Loss

Think it's finally dawning on the Carters that TNA was intended to be nothing more than a personal vehicle to make Jeff Jarrett a wrestling star?

Thanks for posting both this and the Cornette story. By the way, how long has Jarrett held the title now? It's odd that the wrestlers hated Dusty as well, considering he was trying to get the belt off Jarrett.

And yeah, Bubba complaining about that shows just how much some of the WWE guys could stand be well-versed in other styles and philosophies.

I've read at times that Jim Ross is a total grouch when he's not on camera and that he's extremely surly and short with nearly everyone. I wonder how accurate that is.

John Laurinitis is once manipulative guy, is he not? I think he knows how to work the system in WWE every bit as well as HHH. I liked him better in WCW, when he was jobbing out Kevin Nash and fining him, and making Luger and Bagwell lay down for complaining too much.

Jumbo Tsuruta v Ricky Steamboat - AJPW 12/01/80 This is a very nice match, but it's not at the level you'd expect it to be considering that Jumbo Tsuruta is wrestling Ricky Steamboat for a half hour. The problem isn't the quality of the wrestling, which shouldn't be surprising; the problem is the direction of the wrestling, which probably is surprising. This is basically an extended feeling out process that lasts an entire thirty minutes, with flashes of good offense mixed in. Both deliver some great butterfly suplexes, both work the mat very well, both sell well. In that sense, it's a good match. What this match was missing was any sense of urgency at all, as any pinfall attempt seemed either arbitrary or coincidental. You don't get a feel for much in the way of strategy from either guy, because they can't seem to figure each other out. That's fine for a story in and of itself, but it usually leads to something happening afterwards, whether it's one guy missing a high-risk move and the other capitalizing, or even something as simple as one guy just taking it to the other guy in a way that forces his own opening. Going the distance with Jumbo did a lot to make Steamboat look good, and it certainly didn't make Jumbo look weak, which is the best quality this match has. This was one of Steamboat's first appearances in Japan, and they took to him nicely, which can probably be attributed to performances like this. I do think anyone who watches this will like it, but don't expect anything on the same level as the best of either guy. Making it obvious they're going long is a problem a lot of longer matches have, unquestionably, but this one is paced more like they're going 60 minutes than going 30 minutes, although technically, everything is put over in proper fashion and the match does withstand the test of time. ***1/4, 30:00

Yes, but no more changes. It's a promise.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks. PLEASE ONLY VOTE IF YOU ARE CHANGING YOUR VOTE FROM THE PREVIOUS MATCH BETWEEN THESE TWO. THANK YOU.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end tomorrow morning at the latest. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Looking at the bracketing, I don't think some are getting a completely fair shake in this tournament. Chris Jericho, for example, has made it further than he maybe should have, while someone like Shawn Michaels stands a chance of not even making the finals, which is ridiculous. Therefore, we'll still do round robin, but instead of doing round robins of the top 8, we'll do it of the top TWELVE to make things a bit more unpredictable and fair. I should have thought this out ahead of time, but the results are a little fishy-seeming, so we are now officially in the finals.

QUARTERFINALS Chris Jericho (9 votes) defeated Owen Hart (8 votes) Undertaker (10 votes) defeated Rey Misterio Jr (7 votes) Shawn Michaels (16 votes) defeated HHH (1 vote) Davey Boy Smith (14 votes) defeated Jake Roberts (3 votes)

Eliminated: Owen Hart Rey Misterio Jr HHH Jake Roberts

I pulled the next tape off the stack this morning and smiled because it was one of my favorites. It's an NWA comp of TV matches from late 1988 and early 1989. The tracking has always been an issue, but I've usually been able to watch it. It would appear old age has finally caught up with it, though, as the tape was totally unable to be watched. Goodhelmet, I've got to send this to you to see if you can salvage it. Check out these matches: Barry Windham v Eddie Gilbert - NWA Saturday Night 12/24/88 (14:26) Fantastics, Eddie Gilbert & Italian Stallion v "Original" Midnight Express, Rip Morgan & Al Perez - NWA Main Event 01/01/89 (10:43) Sting & Lex Luger v Road Warriors - NWA Main Event 01/01/89 (13:05) "Original" Midnight Express v Dustin Rhodes & Kendall Windham - NWA Pro 01/07/89 (13:27) "Original" Midnight Express v Fantastics - NWA Worldwide 01/07/89 (JIP - 8:02 shown) Randy Rose v Bobby Eaton - NWA Main Event 01/08/89 (11:26) Road Warrior Hawk, Paul Ellering & Steve Williams v Rick Steiner, Junkyard Dog & Dusty Rhodes - NWA Main Event 01/08/89 (13:23) Barry Windham v Eddie Gilbert - NWA Saturday Night 01/14/89 (11:52) "Original" Midnight Express v Trent Knight & Bob Emory - NWA Saturday Night 01/14/89 (4:12) Rick Steiner v Mike Rotunda - NWA Saturday Night 01/14/89 (9:08) Midnight Express v ??/?? - NWA Worldwide 01/14/89 (4:24) Butch Reed v George South - NWA Saturday Night 01/21/89 (2:08) Ric Flair & Barry Windham v Ricky Steamboat & Eddie Gilbert - NWA Saturday Night 01/21/89 (15:13) Larry Zbyszko v Kendall Windham - NWA Main Event 01/22/89 (5:56) Eddie Gilbert v Kevin Sullivan - NWA Main Event 01/22/89 (7:39) Midnight Express v "Original" Midnight Express - NWA Main Event 01/22/89 (14:52) Ricky Steamboat v Russian Assassin #2 - NWA Saturday Night 01/28/89 (6:41) Midnight Express v Rick Allen & Keith Steinborn - NWA Saturday Night 01/28/89 (6:38) Barry Windham & JJ Dillon v Eddie Gilbert & Kendall Windham - NWA Worldwide 01/28/89 (7:19) Fantastics v "Original" Midnight Express - NWA Main Event 01/29/89 (9:29) Barry & Kendall Windham v ?? - NWA Pro 02/04/89 (2:48) Barry Windham v Junkyard Dog - NWA Main Event 02/05/89 (9:35) Ric Flair v Eddie Gilbert - NWA Main Event 02/05/89 (11:12) Road Warriors & Paul Ellering v Kevin Sullivan, Steve Williams & Mike Rotunda - NWA Saturday Night 02/11/89 (7:14) The tape is also loaded to the brim with interviews with Ric Flair, Eddie Gilbert, Barry Windham, JJ Dillon, the Road Warriors, Sting, Lex Luger, Jim Cornette and Paul E. Dangerously. RIP -- I'm hoping it can be brought back to life.