King Kamala

Link "In what has to be the largest undertaking that the National Wrestling Alliance has attempted for as far back as I can recently recall, they are running an event on Saturday 6/7 at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Sid Vicious, who recently worked an NWA Wrestling Showcase TV taping in Rhode Island, is the biggest name announced for the Georgia event thus far. The only other name I've heard is Rob Conway, who's been regularly appearing on the Dish Network's Showcase series that Jon Hewett recaps here on PWInsider.com. Tickets for the event range from $52 down to $17 and there is currently an online pre-sale using password ATLANTA. The show is being designed to launch a 14 month celebration of the National Wrestling Alliance's 60th anniversary. I am under the impression they will be curtailing the venue to fit their means, not opening the entire arena up." This could be the biggest disaster since UWF's Blackjack Brawl. Philips Arena is a 20,000 seat venue. Sid couldn't sell that out in his prime let alone a decade past it.

My predictions for WrestleMania 25; World title match Randy Orton Vs CM Punk WWE title match John Cena Vs Batista

Battlebowl is an idea that is better in theory than execution IMO. There's never really any chemistry behind the teams and the whole thing just felt thrown together at the last minute outside of a few matches. However like you, I wouldn't mind them reviving the idea for a three hour RAW. Like I said, I like the concept but I don't like the way WCW pulled it off. Incidentally, I kind of liked Slamboree '96. Then again, I haven't seen it in ten years and when I last saw it I was a massive mark.

909 Edit: Here's a match list, before everything else. Now... Welcome to the return of The Wrestling Roundtable. Before each major PPV (WWE and TNA), a panel of experts will hypothesize on the events of the upcoming PPV. Today, we'll be discussing this Sunday's Backlash '08. Before we get underway, let's introduce the panel King Kamala Classic: Moderator for the roundtable, some guy. Hunter's Torn Quad: Former moderator for WWE folder. His expertise on wrestling, especially on the historical side, is amazing. bps21: Former writer for TheSmartMarks.com (back when we had articles) and frequent participant of the original Roundtables. Best friends with popular TSM poster, The Truthiness. 909: Current moderator for the WWE folder, runner up of the 2008 TSM Best Poster tournament Dandy: Former custodian of the wrestling folders. The bane of Matt Young's existance. Dr.Venkman PhD: Former writer for 411mania.com, the man behind Tuxedo Mask. Let's get underway ECW World title match: Kane © Vs Chavo Guerrero Jr. King Kamala Classic Anyway, we'll start with a match somebody might care about; Kane defending his ECW World title (still feels weird typing that) against Chavo Guerrero Jr. Predictions? Hunter's Torn Quad Silence and boredom. It'll be short, not too bad, and Kane will fight off the bodyguard to win clean. I would also think they'll do something to set up the bodyguard wrestling Kane at some point down the line bps21: This isn't going to be any good. Kane shouldn't lose the title this quickly (I guess), and Chavo doesn't need a title if he's going to be playing 4th banana to Edge anyway. At least they gave it some decent build with people beating the crap out of Kane every week. But does anyone really want to pay to see him get revenge? Really? Hunter's Torn Quad I think we're meant to want to see Chavo get beaten up. But that would involve caring about him 909: I agree with HTQ, about 6 or 7 minutes of not so bad wrestling, Kane wins clean. 909: Blow off match on ECW, bodyguard interferes for the DQ, and there's your Judgment Day ECW Title match 909: Chavo moves on to nothing. Hunter's Torn Quad But more jobberdom Dandy If they had any balls, they would have Bam Neely interfere when Chavo has thrown everything he has at Kane and can't win. Bam comes in and destroys Kane. It's only the ECW Title, and you have an opportunity to build this guy up out of the gate. Chavo can be his mouthpiece and tag partner, Bam backs him up with the muscle. I have never seen the guy wrestle, so I might eat those words later, but Kane usually does not have a problem putting people over. He wouldn't lose, and it could build to a match down the road. Dr. Venkman PhD: The biggest question mark over the match is do they want Bam to look like a competent or incompetent bodyguard. If he's a good bodyguard, he'd save Chavo from the choke slam and the match would end in DQ. If he's a bad one, he'll sit there and watch Chavo lose, then beat up Kane. Either way it's a set up for HIS match, not Chavo's. Of course he could always get beat up by Kane before Kane pins Chavo. At the end of the day, Kane leaves with the title. 909 that would be dumb and so WWE King Kamala Classic Anyways, I'll make a bold prediction for the sake of making a bold prediction I say that Kane comes in selling the injuries from Tuesday and Chavo uses a massive amount of cheating and a bunch of interference from Bam Neely to win back the title setting up a 2 on 1 rematch at Judgment Day. The match should be a solid but pedestrian affair, probably in the **-**1/4 range. Hunter's Torn Quad: I think they'll save the interference spots for the Undertaker/Edge match Dandy: Before the bodyguard debuted, I was expecting Kane to dominate Chavo and squash him again, leading to a dominant run as ECW Champ. Hunter's Torn Quad That'll still happen, but with Kane beating up the bodyguard to look even stronger King Kamala Classic who the hell does Kane feud with after the bodyguard and Chavo? Shelton I guess but then what? I don't think he'll last too long in ECW. Hunter's Torn Quad Big Daddy V? 909: good lord bps21: Mark Henry just won a squash match to end ECW this week 909: would be really nice if ECW brought one or two RAW mid-card guys over 909: like UMAGA Hunter's Torn Quad Umaga is probably staying put on Raw. He's in a good spot, and they seem to like him there bps21: We get Kane vs. Henry, than some Kane vs. Khali after Show is done with him. Then V will come back and he can have a shot. ECW title baby! King Kamala Classic: We've already had Kane Vs Khali though! bps21: Bah...that was last year King Kamala Classic: We don't need to see it again! That's a rematch no one is demanding Dandy: I agree with whoever said that Kane should don the Mask for at least his entrance. Tweak his music, give him new pants. The Big Show Vs The Great Khali King Kamala Classic: OK...let's get back on track and discuss The Big Show Vs The Great Khali. Predictions? Could this possibly be one of the worst matches this year in WWE? In WWE history? Hunter's Torn Quad: Show/Khali will display all new levels of sucking. If it goes beyond five minutes, WWE will have lost their minds. No good can come of this match going anything more than a few minutes it will be short, terrible, and Show will win clean. I would even venture to say he'll slam Khali. People do love the big guys getting slammed. And I think it'll make a weird visual to see a giant slamming a giant bps21: What are the people who entertain me on TV like Miz/Morrison and Wang/Moore doing? And what happened to the supposed bringing back of tag teams on RAW? WHO IS RUNNING THIS ARMY? 909: Show wins after 3 minutes. Complete and total squash, basically a thank you for jobbing to Floyd. Khali hopefully fucks off forever. Show feuds with Umaga. Dandy: Well, when Show came back after the weight loss and looked better than he had in years, I was ready to get behind him.): It is very easy to believe that Show could "wake up" and be unstoppable, no matter what he has done in the past. This is a terrific opportunity to squash Khali and write him out of WWE forever. Dr. Venkman PhD: I'd be lying if I didn't say it's an interesting match on paper - it is something worth building to. But it's not something worth devoting more than 5-6 minutes to in the ring. There is the percentage of fans that enjoys a battle of the titans - but these are the same people who will chant boring once they get going. Basically a "wow! Those two big guys are going to go at it"... "Wow that sucked". Show has to win, like said above mostly as a thank you for the Mayweather situation. King Kamala Classic: I think this match will be bad, possibly even terrible but I don't think it'll be memorably bad as it'll be too short. It'll be a glorified squash for Show as pretty much everybody else said. And hopefully Khali will go off for good. I read somewhere that Khali is opening a wrestling school actually. Isn't this the same guy who killed a guy in the ring with a botched power bomb? King: botched flapjack Dandy: But that spot was just the straw that broke the camel's back for that dude's head, I believe. King Kamala Classic and don't you have to know how to wrestle to open a wrestling school? Dandy: Maybe he will teach them to raise their lopsided arms and yell, "BAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Hunter's Torn Quad: Or how to be Ring of the King Dandy And walk like Carl Childers in Sling Blade. Bps21: That's a former World Champion you're talking about. Show some respect WWE U.S. title match: MVP © Vs Matt Hardy King Kamala Classic: OK...let's move onto the U.S. title match between MVP and Matt Hardy? Will Matt end MVP's long reign? Has it been too long for people to still care about this feud? Predictions from the panel Hunter's Torn Quad I think MVP retain through cheating to keep the feud going. And I don't think they want to put the belt on Hardy until they have someone ready he can transition it to. It'll go about 12 minutes, and hit the *** mark bps21: Anyway...good match, but it's position in the mid card means that they won't get to have to over the top blow away match that the mid-card guys just don't get to have on ppvs it seems 909: MVP wins by cheating...but I don't know what they plan to do when both guys are done with this. Should be a good match, but I don't know, I'm kind of puzzled by what both are going to do afterward. I'm pretty sure Hardy will get the US Title, but I don't think MVP will lose it clean Dandy: What I would like to see happen is a competitive back and forth match with lots of near falls that ends with a double pin. Hold the title up and build to a rematch for it at the next PPV or perhaps a long TV match where Hardy finally goes over. Hardy makes a couple of defenses and starts feuds with Kenny, Burke, Noble, and whoever.MVP moves on up the card just a little higher, perhaps to Raw. Dr. Venkman PhD Matt Hardy doing the Mania run-in was probably the best way to resume the feud after Hardy's absence - gave it a bit more "umph" then had Matt just returned and said "hey MVP I still want the US title" .But the other side of that was it made me want to see Matt immediately get the US title at Backlash. I don't know if that would end the feud or if that will even happen. Matt Hardy always has a lot of fan support whether he's being pushed or losing every match - it's a really unique trait. Because of that, he doesn't NEED a title. But he deserves one. I hope Backlash is his time to win it, but a no-contest / MVP cheap win with a title win held off for Judgment Day would not surprise me. It should be a good match and hopefully the crowd is into it. King Kamala Classic: I agree with Venk- Matt Hardy running in at Mania and ruining MVP's shot at winning MITB was the best way to resume the feud but honestly, maybe my attention span has lessened since my mark days but I'm having a hard time mustering any enthusiasm for this match. King Kamala Classic: It'll be a solid *** affair with MVP going over in some screwy fashion setting up the blow off. 909: the problem is that the interval between Matt's injury and his return was so long Hunter's Torn Quad: He needs to build momentum before winning the title Dr. Venkman PhD: In theory, pinning MVP on SmackDown was his momentum. Dandy: They keep mentioning the length of MVP's reign and it is at 11 months, right? Then he should hold it until a full year and then have Matt win it.11 months is impressive, but it's not a full year. Dr. Venkman PhD: I think they have some issue with 12 months. They could have easily had Kendrick and London hold the WWE tag titles for a year and not 11 months. But MVP is more important. King Kamala Classic Hopefully the blow off will be some sort of gimmick match (ladder or cage) on a lesser PPV (Judgment Day or maybe One Night Stand) with Hardy finally getting the title. Shawn Michaels Vs Batista King Kamala Classic: Let's move onto what is without a doubt the most anticipated match of the night between Shawn Michaels and Batista. Predictions from the panel? Hunter's Torn Quad: I think Batista turns full blown heel here. He might lose via DQ or get pinned, but after the bell, I think we'll see a beat down Dr. Venkman PhD: I don't see Jericho calling for a DQ. Hunter's Torn Quad: True. Jericho could DQ Shawn, and while Shawn lays out Jericho, Batista comes in for the sneak attack. Jericho is going to be the third wheel here; he'll play his part and then slink off while the real players do their thing. I'll go with Jericho trying to screw Shawn out of the win, some kind of schmozz happening, with the end result being Batista laying out Shawn to cement a full blown heel turn. Keeps their feud going, and allows Batista to once again face Undertaker down the road Bps21: Jericho has been the bitch to both for reasons I still don't get. Batista should turn heel to freshen him up. bps21: Match will be good, I'd think...but since it's their first go around of a probably longer feud the ending won't be great. 909: I'd have Batista bloody both, causing the match to end in a no-contest. Have him injure Shawn; Shawn can disappear for a month, while Batista beats Jericho at Judgment Day. Obviously Batista wins the feud in the end, but this one needs to be dragged out for quite a while. They don't have anything better to do, and Batista vs. Taker is so overdone that they need to give that matchup a few more months. If they ever go back to that, which I doubt in the first place. The eventual blow off will be great, hopefully taking place inside of a cage. Dandy: Well, I seem to recall having an idea for this feud and how to book this match, but damned if I can remember it now. I tried to look for it in the WWE folder, but I don't think it was in the thread about this feud. For some reason, I want to see Batista just totally kill Shawn Michaels like Bane did to Batman in Knightfall. You have the huge beast of a man breaking the smaller guy in half, and everyone knows Shawn gets good reactions coming back for revenge after being laid out and put on the shelf for a bit. Dandy: They could show videos of Shawn going through therapy to learn how to move around again and all that while Batista goes full blown heel and just starts pummeling everyone and being a dick about it. Jericho's involvement is unnecessary in my scenario, and it is 99.999% not going to happen, so I will say that HBK and Batista don't get to settle their feud and Jericho feuds with Shawn in the process. Down the road, perhaps at SummerSlam, HBK and Batista finish their feud. Dr. Venkman PhD The worst thing I can see happening here is Jericho calling a no-contest, making it about him, and setting up a 3 way at Judgment Day. Since he's NOT the focus and the Flair back-story is, they probably won' do this, but you'd think Jericho being out there should mean more than "he's a popular guy, put him on the card somehow".): Shawn and Batista had a pretty uninteresting match at Armageddon 2003, but those were different times for Batista. They have a good dynamic now and I'm interested to see what they pull off. Does Batista avenge Flair? Does Michaels win just because he always does? Does Batista turn heel? Does Jericho turn heel? A lot of question marks, which is good for interest, but I have to go with the old standby of "Shawn wins with the super kick". Setting up the HTQ predicted heel turn. King Kamala Classic I think this will most likely be MOTN. If they play their cards right, this could be a feud that lasts all the way to SummerSlam, hopefully with a HITC match for the blow off. I think HBK wins with a fluke Sweet Chin Music while Batista is distracted by Jericho admonishing him for some reason or another. Batista then turns fully fledged heel and bloodies HBK and lays out Jericho after the match HBK is out for a while, this sets up Batista-Jericho at Judgment Day and then maybe a Triple Threat match at One Night Stand Dr. Venkman PhD I think HHH actually should have a role to play somewhere in this angle. But where, I don't know. Hunter's Torn Quad He might once the WWE title issue gets settled Dr. Venkman PhD He's busy, obviously, but down the line you'd think Shawn would at least TALK to him about it. Hunter's Torn Quad and you know he'll be the catalyst for introducing Flair into the storyline 909: if that were to occur, you know HHH would go over Jericho in the end Dr. Venkman PhD I would not be surprised at all to see a backstage segment at Backlash where Shawn asks HHH for his opinion on the situation but Batista barges in to cut off his answer. King Kamala Classic: At what point, do you think Flair gets involved? How? I think it'd be best if he served as a semi-impartial spectator for this one. Maybe a promo or two. 909: the only good way for Flair to be involved is if Batista were to beat him up Hunter's Torn Quad that will happen. At some point, that'll happen King Kamala Classic: probably in Charlotte. WCW and WWE both seem to love Flair getting his ass kicked in his hometown for some reason. Nothing ever good really comes out of it. The later Flair shows up in the feud, the better. Maybe he could be the special guest referee for the blow off bps21: Flair is the worst ref ever. Does no one remember him reffing? Hunter's Torn Quad: I do bps21: How bad was that? Dr. Venkman PhD His "Aww shit" expression at Backlash 2002 when he was shown Austin's foot to be on the rope was priceless. bps21: It sticks in my head still. Best wrestler ever. Worst ref ever. Dandy: Worst ref ever? No way bps21Yes. He's always out of position and his counts are terribly slow. Like...kill the match dead slow World title match: The Undertaker © Vs Edge King Kamala Classic: OK- let's move onto the World title match, a rematch from WrestleMania 24 between The Undertaker and Edge. Predictions from the panel Hunter's Torn Quad 9:49:04 PM): Undertaker wins, obviously, but it'll be a great ride. This is where we'll get all the interference and overbooking. Chavo'll come out to get squashed. Whatever Edge's geek squad is called will get the same treatment. Lots of distractions in the interim, lots of near falls, but it'll end with Undertaker hitting the tombstone for the win Dr. Venkman PhD They dropped the ball on not officially calling them the Rated Rmy. Hunter's Torn Quad: It'll probably hit the **** mark. I will say this might be the one match on the card to see blood, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Undertaker get it. Get him over as he fights off four guys bps21: I'd really like to see Edge win since everyone is expecting a long run from Taker. But that's not going to happen here. Match should be all kinds of awesome and MOTN. I don't know how they top Mania...but that shouldn't stop them from trying. As is a theme on this show, I don't know what either guy does when this feud is over. Interference from everyone...and Edge still loses somehow. 909: Everyone interferes, Taker definitely goes over. The brand extension limits what both can do afterward, unless they do what they usually do and move people without explanation. I'd kind of like to see Taker/JBL. For Edge, uh, I have no idea at all. There's nobody on Smackdown to do something with, save Punk, and he's beaten Punk twice. Maybe when Jeff Hardy comes back they can feud Dandy: I agree with everyone on the overbooking aspect. Chavo and the Rmy get involved and Taker fights them off. Taker wins. Okay, Taker cannot win with the choke this time, so perhaps it is the Tombstone like others are saying. However, I would like to see Taker have to pull something else out because Edge kept countering his stuff to play off the Mania match. Perhaps when Taker goes for the Tombstone, Edge counters with a Dragon Sleeper or something. Eventually Taker wins with a striking move for a knockout blow. Hunter's Torn Quad Playing off his 'best pure striker' hype Dandy It's different and could add to the well-booked finishes we've had lately. King spinning back fist! Bps21 How many times will Michael Cole call Edge the "Ultimate Opportunist" this time? I'll set the over/under at 6 Hunter's Torn Quad 8 Stephen Gray 21 (10:04:03 PM): Like others have said, this will likely be the match of the night. Edge hadn't been fully on his game since returning and Mania was his first really good match, an encouraging sign. Sadly there's no way he can win the belt back here - Taker is due for take 2 at his long title reign unless something else screws it up - but the ride should be fun. I'm hoping for a unique finish but I'm not expecting one. At the very least, I DON'T want to see Edge try to punch Undertaker 10 times in the corner only to get a Last Ride. They've been milking that spot since Mania 17. Hunter's Torn Quad. I hate that spot. It's beyond played out Dandy: I keep expecting it to end up differently. Dr. Venkman PhD I would love to see Edge actually counter it with a rana or leg scissors. Dandy: Perhaps Edge will set that spot up and when Taker goes for it, one of his cronies will trip him? Dr. Venkman PhD: Hopefully overbooking, if any, doesn't hurt the match quality. After Backlash, I don't really know what direction either man will take, so a gimmick match at Judgment Day might be in order. King Kamala Classic This match will be very good, perhaps even great but honestly I kind of want this feud to be over. We've seen too many variations on this cowardly heel mastermind tries to band together a bunch of cronies to take out The Undertaker angle. The Undertaker wins despite a bunch of interference from Chavo and The Rmy and much over booking. I think the WWE might even be dumb enough to stretch out this feud another month or so solely because there's nothing really in the immediate future for either guy. At least the matches are good even if the feud necessarily isn't... Honestly though, I'd be kind of curious to see a TLC match between the two. Four Corner's Match for the WWE Title: Randy Orton © Vs JBL Vs John Cena Vs Triple H Hunter's Torn Quad Making the four-way an elimination match was a smart move, because it avoids the obvious ending of JBL getting beatenMakes things a little more interesting. The chaos in this one will be a little more organized, and I don't see things leaving the ringside area I think JBL is gone first, pinned by Cena. I can see Hunter or Orton beating Cena quickly after that, to give us another long stretch of Hunter/OrtonThe winner is a tossup, because there are good reasons why Orton or Hunter could win. But I'll go with Orton retaining with another lucky pin fall in a ****+ affair that will be the MOTN[/b] bps21: Well...at least the fact that it's an elimination match makes it more interesting because a bunch of people have to lose that usually...don't. I'd see Orton retaining after Cena and HHH cause each other's eliminations in some way. I wouldn't take the belt off of Orton in this match...with as long as he's held it he should lose 1-1. To whom...I have no idea. They've rolled all their contenders into this one match and even threw in JBL for no particular reason. Match should be good regardless...but I'm more than a little annoyed at seeing the same people at the top again this month (oh...and JBL). Do Cena and HHH really need to be around the title picture right now? Couldn't they be working with someone new so that these shows don't always have to have the same matches? Anyway...good match. Orton retains. Don't know where they go from here 909: this PPV really accentuates the disparity between the top of the card and the middle of the card, a large part of which is due to the brand extension. There are too many "top guys."They need to get two of these guys in this match down the card. I don't care how or why they move down. If they had a tag team division, they would not have this problem. I've got Orton pinning JBL as the first elimination HHH pinning Orton in the second, leaving us with the mega-match, that being Cena/HHH. My gut says that HHH wins the title. Probably the MOTN, probably a **** match that'll go at least 25 minutes. But like I said, some of these guys need to get down the card. Hunter's Torn Quad No way Hunter pins Cena to win the match 909: I forgot to say that Orton would interfere on the hunter pin. Hunter's Torn Quad I think they're saving that one for their big singles match. I can see Hunter pinning Cena for an earlier fall, but not to win the match Dandy Okay, this match will be awesome and will lead to two distinct feuds. JBL and Cena will feud after this and Orton and Triple H will be feuding. This holds off Cena/Triple H for a while, and gives Cena something fresh to do. He hasn't feuded with JBL in a long time. How I see it go down is at some point, Orton is nearly killed. He is out for a long time, and perhaps getting attended to do by a doctor at ringside.JBL pins Cena. Triple H pins JBL after a tough matchup that has Triple H almost out of it. Orton hits the RKO out of nowhere immediately afterward. Triple H can still claim that he has a right to a title shot, as JBL and Cena are feuding now and Orton was thought to be pretty much out of the match. That should buy a couple more months of feuds. Dr. Venkman: The key thing here is WWE still has a HHH vs. Orton singles match that hasn't been done in PPV in 2008. It became a 3 way at Mania and Backlash is a 4-way.To me that means Orton retains so Trips can beat him in a 1 on 1 match at Judgment Day. Elimination Rules seemed to confirm that to me. At the very least, the Elimination concept will cause the match to become HHH vs. Orton. I think this will be a very good match. It won't come close to last year's Backlash main event but should still be good. My only concern is that WWE has a long storied habit of copping out of 4 way elimination matches by having two guys get counted out or DQd. That's usually reserved for tag team or lower card matches, though. I would hope such a cheap way out would not occur in a WWE title main event. I really don't have much more to add to it that hasn't been said, so I'll leave it at hoping we actually have 3 falls. King Kamala Classic WWE has been exceptional with these four way matches in recent years and this should no exception. I think the order will go something like this; JBL gets eliminated by Orton with a fluke RKO after Orton ducks the Clothesline from Hell. Cena gets eliminated by Triple H Triple H is eliminated by Orton in some screwy fashion to set up a rematch at Judgment Day and somehow Cena and JBL set up a feud during the four corner's match. Part of me thinks Orton's going to have the title for the long haul. 909: I thought about it more, and HTQ's right. They're not going to have Hunter pin Cena for the belt Dr. Venkman PhD I think HHH vs. Cena will be a SummerSlam main event. 909: I'm kind of surprised that nobody picked Cena to win the belt, though Dr. Venkman PhD Cena isn't doing house shows. In 2008, title matches that everyone knows are going to end with the champ retaining don't mean much, but it's unusual to book a string of house shows with no WWE champion. Hunter's Torn Quad And they'll build to Cena winning the belt King Kamala Classic yeah, I think Cena's kind of lying low for the moment. He'll get the title back though- it's a question of when and who from Hunter's Torn Quad: Hunter, but not before Hunter gets his elusive singles match pin fall over him. I think the one good thing in this match is you can argue for three people winning: Orton seems a good bet to win, but there is enough doubt to make things interesting during the finish Dr. Venkman PhD You can't ever go into a match and say HHH has no chance of winning. Ditto for Cena. Dandy Cena and Triple H are two heavy favorites among the PPV buying crowd, I would say. They think one of their fav's could beat Orton for the belt. 909: the more we talk about this card, the more I realize how stale things are. bps21: Stale as a motherfucker. 909: I don't know if I'm the only one who feels that way bps21: The ppv should be fine...it's the lack of caring about the ppv that's getting me down 909: honestly, there hasn't been a title match over the past few months that I've thought was worth paying for Dandy 4 good matches and the chance to end some feuds and go in different directions. King Kamala Classic I think it'll be a good perhaps even great PPV but not really a significant one. Hunter's Torn Quad we've essentially had the same main event players for over six months bps21: The people that aren't on this show after being featured on TV is pretty astounding 909: The King of the Ring isn't booked King Kamala Classic CM Punk isn't on it. Neither of the tag champs bps21: Finlay, Kennedy, Umaga. Festus just had that big match with Taker...never to be seen again. Miz/Morrison are the featured on both ECW and SD...And not here 909: I really hate brand exclusive PPV's, but with the way things are so packed, would they be welcome around now? King Kamala Classic: I think so bps21: Yes King Kamala Classic: I think the roster is deeper now than it's been since 2002 when the brand split first started bps21: If SD/ECW had the slot this month they'd have Edge/Taker, Miz/Morrison vs. Yang/Moore, MVP/Hardy. They could still do HBK/Batista. Dreamer and Delaney could do something since that's what ECW mostly is at this point Dandy 4 Raw PPV's, 4 SD/ECW PPV's, and 4 co-brands PPV's is the way it should be. King Kamala Classic RAW PPVs would be pretty lame though Hunter's Torn Quad It'd be the same three people on a rotational basis bps21Well...they'd have Regal/Finlay! Dandy: It wouldn't be hard to come up with 8 matches for Raw and 8 matches for SD/ECW for THIS PPV alone. Dr. Venkman PhD I think the split-brand PPVs make the actual show better as they generally stack it with important talent (at the cost of everyone else). While single brand PPVs can include more specific talent but need to fill it with, well, filler. Hunter's Torn Quad But would they make anyone want to pay $40? 909: depends Dandy: I think so. 909: this month, probably King Kamala Classic No but neither do these non major event shows do with both rosters on them. bps21: would rather watch a SD ppv right now than the way this went I think 909: the reason I don't want to pay for this show, quite simply, is because the mid-card matches aren't going to get time. And we've got bullshit like the Diva tag match Dr. Venkman PhD: Do you WANT Khali / Show to get time, King? bps21: I don't want to pay for this show because when it's over...nothing happened. If there's a really good match (and I think there will be) I can pick up the DVD later. But no new ground is being broken here King Kamala Classic I'm with you bps. I'll probably just Netflix this show when it's released on DVD. Dr. Venkman PhD What if CM Punk cashes in his MITB and beats Orton for the title? There's about 0% chance of that happening but hey. bps21: Then I'll be sad I missed it live. bps21: It's a chance I'm willing to take Hunter's Torn Quad I don't suppose anyone wants to guess the buys this gets? 909: Buys...wow. At least 25,000 less than No Way Out Dr. Venkman PhD Did the EC's get a good pop for the NWO buy rate? Hunter's Torn Quad Yes bps21: Very good in comparison to last year Hunter's Torn Quad I don't have the numbers in front of me, but it popped them up huge over last year bps21: But...it looks like Mania didn't. This really just shows that these same people on top are killing everything. bps21: Oh...and that Hardy f'd up big time Hunter's Torn Quad: Got the numbers): NWO did 328,000 worldwide. 207,000 domestic. Up 59% from last year. Dr. Venkman PhD Ok then - Backlash will do 180,000 Domestic and 230,000 worldwide. I'm very bad at this though. Hunter's Torn Quad: I think Backlash will do 210,000 domestic. But that might be too optimistic Hunter's Torn Quad would you say HBK/Batista is the main drawing match on this show? Dandy: No Dr. Venkman PhD It's had the most promo build. 909: I would say it's the match that could push someone from a not buy to buying it Dandy Major Draw for it, but the Raw Title match has a ton of the marks' attention. Dandy: I actually think this will be a good PPV. Dr. Venkman PhD: 2 good-great title matches and solid undercard matches in MVP/Matt and Batista/HBK (which is essentially a 3rd main event) should make a good show. But yeah, a definite trend in this roundtable has been "I don't know where X goes from here, rematch at Judgment Day". King Kamala Classic: Backlash tends to be a good, sometimes great show wrestling wise that isn't really significant storyline wise. There are exceptions of course. '99 and '00 basically served as de-facto WrestleManias. bps21: have no doubt there will be some good work on this show, and I am intrigued about what direction HBK/Batista go in 909: While Backlash isn't the most interesting show, it could be far, far worse. I think we've all seen that over the past few years

Yeah I kind of figured as much after he said he wasn't going to try for Letterman's job after he retires. That's too bad because while Conan is probably the funniest late night host, Ferguson is IMO the most talented. It's good that he'll be getting some more exposure after Conan leaves because if the box office reciepts for Taxi and Fever Pitch are any indictation than I don't see many people staying with NBC at the 12:30 slot after Conan move up.

I've had the rare mediocre fry but the only truly awful fries I've had were Shaw's brand frozen fries. Then again Shaw's brand anything is bound to suck. Their soda sucks, their frozen pizza really sucks. Their cookies are ace though, almost makes up for all the crap they produce.

Eh, it looks mediocre but I'm not entirely upset. Chick flicks tend to do really well this time of year for some reason. Is there any explanation for chick flicks doing really well in April, Bob? My only theory is women want to get to theaters before they're overstuffed with nerds seeing the summer blockbusters.

I love Raven but he doesn't really belong on the list. He has some popularity sure but drawing power? Eh, an argument could be made but not a very good IMHO and I doubt there are any non-fans who could recognize him. The only non-wrestling appearence he made that I can think of was in that Stuck Mojo music video and that was kind of obscure (Sorry Laz).

I find it weird that Steve Martin has a supporting role in Baby Mama yet he isn't in any of the ads that I've seen. Must have something in his contract. I'm surprised that people are surprised that it's #1. Do people really think stoners are that huge of an audience to push Harold and Kumar to #1. You can't bring your bong in the theater! And no Mole, we really don't need to see The Top 21.

Corn on The Cob- I've always hated cole slaw for some reason. Mac and Cheese- One of my favorites. I love it in all of its incarnations. I've come around to baked beans a little bit but there was a time I hated them almost as much as I hate cole slaw. Cheddar Biscuits- The bread bracket is easily the toughest. I love corn bread but Cheddar Biscuits are more versatile. Garlic Bread- Again, I love Hush Puppies but there's almost nothing better than Garlic Bread fresh out of the oven. Baked Potato- Another tough bracket. Hash Browns are awesome with all three meals but I'll take a baked potato with some bacon bits, sour cream, and butter. Plus you get two appetizers in one with the potato AND the skins. French Fries-One of my all time favorites. I like onion rings but fries are like pizza, even bad ones are still pretty good. Couscous-Never been an asparagus fan. Not a huge couscous fan but it's a good food to have every now and then. White Rice- By default, can't say I've ever had fried okra.

Welcome to the board, Rob Black

1. Diana Smith, good or bad? Not good as in good looking, but does she do a good enough acting job to make a piss-poor angle at least somewhat believable? Or do you just say...wow, get off my television. With Diana Smith, the less she was used the better. I thought she did a servicable job as the concerned spectator but in storylines, she sucked. Just terrible. I know you didn't ask...but looks wise, I always had a thing for Diana Hart. She looked like a really version of my high school drama teacher. 2. Double pin finishes, good or bad? Depends on the situation. As the main event for a PPV, even a lesser one like this, I don't like it. When you're paying $30 for a PPV (or $24.95 or whatever Beware of Dog cost at the time), you expect some sort of a finish. 3. Yokozuna...why in the world is he employed at this point in time? Was there any possible benefit from having him around? Name value. Speaking from the perspective of someone who was at his highest peak of markdom at the time, it still meant something when guys beat Yokozuna even though he was an immobile fat fuck. 4. If not for Marc Mero's injury later in the year, how far up the card could he have risen? Also, is he related to Little Richard? I think he would have definitely been in the IC title scene. May have become the guy that the top heel beats on his way to facing Michaels but I don't think he would have ever been a regular main eventer. As for the second question, I'm not sure but I wouldn't put WCW pass saying he was at one point. 5. Goldust vs. Undertaker...who in the hell thought up this one? Do you like the matchup? Hate it? It was an OK transitional feud. Again the gay elements were kind of awkward. I've always looked at The Undertaker as kind of asexual (can zombies even get it on? That's a question for the LSD folder CTDWAT I guess). Anyway, yeah the feud was nothing particularly good or bad by mid 90s Undertaker standards. 6. Last one, would a strap match be a good gimmick to bring back into the current landscape of the WWE? Or is a bullrope match a perfectly acceptable alternative? Yes, I'm a big strap match and bullrope match mark. It think they make the perfect gimmick match before the blowoff to a feud gimmick match. The two are really interchangable (along with chain matches) but when was the last time one of them was used a stipulation for a big PPV match anyways? There's probably been one since but the last one I remember was Triple H Vs Kane in a chain match at Judgment Day '01.

No, I think if The Big Show would have done a moonsault at some point by now if he could do one. I've read that he did them at WCW house shows in '95/'96 but really there's no way we could ever know if Show could do one.

Probably. I've been eating Chinese Food for years but somehow I still need to learn the difference between Chow Mein and Lo Mein. I wanted Lo Mein but I ordered Chow Mein. This is what I get for ordering the same thing 80% the time!

I don't know about drawing power but George Steele seems to fit the first two. He's popular amongst two maybe even three generations of fans and he gained a bit of notoriety for his part in Ed Wood. He's one of the few wrestlers that my dad knows. I don't know if I'd put him on the last but I could see how someone would.

Craig Ferguson's getting better, I'll just watch him. Though Fallon will be more mediocre than actively horrible.

And you call us gluttons. Before you accuse us, take a good, hard look at yourself, Canada.

I basically agree with everything you said. I can pinpoint the exact moment WWF took over WCW at my school. WCW held its first (and only) event in Portland two nights after Slamboree '98, a Saturday Night taping. Months leading up to the show they advertised Goldberg Vs a member of the Flock (IIRC- Saturn) as the main event. Before the show, bars near the Civic Center had signs promising Goldberg free drinks after the show. The whole arena was awash in Goldberg shirts and Goldberg chants started after almost every match. Of course, Goldberg never shows up. They never even say he wasn't showing up. Needless to say, the audience wasn't happy. And from then on, the playground discussions about wrestling which were evenly divided between WCW and WWF, became almost exclusively about WWF. The moral of the story I guess is casual fans are an extremely fickle bunch. I know two casual fans who stopped watching after Kane lost his mask!

Double Big Macs? I'm surprised we've never got those in the States. Does that mean there are like four patties?

Now wait, I have a lot of junk in my front yard and I may be married to my cousin but surely I'm not the biggest you've ever met... All kidding aside, the man does not joke. We do have a ton of rednecks. Not so much in the Portland metropolitan area (there are some though) but once you get 45 minutes or so outside of the city, you've hit the Deep South of the Far North. And if you look hard enough, there are rednecks everywhere in this country. I bet there's even some in NYC. How the hell else would The Allman Brothers be able to sell out 15 nights at The Beacon Theater every Spring?

There were two weeks of Nitros and Thunders taped in Australia in October of 2000. They also did a Nitro and Thunder in the U.K. in November of the same year. There was also the WCW/New Japan Supershow in March '91 which was taped and later shown on PPV in North America. Lest we forget the Kollision in Korea, a WCW/New Japan show taped in North Korea, that was shown on PPV.

You took The Wild, The Innocent, and The E Street Shuffle (my favorite as well) IIRC and someone else took The River. I know there's more but those are the only two I can think of off the top of my head.

And it was sampled by 2 Live Crew. Whether that's a positive or negative? You decide.

I won't say Born In The USA was terrible (I have too much nostalgia for it to make that assesment) but Czech is definitely right in saying it was his worst album up to that point. Heck, I probably like the follow-up Tunnel of Love more.

I thought I read the dumbest music related statement of the day when a friend told me in an AIM conversation that the professor of the class on Dylan he's taking thought "Joey" was one of Dylan's finest moments...I was wrong. Of course now someone is going to say Dylan sucks and derail this thread even more.