The Tino Standard

Wow... Just... wow.

That right there was the moment WWE exploded into the mainstream. I know they didn't overtake Nitro for a few months, but I can still remember that clip... How many different stations the next day showed the 'wrassler' Stone Cold Steve Austin giving Mike Tyson the bird, then those two coming to blows? TONS. JR: "Here we go... Tyson and Austin! Tyson and Austin!" Was it the single greatest WWE moment ever? No, probably not. But it was certainly one of the most important.

I'm making my triumphant return to the Halloween Capital of the World- Ohio University- and I'll be dressed as Bob Barker (complete with pimpin' thin microphone).

I'm proud to say I strolled into Blockbuster this morning around 10, picked up a copy of the game (and I DIDN'T pre-order, mind you) without any problems. Oh, and because I traded four games, I also got $29 bucks in store credit, despite the fact they were all at least 2 years old (some older). I think I got a deal. I got to play the game for about an hour this afternoon before having to head out, but it was a lot of fun. A few random thoughts: -After punching a hooker, I was floored to see her whip out a gun and annihilate me (where was she hiding THAT?). -As previously mentioned, the dirty language is EXTREMELY frequent, but I think it adds realism. Great variety in commentary too. Doesn't seem like stuff repeats nearly as much (maybe that will change as I play more). -Great soundtrack. -The characters thus far are all pretty cool. In Vice City, I hated Lance Vance with a passion, figured he was making a heel turn at some point and was waiting for that time so I could finally get rid of him. Thus far, everybody in the gang seems tolerable. -I think it is pretty smart how they have you blocked off from going to other parts of the map right away. I haven't gotten to a point to where you get to go elsewhere yet, but there's a built-in reason from the opening storyline why you have to stay put, what with the cops keeping an eye on your every move, waiting to bust you. If you flee to a different city, they're on your ass. I cannot wait to get to the good stuff.

Anybody else notice the Trump voiceovers dubbed in during the boardroom when he gives the rationale for firing someone the last couple of weeks? That is REALLY shitty editing.

I thought it was Jack Buck it was Yes, it WAS Jack Buck... But the quote is: "I don't believe what I just saw!"

Well shit, you can probably put THAT at the top of the "Questions I wish I hadn't waited to think of until after the interviews" list.

Just got back from covering the Survivor Series press conference... I'll have a full rundown of everything from this afternoon posted later tonight after work... In the meantime, here are a few fun tidbits... - Bradshaw (of all people) was pretty hilarious... I haven't watched Smackdown since probably January, but (and I can't believe I'm saying this) JBL was actually a great guy on the mic. - A few people booed Torrie Wilson after she said the Smackdown divas would steal the show at Survivor Series, prompting Big Show to mutter to Randy Orton (who was sitting next to him): "Who's booing Torrie Wilson? What a complete fucking moron." - Batista was dressed in his standard pimp attire. I know there are people on here concerned with that stuff. Nice suit with a pink shirt and pink striped tie. When you're a big badass like Batista, you can wear pink and not have anybody say a damn word about it. - Bradshaw's title belt is impressive in person, but HHH's OWNS ALL. I always thought it looked cool on TV and from the stands in the arena, but you get a much better appreciation for the Big Gold Belt when it's waved in your face. After the public part of the show was over, we were taken downstairs for one-on-one interviews. - Interviewing Vince McMahon is an epic experience. And while he gets portrayed on here as aloof and out-of-touch with fans, the fact is, away from the camera, he's actually a pretty nice, down to earth guy. And by the way, Vince's favorite SurSer memory? The Gobbledegooker. - Flair was interesting to say the least. He gave a surprisingly candid talk about running Starrcade the same day as the first SurSer, with honest open answers. Really cool. Oh, and I admit, I couldn't resist... I had to have him give me one big "WOOOO!" as he left. Good times. - Finally, I met Triple H. And I hate to disappoint all of you, but I don't think HHH is Satan himself. H gave a lot of stock answers (even admitting so at some points), but still had some good spots too. No, I did NOT ask him a lot of the smarky questions I'm sure a lot of you would be dying to unleash on him. Maybe some other day, who knows. All in all, it was a very fun time. If they show clips on TV tonight during Raw, you can see me sitting in the front row of the press conference, third seat off the aisle to the right. I'm wearing a cream colored shirt and have a buzz-cut shaved head. I'm right in front of Vince McMahon and Big Show.

Yeah, it's a generic, politically correct, standard, canned answer that a public figure can spout off without giving any worthwhile information away.

OK, later than promised (and I pride myself on making deadlines!), here's the full rundown of my day at the WWE Survivor Series press conference. My day with pro wrestling's hierarchy Feel free to comment here or on the blog itself if you like. Either way, I hope you enjoy.

I talked about this with the "Worst Ever PPV" thread.... It was a total crock of shit what they did... Everything was built so that Savage would be reinstated for Survivor Series to join Bossman and LOD to face Jake Roberts and Co. In fact, I remember the day of SurSer, I was watching GWF on ESPN and they had an 'update studio' type deal where they talked about what was going on in EVERY federation. The announcer said that Tunney had, in fact, re-instated Savage, meaning he'd most likely be wrestling that night at Survivor Series. Then, I went with my dad to his friend's house to watch the PPV, and we found out Savage WAS reinstated to wrestle... This Tuesday in Texas! Total scam that pissed a lot of people off.

Sanders' in-ring ability never seemed that special, but I thought he'd make a great manager for somebody. You just don't have enough of that type anymore.

While it wasn't the worst show ever, I have to add Survivor Series '91 as a (dis)honorable mention. Everybody expected Randy Savage to be reinstated and join up with the Bossman and LOD to kick Jake Roberts' team's collective ass. Jack Tunney DID reinstate Savage so he could face Roberts one on one... This Tuesday in Texas! Hogan wrestled Undertaker for the title in the middle of the show... Undertaker's offense mainly consists of smothering and/or choking Hogan with his gray leather gloves. Finish came when Flair interfered and Taker won the belt. But wait! Jack Tunney says that due to the finish, Hogan will get a rematch... This Tuesday in Texas! Flair wrestled the opener, a traditional Survivor Series match... Things were going along well enough until about 3/4 of the guys in the match were ALL counted out at once, giving Flair the cheap win. The rest was totally forgettable. Just a night cluttered with worthless filler surrounding much-hyped main events that turned out to be bait-and-switches forcing fans to buy ANOTHER show six days later. What a disaster.

I got pulled over coming home from college a couple years ago doing 80 in a 65. I'd been pulled over on back roads before, but never on the highway. My first inclination was to pull over to the closest side available, which, in my case, was the left side. Cop came up and gave my all kinds of shit for speeding, pulling over to the wrong side (I explained why I did), etc... He asks for my license, so I give him my license and my magic Fraternal Order of Police card. He sits in his car for about 5 minutes, then comes back and says he's only going to give me a warning because he doesn't want to stay parked on that side of the highway for very long for fear of being killed. Wrong side of the highway? Sounds like the right side to me.

I'm covering the Survivor Series press conference on Monday for the my newspaper's entertainment section. Since Survivor Series has been held in Cleveland three times previously, we're working on a retrospective to run the weekend of the event next month. Anybody been to one of these before? How many questions does the press actually get to ask? Finally, anybody have any burning questions they're dying to have answered?

Sure, I am... Well, sorta anyway. I've got a pretty good idea of the story I'm going to do. Now, it's just a matter of getting Flair and the other guys to open up a little bit on the subject.

Actually, that's the whole reason I wanted Flair first. I talked with my editor and explained that while it's a cool angle to talk about how this is unofficially Cleveland's event, the whole thing was basically created to screw over the NWA. Flair was their top dog. That's a golden story if he's willing to talk. And MillenniumMan, I write for the News-Herald in Willoughby.

At the age of 54, he could probably still kick my ass, so sadly, I think I'll refrain on that one. EDIT: Actually, I take that back... He'd probably let me get in a ton of offense first before giving me an eye gouge and a low blow when the ref (in this case, the PR rep.) wasn't looking.

Just got off the phone with the same rep... I'm locked in for a one-on-one with Flair after the public part of the event is over.

In regards to my Survivor Series retrospective idea, the email I received from a WWE rep today stated that any questions I have about that, "You can ask Vince." Giddy up.

I'm calling a Regal turn tonight. Has there been a storyline leading up to it? No. But WWE LOVES to manipulate crowds in unnatural fashions if for no other reason than to say "They're booing/cheering that wrestler because WE TOLD THEM TO." Besides, there's been talk that Regal doesn't like being a face right now anyway. In short, I'll be stunned if he walks out of there a good guy.

I actually kinda like the current WWE Title belt, especially since they made it bigger than the initial version that was debuted in April '02. But yeah, it's not even close to the 1998-2002 belt in my book. That ruled the school. As for staying within the topic of the thread, the U.S. title gets the nod over the Women's title because nobody gives a shit about the Women's division anyway.

For those of you that didn't see Carolyn on Conan the other night, here's a tidbit I found fascinating... The boardroom scene we see every week is about 6-10 minutes long. When they actually shoot that, they're in there deliberating for between 3 and 5 HOURS. Could you imagine listening to that bickering and bitching for THAT long? I used to think that Trump made a lot of rash decisions with the way it gets portrayed on there, but considering they're actually in there that long, I can't imagine any stone is left unturned.

This is the first thing written by The Rick that I've read in months... While I agree with just about everything he said here, I think he hit a few fundamental stumbling blocks... 1. None of this is anything we haven't heard before. "WWE is giving us gimmicks instead of characters, and they don't care to do anything more because they're the only game in town." And in other news, the sky is blue! 2. He's preaching to the choir. Everything that he said is the stuff we've all been grumbling about for months. 3. While it's nice to see a well-thought-out piece, the sad truth is that it's a blatant waste of time. Does anybody honestly think this will diatribe will in any way affect what we see on our TVs? No. The Rick makes a strong case here, but unfortunately, the jury and the prosecution are one in the same, and they don't give a shit about his OOpinion.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is based on San Fran, Vegas and LA.