flyonthewall2983

I love the story he told about working MSG for the first time as Razor, against Randy Savage, and how Vince told him to hold off on coming out to his music, to the point that he was making Vince wait and tell him to get out there. If professional wrestling is an art, which I believe it is, he defined the aspect of both psychology and his spot on the card as art. He probably would have been a decent guy on top, but it was better when you weren’t sure if he was going to win and lose but it never affected the reliability he brought to what he did. Knowing now just how fragile he was inside with everything from his childhood, that terrible incident referenced above, and of course his addictions, really brings home how good he was at hiding it all when the cameras went on and the bright lights hit. A demon in and of itself at times, as it turns out it was the blanket he himself needed from those pains.

So I take it the show is canceled, or will it move to USA? One thing I know for sure, if Dusty were still alive he’d probably be the best thing on the show.

DX was always better when it was just Shawn and Hunter, even in the middle 00’s when they were just being goofy. If Hall, Nash and Waltman stayed, and they really did the Kliq as a real group they would have been the WWF’s true equivalent to the Four Horsemen. That said in hindsight it’s kind of cool that they copied that formula more directly with Evolution, complete with Flair in the JJ/Ole spot. The booking often did them no favors in being as entertaining as the original Horsemen or even DX before Montreal, but it gave Ric some new life as a heel in the company and it let Orton and Batista shine.

He was the Kliq’s designated driver. I heard someone say they’d rather babysit 10 children then drive 5 drunks around. Can’t imagine what that’s like when you consider what else was being imbibed. They, and Shawn in particular were lucky in that respect to have him around.

Figured this deserves a thread of its own. I actually think it’s more shocking that he made the announcement on ESPN, I believe the first time a professional wrestler has done so. Love or hate the guy and quite often it was easy to do both, it’s no denying he has passion for the industry and has done his level best within the company to improve it.

That video will be as good as it gets. Unless Cody gets involved.

How is it?

The 80’s for tag team matches and Tito-Greg

The tragedy within that of course is how the company adopted stricter measures against marijuana use, leading to more use of prescription pills and we all have seen the fallout from that, as easily as we did in the 90’s when guys were dying off left and right from other issues.

The big revelation I had after watching the steroid trial episode, is the bigger picture of desperation on Washington’s behalf to get a win on the war on drugs. The hypothetical scenario in my head is that someone from the DEA was watching wrestling and noticed how obviously juiced these guys were and saw it as a slam-dunk case. The prosecuting attorney was also on the latest Cocaine Cowboys, which was about a case he took up that he would also lose despite a lot of incriminating stuff held over the guys he was going after.

Undertaker first announced, and I think I read something about Shad Gaspard getting the Warrior award. I think Taker should have the whole show himself, but maybe he doesn’t feel comfortable with that. Well-deserved obviously, one of the guys who kept the company afloat when they needed committed guys.

Don Winslow is awesome btw

The promo Bobby Heenan cuts before the match on the LAPD is classic

I actually like the show, when he has comedians on mostly. He did one with Bob Saget a year and a half ago that’s pretty fascinating for the stories he had. Spotify is terrible though.

Walton Goggins’ character is loosely modeled on Flair, but not as close as the guy Will Ferrell played on Eastbound & Down. Maybe more “Nature Boy” Buddy Landell. I might have to dive in the 2nd season if they are doing more with Goodman’s character.

The “Say it ain’t so Joe?” incident following the Black Sox scandal seems like it should count somehow. I’ve been watching the Ken Burns doc and realizing how much childhood innocence was trampled by capitalism, but enough of the spirit remains that when you see someone good on the other side of the screen that’s now the same age you are and has experienced life in a similar way then our fathers, then something else enters that on occasion does rejoice in synchronicity with what remains. My brother is a life-long Cubs fan as well as a wrestling fan. 30 years ago amidst the steroid scandals even kids like us who watched as much CNN as our patience would allow, knew what was going on but at that basic time it doesn’t really taint the reputation but makes them seem more oddly human. My brother is also a dye to the wool capitalist, and the year he and I played little league is right around the time of the strike and when our father left us. I actually remember watching very little wrestling until I heard that WCW had a show on Monday nights.

For some strange reason I told my girlfriend he was French-Canadian. Hey guys. Thought maybe now would be a good time to come back, see how well that dumb little prediction of mine is doing.

I know the circumstances are different this time around because AEW is it's own company, but will the recent news of AT&T selling off WarnerMedia affect their place on the TNT lineup at all?

Pacino could absolutely play Flair, as in now. They have the same tan, dye Al's hair and give him some contact lenses and it could work. Voice could be tricky but he could pull of the "whoooo!" I'm sure.

Maybe it would be easier to let him go because of his "loose cannon" reputation, but give him some kind of non-compete clause instead of going right away to Atlanta.

My big thing is what would he have made about Montreal, and what if any thoughts he had about Bret going to WCW if he knew about it prior to his death. On one hand it would be hard to imagine him sticking around being happy to work for the people who screwed over a friend of his, but on the other it would probably be a stickier mess for him to defect than it was when WCW tried to hire Owen.

I knew the car accident was detrimental, but I didn't realize he went through nearly some of the same things Brutus Beefcake did with regards to facial surgery. It made watching those clips of his return to action a little more harrowing to watch. It's darkly funny in a way because I just saw the Piper A&E special, which while is very good some of the bullshit was so transparent. Especially framing his time in WCW as him being injured and fucked up all the time, as if these things weren't commonplace under Vince's watchful eye. On the other hand, this episode showed how much he worked hurt in WWF and honestly they should never let him have wrestled at all. His death was so sad, and it was so surreal and uncomfortable to watch Vince interview Melanie that night. It's still uncomfortable to watch, especially Vince's line of questioning. The remorse and maybe even anger in Ross' response to that segment is palpable. Seeing Cornette nearly in tears because it still hurts so much now. I could see how someone could see this kind of stuff as exploitative, but I think there is eagerness in cases like this, to really try and set the record straight as much as possible. This was an amazing episode, and if it's quality is to be topped this season we'll be in for quite a ride. Kim Wood was no doubt the MVP of those interviewed. At one point I told my dad (I've been watching episodes of this with him lately) "I love this guy!", I think just after he called Vince McMahon a whore.

Rob Van Dam is next

Tito Santana would have been better for it. At least it would have been better than the straight-up job he did for The Mountie later in the show.