NintendoLogic

Dave mentioned the movie in a few other issues. It was called The Overlords, and it also starred Gary Busey. As best I can tell, it never saw the light of day.

There's only so much you can do with a giant who can't work long singles matches. Having him run through everybody would get old in hurry, and having him work competitive matches on a regular basis kills his aura. Guys like Braun work best as special attractions.

The Observer 2018 awards issue came out today. I was somewhat surprised to see Daniel Bryan beat out Samoa Joe for Best on Interviews, but all the other winners were what you'd expect.

Honestly, AJ has mostly underwhelmed since the Lesnar match. If you told me at the beginning of 2018 that he would have extended feuds that year with Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe, I would have expected at least one all-time classic match, but it never happened. He can still deliver with the right opponent (I'm apparently the only person who really liked the Bryan match at the Rumble), but he hasn't been the kind of wrestler who could work a **** match in his sleep for a long time. For the record, Orton's best career match was against Cena at Summerslam 2007. Granted, it was pretty much impossible to have a bad match with 2007 Cena, but Orton held up his end of the bargain as well.

She was inducted in 2006. Plus, it's hilarious that Booker T is a multiple-time inductee and Bret isn't.

I don't see how anyone can think Dave and Bryan are excessively nitpicky. If anything, the opposite is true. I mean, they were defending the Ronda/Becky storyline up until the other night.

If it were simple, they wouldn't need 30 writers or however many they have. They need to complicate things to justify their existence.

I didn't watch this (I was in transit all day), but the best solution to me would be to have Ronda attack Becky while she has Charlotte in the Dis-Arm-Her. That way, Becky doesn't look like a chump who had to have Ronda bail her out, and Ronda could pass it off as not wanting Becky to have the satisfaction of a clean win. I guess that makes Charlotte look weak, but come on. If the billion title reigns she's had haven't made her strong enough, there's nothing that can be done. Plus, the whole point of the storyline is that she did nothing to earn a spot in the match and didn't deserve to be there. Or at least, it used to be. I don't know what the hell's going on anymore.

For what it's worth, Dave said on the F4W board that they're trying to recreate the build for Mania 11 where Bigelow was told to go on talk shows and say that wrestling wasn't real, but he hated LT and was going to fight him for real once they got in the ring.

Have the final four be IYH 13 rules where eliminations can come by pin, submission, or being thrown over the top rope. Actually, they should do that for the regular Rumbles as well.

More "Ronda refuses to follow the script" nonsense: WWE's inability to leave well enough alone never ceases to amaze me. They were handed the most idiot-proof storyline imaginable on a silver platter, and they've larded it up with injuries and suspensions and worked shoots and adding Charlotte for no real reason-and for what? Is there a single person who is more excited to see this match now than they were a month ago? Especially since Dave has been implying recently that Becky winning at Mania isn't a sure thing.

This is a match I think a lot of people here would dig. It can best be described as a Bizarro World version of the Steiners vs. Sting and Luger match at Superbrawl the previous year. That was a crowd-pleasing spotfest with two babyface teams while this was a cheat-fest, for lack of a better term, between two heel teams. There was an illegal double-team or a run-in to break up a pin or submission or some other illegal tactic roughly every 30 seconds. And that's on top of the gritty brawling and matwork you'd expect from these guys. Eaton was the star of the match, with his uppercut to Slater on the outside being the highlight. I also loved Slater's punches and elbows. Unfortunately, it's too short to be a true classic, although it may be the greatest sub-6 minute match of all time. If they had twice as much time to work with, it could've been a top ten match in WCW history. Still, it's well worth going out of your way to check out.

Not only can Liger still go, he looks like he's barely aged in the past 20 or so years thanks to the costume. I would suggest that Blue Panther losing his mask is what killed his chances of being elected to the WON HOF. With the mask, he was ageless. Without it, he was an old man who looked even older, which meant that he couldn't be utilized beyond a certain level.

NOAH unveiled their new logo. I don't know, it's pretty bland and doesn't really catch the eye. It seems more appropriate for a think tank than a wrestling promotion. And I understand the need for a rebrand, but at the same time, the current GHC champion is basically a Misawa tribute act.

Again, it would have been fine if the armbar had caused some lasting damage, like when Brock Lesnar was breaking people's arms with the kimura. The fact that it was treated like a regular wrestling hold is what killed it for me. Anyway, I know what the title for next week's thread should be.

Arn/Eaton vs. Valentine/Slater from Clash XX deserves some consideration. Two heel teams being dicks to each other for a little under six minutes.

I can't stand the use of wrestling moves in WWE post-match brawls and heel beatdowns. It takes me out of the moment and reminds me that I'm watching a fake pro wrestling fight. An armbar is a legitimate submission, but it's not something you'd do if you were trying to kick someone's ass in a bar fight. If Becky's arm wasn't going to be broken, they should've just had Ronda mount and pummel her.

Even if the process is totally bogus, it carries credibility by virtue of being the only pro wrestling hall of fame the general public is aware of. Plus, I recall reading somewhere that guys like Vader with real sports backgrounds consider it to be a big deal.

He tweeted from his official account three hours before he died. Death really does stalk you at every turn.

Firing someone for having a substance abuse problem without trying to send them to rehab first would be a terrible look for the company. For what it's worth, Dave said on the F4W board that there are about five different versions of the story going around, of which this is one. He also said that most of the talent backed Arn.

If Jacques Rougeau ever does get inducted, it'll probably be as The Mountie.

If true, that is absolutely a firing offense. And I can only imagine what kind of kompromat Alicia has at her disposal to have stuck around as long as she has.

I was reminded of this thread while watching R&Rs/Andersons from Starrcade 1986 and listening to a possibly drunk Johnny Weaver on commentary. Weaver was apparently quite the ladies' man who constantly had women throwing themselves at him when he was the top babyface in the Carolinas. This is the most flattering picture I could find of him: You want to talk about the wrestling curve, that's it right there. No wonder girls went crazy for Flair and Steamboat if this is what they were working with previously.

All bets are off after Rush jacked Chris Benoit's theme.

I can't imagine "your finisher is fake and I'd kick your ass if we were fighting for real" working under any circumstances. More people follow Ronda on Twitter than watch Raw.