zappafrank

I figured this deserved its own thread so... I have mixed feelings on Mickey Rourke appearing at WM. On the one hand, Vince getting celebrities to garner mainstream coverage is nothing new, but on the hand, there seemed to be a sincerity about the movie that to me is lessened somewhat by WWE using it for an angle (especially since Vince didn't acknowledge its existence until its positive buzz was too much to ignore). Another reason that it feels cheap is that like so many celebrity appearances, it feels extremely contrived. Why did Rourke call out Jericho anyway, out of the blue? It would have made much more sense for Jericho to bring up the movie on his own, somehow working his "I'm an honest man" character into things. Then, Rourke could have responded, and boom, you go from there. What will REALLY cheapen it is if Rourke shows up as the Ram. Plus, although Vince was one of the 1st ones to break kayfabe, doesn't it seem kind of odd that he's using something that "exposes the business" to further an angle where we're supposed to suspend disbelief all in the name of the show? And why do people think that Rourke being involved with WM would hurt his chances for an Oscar? If it does, is that something else to consider?

Haha, Bob Ryder. I stopped going to 1wrestling b/c of all the damn pop-ups.

How does Linda McMahon being on the Board of Education affect my life?

Um, Raven was out of WCW by that point...

It's amazing how bad Graham looked there. I think he wasn't yet 40 there, but he looked like he was a rough 60+. On the flipside, although he's gained weight since the mid 80's, he's actually looked the same since then. And man was that a bad match.

So it's been cut out, then, like his match at Vengeance '02?

Is Russo's promo on Hogan edited in any way (including censoring curse words, which didn't happen in the original))? I remember going into the show predicting that somehow Booker T was going to walk out with title. I think I was only 1/2-joking, but wow, I also turned out to be right. On Nitro the following night, Booker T introduced his wife, "Mrs. Huffman." It wasn't Sharmell, but was it really his wife at the time? We also got Stevie Ray's face turn by congratulating Booker T, which then led to him joing the announce team with his awesome Froot Booty and Yaks commentary.

Saw a link to this from 411: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/126742-...-internet-leaks

In the world of wrestling, it's not necessarily a given that the top employees will report to work, as evidenced by the ever-so-present "I have a surprise for you. So-and-so is expected to be here TONIGHT!" And apparently it's OK if those stars show up to work 1/2 way or even 3/4 of the way into their "shift" (the show). And if they leave before their shift (show) is over, often times when it's in a hurry, the car is conveniently parked right outside the back entrance, unlocked with the keys already in the ignition.

...but never an actual hospital.

The announcement that Rourke - as Randy the Ram - will actually be wrestling Jericho at WM to come in 3...2...

Well, some of these people might be taking into account whether Benoit was in his right mind when it happened. Yes, being a devotee may bias some people towards saying "Well he OBVIOUSLY was sick," but it's not something to completely overlook.

"Jackknife" is simply the name of the move to tie in with the Diesel character, not a special variant of the move. It refers to how a big rig can flip over, like a jackknife opening. Think Rock Bottom vs. Book End, Sweet Chin Music vs. Stevie Kick, etc.

I think this discussion begs the question: who exactly is TNA's audience? I think it's a safe bet to say that anyone who watches TNA already is a wrestling fan, and that chances are TNA hasn't brought non-wrestling fans into the fold the way WWF and WCW did.

I still don't understand this whole "Vince was pissed b/c of Christian's return being spoiled." I'll state again for the record: I for one never heard anything about a definite angle; it was all people armchair booking. Besides, it was common knowledge for months that Christian was considering a WWE return. When it was obvious he wasn't staying with TNA, did anyone really doubt he'd be back in WWE?

Did this one yesterday

Nancy Grace revealed that the Benoit family and Sherri deaths are related, you know, through Kevin Sullivan, no less.

I was there live for that Stunner...the crowd popped huge (and I'll admit, I did, too).

This is why I thought Spike Dudley's heel turn was really well done. He stayed on the apron and didn't once get into anything with Bubba and D-Von. The match went for a while, too, with Rey taking all the abuse, and then when the moment was right, Spike turned on him. I made sure to note that Spike didn't once get into it with his brothers b/c I had the exact same thought, "It'll be stupid for him to beat on his brothers and then turn on Rey."

That's the match that's on Slamfest 95, right? I picked that up a few months ago for a couple of bucks at a pop culture store, mainly b/c I recognized that match. I like that match (and the tape) overall, but there's clipping which I always hate (esp. in the 2 matches I really wanted: Kliq tag and Owen/Anvil vs. Bret/Bulldog).

Aside from this message, Mr. Gagne's name will not be mentioned again. Do not expect to see him, his matches, or any reference to him on any of our programming.

RE: best commentating teams: I always thought Velocity was really good when Matthews was paired with either Bill DeMott or The Cat. Both guys were pretty insightful on color, which is something I think has been really lacking since forever. I especially liked when DeMott used the telestrator. And Matthews knew his history. Cole/Tazz and Cole/JBL on SD were really good since as color guys, Tazz/JBL helped you understand why what was going on in the ring was important from a psychology standpoint. People love JR and the King, but the King is really there just to add quips. He's not like Ventura or Heenan who tried to get inside the mind of the wrestlers. And of course, Grisham and Striker go without saying.

Here's a rather asinine, eye-rolling article about Christian's return (http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/font_color_770000_MITCHELL_S_TAKE_font_14/article_29933.shtml):

Here's a well-written piece about Christian returning to ECW (http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/The_Specialists_34/article_29928.shtml):