sek69

Bringing up Taker-HBK kinda proved Coffey's point though. The match was booked as Shawn running for his life and trying to escape the Terminator-like Taker who would destroy him if he could get his hands on him. The whole match was just HBK bumping like a superball until Kane showed up. Shawn only won because Taker got laid out by a guy who was the same size (or bigger, we weren't sure yet) as him. He did what the little guy couldn't do. That also sums up WWF/E booking nicely, which is why I think Rey wouldn't be booked right if he ever ended up the champ.

The mid 90s provided a simple way to distinguish between the two types: Fans chanting "ECW" at an actual ECW show: Fans who bought a ticket and are using the opportunity to show how hyped they are about seeing their favorite promotion. Fans chanting "ECW" at a WWF show that happened to take place in Philly: Douchebags who are trying to get themselves over despite the fact they paid money to see the promotion they love to bash.

Konnan probably wasn't the best person to make the point, but it was still a valid point that the "smartest" fan sometimes is the most disrespectful to the business. I know, the old "you buy a ticket, you can boo who you want" argument. That's true, but I've always said just because you have the right to be an asshole, that doesn't mean no one else has the right to point it out. I hate when fans do chants like "You Fucked Up" as if the guy who just blew a spot and landed balls-first on the ropes needed reminded of that fact. To me, one of the best moments in wrestling was when Hogan got the standing ovation on the RAW after WM 18. Yeah, you can be cynical and say he was milking it, but everyone in that arena was giving props to the man who they grew up watching. They weren't just cheering him for the night before, they were saying thanks for the last 20 years that made the business what it is now. I'm not even a Hogan fan, and I appricated that.

Wow, I thought that wound was going to heal. I just don't have any faith that WWE would push Rey the way he'd need to be pushed as champ to make it work. I also don't see the guys who'd need to make it work be willing to do what it takes to put over a smaller guy like Rey in a way that didn't make them look stronger.

The Boogeyman is probably the greatest thing WWE has done in YEARS. I'm for real on this. They took a guy who can't work for shit and gave him a gimmick that got over like rover because he kept showing up out of nowhere during other people's backstage skits doing random weird shit. Say what you will about Boogey, but there's no one else like him on the roster and you remember his shit after the show's over. They took something that by all rights should have been straight up Wrestlecrap and managed to go past that and actually got him over. Unique look, catchphrase, memorable gimmick. That's all it takes to get over. "I'M THE BOOGEYMAN....AND I'M COMING TA GET YA!" *breaks clock over head* If you don't mark for that just a little bit, you're truly dead inside. *does the Boogeyman spasm dance*

The death of male managers in WWE is another reason Heenan gave for WWE not being able to get people over. Their job would be to help guys who couldn't talk get over. I'd wager that if Brock didn't have Lesnar, he would have been another WWE musclehead that didn't get over. By the time Heyman left, he was already established enough that it didn't hurt him.

Bobby Heenan made an excellent, excellent point in one of his shoots that should be carved in stone and dropped on Vince's head. He was asked about how WWE scripts everyone's promos now, and Heenan said it's the reason no one can get over now, no one can stand out. Using his time as an example, he said that someone like Jake Roberts couldn't do the promos Heenan did, and he couldn't do the promos Jake did. If they were in the WWE now, they'd have the same guys writing both their promos and it wouldn't work. Promos get people over, and if you don't let giys use their own voice to get themselves over, it's all going to sound the same to the audience. No one in the post attitude era really got over, and a lot of it is due to everyone cutting promos in the same vanilla cookie-cutter style.

Speaking of wrestlers and fast food ads, what the hell prompted Hogan to do that Arby's commercial? Seeing them basically make fun of him for using roids boggled my mind considering heels in the 80s weren't even allowed to point out his rapidly receeding hairline. Certainly he can't be that hard up for money can he?

Except for those commercials they ran on USA when WWE switched over with HHH looking menacing into the camera, and those little blurbs at the bottom of the screen USA runs during their other shows (read: Law and Order reruns) that feature HHH running the ropes. I'm pretty sure he was on the cover of TV Guide during Wrestlemania before too. So even if you just watch USA for Monk, you've probably seen Mr. Levesque looking all scary faced on your TV.

Not surprising since he's been all over every show since 2000, save the times he was out with the quad injury or making a movie.

Thanks Vince, for continuing to make being a fan of pro wrestling something we all have to constantly defend/apologize for.

So basically, 90s AJPW head-droppy moves

Are they playing in Alabama? Cause that's where Foley was last night.

I love listening to Bobby Heenan do shoot interviews, he makes everything sound so simple when it comes to getting over in wrestling. The fact that Vince could have him on the payroll helping the young guys and doesn't pretty much proves he doesn't care much about wrestling these days.

I read "vertical drop" as engrish for head-droppy 90s AJPW moves.

Yeah it's set up to be the first of multi volume set, but it's been years since that disc has been released and nothing else has come of it. This is why it's not a bad thing that Vince is buying up all the territory footage. I know Kevin's been rumored to be not the brightest guy and this seems to confirm it. He's sitting on a money printing machine since he owns the footage of some of the best feuds in wrestling history, and he's done fuck all with it.

I have that DVD, and what's odd is what they say is on the DVD isn't, but what is on there is better what they had advertised. It's mostly Freebirds vs Von Erichs stuff in various singles, tag, and six man combos.

I would hope it's a survey of fans in Japan, otherwise it would mean the people who visit SSS speak in a style that reads like English that has been translated from Japanese.

I still think it was funny that the D-list celebrities on Dancing With The Stars were looking down their nose at wrestling.

That doesn't make sense, why would a probation officer keep someone from plying their trade? Couldn't he give him the number of a PO in Birmingham and say "call this guy when you get there or you go jail"?

Boogeyman wasn't eating poop, his gimmick in OVW is that he eats liver as well as worms, and someone (Punk?) trapped the Spirit Squad in the bathroom with Boogey by throwing liver on the floor and shutting them in.

I always thought that what works in wrestling really hasn't changed since like, the 70s at least. When I hear a promoter saying that something won't work anymore, I hear it as they're too lazy/not skilled enough to pull it off. People try to make things harder than they need to be. There's a 25 year template of what makes money in wrestling and what doesn't. Sure, sometimes it requires luck to snag the right guy at the right moment, but it's not rocket science.

Someone at DVDVR made an interesting observation: WWE did just recently roll out the new drug program, and Marty is on probation. Maybe he balked at pissing in a cup?

From WWE.com: Working the angle, or did Marty fuck up again? Either way it's the most strangely worded release note ever.