Comments that don't warrant a thread

[Boondocks Kernoodle]

I like Sex, Lies, and Headlocks, but maybe Mooneyham was the one who was responsible for its quality.

 

Apparently Shawn pinned Bret and the ref fast-counted him, one, two, three.

Maybe he used Hogan as a source.

[Loss]

Ugh. Ignorant comments. Not here, but just around. Just because the WWF was the most successful group in the 80s doesn't mean they were the ONLY successful group. There's this perception that because Hulk Hogan was the bigger draw, Ric Flair and Crockett didn't draw at all, and it's annoying.

 

JCP fizzled out for many reasons, which are slowly being recapped in those WON updates I'm posting, but the fight was pretty competitive at one point.

[Kronos]

Ugh. Ignorant comments. Not here, but just around. Just because the WWF was the most successful group in the 80s doesn't mean they were the ONLY successful group. There's this perception that because Hulk Hogan was the bigger draw, Ric Flair and Crockett didn't draw at all, and it's annoying.

 

JCP fizzled out for many reasons, which are slowly being recapped in those WON updates I'm posting, but the fight was pretty competitive at one point.

Funny, I was just reading a fairly heated thread on this very topic over at that crazy site. . .

[Guest DietSoda]

Can someone update me on D'Lo Brown? Has he improved in the ring since working in Japan? I bet he'll have the IC title before the end of the year.

[KrisZ]

They are not doing Cena/Batista this early as Dave hasn't turned heel yet. I see a 6-Pack Challenge at Summerslam with either Rey or the returning Randy Orton taking the final spot.

[Guest robgomm]

Will Orton really be back that soon? Collarbone injuries are dodgy.

[Kronos]

Will Orton really be back that soon? Collarbone injuries are dodgy.

Allison Danger was back after not-quite 3 months from a broken clavicle. She wrestled twice on 7/5, including one very stiff match with a lot of chops and hard bumps.

[Bix]

My gift to others who grew up on '80s WWF: The uncensored version of Ron Bass bloodying Brutus Beefcake, as aired in Canada:

[jdw]

Ugh. Ignorant comments. Not here, but just around. Just because the WWF was the most successful group in the 80s doesn't mean they were the ONLY successful group. There's this perception that because Hulk Hogan was the bigger draw, Ric Flair and Crockett didn't draw at all, and it's annoying.

 

JCP fizzled out for many reasons, which are slowly being recapped in those WON updates I'm posting, but the fight was pretty competitive at one point.

Probably poor choice of words.

 

WWF vs. JCP wasn't a truly competitive battle.

 

JCP did "good" in some markets, some of which they shared with the WWF (Philly, Baltimore, Chicago) and some of which were their own (Mid-Atlantic, GA).

 

In some other markets shared with the WWF, JCP did okay in the first show, but couldn't sustain things.

 

Here's the top 50 Metros in the country on the 1990 Census. Of course JCP was dead by 1990, but the data is closer to the "war" years of 1986-87 than the 1980 data.

 

My question would be to classify the markets as:

 

* WWF Only

* JCP Only

* WWF Dominant

* JCP Dominant

* WWF Town / JCP Okay

* JCP Town / WWF Okay

* Competative: X Winning (identify the promotion leading)

* Neither Promotion Succesful

 

By WWF Only, I don't mean that JCP *never* ran there. But take Boston or NY as examples. JCP ran a few shows. In Boston, the first one did okay. In NY, JCP left the town quickly and it would be WCW that came back. I don't recall JCP sustaining much in Boston after that first good show. They had to have run again, but my recollection is that they "blew" the positives of the first show due to poor planning on the follow up.

 

In the other direction, the WWF tried a time or two in the heart of Mid-Atlantic, got their clocks cleaned, and then largely ignored it. Those markets were largely JCP Only.

 

Philly was competative, but over the course of the battle, the WWF stayed ahead. There might be a show or two where JCP "won", but my recollection is that overall, the WWF took more than they lost.

 

Etc.

 

I think what one will find in running through this is that "compatative" is pretty relative, and very narrow. JCP was competative in a few cities where they ran regularly, and of course in the markets in their home base where the WWF didn't run.

 

I think then what one will additionally find is that the markets that were JCP Only or JCP Dominant are small fry compared to the ones the WWF did. You have to get down to #11 for a JCP town. #28 for the next one. One gets down to home bases like Greensboro (#45) and Richmond (#49), and you have WWF Towns like Dayton that are right there.

 

Now I agree that doesn't mean that Dayton drew more fans than Greensboro. But one tends to end up with two WWF cities vs a JCP city, and those two WWF cities probably drew more in a year. Except that it's not 2 vs. 1. It's probably 3 vs 1 or 4 vs 1 when you get to those Only and Dominant markets.

 

One last thing to remember:

 

For the most part, JCP has one Touring Crew/Card. The WWF had 3. So one will find the illusion of a JCP card and a WWF card in LA both drawing 5,000, or 6,000 vs 4,500 and it looks sort of competative. Really it wasn't. Hogan would come in the next month or the one after that and pop 10K+. And bad JCP shows would be in the 3,000 range. Over the course of the "battle" between the two in Los Angeles in 1986-87, JCP didn't draw close to the same average.

 

Anyway, here's the list if someone wants to give it a go:

 

18,087,251 New York

14,531,529 Los Angeles

8,065,633 Chicago

6,253,311 SanFran/Oak/San Jose

5,899,345 Chicago

4,665,236 Detroit

4,171,643 Boston

3,923,574 DC

3,885,415 Dallas

3,711,043 Houston

 

3,192,582 Miami

2,833,511 Atlanta

2,759,823 Cleveland

2,559,164 Seattle

2,498,016 San Diego

2,464,124 Minneapolis / St. Paul

2,444,099 St. Louis

2,382,172 Baltimore

2,242,798 Pittsburgh

2,122,101 Phoenix

 

2,067,959 Tampa / St. Pete

1,848,319 Denver

1,744,124 Cincy

1,607,183 MIL

1,566,280 KC

1,481,102 Sacremento

1,477,895 Portland

1,396,107 Norfolk

1,377,419 Columbus

1,302,099 San Antonio

 

1,249,822 Indy

1,238,816 New Orleans

1,189,288 Buffalo

1,162,093 Charlotte

1,141,510 Providence

1,085,837 Hartford

1,072,748 Orlando

1,072,227 Salt Lake City

1,002,410 Rochester

985,026 Nashville

 

981,747 Memphis

958,839 OK City

952,662 Louisville

951,270 Dayton

942,091 Greensboro

907,810 Birmingham

906,727 Jacksonville

874,304 Albany

865,640 Richmond

863,518 West Palm Beach

 

Last Add - I rooted for JCP in those days. I'd go to every JCP and WCW card if I was free. I tended to be selective on the WWF. Even in hindsight thinking back, I'd still rather go to the JCP cards than the WWF ones. But... I went to a lot of cards at the Forum where the crowds were pretty painful. You're rooting for this promotion... you want it to do well... and you really could see that there were problems.

 

John

[sek69]

My gift to others who grew up on '80s WWF: The uncensored version of Ron Bass bloodying Brutus Beefcake, as aired in Canada:

 

There was a link on the page to the censored version, and I just now realized how much they sweetened the crowd back then. Also lol @ Sean Mooney on commentary calling Koko B Ware "JYD".

[Guest robgomm]

Could someone give me some more information on this - the Al Perez suplex. I've seen precisely one Al Perez match but he sounds fun.

[tlk23]

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, www.f4wonline.com

 

-- Apparently, some people in WWE may be playing an inside joke on ECW wrestler Ricky Ortiz, who recently started on television. On last week's edition of ECW, Ortiz appeared in a backstage segment with Theodore Long and his assistant Tiffany. Ortiz told Long he had ideas for catchphases & nicknames, saying he wanted to be called "The Latin Assassin." Long reminded Ortiz that he has only had one match. Ortiz then told Long he's undefeated. Long informed Ortiz that he will have a chance to make it 2-0 on this week's edition of ECW. His match on Tuesday will be one to watch as it should be a good indication of where he's headed in WWE. Anyway, Ricky's gimmick is said to be based on a developmental wrestler in Ohio Valley Wrestling from a few years ago who was constantly thinking of catchphrases, ideas for T-shirts as well as gimmick ideas when he hadn't really learned to wrestle yet. Ortiz is relatively new to the wrestling business as he trained for a few months in late 2006, debuted in January 2007, wrestled the entire year, and went down with a knee injury at the start of 2008. The injury put him of action for a while, and he only wrestled a few matches in Florida Championship Wrestling upon his return to the ring a few months later. And unlike a number of other recent call-ups, he was brought up to the main roster without having to go through the dark match/house show match trial that sometimes make or break developmental wrestlers.

 

-- Ric Flair was scheduled to make some appearances in Canada in Brampton and Niagara Falls on 8/11 & 8/12, but the dates have been postponed. No new dates have been announced.

 

-- The Register-Herald out of Beckley, West Virginia has a story on Raw Superstar Jamie Noble, who is from Hanover, West Virginia. He talks about how he got into wrestling as well as his career including his time in WCW. The article notes his departure from WWE in September 2004 (Although, never mentioning how his steroid usage at the time came to light following a staph infection on his buttocks. In a 2005 interview, he said he requested the release because he felt he should be punished.) and signing with New Japan a month later. He stayed there for eight months before returning to WWE, never mentioning his time in Ring of Honor, where he became champion in August 2005. The article also said he works behind the scenes with WWE (as a road agent/"producer").

 

-- Here is the TV preview for tomorrow night's edition of Raw, which will take place in Batista's billed hometown of Washington D.C.:

 

"Discussing rumors of a new Raw GM; Cena and Batista's next step."

 

-- Today is Triple H's birthday, as he turns 39 years old. Today is also the birthday of SmackDown star Shannon Moore, who turns 29, as well as WWE developmental wrestler Nic Nemeth, who is 27. It was also Shawn Michaels' birthday this past Tuesday, as he turned 43 years old. In another birthday note, former WWE Diva Torrie Wilson turned 33 years old on Thursday. Also, The Fabulous Moolah would have turned 85 years old last Tuesday.

 

-- WWE developmental wrestler Johnny Curtis (not perennial ECW enhancement worker James Curtis/K.C. James) is on the road this week with the Raw brand getting some tryout matches. He defeated Matt Striker at both Friday and Saturday's Raw brand house shows in Youngstown, Ohio and Wheeling, West Virginia.

 

-- WWE's apparently teasing a future match between the returning Undertaker and WWE Champion Triple H. Here is what WWE.com wrote in their preview for this Friday's edition of SmackDown: "The news that Guerrero re-instated The Phenom has surely drawn the attention of every Superstar within WWE. But, the first Superstars to take notice were most certainly those on the SmackDown roster who will come face-to-face with The Deadman on Friday nights, including WWE Champion Triple H. But before The Game has to contend with The Phenom, he'll be focused on his match against The Great Khali at SummerSlam."

 

-- Well, it looks Vince McMahon is fine. He offered a comment for a press release the company put out regarding actress Jenny McCarthy's fight against Autism on Saturday Night's Main Event. McMahon said, "Many of our viewers have children or friends who are affected by autism and the WWE is committed to helping fund programs for families in need and advancing research that will help this generation of children." You can read the press release at this link. http://corporate.wwe.com/news/2008/2008_07_22_000.jsp

 

-- In some trivia, WWE television producer Kevin Dunn currently owns $2.03 million in WWE stock, reports the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Also, John Laurinatis owns $739,000 in WWE stock. All of the company's Senior Vice Presidents got stock grants this past week.

[Guest DaDirtiest]

My gift to others who grew up on '80s WWF: The uncensored version of Ron Bass bloodying Brutus Beefcake, as aired in Canada:

I remember watching this when I was young on the CBS affiliate out of Detroit even though I am Canadian and there was a huge pink X on the screen and it said Censored, it added much more intensity, I honestly remember it being much crazier than what I just watched.

 

Anyways, thanks for the blast from the past.

[Kronos]

-- The Register-Herald out of Beckley, West Virginia has a story on Raw Superstar Jamie Noble, who is from Hanover, West Virginia. He talks about how he got into wrestling as well as his career including his time in WCW. The article notes his departure from WWE in September 2004 (Although, never mentioning how his steroid usage at the time came to light following a staph infection on his buttocks. In a 2005 interview, he said he requested the release because he felt he should be punished.) and signing with New Japan a month later. He stayed there for eight months before returning to WWE, never mentioning his time in Ring of Honor, where he became champion in August 2005. The article also said he works behind the scenes with WWE (as a road agent/"producer")

Noble was ROH champion and, at least from a fan standpoint, a very respected worker. I wonder why he would neglect to mention his tenure there? Could the writer have left it out? Or could Noble have felt that it would be bad politics to discuss it?

[Tim Evans]

He probably knows no casual fan in West Virginia knows what ROH is so why mention it?

[Guest Hack]

Dear lord Ox Baker was awesome. Watching him dismantle poor old souls in WWC is pretty awesome.

[tlk23]

Source: prowrestling.net

Contains RAW spoiler 2nd item down

 

 

- Jesse Ventura was a guest on Howard Stern this morning. Jesse was on the show for over an hour and discussed a number of topics, including a wrestlers union, Hulk Hogan pimping his children on TV, politics, 9-11 conspiracies and more. One of the more interesting parts of the appearance was Jesse discussing an angle he proposed to Vince McMahon for this year's WrestleMania in Orlando. Jesse toyed with the idea of running for President and wanted to kick off his campaign at WrestleMania. The angle Jesse pitched was that Vince would announce that WWE would be getting into politics because he did not like the current candidates and would ask the fans to get the WWE Party on every state ballot by organizing a campaign. Once WWE was a legit political party, Vince would announce the Presidential candidate—himself. Jesse then said he would come out and confront Vince and say no way would he allow that and he would work an angle with Vince at WM where he would have won and gone on to be the WWE candidate and actually run a real campaign. Seriously. Jesse said Vince never got back to him about it, but that Vince would be sorry - because Navy Seals don't get mad, they get even.

 

-- I forgot to point out, but when Shane McMahon's music hit on Raw last night, he pretty much gave away who the new General Manager of Raw was going to be to the live audience. When the music hit, Adamle strangely left the commentary position and grabbed a ring mic, only to be told to go back to the booth.

 

-- WWE is apparently giving away a Limited Edition WrestleMania XXIV Chopper Die-Cast as a gift to subscribers of WWE 24/7. They sent out a letter saying, "Dear Valued Customer & WWE Fan, In connection with your purchase of WWE 24/7 On Demand, you have qualified to receive a Limited Edition WrestleMania XXIV Chopper Die-Cast (the "Chopper Die-Cast") as a gift." However, there is a problem. They then wrote, "As a result of several factors, including the earthquake in China that led to an initial manufacturing delay, followed by unforeseen tooling problems, we are unable to ship the Chopper Die-Cast gift by the original stated delivery date. Unfortunately, we cannot yet predict when we will be able to ship your Chopper Die-Cast. Please accept the enclosed limited edition t-shirt created by WWE and Orange County Choppers, which is available only to those affected by this delay, as our way way of apologizing to you for the delay and thanking you for you patience." The shirt features a WrestleMania 24 logo as well as an image of a Chopper. Anyway, the letter then gives you two options. You can either maintain your order for the little Chopper Die-Cast and wait for it become available, or cancel your order for the Chopper Die-Cast and a receive a check in the amount of $24.99, the value of the toy.

 

Brooke Hogan has updated her MySpace blog and she is not happy with the media for reporting that she skipped Nick Hogan's 18th birthday party in jail earlier this week.

 

"Here's how stupid and inaccurate the media can be..." Brooke writes. "They must have thought I didn't show cause they didn't see me. Uh...there's such thing as a back door, you jerks.

 

"In conclusion...That goes to show you that you can't believe anything you watch on TV or read in magazines. Cause people will make up BS without even knowing the facts. Hey Media! Why don't you gather facts, check them, and then give the public the truth? That might work. Oh no...I forgot. You make too much money telling lies."

 

 

JR's Blog RAW Spoiler

 

SNME… Adamle, New Raw GM… Grisham to ECW?

July 29, 2008

It was a big nite Monday nite in D.C. The King and I received a much appreciated ovation when we were introduced prior to the Saturday Night’s Main event. SNME, which airs this Saturday on NBC at 9/8 central. 5 of the 6 segment featured wrestling including an all star 8 man tag featuring Raw superstars. The final match was a one on one bout, that was a hot one, between Edge and Jeff Hardy. Helluva bout. Also World Champ C.M. Punk did a really solid job on commentary during the 8 man tag. It would seem that it will be JBL vs. Punk for the World’s Title at Summerslam, but that will be up to new Raw GM Mike Adamle.

 

The naming of Adamle as Ras GM was universally considered a shocker by the Raw superstars. I did not see this one coming and it will be most interesting to see how the former NFL running back and sports broadcaster settles into his new, high profile. Some wrestlers were especially vocal regarding Adamle’s announcement which was kept as a well concealed secret.

 

On other side notes regarding announcing, it is expected that a banged up Michael Cole will return to his Raw post next Monday in Knoxville.

 

With Adamle focusing on Raw, rumor has it that Todd Grisham will join Tazz on ECW TV show going forward.

 

My return, for one nite only on Raw, was fun and I had zero advance notice that my services would be needed Monday on my old post. It came as a total surprise that I would be appearing on Raw, I but really enjoyed sitting next to The King on our old show. I didn’t mean to come off as a jerk when correcting Adamle, but when one is wrong one is wrong and Lord knows every announcer in the WWE has been corrected at one time or another. It just goes with the territory sort of like breaking a few eggs to make an omelette. Yours truly arrived in Harrisburg, PA from D.C. at 2 a.m. this morning to get ready for Tuesday night’s Smackdown taping. That ended a 20 hour day in the glamorous world of sports entertainment. Any body got a cup of coffee?

 

Boomer Sooner!

JR

 

[tlk23]

I love how Hardy said that Colin was a real "Wildcat" while talking to Chris Harris.

[tlk23]

source: ProWrestling.NET, PWInsider.com

 

- Tomko is through with TNA. He was saying goodbye to everyone backstage after last night's Impact taping. He'll be working full time in Japan. Tomko joined TNA in November 2006.

 

- WWE issued the following press release this morning confirming that actor Freddie Prinze, Jr. has been hired as a creative writer:

 

Prinze, Jr. Joins WWE Creative Team

July 30, 2008

 

STAMFORD, Conn, July 30, 2008 – Freddie Prinze, Jr., a long-time fan of World Wrestling Entertainment®, joins WWE®’s creative team. Prinze, Jr. will now have a behind the scenes role contributing to WWE’s weekly television and pay-per-view programs. “Freddie Prinze, Jr.’s passion, energy and creativity make him an excellent fit for WWE,” said Chairman Vince McMahon. "Bringing on board an experienced Hollywood writer, actor and producer like Freddie Prinze, Jr. will only increase the level of entertainment to millions of viewers and passionate WWE fans every Monday on USA," said Chris McCumber, Executive Vice President Marketing Digital & Brand Strategy, USA Network. WWE’s programming is seen weekly by nearly 15 million viewers in the United States alone, and in 130 countries around the world (Monday Night RAW®, ECW® and Friday Night SmackDown®).

 

- Kevin Nash left last night's Impact taping early (scheduled to air on 8/7) after being frustrated with the planned finish in his match on the show. Nash balked at the planned finish in his match and left the building a short while later.

 

-- TNAwrestling.com has learned that in the coming weeks, a new event will be announced for TNA's January "Maximum Impact" tour of the United Kingdom! In fact, according to sources in our Live Events department, the additional show will take place in Ireland, along with the previously announced dates in Great Britain and Scotland! Check back to TNAwrestling.com next week for more details! To get your tickets for January's TNA UK tour, visit http://www.tnaliveuk.co.uk.

 

-- TNAwrestling.com announced the following this morning: TNA Wrestling is nearing completion of our brand-new 20,000 square foot TNA TV Studio near our headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee! The new studio will have several editing bays for the creation of our worldwide programming ("iMPACT!", Xplosion, etc) and DVD production, as well as standup/on-camera sets (similar to what ESPN uses). The studio will also house audio areas, a tape library, conference rooms as well as TNA's growing Merchandise Department. For those that have been employed with TNA since the beginning in 2002, this new state-of-the-art Television Studio is certainly a major milestone for our company.

 

-- The official website of ECW star Elijah Burke, TheElijahBurkeExpress.com, was hacked last night. Burke posts blogs on the website, and a blog supposedly written by him claimed he was sideswiped by a car and hospitalized as a result. That is in fact a hoax as Burke is perfectly fine. The hacker then posted a number of racial epithets against Burke. The website was then shut down/put offline to prevent any future issues.

 

-- Former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro posted a blog on her MySpace page this morning saying that she will be back on our television screens "in no time." She seems very excited. Here is what she posted:

 

NEW NEWS!

 

The meds are working! FINALLY!! So happy what a hug weight off my shoulders. I cant tell you how rough it was for awhile butt hings are looking up punkers!! I shoud be back o your television screens in no time! I miss you terribly and want to thank everyone ho showed support and love during this hard time. I truly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. I LOVE YA!!!! So much to tell you but its a surprize!!!!!!! Drop a line again super soon promise

xoxoxoxooox

post song

mia - paper planes

 

-- Former WWE Superstar Bobby Lashley has relaunched the website of his online supplement company. He is also blogging on the website, but has yet to write a blog. You can find the relaunched website at LashleyNutrition.com Lashley is currently training for MMA and will be fighting for the American Fight League later this year.

 

-- Former WCW World Heavyweight Champion Bill Goldberg as well as former boxer Sugar Ray Leonard are the celebrity contestants for tonight's taping of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?. The episode should be airing soon. An e-mail was sent out saying that it's the last taping of the season and that all tickets are free. The e-mail also said that the show tapes in Hollywood and the minimum age to attend is 12.

 

-- It looks we've seen the last of Dustin Rhodes, 39, as a full-time performer on national television. TNA removed the profile of his alter ego, Black Reign, from the roster section on the company website earlier in the week, which should confirm his departure from the organization. When you visit his former profile page, for some reason it re-directs to the profile page of TNA Knockout Angelina Love.

 

Black Reign had been off television for three months and counting, his last appearance taking place on the 4/24 Impact during a tag team title tournament. Rhodes debuted at last year's Victory Road pay-per-view to start a program with "Wildcat" Chris Harris. He debuted his "Black Reign" persona at last August's Hard Justice pay-per-view, losing to Harris via disqualification. Later he was involved with the likes of Abyss and Rellik, participating in a "Monster's Ball" match, a "Shop of Horrors" match, as well as a "Match of 10,000 Tacks" match in subsequent pay-per-views. Reign then entered a program with Frankie "Kaz" Kazarian as well as Eric Young. Reign and Rellik lost to Kaz and Young at the Destination X pay-per-view. He worked a few more shows through April before disappearing.

 

Around the time of his disappearance, TNA started devoting more television time to the Knockouts, giving them at least two segments per show instead of one because they often scored the highest-rated segments for Impact. Due to the additional Knockouts segment(s), that basically squeezed out fringe characters such as Black Reign and Rellik from getting any television time.

 

Rhodes was believed to be on a pay-per-appearance deal.

 

-- In the roster section of the official TNA website, the name on the picture of former WWE star Daivari has been changed from his former ring name to "Abdul Bashir" to reflect his new persona in the company. The alt tag of the image actually reads "Sheik Abdul Bashir," but they couldn't fit the text of the entire name into the small image. There is no profile page linked from the image at the moment. Daivari recently signed a contract with TNA, so he's going to be a regular in the company.

 

-- TNA wrestler Matt Morgan made his debut on American Gladiators on last week's show. He quickly defeated his opponents in the jousting event. "To say I'm excited is a huge understatement," Morgan said. "Wrestling is in my blood and TNA will always be my home - and the chance to appear on both TNA and American Gladiators is a major personal accomplishment." Also, he apparently has a TNA nickname in "The Blueprint." TNA has an article, photos and video regarding Morgan on American Gladiators (which you can see at this link), and he's referenced by that nickname. Morgan used "The Blueprint" nickname during his time Ohio Valley Wrestling, but WWE opted not to use it.

http://www.tnawrestling.com/content/view/944/84/

 

Lance Storm Blog

Thank You: ROH

July 28, 2008

 

“Sometimes it is better to give than receive”. It’s an age-old saying, but truer words have not been spoken. Last week I wrote about my pending trip to Ring of Honor and how I was making the trip in an effort to give back. To give back to the industry that treated me so well and to help out a company and a locker room I believe in and think deserves it. I was not making the trip because of what ROH could do for me, but for what I might do for ROH.

 

I gave of my time, my knowledge, my experience, and even my body. I received no paycheck for doing so and yet somehow I still came out the better for it in the end. I cannot thank Ring of Honor or the great fans in Toronto and Detroit enough for the experience this past weekend; I truly had the time of my life.

 

Toronto was the show I was most looking forward to and it did not disappoint. Toronto fans showed up in great numbers (1200 – 1500) and were the best and rowdiest crowd I’ve seen since the original ECW One Night Stand PPV. You can’t have a great show without great fans and the Toronto fans did their part to making this show a fantastic event. Everyone just seemed to feed off each other, the crowd fueling the boys and the boys responding to it, which in return produced greater matches and more reaction from the crowd.

 

I was completely over whelmed by the response I received in Toronto. I wasn’t sure what kind of reaction I was going to get when I stepped out in front of that crowd (yes, if you haven’t heard, I played a roll in the show in addition to just signing autographs) and I was absolutely blown away. It’s good to know fans remember and appreciate my past efforts and I can’t thank them enough for the reception they gave me.

 

I got to cut a promo on Larry Sweeney, put the half crab on Chris Hero (something that would come back to bite me in the ass in Detroit) as well as Superkick poor Mr. Hagadorn. It was a bad night all around for Sweet and Sour Incorporated.

 

In addition to my appearance the Toronto crowd was treated to the return of Mark Briscoe, a ROH World Title match, and a ton of other great matches, my personal favourite probably being the Roderick Strong vs. Naomichi Marufuji match.

 

Detroit was not quiet as special for me (Canada is my home after all) but it too was a fantastic night. I had yet another run in with Sweet and Sour Incorporated, although this time I was suffering from dry mouth and a 10-pound tongue and mumbled my way through a horrendous promo. (The PPV is worth ordering just for that atrocity) I did at least managed to get my hands on Larry Sweeney but paid the price at the hands of Chris Hero. For those of you wondering I am not making a comeback, but I do have a receipt penciled in for Mr. Hero to be paid back at some point in the future!

 

There were a ton of great matches in Detroit including the return of Mark and Jay Briscoe to tag team action, Nigel McGuinness vs. Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH World Title, and the match of the night between Bryan Danielson and Tyler Black, who managed to both break the ring and steal the show.

 

This was a fantastic weekend for me and I want to thank everyone in ROH. Thank you for extending me your respect and welcoming me into your locker room. You guys are a credit to this industry, and I was proud to be a part of your show. I hope my advice and feedback benefits you as much as my being around you has benefited me. You have helped recharge my love for this sport and for that I thank you. I hope to see you all again in the future. If you haven’t yet checked out Ring of Honor, you are really missing out!!

 

Lance Storm

 

Jake Roberts RAW Review

RAW Review: July 28, 2008

 

Here we go again! Still very puzzled about the talent list left on Raw. Smackdown is loaded above Raw by a mile. Sure do love the old footage on opening. Maybe someday I could even be on it. Certainly would be proud and don't feel like it would hurt, but maybe the reason I'm not is possibly there might be a small chance of being back on Raw in another way (talent)? Could use it and would love to show the world just how much the gift WWE provided my family, fans, friends and most of all myself wasn't wasted. I will always be eternally grateful for the life saving package provided. Enough of my personal feelings and lets get to the action or lack of.

 

Cena--why do so many guys slip up with interviews and call someone by their first name? I mean, maybe they are trying to show it's personal or even establish friendship. Just don't think I would like being called by my real name. Listening to Cena, wonder who is turning heel? Cena threw the first curve and Batista by laughing gave the 2nd shot. Shane appears, drops the bomb, and sets the table by announcing tag match, not telling CM Punk's World Title match or who new G.M. Is. Like it, oh yes keeps us watching and guessing. Anticipation is the key to excitement. The mind is playing out all the possibilities right now.

 

Kelly Kelly & D.Lo vs Santino Morella & Beth Phoenix

Again the face starts the punching. How many finishing maneuvers before a hold? Oops! Weren't any at all. D.Lo came back like a house on fire--fire extinguished pretty quick though. Glamazon and Santino are fun to watch. Loved his reaction to kiss; probably going to be many more episodes. Just wonder where they are headed with it. Maybe hers as champ and him as a male valet? Don't think I would have opened the action up with this match. Better spot in show would have been before the main event. Back in the day we called it the "popcorn match."

 

Lawler & Duggan vs Dibiase & Rhodes Still enjoying the slap..

New G.M. Establishing himself as a comedian I guess because M. Cole, please-- could new G.M. Be Dibiase? Jerry got his spots in and this worked better than I thought. Although might have meant more had they broken M. Cole's arm or hand, that way there would have been visual reminder for a few weeks. Still money has got to be on Dibiase as G.M or Rhodes on 2nd thought. Still got to be Dibiase. Priceless, right.

 

Jamie Noble vs Koki Kinston

Guess the G.M. Thought this would be a match worthy of being on T.V. Must say wasn't that horrid for less than 90 seconds. Kinston is exciting and fans are beginning to warm to him. Let's remember we eat what is put on the table. If you're hungry, you will swallow it. Even at best, there have been (3) so called contests (no make that matches) because none were a contest.

 

C.M. Punk vs William Regal

Thank you Mr. Regal. You have just rescued me and all the other wrestling fans who enjoy a contest, fight, or match. C.M., welcome to becoming established. This match helped you much more than you think. Sometimes when we can't make those watching believe we are tough, it takes a match such as this to begin to create a fighting champion. May have felt like hell but it helped, believe me! You should thank Mr. Regal for lifting you to another level. Regal, great stuff! Especially the post and kick. Great to see holds applied and worked. Problem is you did more of than we will see the rest of the night.

 

Jericho--headed for Punk to be Champ, then Shawn comes back for one more time around the horn. Just a guess. Punk better off with Jericho than the big boys. Batista, Kane, Cena, JBL, etc.

Mickey Jaye vs Jillian

 

Choreographed all the way through. Horrible DDT.

Damn, some Dad you are-Peggy Lee grab the thunder and be someone we can sink our teeth into.

 

Edge—Damn, what did you do to deserve this one? Are you auditioning for a soap opera? I'm sure it must feel like it. At least you get Undertaker in a main event. That's money. Look forward to seeing him.

 

That's it ...main event to follow.

[Al]

The meds are working! FINALLY!! So happy what a hug weight off my shoulders.

And lord knows she needed to take more weight off.

[tlk23]

From the newest Observer

 

The original plan was for Punk to go heel and win the Money in the Bank later this year. The suggestion for Punk to win the title the way it went down at first didn’t go over well, but the arguments were made that since the company decided on a youth movement and to shake things up (and it is amazing that the minute they started going with new people on top the ratings started getting a little better) that Punk is the guy to push more than anyone else. The argument is that Punk was more popular than he should have been given his push (true) and that he sells far more merchandise than someone in his position should (also true). Ever since Vince green lighted Punk winning the title, suddenly everyone in creative is 100% backing him. The producers on the other hand were very quiet when they were told, because many of them don’t think highly of Punk’s work, but none of them will ever argue against a Vince direction because everyone is afraid of losing their job. HHH behind the scenes is not a supporter of his dating back to his arrival in the company, and has joked that they now need to turn Michaels heel so Punk can have someone who can work him through a world title match. The Punk not looking strong is part of the Vince directive. Vince believes that Punk as a babyface always clinging onto the belt against “better” guys will cause fans to get behind him in the long run. It was the same idea he had with Mysterio, which in hindsight, most feel was a big mistake, but Vince was also never behind Mysterio as anything but a transitional champion at that time.

[tlk23]

NEWS and NOTES

 

- Sabu has been calling around looking at getting back in the ring. It was just a few months ago when he was telling people he wouldn’t be able to ever bump again, but now he’s saying with a few months of rest, he feels better, although he still has to limit what he does.

 

- “Get Smart” did $2,272,394 over the weekend for No. 11, and its domestic total is now $124,186,385 and is at around $190 million worldwide.

 

- Bret Hart is in need of a full knee replacement. It’s been something he’s been told he would need for probably 11 years, but he was putting it off until he really had no choice. When he was in Italy on his recent trip, with all the walking on uneven pavement, it had become brutal. Unlike others who get asked this question, Hart was adamant about if he was 20, would he have chosen UFC or pro wrestling: “I’d never do UFC. I wasn’t good enough and I was smarter than that. I have a lot of respect for UFC guys, but I still think they’re not getting the money they deserve, especially when I see them taking all those head shots. You can see the brain cells just vanishing when they get hit five, six times. It’s the kind of brain damage you carry around forever. You can’t put a price tag on your brain and I know that better than anyone else.” On Hulk Hogan’s comments about the problems with John Graziano being God’s will and some sort of retribution or karma on him: “I think he showed his true colors. He’s washed up. He exposed himself. It’s pretty callous. I think he dug himself an even bigger hole on Larry King. He was always selfish. Everything Hogan did was for Hogan.” Hart was respectful to Hogan during the WCW days but the straw that broke the camel’s back was when Hart agreed to do the WWE DVD, and one of the producers played him the clips of the “hit-piece” DVD WWE was going to do on him (similar to Ultimate Warrior) until he agreed. The comments by Michaels he expected and didn’t bother him that much. He was not happy with comments by Roddy Piper but since the two have always been close, he’s willing to say Piper was tricked into it and was led by the questioning, but Hogan’s portrayal of him upset him the most. When asked the wrestlers he considers friends, he said Austin, Edge, Jericho and Piper.

 

- Sylvan Grenier said in SlamWrestling he’d decided to take time off from wrestling and not work indies due to injuries and because he’s started three businesses in Montreal and doesn’t have much free time. He’s got a security company that he started before wrestling and continued to run while in WWE, a supplement company and not sure what the third company is, although he did say he’s thinking of opening a gym, and after all that, said he’s going to start taking indie bookings. His claim for appearing on the Signature Pharmacy list of clients is that the WWE told him he needed to get an American doctor instead of a Canadian doctor. Yeah, that makes perfect sense, the WWE trying to get wrestlers away from drug supplying doctors tells a guy living in Montreal to get a doctor who lives nowhere near Montreal. One of the biggest red flags that should be known at this point is having your personal physician more than, say, a 30 minute drive from your home. I mean, how many people routinely drive two hours in each direction to see their personal doctor? Let alone a guy in Montreal needing to have one in the U.S. He asked around about a doctor, and lo and behold, the doctor he picked ended up being with Signature Pharmacy and thus, when the bust came, his name was out. He noted he did nothing illegal, and technically, that would be correct, as it’s the doctors who were filling the prescriptions without visits from the patients who are the ones in trouble in that case.

 

- Bret Hart’s autobiography is now available for U.S. pre-ordering through amazon.com. The actual U.S. release date is 10/8. It can also be ordered today at amazon.ca and they ship into the U.S.

 

- Stacey Keibler will have a major role in the ABC Family network TV series “Samurai Girl” that debuts next month. They shot six episodes which will all air the weekend of 9/5 through 9/7. She’ll play the rival of the lead star who is the former fiancee of the girl who stars in the show as a Japanese teenager whose father is the head of a Yakuza. Keibler did an interview with WrestleZone.com talking about leaving WWE. She said: “I left the business because of the lifestyle. You don’t have a car or hotel paid for. You get dropped off on a Friday and you have to get around the state. A different city each night. You are away from friends and family. It was really tiring. I wanted to be more normal and sleep in my own bed every night.” She said her dream was always to be an actress and appearing on “Dancing with the Stars” got her noticed. She said even before going on the show she had mentally decided to take a year off wrestling to try her luck in Hollywood, but said the show was great timing or “I would have been any other blonde walking around the streets of Los Angeles. I thank my lucky stars.” She said WWE wanted to renegotiate her contract while she was on the show. She asked for a raise and also wanted first class air travel (which in WWE is reserved only for people who have held the world title or someone they consider special). “They asked me who I thought I was. They told me I was no different from another other Diva.” She said they told her absolutely not when it came to the first class. That probably would have coincided with WWE in the middle of her “Dancing with the Stars” run suddenly no longer pushing her on their shows, because they realized she wasn’t coming back.

 

- Jesse Ventura was on Howard Stern on 7/29 for 90 minutes, which is some kind of a record. Ventura, 57, noted he had a hip replacement six months ago from all the bumps from wrestling. Ventura said that wrestling shouldn’t be able to get away with calling its wrestlers independent contractors because Vince tells them when they are working, who they are working with, everything to do and who wins and loses. When asked about the Iron Sheik, Ventura said Sheik was another one (like Hogan) who wouldn’t back him when he tried to unionize wrestlers and that if the unionization would have taken place, perhaps today Sheik would have money needed for health care and his retirement. Sheik said that Jesse used to be his medicine man (drug dealer) and Jesse denied it. He said the only drugs he ever did in wrestling were testosterone, and only because it was required for wrestling, because you needed it to get big, stay big and to help recover from the nightly beatings. He did his usual spiel about believing 9/11 was an inside job and that Osama bin Laden is dead already but they pretend he’s alive so the country has an enemy. He said he would have won the senate had he run, and he flipped a coin to make his decision not to run, and that if he ran for president, he’d be assassinated. He said if he was a Senator he would demand WWE get investigated for failing to pay proper taxes due to categorizing the wrestlers as independent contractors. He claimed the day after he did Larry King, at 4 p.m., one hour before the deadline to file, he was talking with his wife and they were talking about what to do and she told him to flip a coin, so he did. Well, it makes for a good story. When the subject of UFC came up, he said he doesn’t believe they are real, saying they were “working stiff” because they go 25 minutes and real fights are over in 30 seconds. He noted that living in Mexico now, he has a different perspective saying the U.S. to those outside the country comes off as an arrogant country.

 

- The Boston Herald ran a story on the health problems of Walter “Killer” Kowalski, one of the all-time great heels in wrestling history. Kowalski, 81, is bedridden due to problems with his knees and living in a nursing home in Everett, MA. He would love to hear from any old fans c/o the Everett Nursing Home, 289 Elm St., Everett, MA 02149. Because of his age, overall health and having a pacemaker, doctors won’t operate on him.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported former WCW announcer and highly rated Pittsburgh sports talk host Mark Madden would be signing with WXDX, a rock station that carries the Pittsburgh Penguins, to do afternoon drive-time. The story said Madden reached a buyout deal with ESPN Radio, which was paying him on the rest of his contract after letting him go after he told a joke about Sen. Ted Kennedy’s brain cancer.

 

- Jeff Van Camp, who worked as Lord Humongous in Mid South Wrestling and Alabama in the 80s, is running for sheriff of Santa Rosa County in upstate Florida. Van Camp was pushed from the start due to his size and groomed for stardom as a wrestler, but the road schedule of Mid South and low payoffs caused him to quit the business and go into a career in law enforcement.

 

- Former WCW wrestler and artist Lash LeRoux is running for municipal election in Oxford, AL.

 

- Balls Mahoney was on tour of Ireland a few weeks back, did a brawl outside the building and onto a main street of town which I guess started people on the street enough that police were called and a near riot outside nearly took place. On the same tour, Doug Basham suffered a damaged eye socket, a swollen elbow and a bruised pec, although he didn’t miss any dates.

 

- Tony Schiavone will be the lead radio announcer for the Gwinnett Braves, the Atlanta Braves AAA farm team that plays in the metro area. Schiavone has been working as sports director for WSB radio, although it was WDUN, the newstalk station, is carrying the games. Schiavone’s original love was baseball, although he did grow up as a big wrestling fan in Raleigh. He actually got into wrestling because he was doing the radio announcing for the minor league Charlotte Orioles, who were owned by Frances Crockett, Jim’s sister, and when they found out he had so much interest in wrestling, they brought him in for their regional syndicated show. In 1986, when they took over the TBS time slots, Jim Crockett decided to go with his guy, Schiavone, instead of Gordon Solie, who had been a fixture on the station since the end of 1972. Even though Solie was well past his announcing prime by that time, Solie had a lot of popularity and those were big shoes to fill

 

- Reggie Parks, the 60s and 70s wrestler known for his physique, who is now best known for making championship belts for pro wrestling, boxing and MMA, has made two championship belts for Madonna and is working on a third one. One she wore on the cover of her album. The third belt may be for a Madonna statute in a wax museum. He’s also made title belts for the 2007 Tennessee Titans defensive line and the 1989 Oakland A’s. He made his first title belt in 1962 for promoter Joe Dusek in Omaha when he was working the territory. Parks stopped making WWF title belts about ten years ago over a royalties dispute over sales of replica belts. He said UFC was now his biggest client. He said it takes four people about two weeks to make a custom championship belt, which costs $1,000. He said one particularly elaborate belt for a Japanese promotion cost $12,000. His business started booming with the advent of the Internet and people buying belts from him and his team are usually working on about 20 belts at a time. Now 73, he dates back to being a carnival wrestler before turning pro.

 

- Ed Koskey is now the head writer for ECW, joining Michael Hayes as head writer of Smackdown and Brian Gewirtz as head writer of Raw.

 

- Foley’s contract expires I believe at the end of the summer. I don’t see anyone on the horizon being groomed for the color role, plus who had have better on-air chemistry with Ross so I presume they’ll offer him a new deal. Vince is way more critical of announcing talent, particularly as the show goes on, than he is of main event wrestling talent, so there is likely some culture shock, if that’s the right term, with Foley in the role. Basically the announcers have to learn to react positively to negativity, but since most like the job (the hours are great for the money you’re paid, you get the perks of being featured on television every week, and you’re not getting your body destroyed like almost everyone else on the show–although I suppose Jim Ross’ worsening eye that doesn’t allow him to drive at night stemming from a match contradicts that) you never see anyone voluntarily leaving the position.

 

- Jonathan Coachman is starting with ESPN imminently, but he was removed from the position, although most figured he wasn’t going to sign a new deal when this one came due because he had real sports opportunities elsewhere.

[Guest Hack]

Tony Schiavone will be the lead radio announcer for the Gwinnett Braves, the Atlanta Braves AAA farm team that plays in the metro area. Schiavone has been working as sports director for WSB radio, although it was WDUN, the newstalk station, is carrying the games. Schiavone’s original love was baseball, although he did grow up as a big wrestling fan in Raleigh. He actually got into wrestling because he was doing the radio announcing for the minor league Charlotte Orioles, who were owned by Frances Crockett, Jim’s sister, and when they found out he had so much interest in wrestling, they brought him in for their regional syndicated show. In 1986, when they took over the TBS time slots, Jim Crockett decided to go with his guy, Schiavone, instead of Gordon Solie, who had been a fixture on the station since the end of 1972. Even though Solie was well past his announcing prime by that time, Solie had a lot of popularity and those were big shoes to fill

THIS HAS BEEN THE GREATEST BASEBALL GAME OF OUR GENERATION, FOLKS!

[Kronos]

Tony: "Folks, don't worry, it doesn't hurt the ball that much when it gets hit by the bat. It looks much worse than it is."

[Al]

If Tony handles road games, it might be worth trying to track him down when the Gwinnett Braves come to Scranton.