Straight Shooting

Justin Shapiro does work on the Observer site (Heat Report, sometimes RAW),  The Weinerboard and was a pretty big contributor to the Old Rantsylvania and Smark sites back in the late 90s, early 2000s (I think it was him, it's been a while).

Now that you mention what he writes, I've seen Shapiro's name on the Observer site, but he hasn't made any real impression on me, so I'm guessing nothing that he's ever written has stood out.

I'm not familiar w/ Shapiro's stuff on the Observer site, but I've read a lot of his stuff on CRZ's board, and the dude seems to know his shit. He did a big post last year on how the WWE fucked up Lesnar's push that I thought was spot-on.

 

EDIT: here's the post I alluded to.

http://the-w.com/thread.php/id=23689#275802

How about these non TSM'ers..

 

Bryan Alvarez

 

The DVDVR playas

How about these non TSM'ers..

 

Bryan Alvarez

 

The DVDVR playas

Bryan Alvarez

 

Bryan is another person who knows a lot about wrestling and understands it very well. Alvarez is very funny too, and Figure Four Weekly is always a great read. Bryan has his flaws too, mainly his idolization of Shawn Michaels; Bryan is constantly making excuses for Shawn’s weaknesses, and pretty much refuses to acknowledge Shawn has any weaknesses at all. That said, Bryan’s combination of humor and knowledge making him well worth reading and listening to.

 

The DVDR playaz

 

I’ve only ever read DVDR a few times, but the people on there come across as some of the worst dregs of the internet. I’ve heard there are some really good posters over there, and while there might be good posters there, the bad just completely overwhelms the good.

 

 

Actually, I think MisawaGQ posts there. I like that guy. He's much appreciated around these parts.

TheDames

JHawk

KingPK

 

Dave Scherer

Bob Ryder

Wade Keller

 

 

 

TheDames

 

The Dames is one of a kind, I’ll say that much. I don’t know of anyone else, apart from Admin Mike, brave or foolish enough, depending on your point of view, to spend their hard earned money on a message board filled with the kind of crackpots that inhabit TSM. He knows a fair bit about wrestling, and he certainly comes across as a decent human being. I’m sure Leena would disagree, but whatever.

 

JHawk

 

JHawk knows his stuff when it comes to older wrestling trivia information, and his posts are worth reading when it comes to looking at wrestling’s past. I don’t think he’s posted a whole lot lately, which is a shame as he typically adds to whatever thread he posts in.

 

KingPK

 

PK knows what he talks about, and he from the Smackdown recaps of his that I’ve read he’s certainly worth reading. Another person who doesn’t seem to post as often as the board needs.

 

Dave Scherer

 

Dave Scherer is one of the most disreputable and deceitful people that I’ve ever seen try to pass themselves off as a wrestling journalist. I think he let a newsletter of moderate quality go to his head and thought he was somehow qualified to set himself up as some kind of wrestling journalist. Like the website he used to write for, Scherer’s current site is notorious for trying to install spyware and adware onto your computer, which further cements his much deserved reputation for being a jerk.

 

Bob Ryder

 

Bob Ryder is a jumped up travel agent who managed to bootlick and asskiss his way into a job with WCW. His shitty website, 1pop-ups.bullshit.imafatfuckwhomakesshitup.con, is legendary for trying install spyware and adware on your computer, and also for posting bullshit stories and not admitting to mistakes when they get found out.

 

Wade Keller

 

I wouldn’t beg this guy to spit if my eyebrows were on fire.

 

Actually, I think MisawaGQ posts there. I like that guy. He's much appreciated around these parts.

 

I make the odd post, but lately I've tended to shy away from the big, long debate topics. I got tired of the constant smart-assed replies (to legitimate points), baseless accusations and other fun stuff that seems to go on over there.

As expected, the last batch of comments really made my day.

Use Your Illusion

Anya

AndrewTS

Gabe Sapolsky

Nigel McGuinness

Mike Johnson

Garrison Cade

CM Punk

bob_barron

 

Use Your Illusion

 

UYI doesn’t post as often as he used to around here. He seems to be reasonably intelligent, but I’ve not seen him post enough to make any real judgments on him.

 

Anya

 

His old name stood out, but apart from that I’ve never really noticed this poster.

 

AndrewTS

 

I know the name, but again, this isn’t a poster that has really stood out to me.

 

Gabe Sapolsky

 

Gabe is a very intelligent booker, but he sometimes gets caught in the trap of trying to be too cute for his own good in trying to play to the internet. I think he showed some really poor judgment in his handling of the recent situation involving James Gibson and JAPW, which was either down to pride or ego, so he’s not quite as smart as he needs to be or should be.

 

Nigel McGuinness

 

I love watching Nigel wrestle. He’s got a very unique wrestling style, and he’s very good at it. It’s a joy to watching a wrestler who actually wrestles and doesn’t just go out and do a bunch of highspots or sell his ass off for 20 minutes and then no-sell everything when he’s making his comeback. I’ve seen Nigel’s name in a at least one OVW report, so maybe he’s hoping to get a chance down there. For his bank account, I hope he gets the break. As a wrestling fan, I don’t, because he’s going to get totally castrated when it comes to being allowed to do what he does best, and that won’t be a joy to watch.

 

Mike Johnson

 

From what little I’ve read of Mike, he seems a bit flaky.

 

Garrison Cade

 

Having seen Cade in Memphis, I can tell you that if you thought he looked big on Raw, you didn’t see anything. From how he looked on Raw, Cade seems to have dropped about 20lbs of muscle mass since showing up in Memphis earlier this year, and that’s no exaggeration. Cade can move well in the ring, and it seems like he can do the moves ok. Timing and psychology though? That he needs to work on. I think Cade could eventually improve to where he and Murdoch would make fine tag team champions. Putting the belts on them right now can hardly damage the aura of the belts, but it might put too much of a focus on the team when they still have some growing to do.

 

CM Punk

 

Punk can talk with the best of them. He can talk his ass off and sell tickets with his voice like few can. His wrestling is really good too. Punk never looks lost in the ring, he knows exactly when and when not to do things, and can hold a match together. Punk is like a Nigel McGuiness, in that for his bank account you hope he makes it WWE, but as a wrestling fan you don’t, because you just know that everything that makes him fun to watch is going to get stripped away.

 

bob_barron

 

As funny as a vegetable that’s grown into a rude and amusing shape. Bob brings the content to the wrestling forums, and he’s one of the better posters around. I don’t always agree with what he says, but he usually can back up what he says.

The majority of Anya(nka) and AndrewTS posts are in the Video Game folder and they definitely bring worthwhile content there.

 

Both have roots in old school gaming and have a good grasp on the current state of games as well. AndrewTS has come off as.. let me think of the best way to say this since I like his posts... overly knowledgeable (yes that will do) and that has upset some posters like Vitamin X.

 

While the "Comments That Don't Warrant a Thread" thread has a variety of posts, opinions, and comments, it's really the Anya (who I assumed was a she, not a he) and Andrew show. Anytime I go in there with a question, I do so knowing one or the other (in many cases both) will give me an answer that will lead to at least 5 more posts on the subject. I often find AndrewTS comes off harshly on Sony and while I'm not big on that he does so with valid reasons and facts to back up what he says, if he says anything about them at all. To quote the above statement from HTQ about Robert Barron, "I don’t always agree with what he says, but he usually can back up what he says". More often than not, I do agree though.

 

Just though I'd add my two cents since you couldn't, no disrespect intended of course.

If they are mainstays of the Video Games folder then I wouldn't have read their posts. I rarely go into that folder as my interest in current video games is almost nonexistant. I don't play many games anyway, and those I do are a few years old.

AndrewTS makes posts in the WWE folder but I that may be limited to the OAO threads. I'm not familiar with anything he says there, really, since a lot of threads these days disinterest me, causing me to spend more energy in the VG thread. I was pretty sure I've never seen you in there and made the assumption that thing wasn't your bag leading me to make the comments on Anya and Drew.

I'm glad you spoke higly of Nigel, HTQ. He's my favourite wrestler in ROH, I just love watching him wrestle. I felt so bad for him at Escape of New York when his match with Colt got shit on, since it was real good and Nigel was an awesome hell.

 

Defintely check out his match with Colt from Night of Grudges 2. A shit show, but a fun match. Nigel's also a really cool guy, he doesn't seem to mind that I have to talk to him for 30 minutes after each show. He's going to be on HEAT this week.

 

I could see Gabe's point in the Gibson thing, but indy wrestling wars are so 2002.

 

Some more names just throwing them out there:

 

Sass

ChrisMWaters

bravesfan

rawmvp

Jimmy Rave

Homicide

Jack Evans

Prince Nana

Rob Feinstein

Steve Corino

Dan Wahlers

 

As funny as a vegetable that’s grown into a rude and amusing shape.

 

Yea, you're going to have explain that to me.

 

Bob brings the content to the wrestling forums, and he’s one of the better posters around. I don’t always agree with what he says, but he usually can back up what he says.

 

Thanks. I have my biases, but I try not to let them get in the way of good discussion.

Sass

 

Sass is pretty knowledgeable about wrestling, and seems to know a fair bit about most other subjects, or at least has a definitive opinion on them. He’s a good Admin too, so he gets points for that.

 

ChrisMWaters

 

Chris appears to be turning into a quality poster, which is something that TSM really needs more of.

 

bravesfan

 

bravesfan seems like a decent poster. I don’t think he’s posted a lot around here lately, so I can’t tell if he’s improved or not, but I would think he has.

 

rawmvp

 

I skip every post he makes.

 

Jimmy Rave

 

Jimmy is a talented worker, but I think he’s lacking a certain something to be taken seriously as a major player, even on the independent scene.

 

Homicide

 

Homicide is a really good worker, but I don’t think I’d go so far as to call him great. He can talk great, though, and can really project a believable badass persona, but in a totally different way to a guy like Samoa Joe. With the right booking, he could really hit it big in TNA.

 

Jack Evans

 

Flippy McFlipperson can certainly flip and dive with the best of them, I’ll say that much. As far as his wrestling ability goes, maybe I need to see more of him in action, but I’ve seen little in the way of actual wrestling talent in Evans’ matches.

 

Prince Nana

 

Nana is an entertaining talker, though he’s not that hot in the ring. His current role as a manager is probably the best one for his talents.

 

Rob Feinstein

 

Rob is one of the lowest forms of human life to infest professional wrestling. Feinstein is human scum, and I hope one day to read that he got a shiv stuck up his ass.

 

Steve Corino

 

Steve is a tremendous talker, and it’s a shame that he never got the break he deserved with WWE. Corino is another worker who knows exactly what to do and when to do it and can really hold a match together.

 

Dan Wahlers

 

Dan is an interesting to guy to read, even if he doesn’t always hit the mark with his articles.

 

Off topic: Is there a reason that Dan Wahlers name can't be quoted without screwing up the rest of the quotes?

MikeSC

As funny as a vegetable that’s grown into a rude and amusing shape.

 

You never explained that to me. Please do.

 

More posters:

 

MJ Styles

CBright

JMA

Porter

 

Other people:

 

William Regal

AJ Styles

Petey Williams

James Gibson

Lacey

Cheech

Buck Woodward

As funny as a vegetable that’s grown into a rude and amusing shape.

 

You never explained that to me. Please do.

 

It means your funny in an irksome sort of way.

 

MikeSC

 

Mike is quite possibly the most ignorant, judgmental and blinkered person on the board. Nobody can bring a quality debate to a crashing halt like Mike can. In Mike’s never-ending quest to prove to the world that his view and his view alone is the right one, he will derail any debate he can find and drag it off course with any number of tactics, just to prove that he was right all along. Prove him wrong in anything, which isn’t that hard, and he’ll start shouting and screaming and hurling out insult after insult in a desperate and quite pathetic attempt to distract attention away from the fact that he got proven wrong. Some time last year he swore/vowed to leave the board, and he did for a while, but the lure of showcasing his mighty ego and blowing his own trumpet to let everyone know just how important he feels he is was just too much. The board was all the better when he was gone, and now that he’s back you can just feel the ignorance seeping into the board once again.

 

MJ Styles

 

He seems a bit of a flake most of the time.

 

CBright

 

I know the name, and know he posts a fair bit, but nothing he’s posted immediately springs to mind.

 

JMA

 

JMA is a bright spot in the wrestling forums. He knows a decent amount about wrestling, and understands it fairly well. Should prove to be one of the best posters we have here.

 

Porter

 

We started off shakily, but we’re cool now. Really started to shine after we sorted things out, and it’s for the better, as Porter is another quality poster in the wrestling forums, and he can sometimes be pretty funny.

 

William Regal

 

Regal is a tremendous talent, and WWE has repeatedly missed the boat on making the absolute best out of his ability. Regal can talk with the best of them, but you would never know it with the almost nonexistent mic time he gets.

 

AJ Styles

 

AJ is probably the most athletic all-round package in NA wrestling today. He can fly like few others can, is decent on the mat, and is a great seller. I think his mic work is underrated, and given the right persona, which I think is that of a cocky and self-centered heel, I think we’d see something really special in terms of mic work and matches.

 

Petey Williams

 

Petey is a great flyer, but lacks something when it comes to actual wrestling. His mic work is ok, and he makes for a great punk heel.

 

James Gibson

 

WWE missed the boat with Gibson. He can talk, he can wrestle, he can bump and he can fly. If WWE were ever to be serious about pushing cruiserweights, Gibson would make a great heel to build things around.

 

Lacey

 

Cute. Other than that, I can’t say much about her.

 

Cheech

 

Pass.

 

Buck Woodward

 

I’ve only read the work he did for Scherer’s sheet, and I can’t say that I was impressed.

 

Incandenza

Agent of Oblivion

Kotzenjunge

Star Ocean 3

Incandenza

 

I skip his posts.

 

Agent of Oblivion

 

A good member of staff when he was a member of staff. I haven't seen him post much lately.

 

Kotzenjunge

 

A good addition to the staff, I wouldn't mind Kotz being put back on the staff. Decent poster too.

 

Star Ocean 3

 

I've only seen a few posts she/he has made, and they've not been much.

 

Ted Dibiase

Jake Roberts

Brian Pillman

Ed Leslie

Marty Jannetty

Shane Douglas

Meng/Haku

 

Non Wrestling/non board names

Pete Rose

William Shakespeare

Tom Hanks

Mrs and Mr. HTQ

 

 

Ted Dibiase

 

DiBiase was a heck of a worker, and one of the best talkers of all time. I really would have loved to have seen DiBiase get a run as a major champion, and he was set to get the NWA, WWF and UWF world belts at different times, but fate got in the way. Now a member of the God Squad, but we’ll not hold that against him.

 

Jake Roberts

 

*sniff*

 

Brian Pillman

 

Pillman deserved a better end than the one life gave him. He was an underrated talker, and was very talented in the ring. I think had he lived to see the Attitude Era, we would have seen some really insane antics.

 

Ed Leslie

 

*sniff*

 

Marty Jannetty

 

Jobs out then passes out, Marty just can’t seem to get his life in order. A decent talent in the ring, but he lacked the charisma and personality to break out from the pack.

 

Shane Douglas

 

Very Triple H-like, in that he is his own biggest fan, and doesn’t seem able or willing to see his limitations. Shane was a great talker when he had something to get off his chest, but swore far more often than was needed, and that hurt. Decent in the ring, and he could be carried to something really good.

 

Meng/Haku

 

Yawn.

 

Non Wrestling/non board names

 

Pete Rose

 

I only know him from his antics with Kane. Seems like a nice enough person.

 

William Shakespeare

 

Forsooth, TSM be verily full of cads and knaves. Or some other Shakespearian crap.

 

Tom Hanks

 

Hanks is Talented, but has the personality of plain toast.

 

Mrs and Mr. HTQ

 

If you mean me, that’s been asked.

 

 

And can we have the non-TSM names be wrestling related.

 

I think he meant your parents.

 

Here's some personal faves:

Chris Kanyon

Chuck Palumbo

Johnny Stamboli

Jimmy Yang/Akio

 

And, to mix things up:

Pearl Jam

NewsRadio (I know you've seen it due to your "The Morning Zoo on KCRAP w/ Boogerman and the Gang" suggestion for DA's radio show)

 

Also - how have Chuck & Johnny been doing over in Japan?

DrVenkman.