Migs

I'm watching episode one, and unless Ranallo and Barnett get a lot better, I can't process the praise of them making a super amazing call in episode three. I mean, they're solid, certainly more pleasant to listen to than Cole and JBL, but nothing particularly great.

The earliest I could find was the UK PPV Capital Carnage in late 98. King of the Ring 99 had no wrestlers on the main card that are not among us anymore, however Paul Bearer was managing the Undertaker and Boss Man was working on heat. Boss Man was at Capital Carnage as he took a Stunner. Vengeance 2005 appears to be the first to fit. After King of the Ring 99, Boss Man is still on a lot of the cards, Bulldog comes in, Test is on the cards... and then in 2000, Benoit and Eddie come in, and one or both is on basically all the shows through to 2005, with Test being the issue on a few where they are absent.

There was an interview, DB talking about the personality tests they take. Something about how his ambition to be the best didn't show up in their data. I think there's something kind of there in that anecdote. Daniel Bryan is a motivated hippie, which is frankly a bit of an oxymoron, and definitely out of line with the classic star model. Hulk Hogan and John Cena and the Rock - they are unabashed capitalists. Steve Austin is perhaps the most specifically capitalistic star of all-time - while he's fighting the man, he's a blue collar worker trying to get ahead. Steve Austin the character feels like he would vaguely hate Daniel Bryan the character. Isn't the laid back quality one of the things that made it hard for them to get behind Rob Van Dam? RVD was also over like crazy at times during his run (I sort of dropped out of watching after 2002, but I've seen some going backwards). But you can absolutely see why Vince would talk to Rob and think that he lacked the "will to be the best" or "ruthless aggression" or whatever. And the same with Bryan, who clearly wants to be the best but isn't going to say he's going to rip someone's heart out to do it. You can see how Vince, despite his issues with Punk or Jericho, would understand them far more easily than Bryan. And if Vince can't understand someone, can't see himself in them... maybe he can never fully put his heart into someone.

Also, the Network will be free again in February.

How exactly can one call Survivor Series a hit when it was free? Couldn't the free month have been the thing that was the draw?

This seems like a good place to mention that you can now by Chavo's famous t-shirt - http://www.prowrestlingtees.com/wrestler-t-shirts-1/eddie-vickie-guerrero/is-my-favorite-wrestler.html

One of the really interesting things about this podcast era we're in is getting to hear thoughts from guys like Austin... and finding out that they happen to agree with the "internet nerds" quite frequently. Makes it feel less like we're a vocal minority.

They couldn't wait one year with Reigns? Why the rush? Give Bryan is actually run and then next year give it to Reigns. He's young and has room to grow, SLOW THE FUCK DOWN! you know what really fucking kills me? Bryan's 2006 ROH title run is the perfect template for a WWE title run. He started as a babyface and gradually got more arrogant and dastardly with each title defense. If they are so concerned about Bryan's longevity and making Reigns the top guy then why not go with that format? Have Bryan slowly turn heel to the point that eventually fans will be begging for someone to beat him? I have absolute faith that Bryan could turn the fans on him too. I think he's a natural heel anyway. The Summer of Punk was a swiped ROH angle, so they clearly aren't above that.

So Lawler is going to wrestle a giant? What a stunning turn of events.

I'm guessing that these are Raven's idea, and the attempt is to bring in a more ECW sensibility to his promos. But the production is terrible and doesn't work.

Candido and Storm have reconciled briefly after a dream partner tag match in which Candido picked Sabu and Storm picked RVD. RVD and Sabu took out both of them, which is what set this match up. The Storm-Candido reconciliation would be brief. Not a great match at all, although the spots are decent. Not a very good six months of ECW at all, but my recollection is that it picks up quite a bit in the second half of the year.

Was glad to come on here and see the more measured praise of this show after seeing Meltzer's ratings for the top two matches. I really liked the show, had a lot of fun watching and want to watch more... but the main event was the only one I had at ****, and then probably barely. I did come out of the show liking Okada a lot, and also Nakamura. Excited for the AXS TV show to begin to catch some of the prior matches.

Have the exact same scenario, but no clue what the problem is with Firefox. It's been that way for almost a month now. Are you guys using adblock? I think its something in WWE's code because I am experiencing the same problem and I updated the shit out of my CPU and tried all different adjustments. I can't think of what new feature they added that isn't compatible with FF as of yet. But yes, for now- I am using Chrome as well if I want to watch The Network. Same issue on Safari.

They are apparently adding season 1 of Tough Enough this week.

They are trying to pass it off as an accident and a legit injury. http://www.tmz.com/2015/01/10/jeff-hardy-fall-video-impact-wrestling-cage/

So I got to see two shows taped last night, including Lockdown. As a live experience, it's actually not bad, if you treat it like an indy show and don't think about the booking. The crowd was hot (apparently TNA fans do exist!) and the guys and gals generally work hard. I don't think I saw a single match I'd have above a couple of stars, though. Jeff Hardy took some awful, painful looking bumps, including one from the top of the cage onto the steel steps. I successfully started a "You screwed Bret" chant at Earl Hebner. They're apparently bringing fans backstage for meet and greets at the tapings, which is a nice idea. I thought I'd have more to say, but it was neither actively bad enough to make jokes most of the time (other than Tommy Dreamer's sad promo, and the way his pants were coming apart), nor particularly memorable - although if a weapons cage match isn't that memorable, that probably says something pretty negative. Is Dylan still reviewing Impact? I'm curious to see how these shows translate to TV, but not enough to watch them.

And Raven has talked at length about how shitty his memory is from those days . . . . Would it have been better to get Dreamer or Taz? YES - those guys would have been great and also would have been fresh interviews. But who knows what they were asking for in terms of price, whether they even want to do shoots (Taz has his own podcast, for example), etc.

Yeah, I just can't take Feinstein anymore in particular. In an age of podcasts and quality shoots... he's unbearable.

The taping tonight is apparently for Lockdown, so... that'll be interesting?

Agreed this feels big. What the hell is up with Malone's sleeveless polo?

So you're telling me I'm going to need a fair bit of alcohol to get through the taping on Friday.

In their update, they announced they are going to do Timeline 1996 with Raven. Which is a bit disappointing - Raven's certainly a good choice in the abstract, but we've all seen him talk about his ECW run ad nauseam. Also, they are doing a Breaking Kayfabe with Sabu.

Ivan Koloff's voice HOLY SHIT. So soft spoke and different from his promo voice. Also he's only 72 - he looked like he was 60 by the end of his run in Crockett.

They have announced that the next Back to the Territories will be Mid-Atlantic with JJ Dillon.

I'm always amused by Jack Victory's giant ass. I also always got a kick out of New Jack's entrance and shtick. Never ceased to be fun.