sek69

Smackdown wasn't part of the NBC Universal deal (which includes RAW/ECW/SNME). WWE wants to have a show on network TV as well as cable, and MyNetworkTV is really the only one that would take them. Plus they have the option of being far and away the #1 show on the network, since MyNetwork has pretty much zero in terms of marketable programming. Even though SD was the highest rated show on the CW, they at least had other programs with somewhat of an audience.

So the 1995 Wargames match that was supposed to be in the Shorties section never appeared, so I used my HAWT INSIDER CONNEX to find out what happened. I got this reply: The match was Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Lex Luger, and Sting vs Kamala the Ugandan Giant, The Zodiac, The Shark, and Meng so I wonder what kind of legal issue it might be. I wouldn't think it was any music related stuff, since the guys involved all had plain vanilla WCW themes (at least as far as I remember).

So I'm watching the WarGames matches in the shorties section, is the 1989 one (Midnights/Road Warriors/Dr Death vs Freebirds/Samoans) the only time Hayes, Gordy, and Garvin teamed as the Freebirds?

I've never seen this match, the AWA shows running on ESPN Classic picked up with Hennig and Hall already as champs. Was this any good? Who would have bet on Roddy Piper being the last man standing in that group?

There's no accolade that can be lauded upon "Ring of Hell" better than it being the one thing to make Lance Storm show emotion after 18 technically-sound-but-boring-as-shit years in the business. Also, Loss is dead-on in saying that Storm is basically the anti-Benoit so it's no surprise the book offends him.

By the way, Dave mentions in the last WON of June that if you subscribe to the print WON, you can get a discount on that if you sign up to the website. Sets of 4 issues for $7 each, so if you combine that with an online sub it works out to be like $4 more than just getting the print version. I signed up for the website last night, and man is the F4W horrible. Well, maybe that's not fair, but the WON is so much better it's not even funny. Alvarez must be making some serious coin on this deal since now all his subscribers that were F4W only now see what a inferior product they had.

Also there are so many stories of JR being a monumental asshole when he was the HNIC of talent relations, you can't help but think that this is karma coming back around.

On a somewhat related note, seeing Magnum's porn 'stache sticking out of the mouth hole of his James Boys mask (on the latest NWA episode) is just hilarious.

Yeah, Ric Flair and Bobby Eaton were like twins. I can't tell you how many times I turned on TBS and mistook the two of them. That "less muscular" Ric Flair with the giant arms was just the picture twin of Eaton. He wasn't suggesting they were twins, he was saying that they were being phased out for dudes who were more ripped. I didn't think there was any doubt about that very thing going on in wrestling at that time especially.

It cracks me up to this day that Bruno's mom was my Sunday School teacher. Even funnier is that they look alike so it was like Harvina was teaching me about Jesus.

So how exactly does this work, do you have to subscribe separately to get the print WON and access to the website?

That's at least, what, the third time they've supposedly fired someone for that? I wonder if that's one of their excuses they use when they want to fire someone for some other, more darkly personal reason that they didn't want to make public. Ya know, same thing they do when someone's fired for "drug reasons" when they've failed less than the requisite three tests or "talking to dirtsheets" like Lagana. Actually "Ring of Hell" makes it kind of obvious that Lagana was probably fired for being too creepy even for pro wrestling standards, which is pretty wild to think about.

I was reminded of this thread while watching RAW and hearing them sell the HHH vs Cena feud as "two guys who were big fans growing up watching WWE" as if their fandom as kids was the main focus of the feud. Not to mention they're two of the biggest stars WWE has had for the last 5 years at least and both have missed significant time without the company really missing a beat.

ECW got Benoit into WCW, but he only got into WWE because they had a chance to stick it to the competition by signing away a whole bunch of their talent in one swoop. Would he have made it there eventually? Maybe, or perhaps he would have been part of that vast sea of WCW midcarders who fell off the face of the earth after the company folded (yes I know he probably would have went back to Japan but I'm referring to a US fan point of view). How much should WWE bear for what happened to not only Benoit but Eddy too? Both of them nearly doubled in body size and roids/HGH was pretty much the main factor in Eddy's death and probably a major part of Benoit's. It's shocking to watch the Nitros from 1997 that run on WWE 24/7 and see how anorexic Eddy looks, then they show a WWE PPV from 2001-2002 and he's not only doubled in size but he's sporting Snitsky-esque acne. From reading the book, it seems a major theme that people are sleeping on is that more than once it's mentioned Benoit started taking steroids early. Definitely by age 16 he was using. He was 40 when he died, so that's 24 years straight of drugs pumping through his body in doses that obviously increased throughout, peaking with his WWE years. That alone would seem to be cause for potential problems, before you even factor in the swiss-cheese brain from years of headbutts and concussions.

It's in the latest WON and I have to wonder how much of Meltzer's critiques have to do with the fact he was friends with the two guys he takes issue with the characterizations of in the book (Pillman and Benoit). It's got to be a little hard for even Dave to accept that dudes he used to talk to on a semi-regular basis were way more fucked in the head than what he's come to accept as wrestling standards.

A few things popped into my brain while reading this: 1. LOL @ Bruno quitting because the WWF lacks credibility then going to work for a 900 line. 2. Was there anything to the rumors that fan that David attacked was a plant by Vince instructed to egg him into a physical confrontation? 3. How could the WWF trademark someone's real name that he was using before Vince Jr. took over?

Whoa, holy I-never-said-anything-close-to-that-Batman! I didn't say no one shoots in wrestling. I said that legit beating people's asses might not be the best way to train future professional wrestlers. If you punch someone for real in that context, "YOUR DOING IT WRONG" as the kids say. In cases where you happen to get punched for real, I'd wager that one would handle it just as you would if it happened on the street. Training future wrestlers by beating their asses doesn't really accomplish anything other than ensuring there's another generation of fucked up pro wrestlers. Aren't you just a ring announcer? I don't want to start fights so please correct me if I'm wrong, but 99% of the time you come off like a indy fed version of JR always going on how the internet is full of lying liars or some other variation of "you can't believe everything you read" yet usually in the same sentence pretty much confirm that fucked up stuff goes on. It seems like people in the biz, even on an indy level, just hate when dirty laundry gets aired that reminds people just how amazingly fucked up it is. It's not so much "every horror story must be assumed true" as it is "so many horror stories have already been proven true why should this one not be true as well". I mean, you have massive drug use, institutional spousal abuse, and extreme abuse toward trainees all on the record for years. If a story comes out that Wrestler A jammed a banana up Wrestler B's bunghole it becomes like "well of course he did, it's pro wrestling". If anything it's the business reaping what it sowed.

People being trained for a fake sport need to be subjected to real beatings? We're not talking about a Drill Instructor who needs to tear into someone's ass because the recruit might one day be seeing actual combat here. The whole point of pro wrestling is to convey the illusion of real fighting. If you're going to start beating people for real you might as well go into MMA.

IMO the "isn't it our fault for watching" argument is nothing but a strawman. Wrestling would be just as popular without all the fucked-up shit, and since most fans aren't even aware of the truly bizarre happenings, you can hardly say they encourage it. There is an argument to be made that fans like the old ECW mutants and the current ROH base do encourage fucked up behavior, but luckily they are a small portion of the total wrestling audience. I do wonder why people like Dave Meltzer still accept advertising from people like RF. It makes Dave seem like a hypocrite for bemoaning the twisted state of the business while selling ad space to pedophiles.

I just got it from Amazon for about $21 with shipping. What's cracking me up so far is of all the things I've heard are in there, people on DVDVR getting incredibly shook over the apparent revelation that Dean Malenko was Eddy's drug hookup even post-rehab. I guess by virtue of being alive, Dean inherits the mantle of greatest wrestler ever who can do no wrong. It never surprises me what horrible acts some fans will accept as fact and what seemingly far less fucked up things get the "OMG NO WAY THATS A LIE" treatment.

Also it should be noted that John Morrison ended up ECW champ in the worst possible circumstance and ended up having a decent run out of it. He didn't end up main eventing or anything but he ended up carving a niche for himself.

At least the Mr. Perfect set is still on, and it better include all the sports promos they did. Perfect catching his own pass = GOLD.

Cena does appear to be smaller in size since he's come back from his injury. However it does seem like Randy Orton is looking suddenly larger. Maybe Regal should have used his friendship with HHH to ask how he beats the test.

Just like any other kind of reporter, Dave has hell of a lot of contacts in the business after being around it so long. Considering kayfabe was still the rule back then I don't think he really sweats when Vince/Steph gets in one of their "OMG SHEETZ R EVIL" moods.