Comments that don't warrant a thread

[Kronos]

Apparently, not even the porntastic backstage whipping of Angel Williams was enough to put asses in the proverbial seats - people tuned off before the match following the segment.

 

I am not even sure what I have seen lately qualifies as so bad it's good. Maybe 10 years from now, we'll watch clips and enjoy it ironically -- just like we do WCW 99-2000.

[KrisZ]

For those of you who haven't seen it, over at DVDVR I'm running the King of Memphis tournament that will start tomorrow. Details inside.

 

http://board.deathvalleydriver.com/index.php?showtopic=51265

[smkelly]

I was watching Raw & Impact on Monday, when I fiancee walked in and sat down. She sat there and watched pro wrestling with me, which I think is awesome. The funny part? She has never seen TNA, and asked, "Why are they showing WCW on Spike, didn't the WWF buy them out?"

I got a big kick out of that, as she isn't a fan of wrestling and can see how terrible TNA.

[El-P]

I was watching Raw & Impact on Monday, when I fiancee walked in and sat down. She sat there and watched pro wrestling with me, which I think is awesome. The funny part? She has never seen TNA, and asked, "Why are they showing WCW on Spike, didn't the WWF buy them out?"

Awesome.

[jdw]

Great quote.

 

John

[kjh]

From prowrestling.net:

 

Hart also commented on the death of his brother Owen Hart. "Clearly, my brother Owen's death was just a bad accident," he said. "You can't hold Vince McMahon directly accountable for that. It was someone underneath who didn't know what they were doing."

Wow, Bret's forgotten the part of the story where Vince hired incompetent stunt coordinators because the professionals were too expensive and refused to do the stunt exactly as he wanted due to its inherent danger.

[El-P]

Concussions and getting a fat paycheck does those things to you I guess...

[Ronnie]

I got a big kick out of that, as she isn't a fan of wrestling and can see how terrible TNA.

My fiancée has been watching RAW with me over the last few months, which is great, since she totally suspends her disbelief, reminding me what it used to be like for me. When Batista jumped Cena during his match with Vince she hissed "That snake!", and gets really caught up with the good guys versus the bad.

 

However, in spite of her innocence and inexperience with wrestling, she refuses to watch TNA. I told her when dropping her off to the train station the other day that they'd just gone in direct competition to RAW, and that elicited a very negative response. She told me it makes her angry to even be in the same room as "that rubbish". If she hates it to this degree despite minimal exposure and no long-term loyalty to WWE, I don't fancy TNA's chances of making a success of this latest strategy.

[1004Holds]

From prowrestling.net:

 

Hart also commented on the death of his brother Owen Hart. "Clearly, my brother Owen's death was just a bad accident," he said. "You can't hold Vince McMahon directly accountable for that. It was someone underneath who didn't know what they were doing."

Wow, Bret's forgotten the part of the story where Vince hired incompetent stunt coordinators because the professionals were too expensive and refused to do the stunt exactly as he wanted due to its inherent danger.

 

Well, just lost some respect for Bret Hart right there.

[smkelly]

Some (well...me) lost respect for him just reading his book, which happened to be after his return on Jan. 4th.

 

Like the saying goes, "every man has his price."

[Bob Morris]

When WWE published that tribute magazine to Bret Hart, Bret made a similar quote about how he thought it was "wrong to blame Vince" for Owen's death and saying that he never blamed Vince for what happened.

 

So it really doesn't surprise me he said what he said in the prowrestling.net interview.

[MikeCampbell]

I actually first lost respect for him when I read Pure Dynamite, and Billington's story about him, Bret, and JYD smoking crack all night. DK made no bones about his drugs, and JYD's issues were well known, but I was surprised (then) to hear about Bret partaking in it.

[KrisZ]

Look back at the 85-86 era Bret, he looked like he had done drugs before some matches.

[smkelly]

That's one thing I particularly enjoyed about Dynamite's book, same with Jericho, they seemed to be extremely honest about their failures and shortcomings, whereas Bret and Flair make excuses and exaggerate their greatness.

 

The moral of the story is humility.

[kjh]

Please, Dynamite was really far from honest about his failings and shortcomings in his book. Nor did he show any humility.

[smkelly]

No? Hmm.

I seem to remember Dyno continuously bashing his drug/steroid/alcohol addictions.

[rovert]

There is a enjoyable Terry Funk interview currently over at 57talk

[1004Holds]

No? Hmm.

I seem to remember Dyno continuously bashing his drug/steroid/alcohol addictions.

He didn't seem to regret any of it and he never mentioned how he used to play Punch-Out with his wife. Even Stone Cold hinted at it in his book. I'll give him credit for openly saying he wasn't a good person.

[kjh]

Dyno didn't really bash his drug/steroid/alcohol abuse. Yes, he was open about it, but his attitude was fairly unrepentant. Despite ending up broken down and penniless, he said he had no regrets and would do it all again. Also some of his failings and shortcomings were completely glossed over (like his infidelity and spousal abuse). He also exaggerated his own toughness throughout the book. Don't get me wrong, it was a good book that was the first to really shine a light on the dark excesses of the business, but it's hard to call the book "extremely honest" when other books since Dynamite's came out give a different perspective to the stories told in that book.

[sek69]

So I went to the TNA show in Wheeling WV today, and I have to say it was actually pretty good. It started off on a sour note as I got caught in a speed trap by the local po-po who saw an out of state plate and heard dollar signs. We ended up missing the first match because of it, but the rest of the show made up for it. Everyone seemed to be having a good time in the ring, and all the matches were good except for the required Rob Terry squash. Seeing him up close makes it look even more obvious that he's basically an even more roided up British version of Batista. Except at least Big Dave can do promos. At one point I wondered why half the dudes in the building were seemingly walking towards me, then I realized the Beautiful People were set up right behind me to take pics/sign autographs. My one friend pointed out that it looks like they have a different Knockout tag belt to use for these that people can touch. Don West was working the merch table like he was back on the Home Shopping Channel, now that Billy Mays is gone he really needs to be the next "sell you shit on TV" guy. Earl Hebner was there off and on selling his "DAMN RIGHT I DID" shirts, and gave West a good punchline while hawking Earl's shirts he said they were being sold half off because "Earl needs the money".

 

My friends felt bad about the whole ticket thing (which I'll probably fight and win since it was clearly BS) that they paid the $20 for us to go in the ring and meet Kurt Angle. It was pretty cool, and I guess now I have a valid right to have an opinion on pro wrestling since I can say I've been in the ring.

 

Also Jeff Jarrett was signing autographs after the show and was pretty personable, laughing at my buddy's joking attempt to shoehorn himself in the autograph line.

 

Funny story, when we first entered the place (which was a high school gym), there was a woman in a TNA t shirt and jeans at the concession stand getting food. My one buddy was all "hey, what's up" and when I start busting him about hitting on some random chick at a wrestling show he pointed out that it was Karen Angle. We actually ended up running into her a couple of times and my buddy even got a pic with her. I guess everyone is cool now but it was kind of weird considering Jarrett and Angle were teamed up in the main event that everyone is just hanging out together at a house show.

[jdw]

I actually first lost respect for him when I read Pure Dynamite, and Billington's story about him, Bret, and JYD smoking crack all night. DK made no bones about his drugs, and JYD's issues were well known, but I was surprised (then) to hear about Bret partaking in it.

I think DK talked about snorting coke rather than smoking crack with JYD and Bret.

 

I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised about wrestlers in the 80s doing coke.

 

John

[jdw]

Dyno didn't really bash his drug/steroid/alcohol abuse. Yes, he was open about it, but his attitude was fairly unrepentant. Despite ending up broken down and penniless, he said he had no regrets and would do it all again. Also some of his failings and shortcomings were completely glossed over (like his infidelity and spousal abuse). He also exaggerated his own toughness throughout the book. Don't get me wrong, it was a good book that was the first to really shine a light on the dark excesses of the business, but it's hard to call the book "extremely honest" when other books since Dynamite's came out give a different perspective to the stories told in that book.

The one thing that struck me instantly about the book with respect to "honesty" is what it has to say about DK banging rats all over the country.

 

Remember that stuff in the book?

 

*looks around*

 

*hears crickets*

 

DK may have had his reasons for avoiding all talk of it. Perhaps he felt some guilt about it... who knows.

 

I'm not one who thinks that wrestlers need to talk about that, unless like they're trying to put over what great family men they are while also claiming to write a completely open and honest book.

 

DK didn't claim to be a great family man. But people put over the book as the most nakedly honest and open book ever written. And much like coke was common in wrestling in the 80s, banging rats has *always* been common in wrestling through the years. That DK ducked the issue kind of stands out, and warrant at least a note that he wasn't being completely honest. I always was surprised that reviews that put over the book ignored the obvious.

 

Bret said a lot of nutty stuff in the book. He at least was honest, in his own self centered fashion, about his taste for pussy on the road.

 

John

[Dan]

I actually first lost respect for him when I read Pure Dynamite, and Billington's story about him, Bret, and JYD smoking crack all night. DK made no bones about his drugs, and JYD's issues were well known, but I was surprised (then) to hear about Bret partaking in it.

I think DK talked about snorting coke rather than smoking crack with JYD and Bret.

 

 

I'm not sure if it makes a big difference, but DK definitely says JYD introduced him to the crack-pipe on one memorable night in Miami.

 

(See p. 102 of the book.)

[Ronnie]

Yep, though it's page 103 in my (UK) copy.

 

In the end, it was like smoking: cocaine became a habit. I can still remember the very first time I tried it. We were in a hotel right next to the airport in Miami, Florida; me, my brother-in-law Bret Hart, and the Junkyard Dog.

 

Junkyard said, "Hey man, try this." And he got a pipe and a block of coke and gave it to me. I had a smoke and straight away -- bump -- I was high. That was it: we spent all night smoking crack.

[MikeCampbell]

I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised about wrestlers in the 80s doing coke.

 

John

As a 27 year old adult who has read and heard plenty about the lifestyle during the '80's, not surprised at all.

 

As a nineteen year old, mostly mark, who read Pure Dynamite and read that Bret Hart, who'd always been heralded as the hero and role model, yes, it took me by surprise.