flyonthewall2983

The living, breathing death of professional wrestling. If he wasn't around to push WWF go into the direction it did in the late 90's, someone else would have. He took WCW beyond the point of no return creatively, thus contributing the demise of what should still be WWE's strongest competition. Beyond that, I don't know what to make of him personally. His born-again routine seemed the least sincere by coming off as overly sincere, going as far to regret booking controversial angles because of it. The whole "Oklahoma" gimmick offended me personally, as someone who has sympathy and patience with people who have debilitating handicaps.

I think so. And I imagine there are more and more guys on the roster who feel that it should go back to it's roots a bit. I applaud C.M. Punk for putting those little jabs in his promos about WWE's jargon, because it tells me maybe he feels about the product the way a lot of us do. I know it sounds terrible, but I wish the economic troubles that plague most of the country catches up with them. Just any kind of hardship on the company to put their feet on the ground for once, because direct competition is out of the question. TNA is well...TNA, and ROH (from what little I've seen) doesn't work as well on television as it does on DVD or especially seeing it live.

Watched The Rise And Fall Of WCW on Netflix today. I was quite surprised at how little face time Vince or anyone on his side who didn't work for Turner before at the time had on camera. Unlike the Monday Night Wars doc, It was never mentioned once that WWE killed WCW in the ratings towards the end, and focused more on the real reasons why the company folded which everyone here knows. I'll even go as far as to say it was a puff piece, because it glossed over the fact that Hogan didn't get any bit of the desired response WCW wanted him to get. And I'm sure there's more to it than that.

Replace bodybuilding with cheese sandwiches, and old school prog rock for metal, I'm pretty much the same. And I couldn't tell you how many points a field goal earns if you held a gun to my head.

Is this the first time no belts changed hands at a WM?

I'm hearing rumblings that Taker suffered a pretty bad concussion last night. Anyone else hear that?

I can't think of a singles match he's had.

For me, probably watching VIII live. First big PPV I ever watched live, a decent card, and a cool finish for an 8 year old mark.

http://heymanhustle.craveonline.com/videos...erts-interviews Funny video from the press conference (ESPECIALLY at the end)

Could have been one pulled on him.

Could just be an April Fool's joke.

Jim Ross wrote on Twitter that Ric Flair will be in attendance at tonight's Hall of Fame ceremony. Speaking of which, anyone know if it's being simulcast on WWE's website tonight?

It also allows the inductees and the people inducting them to be more thoughtful with their speeches, rather than trying to balance out how to keep the crowd interested. I will say that I have enjoyed the recent ceremonies (sans those idiots who will inevitably chant "one more match"), and am looking forward to seeing this year's when it comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray.

To Vince's credit he must have seen that and thought it better to do his Hall of Fame ceremony in a small hotel, which he did for a few years after that. But it's funny that now, the Hall of Fame show is basically the same now as this segment we're discussing. It is a little more respectful than sticking it in the middle of a card, but I do miss the intimacy they had in the smaller venue in 2004.

In terms of popularity, JYD would have to be head and shoulders above the rest if you consider his entire career. I wonder where Bad News Allen/Brown would rate among Simmons, Reed and Scorpio. I'd think he'd probably rate near the top, considering his credentials.

WWE likes to avoid their own history when convienent though I must say they are a LOT better at remembering than they were in the past. I am guessing they don't want to hurt some of Lawler's face heat so I don't think Cole would be allowed to do something like that. In any other angle Lawler could be in, yeah I see your point. But this works for me on a level of duality, because Michael is basically doing the same things Lawler did, and Heenan before Jerry. One way it could have worked is if Cole used that opportunity to say how he admired those things in Jerry and was severely let down when he "softened up", but didn't let it come to the surface until recently. And yeah, their amnesia to certain things really bother me like they do anything else, but I'll also agree they are better at it now than before. That's why I like the Punk/Orton angle because it is Randy's heel antics coming home to roost.

If I can swerve the discussion of this angle, it's a real shame that Lawler's WWE past hasn't come back to haunt him in this feud. For instance, Michael Cole could have put together a video package of all the major stuff Jerry did as a heel (ruining Bret's KOTR coronation and insulting his family and making a big scene over Jake Roberts' alcoholism come to mind). Would have given the angle as much depth as using the family has been.

I'd figure his big finish would be the old "pull the strap down on the 2nd rope and come down with a punch" routine he's done for eons.

Funny that Keith David narrated this, especially since he played a character in a movie named "Andre the Giant".

If this is all true, I'm just wondering (hoping) if this is just Cole burning his bridges because he's about to be canned.

Clash XX was my first real exposure to WCW. That show is likely being best remembered as Andre's last appearance on U.S. television. I remember it being a really strong card, but recently I saw the main event for the first time (our tape of it stopped right as the heels were coming out) and it didn't hold up as well. I totally agree with Jerry that the '93 Clashes out performed the PPV counterparts.

Safe to assume both of them were corrected into believing that they were form letters?

A perfect opportunity for Flair to look right into the camera and say "we'll be right back".

Did WWE at the time ever imply directly it was the first time Andre was slammed?

Well, he certainly had the most dubious beginning.