Diamonddust

I don't get it. Whose house was that? Benoit's. And I can't imagine the sales pitch for this house is and what the real estate company says when people ask, "So tell me about the previous owners."

I've mentioned this on the board before, but I'll say it again. Shortly after Crash died, Mick Foley came to speak at the University of Alabama, where I was a student. I believe he promoting Tietam Brown at the time. Anyways, the question and answer period comes. Crash's death was recent as was Road Warrior Hawk's, so I asked him what he thought about the rash of wrestlers dying and such. When I mentioned Crash by name, Mick got this funny look on his face and said, dumbfounded, "Crash Holly died?" I felt horrible that he had to find out something like that during a public speaking appearance.

I've asked the same question before, and the best answer I've gotten is multiple people own portions of the "Memphis" library.

After reading the thread about the Spinner belt on the WWE board, I was wondering something... What were some of the best looking championship belts throughout wrestling history? They don't have to be World Title belts. Just title belts in general. Some of my favs: -The new WWE Title given to Austin after WM14 (I liked this much better than the Hogan-era title belt) -The NWA/Early WCW U.S. Title (The replacement was ok, but this one had a much better look) -The silver NWA/Early WCW World Television Title (The replacement was too generic looking) -The pre-Attitude IC Title (An absolute classic design) -The 80's/90's WWE Tag-Team titles. (See Above)

I still think SummerSlam is the #2 PPV because the Royal Rumble, as entertaining as it is, is nothing more than a set-up show. It doesn't blow-off feuds or settle anything. It just builds to a PPV two months down the road.

That could make sense: Shawn vs. JBL and Taker vs. Umaga But still... this Wrestlemania is going to have to have a mega-money/epic moment match, and at the present moment... Shawn vs. Taker in Texas is at the top of the list.

The thing that concerns me about Shawn/Taker is the whole JBL element. They are going to have to find a conclusion to this soon, unless JBL is involved in making Shawn take on The Undertaker. Heck, I could see something where JBL forces Shawn to fight Taker (The man who retired Flair has to retire the streak), but JBL is present to try and take the win away from Shawn.

Stephanie's interview is actually a pretty interesting read, although she seemed to forget her husband's jokes about Chris Masters suddenly looking small. I also got a kick out of the fact the people didn't mention that Stephanie was the one wanting to give Candice Michelle water after her injury.

I thought it was funny when he realized all the Samoans are actually related.

The Million Dollar Title is in a league by itself.

I thought there were touches of Greg Valentine (At least in physical appearance) as well.

And as described by Meltzer directly after the statement, proof positive they won't even think of turning Cena or changing his gimmick any time soon.

I believe it is.

Hey... it's the hospital where I was born.

Did we just take a time warp to 1998?

Now that would be pretty funny if Goldust kept pestering Cody to try and get into the group.

Hopefully it's just a tag-match tonight... Cena and Rey vs. Knox and someone else.

I'm not really debating why he never left the territory. I was just saying it wasn't really smart for him to leave, seeing as he was in a sweet spot. The thing I took issue with is, saying Harley Race and The Funks in their prime were bigger stars nationally them Sammartino, this simply isn't true. The only reason I didn't lump Dusty in with the Funks and Race, because of his run in 80's. I wouldn't say Lawler was ever a bigger draw then Bruno either. I know he probably filled up 10,000 seats every Monday in Memphis, However I think that probably is about 2 MSG shows Bruno headlined in a month. I seriously doubt his peak was anywhere on the level of Sammartino's peak, until Hogan came around I don't think anybody was touching Sammartino's popularity. Edit: I agree Bruno sucks, Jingus. I'm simply saying there weren't many guys more popular and drew bigger houses. As Jingus pointed out, Lawler had a much smaller population base to draw in Memphis than Bruno did in New York.

I think (or at least I hope) Orton wins the Rumble. They won't do a real big title match at the Royal Rumble, although they will need to put a reasonable end to Shawn Michaels/JBL in enough time for Shawn to go onto a bigger Wrestlemania match. As a result, I wouldn't be shocked if Jericho walks away with the title shot.

The reason Andre moved around is because the mystique and intrigue of seeing a "giant" would have been dead if he stayed in one place too long. Vince Sr. saw this, and that is why he put Andre on a constant travel schedule. Andre coming to a territory would then actually mean something as opposed to him appearing months on end.

uhhh...you're forgetting Harley Race. and as it's been said before...Sammartino hardly ever drew anywhere other than his home territory, hardly the definition of a big national name I know I opened the can of worms, but that can be countered by saying Sammartino's home territory was the biggest territory, population-wise, in the country. Being the top dog in New York did mean something nationally, however, he didn't have a track record of being able to branch out and be a draw.

I think that is a big criticism for Sammartino, and honestly, Pedro Morales falls into that category as well. They'll always be seen as regional stars in an area that had a huge ethnic fanbase, which only helped their status. Would Bruno have drawn in Florida? Texas? The Carolinas? I know we are talking about the territory days, but even during then... guys like Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes, Andre the Giant, and The Funks were considered national stars.

Saw that this morning, and I can't wait to see the backlash Vince unleashes against this one now that Aronofsky is talking "union".

Outside of the Northeast, where did Sammartino draw?

Yeah, I saw the same thing. I expect it to get amped up once the movie gets a wide release and/or when the Oscars get closer.