Ricky Jackson

Based solely on finishing Gary Hart's book literally 10 minutes ago, I think I could make a pretty good case for his inclusion: Manager for countless main event, money-drawing talents in various promotions from the 60s through the 80s. Memorable and entertaining character. Successful booker in Georgia and (mostly) Texas for several years. Responsible for developing many wrestlers into main eventers and coming up with/being involved in many memorable angles that drew money. Successful TV producer... I'm no expert on his work. I only know of him from YouTube, a few tapes here and there, and the old Apter mags, as he was not part of the TV wrestling I watched in Calgary as a kid during the 80s, and was pretty much gone from the scene by 1990. But from what I have seen I think he was an exceptional promo guy and excellent at getting over characters and feuds. I'm actually kind of surprised he's not already in, but I guess the strikes against him are not having a run in some major areas, like New York, St. Louis, etc, being gone from the scene for so long, and usually being only a manager in the areas he did work. However, just to use an example, and not to rile anybody up because I'm a fan of the guy, but if someone like Heyman is in, I think Hart (who I would say was more successful than Heyman, but not as influential) should also be in. Thoughts?

I was going to say that I think they should go with Cena vs Del Rio for the next two PPVs and save Punk/Cena III for Survivor Series and the NYC crowd. But I just checked, and they are running a second October show again, this time Vengeance on Oct 23. (HIAC gets a whopping 2 week build, and Vengeance 3 weeks. This could be where things indeed go off the rails booking wise.) That scheduling seems screwy--Vengeance seems doomed to a really low buy # sandwiched between HIAC and SS. Maybe they'll feel the need to run Punk/Cena III for that show in order to give it a hook. But who knows, maybe there are no plans for Punk/Cena III at all. (Even though a heated MSG would be the perfect place for it)

Not to be too snarky, but if that`s the best we can expect from Nash in 2011, it`s probably best for everyone concerned if he quickly takes a bad step, blows a quad, and disappears. He just seemed lost and totally out of touch on the mic tonight. Maybe he just needs to get his "sea legs" back or something. Still, I think anything more than an odd comeo here and there would be too much Nash at this stage in the game. Still a good angle, but things like bad Nash promos and giving Steph more and more screen time are tempting the wrestlecrap gods.

In my previous post I obviously meant to write "Surprise appearance by Kevin Nash tomorrow night?" Yeah, that's it.

A friend of mine just brought this up, so I thought I`d throw it out here: Surprise appearance by the Rock tomorrow night? I haven't heard anybody mention it, but it would make sense after they used his promo on Raw last Monday. Could be a way to screw Cena out of the belt without having to resort to the predictable HHH rout (although their match at Mania is supposed to be for the title, so I guess kayfabe wise Rock would want Cena to win). I'm just hoping for anything but a clean Cena win...or a Punk/HHH alliance...or Del Rio cashing in the briefcase...

Oh well, at least we`ll always have Chicago.

Forget the Punk angle, Cena leading the Gay Wave against "the Christian" might be the key to a big money heel turn.

...and so begins the internet-only side of the angle. HHH vs. Punk at Mania is a possibility (but not the only one).

Just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in. Awesome show, crowd, match, angle...everything. It may end up going nowhere, but as of right now, it's pretty fun to be a wrestling fan.

In a night of name dropping, Vince wins most obscure with his "Sky Low Low chair" comment. Crazy finishing segment. They could be on to something with this. It now seems like a bad business move for Punk to actually leave just as he's getting over on such a special level.

An old school example would be Blassie vs the Sheik from LA in'69. Of course I wasn't there, and I don't think any footage exists (but if it does Id love to see it!), but from what I've read I think the big attraction for fans, and what made the match work, was seeing two crazy, bloodthirsty motherfuckers tear each other apart. Blassie, being the hometown guy, was cheered, but I don't think he deviated very much from his heel back of tricks in the matches. But again, I wasn't there, so I'm just guessing.

Regarding Slaughter action figures/dolls, apparently LJN (who made the classic 80s WWF figures) had a Slaughter figure ready to go in '84 when the whole falling out with Vince happened, and instead of scrapping it they sold the design to Hasbro (makers of GI Joe) who turned it into a special give away. The ad is hilarious: Sarge owns Hulk Anyway, here's a totally random question from a newbie for somebody out there who might have some insight: Why did the Rockers stop using their Rocker-Plex finisher from the AWA once they joined the WWF? Was it decreed from above or something? It's something I've wondered about for years, because as an eight year old watching AWA on TSN I thought the Rocker-Plex was the coolest finisher around and was always disappointed they never busted it out in the WWF.