Marty

I think they were teasing a Batista bomb only with Bret managing to stop it. Really good final segment. Bret's promo was really good. I think Vince's was good too, but it seemed like Vince executed it okay enough so that it didn't overtake Bret's in terms of quality, execution and emotion.

Yeah, looking back, I mis-read that. Okay, back to the Todd Martin stuff...

I can't remember if we've had a similar thread to this designed specifically for Scott Keith, but Todd Martin's apparent lack of knowledge of RAW Guest Hosts may have been topped by Keith's belief that Kristen Wiig of Saturday Night Live has never been in a motion picture before: http://www.rspwfaq.com/2010/01/20/macgruber/

Except for TV matches, right? I ask because that Families Of Wrestling set they released has Bob Orton Sr. & Jr. tag match (basically an extended squash) from '76 on there that's shown in full, with Gordon Solie and Bob Roop on commentary.

I upgraded my TV package just recently, and discovered a Canadian channel called "BiteTV". One of the first things I noticed is a program called "Classic Wrestling". Currently, the show is focusing on the St. Louis territory, with each show focusing on one wrestler. Last night, their show featured Dick The Bruiser and a lot of his 81/82 feud with Ric Flair. I wish I had dates for what was shown (I'm still learning about St. Louis myself) but they did show a match Flair had that went around 10 minutes and involved Bruiser arriving and stealing both the NWA title and Flair's robe. Future shows are profiling Dusty Rhodes, Ted Dibiase and I believe a Harley Race one is coming up, if memory serves. Apparently in the summer, the show covered Memphis. Hopefully, re-runs will happen. The show goes a full hour and would definitely bring back memories for those who were there and be a starting point for those willing to learn. Just a heads-up for those (likely only in Canada) who have BiteTV.

I know it's not about wrestling, but could you ask him how his stage career is going? Also, what did he get started in showbiz (what schools did he attend, etc.)? A little background on that would be interesting (to me, anyway). Can't remember if Bret covered any of that in his book. Also, any differences/similarities between theatre world and wrestling world. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2006/05/17/1584353.html Also, since he got Stampede going again with Bruce in 1999, ask him if there's been much change to working with Bruce, or if he's still the same ol' Bruce as far as operating a wrestling company.

Using the MNF comparison, that's like blaming Peyton Manning for setting the bar too low on quality of play of a quarterback.

Here's the PDF file in all its glory: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP...T_106925424.pdf Things are looking strong for Blumenthal, but it's not like Murphy is doing too shabby either (He has a lot to do to oust Blumenthal for the Dem nomination, but he's also stronger than any of the Rep nominations). Blumenthal is also doing VERY well with all age categories and ethnic categories too.

Doesn't Moolah count in the 7 Decade club? She debuted in 1949 and her last match, if memory serves, was in 2003.

(Double post).

It's also apparently a tentative one. Both facts I didn't realize when I made that dumb comment. Tentative meaning that it's per appearance, or so I hear. I'm not surprised at the 1.5 rating. As I said before, TNA had an opportunity for WWE fans to check out the show before RAW and/or during commercials, plus they weren't going to lose their diehards.

I agree with those who felt Bret saying little about Montreal worked. Felt like he was the better man in comparison to Vince and Shawn. That all said, the promotion over the years has done such an effective job of portraying Bret as the guy who wouldn't shut up about Montreal (when in reality they've also done it alot) that if those segments turned into heavy debates, it might've elicitied a negative reaction from the same fanbase that has also likely believed that to some degree. But they also wanted to have Bret be an solid babyface here, so this worked out, in my opinion. Plus, the weeks building to it portrayed Vince as the guy who wouldn't let go, so the continuity here was pretty consistent. As for both shows as a whole, I pretty much agree with what Cox said here, and what Bix said in his blog at SB Nation. Thought RAW was fairly solid, if unspectacular. The tag match was decent enough, and to some degree, I'm sad to see Big Show likely out of the tag title running, because he was one of the few guys I felt could work effectively with both HHH and HBK (especially Shawn). Really liked Shawn constantly trying to knock Show down with the forearms, but failing. Orton and Kingston didn't have their best match, but it was solid. Much has been said about the Bret segments that don't need repeating, but I liked the Jericho one the best (that said, it was pre-taped) as those two have pretty darn good chemistry. Makes me wish Bret was in good wrestling health, as a program between the two would be fun. Rest of the show was what it was. I don't care for Evan Bourne being a guy fed to Sheamus, but I understand why it was done. Impact was an absolute mess. One advantage I looked at with them going to Monday was the potential to draw WWE viewers over, but that first match was the worst way they could do it. Doubt most WWE fans would know (or care) about the participants, but also having a guy who's a legit draw involved with them as well? Mind-boggling. (By the way, can we put Jeff Hardy conning Dixie Carter into the greatest cons thread?) The endless censorship of crowd chants, among other things, hurt the enjoyment of the show too. I too felt that the Styles-Angle match is a leading candidate for Most Overrated Match Of The Year (judging by the reaction at other places). The Hogan/Bischoff/nWo/Jarrett/Foley stuff has trainwreck written all over it, maybe trainwreck appeal potential depending who you are. Nash and Hall both looked awful. I had my doubts about how Bret would appear (having met him two years ago) but he looked like a guy made for TV compared to the very broken down Nash and not-looking-so-sober Hall.

I haven't heard anything to suggest that he wanted to be more involved with WWE outside of hosting RAW, but maybe I missed the memo. My only comment is why do people want so badly to minimize his movie career? Sure, he's not going to be Oscar nominated anytime soon, but most of his movies have been moderate to major successes and I don't think any have been considered flops. -- Samuel L. Jackson

So we can assume Rey will miss Mania due to surgery? Or will he be in MITB? Or Punk's opponent if they can't use Hardy?

Bummer way to close the year and decade. One of the best.

Really, at this point, are you surprised? I can't wait until Martin gets confused recapping RAW next week, because he thought Justin Timberlake was hosting or something.

If you take a survey of random people, a high percentage didn't know who Brittany Murphy was until Sunday night at the earliest.

Certainly both, to some degree on the competition part. For those who haven't already seen, they've removed Hogan and Flair from that opening montage of theirs. Hogan (and "Hulkamania is running wild") is replaced by DiBiase (and "Everybody has a price") and Flair is replaced by a Jeff Hardy highspot.

OK, now you're reaching a bit. It's one thing to have no idea who Johny Damon is (although not knowing details also isn't a big deal), but not knowing Ken Jeong is not a big deal at all I'm not saying it's a big deal, just somewhat surprising for someone in his age group. In fairness to Todd Martin, the Apatow movies are an acquired taste. I happen to like them myself, but I know many others who don't care for them. To each their own. I wonder if Martin writes all these "I don't know who this person is" comments as a rib on Alvarez and Meltzer (mainly Alvarez). I'm not expecting that either, as he comes across as a more obvious wrestling/MMA nerd than even those two sometimes, but it wouldn't surprise me. Re: Damon. He's a very good player, but due to being with the Yankees, calling him a "huge star" is debatable. I'd argue that guys like Jeter and A-Rod are bigger stars. Damon was probably a bigger star with the Red Sox due to a lot less "big name" (for lack of a better term) talent, plus he had a very unique look. Right now, he has the appearance of just another player, even if he's very, very good.

Don Johnson is scheduled to be one of the guest hosts at the 1/18 RAW. It's too bad Steve Austin is unlikely to be there and referred to by Johnson only as "Detective Jake Cage" in different segments of the show. The references would go over Todd Martin's head in hilarious fashion.

Awesome! Reminds me of a house show I went to in September and being not too far from a Superstar Graham lookalike (sans roids anyway) wearing a Jack Daniels T-shirt who kept muttering, "Man, I hate CM Punk..."

Wow. Did not know about that part. Totally different, then, yes.

My guess is they induct the Hart Family as a whole, similar to them inducting the Von Erichs. And I agree with Bix that he was more jaded in '99 than in '97. Asking Vince for his video footage seems like "wrong place, wrong time" but part of me thinks that Bret really wanted to move on and get out of wrestling and take some memories with him, and Owen's death may have affected that. It's not like people don't move to different subjects of discussion at funerals to ease grief and such. Look at the much-mentioned conversation between Hogan and Jericho about Jericho jumping ship at the time. Much of Bret's public comments about Montreal feel more like self-publicity than genuine grief. It's at least partly him making himself to be King Lear or some other tragic hero, and heck, let's make a video about it, and make some bucks off of said "tragic hero" character screwed over by the evil boss. Owen's death, on the other hand, is a very different animal. Also, Boondocks' last post is hilarious.

UK Sun article on Linda, covering the Politico article, as well as an interview with TheHill (also linked in the article) were she responds, and also talks steroids and Wellness Policy. Oh yeah, and stuff from our friend Irv: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport...-WWE-names.html

My better half is a pharmacist herself, and when I first told her about Umaga not breathing and blood going through his nose, that was her first guess as well. "Likely prescription too" was also what she said.