zappafrank

I thought they were splitting up couples...?

I finally watched World Class last night, and sadly I was unimpressed with the Freebirds' "heel turn." I think part of it is that Scott Keith built it up SO much to be some blow away moment that almost ended in a riot, but really, it was no different than HBK's heel turn as a result of costing Taker the title at SummerSlam 97. And really, since when does making a mistake make someone a heel??? Scott Keith says that part of it was that Hayes was offended that David wouldn't accept his share of the 6-Man Tag Titles, so we'll have to wait and see how that part of the angle plays out. But right now, it just seems like Mercer said, that Hayes was overzealous and Gordy lost his temper. I guess it's the weeks to come that will shape the feud. And why is Hayes in the studio acting like it was some grand plan on his part? Is this something that will be borne out in the coming weeks? He planned to be overzealous? He planned to Kerry to run into Gordy knowing that Gordy would lose his temper? The situation is being built up to be such a grand thing, and really, all it appears to be right now is that Hayes and Gordy lost their tempers.

Although I doubt it matters now, I seem to recall Booker T having a lot of heat on him when he debuted at KotR '01, b/c he broke some of the bones in Austin's hand when he put him through the announce table. Also, Booker T was part of the infamous "kill WCW out of the gate" match was Buff Bagwell on RAW (although I think most of the heat was on Bagwell for that one). I wonder if those 1st impressions have had a lasting effect on the people who matter.

I'd be sad to see Booker go b/c I love the King Booker gimmick, but I find it odd that people are 100% behind him for quitting b/c he's being punished for something he might have done. I don't know if used the pharmacy. He could have had the prescription for numerous injuries in the past. And what does "He was believed to have failed a Wellness Program test before, hence the 60 days suspension instead of 30." mean? WWE *thinks* he failed on and is suspending him just to be sure? So I grant that as it stands it's ambiguous. But assuming it *is* true, it just rubs me the wrong way a bit that he's "taking his ball and going" home for having to answer for something he's done wrong (assuming he's done wrong, of course). If Booker wasn't booked badly in the past, and if there wasn't the issue with the developmental territory, would you still applaud him for leaving? The fact that he can afford to leave shouldn't matter; it's simply a reason that he *can* leave, not that she should.

Why are you so sure she's on the level? Doesn't it strike you as odd that she comes forth after the fact, and that National Enquirer is the only place reporting it so far? Plus the story of how they met sounds like something you'd find on Snopes.com or something, some generic glurge going around. And to rephrase my "white trash" comment...I don't think she looks a damn thing like Benoit. The only resemblance I see is to her mom, and honestly it's in the weight.

Although I don't think it's necessarily a horrible match, I've never understood the love for Austin/Vega from WM XII.

This is a pretty funny image, but even funnier in my mind is the image of Steph giving the speech and then from off to the side - before she's even done - RVD's hand appears with the check, and he just hands it to her without saying anything.

As of today (Thurs, 9/6), Comcast in Pittbsburgh hasn't uploaded WCCW yet. Can the "auto/manual refresh" procedure posts be moved here, by chance?

She totally has "white trash" written all over her...not b/c she ever was in dire straights, but just b/c...I don't know, she just does!

After reading all of the discussion re: chairshots, concussions, steroids, no time off, etc etc, I have come to the conclusion that only 1 course of action is feasible: Obviously, professional wrestling must be banned in its entirety.

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, but has anyone else been annoyed when they've brought Kane into the mix as the son? Are they trying to forget their own history?

It totally sucks that there was no heat whatsoever for Kennedy's appearance and subsquent announcement. The only thing that remotely popped the crowd was him adding "McMahon" to the end of his name. Every other time he's been alluded to as the son, the crowd has popped huge. HHH saying hi to Steph got a bigger pop.

But if he hadn't had any recent problems, what's the justification? If they did simply release him b/c of past problems, he could bring an "unlawful termination" suit against them. * By that token, they should release Kahli since he killed someone. Also, Vince McMahon was involved in a very public federal investigation in the mid-90's. That's hardly a good history to have. Why don't they release that guy?! * ...except he can't since he is an "independent contractor"

This afternoon I called Comcast and told them I hadn't received any updates. The lady with whom I spoke told me she'd forward the problem on to whoever, and that she thought they were working today. I decided to send a letter to WWE via the 24/7 feedback, explaining my situation (and that it wasn't the 1st time content was missing), and I threatened to contact the BBB. I checked 24/7 later this evening and voila, everything had magically appeared. Now, more than likely the Comcast tech people got the problem solved, but it is worth noting that once again a simple mention of the BBB to WWE has resulted in immediate results. Is it possible that the BBB threats are actually doing the trick b/c WWE doesn't want any other kind of bad publicity at the moment (I could imagine complaints to the BBB somehow being a matter of public record).

Just today as I was watching my tape of the most recent ep, I thought to myself how watchable and fun Impact has been recently. For the most part, the show is "out-sports-entertaining" WWE, and the matches have been pretty good (with the 4 way for Angle's partner being tremendous). However, I do agree that the show is getting into a rut (Superman Angle, endless tag team confusion, and as much as I love the character, "not-too-bright" AJ), and that when the show moves to 2 hours, it will need to provide more susbstance in order to maintain its watchability. As it stands now, I love throwing in the tape when I have 45 min to kill, but their focus should be on "You don't want to miss this!" as opposed to "Impact, an ok way to pass the time."

I *still* don't have any of the updates (Concast in Pittsburgh). All that's there now are CWF, MNW, and NWA from last week. If they call me back and say it's WWE's fault, maybe I'll take the BBB route, too.

Was the escort really necessary? Do they think the fired wrestlers are gonna crash the tapings and shoot or something???

The quality of his matches depends on his opponents. If he's in there with an established person, he'll tend to look good b/c truth be told a lot of the top guys are good in the ring. If he's in there with a jobber, it'll be a squash on his part, which makes him look dominant and hides his weaknesses. Wouldn't this ring true with about 95% of the roster? Most of the top guys are good...that is why they are top guys. The other top guys who aren't good are there cause they are monsters and in that case they are usually matched with a smaller worker to make them look at least decent. That's the nature of the business as is the point of having him in there with a jobber is to have him look strong and hide his weakness. It's not his job to help a jobber get over. I'm not the biggest Cena fan, but I will give him props for carrying Kahli to some damn watchable matches. Do you think Orton would have been able to have done the same? That's the crux of it, in my eyes: the true test of a wrestlers comes when he's put in there with bad or limited wrestlers who are pushed at the same level. A wrestler can look good against someone who makes wrestlers look good, and a wrestler can look good when he's booked to be a monster (Golderg, anyone?), but what happens when he's put in there with someone who tends to be wrestler who is supposed to be made to look good?

I find him to be incredibly stiff in the ring. And I don't mean Stan Hansen stiff, I mean Giant Kahli stiff. The only thing to which I look forward is when he stalks his opponent to give him the RKO, and he doesn't even need to be in a match to do that. The quality of his matches depends on his opponents. If he's in there with an established person, he'll tend to look good b/c truth be told a lot of the top guys are good in the ring. If he's in there with a jobber, it'll be a squash on his part, which makes him look dominant and hides his weaknesses. I'll grant that he busts out a few nice moves here and there, but he just doesn't come across as very smooth in the ring on the whole.

You're exactly right. It's his shitty wrestling that makes him a shitty wrestler!

If steroids don't necessarily make people cut and ripped (see: Funaki, Umaga), then what's the point of taking them? People surmise that wrestlers take steroids in order to look cut, but if that's not happening, are they being taken to enhance strength or something? What possible benefit could they be for wrestlers like Umaga and Funaki, if their physiques aren't being noticeably altered?

The most shocking thing to come out of all of this is the revelation that King Booker's real 1st name is Robert, not Booker. I always saw him referred to as Booker Huffman!!!

John Hennigan has so much potential, and has always shown it since debuting. But his "John Morrison" character is so lame. The gimmick relies heavily on promos, and right now, that just isn't his strong point. He comes across as forced, stilted, and awkward. This then only adds to the quixoticness of his catchphrases. Saying the things he says doesn't make him sounds mysterious or provocative, it makes him sound like someone who's trying to be deep but who doesn't have the intellectual capability to do so. It's almost as if they're trying to mold him in Jericho's form, but without the charisma. I'm a few weeks behind on ECW, and I just watched the contract signing he had w/ Punk. After Morrison went through this spiel about average reality and the like, Punk delivered a simple, effective promo that was organic and believable. I really think Hennigan's taken a step back with this gimmick.

PW Torch reports (via TMZ) the following about Nick's driving record (http://www.pwtorch.com/artman/publish/article_21482.shtml): TMZ.com reports today that Nick Hogan, over the last 12 months, has been caught speeding four times, including doing 115 in a 70 zone, 57 in a 30, and 106 in a 70. He only got his license last year. The Torch is also reporting (via CNN) the following (http://www.pwtorch.com/artman/publish/article_21511.shtml): If the passenger dies, Nick could be charged with vehicular manslaughter, facing a potential of 15 years in state prison. Nick is 17 years old.

Wow, Comcast (Pittsburgh) hasn't aded any updates yet. All we have is SumSlam 94, CWF 1/4/86, MNW 3/3/97, and NWA 11/23/85. Legends and Shorties are both blank.