Al

And I remember his promos for freezer pops. I always liked Lord Alfred. This is indeed a shame.

Good to see you at NMB Graham. I love the reviews.

A few candidates I have been thinking about. Fabulous Moolah. Might have done more bad than good to the womens' division during her time. Still, her influence is undeniable, and only one other American Female is in the HOF. Wilbur Snyder. Looking over the current group, the 40s/50s seems unrepresented, as many of the wrestlers that are in made their names as promoters and not necessarily as wrestlers. Snyder was one of the pre-emminent names of the 1940s. Sting. Seven American wrestlers (Undertaker, Steve Austin, Chris Benoit, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Big Van Vader, Mick Foley) from the 1990s are in. The 1960s-80s had about 12-16 Americans apiece reach the Hall thus far. Clearly there is likely room for more from the 1990s. Sabu. See above. Was Sabu influential enough? Eddie Guerrero. Again, perhaps one of the best American workers of our era.

My gut reaction would be that this is temporary until they find a full time replacement.

It was well-reasoned on the basis that he attempted to provide valid points and resorted to little of the name calling that others do to express their viewpoint. If our view is correct, then it does not hurt to have someone argue the opposite because our view is sound, and can be successfully argued. Without that, a messageboard is just a bunch of like-minded people staring blankly.

Spineless wussbags? Thin-skinned douchebags? Geez. That has to be a new record for a formerly respected columnist resorting to name-calling to try and prove his point. At least Sass gave a well-reasoned response. This was just sad.

I have not seen the angle last night, nor have I any desire to. Having read the spoilers, the idea of watching such a stupid, offensive display when I could be doing ANYTHING else was more than enough incentive to me to not watch Smackdown last night. I don't want to say I am done with watching WWE. But if angles like this are what they are going to produce, I am not going to watch it.

In a perfect world, wrestling would be a healthier business, featuring two or three viable alternatives freely available on television.

Kevin Fertig was Mordecai, correct?

Can someone give me an argument for Villano III? My only reason not to vote for him is ignorance of his accomplishments.

I've always been pleased with the program itself. Lawler/Von Erich I want to see. Flair/Hennig was an excellent match, but I haven't seen it in over 10 years. I remember Warrior/Andre, as Andre practically hugged the ropes the entire match.

Generally, I consider two things in Hall of Fame discussions... 1. What did this person do that sets them apart from their contemporaries? Dick Murdoch and the Andersons? What makes them stand out. There are dozens of good brawlers and tag teams. Why them and not any of the others? This is the absolute defining trait of any Hall of Fame. What did this person do that others did not. Similarity is a mark AGAINST Hall of Fame candidacy. Hall of Famers are standouts. Otherwise, when you elect too many lesser candidates, the field is flooded with wrestlers who have similar credentials to an existing Hall of Famer, and it just falls apart. 2. Am I absolutely sure of their selection, knowing it is irreversable? Tag teams are horrifically underrepresented, and that needs to change. Surely wrestling produces Hall of Fame caliber tag teams at a better rate than one every 20 years. I can't bring myself to vote for any of the MMA guys. It seems like competitors are candidates after a few big wins. Dominating a sport still in its infancy should not make one a Hall of Famer, especially this soon. We need perspective. If MMA outfits die out within the next few years (I don't know what their current state is, honestly), their inclusion would look quite silly. Just my opinion.

Backlund/Patterson or Backlund/Hansen?

Jacqueline was over I think for a good portion of her run in Memphis. I think Jazz was over as a heel before her injury.

I would note that for those who discussed how Batista/HHH at Wrestlemania should go, THIS is how you book a strong face squashing his opponent and winning the title. I really like this match. Exceptionally hot crowd, the booking hit the right note, and it was too short to drag.

Wasn't this common so that promoters could book a controversial finish and announce a rematch after intermission? I've heard of it done before.

I miss the days of stadium shows.

I would suggest putting the early round matchups in a few threads, say eight to a thread. That way, we will not have to worry about separate threads for mismatches, and it will save time.

People actually RESPECT Bruno though.

You need at least one bitter old-wrestler who's convinced any wrestling from post-1975 sucks the meat missle.

I think it is more than fair to give them credit, seeing how they spurred some of the wrestling boom in the first place.

There's definately some justification for it. Huge crowd, good buyrate, hot match, etc. If I expanded to the top 20 when I make the list, Rock/Austin and Rock/Hogan would have been candidates. That both wrestlers are seemingly out of the game four years later hurts its overall impact.

From Cawthon's Site:

Correct.

You can come up with plenty of matches by reaching outside of the top ten. I thought about doing a list of significant matches, but I think I would display my ignorance if I reached too far.