justcoz

Ending the brand extension would be the worst possible thing ever. I can't get over how many people on here actually push for this idea. It's terrible. We'd have two programs with Triple H burying everyone? They need to revamp both programs and they need for Vince to seriously take a look at his product again with the same open eyes that he did when WCW were winning the Monday night wars. He has to tell his yes men to stick it. The Stephanie experiment as head of creative has to go. Gerwitz has to go as well. He should consult with the wrestling minds that he has on his payroll. Paul Heyman, Eric Bischoff and Jim Cornette. To some degree each of these men played a significant part in the business in the 90's. They know the business and there are other people in the locker room who know the business as well. Mick Foley and Tommy Dreamer for example. A new plan needs to be outlined and followed through. The company needs to basically start over just like they did in '97 and create a new feeling. Perhaps each show has a booking committee who outlines the wrestling storylines and then go to one or two Hollywood writers on staff to put together the show? They need to totally change the way the product is produced. The backstage skits need to go. It doesn't work with the old school in ring style they are trying to push. If you are going to push that style of wrestling than Crash TV elements of booking won't work. You need old school booking as well. You hear so much about how HHH and others feel that shows like Tough Enough ruined the believability in the product. No. What ruined the believablity in the product was the fact that wrestlers outline their strategy for an upcoming match right in front of a camera crew. Of course people aren't going to react positively when Rico has an armlock on Val Venis because nobody cares why these two are in the ring against each other because more time is devoted to having a CEO being run over by a GM/Sheriff on an ATV than giving guys a convincing reason to be in the ring together. Each show should be centered around four matches each given at least ten minutes of time. No more 1:39 matches between Chris Benoit and Matt Hardy. What the hell good does this type of match do for ANYONE? It doesn't make Benoit look like he just defeated a great competitor. I saw jobber matches in the 80's where Mario Mancini, SD Jones and Jose Louis Rivera lasted longer than Matt Hardy? Matt has talent and a character which is over. Don't use a Hardy caliber talent in that role, call up an indie guy to job, Hardy-Benoit could be a worthy PPV match down the road. Yet this company doesn't look at things in this manner because they have nitwits outlining the programs. They are wasting talent when they need to get the absolute most out of them as possible. The matches should be announced at the beginning of the show with interviews and video packages to build towards them. The rest of the time can go towards a few jobber matches and interviews/angle development with talent not competing that evening. And when I say interviews I'm talking like old Mean Gene style interviews or pre match mic work from the competitors in the ring. Nobody standing backstage chatting oblivious to the fact that they are being filmed. I'm not saying you can't occassionally book a Holy Shit moment like The NWO running over The Rock. But these moments need to be used just time to time so they don't lose their meaning. Just like the company feels about high spots. End the GM crap. Paul Heyman is a manager. Eric Bischoff is either a manager or announcer. Steve Austin is a color commentator. Goodbye Jerry Lawler. Maybe put Ross/Bischoff and Austin as an announce team but I'd move Cole to RAW and move Josh Matthews up to work Smackdown with Tazz. They need to realize that the future of the company is in guys like Matt Hardy, John Cena, Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas, Paul London, Steven Richards, Rob Conway, Jamie Noble, Johnny Spade and Matt Capoletti - not just Randy Orton and Batista, although they both can be players if they didn't elevate them so early to the point where the obvious weaknesses are exposed to the masses. The guys above need protected and developed into big time players. Other guys like Angle, RVD, Booker, Eddie, Mysterio should have their time NOW while those guys are being developed. They also need to look at indie talents like Chris Sabin, CM Punk, Michael Shane, Christopher Daniels, Teddy Hart and Lo Ki. Get Spanky back. There you had someone who could have got over big time in my opinion with just a little Ricky Morton style booking but that would the creative team would have to know who Ricky Morton was. Bring back managers who can cut promos for guys like Cade, Jindrak, Morgan, etc. who need help. Coach, Teddy Long, Bischoff, Shane mcMahon, sign James Mitchell, Joel Gertner, etc. And with any luck, HHH bones someone while on set of a film, word gets back to Stephanie and the McMahon's fire his ass. Listen to the Pittsburgh music scene on Live 365

Good thing you said WWE programming because Steinbrenner appeared a few times on WWF's Saturday Night's Main Event. Just shots of him in the crowd. Bobby Heenan used to always refer to him as his very good friend. Not sure if it was a legit friendship or just Heenan being The Brain. I believe I read at one time they were friends in real life. Listen to the Pittsburgh music scene on Live 365

If I were WWE, I'd negotiate a BIG MONEY DEAL with Bob Sapp to do a run in at Mania and lay out Lesnar, Goldberg and Austin. The only downside in this line of thinking is that while Sapp would fill the monster role of Lesnar, where does he fit in with the rest of the talent? You can't job the guy and you don't necessarily want to put him over Angle or Eddie immediately. So let's have some fun with this and start shaking things up and creating tension between the brands. Booker T and RVD no show a RAW tag title defense. The announcers speculate what could have possibly happened. Their opponents, Matt Hardy and Steven Richards, feel that they should be deemed tag team champions by forfeit but that idea is nixed by Sheriff Austin who states that he will fine Booker and RVD for their actions but wants to know what happened before any decision is made about the titles. On Smackdown, Booker T and RVD show up along side Paul Heyman. Paul explains that his good friend, Rob Van Dam, was nice enough to call Paul and notify him that he and Booker's RAW contracts expired the day following Wrestlemania and that Bischoff and Stone Cold didn't prioritize correctly and negotiate a new deal with their tag team champions. Paul goes to ringside and picks up a trash can. Booker and RVD throw the RAW titles in the trash and cut promos about how they were held down on RAW and look forward to working with the genius that is Paul Heyman. In the following weeks, Booker calls out Cena as he takes offense to a white boy talking about being a Thug as if he grew up in the ghetto rather than a nice suburban home in Boston. This sets up a Cena/Booker feud. Reunite Benjamin and Haas with Kurt Angle only to set up a scenario where Angle and Benjamin turn on Haas. Just ideas, we all have them... Listen to the Pittsburgh music scene on Live 365...

Actually it just may work being that WWE are trying to move towards a more old school slower paced ring style. HHH is supposedly the biggest supporter of that switch and he's a mark for believing in bringing back many old school aspects of the business. Bret would fit in nicely in any type of office, backstage, creative or agent role. It's not as if the product we are seeing today is the same as the Russo stuff that Bret was opposed to and so outspoken against (yet, he worked with russo again in WCW). Personally, I really want to see Bret give his farewell at Mania prior or after what I hope will be a Benoit title win. It will make the even that more memorable. However, it would also be less nerve racking for Bret to give the speech in Canada where he knows the audience will react with respect. Listen to the Pittsburgh music scene on Live 365

William Hung from American Idol could do his rendition of HBK's Sexy Boy. Rudy G would be a nice touch since it's in New York. I'd love to see Regis do something with Heenan and Okerlund (please pair these two up somehow). I would love to see Stern but he's refused to do WWE events before. I don't see Mania being any different. I still think they should have done something leading into the event to play off of the "Rock n Wrestling Connection" with Hip Hop/John Cena. At one point I posted something about how Cena should have faced someone like Eminem or 50 Cent in the ring. You wouldn't even have to go that far. They could have got Big Show some heat by insulting some rappers and just had them appear at Mania in support of Cena. Listen to the Pittsburgh music scene on Live 365

That would be HHH...

I absolutely hated this show but was amused by the Rock/Foley skit. I even got a kick out of Snuka's bit, he had some funny facial expressions. Yes, not the best build up to Wrestlemania but I was just watching the build up to Mania 1 tonight. This consisted of Paul Orndorf and Roddy Piper promsing victory over Mr. T and all his "porch monkey" fans (with Orndorf making monkey sounds and actions). Wrestling has never made sense, especially with the McMahons. This was a terrible show leading into Mania. It started downhill with the Kane opening. I've liked the Undertaker teases leading into this but the casket and promo Kane cut was embarassing. They could have just had him squash Mideon or a "creature of the night" looking jobber and did the ring shakeup thing at the end of the match. No earth shattering news here but Triple H has to go!!! People talk about Randy Orton having no heat. I'd rather watch two hours of Randy Orton trying to develop into a big time player than see this jackoff thinking he's Ric Flair and that people actually give a sh*t. I've forgiven HHH on more than one occassion by agreeing with a lot of his old school fondness and belief that longer reigning champions are more effective. However, tonight for some reason I just had enough. Even my girlfriend, who can amazingly sit on the couch when wrestling is on and only look up at the screen two or three times (lucky her) asked, "Does anybody even care about this guy anymore, he's boring, has awful hair and looks bloated?" Think about it WWE. The Game was over with the quad tear. Nothing says how terribly written Raw is more so than how Chris Benoit's pop grows smaller and smaller by the week since his debut. For God's sake, don't book this guy in a way to play to his strengths! Instead let's stick a microphone in his face each week and expose his biggest weakness. In addition to that, let's have him either get beat down or verbally ass kicked every week. I'm not saying anything that hasn't already been said but the build up to this match couldn't have been done any worse. It doesn't even feel like a Mania match. It doesn't seem like anyone gives a damn who wins. It should have been all about Benoit going into it, much like No Mercy was all about Eddie. It's time to end the Hurricane gimmick. We had a farewell skit with him and the Rock but it's time to now let Helms loose and become a player. How can Matt Hardy be one of the most entertaining and talented performers on the roster yet continued to be buried? Why couldn't we have been treated to a good old school match with Benoit and Hardy? I understand him going down to Benoit leading into Mania but could they let the guy showcase his abilities a bit? Oh, I'm sorry. That in addition to his charisma could actually get him over!!!!! We wouldn't want someone on our salary getting over now, would we? Jerry Lawler shut the F**K up!!!!! Just go away already! I don't even think Jim Ross gives a crap about this product. Good work from Steven Richards. This is another guy the company needs to seriously take a look at. I'd like to think this was the beginning of something but I doubt it. Nothing like a good old production error to remind you of WCW. Loved the guy running around on headset when they cut to Jericho backstage. Give Cade and Garrison a mouthpiece. Get Jim Cornette a personal driver or something if we can't him anywhere because he doesn't like to fly. Split Conway away from La Resistance, he has breakout potential. Put Austin and Bischoff on commentary with JR. Why do we give a sh*t that he's going to get his ATV back? Who in this company thinks that a "sheriff" riding around on an ATV is bad ass and cool? It's not cutting edge, it's stupid. Let it die. Todd Grisham is AWFUL! I'd rather see Mean Gene or Howard Finkely doing the backstage interviews than these clueless tools that they keep hiring. This show needs revamped BIG TIME. I'm not saying that Smackdown is without criticism but they've promoted their portion of Mania much better than Raw. At this point, if someone told me they were putting Bischoff in charge of creative for Raw, I'd mark out. It's time to move on. Please let post Wrestlemania truely be where it all begins, again. I can't justify watching such non entertaining television. Listen to the Pittsburgh music scene...

Owen's biggest chance of being over big time was after the Bret Montreal incident. People were curious as to whether Owen was leaving the company and it was a suprise when he returned, came through the crowd and attackd DX. He received one hell of a pop. Owen chants, the whole works. He cut a really good promo christianing himself as the "Black Heart" and was then jobbed out in matches against Michaels and Helmsley if I recall. I know what you're saying about crowds being apathetic towards Owen during most of his run. He had big time heat during his Bret feud and then it died down. He started getting heat again during the Hart Foundation run with his Slammy shtick but that ended with Montreal. He could have been insanely over as a babyface with the "Black Heart" role following Montreal, IMO. They wasted it and from then on out the most heat he could get was the "Nugget" chants. Listen to the Pittsburgh music scene...

I thought it was the winner facing Chavo for the title? Chavo is in the match itself? They need to make room for Paul London, Hurricane and Jeff Hardy. Maybe even Johnny Blaze and Matt Capitelli too? Listen to the Pittsburgh music scene

I think all of you look into this way more deeply than the casual viewer. The casual viewer will take from Thursday night's episode that Heyman and Angle are "out to get" Eddie by making him react to adversity in ways to prove their point that he isn't a respectable champion because of his Latin temper, the fact that he had a drug problem and encourages the youth of America to lie, cheat and steal. They will remember what dicks Kurt and Heyman were to Eddie - bottom line - that's where their heat will come from. They aren't sitting there taking notes as to how the company is failing to book Kurt as a strong heel because he ran behind the police when Eddie seemingly escaped from police custody and sneak attacked him. They are sitting there thinking what an ass he is for following Eddie and talking trash on him as he was handcuffed and in police custody. They will remember the look on Eddie's face as he was sitting in the police car looking up at Kurt while Kurt was in his face at the window screaming at him. I understand where all of you are coming from but heels for the most part have always been booked to look cowardly to some extent. Someone used Vader as an example of one who wasn't but even he had Harley Race distracting opponents. And one guy in the history of heels to never be booked as a coward isn't much. Someone mentioned whether or not this will draw with Angle being booked this way. What draws is babyfaces overcoming adversity and overcoming the odds. Apparently the company believes this too. While I don't agree with how they are trying to do this with Benoit on RAW, I do see where they are going with Eddie. Even though he is going into Mania as the champion, he is being booked to be the underdog out to prove he's worthy of being champion to Angle and Heyman. So in essence, yes Kurt Angle is being booked as the strong one here. Eddie is being booked as the one falling victim to Angle and Heyman's psychology by pretty much proving what they are saying about him is correct. I still fail to see where this crying about Kurt being a coward is coming from. Kurt was right there, saying "Here I am" to Eddie when confronted in the back and he fought off Eddie's attack before going behind the police on the ramp. He was then an antagonist as Eddie was handcuffed. Say what you want about the arrest angle and it's lack of originality, I had problems with it too at first. For some reason this one came off fresher than the other rehashes of the angle that we've seen with the GM's ordering police escorts on their foes. I think the reason I felt this way was thanks to the performance and intensity of Heyman, Angle and Eddie. LISTEN TO THE PITTSBURGH MUSIC SCENE

I was thinking the same thing about this storyline being Heyman's influence. I was thinking it during the whole Eddie title lead-in but now with the Angle turn I'm thinking Heyman is working creative on this. There is too much intensity in this feud so far for it to be the typical creative team, in my opinion. I've read where Heyman has been writing his own promos, etc. so it's not too far fetched that he's moved on to writing this storyline leading into Mania. Heyman and Angle are going to have mega heat next week. I didn't look at any of this as Angle being cowardly. I looked at it as Kurt playing psychological games with Eddie, taunting him and making him react in the "unprofessional" not worthy of being champion manner that Angle and Heyman are accussing him of. LISTEN TO THE PITTSBURGH MUSIC SCENE

I enjoyed everything about last night's show involving Eddie and Kurt. I think that in this day in age, with Michael Powell, the FCC and Government all on this "bringing morality back to our country" kick, a character like Kurt's fits in nicely. It doesn't stretch too far from his previous characterizations and I thought it made for good television for Kurt to go out there, on the same day that Howard Stern's radio show was suspended from several markets, and tell us that we may hate him now but would thank him later for caring about our moral fibric. There was enough edge to his delivery where it didn't get to campy Right To Censor levels. He delivered a strong promo and so did Eddie. People rag on bringing Eddie's past addictions into the picture but I think it adds a depth to his character and overall success story. My girlfriend couldn't understand why it was such a big deal when Eddie won the title and pretty much what I told her was that he battled personal demons, lost one of his better friends and tag team partner to drugs, was let go by WWE at one point and wrestling in front of 50 people until he cleaned up, became a ratings draw and won the championship. She understood then. I loved Kurt's taunting of Eddie as the cops were taking Eddie out of the building. Kurt is far from playing a comedic heel here which is where I feared this would go initially. I like where the feud is headed and I think years from now when we look back at WM20, we will remember this feud/match in particular. LISTEN TO THE PITTSBURGH MUSIC SCENE

Tommy could actually fit into the TNA Raven angle in addition to doing indies. My problem with releasing Dreamer isn't related to his wrestling. You have someone who could contribute something to the company as an agent or creative consultant. I'd give him the option of an office/agent job or his release. These rumors and speculation are just that. A very good "source" that I know who writes freelance for some wrestling mags and does a weekly wrestling column told me weeks ago that Kanyon, Dreamer, Scotty 2 Hotty, Rikishi, Val Venis and Shawn O'Haire would be let go. While the others are still a possibility, I can't see them giving Scotty and Rikishi the tag titles and a Mania slot to release them. LISTEN TO THE PITTSBURGH MUSIC SCENE

Weren't Men On A Mission Moe, Oscar and Mabel? Pittsburgh Net Radio

Anglesault, I see your point. You aren't disputing moving Storm to Smackdown but rather adding him to Team Angle. He also doesn't really have a noted amateur background like Benjamin and Haas. I just thought the pairing of Angle and Storm would be good.

Geez, I don't know, to do something with him, maybe????? Aligning him with Angle could help generate some heat for him. Have Team Angle bill Storm as Canada's Greatest Athlete or something. There was a time when Kurt was just taking off in the WWF and Storm was getting a push in WCW where I believed these two were the future of the business. Storm as it stands right now is another victim of "creative having nothing for him syndrome". Any hope he could have had for a legitimate run on Raw was ruined with the Austin/Boring angle followed by his fly for a bland white guy dancing routine. Now he's probably one of those guys next in line to get cut. This would give him an angle to work with and it would give Smackdown a solid mid card talent who can work. So why bother to re-sign him when his contract expires? Just let him go to Japan, the indies or TNA then. If they are going to ink another deal with him then they should push him. I agree he's damaged goods on Raw and will never be able to break above the HHH regime but that doesn't mean that he's not capable of getting a renewed push on Smackdown. There are plenty of talents he can work with on Smackdown and the program is in need of perceived "big level" stars to challenge for the WWE and U.S. Titles - he fits that role and jumping to the other brand would give him a fresh start. There are also obvious storyline ties to Heyman. Settle down. I didn't say break them up. Testing them as singles is really no different than what they are doing right now when they put them in singles matches on Smackdown or Velocity. Give them each time on the mic, etc. You can still use them as a tag team and give them opportunites to see what they can do as singles. I agree you don't "push" them as singles until they're without a doubt ready for it but they aren't going to get to that level in tag matches against the APA. LISTEN TO THE PITTSBURGH MUSIC SCENE

RVD to Smackdown in a trade for Edge perhaps. Heyman grants RVD a title shot with Eddie upon his debut. No face or heel, let the fans decide who to cheer or boo. Maybe put Heyman in a position where he trys to build friction between the two of them for buyrates. Turn Kurt Angle heel and put Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas back with him to reunite Team Angle. Possibly bring in Lance Storm as a 4th member. Push Paul London and Billy Kidman as a tag team and feud them with Benjamin and Haas for the titles. This should be the last run for the WGTT as I think the company should test these two as singles. These two are the kind of workers the company needs to build around for the future - not Matt Morgan. Shane Helms, not Hurricane, to the cruiserweight division. Also look into signing a healthy Amazing Red, American Dragon, Chris Sabin or even Lo Ki for the division. I'm interesting to see what Lamont can do in the ring or if he will be in more of a manager role. Turn A Train face... LISTEN TO THE PITTSBURGH MUSIC SCENE...

WWE is very happy with Chavo Guerrero’s recent work. There is a feeling among many in WWE that he is the perfect opponent for Rey Mysterio due to the fact that he is not the typical cruiserweight. His more grounded style brings a different element to cruiser matches. There are many in the company who hope that the two can elevate the division to the next level. As long as management gets behind them and gives them the chance, they can. credit - www.pwinsider.com Why even bother having a cruiserweight division if they aren't going to let the talent play to their strengths? I understand the saftey/injury concerns with talent and I actually approve of slowing down the matches and telling more of a story for the heavyweights. The cruiserweights are supposed to provide an alternative however in terms of quickness, high flying and action. That is the only way a cruiserweight division is going to work. It's one thing that they don't push the division but if they do decide to push it and have these guys on the mat in front face locks for five minutes, it's going to bomb and they are going to blame their size and say that nobody wants to see cruiserweights. People don't want to see a "grounded" style from Rey Mysterio Jr. This is only going to make the X Division in NWATNA look all the more better. That is the type of action people want to see. I'll be disappointed in Mania is a one on one with Mysterio and Chavo. I was thinking more along the lines of a gimmick match with Mysterio, Tajiri, Noble, Chavo, Kidman and London, Ultimo and Akio. LISTEN TO THE PITTSBURGH MUSIC SCENE...

This is something that I got to thinking of on Monday night after seeing how mediocre Booker T and Chris Jericho's entrances have become since they are using their WWE Originals tracks. Booker gets a pop with the Can You Dig it intro and then it seems everyone sits down when that God awful new song comes on. I'm hoping this doesn't carry over to Mysterio and Angle and they leave their music be. HOWEVER... one man who does need a new theme song, something so um... not 1991... is Shawn Michaels. Will they please get this man a new theme song!!!! Dump the sparkling ring attire also. First of all, he's approaching 40 if he isn't already, he isn't a sexy boy. Second, the song does not fit his current born again character. If he is now back on the roster full time and the plans are to have him be Raw's top face - the shtick needs updated. He can't go back to DX song since that also doesn't fit his character. How about having P.O.D. or someone in the inoffensive metal genre, do a new track for him and his righteous/positive character? And while we are at it... That "Ass Man" tune has got to go also... Same with Bischoff's tune... LISTEN TO THE PITTSBURGH MUSIC SCENE

I loved the XFL and was never really ashamed to admit it. Vince and NBC's mistake was throwing it in prime time and instantly trying to compete with the NFL with so little prep time. Also, with the exception of Jim Ross and Jesse, there should have been no wrestling announcers. Putting Lawler in there was a HUGE mistake. I thought the media's bias towards it absolutely sucked. They wanted so desperately for the thing to fail and set it up for exactly that. I remember the guys at my office were all psyched to do XFL fantasy football. We picked our teams from the XFL home page and researched their college stats. Two weeks into it we realized that no papers were going to publish any of the player stats. They were only reporting on the decline in ratings with small blurbs with the scores. So fantasy football wasn't an option anymore and a lot of the guys, in fact, mostly all of them, stopped watching all together. If the media didn't care about the thing and were predicting it's death within the 2nd week (with no comments on how the game was really good) - why should anyone care? They ripped on the quality of play without even taken into consideration that these guys were thrown out there with no prep time, no training camp, some didn't play the game for years. That was poor execution on Vince and Ebersol's part. As the season went on, the quality of play got better. Never did the media praise the fact that they were payed to win which was a brilliant thing in modern day sports. It was a great stepping stone to the NFL for many of the guys. Here in Pittsburgh, we wouldn't have had Tommy Maddox, had it not been for the XFL. The media mocked He Hate Me as how ridiculous the XFL was but how many NFL announcers today still refer to Rod Smart by that name? The NFL still hasn't been able to use the mic on players, coaches, refs, etc. as effectively as the XFL did. The games were more fun to watch due to that and they had some innovative camera angles. I started to respect Maddox as a QB seeing how well he ran that LA team and how passionate he was out there. The Vegas and San Francisco teams were my faves. Those fans at San Francisco were great. I wish there would have been a second season. And think of how much less Vince we'd have on tv. LISTEN TO PITTSBURGH'S MUSIC SCENE

Eminem isn't in bad shape, he looks like he works out. They would get SO MUCH publicity if they could get him to do an angle and possible match with John Cena. That's the type of thing that would actually bring in new fans also. He'd need to be in training by now to make Mania though. I'm sure he'd be a prick and wouldn't want to job either. Hey, if P Diddy can run marathons, I'm sure he could learn to take a few bumps and Mania is in his home turf. Who wouldn't pay $50 to see P Diddy get his ass kicked? LISTEN TO THE PITTSBURGH MUSIC SCENE

Chris, I knew someone would call me on the Ric Flair - Nature Boy thing. Thing is Shawn Michaels was never billed as "Sexy Boy" Shawn Michaels. He was the "Heart Break Kid". Something of which he isn't anymore either. Ric Flair still styles and profiles to this day and maintains the Nature Boy image with the bleached hair, suits, strut, etc. Shawn is no longer a pretty boy and no longer a heartbreaker and he looks foolish in his ring attire. He's a Holy Boy and no longer portrays the David Lee Roth wildman image. It he's going to be around for a few more years, especially as a face, he needs to step into 2004. If I was a 15 year old kid tuning into wrestling for the first time and saw this nimrod, I'd comment that this stuff is gay, I'd switch stations and more than likely miss a great match. Jimbo, I generally have my fiance, sometimes my mother present and female best friend present when I watch wrestling. Not to mention that no guys where I work watch it, only a few women who I have to discuss things with. So, yes, I know what a sexy man is. Chris Sabin has beautiful hair and beautiful eyes. I'm comfortable enough with my sexuality and the fact that I still react to titties like it was the first time I saw them to post that Dynamite1980's chorus was HYSTERICAL! I tried to write a few versus around that chorus but it was just coming off lame so I gave up. I understand the connection there is to Shawn Michaels and that song. Just as I understood people's connection with Hulk Hogan/Real American/and the red and yellow but I still thought it was lame when they brought it back. Hogan had moved on with the times and that's what revitalized his career. Nobody was digging the Red and Yellow anymore which was the reason they changed the character. Shawn Michaels was also doing the same prior to his injury. His popularity was declining with the babyface, "Sexy Boy"/Jose Lethario thing and he moved on into DX with new music and the Show Stopper/Main Event billing. Now it's time to do that again, especially if he's sticking around and being pushed. LISTEN TO THE PITTSBURGH MUSIC SCENE

I understand that Tajiri, Noble and Ninzio are not high flyers and neither was Dean Malenko. My problem isn't with them preventing guys from flying. My problem is a fear that this news means they intend to slow down the pace to the point that they are wrestling the exact same style as the heavyweights. Maybe I jumped the gun a bit upon reading that news excerpt without thinking of the Noble vs. Rey match last week. I also liked that match and how the pace quickened at the end after a slow build. There needs to be a balance, I guess. I can see them not wanting to have a Juvi vs. Teddy Hart spot fest and wanting to incorporate mat work and psychology into the cruiserweight action. Especially if Malenko has anything to do with it. Just don't get it to the point where the matches are boring and people are sitting on their hands. I enjoy the X Division matches and their pace. I think that's the action people want to see. It's the only time I can get my girlfriend to watch wrestling with me, I know that. There is high flying involved but it's mostly just a quicker pace and some stiff shots. High flying and speed aren't causing injuries, it's the bumps people take these days. The crop of wrestlers that are coming up these days are guys who grew up watching Shawn Michaels and WCW cruisers - they are smaller guys and are naturally going to wrestle a different style than HHH. LISTEN TO THE PITTSBURGH MUSIC SCENE

HHH: plays a great heel, great worker before quad injury/still a good worker, portrays a very good champion, makes the title belt seem important and doesn't treat it like an ornament, his hero worship of Ric Flair has probably given Flair the "final run" WCW weren't going to give him, tries to bring back old school elements to his mic/in ring work - long title runs and a dominating champion is unfortunately part of that... HBK: One of the greatest workers and bumpers ever, very good at telling stories in his matches, very believable mic work, seems to have his ego in check since finding Jesus, always looks to top his last performance, went into his comeback full force and is almost back to his old level performance wise... Orton: looks like a star, catches the attention of female channel surfers, seems to be trying very hard to bust his ass and prove something and probably knows very well that he's being pushed too hard/too soon, great facial expressions (see the Foley interview, the look on his face was priceless), great heel mannerisms, will only get better if he can avoid injury... Bradshaw: stiff and comes across as a legit badass who can hurt you, very funny on the mic and skits, connects with the typical WWE Male viewer, represents the company very well with his financial analysis ability and tv appearances in that forum, knows his stuff and doesn't come off like a dumb hick, could have probably been the next Stan Hanson if it weren't for bad gimmicks/angles... A-Train: unique look, awesome and very underrated move set and offense, great old school shtick on the mic, would have been a CLASSIC heel challenging Hogan in the 80's, seems to be willing to learn and a student of the game, will job to smaller guys... Big Show: did very well last year despite criticism of his push, can effectively tell a story in his matches (see Rumble) and his mic work (see recent work with Brock), will job and sell to small guys, has overcome some terrible angles from WWF/E creative department, funny, funny guy - company never took advantage of his humor after the SNL performance Batista: AWESOME look, very good on the mic... Billy Gunn: not a bad worker, victim of some horrendous ideas from creative, good on the mic, could be a top star again without the Mr. Ass tag/song, should have been brought back in as Bad Ass Billy Gunn, would like to see him in NWATNA... Zach Gowen: The guy wrestles hopping on one leg when I couldn't on two legs, disappointed that they haven't brought him back in as a heel, good on the stick, good acting skills, could really make the heel gimmick work, takes insane bumps... LISTEN TO THE PITTSBURGH MUSIC SCENE...

KISS really aren't heavy metal but they were the inspiration behind a lot of metal and punk musicians picking up an instrument so they get respect within those communities. Let's also not forget that in the 70's, if you were a kid, KISS would frighten your parents a lot more than The Carpenters, Eagles and Steely Dan. Early KISS was pure hard rock music. Their larger than life image made little kids want to be rock stars and their music was simple enough to learn and play. They did do a disco album and some pure pop/cliche hair metal records but they also had two pretty good heavy metal records (Creatures of the Night and Lick It Up) which were as heavy as anything coming out in the early 80's. LISTEN TO THE PITTSBURGH MUSIC SCENE ON LIVE 365