Zoo Enthusiast

It was a fun match, for sure, nothing incredible. I'd guess Dave pegs it at 4 1/2, though.

That tag match was awful. Agree on the Dempsey love. I like him a lot. Same for Breeze. He was pretty good in that match.

Is #sethrollinsdickpicks trending?

A shade smarter than the people that keep giving them money. Too bad it's a lot less money then they have got in the past. Don't try to delude yourself into thinking this company is doing good things, because they are profitable. They have a great business model and a loyal fanbase. The loyal fanbase just happens to be a lot lower than the fanbase they have had in the past. I never said they are doing great things. I don't give a shit what they do. I have no interest in Mania and this convoluted mess doesn't add any for me.

A shade smarter than the people that keep giving them money.

In my opinion, he was already the best babyface in the world for a couple of years while he was still El Generico. His selling and emoting was incredible to me. I'd obviously not call them "facials," but even with the mask you knew exactly what he was trying to convey. He just got even better when he lost the mask (and I was definitely a fan who bad hoped he would stay under the hood back at that time). His character work has really been solid, as well. I'd second the recommedation of the Steenerico/Briscoes and Steen/Generico feuds. He also had a load of really good matches in PWG during the same time period up until he left the indies. Basically, I think he's wonderful. Not sure he will wind up a huge star on the main roster, but I think he will do a very good job when he does get the call.

The GWE project is still a work in progress... a marathon, not a sprint. The interest in the DVDVR project is directly related to the original board going down and the lack of involvement in the latter sets with guys like Phil Schneider and Dean Rasmussen dropping out or not being as involved. Having said that, Lucha was a hot seller, it just isn't getting the discussion that earlier sets received. I am going to release Portland, the WWF redo and the NWA sets this year (hopefully) and I think all of them will generate plenty of interest. Wow, yeah, I am interested in all three. On this topic, I like watching old stuff because I can keep watching to see where it goes. The same philosophy for holding off on a TV series and binging it. I don't have to wait a week or month to see what happens next in a story that I am engrossed in. I can just push play and keep enjoying the ride. That's the major advantage to me. I did stay semi-involved in "the big conversation" when I watched the current WWE regularly, but the negativity in most cirlces just really hurt my enjoyment of it. I keep up with what's going on (I watched the Rumble to have a frame or reference for listening to fucking podcasts), subscribe to the Observer, etc. but I'm less engaged than I have been in about four years. The negativity thing really ties in with why I enjoy the old stuff, too. I can watch something that is cheesy/wacky, etc. and just enjoy it, not be bogged down in "ugh why they are they pushing this guy stupid bookers!"

I was 13 and the same is true for me. That show is my most watched tape ever. I probably watched the tape of the PPV once a week for most of the rest of '98.

Can't wait for the podcasts to start.

Could be wrong, but I think the Bucks turned them down.

I'm talking apps for set-top boxes, consoles, etc. I assume there will be an English roll-out this spring, so I will wait til then.

I believe that they haven't added anything. Their subscription numbers are so low that the only people who have it have got to be current fans. For all the praise the NJPW interface got at launch time I find the video player to be worse than WWE's, which isn't very good itself (on both OSX and iPad 2). They beat the WWE Network at pretty much every other interface aspect though. Their numbers will stay low until they get some apps out in the world. That's what has kept me from subscribing. Too many easier-to-use services that I already subscribe to.

For sure. I don't think I had seen that Shield/Hell No & Orton match since I was tuned out from Mania until MITB that year. That was just great. Really made me miss The Shield.

These are giving me an excuse to actually use my Network subscription.

This was an easy **** for me. Clear, great story being told. Goldberg even sells a bit, acceptably. It had been a while since I had watched a prime Goldy match (watching this following along with the wwe.com Top 100 list) and I had forgotten how explosive of an athlete he was. There's just no wonder how he got over so enormously. How could he not? Page was a favorite of mine at the time and definitely remains one. Still stands out as a highlight of the Nitro era.

As part of that crowd, I think that's way off base (though I don't disagree with pol's initial post in some ways. I think this just took things in a slightly different direction). People there knew what they were doing. They were vocally expressing their displeasure with what they knew were creative decisions. I think people were more offended that WWE thought they could pull this off than anything else. They didn't pay to leave. They did pay to be able to cheer if they liked what they saw and boo if they didn't, and it was a hell of a time shitting on what was presented and I'm SURE they would sell out in Philly next time as well. I bought my ticket knowing that there was a really good chance that WWE would present something that the crowd would absolutely hate and how energized it would be and how fun it'd be to witness that first hand. I'm not wildly emotionally invested in this stuff like I was ten years ago. So I'm going to maximize the amount of fun I have at a show. It was a hugely informed crowd. And most of those people had an absolute blast and Philly would sell out in a situation like this again in a heartbeat. I said it in my road report, but leaving that building actually felt like a positive experience, a sort of sense of community, and outside of 2 overly gleeful "You fucked up" chants that I wish didn't happen (though weren't ALL that widespread), I thought the crowd was mostly constructive in its negativity. I will say that on some level, instead of booing an anti-russian heel in 1984 that's insulting them by saying that they're weak and foolish and whatever, they were instead booing the company that doesn't have the same creative priorities that they have and is saying that they're dumb and foolish and just need to be fed what they're given. It's not all that different. In both cases the fans know what they're paying for tickets to do, really. That's totally cool, man. Keep selling out the buildings and keep getting what you're paying for. Why would you expect anything different?

"Ugh! This sucks!!! I want more of it!" That's basically it in a nutshell. The vast, vast majority of fans who say WWE sucks keep giving them their money, eyeballs, and time. I agree with the point that was brought up in the post-Rumble podcast with Will, et al - If the Rumble crowd was really so pissed/felt they had witnessed such a grave injustice, why didn't they just leave? Instead, not only did they stay, they stayed engaged with the show, doing chants and other bullshit. A "hot crowd" that hates what they are watching. It's pretty fucked up.

He's not talking about new subscribers. Existing UK subscribers get the month free, not just new ones. I mean, Parv posted the fucking e-mail that he got.

They cost money to do.

I agree with Zellner that this is the best one of these. Such a fun listen.

For sure, I think I said I liked it earlier in this same thread... Also, who buys an Evan Bourne shoot and expects... Anything?

That's the same one that came out quite a while ago, right? Bourne just makes fun of most of the people?

Crimson shorts. Tears.

Don't sell them short.