Yo-Yo's Roomie

Everyone I know preferred Marty over Shawn back in the day, including me. I don't really know why that was. Hawk>Animal Hercules>Roma Bart>Billy Scott>Rick Barbarian>Warlord Fatu>Samu Arn>Tully Sags>Knobbs Tanaka>Diamond

I want Bryan/Lesnar. My fantasy booking bullshit was Bryan beating Triple H to earn his way in the Rumble, winning the rumble from number 1, Trips realising that Orton isn't going to be able to stop Bryan becoming champ at 'Mania so making a deal with the devil (Heyman) and having Brock take out Orton for the belt so Bryan has to beat Brock to win the title. If you think that's fanciful, my other thing was Regal turning heel to set up Punk/Regal at 'Mania, the idea being Regal is doing his old pal Hunter a favour by taking out Punk (which was part of the deal Hunter made with Heyman).

Everyone's watching Rumbles. That's actually my next project too, once I've finished with the WCW ppvs (I've just got Greed to go, so nearly there). I'll be watching them all and then ranking all the matches, like I did for Wrestlemania and Summerslam. Other than that, finish the lucha set, and maybe finally delve into the yearbooks.

Is Punk really that big of a dick, or is he just not that good at being famous and having to be nice to strangers all the time? He's probably a little bit of a dick, but I wonder if people are overstating it some. He's got credit with me for the Chris Brown deal. As a wrestler, I think he's one of those guys who is much better character-wise as a heel, but has much better matches as a babyface.

Thanksgiving is very much like 'Mania in that you have to experience it live to truly appreciate how great it is. I made the trip for my first Thanksgiving 6 years, and I haven't missed on since. Easter isn't really a jobber holiday either. It's a solid Summerslam-level event.

I've long imagined Vince as King Theoden, Hunter as Grima Wormtongue, Steph as a complicit Eowyn and Shane as Eomer, banished from the kingdom.

The problem was probably that you didn't give him a backbreaker or a side Russian legsweep beforehand.

Sharpshooter would be my favourite. I like the Cloverleaf a lot too. Crossface chickenwing. Upside-down surfboard. I really like that move Liger does where he's sitting on ass, his opponent is lying on his stomach between Liger's legs, and the legs are hooked on Liger's shoulders, and Liger is pulling back on their arms. Anyone know what I'm talking about?

Ah, okay, no worries. I was thinking I was misreading something.

I'm not sure what you're getting at. Maybe I'm misunderstanding. I asked her who she felt was a bigger star in the 80s. She said her perception was that they were about equal. She obviously knew who Hogan was before she even knew I existed.

We weren't married in the 80s.

I asked my wife, who is 34. She said she felt like Ringwald and Hogan were about equal in fame at the time, but girls were more likely to know Ringwald, and boys more likely to know Hogan. Stands to reason really.

While I agree with your general point that too many feuds start with beatdowns which seem to have no reason behind them, you can't seriously argue that a feud over spilt coffee is better than what we're getting now? Also, Coronation Street is rubbish.

I see the staleness of the roster as a creative problem, so why punish the wrestlers, most of whom perform above expectations given what they have to work with. The midcarders are only defined as such because they're the guys who go from getting beat by the main eventers, to trading wins amongst themselves. Utilise the whole roster. What's wrong with feeding your real low-end guys to someone like Kofi to give him some momentum. It's win-win because you give the impression that Kofi is someone on a hot streak, and you also give guys that never get on tv the chance to do something and maybe catch the eye. There are guys, like JTG for example, who will probably never get above that level, but someone like Yoshi Tatsu could probably get over by working a few flashy sequences into a short match with a guy like Kofi, or just through sympathetic selling. Then, if he does get over, you can think about shuffling him up to the next level. When was the last time a midcard guy ever went on a hot streak, winning matches for a couple of months straight? Anytime someone gets even a glimmer of momentum, it seems they are fed to a main eventer. This is kinda an obscure reference, but it's one that has always stuck with me for whatever reason, but I remember several years back on Smackdown they had Big Vito doing the dress wearing gimmick, and one week the GM (probably Teddy Long) booked him in a match with world champ Booker T for the following week, as punishment for something Booker had done. In reality, it was nothing more than a main eventer going against a midcard comedy guy, but because Vito had been winning matches for several weeks at that point, I was actually interested in seeing the match, and bought Vito as a threat. Before that run, Vito was Nunzio's lackey, which is about as low on the totem pole as you could get. The rough equivalent today would probably be Drew McIntyre or Jinder Mahal. Can you even conceive of buying either one of those guys as a threat to Randy Orton two months from now, or even thinking that's a worthwhile match to watch (outside of Drew markdom, which I share)? I kinda went off on a tangent, but my point is that if you utilise the full roster, it benefits everyone. Problem is, it's a long-term commitment and a change in booking philosophy that we'll probably never see. So, that said, fire the Miz, I guess?

He was in WCW first.

Emma Watson is a poor comparison; the Harry Potter films grossed far, far more than any Ringwald films ever did. The first Harry Potter film made twenty times more at the box office than The Breakfast Club. Close to $1 billion, compared to $50 million. Even adjusted for inflation, there is no real comparison. The Harry Potter films appealed to a massive demographic - who watched brat pack films in the 80s except for people between the ages of 10 and, say, 35? Someone like Sarah Bolger is a better comparison to Ringwald, or at best Vanessa Hudgens or somebody, but that is being generous. As for who is Hulk Hogan in 2013, nobody is. The television landscape has changed dramatically; with the domination of reality television and the success of realistic, intelligent dramas like Mad Men and The Sopranos you don't get those larger than life, cartoon character icons. They seem pretty exclusive to the 80s, where everything was more colorful and brash. Well, the Potter films grossed more than most films ever, but that doesn't make their stars amongst the most famous actors ever. The success of the films is beside the point. I don't really know how good the comparison is, because I'm too young to really appreciate how big a star Ringwald was, but it wouldn't surprise me if she was a bigger star at her peak than Watson, who doesn't seem to get a whole tonne of play in the mainstream media, and is probably known more as Hermione than by her own name. I'm just looking for rough comparisons based on fame.

I think you're underestimating how people can seap into the public conciousness. For example, I've never watched a game of basketball in my life, but I always knew who Shaq was. And basketball was very much a niche in England when I was growing up. If you think Shaq is too big a star to be a fair comparison, let's try another. I know who 'New York' is, and I never watched her show. Honestly. You don't have to directly consume a medium to be aware of people associated with it. None of which answers the question of whether Hogan was bigger than Ringwald at their 80s height. Without trusting the testimony of those that were present for those heights (I'm a little too young), how can we really know? Just for fun, who would be Hogan's equivalent in the current pop culture climate? Honey Boo Boo? Or is that a bit unfair on the Hulkster? Who would Ringwald's equivalent be? K-Stew? Maybe Emma Watson for someone more closely associated with a specific series of films- 'the Brat Pack films', 'the Potter films'?

Randy Orton.

Worth mentioning that Hogan had international penetration too. Puts him ahead of some of the names being bandied around as equivalents. Of course, as has been touched upon, the fact that Hogan has such a distinctive look (and name, for that matter) also plays a part in this. Same reason I guess that Mr T is still so well remembered (I'm assuming somewhat there).

I'd be shocked if 5 out of 100 people thought Molly Ringwald was more well-known than Hogan.

I always have to mention Kid and Marty winning the tag tittles from the Quebecers, one of my favourite tag matches.

There probably is some truth to that, but then don't you think it is just as likely to be true that Steamer is picking up some extra votes precisely because people have that long-term connection to him as a worker? Anyway, I like all three guys but I voted for Martel. Last time I watched footage of these guys Martel was someone that impressed me a hell of a lot, whereas I found Steamer a tad disappointing. I haven't seen as much Tito as I have of the others, so he maybe suffers a bit from that. I kinda wanna say that Steamer is the most sympathetic seller of the three, Tito has the best fired-up comebacks, and Martel has the best combination of the two. I don't know if that's fair or not, but it's what I'm feeling.

I think the exact opposite of this.

An office scene, with a number of men sat around a table talking amongst themselves. Enter Vince McMahon, with a big smile on his face. Vince: The coke's on me, boys. Pat Patterson: What's the news, Vince? Vince: Wait'll you hear this.... The song begins. Vince: I am Vince McMahon, I am, I am And I’m happy to declare I have found my next Hulk Hogan And this time he has hair Change the plans for Summer Break the news to Bret For when I saw this new guy’s physique I got a little wet Patterson: But what if the fans don’t buy it? It seems a little forced Vince: Put him in red, white and blue They’ll like who I tell them to I am Vince McMahon, I am, I am And my problems have been solved The steroid trial is over The business has evolved Buyrates have been dwindling Houses have been poor But Luger is my saviour I’ve never been so sure Lombardi: But he’s as big as Hogan And the fans want something new Vince: We’ll win them over with little fuss Someone hire a big fat bus Enter a jobsbody, stage left. Jobsbody: Mr McMahon, sir. I just got a report from tonight’s house show. They’re booing Luger. Vince: YOOOOOOUUUUUU’RRRRRREEEEE FIIIIIIIIRRRRREEEEDDDD! A pause. I am Vince McMahon, I am, I am And like the fairer sex It’s my prerogative to change my mind And I’ve done just that with Lex It really wasn’t working Not what I’d call a smash I have found my next Hulk Hogan And his name is Kevin Nash Whose idea was Luger anyway? Was that you, Lombardi?

Sting: Lex, my friend, I need your counsel if you could You see, my friend, I have these boxes made of wood That when opened were meant to put me on my back And to that end contained Abby and Cactus Jack Luger: Sting, my dear, I don't think I can help The thing you fear you will find within yourself If your mind, you clear, the answer you will see Those boxes that were sent to you were sent to you by me Sting: How could you betray me so, I loved you so Luger: You had to go Sting: We said we'd always be friends, we made a pact Luger: If you think this is betrayal just wait until the second act