Loss

I remember that it took WWE weeks to acknowledge his death in 2002, and that was only after getting tons of criticism. I don't know if this is why he's not in the HOF, but the apparent issue at the time was that legitimizing Thesz was an admittance that the WWWF was only a regional promotion.

I think they added guys who they wanted to market DVDs for at times as well. But yeah, every year, Danny Hodge comes up as a name and is rejected not on the merits but because WWE doesn't have any Danny Hodge footage in their library. So one person being inducted multiple times doesn't bother me either. People being excluded for marketing or political reasons I think is a much bigger issue. But even then, WWE has never pretended their HOF is something it's not.

A wrestling HOF exists that people take seriously where Lou Thesz not only isn't in, but probably never will be. The HOF is a marketing tool and a payday. It's not anything more than that. They make up the rules as they go along.

It was in Dave's news update today that every living megastar of the past three decades has been contacted and asked to do a cameo at Wrestlemania, so I suppose we'll find out if I'm on the creative team.

Probably because they will induct the NWO as a unit later.

Latest WON says Daniel Bryan has been "the biggest ratings mover the past several weeks".

I don't think saying it's "needed" is proper. It's one philosophy of many as it relates to constructing a card. I don't think it's a yes or no question. It works when WWE does it most of the time. That doesn't mean it wouldn't work if they didn't do it.

I guess about his health? I don't remember what they were specifically. I do however remember a blurb saying he's wasn't nearly as banged up as commonly thought. It may or may not have involved a comparison to Kurt Angle's health. It was reported in January that Undertaker didn't want to do a match with Brock because he was worried about how physical the match would be, and also that Brock wouldn't take the time to practice the match with him in advance. He wanted to work with Daniel Bryan instead.

I'm not sure it does, really. They've been running the feud for months, there is lots of hatred there and a lot at stake in the actual match. This is the most heated feud WWE has had in at least 10 years. I really think they need to go over the top with the match to make it as memorable as possible, to really create a classic MOMENT, not just a good match. The interest in Bryan's chase really demands something out of the ordinary, since this is not just another feud.

Could be a political/good will thing with Carlos Colon and/or WWC.

I seem to remember you saying you had no way of giving your credit card info when setting up your account. Could that be why?

How's this for a Wrestlemania scenario with HHH vs Bryan? The Shield not only beat Kane and the NAO in their match, but completely destroy them. Backstage, Stephanie sees this and gets worried about how their "plan" is ruined. HHH tells her he has another idea and points off camera. Stephanie gets an evil smile. "I can't believe I forgot you were all here!" The camera doesn't show us who she's talking to, though. HHH does a pre-match promo and says tonight, Bryan is facing "The Game", not the COO. And to further prove his point, he will have the man in his corner who mentored him and helped guide him to his greatest success ... Ric Flair. After entrances, before the lockup can even happen, host Hulk Hogan comes out and says Ric Flair cannot be at ringside for this and walks him to the back. During the match, there's a ref bump at which time Shawn Michaels makes a cameo and superkicks Bryan to do the heart attack nearfall to take the air out of the Superdome. HHH motions for Hall, Nash and Waltman to also come to the ring, but they don't quite make it. The Shield holds them off and after a dramatic staredown, they retreat. (This avoids the need to risk any of those guys getting physical -- there would just be a staredown but no physical contact.) I feel like this match needs something extra angle-wise, so that's what got me thinking about everything. It's not like all the players won't be at the show anyway.

The more amusing thing about the article is that they are doing nothing to downplay the rumors that they have no succession plan for WWE after Vince steps down, simply because the rumors are benefitting their stock at the moment.

The wording in the article is far more innocent. In his black-and-red office at WWE headquarters in Stamford, Conn. McMahon stares at a stark reminder of what motivates him. To the left of his desk, mounted on square panels of what looks like scarlet fur, is an enormous dinosaur skull. The fearsome open jaw was a gift from his son-in-law, Paul Levesque, better known to wrestling fans by his nom de guerre, Triple H. And the metaphor isn’t lost on McMahon. “I look at it like it’s a really nice monster,” he says in a low, gravelly voice familiar to millions of wrestling viewers who know him as “Mr. McMahon,” the megalomaniacal lord of the ring. “When you feed the monster, the monster is happy. The problem with that is, the monster grows. And as the monster grows, then the monster wants more to eat. And as long as you do that, everything’s great. And if you don’t provide the food, then bad things start to happen.” Is the monster the audience? “You can look at it that way, absolutely,” McMahon says with a smile.

Dave completely destroyed the 20 cents thing, but I don't remember what his argument was. But I think he felt like Vince was working the media there.

I'm glad to see they've rekindled their friendship since that video package from Elimination Chamber 2012 where they all worked out with him and talked about how great he was.

I wish the concerns Undertaker had that were reported months ago would have been followed up on. I'd like to know how they were addressed.

I thought this was a good promo from HHH. A little on the long side, but that's normal for him. I wish the stuff with Damien Sandow had gone somewhere.

I think the more likely screwjob is Stephanie changing the triple threat match to elimination rules on the fly. They have made a big deal about how Orton or Batista could lose without even being involved in the finish. I could see Bryan pinning Orton and Stephanie quickly saying, "Just a reminder that this match is elimination rules." Then he'd have to pin Batista in the main event and the end result would be Bryan beating Evolution in a gauntlet match. (I also think HHH vs Bryan should immediately precede the title match instead of having it earlier in the night.)

Whoever praised Seth Rollins, I agree. I know that Roman Reigns is their guy, but Rollins is the one that looks like he has the most potential to be a singles star based on recent performances. Not that I care to see any of them as singles stars just yet. The Shield still has plenty of shelf life. And none of them will have ring attire as cool as what they have now after being repackaged.

They didn't really explain the motives for the babyface turn very well. Anyway, he was fairly instrumental in helping gays finally get over as babyfaces in the United States.

(1) I have never heard Jim Ross say that Muta was a hit with the ladies. (2) I have never heard anyone suggest that Muta was a hit with the ladies.

I don't think Flair was intentionally out to bury Steiner. That's not really his style. I think he was just in another world and that ended up being the end result. We know about a lot of the issues he was going through during this time and he clearly was having a terrible night.

If the confidentiality clauses are there, how does the shoot interview market exist? How are guys like Jericho and Foley able to write their books? How are Austin and Ross able to do their podcasts and tell stories?