C.S.

Could it be argued that Sabu was the most original and compelling worker in the world in 1994? No one else back then was anything quite like Sabu. (Note: I'm hardly a Sabu super-fan, but there was undeniably a mystery, aura, and "danger" around Sabu back then that today's "good workers" would kill for.)

I'm not suggesting that people who are already listening to the show would stop because of this, but if he gained new listeners who only tuned in because they were curious about the "controversy," they'd probably be turned-off by the immature "GOTCHA" stunt Booker and Graves pulled and likely wouldn't tune in again.

But this is: Booker T - I hate Corey Graves "Marks" - OK Corey Graves - This is totally real guys "Marks" - OK, that's fine. Booker T & Corey Graves - Hahahaha, just kidding. "Marks" - Weird, OK Pretty much, but some posters here adore feeling superior because they think I'm somehow "upset" that Booker T and Corey Graves "got me" (even though they didn't). Okay, guys. All I said was that this was pointless (it is) and I don't see how it benefits either Booker or Corey (it doesn't). A good "work" (storyline) actually draws interest and money. This did neither. So, yeah, they're carney ass-clowns. "Who gives a flying fuck?" - as El-P posted above - hardly seems like the desired reaction Booker and Corey were going for, even if they were "just fooling around." If the point wasn't to get more listeners for Booker's show, what was the point? Either way, any listener tuning in for this probably got turned off by "ha ha, LOL" or whatever they said and won't be back for the next show.

I'm not. I don't care at all. But I do wonder what the logic behind it was, because it does nothing positive for Booker T or Corey Graves. I guess it's just "boys will be boys" and "boys having fun" but it seems completely pointless to me from a business standpoint - assuming Booker even cares about building his radio show and either of them care about their credibility. Maybe they don't. If so, more power to 'em - "ha! ha!" they sure "got" us.

Great way to guarantee 1. that no one will ever listen to Booker T's show again, and 2. fans will be a lot less forgiving of Corey now that he's a shell of what he was in NXT because of Vince yelling in his ear, being overproduced, commenting a 3-hour show, or whatever the reasons are. Lose-lose for both of those carney ass-clowns.

ROH's newest wrestler:

Booker T vs. Corey Graves is now official... ...for Booker's podcast. So, yeah...work! https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2018/2/9/16995056/booker-t-corey-graves-raw-issues-addressed-heated-conversations-podcast

Has anyone watched the new Photo Shoot show? It's not bad. The premise is that they show a series of photos and the wrestler tells a story about what's happening in them. I watched the Eric Bischoff and Miz episodes. Bischoff wasn't bad, but compared to Miz, you could tell he had kinda moved on a little bit. Miz seemed a lot more talkative, enthusiastic, and prepared. Nothing new here, but it's a fun time-waster. I didn't watch the Cesaro episode because I'm not really in the mood to listen to his accent for 20 minutes. He doesn't have the "it-factor." Maybe it's because he's Swiss? I don't know. (Yes, I'm kidding. )

I don't care about music at all and barely remember what the original themes were anyway. Give me higher quality video every time. Obviously, I prefer uncensored/uncut footage when it comes to anything - music included - but because Paul Heyman was such a liar, thief, con man, and carnie, he literally stole music and now we're unfortunately in the situation we're in.

To say it hasn't aged well would imply that it ever had any merit to begin with. Even at the time, everyone thought Coach was an idiot for saying that. BTW, the sudden Booker T love in this thread is hilarious. Where were all of you a week ago? He was atrocious as a commentator. As a wrestler? Yes. very solid. After that? Awful. I don't know if Coach is the answer either, but anything's an improvement over Booker T...anything at all! I don't know what's fact or fiction with this Graves issue, but if you read Book's books, he's a major hothead there too. There was one story about him flipping out because someone took his energy drink. He comes across horribly, which is even worse when you consider that it was his book and he was the one telling the story. Also, there's this quote from an interview: Rental Cars and Doing Media Refusing to Put Over Matt Morgan http://www.mandatory.com/wrestlezone/news/872641-booker-t-explains-why-he-left-tna-why-he-refused-to-put-over-matt-morgan-advise-he-gave-bobby-roode-more So, yeah, it's obvious that Book feels very entitled about his "veteran" status, so it's not out of the question for him to be irked by a "young boy" like Graves "disrespecting" him. Maybe Graves is a total ass? Who knows. Graves certainly sounded like an ignorant clown on "Bring It to the Table" when he admitted an old Buddy Rogers match bored him. But Booker is known for his temper and arrogance.

If any of this is true, Booker T should be fired immediately. With that said, Booker T trying to get a match against Corey Graves seems strange and would lend itself to an angle, but isn't Corey banned from wrestling in a WWE ring because of concussion issues? I can't imagine they'd clear Graves for a shampoo bottle feud against Booker T that won't draw a dime, but wouldn't clear Bryan.

It's been discussed in great length before, including during the GWE poll. I finally came to term with it like I said, but for the longest time, it really annoyed me. Similar to the setup for the stinkface or broncobuster. Not a natural position in which wrestlers sell. It's something they only do in matches against Rikishi, or Rey in this case. I don't like it, but it's not enough to dismiss him as a worker in the least. Which is fair enough, but why hold that solely against Rey when it's clearly a WWE stylistic issue? (I don't mean you - just anti-Rey malcontents in general.)

Nonsense! Hornswoggle is Vince's son!

Which I think is ridiculous. No one says that about Peter Dinklage and Game of Thrones. Why shouldn't midgets get a chance at the same job opportunities the women are? (Thanks to the revolutionary revolution and evolutionary evolution pioneered solely by the most important women's rights activist since Susan B. Anthony, Stephanie McMahon.)

To be fair, Rey got pretty stale for a while there and his constant injuries meant he was here today and gone tomorrow, which made it hard to emotionally invest in anything he was doing. With that said, Rey's an all-time great without a doubt. And what's wrong with the 619? I like it. It's a fun, catchy move.

This was given to me a few weeks ago. My apologies for the delay. I was assigned The Rockers vs. Powers of Pain from Madison Square Garden on January 15th, 1990, by soup23. On commentary are Gorilla Monsoon and...some Southern guy I can't recognize. Seriously, who is it? It's driving me crazy. It sounds like a more coherent Dusty Rhodes, but it can't be him. (Edit: It's Hillbilly Jim. I forgot he did commentary. He spoke a little too fast for my tastes but he wasn't bad at all. Hearing Gorilla again was also a wonderful nostalgia trip. Meltzer must have a cranial protuberance not to appreciate the golden tones of Gino.) My first thought: Wow, The Rockers are a hell of a lot bigger than I remember them being. They're giants compared to today's "heavyweights" like Finn Balor, to the point where the size difference between The Rockers and PoP is a lot less pronounced than I was expecting. The crowd heat is off the charts. I have no idea if the audio was sweetened or the mic-ing was different back then, but these fans sound so LOUD compared to today. The Rockers truly were "tag team specialists" as they were called. The quick tags, double-team maneuvers, constant inning and outing - it's even more impressive now than it was 28 years ago, because it's such a lost art these days. I really feel every single tag team today could learn a ton from watching The Rockers. This match solidifies their status in my mind as one of the most underrated tag teams of all time. In addition to the flash, they also had the substance of being absolutely fantastic sellers. The character work and charisma were still works-in-progress, but they obviously nailed that later on - especially Shawn as a singles wrestler. That isn't to diminish what the PoP brought to the table, but this match really was The Rockers Show. Still, PoP had a great look, a fun act with the "devious" Mr. Fuji, and opponents who could sell their asses off. What more can an old-school wrestling fan ask for? The WWF version of "face in peril" formula is as stale now as it was then - the middle of the match dragged because of it - but man, it still felt cathartic when Shawn finally made the hot tag. Marty's tapes were ribbed up. I have no idea if that was a legitimate injury or part of an existing storyline. I wasn't expecting the totally awesome and bonkers stretcher job at the end. The notion of WWE spending nearly that much time on an angle for two midcard tag teams seems so foreign to today's product that it really felt like a breath of fresh air to watch this. No idea what the "star rating" would be for something like this, and it doesn't even matter. The whole of the match is more than the sum of its parts in this case. Great fun to watch, a wonderful nostalgia trip, a useful roadmap for current and future wrestlers, and a bittersweet reminder of how much better things used to be in a lot of ways. Thanks, soup23! Note: I also posted my thoughts in the thread for the match. As always, I didn't read any of comments there ahead of time before composing my own thoughts.

This match was given to me by soup23 for the Match Review Trades thread. As always, I haven't read any of the above comments before composing my own thoughts. On commentary are Gorilla Monsoon and...some Southern guy I can't recognize. Seriously, who is it? It's driving me crazy. It sounds like a more coherent Dusty Rhodes, but it can't be him. (Edit: It's Hillbilly Jim. I forgot he did commentary. He spoke a little too fast for my tastes but he wasn't bad at all. Hearing Gorilla again was also a wonderful nostalgia trip. Meltzer must have a cranial protuberance not to appreciate the golden tones of Gino.) My first thought: Wow, The Rockers are a hell of a lot bigger than I remember them being. They're giants compared to today's "heavyweights" like Finn Balor, to the point where the size difference between The Rockers and PoP is a lot less pronounced than I was expecting. The crowd heat is off the charts. I have no idea if the audio was sweetened or the mic-ing was different back then, but these fans sound so LOUD compared to today. The Rockers truly were "tag team specialists" as they were called. The quick tags, double-team maneuvers, constant inning and outing - it's even more impressive now than it was 28 years ago, because it's such a lost art these days. I really feel every single tag team today could learn a ton from watching The Rockers. This match solidifies their status in my mind as one of the most underrated tag teams of all time. In addition to the flash, they also had the substance of being absolutely fantastic sellers. The character work and charisma were still works-in-progress, but they obviously nailed that later on - especially Shawn as a singles wrestler. That isn't to diminish what the PoP brought to the table, but this match really was The Rockers Show. Still, PoP had a great look, a fun act with the "devious" Mr. Fuji, and opponents who could sell their asses off. What more can an old-school wrestling fan ask for? The WWF version of "face in peril" formula is as stale now as it was then - the middle of the match dragged because of it - but man, it still felt cathartic when Shawn finally made the hot tag. Marty's tapes were ribbed up. I have no idea if that was a legitimate injury or part of an existing storyline. I wasn't expecting the totally awesome and bonkers stretcher job at the end. The notion of WWE spending nearly that much time on an angle for two midcard tag teams seems so foreign to today's product that it really felt like a breath of fresh air to watch this. No idea what the "star rating" would be for something like this, and it doesn't even matter. The whole of the match is more than the sum of its parts in this case. Great fun to watch, a wonderful nostalgia trip, a useful roadmap for current and future wrestlers, and a bittersweet reminder of how much better things used to be in a lot of ways. Thanks, soup23!

Happened to me once with a grilled chicken sandwich or something like that, and I was an hour away from a bathroom. Not a fun experience. Their food is generally pretty good though (for fast food), if a little too greasy for my increasingly sensitive old man palette. Wait, how did we end up in this conversation? Back on topic: Johnny Gargano rules.

Mojo Rawley > Adam Cole, and I'm not even kidding. As a "surprise," Mojo is obviously flat, but he smokes Cole in every other way.

That's like being a Chick Fil-A chicken sandwich at McDonald's. Ok, well...despite the owner being a homophobic old creep, Chick Fil-A chicken sandwiches are awesome. Tasty, yes, but it's still fast food that upsets your stomach and gives you the shits.

That's like being a Chick Fil-A chicken sandwich at McDonald's.

Am the only one who has no use for The Undisputed Era? They seem like the vanilla-est of the vanilla midgets to me. Adam Cole's insignificant jobber showing the next night at Royal Rumble pretty much tells me he'll be the "star" of 205 Live by this time next year.

Prob just a "who the fuck is this" She's interviews stars and tries to be one. Just always trying to get herself over. Like Pillman said to Dok, "Hold the mic Hendrix. You're the prop now" Ive never heard anything but great things about her. Shes apparently one of the genuinely nice people in Hollywood. Wrestling fans are generally terrible people. Fuck everyone who runs down Menonous for no reason. Do I care one iota about her? No. But her presence isn't harming anything, and she's having the time of her life, so what's the problem? It was especially embarrassing when she was booed at the HOF. All of those trash fans should have been kicked out of the ceremony. In fact, I have no idea why the fans are even allowed to attend it - they add absolutely nothing to the show and actively take away from it.

Drake Maverick is far from a great name - it sounds like something spit out by the WWE Generic Name-o-Meter - but it's masterpiece compared to Rockstar Stud. And, even though this is a non-wrestling role on a c-level show, it's still a main roster call up. No wasting time in NXT for Spud Maverick.

True, but that could just be other women drinking the Kool-Aid. (Yes, it's still a storyline. I just don't understand why Bellas and Madusa are involved on Twitter.)