Loss

I'd be happy with something as simple as Vince coming out specifically to address Lesnar and doing so, after which we see Hardy running through the crowd trying to rush *Vince*, since he's pissed about being fired.

The appeal in Edge/Hardy is that it's not being booked as a wrestling angle. Bischoff making the match makes it a total wrestling angle. I didn't mention Brock Lesnar in my post at all. There's no reason to be single-minded and suggest that Vince can't address both subjects. Wouldn't it make sense that Vince McMahon would have something to say about the fact that a wrestler he fired five months ago has been fighting through security every week to get to the ring and is attacking someone under contract? Wouldn't at least addressing it be a good idea? It's not like Vince's promo has to have one purpose and one purpose only. When has Vince ever done a promo with only one point to address anyway?

Vince has to announce Edge/Hardy if they're really trying to play it as a shoot. Bischoff will make the angle even more lackluster than it has been the last two weeks or so.

Perhaps he'll address Matt Hardy coming out of the crowd and attacking a specific member of his roster every week.

Three stories have surface lately that have been both hilarious and pathetic. Story #1 ... One of the Diva Search contestants wanted to do a promo mentioning Katie Vick, but none of the writers knew who Katie Vick was. Story #2 ... One of the Diva Search contestants asked one of the writers if they had any ideas for something they could do to get heat. The response? "What does 'get heat' mean?" Story #3 ... A new writer was just hired that asked JBL how he got that fake blood to continue pouring out of his forehead. These are the people constructing the storylines for the highest rated show on cable and the biggest wrestling company in the world. Glorious.

American Dragon v Paul London - ROH All Star Extravaganza 11/09/02 Now *this* is how you do a nice little match and hold back without giving away too much, since Dragon would be wrestling again later in the evening in a longer, bigger match. He's the total star of this match, showing his skill in some really smooth matwork. Most of the early stages of this match are worked in fairly basic fashion, but Danielson is so good at what he does that it doesn't feel that way, because he puts so much energy into even the small moves - a side headlock almost comes across as a shift in momentum instead of just a time killer or as part of some feeling out process. His butterfly suplex also looks great, but his chops need some major help. Perhaps it's just the production quality and that I'm used to hearing loud chops on the big stage of WWE, but they seem to be lacking the same umph. The best spot of the match sees Dragon dropkick London mid-air when he's attempting a corner moonsault. There's little of consequence here, which is the major problem this match has. When Danielson is in control, London is still fighting back strong, which makes his comeback down the final stretch seem a little anti-climatic. He probably should have been in far more peril considering that this was his second consecutive match and Dragon is a strong opponent. I like that they're able to engage the crowd through the work in the ring, as they put aside the clapping for a moment to start chanting London's name in a show of support. AD doesn't get the desired result when he tries a backdrop driver from the top rope, but London manages to get protected in losing, kicking out of a superplex that everyone, self included, was sure was the end of the match. A cattle mutilation after a dragon suplex finishes things, but the real story is that the fans seemed to want more, as this seemed more like a hint of things to come than a real war. That was definitely the desired reaction, so in that sense, they were a success. ***

Paul London v Amazing Red - ROH All Star Extravaganza 11/09/02 Wow, it's really cool the difference between the first batch of ROH matches I watched and the second ones. The announcing has improved to a point where I can tolerate it. It's still not as good as it could be, but it's a massive step in the right direction. I was also much more pleasantly surprised at the quality of wrestling on this selection. That has nothing to do with this match though. The quick sequences at the onset are great fun, but you keep expecting them to stop at some point and either sell the parity they're trying to establish or move into something else. You also expect Red's DDT on the floor to be a death spot, but London was back on his feet in no time. They really need to watch some 1988 NWA and see the right way to sell highspots on the floor. This is a really transparent spotfest with some *really* awkward looking setup spots, specifically for the top rope huracanrana. That said, Red's punches are decent and I thought London swinging Red into the guardrail was a really cool spot. The Rydien bomb/shooting star press combo at the end was an effective finish. I've seen much worse short matches and I've seen much better short matches. This was like watching Billy Kidman v Devon Storm on WCW Saturday Night.

http://board.deathvalleydriver.com/index.p...hp?showforum=30 DVDVR is about to do a big Best of the 80s project, starting with the WWF. They've compiled 100 possible choices and if you supply postage costs and blank DVDs, they will send you the DVDs. You are expected to rank all the matches in order, and if you don't, they will probably ban or suspend you from the board. That's why they're doing WWF first - thinking they can weed out a lot of the people that will just be in it for the DVDs. Anyway, I'm totally stoked about doing this, and I thought some of you that don't visit DVDVR might be as well, so I thought I'd link you. All the info is in that folder, including details on how to get signed up on the mailing list.

The reaction was supposedly that they appreciated him being upfront about it, and because he was honest instead of sticking around and complaining about his lack of push, they told him he was welcome back in the future when he was ready to come back.

Brian Kendrick voluntarily left WWE on good terms so he could gain some seasoning.

Credit: WWE.com

What Meltzer originally wrote in the Observer:

Reminds me more of the Missing Link.

Somewhere, I have a feeling Jericho thinks this is all really funny.

TNA would do handstands if they got their hands on him. He'd pretty much have creative control over all his storylines, be in the main event at all times, and if he decided he did want to pick up more dates, there's not an indy in the US that wouldn't pay him huge, nor is there a Japanese company that wouldn't have any interest.

If it's true, it makes perfect sense why he's been put with Cena. They really should do an injury angle when he leaves so he'll come back in a program. Honestly, the time away will be good for Jericho. In some ways, injuries have helped keep other guys fresh because they've been able to miss time, but Jericho has been there steadily for six years without taking a break now, and has been positioned in the upper midcard/main event picture most of that time. He's stale. He should take the opportunity to come back with a new gimmick, new entrance music and a new look.

Since Summerslam is coming up soon, I thought it might be fun to go through all of the old ones in blurb format in the same way we did the Wrestlemanias a while back. So what are your basic thoughts on each one. We'll have this thread just be Summerslam 1988-1992.

Neither would surprise me, but I'm honestly not sure. I might try to seek out some details on that whole fiasco that was SuperClash III soon, because I've always wanted to know more about it. I'll check on this, but if I had to guess, it's probably that he couldn't maintain the schedule required at the time with his injuries, but perhaps he's still good for the occasional match. He was a hell of a worker in his younger days as Masked Superstar.

I think WWE sees "truth" as nothing more than "convenience". They'll sell you the bill of goods they need you to buy at that very moment. Perhaps that's why their audience doesn't trust them to properly blow off things that start off promising anymore. I don't know that it's Vince, since he doesn't really see these guys in OVW. I think it's more of a Talent Relations thing, and John Laurinitis is constantly looking for big guys because he knows that's what Vince likes, and he thinks that the more of them he can produce, ready for the spotlight or not, the more likely Vince is to think he's doing his job well. Vince is in so many ways a puppet, with everyone around him having mastered the art of manipulating him to promote their own self interests. At least that's the impression I get from the outside in, and those who've been on the inside have said the same. It amazes me how self-preservationist nearly everyone working in WWE is, but I think Vince likes the atmosphere that way honestly. I don't think it'll last long, even *if* Heyman is a good boy. Stephanie doesn't like him, but he seems to have a halfway decent relationship with Vince, which is the only reason they keep finding things for him to do. That, and they know that he could book competition for them reasonably well if someone else picked him up. Probably not. Main event guys seem to be immune to that sort of thing. I'm sure someone in WWE thinks it's funny. Vince probably laughed at something suggested, so the writers decided to go with it to impress him.

I don't know how it's been the past few years, but at one time, the G-1 Climax was one of the best events of the year for New Japan and there were almost always a few great matches. Are there any surprises this year, or any opportunities to launch anyone from this? Kawada's entry seems to have a lot of people interested.

It's not about Benoit, it's about giving Lesnar a good feud that has built-in history to kill time until Wrestlemania. I'm not about to suggest that they kill a show featuring Eddy, Rey and Benoit, who all have value to the company. If they're going to kill it, they might as well just take it off the air completely. No use having a TV show at all if it doesn't benefit the company in any way.

Returning to RAW as a face would be the worst possible use of him I can imagine. He's not a babyface. That's not what makes him work. Even if people pop for the return, that doesn't mean that they necessarily want to cheer him for the long term, or that running Brock against all the heels is a good idea. Smackdown needs a big name and a top heel that can replace JBL as He Who Always Headlines. Besides, he's already had played out feuds with Angle and Show. He's only scratched the surface with Benoit on Smackdown, who's the perfect opponent to keep him busy until they do the inevitable Batista program, which really should be the WM 22 main event.