Man, last night's Raw was not good. Not good at all. Even the Hardy thing was just kind of eh. They are going to have to show their cards in the next week or two and have Hardy talk or else these sneak attacks are going to get real old. Here are some thoughts on the show...
-Did Shelton Benjamin step in some Crisco before his match and not wipe his boots off? I swear I counted 3 slip ups off of spring board moves throughout the night and then it looked like he slipped again when he came out to even up the lumberjack match. More of that and he's going to end up seriously injured and more importantly, getting the dreaded sloppy tag attached to his work.
-I can't stand that they change Bischoff's GM powers from month to month. One month, he can't make a match with HBK and Hassan and Davairi, yet HHH can make a match with JR. Then this month he has the power to suspend or fire Cena and put him in whatever match he feels. It's inconsistency like this that makes me hate the GM role, which I consider one of the biggest crutches the writing team has since the Attitude era ended.
-Who's sick idea was it to have Cena face Snitsky? I thought you were supposed to protect guys by hiding weaknesses and accentuating strengths? Having Cena in a position to have to "carry" a guy like Snitsky is just beyond dumb. Jericho was right in that he was going to "expose" Cena on monday, although I think he meant that differently. Do they want Cena to fail as champ? Right now, they are on the right path if that's the intention.
- The Masterlock challenge and Diva Search are 15 minutes of life I'd like to have back, RIGHT NOW! Even with Big Show coming out, I couldn't care less if he does break the Masterlock or not and I have even less desire to want to see them wrestle. I can't say anything about the Diva Search that your 2 eyes, 2 ears, and brain shouldn't already be telling you.
- I hope that was the end of Matt Striker in the Angle Challenge. The Angle challenge shouldn't go away because if they can keep it up longer, they can hotshot it to the right person and make a star very quickly. Boy, I'd actually mark out if Charlie Haas could come back and be that person. Striker isn't going to earn a roster spot (at least I dont' think he is) and isn't worthy of winning the challenge. Enough of him already. I don't see what other people see in him.
-Either HBK is holding back or doesn't want to go full heel. It won't hurt the match in my eyes because I'm just interested in how these 2 primadonnas are going to work a finish, but the marks, the 98% of fans out there need some more. I'm not going to lie and say I want Hogan to win, because I don't. He can't work nearly as often as HBK can and if Michaels can get this win, HBK could be in position to make a star out of someone down the line because he'll be one of the few with a win over Hogan. A win for Hogan isn't going to do anyone any good except pop the fans in the arena at the time. Hogan is eventually going to either leave the company again, or go on a long ass sabbatical, so I'm pulling for HBK. However, I don't like this approach of trying to keep HBK face as much as possible so when this program is over, he slides right back into facedom.
I'll share more later.
Cena takes down seven guys...Kobashi and Sakuke a classic?
Here is the RAW Recap (Phil Schneider-DVDR)
Intresting.
Now for The NOAH Results (A Bit Late, I know)
Intresting, however the last match may have been a little better then the second to last match. Misawa needs to lose some pounds however, because according to reports Kawada ran away with this match and was much skinner too. Hey, now if you dont get ass in Husle (you will see what I mean in a moment) you will not get to kick ass against your greatest rival.
All in all, Noah did a wonderfull show, however, they braged that Misawa, Kobashi, and Rikio did 66,000 seats (where the real number is 45,000 to 50,000) No need to brag, NOAH is where its at today. I do expect a Big All Japan show soon, with the NOAH stars...
(Credit To Puroesu Power for the Results)
More coming this week:
But this could be a bit offenive (not as offencive as what the WWE did but...)
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/battle/news/2005...050716051_l.jpg
They dont call him Dangeous K for nothing.
See you guys soon...oh and for the quote last week, credit goes to KingPK
I wrote this (probably) 4 years ago for (probably) a Writers Craft class in high school (Grade 13, OAC, something silly for only Ontario students to go through). I used to write overly-needlessly-uselessly dramatic stories about really simple things - often things I see, say, on a teachers desk - that usually ends with some horrific realization on mankind. I wrote about Chris Benoits' arms once, and it amused those around me so much that I was asked to read it infront of the class and it tore the place down. If I find it, I will post it. Though I think this is a better piece. I will post more of my high school essays and what-not here, because dammit, I was smrt.
Unseen Glory: The 3-Hole-Punch Story
Standing there. Silent. Suspended. Secluded. Alone. Glistening in the light, the mighty 3-Hole-Punch rests stoically, waiting for its time to truly shine. A figure passes; will it? Will it. will it? Will it. will it? Will it. will it? It won't. Again, passed by. Tears are for the weak, one must remain strong in times of darkness. No Tears. No Love. No Light. Just Silence. It's sort of sad, in a way, to watch such a proud and noble thing as this just go unused, undiscovered, unappreciated, unloved. But life, in it's own little way, is sad. We live. We die. Yet the hole punch, the hole punch is forever. Forever tormented, forever punching holes in stuff. Generations shall pass it by, from Grandparent, to Parent, to Child, to Parent, To Grandparent, maybe an Aunt or Uncle once in a while, a drunken college-frat brother, some brash young wild buck with eyes that will look into your soul and discover all the lies that you worked so hard to hide, the woman you loved but tore your heart out when she too discovered the lies, and so it goes, holes in the paper of infinity, the circular pieces of the damned, the rubber collection plate of mortality, the shuffling of the documents in the book of forever, occasionally taking a page out and putting another in.
And still, there rests the hole punch, it's base and its lever form a crude, yet provoking bill of a mouth, waiting to devour whatever is placed in its mighty jaws... Yet always pressed to be closed to be open. The lion is king of the jungle, Zeus is king of the gods, the hole punch is king of the desk, and man, man is king of nothing. Not destiny, not time, not fate, not life nor love, not anything. Except for one. In the tiny world of the desk, the microcosm of mankind, a place of order and disorder, man controls one thing and one thing only; And there it sits, while man tries to foolishly control life and love and fate and time, there stands the 3-hole-punch. Silent. Secluded. Alone. Waiting.
Benoit v Regal looked to be good stuff, but the flow was definitely ruined by the two commercial breaks, so it's hard to give it a fair rating. It didn't appear to be at the level of their 2000 Pillman Memorial match, but when I get to see the match without the breaks, I'll be able to say for sure.
The happenings surrounding the debut of The Boogeyman at a Smackdown house show were classic divine comedy. God had to be pissing on the gimmick, which I think most of us mere mortals will be doing should it hit the screens without some serious tuning up.
The initial buy rate for Vengeance is in, and it's a little higher than the first returns for ONS. Naturally, there are those who are gloating over this, which is both missing the point, and missing the fact that it didn't blow ONS out of the ballpark either, which is what I'd be most concerned about. I also note that some people are saying that the Cena v Jericho v Christian match drew more of the buys than Hunter v Batista. Quite how a major gimmick match between two of the biggest stars of Raw, complete with main event level push, would draw less buys than a match between one star and two perennial midcarders, without the main event level push, I don't know, but I guess you can't expect everyone to know what they're talking about.
Speaking of which, someone expressed the opinion that WCW having the better in-ring quality than WWE is a myth. I guess they missed out on WCW having a far better undercard than the WWF for 1996-1998, and some undercard matches that blew away most of what the WWF was putting out, even some of Bret, Shawn or Austin's work at some points. Main events aside, which were usually average to horrible, WCW had a more well-rounded and far superior in-ring product to WWF for a most of the late 90's.
I'm really looking forward to NOAH's Dome Show this weekend. The undercard is a little hit-and-miss, but the top three matches should be something else, if only from a spectacle standpoint. Naturally, the most anticipated match is the main event, with the first Mitsuharu Misawa v Toshiaki Kawada match in over five years, and their first ever match in NOAH. This will easily be the most heated and intense match of the night, and with Kawada being a free agent, I'm betting on him to get the win over Misawa, to set up a run against the top NOAH names, likely ending with a singles bout against Kenta Kobashi. Kobashi will be taking on Kensuke Sasaki, in what will be a hard hitting match, and I expect Kobashi to get the win there.
ROH shouldn't have used Matt Hardy. Their fanbase should be smart enough to know that Hardy is just there to further a WWE angle, and that is the absolute last thing that ROH fans want to see at an ROH show. And then to have Hardy make Chris Daniels tap out? Even with the interference of CM Punk, that one was just stupid. Sapolsky must be smoking something low grade if he agreed to that, not least because Daniels isn't getting his heat back from Hardy.
Cena v Edge? Cena right now, but I don't see him sustaining this level of overness for more than another year or so, so I would keep Edge strong so he can be the one to get the belt after. Of course, that doesn't take into account the fact that Hunter will want the belt not long after he returns, regardless of how over Cena is at the time, and so Edge is unlikely to be more than a transitional champion, like everyone not named HHH, even if he should be more.
Of all the recent firings from the WWE, one in particular has struck me the hardest.
The song has ended. The dream is over. There will be no more "Bukkake Miss Jackie" jokes.
"Leave us alone but pleasepleaseplease give us publicity anyway.”
Here are some of the matches from WCW Smackdown:
The Mexicools vs. Paul London, Funaki and Scotty 2 Hotty
Could have been better: 2 stars
Eddie Guerrero vs. Hardcore Holly
I love the Texas Cloverhold. Why dont more people use it? 2 and one half stars...
Booker T vs. Christian
Semi Squash here. 1 star
Batista vs. Orlando Jordan (w/JBL)
2 stars.
Raw won this week easly. Is WCW Smackdown chuggling along to its end on UPN? Stay Tuned.
But the best match was not on Raw or WCW Smackdown- it was on WCW Smackdown sisters show, Velocity:
Nice. Hope to see it on Smackdown soon as the main event...
Lets get into some Puro news-
A new Japanese blog has been started for the new Sendai Girls' Pro-Wrestling promotion. It appears to be unofficial, but a very good resource. http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/sendaigirls
Ring of Honor announced this evening that Pro Wrestling NOAH star Kenta Kobashi will appear for the promotion on Saturday 10/1 at the New Yorker Hotel in New York City in his first domestic wrestling appearance that I can ever recall. The appearance was confirmed about two hours ago by ROH officials.
Tickets for the 10/1 event are scheduled to go on sale tomorrow at ROH's return to Manhattan at the same venue.
Some Indy news:
Lets head to the other side of the pond...
You know what time it is!?
FIRE PRO RETURNS TIME!
Aint that right...
Updates- They finally got the Gallery up. We know the date of the relace of the game... Sept 15. More Video Updates. The game gets a CEBO 12 (equlivent to the US E/10-Teen rating) Also, DDT stars (from Pro Wrestle DDT) are playing the game already and will have there remarks over at a magazine Called Pure Sport. We will give you details on how they liked it on the next update (come on, its not that hard to get a Japanese Magazine now?)
But finally and sadly... some news about the burial of Shin'ya Hashmoto:
Links to the Vigil (Video): Windows Media 9/10 56K Media Player 300K and Higher Real Player 56KReal Player 300K and Over
Main Funeral (Video) 56K Windows MediaWindows Media 300K and Over
Real Player 56K
Real Player 300K and Over
What I am worried about this, and nobody really wants to say it, is that Hashimoto may have been the best pro star of his era period. He knew how to make everybody better around him. He had in his life more charator than most would like to admit.
He was truly Japanese, and not because it was his gimmick. He wasnt...westerised in a sense. Not that it is a bad thing, but I see a dilution in things. Certian things cannot be touched. He was a man of No Gimmicks, a truly beautful, learned and understandbly romatic person. And he stuck to his ways. He respected everybody in the businsess like a brother. Ever notice that most of male childerns charaters from Pikachu and so on, all are based on the model of this man?
And yet, people forgot him as time passed. The hardcore went to more talented men like Misawa and Nagata...as the Japanese causals went to MMA because they wanted a stable force. But the Very Little I saw of Hashimoto, i knew this guy loved this business. And its kills me, that the lack of hope in Puroesu, epecualiy New Japan, could have changed in a instant if he was still alive.
In the United States, most wonder what is Strong Style. Strong Style is not a NOAH based head drop game. Never was. Strong Style was never was Lucharesu. I see strong style, not as Ground and Pound- but a great style, that can produce wonderful match types. The Brand, has used parts and pieses of New Japan Strong Style back in 2002/2004 at Smackdown. You never would have believed me if I said that could have been the time The Brand could have moved away from the showman style. But it might be a bit late for that.
But why did I go to a tangant about that? Its because that Hashimoto lived by Strong Style and became famous and greater that many of his counter parts. You cant say that in the WWE Today with the halfway things Vince has done. Hashimoto if given a chance, would have taken over both Japan and The US because his style would have won over crouds, and his charisma would have won there hearts. Even fans of Austin and Rock have to agree, Hashimoto had IT. He had Champion written in the stars. He had the fighting spirit and strong style was his calling card.
He didnt die because of that style. He died because the buisness backstabbed him, and died of a broken heart. Stress over a tough relationship with his wife, the pressures of headlineing eight 50,000 seat venues, the Zero One project, and his money problems. It can do a lot to a man. Look at the American side of the industry, its much worse.
What else can I say. This man will be deeply missed. Rest in Peace.
(10 Bell Saulte)
See you all Monday.
I've noticed a new saying cropping up, particularly in hip hop and amongst professional athletes. "It is what it is". What does it mean? It's kind of a lazy saying and not very deep. Then again, pro athletes and hip hop artists are not known for their mental prowess, in general at least.Personally, I think it's kind of a clever way for athletes to tell reporters and the media that they just answered their own questions and to really think of something better to ask. On the hip hop front, it's a way to say, "look, cut away all the bullshit from whatever, and you'll see things clearly."
On the 4th of July, I attended a WWE Supershow in Sacramento which consisted of a live Raw followed by a Smackdown taping. Since Raw was live on a holiday, WWE phoned it in and had a shitty show. The only redeeming thing about Raw was seeing the HBK turn. The crowd, along with myself and several TSM posters were stunned as well. No way anyone saw that coming. Smackdown was decent, not bad. Kind of sucked that my group seemed to be the only people in the building who knew who the fuck Blue Meanie or the BWO were.
What I was going to dedicate my first TSM blog to was the Muhammad Hassan/Undertaker angle which has recieved quite a lot of debate on the TSM forums. I was there live for the controversial angle. While it played out live, some in our group, who were standing at first, sat back down in our seats as we started to recognize what they were doing. The audience didn't really boo what they were seeing. Quite a few people around us just looked numb. Behind me were some guys who looked either Arab or Indian decent who just sat there quiet and shook their heads. I did the same. And no, we weren't shaking our heads up and down.
"It is what it is"
In my estimation, the Hassan character is a race bait character created by WWE Creative to play off the emotions of Americans towards Arabs and Arab-Americans, post 9/11. The presentation of Hassan and Davari are that of whiny, loud mouthed heels. In no way is Hassan attempting to endear himself to the crowd. Lawler and JR interacted with Hassan early on in their storyline arc and played it up as such. The argument that the crowd turned on Hassan first is insignificant because Hassan was supposed to be a heel from the get go. He was not designed to be a face or even a tweener. That's why he delivers the promos in fire and brimstone style. It's why Davari shouts his interpretations of what Hassan is saying. By design, they are supposed to get the crowd to not like them. Does the Hassan character have reasonable motivation to act like he does? Very much so. The character makes excellent points. However, the presentation and content of the promos is to get the audience to focus on his race and what is wrong with them (the audience).
"It is what it is"
Hassan's character arc is that anything that is wrong to him is because of discrimination. Not getting title shots? Discrimination. Not wrestling who or when he wants? Discrimination. Not getting the same things other wrestlers are getting? Discrimination. Of course, this just adds fuel to his fire. It's supposed to help make his point. The incidents are usually a bit of a stetch, but that's the point. We all have seen or met someone who thinks of bullshit reasoning as to why things aren't going their way. It's the victim syndrome. You get tired of hearing it, especially when some of the reasoning is questionable. Again, that is the point. The character by design is supposed to connect with you as the opposite to Hassan. Now, one of Hassan's points is that people label him a terrorist because he's Arab-American. Of course, he hasn't done anything remotely close to what a terrorist has done or even thought. Until...
"It is what it is"
July 4th, 2005 Sacramento, California. Now, Hassan still isn't a terrorist. Nor were the hooded men in camoflauge who choked the Undertaker with piano wire. Nor is Davari, who was carried out of the ring after a beating like a martyr, a point made even by the WWE announcers. No, what I saw was WWE crossing the line of good taste. What happened that night was an escalation of Hassan's character. Hassan, WWE, and anyone else with a voice on the product have not once used the word terrorist to describe Hassan's hooded thugs or the actions those men perpetrated. Now, did WWE intend on possibly unveiling Hassan's hooded friends as Americans to help cool down the racial hornets nest they were beating on? Perhaps. Maybe the intention all along was for the hooded men to be Americans. You know what? Who cares who they were supposed to be. Or what their intentions were. They were designed to invoke the image of the terrorists who are beheading people in the middle east on the TV and on the internet. I'll throw out the piano wire as a beheading tool, because that's a stretch. However, what is not a stretch is that those men were supposed to symbolize terrorists and Hassan was obviously associated with them, thereby making him guilty by association. To think that they were just generic masked men helping a heel beatdown his opponent is to have the WWE blinders on nice and tight. I mean, how many generic hooded heels carry out their beaten comrades like martyrs and kneel down in a prayer while their leader continues to choke out his opponent in a show of power?
"It is what it is"
There seems to be a contingent of people who just look at the situation from an 'out of the box' point of view. It's just a TV show. It's just wrestling. Pro wrestling has always had evil foreigner gimmicks. Why get worked so worked up about an angle, it's fake? They're acting, it's all good. My stance is now what it was when I saw the angle play out before my eyes live. Disappointment. Disappointment because WWE didn't need to go here, but they did and now there is a little bit of a shit storm in the mainstream media and now they areback pedalling. The feeling by a lot of the crowd was that you felt like you had to go home and take a shower after watching the angle. Folks who are making arguments that it's just a TV show are right in that the world is not going to end because of the gimmick. Terrorism is not going to end or escalate on a count of what WWE is doing. However, WWE's image gets hurt a little more in the public eye. The same public eye that was buying into the product 4-5 years ago in droves. Wrestling fans get a little more insecure about what they watch. Wrestling fans now have one more thing to defend against the criticisms lobbed to them by wrestling's detractors. I can see where it would offend fans and many non-fans. As a fan, I tell you that episode of Smackdown is the last show I'd want to introduce a friend or relative into the world of wrestling.
"It is what it is"
What now? UPN apparantly wants Hassan off this week's SD and who knows how much longer. Hassan is heading into a #1 contender's match against Taker at the next ppv. Will Vince have Hassan go over Taker and take on the champ at Summerslam? Will Vince feel slighted by the mainstream media and put the title on Hassan to spite them (as well as any self respecting wrestling fans)? If you weren't offended by what WWE did on Smackdown last week, great for you. However, I can see how people could be offended by the angle and just because you weren't, doesn't mean they are wrong. There is enough evidence to suggest WWE knew what they were doing in regards to creating faux terrorists, yet leave it open enough to where they can claim deniability. If you believe what WWE is pumping to you, hey, to each his own. Just don't get mad when the overwhelming sentiment is not along WWE lines.
"and that, is what it is"
Inside Pulse:
Only one match is avalible on this section but there will be two after saturday night. To see more before then go to: http://www.insidepulse.com/articles/39361
Also From Inside Pulse:
Another from InsidePulse
From Samoa Joe:
Steve Corino:
A bit from Puroesu Power:
Puroesu Power taped a special tribute show in memory of Shin'ya Hashimoto and were able to bring on some special guests including wrestling photographer Jimmy Suzuki. You can go to the website at PuroesuPower.com to hear that near-perfect tribute.
Small News From New Japan:
From Strong Style Sprit
http://www.puroresufan.com/index.php?subac...rt_from=&ucat=&
http://board.deathvalleydriver.com/index.php?showtopic=39711
http://forums.thesmartmarks.com/index.php?showtopic=71751
The final word about Hashimoto coming Saturday Night.
So last night's RAW was good.
Chris Jericho continues to amaze me despise being demoted time over time, him just "owning" Carlito and later in the night John Cena verbally was just a sight to see, plus him wearing a Journey shirt helped.
John Cena continues to disgust me as his gimmick will grow tiring after another year or so.
I love the Matt Hardy shoot on Johnny Ace.
So i am confused right now, July 29th is coming up and there is two rock shows the same night.
One is free, one is $45
Ted Nugent will be perofming at Ribfest for free while Def Leppard plays at Midway Stadium for $45..so i got a lot of thinkin to do
Recently got the old PC game Star Wars Battle for Naboo and it's amazing how we have progressed in graphics
That's it for now
Raw
Carlito and Jericho argue
I had this feeling Piper would show up with what Jericho and Carlito were saying. Piper looks ancient. Hey, how about pushing someone who doesn't need Rogaine? Well, at least it was a surprise.
Chris Masters v Tajiri
"Listen to what Chris Masters is about to get?" That would be apathy, Jerry. The biggest pops from the crowd were for the guy not getting an almost relentless six-month plus push. Even the light "ECW" chant was louder than any reaction Masters got. He isn't getting over, and it's been six-months already. Give it up. End the Masterlock Challenge so this dead weight can be sent back down to OVW so he can get back to school.
Edge, Lita and Snitsky backstage
Matt Hardy better be coming in tonight as rumor suggests, or at least be signed to be coming in soon, or them bringing his name up again is stupid.
HHH update
Well, whoever had three-weeks on how long it would be before Hunter's name was mentioned again, you win. And they're laying the foundations of a babyface turn as well.
Shelton Benjamin v Carlito
Did anyone else get a Sting v Ric Flair vibe off of that no-sell spot from Benjamin early in the match? And did anyone else get a Money Inc. v Natural Disasters vibe off of that lame finish?
John Cena promo
The babyface champion being dictated to by the heel GM? Man, that's a cutting edge and original angle right there. And Cena v Jericho at Summerslam? Didn't one of the pop-up and spyware ridden sites claim that it would be Cena v Edge? You mean they were wrong?
Diva Search
Pass.
Kurt Angle Invitational:
I guess this means that Raw, not only has two talk show segments, but now two segments where a wrestler makes an open challenge. At least the interplay between Angle and Striker was funny. Angle shouldn't be submitting the guys with one second to go. He should be submitting them with one second gone.
Matt Hardy attacks Edge backstage
At least it was executed in a realistic fashion, with Hardy literally coming out of nowhere.
Kane v Edge
Just a backdrop for the Hardy v Edge angle. They are doing it the right way, and executing it like a shoot. No music videos, no catching Hardy on camera behind Edge and Lita, or anything like that. Hardy hits the ring out of shot, and the actual security staff are the ones to try and drag him down. Yeah, it's not a shoot, but the way they are playing things will make it easier for people to suspend their disbelief. The Ring Of Honor mention and the lack of commentary while Matt was getting taken away were a pair of nice touches. While the angle is getting handled like this, the right way, this will get Matt super over.
Piper's Pit with Shawn Michaels
No shirt, just a cross this week for the Holy Roller Kid. Shawn Michaels is not used to this type of reception???. The kiddy chaser was calling the action when Shawn was the hottest heel in the company. What brain surgeon fed Lawler that line? And if Lawler came up with it himself, he's once again made a fool of hmself.
Shawn can talk good, but he came off as too much of a babyface after what was played off like the ultimate betrayal. The superkick to Piper was to be expected, but to me it clouds the issue with Hogan, because there should be repercussions from it, and that will just take attention away from the Hogan deal. Of course, nothing will likely come of it because of that fact, so why even do it?
And what was Shawn's reason for turning on Hogan? To get a match with him? Was it out of hatred for not stepping down?
Apart from the Matt Hardy angle and the way Angle talked to Martel/Striker, though not how the Invitational ended, Raw didn't measure up to anything.
A post from a member of GameFaqs's anime boards (Endagme/emgadnE) thinks so...
Note- Grovle won the match. The Mods deleted the post that stated this... Until somebody out there gets that deleted post...this is the best I can do...
Hes is the next great anime reviewer, trust me on this.
First almost-full RAW I've watched in a while...
I don't like anything about Carlito other than the way he sold Hogans punches last week, so I didn't like the Cabana. Jericho's Jean/Tshirt/Sports Jacket style is great, and those shades are swank. Much better than the T-shirt look he had as a face. Piper looks so oooold.
I didn't bother watching Masters/Tajiri cause Masters is awful and he has been wrestling the same match since January.
I actually enjoyed Snitsky for once - I enjoy his relationship with Edge and Lita. It's lighthearted, and the fact that Lita has ignored the whole baby thing is amusing to me. Plus, I know a guy who licked a chicks feet before (while drunk) and it has been a running joke between the two during poker nights. Edge should get Snitsky foot fetish porn mags as gifts. The replay of the Hardy video was silly.
Carlito/Benjamin was boring and Benjamins matches shouldn't be boring. The finish was pretty good, though it was obvious. I think it would have been better for Carlito to "act" knocked out, for the count-out, and then get up right away and then leave with the title. Reminds me of Money Inc. vs. Natural Disasters WM finish, so it wasn't a very different way to prolong the angle, but at least it shows that someone actually WANTS the title, and that someone actually wants to KEEP the title. They need more of that - put some other guys in this feud. Carlito would be better in a triple threat or fatal fourway than a singles match.
LOTC's outting of Cena playing Will Smith makes every one of his promos automatically hilarious. He plays too much to the crowd, and he doesn't really say anything. But he's natural on the mic and one of the best speakers they have, so it's just an issue of scripting. He needs to run into the crowd some more, that was great the one time he did it. The "Cheap" thing is awful. Jericho didn't get enough shots in and everyone and their mother knows he is going to lose at Summerslam and that this feud is below Cena at this point. Beatdowns won't make Jericho a threat to Cena, they need to -GASP- be a little more creative to get him over in this feud so it won't be a total blow-out. The Bischoff stuff was needless. Everyone beats up Bischoff - I gave him my patented Rudodriver just the other day - so Cena isn't really blazing a trail, he's following the path. I mark for "The Champ Is Here", though.
The DIVA search thing last week was fun because of the promise of a titty falling out. This week they did horrible stripper routines. The girl that did the flips and then shaked her titties made me cry for women everywhere. Seeing chicks who are half naked everyweek be half naked this week doesn't make it special. I have the internet. I am on the internet. Women who are always in bikinis dancing around in bikinis does nothing for me. Back when I was 13 and Sunny -who was 10x's hotter than any of these chicks- started to shake her ass in that bikini video, well, that was hot. But it's 10 years later, this shit don't fly.
I do find 2 of those chicks to be enjoyable, though. The one that is trying so hard to be ROCK AND ROLL~! with her skullcap and arm-band-thingies, because it's pretty clear that's all an act and if this were a few years ago she'd be in hip-hop garb and the other one who's titty popped out last week because, well, her titty popped out last week. Now, if they started to make out next week and put their respective hands down their shorts and felt each other up, then this DIVA thing may have some promise. As is, even the 13 year old RRR would change the channel.
The Kurt Angle invitational had me going "what if he won?" at the last seconds of the match, which I guess is mission accomplished. If there was a case for bringing back squash matches, this is it. Good work, the crowd seemed into it, and no one died.
Matt Hardy jumping Edge was a bit wonky. The run-in was a nice change in pace. Hardy bashing the WWE is great - probably my favourite part of the whole thing. This is going to get tired, fast. How long till Summerslam? You have to wonder, especially if you are Matt Hardy, what happens after the feud is over? Is this feud meant to get Edge over as a heel, meaning that he wins in the end? What if Hardy gets mega-over? What if he doesn't? Questions, Questions, Questions.
The HBK interview could have been so much better. I think they dropped the ball quite a bit there and were relying on the Superkick at the end to sustain the heat.
The first of the RRRetrospective series deals with the Matt Hardy/Edge feud. The date was May 2nd, 2005. It is certainly relevant today, since on RAW they kicked-started a feud between the two. I enjoyed it and some of the little things they did (the camera angle during the arrest, Hardy promoting ROH) but it wasn't realistic enough - it was too obviously 'worked'. Below has me outlining how to make the feud "real".
I don't know how much money could be made on Matt/Edge. The appeal, for the fans, is that this is real. It is not something the WWE wants, it is not something that is forced on 'us', it is something that the fans have chosen to be interested in. If they (the WWE) made it into a storyline, it would cease to be real. The appeal of a match between the two would have to come from "whether or not Matt would cooperate". They would have to make it seem like that there is a very real possibility that Matt would shoot on Edge in that match. They (the writers) don't know how to do that. Bischoff would LOVE to get his hands on this storyline, while Vince just wants it to go away.
For a storyline to work, they'd have to use all their resources to make it work. Have Edge work a house show in (or near) South Carolina (or where ever Matt lives) and have Hardy rush the ring and get a shot in before immediately getting taken out. Have him actually get arrested. Have the report of his arrest get "leaked" to The Smoking Gun, mug shot and all. Have him do a commentary on his site trying to explain the matter. If this situation has proved anything, it is that information travels fast on the internet and with the IWC. "Leak" a video (a fan cam) on-line of Matt attacking Edge, have the WWE try to "remove" the video to no avail. Put plants in the audience that are dressed up like Matt Hardy and have them interact with Edge as if they are teasing him. Have him rip up signs on the matter. Make sure very few people know the "truth" of what is going on so that Meltzer, or anyone else, will report that it's a work.
Then have Edge open up his own website and talk about the matter. Create a messageboard for him, have Matt Hardy post on that messageboard, and let them air their dirty laundry. Part of the appeal of this story for fans is that "we're not supposed to be reading this". Have Edge apologize and then have the matter resolved. Matt posts on his website that he has cooled down and that he is "over" the issue. The WWE feels "safe" hiring Matt Hardy back, and put him on a 90 day probationary period. Matt makes his return to television on a night that Edge has "off". The only reference to Matts leave made on television is that Hardy had some "personal issues" that he had to take care of, and now is back better than ever. To this point, not a single word has been said on TV about the two fighting. Then, after a week or two, they put Matt and Edge in a program together over the most absurd reason possible, just to have them feud. Say, Edge steals Matts wristband.
They have a tag match against each other on RAW, they only interact once and Matt "accidentally" injures Edge and the match can't be finished (A chairshot that was a lil too hard, maybe?). Have everyone act confused, have the show halted for a second, go to a commercial break and comeback with JR and King go over what happened, and then go on with the show. Report on WWE.com that Edge received x amount of stitches, have Hardy say on his website that it was an accident, have Edge say on his website that there are no hard feelings. They have a house show match, the same thing happens. Edge gets "injured". Reports online are coming in that there is heat on Hardy and that he is "taking liberties" with Edge in the ring and that Edge is getting concerned that he will get injured in another match and wants out of the program with Hardy. A match, nonetheless, is set up on PPV. A report of Edge and Hardy getting into a fight backstage is leaked, this time it was Edge who initiated it. It was "broken up" before anything could happen. The WWE wants to fire Hardy and plans to after the PPV, but they can't call off the match because they already set it up and have nothing else to fill it with. Again, all of this is "leaked" information.
I think that working the internet is always a bad idea, but in this case, I think it is the only way to make good money from the two having a match together. A traditional storyline won't work, because the heat for this feud hasn't been garnered in a traditional way.
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When I was looking for the Hardy post, I stumbled on this. So consider this a BONUS post.
The theme I think would be interesting, is "You won't believe your eyes". The positioning would be what the WWE offers, you won't find anywhere else.
I see the current trends on television being more focused on melo-dramatic, weaving, arc-based storylines. These feature well-developed, multi-layered characters with backstories. There is no reason why the WWE can't have this as well, storyline and character-wise. It just takes some effort from the writing team to come up with histories for characters and provide them with motivation for wrestling. Once this is established, pairing wrestlers-up to feud should be easy. Mcguffins can be used from time to time (a tournament perhaps) to get some rivalries, stables, etc. together. The WWE should be looking to put out an intelligent product, rather than the LCD shit that they've been spewing forever. The occasional smart twist and turn, revolving characters, long, draw-out, cohesive, tight, storylines and satisfying conclusions are all key. If they are able to successfully do that, word might get around that the WWE is putting on better storylines than major networks, people might tune in to see it just out of disbelief.
Then comes the sport aspect of it. From the sound of the way I want the writing, it may sound like it would be a 30/70 thing... and it is. There shouldn't be so many matches on RAW. There's no point to them and they force the writing team to come up with lame reasons why the match is happening and it takes the importance off of wins. PPV's are where the matches should happen, because in the end it's what the fans ultimately want to see and they should have to pay to see it.
Each match should be like a battle. Going into these matches, there should be the possibility that a wrestler won't come out in full-health. They should be built up with interviews, background pieces, lengthy entrances and introductions. The wrestlers on the TV show shouldn't be HHH and Batista. They should be used to build guys for future PPV's and contenderships, and the main events should feature popular b-level wrestlers. To hype the PPV's on TV, you have wrestler interviews, featurettes, promo-packages, etc. This means that the WWE has to trim the fat and get rid of a lot of the wrestlers. They should have, maybe, 20 wrestlers on the roster. The other wrestlers they can sign to short-term contracts and develop as they see fit. This may also mean going to smaller venues, but since they average 4000 fans per show, I don't see that as a big issue. This is working under the premise that RAW is a television show that is used to promote PPV's. The money doesn't come from house shows, it comes from ad revenue and PPV buys.
There should be a wide-variety of styles featured in the matches. A cruiserweight match should be a cruiserweight match, not a cruiserweight-wrestles-like-heavyweight match. Each division should be defined as well. "You won't believe your eyes" becomes particularly true here, as wrestlers will go all out rather than holding back. Since there will be less matches per-show, they shouldn't run the risk of numbing the fans or injuring the wrestlers. Depending on what you want your outcome to be, matches could range from 30 seconds to 30 minutes. This is a better star-making system than they currently have, because it can allow guys to be "made" in 2 or 3 matches (or even 1) if it is worked right. The two guys in my sig are an example of that. I'd like a more fight-like atmosphere, because for me, that's simply more exciting. UFC does it very well, and they get me to buy their PPV's.
I don't think JR and the King could support this through their announcing, but they are still needed for some familiarity. They could act as the "hosts" of the show, like Friday Night Fights, and then send it down to the better announcers at ringside. JR could participate as the 3rd man on PPVs as well. There wouldn't really be a need for general managers, however a governing body could be used, or a match maker for that matter. Each show would be used to get a different match at the PPV over, and maybe throw in some little hints at things to come (some of the more traditional wrestling aspects could be used, "who is that guy in the crowd and why is wrestler x so focused on him?")
So when I say there is a 30/70 wrestling/entertainment division, that 70% would be primarily focused on getting the 30% over.
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And Outshines Cena, HBK and Hogan on RAW
WHOA.
I never believed it.
I never would have believed it.
Here is the RAW Recap via The Observer:
Intresting. Very Intresting.
Hardy goes to ROH, where Danials is trying to defend ROH after the total coniption withe the ROH title with CM Punk still in not willing to defend. There is still a chance Hardy goes to TNA with there PPV, and then we have a situation where Danials will have to calm Hardy down and show him his true nemsis... Then we have Tito Oritz would love nothing better than to kill Edge (i.e. Edge's Wife is Ortiz's sister) after this indsent.
So you have ROH, TNA, UFC all having a intrest in this storyline- making sure Edge gets whats coming to him. And WWE has to defend (i.e. No sell) this? WOW. Heyman knows how to stir up a hornets nest. Period.
But this was one hell of a work. And made RAW better than it was...
Saturday at 8, we will have the results of Smackdown. But friday I will have more news dealing with the ROH situation with the Title, One week away from the Big AJPW/NOAH match between Misawa and Kawada.
But I have some major sad news to report. REALLY Sad news.
Thats...messed up...utterly messed up.
The Hassan-Undertaker angle has finally been defended with the classic, "It's just wrestling" line, and I really thought that some people spouting that one off had a little intelligence and/or common sense in ther brains, but I guess they don't.
Such a defense shows a startling lack of intelligence and foresight, and can only be espoused by people living in a wrestling bubble. In case it's escaped your attention, and I think it has, there is something called the REAL WORLD out there. It's that place you reside in once you turn off the wrestling, assuming you ever turn it off at all. And out there in the real world, shit like the Hassan-Undertaker angle doesn't exactly do wonders for the business you apparently like so much, but clearly don't really care for. Do you people even have a concept or clue about how angles like this go over in the real world, where the decisions are made that can very easily take away the very thing you say you care for, but actually don't?
Wrestling has a bad enough time gaining any kind of respect, understanding or acceptance in the real world. Even when WWF/E was getting huge numbers for Raw or Smackdown, they were still getting just a fraction of the kind of ad dollar that much lower rated programs got. Why? Because people look at wrestling like it's something only retards and the emotionally stunted watch. They look at like a joke. It's on the lowest rung of the entertainment ladder. And crap like the Hassan angle, like the Katie Vick nonsense, like the Billy and Chuck wedding bullshit doesn't help. The Billy and Chuck deal did get WWE some publicity, I'll give them that, but do you remember, or want to remember what happened when everyone found out that Billy and Chuck weren't actually going to get married? The press went away. They stopped giving WWE the kind of publicity they crave. The Billy and Chuck deal got so much press because it was presented as wrestling finally showing some sort of class, by having a pair of openly gay characters get married and it was seen as something progressive in a world that everyone had previously looked down upon. So, when it was revealed that it was 'just another silly wrestling angle', the press felt burned, and they turned their backs on WWE. The Katie Vick angle the next month was another desperate attempt at getting some kind, any kind of publicity, but it didn't get anything at all. It didn't even get the kind of scorn and ridicule that most OTT crappy angles get. Do you know why? Because nobody was biting so soon after getting burned, and having it reaffirmed in their minds that wrestling is a total joke.
Now, imagine that the Billy and Chuck deal happened last month, and it ended with them getting married. The press wouldn't have felt so burned, WWE would have gotten some good press for being progressive, wrestling would have been seen in a somewhat more positive light by people, and the press might have paid WWE some real attention.
And then the Hassan-Undertaker angle happens.
Do those of you with a grasp of the real world and how it sees wrestling know what would have happened if the press were actually paying WWE some kind of attention when the Hassan-Undertaker angle happened? Do those of you living in the wrestling bubble want to try and be brave and think about how the REAL WORLD would see wrestling, would see wrestling fans, with that kind of angle under any kind of press microscope? With what is still going in the real world, the world outside of wrestling for those of you still in the bubble, do you know what kind of damage that would do, not only to the publics view of wrestling, but of anyone even associated with wrestling, when it's presenting that kind of angle on national television, especially with what happened in London just hours before the show went to air? (And it was possible to edit the angle out, so don't even go there)
I know most of those people defending the angle probably don't give a shit about how people view wrestling, but in a subject closer to their hearts, how do you think people would view YOU for watching the kind of product that put out something so distasteful and reprehensible?
And even if it was 'just wrestling', is an angle like this really the sort of thing you want out there for people to use to knock wrestling? Is it really the kind of thing you want out there for people to see if they're only tuning into wrestling for the first time? Or do you only care about your view of wrestling, and don't care about the views of people who could help bolster the business by supporting it in some fashion?
Once again, a wrestler, and specifically a Japanese legend, dies much too young. One of my favourite wrestlers of all time, one of the biggest draws in wrestling history and a tremendous in-ring performer is dead at the age of 40. As I write this, the last wrestling match I've seen was Toshiaki Kawada vs. Shinya Hashimoto. While I was viewing the match, never in my wildest dreams would I expect to hear of one of the combatants' death later in the day. RIP to a wrestling legend.
I enjoyed it. While I can certainly see why people wouldn't like it (slow build - as a reference, the movie started at 7pm and, not counting the logner than usual set of commercials and trailers, the first villian vs hero conflict occured at approx. 8:40pm), "Hulk" had the one of the slowest, brutally boring builds in comic movie history and a lot of critics loved it. My thoughts on that film are basically that if I could sit through THAT, I'm game to watch any superhero movie. Obviously it wasn't Batman Begins or even a Spider-Man or X-Men, but it had it's moments and the character interaction was good and often times funny.
Bit jarring to see a microphone that said "City TV" and what appeared to be split second shots of a MuchMusic VJ whose name I don't know and Ben Mulroney on screen though. Why not just put the CN Tower in as well?
I've never really read any comics but I enjoy knowing about their storylines and watching shows based on them on television. That said, I especially enjoy going to comic book movies with a friend of mine that has read several comics and have him explain character points to me and go over differences, what he liked, what he didn't, etc. He did enjoy the film, btw.
Returning home, I received an e-mail from another friend stating "The vomit scene was the funniest thing ever and that rant by Stewie was classic. " so I guess I should go watch my Family Guy tape.
Is it just me, or do the people that networks send out in the middle of major storms to stand there and say "Wow, it's pretty bad out here" deserve to be swept out to sea or have a tree fall on them? I saw a bit of CNN's coverage today and saw Anderson Cooper almost get run down by some debris and NOT ONCE did I hear him say "Hey, I think we should head for some shelter."
A hurricane has a lot of wind and rain and you shouldn't be caught in it....we get it. There will be plenty of time for pictures of destroyed houses and trees down when the thing moves away.
Hey, at least we don't have to hear EVEN MORE about that missing girl in Aruba.
Oh, and I'm sick of hearing that little Fox News Alert chime EVERY FIVE FUCKING MINUTES!! It's not an alert anymore after you do it once.
http://www.mst3kinfo.com/poll.html
Satellite News is holding a poll to see what episodes fans would like on future DVD collections. All the eps that aren't on DVD are listed, so I guess they are confident that they will be able to get any of the most popular ones. For the record, my choices are:
212: GODZILLA VS. MEGALON (the one with Jet Jaguar. I saw the movie on Sci-Fi a few weeks ago)
306: TIME OF THE APES (A Japanese version of "Planet of the Apes"? I'm THERE)
610: THE VIOLENT YEARS with short: YOUNG MAN'S FANCY
611: LAST OF THE WILD HORSES (the spoof of the "Mirror, Mirror" episode of Star Trek)
421: MONSTER A-GO-GO with short: CIRCUS ON ICE
The next collection (probably due out in the fall), will include Sci-Fi episodes Phantom Planet and fan-favorite Hobgoblins. Get Jack Frost on there, and I'll be one happy PK.
That's right, the line "all opinions are equal" is false. I see this bullshit being thrown around by people and it gets quite annoying. All opinions are not equal and people aren't just entitled to their opinion, but their informed, supportable opinion. This is an excuse used by lots of people who subscribe to opinions that can't generally be supported or people who have no idea how to even begin to support their opinions. For example, what if I said "Andre the Giant circa 1989 was a fantastic wrestler." and then refused to back up the statement? Not like that statement could be intelligently supported without totally bastardizing what it means to be a good wrestler. But is this opinion equal to something like "Andre the Giant circa 1989 was horrible. His body has broken down to the point where he was almost literally immobile in the ring and could do very, very little as a result." Of course not. The bottom line is that for any opinion to be relevant, it must be accompanied by relevant points that support its position. There are cases when it isn't possible to support an opinion or where it's not needed. For example, if someone was to say that they enjoy Kurt Angle's work. This is a personal opinion based on the person's feelings and no one can really say it's not true, nor should anyone care if the person does enjoy Kurt Angle. But saying "Kurt Angle is a great worker" is an objective statement which insinuates that it's the truth, and as such, it does require some level of support.
And for all of you people who like to trumpet this so called equality, answer this. Is a racist person's opinion relevant and equal to everyone else's? If someone believes the Earth is flat, is that opinion just as relevant as someone who believes the Earth is round? I thought not. So get lost with the "all opinions are equal" nonsense.
I'd also like to add that I don't think everyone needs to support their opinions all the time. For example, some folks are content with simply trading opinions without getting into the specific details. That's perfectly fine. But if you're actually engaging in a serious discussion, at least have the courtesy to either support your claims if pressed on an issue or just get the hell out of the discussion if you aren't able to or interested in doing so.
So yeah, there's a freakin' war going on between board members over the Hassan angle on Thursday, everyones turning against each other, hells breaking loose, all this while i'm eating this delicious sandwich.
It has turkey, cheese, mayo, banana peppers, pickles.
