Comments that don't warrant a thread

[Sean Liska]

Eh, he got to spend 4 1/2 extra years doing something he loved rather than sit in an office and stare at a clock. I think it's a nice story. Now he can go hang out with his friends in TNA and get some more ring time. Hopefully he left WWE on decent terms and can get another desk job when his in-ring career is over.

I can see your point of view, but there's been way too many guys who didn't know when to quit in wrestling. He's probably feeling the consequences of all those extra bumps now and it will only be worse in years to come. We can wax romantically about him doing what he loved doing, but pragmatically it wasn't a smart decision.

 

I certainly see your point, and we've seen enough examples to be weary. But Dreamer does seem like someone who has legitimately dreamed of being a wrestler since he was a little kid and has a passion for it, so the idea of him getting a few extra years in the big leagues, including Wrestlemania at Ford Field and the Rumble at MSG, is kind of a cool story to me. It's possible he will regret it some day. The good news is he's mostly been in 4-minute matches that look like they're being performed underwater, so hopefully he hasn't hurt himself too much.

[kjh]

Really good final segment. Bret's promo was really good. I think Vince's was good too, but it seemed like Vince executed it okay enough so that it didn't overtake Bret's in terms of quality, execution and emotion.

It's interesting to note that according to Dave Meltzer Bret's promo wasn't scripted word for word, he was just given bullet points.

[rovert]

From todays Obeserver update:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApLkKmWrpK0

 

OMG

[Log]

From todays Obeserver update:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApLkKmWrpK0

 

OMG

Fun fact: Gene Rayburn is from my tiny hometown of Christopher, IL.

[MikeCampbell]

Well, be fair, what exactly was the original ECW? It was a third-rate promotion. Anyone who got over wound up being signed by the WWF or WCW. ECW would in turn get many of the leftovers who had basically run out of steam in the Big Two.

You're right, but the difference is in the presentation. ECW was presented as being an honest to goodness alternative to WWF and WCW. Before anyone asks, no, I never 'drank the kool-aid' so to speak, I never thought the Eliminators were really the best tag team in the world, and didn't think that the RVD/Lynn matches were legit MOTYC's. ECW was also able to, at times, make something out of the leftovers who'd run out of steam (Al Snow, Justin Credible, Shane Douglas). Not that they were super workers or anything, but they were able to adjust their characters and personalities and go on to return to the big leagues.

 

ECW was a third-rate promotion that tried (and succeeded) in being something different. Vince's ECW was a third rate brand that was treated as a third rate brand.

[sek69]

I realized today that Ranjin Singh is my favorite person in WWE right now. He just seems to be enjoying every second he gets to be on TV, and his "THE GREAT KHALI SAYS" sportcoat is the greatest manager attire since the days of Jimmy Hart co-ordinating suits based on who he was managing at the time.

[artDDP]

-- A story on Undented.com says that Mick Foley will be donating half the proceeds from his Countdown to Lockdown book to RAINN, the Rape Abuse & Incest National Network.

This from a guy who lists Taboo 2 as one of his favorite porn movies.

[El-P]

And ?

 

Anyway, this just made my day :

 

 

I also remember that before some big match (maybe it was the IWA final match or something), Foley actually listened to a Tori Amos song. Now, I've been a big Foley fan, and I love Amos so this unlikely picture is just so right and so bizarre at the same time to me.

[rovert]

A random ancedote I remember popped up which Foley tells about him and Maxx Payne crying together to Tori Amos (the song Me and A Gun I guess) while on the road.

[El-P]

Well, that would make sense, and it's awesome just picturing those two with tears in their eyes listening to Tori freaking Amos ! How I wish Payne's "movie" could have been released...

[Guest Cerebus The Aardvark]

From todays Obeserver update:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApLkKmWrpK0

 

OMG

Fun fact: Gene Rayburn is from my tiny hometown of Christopher, IL.

 

Fun fact: no one famous at all is from my tiny hometown, which is only about 45 miles from your tiny hometown.

 

For the relevant part of this post:

 

I am currently reading through the NWA book by Tim Hornbaker, which is good, if a little dry. It does have some pre-NWA notes, mostly centering on Ed Lewis and his career in the 20s and 30s, but I am definitely looking for more information, and not just on the Strangler. I was wondering if anyone has recommendations for any good book(s) detailing the pre-NWA, or even pre-Cartel (Lewis/Sandow/et al), days of wrestling in the US. I'm fascinated by the novelty of the business being a shoot (well, to a degree), since it's so different than what I am used to. I would love to read more about Zybysko, Gotch, Hackenschmidt, the constant double-crossing, etc. If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it.

[Al]

From Wrestling To 'Rassling. I don't know if you can find it in print anywhere, but I think it's the pre-eminent book on the subject.

[Guest Cerebus The Aardvark]

From Wrestling To 'Rassling. I don't know if you can find it in print anywhere, but I think it's the pre-eminent book on the subject.

Thanks.

 

To clarify, is this it?

[Bix]

From Wrestling To 'Rassling. I don't know if you can find it in print anywhere, but I think it's the pre-eminent book on the subject.

Thanks.

 

To clarify, is this it?

 

That's it. I haven't read it in a long time but I remember Dave Meltzer saying that it was grossly inaccurate.

[rovert]

Has anyone gotten Role Opera by Vince Russo yet? Apparently it sets the record for the amount of times Wade Keller, Dave Meltzer and fake Wrestling are mentioned in a book.

[Guest Cerebus The Aardvark]

From Wrestling To 'Rassling. I don't know if you can find it in print anywhere, but I think it's the pre-eminent book on the subject.

Thanks.

 

To clarify, is this it?

 

That's it. I haven't read it in a long time but I remember Dave Meltzer saying that it was grossly inaccurate.

 

That is what I am afraid of with any book about that era, because a lot of it is going to involve anecdotes/second hand stories and such.

 

Anyone have any other suggestions?

 

Has anyone gotten Role Opera by Vince Russo yet? Apparently it sets the record for the amount of times Wade Keller, Dave Meltzer and fake Wrestling are mention in a book.

 

That's almost disturbing, at least regarding Dave, since it seemed that Bret mentioned him approximately every 3 pages in his book.

[tomk]

That's it. I haven't read it in a long time but I remember Dave Meltzer saying that it was grossly inaccurate.

Never read it but remember Meltzer's criticisms being kind of odd ones: book spent alot of time setting up some Kentucky manager up as being your protypical wrestling manager when that guy was doing a watered down Wild Red Berry gimmick, etc.

[S.L.L.]

Well, be fair, what exactly was the original ECW? It was a third-rate promotion. Anyone who got over wound up being signed by the WWF or WCW. ECW would in turn get many of the leftovers who had basically run out of steam in the Big Two.

You're right, but the difference is in the presentation. ECW was presented as being an honest to goodness alternative to WWF and WCW. Before anyone asks, no, I never 'drank the kool-aid' so to speak, I never thought the Eliminators were really the best tag team in the world, and didn't think that the RVD/Lynn matches were legit MOTYC's. ECW was also able to, at times, make something out of the leftovers who'd run out of steam (Al Snow, Justin Credible, Shane Douglas). Not that they were super workers or anything, but they were able to adjust their characters and personalities and go on to return to the big leagues.

 

ECW was a third-rate promotion that tried (and succeeded) in being something different. Vince's ECW was a third rate brand that was treated as a third rate brand.

 

I wouldn't dispute any of that. However, as far as the bolded statement goes...Regal, Goldust, Ryder, Ezekial, Kozlov, and Burchill all feel more vital since coming over to ECW than they did before they got here. With the exception of Ryder, none of those guys got the big career makeovers that Snow, Credible, and Douglas got. I'd liken them more to a gaggle of Bam Bam Bigelows - guys who came into ECW, kept their existing characters more or less, but were given a bigger spotlight and/or did better work than they did in the other two promotions/brands. Even Christian fits that bill to a degree. Hell, for all his complaints, Tommy Dreamer looked more vital leaving the new ECW than he did leaving the old one.

 

And it's that aspect that leaves me slightly worried when I read this in the most recent Observer:

 

An update on the NXT idea. The show will debut on 2/23 in Milwaukee, meaning the ECW name dies, perhaps for good, on 2/16 in Kansas City. As of a week ago, Bryan Danielson and Kaval (Low Ki) were expected to be brought up and be the lead stars of the new concept Tuesday show. Don’t worry, with two weeks to go, it’ll change nine times. Concepts floated around include the interactive show, the reality show, the Sci-Fi storyline show and a conspiracy oriented show. I do know that writers in Hollywood have been contacted regarding a reality show within the past week, so that seems to be at least part of the direction. It’s also being listed that 2/23 is the beginning of season one, although most reality shows aren’t year-round without a break. One idea talked about seems to be a takeoff on Ultimate Fighter (which itself was a takeoff on Tough Enough), where they would do a reality show, build up personalities during the show to lead to a match during the show and deliver the match at the end of the show. The idea would be to use stars as coaches with the idea the stars will help draw the ratings, similar to the guest appearances by stars on Tough Enough. It was noted that Tough Enough’s winners came out of the show with a good deal of popularity but weren’t ready in most cases to perform. Instead, they’ve got people who have experience and are closer to being ready. The name NXT has been used by one or two small promotions around the world. A group in Scotland is making the most noise, noting their training school is called Scottish Wrestling Alliance NXT, a name they’ve used for four years. Peter Murphy, the owner of the promotion, said he’s yet to hear from WWE lawyers. Some form of a settlement is inevitable, as Murphy said, “Everyone at the Scottish Wrestling Alliance is honored that WWE have decided to name their latest product after SWA’s feeder program, NXT.” . . According to one person close to the situation, people are starting to raise questions about the series as it is currently formatted. They note that a show like Ultimate Fighter tapes and they go through the tape and edit months later before it airs, and it’s a very expensive show to produce. Doing that type of show on quick turnaround, particularly with the company producing six to nine hours of additional weekly television, will create issues. Added to that is Vince McMahon’s micro-managing and will want to approve of everything, because you never know what is said and done that he won’t like. So you’ll have three teams recording a ton of footage, some guy has to make sense of it even though they are following a script. “There’s no conceivable way this vision stays intact over the long haul,” was a prediction. Besides he expense, it’s going to be difficult the way their system operates and with their production capacity. The feeling is the first few weeks will start out strong, but slowly get watered down. Plus, debuting it during the highest pressure time of the year building Mania doesn’t help.

[Log]

I don't get why "Hollywood writers" were contacted for a reality show.

[artDDP]

Almost every WWE "concept" program (i.e., Livewire, Shotgun, Confidential) quickly just becomes either a straight wrestling or clip show. The only "concept" program that worked was Raw and the only "concept" there was an entire program of storyline-driven professional wrestling.

[Bob Morris]

So WWE is dropping the Survivor Series name and concept. Personally, I think it's about time, because the whole tag-team elimination match theme was losing its luster and there wasn't much you could really do to make it intriguing, unlike what they've done with the Royal Rumble.

 

And really, the first one was just something thrown together to screw with Jim Crockett, along with giving WWF an excuse to do Honky/Savage and Hogan/Andre without actually doing a straight-up singles match for either one.

 

Don't get me wrong... there are some elimination matches that were very good and it sometimes could be used to help build feuds, but the concept itself just got stale.

[BruiserBrody]

http://www.sheikshirts.com/

 

 

 

 

 

[El-P]

No way.

The T-shirt shop at the corner of my street would do a better job...

[rovert]

The worse than Michael Jackson line was aged quickly

[Bix]

The latest version of "24/7" on HBO is "Jimmie Johnson: Race to Daytona." Is it a good sign that as far as I know, a certain someone hasn't mentioned it yet?