Ricky Jackson

The "Death of TNA" book should be an interesting/funny read if nothing else.

Buddy Rose vs Rick Martel from 1980 is great. Not sure of the exact date, but it's on YouTube in 4 parts. You should probably watch some other stuff first and build up to it if you are going to go through a bunch of footage. Maybe Matt D or Dylan can give you an overview of the best stuff.

That makes sense. I'm not going to totally trash Axel yet, but he's far from being over.

How sure are we about Bryan and Cena, the Bella Twins and Summerslam beyond speculation and a few rumours here and there? Looks like it's Bryan and Axel going forward based on tonight.

Wow, Punk has a crimson mask, wait, no he doesn't. Eh, not an Orton fan. Overbooked match. First match was the best of the night.

No mystery man.

This match is the internet darling HoF match.

Good, close to great, but the finish was so-so, match between Cena and Henry. Seems to end that feud. Main event is going to send the crowd home happy...hopefully.

Rodriguez is Wellness suspended. I'm fine with the finish to Ziggler/Del Rio because it builds to the blow-off, which Ziggler will go over in. Probably helps make him a bigger face as well.

Yeah, crap, TNA-esque finish for Ryback/Jericho.

Fitting for Philly, heels go over in every match so far.

Axel vs Miz Routine match. I don't think Axel is going to go anywhere with this tribute to his father gimmick. Miz needs to ditch the figure four already.

I don't like Miz

I like Maddox.

Wade Barrett vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Damien Sandow vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Fandango vs. Jack Swagger vs. Antonio Cesaro, World title MITB Awesome match that turned Cody face and elevated Sandow, plus continued the Shield story. Pretty much everyone looked good.

Pre-Show--The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) © vs. The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso), Tag Titles Pretty good for a pre-show match. Crowd is going to be molten hot tonight, no surprise.

I thought I was going to watch this show with a buddy at his place, but that plan is out the window, so I guess I'll just sit on the couch, have a few beers, stream this bad boy on my laptop and hang out with the PWO crew instead. Who needs the company of real, physical human beings anyway? My wife is out of town for the next few days and I've decided to spend most of my free time watching wrestling while she's gone. Last night was full of random matches like Piper/Shultz vs the Invaders, 2/20/84 MSG (pretty good BTW), Sting/Vader, Bash 92, War Games 94, and that wonderful Lucha match from 91 with the Ninja Turtles and Robin Hood. Tonight should be a good show, probably a contender for show of the year if all goes well. I haven't watched much WWE since the Raw after Mania, but with the show being in Philly and a decent card on paper, I'm excited. Let's look at the card: Pre-Show--The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) © vs. The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso), Tag Titles Can't see the Shield losing this one unless the plan is to totally bury them for the next few months. AJ Lee © vs. Kaitlyn It would be nice for something different and have a crazy intense brawl between the women for a change, but most likely short and forgettable. AJ I guess? Curtis Axel © vs. The Miz, IC title Not really interested in either guy to be honest. You would think Axel should retain. Chris Jericho vs. Ryback Ryback has to win this doesn't he? Alberto Del Rio © vs. Dolph Ziggler, World title I'm thinking they may wait until Summerslam and a blow-off match for Ziggler to regain the strap, but who knows. John Cena © vs. Mark Henry, WWE title I'm thinking a non-finish of some sort, but a Cena win or Henry win wouldn't really surprise me. Wade Barrett vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Damien Sandow vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Fandango vs. Jack Swagger vs. Antonio Cesaro, World title MITB I'm hoping for either Cesaro, Sandow or Fandango. Ambrose has the US strap, so I don't think they give him this one. Rhodes and Swagger seem like the longest shots. A lot of people are picking Barrett it seems, but I'm not very hot on the guy. My gut says Barrett, or maybe Fandango. CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Sheamus vs. Christian vs TBD vs. Rob Van Dam, WWE title MITB So who is going to be the mystery entrant? Seems too early for Wyatt. Who else fits in storyline wise? Anyway, I think RVD, Christian and Orton are longshots. Bryan seems like the favorite, and Punk has won it twice before, which would seem to suggest he wouldn't win this one, but again, who knows. Sheamus might actually be the guy. It depends on what story they plan on telling going forward. Could be the mystery guy. Tough call, but I'm actually leaning towards Sheamus for some reason. Maybe it's because I haven't been following the booking very closely, but it seems like a hard card to predict. Should be fun. What do you guys think about the winners, mystery guy, etc.?

Bret Hart and Loss never mix well.

Excellent, perhaps even definitive, analysis on Rose.

Ricky, as a fellow Canuckian, I'd argue that attitude emerged far, far earlier than that time period. Look at the Guess Who's "American Woman", for instance. Hell, I still remember the first Jays World Series when someone in Atlanta was holding a Canadian flag that happened to be upside down. If you heard people discussing it at the time, you would've thought Bush Sr. threatened to bomb Canada or something. No, that (immature, obnoxious) attitude has existed for a long time and still does today? Did you know the U.S. has no fans of hockey whatsoever and that they should move the New York Rangers to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan? It didn't start at the time of the Hart Foundation angle, although that's the kind of egofuck Bret would love. Not to derail this with a bunch of non-wrestling Canadian talk that most around here don't give two shits about, but I didn't mean to suggest that the Canada vs USA feud was the catalyst for a surge in anti-American feelings in Canada or anything. I just meant that the explosion of modern Canadian patriotism began, from my perspective, around the same time. It was partly sports-related, like you mentioned with the 92 World Series, but more so because of hockey-related slights (of course, it's all we care about after all), like Canada losing the 96 hockey World Cup to the States, Winnipeg and Quebec City's NHL teams moving to the States, a streak of American teams winning the Stanley Cup, etc.

Funny, but now I can add Cabana to this list, as my wife fell in love with him at the ECCW show we went to last Saturday.

The whole "Canadian Pride" attitude Bret displays in the second quote is something that emerged in my country in the late-90s or so, around the time of the Canada vs USA feud, and I find it beyond obnoxious in 2013. In some circles, praise of America and criticism of Canada is akin to advocating Muslim extremism, and I'm only slightly exaggerating. And I'm pretty sure Bret didn't invent the ladder match concept. It came from Stampede, but was first used around 1975, long before Bret started wrestling.

Most of the crowd at the show I went to on Saturday would have thought that was a pretty cool looking move and popped for it. Also, at that show I realized "PWO style" wrestling talk doesn't make much sense to the average 90s bred wrestling fan.

My God.

I can't really conceive of a realistic scenario where the WWE will ever radically change. Even when Vince is dead and gone. They are Disney, the NFL, McDonalds or Wal-Mart. They may add some new items to the menu (new shows, apps and other social media shit), but their essential formula will never be tampered with.