justcoz

I still think it's best to have a mixture of both wrestling minds and Hollywood writers. Wrestling today is a huge television production. It was different back in the day. Dusty, Ole, Flair or Watts could get a booking assignment and lay out angle development leading into the matches they wanted. Television was slower paced however. You could fill one and half hours of squash matches and interviews with a main event match and maybe one huge angle to close the show. Things are much more faster paced now. I don't necessarily like this but I wouldn't want to see 90 minutes of squashes again either. They need wrestling minds and television/Hollywood minds working together. The writers should be required to have some wrestling knowledge and I agree with whoever posted that they should be sent through a training system of sorts. Jim Cornette would be great at this, I believe. Let them watch old tapes and learn about the business a little bit before putting them into this environment.

I'd believe it. I actually thought Lawler was quite good back in the day when he worked with Vince. He was a strong heel announcer. That carried over in his initial work on RAW with JR and the two of them had quite good chemistry. Lawler gradually became more over the top with the Attitude era, especially after puppies caught on, and he and Ross became more buddy buddy. He became less of a heel and more of a loveable dirty old man screaming for the puppies with little pink noses. It worked from 1998-2000 but quite frankly, it was old and finished, right in time for his fallout with the company over Stacy Carter. He didn't need to be brought back in my opinion. Now, even when he tries to get into a heel shtick (for instance harping on Booker T's criminal history) he just comes off as an asshole. It was somehow more amusing to watch him crack cruel Stu and Helen Hart jokes to their faces because he was a heel character and that's what heels do. Now he just comes across as racist and a jackass because he can make comments like those about Booker T and the next minute we are supposed to applaud him as he saves JR, beats up Coach, jumps up and down over Stacy's legs, etc... LISTEN TO THE PITTSBURGH MUSIC SCENE ON LIVE 365

What does Chris Kreski do now? Is there no way at all that Vince could convince him to come back? I'm not against using Hollywood writers for some input into the storylines. Kreski is a fine example of someone who was able to make the transition. To a lesser extent, you can say the same of Ed Ferrarra who was a pretty big part of the Russo/McMahon era. I'd put two Hollywood writers as creative heads on Raw and Smackdown and have them work in collaboration with a booking committee with knowledge of the business. The Hollywood writers job for the most part is to listen to ideas from the booking committee and script episodes around those ideas. This way you can have input from a committee consisting of guys like Heyman, Foley, Dreamer, Ace, Bischoff and hell bring Russo and Ferrarra back in. It's amazing when you think that Vince at one point could have employed every creative head responsible for the wrestling boom in the late 90's. ECW's Heyman, WCW's Bischoff and WWF's Russo. He employs two of the three right now and employs them only as on air personalities? WHY??? There would have been no WWF Attitude if ECW and WCW Monday Nitro didn't exist? The main thing is that if it's broke... fix it... this is what pisses me off about the current creative end of things. It's obvious that there have been problems on the creative end. Problems creating new stars. Problems putting together compelling television which consistently brings in and retains viewers. Yet they make no changes to the formula, take no risks and make no moves within their creative department. A football team makes coaching changes if things don't click. Monday Night Football mixes up their broadcast booth if ratings are subpar. You see none of this within WWE. If you want to hang with the big boys and compete with other television productions (that is there competition, they have no competition in the business so there competition is now other television) - you can't surround yourself with YES men and refuse to listen to suggestions from your talent and audience. Especially when things are on a downward spiral. If Vince didn't listen to Russo in '97 we'd still have tired gimmicks like The Goon, TL Hopper, etc. We are what... four years into the Stephanie McMahon Experiment? I think by now she has a grasp as to how the creative end works. She's gained the experience that she needs for when that inevitable day comes which Vince and Linda pass on and the business goes to Stephanie and Shane. Let's move her on to another project within WWE operations. Have her learn the business end and learn how to work in the capacity that Linda does. I personally think that Stephanie would be a great representative of the company. She's attractive, intelligent and young. She would come off much better as a representative of WWE than insane roid rage Vince and dull unpersonable Linda. It may even help break the stigma attached to the company because of Vince's arrogance, temper and business failures. Women would respect the company more as they would see Stephanie as a young business woman representing a publicly traded company. Throw her on Oprah about growing up in the business. Sounds good to me. Just move on already... LISTEN TO THE PITTSBURGH MUSIC SCENE ON LIVE 365

I'd prefer JR, Stone Cold and Bischoff personally with Coach doing the "investigative reporter" stuff backstage and Jerry Lawler going to TNA to hang with the Jarretts... LISTEN TO THE PITTSBURGH MUSIC SCENE ON LIVE 365

AMEN!!!! This is not a God like push. It's a push but not a God like push. In many ways it's similar to saying that WWE gave Chris Jericho a God like push when he was Undisputed Champion. He may have had the tv time and gold but the push didn't legitimize him to the marks - he was seen as a coward who got lucky and didn't deserve his spot and the attention. It's obvious that WWE want to push Randy Orton as their new young star and they probably do believe that they are giving him a God like push but it's f*cked up just like the majority of things they try. WWE logic has Randy Orton getting instant elevation and heel heat because he's aligned with Ric Flair and HHH. True to some degree but you could stick Stevie Richards in the same role as lackey as well and it would get the same response. That doesn't mean Stevie Richards will become the next Rock. It's laziness on the creative end. He has tainted wins over Shawn Michaels and defeated the legend that is Sgt. Slaughter in a match where he got his ass handed to him the majority of the time by someone who hasn't been a full time competitor since 1993. He's thrown Mick Foley down stairs and spit in his face. But his only legit win in a match is over RVD who, despite being over, has been jobbed out countless times in the past. Booker T has been jobbed as well and Randy couldn't get a clean win over him in an IC Title defense. Not only did he need Mark Henry's help but Kane's as well. The Rock was shoved down people's throats as a face and got his heel heat from that. Today's creative team would have aligned The Rock with heel DX probably out of laziness. Rock was instead put in a role where his arrogance made him a leader of the mid card group he was put into (NOD). And it can't be denied that he had more charisma and ability going for him than Orton. Randy showed a lot of charisma in his RNN skits which were praised in smarkland but he's been booked to be nothing more than a lackey who gets lucky with everyone's help and the marks have acted accordingly. I'm not saying he's going to be the star that WWE hopes he will be but that's just as much due to weak booking than his own faults which could be covered up with strong booking. LISTEN TO PNR ON LIVE 365

Has anybody actually seen any of Rob Van Dam's pre WWE movies? Are they horrible? If WWE Films is looking at straight to video releases, why not do an action flick with him? WWE Films could actually work if they keep themselves in check and realize that they aren't competing against the big movie companies but are attempting to carve their own niche in straight to DVD, VHS and PPV movies. Just like I think the XFL would have worked if they didn't act as if it was going to be better than the NFL but instead said it was a stepping stone for players to get noticed by the NFL and was the only sports vehicle where there weren't big money contracts and players were paid to win. The HHH movie isn't going to open up at number one like The Scorpion King and The Rock. The movies need to be looked at more or less as a way to get WWE talent looked at more by big Hollywood names. Just like Hollywood embraces hip hop stars after they they act in a lower budget urban produced movie. Here's hoping for a Booker T/Tajiri buddy action comedy... LISTEN TO PITTSBURGH NET RADIO ON LIVE 365

Would anyone be against the idea of having a trade deadline between the two brands each year? Possibly sometime after Wrestlemania each year? If so, what would your trades be? Here are my choices: 1. Rob Van Dam to Smackdown for Edge: If Van Dam stays on with WWE as expected, he needs some fresh scenery. Being on Smackdown would give him the opportunity to work with some fresh faces like Benoit, Eddie, Cena, Mysterio, Tajiri, Angle, etc. He would probably also have a better opportunity to be in the title hunt on Smackdown. Storyline wise, if Heyman remains Smackdown GM, there is some logic and history behind him pursuing RVD. Edge would have the opportunity to become the top face on RAW and has history with Jericho, Christian and Matt Hardy. I see Triple H possibly even jobbing to him as they really haven't worked a program together and it could even be good. He would more than likely work well with Randy Orton as well. 2. Paul London and Spanky for Scott Steiner and Test London and Spanky need to advance from Velocity and as much as I think there is potential for them on Smackdown against The Guererros, WGTT and Tajiri's group - I think Raw is in need of the teeny bopper tag team of the new millenium. I'd go one step further and have HBK manage them. Then this would leave a few storyline possibilities with them either turning on HBK or Bret Hart bringing in Teddy Hart and Harry Smith for a feud against HBK's Spanky and London. That would just be an awesome feud. I think there would be potential in programs with Spanky/London vs. Cade/Jindrak, Dudleys, possibly a reunited Hardy team or Christian and Hardy. Steiner and Test would fit in with the other hosses on Smackdown and it's possible you could even get a decent run between Steiner and Lesnar or Steiner and Angle if Big Poppa Pump could be convinced to get a little leaner and continue to work on improving in the ring (which I think he has). The amateur background is there. 3. Lance Storm to Smackdown for Charlie Haas I think Charlie Haas has breakout singles potential and I'd like to see that develop on Raw as a singles competitor. Lance Storm is another talent who has been ruined by the creative powers that be on Raw. He needs to be in an environment where workrate can get him noticed and working with Benoit, Eddie and Angle can do that. 4. Rene Dupree to Smackdown for Sean O'Haire I'm breaking up another tag team but so be it. Dupree is another talent that I'm banking on to be a major player in years to come. I know that sound's JR'ish but so be it. In order to escape the campiness of La Resistance, he needs a new setting and Smackdown would give him an opportunity at the age of 20 to work with some of the best in the business. Plus, Dupree and Cena could be a classic feud if Dupree does a Hunter Hearst Helmsley type heel character. I think Rob Conway will do just fine on his own on RAW and getting out of the French sympathizer role would do wonders for his career and allow him to break out. Sean O'Haire would be a natural addition to the Jindrak, Cade and Orton crew. HE HAS THE LOOK and it would be interesting to see him feud with Batista possibly. I know these have the potential to be horrendous matchups but maybe not. I'd put him in the devil's advocate role and maybe stick Victoria with him. 5. Rico/Jackie to Smackdown for Orlando Jordan and The Cat Rico has the talent and can work. He dies on Raw for some reason however. I know everyone thinks it's the gimmick but I don't think the gimmick is that bad because he makes it work. He does a good job with it. He would benefit from longer matches on Smackdown against better workers. And Jackie can stay out of the ring before she kills someone or herself. Orlando Jordon is kind of unremarkable but if you put Teddy Long as his mouthpiece bragging about how he was trained by a brother - the same brother who fathered The Rock- you may have something. The Cat, as a non wrestler, has no business on Smackdown. There is no point to it. Put him on Raw with Bischoff and The Coach and you can have more fun. Does anyone else have difficulty sleeping when they take Sudafed or any of these sinus medications? These things have speed in them, right? Is it some sort of ephedra? LISTEN TO PITTSBURGH NET RADIO ON LIVE 365

neverendingstory, you've made your points and i agree with most... i like good debates and this was sadly the highlight of my weekend with me being sick and all... feel free to criticize any of my posts, you know your stuff, peace out...

Yeah, so that makes them about two years old. I didn't say that Angle and Benoit were stale. Read my post again. I said that Angle and Benoit have had several encounters and I wouldn't complain about seeing them face off again. The reason is that they are good workers and have good chemistry. Just as I feel about RVD and Eddie. I wouldn't complain about seeing them in a ladder match on Smackdown despite the fact that we've already seen it on RAW. Their match on RAW was some time ago. Therefore it's fresher than say Christian vs. RVD or RVD vs. Orton. I didn't see enough of RVD and Benoit and I'd like to see more. I tend to think that "new" means "new" and "fresh" means "fresh". Unless you are talking about lunch meat or something. If it hasn't happened for a year and a half or two years and suddenly happens again then it's fresh. Okay, by your definition of fresh meaning new, RVD vs. Brock Lesnar, Rey Mysterio, Shelton Benjamin, John Cena, Charlie Haas, Paul London, Spanky and Tajiri's guys are all fresh matches for RVD on the Smackdown roster. That's more than his options on RAW which was my point all along until you wanted to rant about how we had already seen some of these matches over one year ago. And I'm the one who can't take criticism? Alright, it's been awhile since I've countered someone calling me a twit so let me pause and go back to the fourth grade cafeteria level that you are apparently stuck in. Okay, the best I can come up with at this time is I'm Rubber... Your Glue.. Whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you... Oh, and I got two words for you. There I feel much better. (now doing the Cena - you can't see me wave) If the point of the comment above is that Brock Lesnar can't work then I disagree. I happen to like him as a worker. I like him on the mic. I like the heat he gets. I think he's the only legitimate new "superstar" WWE's current creative team have managed to create. There could be a clash of styles between him and RVD. I liked Brock's work with both Benoit and Rey Mysterio in recent weeks so I think he and RVD would be fine together. Kane is a product of WWE so you actually do make a good point here. I don't know if you're referring to why HHH didn't job to him after the character killing Katie Vick angle or go along with Kane getting the title from Goldberg this past Sunday? I've scratched my head as to why the title ended up back on HHH's waist. My guess is that he suggested to Stephanie and creative that Evolution attempt to get Horsemen style heat and win all the titles that night. He probably watched the Ric Flair DVD during his off time and was inspired by the Horsemen segment where they had all the gold. Not to mention Undertaker vs. Kane at WM doesn't need Kane with the championship or even a transitional reign. Alright he injured himself. He never to my knowledge injured another worker and he's been working house shows, tv and PPV matches so what makes him any more of a risk for Edge then anyone else on the roster? So by your theory, Edge can't wrestle on Smackdown either because Lesnar may injure his neck and Charlie Hass may work his shoulder and arm too stiff. Not to mention Benoit and Angle and their german suplexes. Edge is risking injury whenever he steps into the ring regardless of who it's with. Now you are comparing me to that ninny in the Puroresu folder? I'd appreciate it if you could see me for me and stop comparing me to others. If you've ever called that guy a twit - I'm going to be extremely jealous. I hope me and Mr. Puroresu at least have different pet names. Hopefully, I'm the twit and he's a nimrod or something else equally as verbally menacing. No... I said he's shitty but he'd be good with Teddy Long hyping him as something like that Great Black Hope, trained by Rocky Johnson and maybe even say he was trained by The Rock as well. Nothing at all in there about how Vince doesn't like black people. You pull things out of your arse sometimes to stir up debate when there really isn't. We are both agreeing he is shit. I'm just making the suggestion that you give him a mouthpiece who can hype up his background and give a fan an understanding as to who the hell the guy is and where he came from. From there, it's up to Orlando to improve which I think he can. He seems to have ability but he's green and bland and having no personality or gimmick doesn't help matters. It's a combination of Teddy Long and his push. This is the same good big black man who spent most of his multimillion dollar WWE contract in OVW and stunk up Smackdown without the push and without someone effective doing his talking. I personally find it funny how you can say Mark Henry is a good big man while wanting to keep anyone on the roster away from Randy Orton because he's injured himself twice. Mark Henry from all reports is not a favorite of many to work with and is considered sloppy, reckless and too stiff. I guess you are referring to the Smackdown Six and there really is no comparison. Heyman didn't book those matches as tv time filler - they were main events. He booked them for those involved to make an impact and tell a story through their work. The matches were given long durations in time and Cole and Tazz paid attention to those in the ring. They weren't two minute matches used by the announcers to talk about the main event coming up. Rico gets too many of these. I think they only gave him time to actually work on two occassions against Val Venis and the match with Jericho and Trish. On both occassions, Rico's performances received compliments by many on the internet and had some reaction from the crowd. I had already commented that Rico was in the ring with Jericho - someone the fans cared about. People also weren't dead because Jericho and Rico were working pretty well in the ring together - they had better reaction from the live audience and worked better together than Kane and Jericho one week later. I already explained that Goldust was helped by creative coming up with feuds with Razor, Roddy Piper and Ahmed centered on his "eccentric" behavior and questionable sexual preference. Remember back when the creative teams used to develop feuds? That helps build characters too. Prior to that, people were unsure how to react to Goldust after his debut. His mannerisms in the ring were neither cheered or booed. It takes more than having a guy rub another guy's ass for people to care about a character or a match. Vince just assumes that everyone is a homophobe and the gay guys are going to get instant heel heat. This isn't 1950's America and Gorgeous George. We've seen this type of character every decade (Gorgeous George, Adrien Street, Adrian Adonis, Goldust and now Rico) so no matter how much time Rico puts into portraying the character it's not as um... "fresh" without storylines adding different dimensions to the character (which Goldust had going for him). Obviously you can't accept your criticism being criticized with a sense of humor or sarcasm. I'll think of some more fresh matches as you compile your Best of Mark Henry- "The Good Big Black Guy" DVD and come up with more reasons why absolutely no one on the WWE roster should ever work a match or program together. Especially if they've already wrestled each other a few years ago. LISTEN TO PITTSBURGH NET RADIO ON LIVE 365

Oh, you forgot to mention the feud on RAW with Eddie too? I guess you are trying to tell me that these matches aren't really "fresh" because they happened two to three years ago? I know this already but the matches would still be fresher than anything RVD could have going for him on RAW minus a program with Matt Hardy. I wouldn't say, I never want to see Angle vs. Benoit again because I've seen them work together already. Most of the audience don't live in your little jaded smark world. They wouldn't be sitting there going, "C'mon, RVD potatoed Angle a few years ago and now he's going to wrestle Angle, Benoit and Tajiri - AGAIN - we're turning this off to watch Jamie Kennedy!!!?" Angle has stated publicly in interviews, recent as a matter of fact, that he considers RVD one of the top stars in the company because of his unique style and that he'd like to see him on Smackdown because he feels he'd be in title contention there and he'd like to work with him again. I'm sure RVD could have another string of good bouts with Benoit and Eddie. I'm sure they would put him and Mysterio against each other for a throwaway tv match or something. He could work with Chavo. Oh wait, or are you going to inform me that RVD worked against Chavo at a house show in Tuscon Arizona in March of 2001 so that wouldn't be a fresh match? I believe Shelton Benjamin could hold his own against RVD and Cena and Lesnar programs wouldn't be all that bad if Cena can somehow work like he did in OVW or upon his WWE debut. But since some of those matches have happened already let's keep him on RAW so he can work with "fresh" matches with Batista, Rosey, Test and Val Venis. HHH philosophy if he thinks in any way like I think he does: "Edge has paid his dues, developed in WWE from bottom of the card with The Brood, to strong mid card and is a home grown talent who needs to be taken to the next level." Booker T came from that no good WCW, remember? His downfall was that despite being very over at the time he wasn't a homegrown WWE talent. It's the same reason we are seeing Bob Holly in a title program with Lesnar before Eddie Guerrerro. I liked the RVD/Orton match. Not a **** classic but not nearly the style clash I thought it would be. I've only watched it once and I have a tendency to change my opinion on things when watching them for a second or third time. Who exactly has Randy Orton injured since his debut to the point where it would be dangerous to put someone coming off an injury like Edge in the ring against him? He's green but I don't necessarily watch him and wince like I do when I watch John Heidenrich? I wouldn't bring back Bret for that purpose alone. You're right, that would be stupid. I actually see your point here so I'm not braindead. I would have a ceremony for Bret at WMXX where he gets to give a speech, gets a tribute video, maybe a face to face with Vince. If Bret decided to stick around, somewhere down the road, you could run something like this with HBK. More than anything, I like the idea of Teddy Hart/Harry Smith debuting as the next generation of the Hart Family and feel that they could have some great matches with Spanky and Paul London. You could add another element to these matches by involving Bret and HBK's history if Bret would agree to stay with the company in some capacity. The Dudley's worked well with the Hardy's and I think you'd see some good matches between the two. You could play The Dudley's up as the disgruntled veterans who don't like all of the attention the new teeny bopper tag team are getting. Perhaps they'd eat the 3D. Perhaps they would get a victory and get pushed with a tag team run. Neither of us write this crap so we don't make the call. If they wanted to seriously get Spanky/London over as a new generation Rockers or Hardys, an upset over The Dudley's would do it. Christian and Hardy as it stands right now are going to be staying at the bottom of the card whether they work with Spanky and London or not. They blew their opportunity with Matt Hardy after the brand switch and I don't think we will ever see Christian in a main event picture ever. If you are going to classify Edge as a mid carder 4 Life, I will do the same with Christian. At least Edge was getting second to Hogan pops on Smackdown for awhile. Alright, you lost me here. I'm braindead, remember? So you are you saying Angle isn't a good worker and has poor psychology? I'm not sure which match you are talking about where he worked the back to set up an ankle lock. Maybe I'm a bad wrestling fan and I don't watch things like that closely enough? Brock Lesnar didn't pull his shooting star press from his amateur background either so I fail to see any point in that comparison. Steiner used to be a good worker. He's a strong heel and he's shown improvement since he came into WWE. If he can continue to improve then we may be able to get one good run from him and a match with him and Lesnar intrigues me for some reason. It's an opinion. It's nothing that you have to fight with me about or argue trying to prove your superior knowledge of the business so spare me. I agree that putting Angle in the ring with him, with Angle's injuries, may be too much of a risk. Test is a hoss but I've never considered him to be as bad as many on here do. He's definitely mid card 4 Life however. If I had a choice between seeing Steiner and Test vs. Matt Morgan and A Train in their respective roles right now, I'd go with Steiner and Test. I've watched episodes of Velocity where O'Haire was definitely connecting with the crowd or at least the first few rows. He did look awesome in WWE style vignettes but they never stuck him in the ring in that role. There was never any character development in terms of storyline scenarios they could have played out with a devil's advocate character which is just as much a problem with creative as it was with O'Haire's portrayal which could have got better. They stuck him in mindless backstage skit scenerios where he couldn't pull off the character he was trying to develop. When Ted Dibiase was the Million Dollar Man he didn't have to do backstage porno movie dialogue with Dawn Marie. He wrestled and worked the mic on a live crowd and had a creative department who came up with interesting bits like kicking the basketball from the little kid, etc. that got the character over. O'Haire telling Dawn marie to take her clothes off but he's not telling her anything she doesn't already know didn't exactly have the same effect. I am again not saying that O'Haire is ever going to be a draw but they had an interesting character that they did nothing with. By the time he got airtime, he was stuck in a new millenium version of Roddy Piper's "Ace" Bob Orton and stood in the background as Piper talked. Victoria would fit with him. Stevie Richards would be the perfect MF'er anyway. Hey guess what, all I said was that Orlando Jordon could use a mouthpiece like Teddy Long and I gave an example of something that Long, fitting his present character, could say. I didn't say that creating the Nation of Domination V2.0 would do anything to improve WWE business and create stars although I have a lot of faith in Teddy Long's mic work. I didn't say having Orlando with Teddy Long would make Orlando Jordon a star. Rather it could definitely help. He's still young and he's just one of the dozens of characterless faces that WWE put on their programs expecting people to react when they have no reason to react. Mark Henry is doing well as "the big black man" because he's been pushed down our throats by creative, has had Booker T job to him, was made to look superior to Goldberg during their match and has Jim Ross singing his praises bah God. Not to mention Teddy's mic work. If I would have posted that they do any of the above a few months ago - would you go along with it? You'd be saying Mark Henry is a collosal waste of money and they need to get rid of him. How dare you job Booker T to him. How stupid it is to have Goldberg sale for him and how Teddy Long could do nothing for the stupid oaf because he can't connect with the crowd. Rico is a good worker who doesn't get to show that he can work because he is thrown out there during quick RAW throwaway matches which have no meaning and no buildup. He is again another victim of WWE creative not doing anything compelling with the character to make anyone care. They put him in heatless matches with guys like Maven, Val Venis, etc. where he doesn't get time to show he can work and people could give a shit, not because he doesn't do a good job with the portrayal of the character but because they have no reason to give a shit or care about the match he's in. Look at how well he worked with Jericho a few weeks back and people weren't dead or chanting boring because the match had some point to it and he was working with talent who were over. I still feel he does well playing the character - he and Jackie both. He's watched tapes of Adrien Street and Goldust and he's mastered elements of both their characters. The Goldust character wasn't over either until creative had him flirting with Razor and kissing Ahmed Johnson. What... you don't have anything to piss and moan about regarding this subject? Tell me I'm an asshole for taking sinus medications at bedtime, read labels and answer my own medicinal questions, you can't enlighten me by informing me of how Chris Benoit got over his terrible February of 1999 cold? How I completely lack psychology in attacking the cold, I need to work the immune system first, then go for the finisher by attacking the sinus passages. I'm disappointed. LISTEN TO PITTSBURGH NET RADIO ON LIVE 365

I'm curious to know how much truth Mick Foley had in his comments on Conway and Dupree a few Raw's ago. Ditto for his comments on Orton which seemed much more legit although there is an angle involved there. I'm not saying that they are really the next Rock and Stone Cold but it's very possible that five to seven years from now we will be looking back at La Resistance the same way we look back at Rocky Maivia and The Ringmaster. I have a feeling that Conway could be very good on the mic without the French/USA crap. His presence and Grenier's injury actually save La Resistance from being a complete wash out. I see Dupree in an old style Hunter Hearst Helmsley role and they really should start pushing how young he is. And Conway does remind me a bit of The Rock and could probably be a breakout arrogant heel. LISTEN TO PITTSBURGH NET RADIO ON LIVE 365

I'd like to see them split up La Resistance and push both Dupree and Rob Conway as singles. I think both have potential. Conway is being held back in the French sympathizer role. Coz CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO PITTSBURGH NET RADIO ON LIVE 365

Kurt Angle has pretty much already stated in an interview that he feels his character lacks entertainment value as a face and he'd like to work as a heel again. He feels a program with Cena would work better with Kurt as the heel.

Remember the pop when Brock first won the title? The guy is legit and people wanted to see him beat The Rock for the championship. They were expecting a new champion at Summerslam with the Next Big Thing build up. On top of that, he was one half of a dream match of sorts which still hasn't really delivered with Kurt Angle. He's a legit wrestler, he has the size, the look and they would be idiots not to push him. Brock isn't heatless. He may have been as a babyface when they seemingly pushed him as Bob Backlund on growth hormone but as a heel he has heat. I will say that aligning him with grunts like Morgan, Jones and screaming about how he is the smallest member of the bunch is ridiculous and typical WWE stupidity. I would not ever compare Brock with Yokozuna. I thought Yokozuna was a good worker for his size but he didn't have the athleticism of Brock nor did he have the look.

The saddest thing about those pics is the type of stuff Bobby is now doing to pass his time and earn a buck perhaps. I'm sure he can handle doing Confidential with Mean Gene or something even if his days of being a main color guy are a thing of the past. Him and Gene better be allowed to do something at Mania 20.

LOL, perhaps... Or he could create tomorrow's stars and make a contribution to taking the business to it's much needed next phase. I'm not saying Heyman doesn't have creative faults but it's nothing worse than what we have right now and nothing where you couldn't have another's input to pick up the slack for his weakness. If you give Heyman guys with the workrate that the Smackdown roster has and free reign - the product will change. Heyman is good at developing characters and picking out the strengths of someone and running with them. That's why ECW Taz was better than WWE Tazz. That's why ECW Rob Van Dam was better than Raw's RVD. Heyman was also not bad at delivering controversy and much of the attitude that later made WWF. You can pick on us Heyman supporters but all you have to do is read about the Smackdown roster's reaction to his arrival and hopes that he would be returning to creative. All you have to do is listen to the credit he is given for what he did for the careers of Steve Austin and Mick Foley. I guarantee you that Eddie and Cena would have been Rock and STone Cold by now under Heyman's reign. We'd be getting **** matches on Smackdown between Spanky/London and WGTT or at least Spanky/London vs. Mysterio/Kidman, etc. Ultimo Dragon would be used better. Jamie Noble would be used better. Brock Lesnar would be a monster. Pretty much I think the entire roster, even the hosses would be better off. I can picture A Train getting over in a 911 kind of way rather than this force feeding that they are giving us with him that nobody is buying. And apparently according to 1Bob, the consultants found a lot of faults in Stephanie's work. My guess is they won't be back at next week's tapings...

Despite his faults, Eric Bischoff completely reinvented sports entertainment by going live each and every Monday night and taking on a stale WWF product at the time. Granted, much of Bischoff's success came from having Ted Turner's money but I find it difficult to believe that he has nothing to offer creatively with Vince McMahon's money to play with this time. He's a wrestling fan. He was instrumental in establishing the cruiserweight division, taking successful concepts from Japan, introducing the AAA lucha libras to American audiences and contributing to the biggest merchandising concept pre Stone Cold - the NWO. The man came damn near close to running Vince McMahon out of business. What is even sadder than the fact that he is just an on screen character at the moment is the fact that WWE "creative" have done nothing really to play on the legitimate back story of Bischoff and McMahon. Nor a storyline that could say that Shane McMahon bought WCW out from under Bischoff. Hell, even in the Austin/Bischoff feud, references to Bischoff firing Stone Cold from WCW and thinking he was nothing but a mid card wrestler have been few and far between. Paul Heyman creatively led the company that Vince McMahon and WWF Attitude Era tried the most to emulate. WWE pretty much pursued him upon ECW's financial decline for his creativity and knowledge of the business. Remember JR's references to drinking the "Kool aid"? Think of what this guy on creative could do with a roster like Angle, Benoit, Cena, Lesnar, Paul London, Spanky, World's Greatest Tag Team, Eddie Guerrerro, etc? Heyman's demotion was bullshit, plain and simple. He disagreed with McMahon and was negative towards the product. The same problem they reportedly had with Tommy Dreamer and Edge. Maybe there is a reason to be negative about the product but let's wait and watch the ratings, buy rates and attendence to decline even further before we start listening to these voices. Imagine where WWE would be if McMahon didn't listen to Vince Russo's negativity towards the product in 97? It wouldn't exist right now. You have wrestling minds on the pay roll from Heyman, Bischoff, Cornette, Dreamer, etc. I don't disagree that a Hollywood type consultant is a bad thing. Just in a consultant type role. It's time to give up on the Stephanie McMahon Experiment however. I understand that she's daddy's little girl and she needs to learn the business that will eventually be in her inheritance. You know what, Linda McMahon knows quite a bit about WWE business but she never had reigns on creative. Let Stephanie sit in the office with her and learn how to manage the books and finances. She's had her time to learn creative and it's time to move on to more capable wrestling minds. In twenty years of watching wrestling, I have rarely turned the station and I do that more and more as of late with WWE television. And it's not because the talent poll is boring.

Ending the brand split would be wrong so I'm going to pick ten guys to build each show around - with trades and talent jumps as well. Sorry, I like to be a rebel like that... RAW John Cena Edge Chris Jericho Christian Randy Orton Sean O'Haire Shelton Benjamin Rob Conway Maven Matt Hardy Smackdown Kurt Angle Rob Van Dam Brock Lesnar Eddie Guerrero Rey Mysterio, JR Charlie Haas Teddy Hart Spanky Paul London Tajiri

I agree with the fact that they need to go back to some old school elements. The presentation of the shows has to change. Crash tv has grown stale. I posted sometime ago that the backstage skits are pointless. With the brands splitting and PPV potential matchups being limited because of the rosters - they shouldn't blow their wad on Raw and Smackdown. I think there should be maybe three marquee matches with interviews, buildup and video packages devoted to them throughout the show. The rest of the time should be filled with some squash matches, ringside interviews or interviews on the ramp way (which involve the crowd unlike the skits) and maybe one or two Confidential style pieces on current stars and some stars from the past. Angle development could stem from the interviews and there could maybe be two or three squash matches.

But you never know until you give them the opportunity. Chris Jericho does great on talk shows and is a known commodity to heavy metal fans and viewers of MTV2. Rob Van Dam, as I stated earlier, could star in WWE Films produced straight to video/DVD action movies. He's had these types of movies already on HBO and Showtime. He's had guest appearances on network and cable tv shows even going back to pre WWE. He's been featured in High Times (granted it's not a Rolling Stone cover but still, it's non wrestling press. Booker T has crossover potential with the sports world. How many NFL impersonations do you see with the hand motions and the spinarooni. He did well in those Hungry Man commercials. Someone isn't going to pop up and have it instantly recognized that they are the next Rock. Did you think when Rocky Maivia with his Kid n Play hairdo debuted at the Survivor Series at MSG that he'd be a Hollywood star? Did we think that the Ringmaster would be the biggest draw since Hogan. They were given the ball and they ran with it. They didn't have their pushes stopped for lame reasons or anything like that.

Everything is so formulatic now however. You can't script chaos. The guys need more free reign when it comes to promos and establishing their characters. Part of the Monday night wrestling boom was because people like the NWO, Austin, Rock, Foley, etc. were able to improvise somewhat during their promos and it made for more interesting and entertaining televison. When we got comedy back then it was because of the coolness of the characters. It wasn't because of Brian Gerwitz. These days promos are written word for word and they come off that way too. There is already a lack of spontenenity from the lack of competition and the fact that the urgency to prevent the viewer from switching over to "the other show" isn't there. Still, they should treat every show as they don't want to lose viewers. Whether it be to Nitro or Monday Night Football or Will and Grace or CSI. The fact of the matter is WWE television doesn't come off as fun for the characters anymore and they completely need to reevaluate their presentation of the product. It's time to move on from 1998. Personally, I think we are screwed until NWA TNA gets a Monday night time slot on TBS, FX or whatever channel is willing to take a gamble on wrestling.

The thing is they will never have another breakout star if they continue to allow things to be run as they are right now. It seems that right now, when some one has the potential to break out and possibly become a star, their push gets derailed when it makes absolutely no sense business wise. When the company looks at someone like RVD, how can they not see money in this guy? He was incrediby over and fresh at one point. Here is a guy who has been in B movie/action films and could possibly star in some straight to video WWE film productions. He has a comic book following so you can do a comic. Martial arts people respect him. Stoners love him. He has proven the ability to connect with the audience on his charisma and style alone. So let's shut him down and bury him while Shane McMahon gets his spot in a feud with Kane which viewers actually seemed interested in. Eddie Guerrerro is receving a Stone Cold type buzz and pops. He has a chemistry with audiences and has become a star who along with Rey Rey has contributed greatly to the Smackdown rating numbers with the Latino demographic. He's been great on the mic and is versatile enough to also star in WWE Film productions. It would only be natural to increase his star power. So of course he should headline a PPV while he's hot. Put him in a main event program for the title against Brock Lesnar. Instead we get Lesnar vs. Taker and Eddie vs. Chavo in the mid card? What sense does this make and how do you explain the logic? My buddies who only casually tune into wrestling these days love John Cena. The gimmic is today and the audience can relate. The character took off right around the time as Eminem's 8 Mile which was a hit and it's safe to say that most of us know someone with this character. Cena's mic work and everything he showed in the vignettes leading up to the Taker PPV match were the non wrestling highlights of Smackdown. The momentum was with him and for Taker to do the job. So of course Cena loses and they capitalize on nothing. The momentum is paused. I could go on. Jericho's undisputed champion reign. Booker T going into Wrestlemania. Chris Benoit post Kurt Angle feud. What excuse are we using to not push Matt Hardy despite the fact that he's over and has a fun character? Does he not work WWE style? Did he disrespect Stephanie back stage or something? They don't make the most of their talent nor do they get their investment back from them and that's just bad business. Screw Stephanie and Triple H's ego. If someone is hot you run with it. Allowing someone the creative freedom to become the next Austin or Rock is money for the entire roster and people in suits. Do Stephanie and HHH even want a company when Vince passes the torch? You do what's right for the business and stop it with the excuses to not do so.

I say have Michael Cole shock the world and leave Smackdown for Raw. I've been impressed with Josh Matthews and Tazz on Velocity. They have a good chemistry together and could become a really good team. Matthews is more of a wrestling fan than Cole and I believe that in time he could be an excellent play by play man. Working with Tazz can only speed up that process. So Smackdown goes to Josh Matthews and Tazz... Bring back Kevin Kelly and put him and DDP on Velocity. Raw goes to Michael Cole and Paul Heyman. If Heyman doesn't want to do color, put Eric Bischoff in there or try someone like Kevin Nash or how about Scott Hall? Heat remains with Coach and Al Snow. JR can do the serious backstage interviews/Confidential type pieces with stars of both Raw and Smackdown. He doesn't belong to either brand. He belongs to WWE. Lawler could stay on as a Diva reporter or something...

Vince and Jesse Ventura calling a match at Wrestlemania 20 would be cool...

Some of you may know me from the WWE forum. For the past two years, I've had an internet radio station on Live 365 which I've created to bring some attention to the music coming out of Pittsburgh. If any of you with high speed connections want to give this a listen, please check out the website at www.pittsburghnetradio.com . There are many genres of music represented and I happen to think much of it is really good. Some of the more noted bands are The Modey Lemon, a garage rock influenced two piece similar to the White Stripes, Grand Buffet, a pretty unique hip hop act, New Invisible Joy, a brit pop influenced band with a falsetto vocalist similar to Jeff Buckley. There are many other bands with some unique sounds. The Johnson's Big Band, Karl Hendricks Trio and a very underappreciated punk act from over a decade ago - Half Life. Check it out and feedback is welcomed. There is a lot of cool shit going on here: PITTSBURGH NET RADIO