The Tino Standard

Joey has been pretty solid. I wasn't sure how well he would make the jump from calling ECW shows to WWE, considering how different the two products are, but he's been a pro. I'm not revealing anything new here, but MAN, the Raw broadcast team could get a lot better if they trimmed out Coach. The problem in the booth isn't Joey Styles. It's having three guys constantly trying to talk to each other. Coach gets the ax because it seems like more than anybody else, he's the one killing the flow of conversation.

I really thought that was a strange way to write that episode. Ted hooking up with Victoria would be a big deal, you'd think, yet somehow it was made into the third storyline. Also, does anybody know how HIMYM has been doing ratings-wise? I was concerned that the constant reruns in the last month or so would kill the show's momentum. Makes me appreciate the non-stop schedule of 24 that much more.

There are 8 million problems with the two shows right now, and the women's division is so far down the list, it isn't even on the radar. Hell, the Trish-Mickie-Ashley storyline has been one of the more consistently solid parts of Raw over the last two months. How about developing a tag division or remembering that the IC belt exists for more than once every few months?

Yeah, but it was released right before WWF had to switch to WWE, so it was kind of fucked and couldn't sell it as long. I don't think so. Watch the DVD. None of the logos are blurred and all mentions of "WWF" are still in there, so they only had 6 months to be able to distribute it. Well, shut my mouth. I stand corrected. Anyway, anybody want to take a stab at how they'd address Miss Elizabeth and her life after wrestling on the managers DVD?

Yeah, but it was released right before WWF had to switch to WWE, so it was kind of fucked and couldn't sell it as long. I don't think so.

If the blurring of the WWF scratch logo bothers you, the Austin-McMahon DVD will be your own personal hell. And why is there a Hogan anthology coming out? Didn't they just do a multiple-disc Hogan compilation like 2 years ago?

Yeah, that was the "among other things" I was referring to. And Hogan "retiring" was right in the midst of the steroid trial, no? Put all those things together, and there was no way Flair-Hogan was happening. But before any of those other things got going, I know I've read that Hogan and Flair headlined some house shows that got tepid reviews from the front office. Might not have been the dealbreaker, but it probably started the ball rolling in terms of having that match never happen at WM.

When Flair first came in, they ran house shows with him main eventing against Hogan. The plan was to have those two main event WrestleMania 8, IIRC, but they weren't real happy with how that program was drawing on the house show circuit, so with that among other things going on at the time, the WM program was dumped in favor of the double main event. Amazing they could bungle a seemingly automatic slam dunk with Hogan-Flair headlining WM, but then again, you'd have thought the same thing about a program with WCW invading the WWF.

Undertaker is perfect for this role for several reasons: - It gives him an excuse to not be on TV all the time. He's already working a part-time schedule as it is. But with this gimmick, there would be a reason he's coming back each time. - He's been around longer than just about anybody in the company, and he has been referred to as "the conscience of the WWE" on multiple occassions. Get some new guy to play this role, and he'd lack the gravitas. - Undertaker is already a dark and spooky character. This is just a progression of an established persona.

The guy who delivered the move is writhing on the ground in pain, holding his back and screaming in agony. Guy holding the camera: "Dude, what's wrong?"

No way in hell Edge wins the belt back tonight. If anything, they'll use this match to put the wheels in motion for Cena's next feud. Sorry, gang, I don't like it anymore than you do, but there's no way the WWE title is changing hands three times in one month. Vince Russo doesn't work here anymore.

I see it as them realizing their mistake and fixing it. I'm amazed at how many people are surprised that Edge was *gasp* a transitional champion. I posted this in "Comments that don't require a full thread", but I guess it is now applicable here too: For the last three weeks, Edge kept saying that he wouldn't go down as a "transitional champion." Cute attempt at trying to use insider lingo, but not really applicable here. A transitional champion is someone who has a short reign with a title for the express purpose of getting the belt from one wrestler to another without those two having to actually face each other. So if Edge won the belt FROM Cena and then lost it BACK to him, exactly what transition was made? Actually, you had Chavo climbing through the ropes, then getting pushed off the top by Triple H, so we were even pretty close to having THAT too.

After 50 pages, here's my first contribution to this thread: For the last three weeks, Edge kept saying that he wouldn't go down as a "transitional champion." Cute attempt at trying to use insider lingo, but not really applicable here. A transitional champion is someone who has a short reign with a title for the express purpose of getting the belt from one wrestler to another without those two having to actually face each other. So if Edge won the belt FROM Cena and then lost it BACK to him, exactly what transition was made?

Yeah, this is definitely the most wide-open Rumble in years. I'm going to say Michaels wins it, if only to build on what I was saying earlier: His whole arc with Vince is going to end with them joining forces and him turning heel to win the title. All the stuff Vince is doing now is his way of "testing him". I'm saying I like the idea. It's just where I see this going.

Wait, they're having ANOTHER re-run next week? Damn it, tonight's episode was awesome. This much waiting is not fair.

Just remember the old rule, gang: Get punked on Monday, you win on Sunday. Edge retains at the Rumble.

This is all going to end with Shawn Michaels turning heel, winning the title and joining Vince McMahon in the process. Think of Rock's first title chase in 1998, culminating with the Deadly Games tournament at Survivor Series. Same thing.

Anybody else find it ironic that Matt Groenig absolutely loathes Family Guy, but now it is FG's success that has opened the door to get one of his shows back on the air?

I don't like the whole "Rey is not big enough to be the world champion" arguments. Are we forgetting how much suspension of disbelief you need to follow wrestling in the first place? By the "too small" logic, Mysterio shouldn't be able to beat anybody above jobber status. If he beats a guy like Bradshaw or Orton and there's no title on the line, people are fine with it. But if he does it in a title match, NOW it is ridiculous and implausible?

To those of you who say that Angle would only have maybe two or three opponents to feud with on Smackdown, that would be good enough to carry him through a full year with the way they book things now. Angle feuded with Cena from the end of August until early January. There's no way they'd burn up two or three opponents for him in a four-month stretch on Smackdown.

Considering that WWE.com is still hyping the Shawn Michaels-Kurt Angle match for this coming Monday (even noting that Angle won Smackdown's title), I wouldn't go so far as to say he's completely done with Raw. Hell, I don't even think the writers know what his status is, so how should we?

Maybe because, at least in this case, he actually DID.

If they wanted a way to talk Benoit into staying around, throwing him another world title match at Mania wouldn't hurt. You know, his last employer not only put him in a title match, but they actually GAVE him the world title. Still wasn't enough to keep him around. I know there's a pretty big difference between the two companies, but I'm just saying... And the more I think about this move, the smarter I think it is. Angle is arguably the most over guy on either roster right now. Smackdown was in dire need of some help. Bringing over Angle gives the show an instant infusion of credibility. And for those who don't like Angle being announced as the new champion on the company's Web site, just remember Foley's first title win. The combination of people not only knowing there was going to be a title change, but knowing there was a title change with a guy they really liked brought in a ton of viewers. That's not a bad precedent to follow.

Strange, because the theme song to last year's WM was also called "Big Time", although it was a totally different song.

Thanks for posting that, Joe. I always love it when a guy wins the title for the first time, especially somebody who has had to work for years before getting it. The emotion there is very real. Triple H had the same sort of reaction when he won the belt the first time in 1999.