C.S.

Why not? If enough people are watching it (and I have no idea about any of the data), I could very well see it happening. Tough Enough is coming back, so anything's possible. I watched the Iron Sheik/Andre episode of Legends of Wrestling. I had actually seen it before, on DVD, and it's still probably the best episode they've ever done. For the most part, all they do is tell awesome road stories for an hour. I highly, highly recommend it. I wish every roundtable was as good as this one.

I watched the third episode of Legends House, and it was by far the weakest. The contrived games were the dullest part, and I didn't think the losing team had it that bad. When it was announced that the losers would have to ride in a 15-passenger van, I figured it would be cramped with other people as well, not just the Legends. The way I see it, 4-5 guys in a spacious van sounds pretty good to me. It's no limo, but it's still a fairly decent accommodation. Pat Patterson really came across as a whiny bitch this week. In retrospect, he's been that way every week. It's kind of funny though. I continue to feel sorry for Tony Atlas. He's trying so hard, and almost everyone is leaving him out. He's definitely the odd man, but he seems like a good guy. For God's sake, he even maintained a positive attitude about fucking penguins and rubber duckies. I also thought everyone was unfair to Jimmy Hart. The one bit where he spoke about himself in the third person was strange though. Then again, as the Gary Busey bit from the first week illustrated, these guys are trapped in their characters 24/7. A lot of this "drama" seems really minor. I'm surprised the show hasn't been more outrageous than it is. As it stands, it's been relatively tame so far. I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing. I'm not exactly encouraging more "scripting," but I am surprised that there has seemingly been so little. I fully expect the second season (if there is one) to have a lot more manufactured chaos. I never liked the idea of "reality" shows being so overly scripted, but after seeing Legends House kind of plod along without any real fireworks, I now understand why they are.

His thoughts on coming in as a "French sympathizer" and later being given the Con Man gimmick? What would he have done with his character if given the chance?

Isn't Meltzer's bias the reason it took so long for Bob to get into the WON HOF? Meltz is certainly entitled to his likes and dislikes, but his lack of objectivity in this instance is pretty glaring - out of character, almost. But maybe it's a case of him being more passionate - both positively and negatively - about wrestlers and wrestling in his younger years. For example, I don't think he'd call a wrestler something like "Anabolic Warrior" today.

Corino was one of the highlights - if not the highlight - of ECW in its final years. WWE really missed the boat not picking up this guy at the time. He could have been - dare I say it - a modern Piper. By that, I mean undersized heel who could talk massive shit but was credible in the ring.

I had become a fan only a few months before - first the WWF and then WCW. This was the first "great" match I ever saw, and it cemented me as a fan for life. WCW eventually airing classic matches for a few weeks on (I think) Worldwide continued that along, and so did renting old WWF PPVs. The WCW Worldwide (?) stuff was peculiar to me at the time, because it was a complete Flair-fest - even though Flair was in the WWF at that time. Who knows why WCW did half the things they did, but in that case, I'm glad they did it. Michael Hayes was one of the hosts, and I remember him being adamant that they should air the best stuff, "even if those people are no longer in WCW."

No "mark" actually thought this when I was a kid. Me and my friends all strongly suspected Flair was winning, but the Piper "dare to dream" stuff right before the Rumble did sway me a bit. However, as soon as I saw Piper in the I-C Title match at the PPV, I knew right then and there he had no chance of winning the Rumble and it was going to be Flair's night. The WWF had always been incredibly predictable, and this Rumble - as awesome as it was (best Rumble ever IMO) - was no different in that regard. Agreed. It never made sense to me. Hogan looked like a spoiled, whiny bitch to me for doing that to Sid, even back then. It was such an odd piece of booking.

Tremendous debut angle for Nailz, but he peaked right then and there. Anyone remember him coming in for one shot as "The Convict" or "The Prisoner" (or something like that) to face Sting on a WCW PPV? What the hell was that about?

Yeah, Atlas is trying way too hard...poor guy. Duggan's friendship with Piper is a nice surprise, but Ol' Hacksaw really gets on my nerves otherwise. Maybe that will change as the show progresses. I hope so, because I always liked him as a character/personality.

My observations from Legends House (mostly Episode 2 but some Episode 1 as well): - Piper has demons. Nothing surprising there. But it was still sad and depressing to see last week. I was happy to see him bounce back this week. - Is it just me or does Hacksaw Duggan come across as the most unlikeable, irritating prick in the house? His argument with Tony Atlas the week before was ridiculous, and his obnoxious laugh makes my skin crawl. I'm surprised, because he always seemed like such a nice, genuine, humble guy. (This is "reality" TV, I know, I know...) - My heart honestly goes out to poor Tony Atlas. He just tries too hard. We all know people like that. Would I want to live with him? Probably not. But that's true of most of the people on Legends House (and most people in general). I'm glad he got a "win" at the end by cooking delicious chicken for everyone. (I can't believe how ridiculous that sentence sounds, LOL.) - Hillbilly Jim seems like the nicest guy in the world. Something has to give there. But when his inevitable outburst/conflict happens, I don't think it will change my general opinion of him. - The games and celebrity encounters seem really contrived, as Gene said. The show would be better without that crap. Still, some of the reactions to the whole polo deal were funny - especially Tony Atlas's when he thought they were getting on "them horses." Gene shouting "he took my gimmick!" was also amusing. - On that note, the Gary Busey encounter from last week is especially interesting, because the wrestlers are trapped in their gimmicks even on this show. They're all called - and call each other - by their wrestling names.

Exactly how I feel. There's a mustache craze sweeping the nation???

Not really. Flamingo was being pushed as the hot new heel in the Light Heavyweight division, whereas Hayes was already far past his expiry date by that point. He's a legend now in retrospect, but he wasn't really considered one then. Edit: D'OH! I misread Zbyszko as Hayes somehow. Yeah, weird match, but Larry had even less of a push by then. He was the 5th wheel of the Dangerous Alliance.

This is WWE's style. The first PPV challenger is always some lower-tier throwaway. Even Dude Love fell into that category. People would be bitching just as hard if Sheamus were given this spot. That would feel just as unimportant and predictable. I'm glad Orton didn't get it. That would have been the most boring option of all (not ring-wise, but story-wise). If you ask me, this is better than most because at least Kane and Bryan have a ton of actual history.

From the Torch: http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_77901.shtml I'd prefer full HOF shows, but this is certainly better than nothing.

I never got into him, but I'm not sure that's entirely his fault. I only saw his WWF gimmick, and he was treated literally like a jobber at times. (I don't mean the JTTS treatment where he was still a star - I mean Brooklyn Brawler/Jim Powers levels of jobberdom. He even teamed with no-name "preliminary wrestlers" on Superstars or Challenge a few times. Jim Brunzell was eventually put in the same position too.) As a kid, I knew Koko wasn't a "threat" so I had no reason to invest in him. I also thought his "High Energy" team with Owen was lame and bland - a pale imitation of The New Foundation (Owen and Anvil), which I absolutely loved at the time. When he was announced for the WWE HOF, I scratched my head and wondered why. In retrospect, I understand it more now.

What's the story there? Why would one botched movie derail a taping for an hour? Was there a bad injury? Anyway, I feel the same way you do about those teams, except I think I liked the Bevs more than most. I wonder why they never got a huge push. When they first came in, I remember Gorilla Monsoon really hyping them up in commentary.

I haven't watched the full Legends of WrestleMania panel yet - can't stand the format compared to the old Legends of Wrestling roundtables - but did Ted specifically mention the Japan match, or did he just mention *a* match, and then footage of the Japan match played? If so, Ted could have been referring to the better one, despite what the footage would indicate.

There goes my next planned threads for the Beverly Brothers, the Natural Disasters, and the Quebecers. I'm kidding...I think. Dennis Knight and Mark Canterbury had three very different gimmicks in two federations and were around for the majority of the '90s. I think it's a worthwhile discussion. Not everyone can be "the best ever," and I think The Microscope would get boring if that's all we discussed. With that said, I thought Tex and Shanghai were a fun midcard heel team and Southern Justice at least had potential, but I'll admit I was never a fan of the pig farmer Godwinns gimmick.

I won't say one person's life meant more than another, but the fact is, Warrior as a wrestler did mean more to WWE TV programming than Viscera. That can't really be disputed. Also, with Warrior appearing at the HOF, WM, and Raw, he's basically being treated the same way an active talent would. He wasn't on the roster, but he died a day after appearing on a string of shows, so for all intents and purposes, it's more or less the same situation. Active talents who pass away have always gotten more of a tribute than people who haven't been there in years. Obviously, with the Network, they have more time to create specials, etc. now. I think the same thing would have been done for Owen and Eddy if the Network had been around back then.

Am I the only one who hates the Legends of WrestleMania format? Empty comments, followed by clip, more empty comments, another clip, rinse and repeat. The older Legends of Wrestling roundtables had a much looser format and were far more interesting.

In all fairness, there's probably still money to be made with traditional PPV. Whether ROH makes any of it is another story entirely...

I noticed that last night too, and it's about time. I'm very happy.

Was that a fair assessment, in everyone's opinion? I don't remember him being anything special. But the "worst"? I don't know about that. ESPN wouldn't hire crap, would they? Considering how bad WWE announcing is, I wonder if Grisham was held back by the "talk about everything except the match" style, being yelled at from the headset, etc.

Is Renee a lifelong wrestling fan? That may determine her decision to stay or go.

I tried watching it last night. Kept kicking me off (Roku). Hope that's fixed by now.