WingedEagle

Has anyone picked up Graham Cawthon's 50 Years of WWE at MSG or similar books? Curious if its fun and interesting or may not offer much for folks who are already diehards.

Hogan/Hart as a major match in WCW. For that matter Hart vs. just about every name in WCW other than Flair. Some of them happened, but none were a fraction as big as they should've been. Cena/Taker the big standout in WWE.

Do people hate Roman Reigns? Or do they just not see him as being anywhere near a level commensurate with his supposed positioning at Mania?

I've become a really big fan of Kushida the past few months with how he's mixed in mat work and selling while actually building to his flying spots. Not the most graceful flyer, but he doesn't generally overdo it. Curious if he's been pigeonholed as a Jr. HW or if there's potential for him to see a promotion? Also, and this may belong in the other thread but what exactly is New Japan's vehicle for reaching the audience? They've got the monthly PPVs which I and many others here watch regularly. I know they don't have anything along the lines of a flagship show like Raw in a solid time slot, but what is the extent of their TV or other promotion to the existing base and new fans? What do they rely on to drive PPV sales?

The distinction for me isn't whether its pushed as a title match (highly unlikely) or as the near equivalent as a co-main event (highly likely), but rather him grabbing what I imagine is a pretty large chunk of change from the pool available to talent on the shows he'll work. If he's going in with the same type of contract that someone middle of the road on TUF or another relatively unknown fighter is getting that's great. But I'll believe it when I see those details reported.

Man that sucks. Best wishes to his family and loved ones. I really thought he was the best part of the Bodies' act. Sleaze personified, and I say that with much respect and admiration.

They definitely weren't on the same page but I thought the intensity and the fact this didn't feel like they were completely clicking, along with their impeccable timing and knowing just how long and when to sell made this something special. I can certainly see someone coming at at this and taking issue with the fact that they were going in different directions. It just didn't make me enjoy it any less. This is also a great reminder that as I wrap up the first quarter of the '94 Yearbook I need to get back to posting about this one. Maybe I'll do that if I watch any football today.

He deserves some bashing by wrestling fans given his loud and frequent criticisms of Rock, Brock, Taker and other part-timers "who won't be there on Monday" given he hasn't done anything to earn a spot in UFC. Personally, I don't give a damn. I watched Brock in UFC because of his amateur credentials, freak athleticism and most of all because I was a wrestling fan and wanted to see what he could do. I'll probably watch Punk in UFC because I'm a wrestling fan and want to see what this former wrestling headliner does. Just makes all of his promotional efforts over the last couple weeks and, unfortunately, some of his legit issues with WWE seem like nothing but promotional tactics when he's playing the same game to sell himself here.

Absolutely. I actually started listening to this yesterday at the gym and was going to finish today, but not sure I have the interest. How much time do I want to listen to someone complain about how the owners and executives of WWE conduct business when his sole purpose for doing so is a means for the owners and executives of CM Punk to conduct business? I don't fault anybody for running their shop, but let's not pretend there's anything so special here. This is rasslin, not exactly negotiating peace, hostages or WMDs in the Middle East. Nothing I've heard thus far or read has my eyes popping out.

I guess we know why he finally decided to speak his mind.

Anyone grab WWE 2K15 for ps4? Reviews haven't inspired me to pick it up but was curious if anyone here had given it a try.

Goddamn man, talk about being booked in against some shitty heels on your way back to the top of the card. Keep on keepin' on!

I think JR is more like the friendly tour guide or stamp of approval on a product that a certain audience may have been on the fence about.

A few that have meant a lot to me over the years: 1) Hogan vs. Savage -- I first saw wrestling around the time of the SNME angle with Elizabeth, the Hart Foundation and HTM that cemented Savage's face turn. I was hooked. This carried me through Mania 4 and into 5, by which point I remember scratching out Savage's face on the cover of an old WWF Magazine because I hated him. Being 8 was awesome. 2) Sting & Co. vs. Dangerous Alliance -- We got cable in late '91 which meant I could finally watch WCW and not just read about it in Apter mags. Combine that pent up excitement with the mystery box angle at the Clash, Sting making it back from the hospital and then Dustin & Steamer in that tag against the Enforcers? The next few months were pretty damn awesome. 3) Raven vs. Dreamer and Sabu vs. Taz -- my interest waned a bit during high school but catching ECW late one night on MSG and seeing all of this madness got me hooked. Still look back fondly on that era as it was addictive, episodic TV before the monday night wars made it big. 4) WCW vs. NWO / Sting vs. Hogan -- I started getting back into things a bit when Nitro debuted, but heel Hogan was not something I was about to miss. Having this week to week with Austin/McMahon when I was busy prepping for the SATs and such may not have been ideal, but it sure as hell was fun. It all came crashing down pretty quickly after Starrcade '97 before peaking for another night with Goldberg in July at the Dome, but I was eating this up during '96 and '97. Shit was FRESH. 5) Austin vs. Vince -- Bret/Austin was great, and Rock/Austin had the highest peak, but all these years later this is the one that feels at least as big, if not bigger than it did then. Just out of this world even if it didn't produce any classics in the ring like the others. Although you can argue that the Foley matches and eventually Rock series all sprang from this. Plus Summerslam '98 was the first PPV I ordered in forever as it felt like the first truly can't miss event for me during this period and it was right in the midst of this. 6) Misawa vs. Jumbo / Kawada -- totally different from the others as I didn't watch it in real time, but when I started getting Japanese tapes and then DVDs, this is what blew me away. Like nothing I had ever seen before. Watching the '94 Yearbook now and getting close to the 5/21/94 tag, which was the first big match I saw from this bunch and remains an all time favorite both for that reason and because of just how damn awesome it was. Will think harder another time and see if I left out anything huge.

I posted the facebook link, so feel free to play along at home. I am glad you enjoy the show, it's a lot of fun going through this stuff with Parv. Awesome, I may just have to check those out.

Cannot. Wait. To. Listen. To. This. Actually not sure that I've seen any of the matches on this batch. But this has quickly become a favorite 'cast of mine.

Damn, that's a shame. I loved this one and thought it built perfectly despite having the expectation of a draw working against them, a bugaboo they not only overcame but completely removed from the back of my mind while watching. Tough to say just where I'd put this in their series. Definitely ahead of the Dome and Tanahashi winning the title back in their first rematch. Solid ****1/2 snowflakes in these eyes. If strikes that you see as shoot-like are necessary for your enjoyment, then your mileage here and on their matches will definitely not go very far.

The closest I've come to watching computer material on the TV is putting together a playlist of Best of Japan 2000s stuff that I found on youtube and loading that up through the PS3. Otherwise, its just not worth the trouble. More on point, the goals for NJPW World are clearly lower, and from my incredibly limited understanding of the culture over there they may be more open to an over the top service at this point than the bulk of the US population. Hope it succeeds but very interested to see at what rate subs develop.

Maybe its just me, but that's the most disturbing thing I've heard since this all broke. We're only lucky to find so many passions in this world outside of friends and family, it really sucks to lose one.

He gave Punk a forum for thrashing the company. Doesn't seem like someone they'd be keen on supporting going forward.

In some discussions Vince probably does get a bad rap because he's compared to his best years rather than the competition in many cases. Competition he either eliminated or outlasted. Can't argue he's far and away the best ever in his line of work. But, doesn't mean you can't find flaws there and perhaps sometimes those are not placed in context. The network / TV rights era going forward may have a pretty big impact on his legacy and while its easy to draw conclusions at this point roughly 9 months in, we're a ways away from being able to say much conclusive about the transformation and its impact on the business.

Count on it, about to give it a whirl.

At first I thought the notion of Goldberg on someone's list was ridiculous given the length and depth of his career. But he probably has more matches on tape than someone like Volk Han and very likely more than certain stars from the 70s that people will consider. Not quite the stretch when you go at it that way, even if I don't think I could make room for him.

Okay that's great. Major points for having fun.

Is the fact this sounds so simple why they haven't tried it or something similar? You'd think with no one who sells any merch wanting to go heel that they'd look for a way to otherwise incentivize them.