JaymeFuture

Just wanted to thank you guys for the responses, for those interested the show is now available to listen to at this link: http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/play/pf2qd7/SCGRadio19-TheTrialOfEricBischoff.mp3

After a one week delay, we finally have the Trial of Eric Bischoff. After taking feedback from here, there and everywhere, the prosecution and defence teams do their damndest to convince the judge that Eric Bischoff is the element most responsible for the demise of World Championship Wrestling. Talking Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, atrocious television, ridiculous spending, Vince Russo, Mergers and more. This show ended up being a lot of fun, and am interested to see what people make of the debate and the verdict. Check it out and let me know what you think. http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/play/pf2qd7/SCGRadio19-TheTrialOfEricBischoff.mp3

Kept Rude away just because as it played out, Rude was the absolute wrong guy for Warrior to feud with - Rude had been beaten soundly by Warrior the previous year and lost the Piper feud too. Warrior needed a serious threat to made his title run hot, and Rude wasn't the answer at all. The prioritising of Earthquake, the hottest new heel, to Hogan and not him, handicapped him out of the gate, and Rude needed to be rehabbed before getting involved in a major way. Duggan always had the audience with him, and it would have been good to give Rude some much neeeded cred before moving him on to something else.

Just to toss a few suggestions for a couple of particular Mania's I didn't like: Mania 6: Hogan Vs. Warrior - Title Vs. Title There are only a couple of matches I don't change on this show, and this is one of them, mainly just because there was no other heel or angle even remotely hot enough for Hogan at the time. The WWF had spent an absurd amount of time promoting Zeus as a major threat to Hogan, when there was no real way to pay it off one on one, and while rumours have always swirled that Hogan/Zeus was the original plan for this show, this was miles better in every way. Hulk Hogan was getting rather stale at this point, and it was time for a change. Exact same build, exact same match. The legacy of Mania 6 is all about this match for a reason, keep it as it is. Randy Savage Vs. Roddy Piper With no offense to Dusty Rhodes or Bad News, these two men were utterly wasted in their roles at Mania 6, with neither of them gaining a measure of, well, anything. But Savage Vs. Piper? That could be a barnburner for the ages on the microphone, and if Savage's previous and future Mania efforts are anything to go by, the match would have been electric. Any kind of throwaway Piper line about Savage losing to Hogan could have jumpstarted a battle of the hotheads. I'm not a fan of gutless non-finishes, and there is an extreme need around this time to create hot heels, so the gut instinct is Savage wins by nefarious means, but it isn't essential. Dusty Rhodes Vs. Mr. Perfect A natural rivalry, the Common Man versus the Perfect Man, the fat everyman against the elite athlete. Perfect would have been awesome on the receiving end of the flip, flop and fly, and if the desire is there to pin Perfect, Dusty was far more worthwhile to get the W than Beefcake. And hell, if you have Perfect taking the IC Title after this anyway, you can use this win to set up a longer program of the Dream chasing gold. Earthquake Vs. Jim Duggan No reason to fuck around with Quake, he was the new monster heel, and there is no shame in Duggan taking the flying teabag. Didn't have to be a clean finish, but Quake gives him a second one after the match, and this guy is absolutely feared going into his next angle. Ted DiBiase Vs. Jake Roberts You pretty much have to keep this angle in place just because they teased it for so long and used a Jake drug suspension in the middle of it to try and heat the angle up. The gutless finish, however, I would change. DiBiase, in my opinion, had exhausted his time at the very top by this point, and besides, he could always get into new angles by playing off the gimmick and trying to buy somebody or something. Jake needed a clean, DDT in the middle win here to be seen as a main event level guy, and given the utter drought of heels that meant anything in 1990, I'd have Jake turn afterwards. He'd be very handy. Colossal Connection Vs. Hart Foundation - Tag Titles It was in Canada, for Christ's sake, how did they not do this. I love the Demos, and the three-peat was cool, but they went on to do absolutely nothing until they lost the belts at Summerslam to the Foundation. Andre tied in the ropes, Haku taking the Hart attack, and run the exact angle you did with Andre turning post match. Fans happy in every way. Brutus Beefcake Vs. Bad News Brown I couldn't give a fuck about this match, I'm just aware you need both guys on the show and I like the contrast between the two. Demolition Vs. The Twin Towers Two birds with one stone - a strong wins for the Demos, the Twin Towers implode here, setting Bossman on his way as a babyface. Post-Mania, the Demos go heel on the Harts for being passed over in the tag title match, as opposed to the no reason at all attack we got. Rick Rude Vs. Tito Santana A good match to give Rude a win, since he needs reheating no matter what after losing both the Warrior and Piper feuds. No way does Rude move to the main event any time soon in my world, by the way. Rugged Ronnie Garvin & The Rockers Vs. Rick Martel & The Orient Express A swank six-man not just to get some guys on the card, but to set up a couple of things - the Rockers/Orients they did anyway, but use it to set up the pompous, prissy Model and the anything but, Rugged Ronnie. This could have been a nice angle for Martel to win in the end, but the babyfaces win here with the Orients taking the fall. The Barbarian Vs. Koko B. Ware I guess you need a throwaway somewhere, and of the heel options of Dino Bravo, Warlord and Barbarian, I'm taking Barb. Koko eats his offense, gets a little shine, then gets his head ripped off with the flying clothesline. I cut the number of matches down to 11, so unfortunately you don't get the Bolsheviks, the Bushwhackers, Hercules, Jimmy Snuka, Warlord or Bravo. I'm sure you'll live without it. Aftermath: This is the real key here, since Mania 6 left them with fuck all in real life. Jake goes heel on Hulk Hogan and injures him. Warrior gets the Earthquake feud. Perfect gets the IC Title and is fending off Dusty and Beefcake. Savage and Piper continues to Summerslam. DiBiase enters a feud with Bossman under a similar premise as real life, trying to use him as a hired gun, and Bossman, with his new found sense of self, politely refuses at first, saying he doesn't live that way any more. DiBiase says a leopard doesn't change his spots, and raises the offer, but things gets more and more heated until the inevitable blow up. Rick Rude moves on to Jim Duggan. Demos go heel on the Harts. Garvin and Martel continues. Will post Mania 11 thoughts later....

So, as we had to postpone the Trial Of Eric Bischoff show due to scheduling conflicts, this week we decided to dive in to WWE.Com's Top 50 Heels in Wrestling History list that they put out a while ago, since it caught my eye as an interesting topic of discussion. So for those interested in rudo discussion, below is the link as we talk about the rankings, who should be higher or lower, who shouldn't be on at all, and some of the names that were inexplicably left off. A pretty fun show, check it out and let me know what you think. http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/play/zh9mjs/SCGRadio18-WWEComsTop50HeelsOfAllTime.mp3 And as a general discussion point, here was the list itself: 50. Batista 49. Randy Savage 48. Vickie Guerrero 47. Mark Henry 46. The Iron Sheik 45. Andre The Giant 44. Eric Bischoff 43. Eddie Guerrero 42. Brock Lesnar 41. Kane 40. Don Muraco 39. The Dudley Boyz 38. CM Punk 37. Ernie Ladd 36. Ivan Koloff 35. Paul Heyman 34. Abdullah The Butcher 33. Terry Funk 32. Randy Orton 31. Kevin Sullivan 30. Jerry Lawler 29. Raven 28. The Fabulous Moolah 27. Paul Orndorff 26. Nick Bockwinkel 25. Vader 24. Harley Race 23. Sgt. Slaughter 22. The Undertaker 21. Freddie Blasse 20. Edge 19. Jim Cornette 18. Killer Kowalski 17. Mr. Perfect 16. Sherri Martel 15. Chris Jericho 14. The (Original) Sheik 13. The Fabulous Freebirds 12. JBL 11. Rick Rude 10. Jake "The Snake" Roberts 9. Gorgeous George 8. Bobby Heenan 7."Superstar" Billy Graham 6.Triple H 5."Hollywood" Hogan 4.The Million Dollar Man, Ted DiBiase 3. Vince McMahon 2. Ric Flair & The Four Horsemen 1. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper

Thanks very much, appreciate the kind words, and I agree completely - as much as Summerslam was criticised from a booking perspective, the wrestling on the show is so much fun. Angle/Austin is excellent, dodgy finish aside, and I really enjoy the Tajiri/X-Pac match a hell of a lot...Goddamn Tajiri was awesome.

What we have to debate is not that Bischoff was the only cause, but is more responsible than any other single person or element. Or, I suppose, of the contributing factors, the one that contributed the most. The contract caste system is key because by the time Bischoff was done, I'm not sure how much of what was left was going to turn things back around after seeing those guys in the middle for so long.

I'm on the prosecution for this one, so it's a challenge, but I think the interest in the debate is more with how to make the case for one side or another rather than the topic itself. The Time Warner suits argument I see a case for on the Thunder point, but that otherwise always seems like a convenient out given everything that went down, and with Death of WCW just re-released its fresh on the brain currently. I absolutely love El-P's thread on this board going through months of awful Nitros revealing just how fuck awful pre-Russo WCW was in 99, could you argue that it was done as a real threat by the time Russo got there?

So, for this week's Squared Circle Gazette Radio, we're returning to our "Court Case" format that we did in the past for one of our most popular shows (The Trial of Triple H), and this time putting Eric Bischoff under the gun. We have a prosecution, a defence and a judge in place - the charge against Bischoff is that he's the person most responsible for the death of WCW (via malpractice and negligence). So in terms of feedback it's simple - where do you stand on that specific question, and why? As always, the best feedback will be read on the show and become part of the debate. So whaddya think - is Bischoff most responsible?

I want to thank everybody for the answers and comments - the show is now online to listen to, as the panel discuss, from start to finish, the entire Invasion angle. Including inside notes from the Observer and Figure Four Weekly Newsletters from 2001, breaking down how the biggest potential angle of all time fell apart, week by week. And of course, your feedback on expectations, high points, and the moment it died for you. Check it out, and as always, let us know what you think... http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/web/8bhesf/SCGRadio17-WasTheInvasionDoomedToFail.mp3

After sourcing feedback from here, there and everywhere, the show is now online to listen to, as the SCG panel discuss, from start to finish, the entire Invasion angle. Including inside notes from the Observer and Figure Four Weekly Newsletters from 2001, breaking down how the biggest potential angle of all time fell apart, week by week. We go through and talking about all things macro and mirco of the Invasion, and of course, your feedback on expectations, high points, and the moment it died for you. Check it out, and as always, let me know what you think... http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/web/8bhesf/SCGRadio17-WasTheInvasionDoomedToFail.mp3

This week's SCG podcast is going be a little different, as we are going to do a timeline of the Invasion angle - from the WCW purchase to the bitter end at Survivor Series, with the addition of notes from Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alverez's newsletters from 2001 of what was going on behind the scenes on a week to week basis, and I think it will be a very interesting show to see the breakdown. as it happened, with the overarching theme being whether or not it was doomed from the beginning. I'm looking to get some of your opinions to chime in throughout the show, and as always feedback will be credited to your fine selves on the air, So, I'd like your thoughts on: a) What were you thinking/hoping for when the purchase was announced? What was the moment the angle died for you? c) What was your personal high point, if any?

Just wanted to thank everybody here for the suggestions - the show is now available to listen to over in the Publications and Podcasts forum, or you can find it in my sig, as we talked about: - Who should have ran over Steve Austin? - Who should have ended Goldberg and Undertaker's Streaks? - Who should have gotten Bob Backlund's title runs? - How should Warrior's WWF Title reign have been saved? - Who should have been a Horseman instead of Paul Roma? - Who should have been the Black Scorpion? - Who should have been the Higher Power? - Should Ted DiBiase have won the WWF Title at Mania 4? And a shit load of others that we got...

Well, we took the feedback and suggestions from here and elsewhere and had a hell of a lot of fun debating some of wrestling's great "Should Have Been" moments and missed opportunities, including: - Who should have ran over Steve Austin? - Who should have ended Goldberg and Undertaker's Streaks? - Who should have gotten Bob Backlund's title runs? - How should Warrior's WWF Title reign have been saved? - Who should have been a Horseman instead of Paul Roma? - Who should have been the Black Scorpion? - Who should have been the Higher Power? - Should Ted DiBiase have won the WWF Title at Mania 4? And a whole lot more on top of that. Give it a listen and as always, let us know what you think, the feedback is very much appreciated. http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/web/x9ibgv/SCGRadio16-WrestlingsMissedOpportunities.mp3

I've always said this. I've heard Vince really wanted a "giant" with Andre being phased out and he wanted to renew interest in Studd, but still. DiBiase SHOULD have held the WWF belt within the past year as he was knocking it out of the park on all levels. By the Royal Rumble he had lost some steam and it would have been a great win for him. I think being the last from last man in the Rumble is never a good thing, he probably would have been better getting eliminated sooner to boot. Come next Wrestlemania Dibiase was working Beefcake and Studd was a referee. Oh, and I can't be the only one who thought... This may have to be the theme song of the podcast this week...

So, we're doing another podcast this week, and for a change of pace we're looking at matches, pushes and angles in wrestling history where you could debate that somebody else should have gotten a certain spot, and things would have gone better than they did - should be a fun look back over different time periods. Think somebody else should have run over Austin? Think somebody else should have beaten Goldberg? Think somebody else should have won King Of The Ring 95? Think somebody else should have main evented a WrestleMania rather than the guy that did? Think WCW should have built around somebody different? Etc.... Give us the one you always felt strongest about, whatever it may be, and explain how and why it could have worked. As always, we'll read the best contributions on the show and discuss what you think.

It's the dying days of Global is what it is....

Want to thank everybody for the responses - the podcast is up and ready in that forum, or you can check out the link in my sig. Was a really fun show, discussing the Royal Rumble, The Dangerous Alliance, WWF Scandals, The Kip Frey and Bill Watts Eras, Bret Hart and Ron Simmons, The Barber Shop, Summerslam in Wembley, Bad Gimmicks, Sting Vs. Vader and more.

Well, after taking feedback from many a forum, the podcast is now up and ready. I want to thank everybody for the feedback, this show was a lot of fun to do, and we get to an awful lot of the comments left here and talk about what you think, discussing the Royal Rumble, The Dangerous Alliance, WWF Scandals, The Kip Frey and Bill Watts Eras, Bret Hart and Ron Simmons, The Barber Shop, Summerslam in Wembley, Bad Gimmicks, Sting Vs. Vader and so much more! Check it out and, as always, let us know what you think. http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/web/xdp2sv/SCGRadio15-TheGoodBadandUglyof1992.mp3

Thanks very much for the kind words, much appreciated - some of the picks from the feedback really threw me, I can't see anyway that Fully Loaded 99 is even in the discussion, Invasion too for that matter.

A mutual disgust of 92 Jimmy Garvin bonds us. Just completely insufferable.

So, for our podcast this week the subject for discussion is looking at the wrestling landscape in 1992, and the good, bad and ugly elements that comprised it, a fun way to do a year in review, and I figure this will be especially good here with the yearbooks breaking down different stuff. The idea being that out of everything that happened on a worldwide basis in this year, what ONE thing epitomises each for you personally (if you had to choose a match, promo, angle, feud, theme or company that summed each up), and why? For example, if we were talking 93, we could say: The Good - Kobashi Vs. Hansen matches The Bad - Hogan plunger raping Bret at Mania IX The Ugly - Big Sky, Charlie Norris, Shockmaster, Equaliser and others stinking up WCW. Apply for 1992, and please go into as much depth on why things were the best or the worst as you'd like. As always I'll read the feedback and credit the fine folks who do.

Want to thank everybody for the responses on here - I set up a thread in the podcasts forum for this, but just to let everyone know the show is now up, and can be downloaded at this link: http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/web/hvr4z3/SCGRadio14-TheBestNon-WrestleManiaPPVOfAllTime.mp3 Take a lot of the comments written here, check it out. I will say that there was actually much wider spread of candidates and opinion on the best PPV than I was expected, which made for a fun show.

SCG Radio returns with a really fun show, taking your feedback and comments, debating which is the best Non-Mania PPV effort ever produced. Discussing Great American Bash 89, Summerslam 2002, AAA When Worlds Collide, Canadian Stampede, Money In The Bank 2011, Spring Stampede 94, Royal Rumble 92, ECW One Night Stand, and many many more. Which PPV will the panel deem the best? Check it out, and as always, let me know what you think. http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/web/hvr4z3/SCGRadio14-TheBestNon-WrestleManiaPPVOfAllTime.mp3

So for this weeks podcast, we're going to broach the subject of the best Pay-Per-View of all time, with the caveat of eliminating WrestleManias from the discussion, which should make for some interesting choices. No limit to promotion or timeframe, so long as it was on PPV - in your opinion, what do you feel is the best Non-Mania PPV of all time, and more importantly, why? As always I'll be reading the feedback on the show and discussing your choices, but it'll be fun to see what gets people's picks and for what reasons, and see what debate flares up when judging one great show against another...