Loss

Yeah, it's no wonder the long-term booking plans suck. The writers don't really have any say in keeping things consistent, pushing new guys, etc. Their job seems to just be to write out what the wrestlers are going to be saying.

The Christian stuff makes perfect sense. Thanks! I guess we'll just have to wait and see with Christian.

This was posted at DVDVR and I wanted to post it here as well. This last image is my favorite.

I read what PWI said and all they did was speculate. Looks like someone spun things around and posted it at other places, but they didn't mention hearing any rumors that Christian was already going to TNA. In fact, all they said was "All we can say is that we've heard the rumors too."

Wrestlers sticking together in weird times does accomplish things and benefit all of them. If anyone knows that, it's Chris Benoit and Eddy Guerrero. Considering that all of the free agents, borderline free agents and possible free agents are at the very least casual friends (with Jim Ross being the possible exception), it wouldn't surprise me to see them stick together. I'm not predicting it or anything, but stranger things have happened. BTW, what does the WON say about Christian's decision and his future? Is he wanting to go to TNA? Before anyone says TNA couldn't afford all that talent, remember that Panda Energy has way more money than WWE. They can get whatever they want.

Haha, Meltzer said in an e-mail that Jericho had no clue about everything with Christian until he read it on the Internet. Surprising, but considering that Meltzer probably talks to Jericho, I guess he would know.

Morale will DIE if they do something stupid and make Benoit leave. Not that Benoit is a huge draw or anything, but I do think WWE would miss him in a big way if he were gone. Especially the next time they're trying to elevate some stiff to the top of the card and they need someone to make him look convincing on the way up.

I do have DVD to DVD capabilities now. I meant VHS to DVD.

As it stands, there aren't any categories we have a complete view of. I don't want us to start on US 80s, for example, and realize in three months that we left some stuff out. We could do US 90s now, but no one knows enough about the USWA/SMW/other indies stuff to step up and say what matches should be included. At this point, with new footage being discovered all the time, there's not one category that we could properly do justice because everything is so sketchy. Even if we stripped it down more and just did 90s WWF, for example, we need someone to recommend all the worthwhile handhelds, the great TV matches, etc. That's the dilemma the project is facing at the moment. I should have DVD burning capabilities in about a month.

I'd be happy with one good match or moment in every show myself. But that much isn't happening. I keep the best stuff and managed to get six weeks of WWE TV (inc. Velocity/Heat when it still aired and the Homecoming special that went over three hours) on one 2:40 tape. And that was with standards not as high as they could have been.

While I understand that point, that's a problem with the presentation in WWE, not with wrestling itself. Good wrestling *always* strives to make the big moments stand out from the pack, and to do that, they have to create a pack. Where WWE fails is in presenting their product as entertainment rather than sport. Game quality is the last thing most sports fans concern themselves with because they have a loyalty to the stars and the teams. Theoretically, wrestling should work the same way. They've created an environment where fans aren't watching because they want to see what's going to happen next and because they enjoy seeing their favorites, but rather because they expect things to be quality. Two totally different things. 20 years ago, people didn't go to wrestling shows to be entertained, in the same way that people don't go to football games to be entertained. Vince made his own bed by turning his product into Vaudeville, because there's no emotional attachment to anyone anymore. The wrestlers sacrifice their bodies to make us laugh and cheer and then we forget about them and want them off TV when they're no longer of use. Steve Austin is the best possible example of that.

Also, so it's known, the reason I continue to watch is because while things probably won't ever change, the possibility is always there. I'm not going to go out of my way to check out every show these days (I currently have four weeks of WWE programming stored on my Tivo and I'm in no hurry to get to it), but I have no problem skimming through the show in 10 minutes or less. That's not asking much from me. Wrestling has never been about the 99% of it that sucks, is embarrassing and is totally forgettable. The same reasons I continue to watch now are the same reasons I've always watched -- because that other 1% has a tendency to be pretty damned good. This leads me to an interesting question that I'll keep my opinion quiet on for now -- if wrestling was great all the time, would the great moments mean nearly as much as they do in the current environment?

I would say they had a far better talent roster 4-5 years ago. Now, they have mostly the same guys mixed in with a bunch of others who can't work. And the ones who are talented are either typecast as guys who aren't ever going to make it to the top or they're incredibly stale. WWE has created a tough corner for themselves because fresh talent is what they need, but because the fresh talent isn't as good as a lot of guys that have been on TV every week for 4-5 years, the stale guys end up upstaging the newer stars, sometimes maliciously and sometimes cluelessly. WWE needs to re-evaluate their entire business model and find a way to cycle talent in and out of shows more so they don't burn through their talent so quickly and also so the guys who can contribute aren't so stale and without credibility. What is that solution? Your guess is as good as mine.

In HHH's defense, there's no reason for him to be taking pinfalls to Ric Flair at this stage.

Yes, and with no clue who I'm watching or what they're fighting for, and with no clue what the rules are, it's impossible to get involved.

I look forward to hearing the rest of your thoughts. I'm definitely hoping I can get over the hump with lucha in the near future, because it sounds like based on my tastes, it's right up my alley in terms of what I like in wrestling. I just need to grow comfortable with the rules and customs. I didn't have to do that to think Santo/Casas is one of the greatest matches in wrestling history, though.

BTW, I'm going to morph this thread into Taboo Tuesday discussion since it sort of makes the overall point nicely anyway. You can already tell Meltzer's coverage is going to rock.

Jim Cornette was also 100% right that he makes everything sound so grandiose when sometimes, it's something as simple as two people talking.

I just find it hilarious that all these earth-shattering events are happening on a daily basis, and Wade is treating them as garnish so he can write long editorials about Randy Orton and Ken Kennedy.

In the past month, Jim Ross has been fired from his announcing position on RAW, all the McMahons have put themselves on TV again, Austin has walked out in lieu of doing a stupid job, Christian has quit the company, Dusty Rhodes has been placed on the creative team, Goldust and Vader have inexplicably returned to the company, TNA is gaining momentum (sort of) on Spike, RAW has moved to USA, and Bret Hart's DVD was finalized. Meltzer seems to be covering all of that in as much detail as possible, despite it being a large amount at once. So what's Wade Keller reporting today? I don't get the Torch, but I can only hope he's covering all this stuff with the detail it deserves.

I didn't see RAW last night. If Goldust is in good shape, or is willing to work hard to get in good shape quickly, he can be a huge asset to the company. But he won't be, because he won't be allowed to reach his potential, no matter how much of it he has.

The question is if Styles will take it. The bigger question is what becomes of 1Wrestling.com's ever-high standards in fair reporting, accuracy and non-bias.

What? Where did you come up with that? When does Masters have a track record of stiffing people?

I'm wondering if now, for the first time really ever, JR will refuse to participate in an angle and will quit instead of coming back.

I'm wondering if Vince is going to try to corner him and make an offer later tonight or if he's completely willing to just let Christian walk.