumped himself full of steroids to become big enough to hold the world's championship. It was obvious looking at him in 2004 compared to 1996 that he was not the same person. Same with Eddie Guerrero. But we ignored it because we were happy to see them with world championships. Benoit perhaps should not have been in the ring, and he definitely should not have been doing the same moves. Wrestling needs to take better care of its workers. I think WWE has done a good job lately of cutting out serious recreational drugs such as cocaine. That was a major problem and I honestly think the #1 killer of this generation of professional wrestlers. I'd like to see wrestlers get better health care after retirement. It seems to me that they are ok while active, but when the money stops rolling in, they can not take care of themselves and that is when the problems really set in.

Long term, I doubt it. Look at boxing, which has a periodic habit of having top boxers lapse into comas or death. Gerald McClellan being the most high-profile that comes to mind. A small percentage of fans turn away each time, but it does little long-term damage to the sport.

Good stuff btw. My only complaint is the relative lack of David Von Erich matches. Build him up as a great talent and show him only once in a six-man? Great story in the extras from Kevin Von Erich. Kevin at 7-8 is in the dressing room, telling Bobo Brazil how he got into trouble for using a horse kick at school. Bobo asks Kevin to demonstrate the move. Then Bobo goes out and beats Fritz Von Erich with the move.

I think it's just that Jim Garvin wears his hair short now. It looks odd because it's unexpected.

I really don't think Chris Benoit should be the rule of thumb. That was an entirely unique situation.

For my money, best wrestling book is Tim Hornbaker's book on the National Wrestling Alliance. Wrestling fans have needed a book like that for a LONG time.

Challenging the commission to a fight behind the flagpole would've been my first guess. Only problem was that the article did not mention the potential problems beyond the steroid testing. (i.e., dictating in-ring rules)

Even if Benoit suffered concussions under WWE's watch, you then have to make a leap to say that Benoit committed the murders due to the concussions. Boxers and other athletes suffer concussions as well, not many of them slaughter their families. That's why this case is a non-starter for me. Brain damage slows your thought processes and at worst leaves you in a vegetative state (well, short of death). I've never heard of another case of murder/suicide because a person was hit on the head one too many times.

I don't see why in hell they would've paid it. To find WWE responsible for the murders is an extreme stretch to say the least. It won't get them much publicity except for the verdict, which should clear absolve them unless something shocking occurs.

What the fuck? Seriously guys, read the whole article. It's been a long time since I've seen that level of drivel. It's a video game review, not a term paper. I don't know if anyone here is involved in the video game industry, but it would seem that the stringent time demands would make it nearly impossible to make a full scale overhaul of a video game in a matter of months to please the 1% of the audience that really cares about such things. Honestly, if these kind of things concern you in wrestling, then stop watching. The nature of the entertainment dictates that it will be this way.

Verne ran falsh finishes in plenty of other feuds, no? I recall seeing one between Hennig and Greg Gagne.

Since I watched the '88 version recently, how about that tag team group that featured the British Bulldogs, the Hart Foundation AND the Rockers on the same team?

This is the big one. WWE runs HUGE stadium shows for Wrestlemanias 17 and 18, and he doesn't come in for those?

I can't really see how the AWA missed out on the Rockers. They had them, put them in a long title chase program that produced a few classics, and gave them the titles in the blowoff. The Rockers jettisoned to WWE, got fired, came back and they got the titles again. I can't see any fault with the booking, and I can't see what the AWA could've done to keep them. They were absolutely bleeding good talent. On that note, what kept Sgt. Slaughter in until the bitter end?

Check out prowrestlinghistory.com. If you don't have the site bookmarked, you should.

I'll leave comments about the program itself to the side, except that Shawn took the best potshot of all over the "losing his smile" fiasco. The tag matches on this set are just utterly fantastic. I was surprised how good the Super Ninja/Ninja Go match was. Rockers/Brainbusters delivered. Rockers/Orient Express is a great match. Even Rockers/Hart Foundation, which I expected to be a trainwreck, was a good outing.

We had some good discussion with the Observer Awards. I've had the thought that debating the awards but setting a time frame of all time might make for an interesting topic.

I think it's Kennedy's character that viewers love. His bit standing on a turnbuckle with the microphone and the house lights down is quite a nice visual.

I'd like to chime in with a few thoughts. I can't comment on all the awards, if I don't I likely agree with the consensus. Lou Thesz/Ric Flair Award Absolutely John Cena. Probably the easiest U.S. pick since Austin in '98. Most Underrated You know, Chavo Guerrero comes to mind here. Good wrestler and good heel mannerisms. Unfortunately all he's gotten is the Eddie memorial push and a token job to Rey Mysterio. Best Major Show Agreed with those who say Wrestlemania. No one thought they could fill Ford Field without Hogan vs. Austin when they announced the venue. The card delivered. Worst Major Show December to Dismember. First half of the show had Hardys vs. MNM, and then mediocre matches with Velocity level wrestlers. The main event was putrid. Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic I disagree with WWE handling the Benoit tragedy. They tried to put public spin on a bad situation. They didn't go on their own television and try and work it into an angle. Following the first Monday tribute Raw, they acted exactly as they should have on their own programming. Worst Worked Match of the Year The Womens' battle royal from Summerslam. Rosie vs. Trump was a bad attempt at a Comedy match. Ten bad workers in the ring at once without the benefit of a referee to guide them through the match in the ring? Absolutely awful. Best Pro Wrestling DVD Which dvds fall into the eligibility range? This year from January on it's either the Horsemen, the Families' dvd or the ladder match dvd. Unless you want to give the nod to Wrestlemania 23 dvd which included the Hall of Fame ceremony. I'll take the Horsmen. The AWA dvd came out on Nov. 21, 2006. I'd take that if eligible.

Piper's interview and his babyface reaction at Tuesday Night Titans is tremendous. It's not what I'd call tremendously PC though, so your mileage may vary.

There's also all the stuff we know about his backstage behaviour that wasn't mentioned either, like throwing Matt Striker out of the locker room, the infamous hack squat incident, etc. Also wasn't mentioned was a lot more about Benoit's past, such as the DUI he had in '98. It was definitely well-written and easy to read (although not exactly easy to visualize), but it could've been more complete with items like those. Loss, thanks for your reply. I'll reply to it later. It's easy for us to come up with these things, but if someone has limited knowledge of the subject matter it is VERY hard to get all the little details straight, no matter how studious a researcher.