C.S.

Then the "complete bullshit" is McMahon's. He's the one who made the "shades of grey" speech (video above). Plus, Austin was a babyface who acted like a heel. Ditto for Rock and a few others. That had never really been done on such a large level before, at least in the WWE. Five years earlier, the Austin character would have been a heel, period. Koko B. Ware had a character. He had a mascot. He had a (very small) push. Did he have feuds? I can't remember. But even if he was the lowest man on the totem pole, he still mattered in a way Curtis Axel does not. Vince Russo obviously didn't invent the concept of using every wrestler - that was the philosophy in the '80s too - but it got lost somewhere along the way, after Russo left, and it's been hurting the product ever since. Even in the horrible mid-'90s, which was as far from hot as it gets, even minor acts like Duke "The Dumpster" Drose and Sparky Plugg were given more of a character, personality, and spot than most of today's lower card in the WWE, and the fans felt something for them.

Just going by what he said in this speech. I am not a mind reader and have no idea what he actually believed and didn't believe.

I read the book years ago too, and I may be wrong because it's been so long, but I got the distinct impression that much of the "uncensored" stuff was still considerably neutered, with only a few remnants remaining. This is the one talking point I'll defend Russo on to the ends of the earth. Giving EVERYONE something to do is simply sound booking and getting the most value out of the ENTIRE roster - things that are sorely lacking today. This approach to booking does NOT mean that Gangrel is on equal footing with Stone Cold. That was never the case. Everyone was more over and the fans had a reason to care about all of the characters, but the cream still rose to the top - Austin, Rock, etc. Just to use one of many examples of two comparable wrestlers push-wise, D-Lo Brown was over in a way Curtis Axel has never been. Except, he was rebooking the Attitude Era, where the edict from Vince McMahon himself was that the era of the good guy and bad guy was passe - it was all about shades of grey. That was the philosophy of the time, and for that short period, even though it went against conventional wisdom, it worked. In retrospect, there were way too many face and heel turns. I think Russo (hopefully) has to know deep that down that Booker wasn't Rock and Jarrett wasn't Triple H, but when he was in WCW, they were (in his mind) the best he had to work with, so I see nothing wrong with him promoting them, hyping them up, and trying to get the most out of them.

SMW may have been "fun" but it lost money, ended up shutting down, and wasn't in the least bit influential. At least with ECW, it influenced the entire industry. Ah, but we're not debating their merits as "talent." It's irrelevant to this particular discussion. Of course Cornette wins by a country mile in this category. Hell, Russo's not even in the race. Very intelligent response! Depending on who you believe (and I won't pretend I was there or know for sure) Cornette fought against most of it and ended up being marginalized. The fact that everyone talks about "Russo and Ferrara" (and to to a lesser extent, "Russo, Ferrara, and Terry Taylor" when discussing this era tells me that Cornette was pretty much bounced out of the picture after a while. I'm still scratching my head and trying to figure out what the hell I just read. Er, I guess if there are third-party consulting jobs available, I can understand Russo going after it? Money is money, and you can't fault a guy for trying...or something like that? Does seem really desperate though, which it obviously is. This is a clear cash-grab on Russo's part. Again, man's got to make a living, but it is kinda sad.

Russo's booking was part (a part - not the whole reason) of one of the most successful money drawing periods in wrestling history, the Attitude Era. Cornette's booking didn't draw anywhere and lost money everywhere. I wouldn't hire either of them at this point, but if you held a gun to my head and forced me to open up an unsuccessful start-up wrestling promotion with one of the two, I'd go with Russo. At least he never slapped any of the talent like a redneck idiot hopped up on caffeine. For all of the talk of Russo going around to different feds and begging for jobs, well, places like Lucha Underground would want nothing to do with Corny either. This is really silly to debate. Two fat old fucks getting into a fistfight sounds about as entertaining as The Dicks being managed by Big Dick Johnson.

To be fair, George Lucas is apparently the same way. Now, you can all argue about Lucas's merits all you want, but you can't argue with Lucas's success - love him or hate him, he has been undeniably successful. All of this makes me wonder, though, if Russo has dyslexia or some other kind of disability. That would perfectly explain everything you described. Jim Cornette is like the meme "old man yelling at a cloud" to me. His bullshit almost makes Russo sympathetic. I said almost.

Not that I'm defending Snuka, but I have to imagine he has a ton of legal bills, and stuff like Wrestlecon helps him pay those bills. It might also be a strategic move from his defense. "Hey, he's an innocent man and he's going about his business and living his life." Didn't say it was a smart strategy, just that it may be a strategy.

Haven't read this yet, but it sounds interesting (especially since someone just asked for books about Japan). Ali vs. Inoki http://www.newsweek.com/muhammad-ali-antonio-inoki-mixed-martial-arts-ufc-japan-mma-boxing-wrestling-474502

Many of the ECW wrestlers in WCW - particularly Hardcore Hak (Sandman) and Mikey Whipwreck - seemed really out of place. Sabu in the early days of Nitro definitely didn't work. Come to think of it, Sandman and Sabu didn't work in WWE either.

People found it impossible to take Buddy Rogers seriously? Did you read my entire post?! Obviously not, so I'll quote myself... Really can't stand unwarranted snark, especially when it's this lazy. Come on, guys, read the entire post before commenting - not too much to ask, is it? (Wait, I forgot - we're on the internet, so yeah, it probably is too much to ask.)

Man, people's standards have really dropped if fucking Westley Blake and Buddy Murphy are considered good names now. They're awful names. It is impossible to take anyone with the names Westley or Buddy seriously. This ain't the 1960s when Buddy was a viable wrestling name. Dash Wilder is even worse. (I'll concede that Scott Dawson is a perfectly fine name - albeit boring as hell.) Sure, they're better than Oney Lorcan or Andrade "Cien" Almas, but that isn't saying much. I'm guessing you guys think Curtis Axel is a brilliant name too? (Well, compared to Michael McGilliciutty, it is.)

Dave is overreacting then. Bayley likely gets called up by SummerSlam or Survivor Series - the day after WrestleMania 33 at the latest - because she's currently going nowhere in NXT right now. She and Finn Balor (who I'm not even all that enamored of) desperately need call-ups.

I haven't seen Dave's tweet, but it sounds kinda silly because Bayley has evolved as a character from early days and will continue to evolve. The Bayley we see five years from now will not be the same Bayley we know today. One quick example: she will eventually, inevitably turn heel. That would be a catastrophically bad idea now, but it may not be five years from now.

Same kind of name as: - Westley Blake - Buddy Murphy - Dash Wilder - Scott Dawson - etc. For all of the great things NXT does, coming up with names isn't one of them.

ROH weekly TV will be available on FITE TV starting June 27th. FITE TV is an app for iPhone/Android. You can "airplay" from the app onto your TV with a Roku or another compatible device.

Pretty sure pot is only a fine now and not an actual Wellness violation. Only the "fake pot" that idiots like Evan Bourne used is part of the Wellness Policy.

Best PPV in a while!

What?! His gear's awesome. It's Roman's that looks ugly and bland.

Roman and Seth are so fucking smooth compared to the rest of the roster. Fuck the shitheads who say Roman "can't wrestle."

Titus should have asked for his release.

Rusev vs. Titus was one of the most boring matches I've ever seen.

Best MiTB match ever? Surprised by how smart and logical this has been, for the most part.

What if Jericho wins, cashes in, and walks out with the title?

Very boring show thus far, and Crews's banana peel victory was dull.

Natalya's heel turn was the first interesting thing they've done with the women in months and specifically her in years.