sek69

I clearly remember part of the segment was DX talking to WCW fans waiting in line and more or less getting them to say they would rather be going to Raw. Plus it was clearly taped earlier in the day prior to Nitro starting. Bischoff probably has pulled a Hogan on this and has told the lie so often he probably legit believes that's how it happened.

WCW had so much TV in the mid to late 90s since there was still the remnants of syndication (Saturday Night, Main Event, Pro, Worldwide) that was winding down while Nitro and Thunder were kicking off. As a result there's a near endless supply of "I never knew that happened" moments that always will grab you out of nowhere.

It really was an amazing time when both major promotions were being headlined by folks completely high on their own farts.

I find it interesting that when folks talk about AEW ratings stagnating and/or slightly dropping no one mentions that they've lost big names like Omega, Punk, and Cole for various lengths of time and those were probably their top three most popular people. I expect the people who are in different camps in the silly tribal wars to ignore it, but I don't think I've seen anyone mentioning it as a reason why they weren't at the same heights they were. Not only were Omega and Punk big draws, they were focal points creatively as well. It's clear Coach Tony K is bound and determined to make the matches he wants happen, so if injuries get in the way he usually just holds it off. I would say the big reason AEW sometimes seemed to be running in place is because they were. Part of it was shit luck having so many big names go down one after another, but then again they were the ones pushing their luck by having a guy who was being held together with duct tape and chewing gum like Kenny be the centerpiece of your promotion.

It was cool to see something unexpected happen on Rampage, made the show feel like something worth watching instead of the way its been recently where you don't miss anything if you skip it.

A Sonny Kiss heel turn? Alright Tony, I didn't see that one coming. Heel Sonny seems like something that should have some real fun possibilities.

Also I love seeing the IC title getting the treatment the US title did on Raw. One advantage to Hunter being in charge is he'll try to make the secondary titles mean something again. You know young Hunter growing up in New England watched them Boston Garden shows where the IC title match was the second most important thing on the card.

B-Fab too, IMO. Ashante is pretty charismatic and at the very least he can be the Buddy Roberts guy who's entertaining and there to take the fall.

Sammy and Tay defending the mixed tag titles made me realize AEW has probably more AAA title matches on its TV than AAA does.

Not gonna lie, I marked out for their return. Yeah not having Swerve is a loss, but the others all have a lot of potential. Plus they got done so dirty the last time that it felt good seeing them get a real chance to shine.

His biggest issue is that he's not going to be that physically impressive next to WWE level hosses, which is going to hurt his whole "big bad monster" deal.

I might be on an island here, but I didn't have a problem with Kross's gimmick/presentation in NXT. The issue was how he was pushed by demolishing everyone and causing a Roman/Cena type backlash.

It is, which is why it shouldn't be on national TV in this incarnation. It's hard enough to learn to be a wrestler without having your missteps being shown to the whole world.

My personal theory is Inoki thought he could lure Ali to Japan by promising a worked match but having it be real in the ring, but quickly realized even half washed 1976 Ali would still starch him with ease. Ali's camp was afraid he was going to shoot in the match, which would explain having someone who could handle business as a ref in case that happened.

I never knew he was the ref in the Ali-Inoki match, I suppose he'd be the best guy to have in there if shit went down.

Mox-Jericho was a blast. Yeah Chris can't go like it's 1996 anymore but he gave all the effort he could. Two guys who are great workers in the sense not of technical know how, but to get the most out of everything they do. Also Mox-Punk is going to to stupid numbers.

So in that sense he's working exactly like Lionheart.

I love that Anna Jay is the Suzuki of the JAS and just chokes out randos now.

Absolutely, it's a dream match that was never allowed to happen due to lucha politics BS.

Says a lot that his pro wrestling career (which would be the highlight section of most people's lives), is not even in the top three most interesting things about him. Since he was Ronda's mentor as well, it's mindblowing to think a current pro wrestler was taught by a direct student of Ed "Strangler" Lewis.

I don't know about Danielson, but we're getting Lucha Bros vs Los Ingobernales and it's going to be fucking awesome.

lol no one's going to get ban hammered. It was a poor joke and you seem to have realized it. Probably didn't help that sexual harassment is not the best topic to joke about regarding WWE considering.... *again gestures broadly*

I could have sworn people at the time saying it was done because they didn't think his punches looked good or something, but I suppose it was just part of the anti Roman backlash.

From the WO site: Judo Gene LeBell, best known for his catch wrestling technique that later became an influence in both pro wrestling and mixed martial arts, has passed away at 89 years old. Bas Rutten wrote on Facebook that LeBell had passed away. “My deepest condolences to his lovely wife Midge, his kids and all his other family members and friends,” he wrote. “You will be greatly missed Gene, I love you my friend, till we meet again!” LeBell started catch wrestling at the age of 7, training under Ed “Strangler” Lewis and later trained in judo. He was also trained by the likes of Karl Gotch and Lou Thesz. In 1963, he accepted a challenge to fight boxer Milo Savage in an early mixed martial arts bout that saw LeBell score the win with a rear naked choke. In pro wrestling, he helped ran NWA's Los Angeles territory, NWA Hollywood Wrestling, from 1968 through 1982. The territory was owned by Mike LeBell, Gene's brother. He also served as the referee for the Muhammad Ali/Antonio Inoki match that took place in 1976. He wrestled his final pro wrestling match in 1981, against Peter Maivia in NWA Hollywood Wrestling.

Didn't the seizure inducing camera cuts start when the Shield started to make sure viewers never saw Roman botch anything?