King Kamala

I think in the long run Hogan hurt the WCW World title's credibility more than he helped it but to call him the worst WCW World Champion of all time seems a bit absurd. I could name three or four guys who held the title in the year '00 alone that were worse than Hogan.

Sure it made a lot of money but that doesn't mean it's a massive, undisputed success. Hulk made $245 million and almost everybody I know hates that one. I think Superman Returns was a victim of high expectations. After a nineteen year layoff filled with aborted productions, people were expecting the quintessential Superman film. You had all of the right elements; a talented director well versed in making good superhero films, an unknown in the lead (ala Christopher Reeves in Superman), and an Academy Award winning, incredibly talented actor as Lex Luthor (OK, I'll grant you that almost everyone of Kevin Spacey's films post American Beauty have sucked hobos for quarters but he's still got a reputation). What we ended up getting was a solid single up the middle instead of the grand slam everyone expected. I actually kind of like the movie but people were expecting much more than a solid *** movie when they went in to that one. Let's face it; we're living in the age of great superhero movies. I'm not sure if there will ever be a time better than now for them. The bar is set way higher for superhero movies than they were ten years ago.

Fun fact about Superman III; they cast Richard Pryor in that movie after The Salkinds saw him on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson, talking about how much he enjoyed Superman II.

Agreed. I don't think there should be any trouble finding a venue. You might have to look a bit deeper than you have with the wrestling draft but there's a good two dozen cities that I consider great wrestling towns and worthy of havign a promotion centered there. Question; Could two members pick different venues in the same city? Say Stevieguy picks The ECW Arena/Viking Hall and I pick The Spectrum, would that be allowed? Didn't mean to spoil venues there but I just wanted an example.

Pissy was the wrong word to use about use. Befuddling is more like it. Personally, I just don't see how one could claim something so new could be the best ever. It's disregarding the watchability and lasting impact factor. Again, it's a personal opinion. I'm hardly the arbitrator of good taste on TSM (I say this as I stare at my copy of Muppets From Space on DVD).

I might catch some crap from this statement (I've never had more than a passing interest in comic books but have always liked comic book movies) but I think there was too much angst in Superman Returns. I mean, angst is understandable I guess given that he's the last survivor of his home planet but the movie didn't have the sense of sly, tongue in cheek humor and wonder it should have and the '78 film did have. The continuation idea was terrible too, just awful.

Yeah but I can have the opinion to disagree with other people's opinions. But I think regardless of opinion, I think we can all agree that it's stupid to go into movie expecting "the best movie ever". Expecting it to be really good? That's fine but I don't think I've ever gone into a movie expecting it'd be the best anything.

I might be the only one who but I think the Superman franchise needs a reboot ala The Hulk. I didn't hate Superman Returns at all but it was clearly a single up the middle instead of the home run it should have been (and Batman Begins and The Dark Knight were). Routh is too bland, even for a relatively straight laced character like Clark Kent/Superman.

People who are disappointed for this living up to the hype of being "the best movie ever" are as dumb as the people who proclaim this to be the best movie ever. Now don't get me wrong, this is a great movie and perhaps the greatest superhero movie of all time. Maybe even an outside contender for one of the best movies of this year but to call it the best movie ever is downright absurd.

Uh...Bret Hart did have the first ladder match in the WWF. And I don't think McMahon would have ditched Bret's match against Owen or his revenge match against Yokozuna for a face Vs face match with Razor Ramon. I think what's being understated here is the effect it would have on Kevin Nash (assuming he stays with the WWF when Michaels leaves). In the Fall of '93, Nash was pretty much just a heatless big lug. Wihout Michaels antagonizing him, there's no slow burn face turn to launch him into the main event. Still, I think Nash had enough natural charisma and a decent enough look to carry him past the role of random, intimidating stiff. He probably would have still had the big run in The '94 Royal Rumble and gone on to face Bret Hart at King of The Ring '94. Still with Michaels not around, he doesn't have a more charismatic heel to play off of and turn face against. I think he goes on to join DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation and feud with Lex Luger and The Undertaker. With no Michaels around, he probably doesn't have the same political aspirations and lingers around the mid-card for a couple years before jumping to WCW during the Monday Night Wars to be a random foe for Hogan. Shawn Michaels probably immedietely becomes a part of the mid-card scene in WCW. I could see him feuding with Ricky Steamboat or perhaps renewing his rivalry with Davey Boy Smith (who hadn't yet departed). I can see him working his way up to the WCW U.S. title and a feud with Sting and perhaps a match or two against babyface World Champion, Ric Flair. After Hogan arrives in mid '94, Michaels finds himself falling down the card. Maybe he gets used as cannon fodder against Hulk Hogan but eventually- he leaves the company in the Summer of '95 shortly before The Monday Night Wars. He immedietely goes on to work in ECW where he joins some success in a role not entirely dissimilar to his role as DeGeneration X ringleader a few years later. Michaels would jump at the first chance to go back to the WWF in early '96. He Razor Ramon benefits the most from Shawn Michaels' departure and has a lengthy run with The WWF Intercontinental title. If Ramon stays out of trouble, I could see him eventually becoming a main eventer and winning the WWF World title around the time of SummerSlam '95. I think Bret Hart still wins the WWF World title at WrestleMania X obviously and goes onto have a lengthy rivalry with Owen Hart- leading up to a final rematch (A 60 Man Iron Man Match) for the WWF World title at WrestleMania XI. Bret Hart goes onto resign with The WWF in '96 and without Michaels as a rival political power, he stays with WWE until his retirement and perhaps to this day as an authority figure/commentator.

Amusingly enough, there was a brief period where I thought WCW blew a big opportunity with Goldberg. Almost immedietely after he had his first string of semi-dominant wins over established mid-card veterans, he got stuck in a heatless, forgettable feud with Steve "Mongo" McMichael. But then inexplicably, he caught on with the fans and the rest is history.

I'm such a dork that not only did I already know that but I know that the second guy he beat was The Barbarian. He mowed down poor Jimmy Hart's stable of lower mid-card heels.

He debuts on the September 22nd, 1997 episode and I'm not sure why I know that off the top of my head.

I don't see a problem with recasting Ledger. They just don't have to at this point. Let's face it, somewhere down the line, 15-20 years from now, Max Spielberg will be directing a new Batman series and everybody will want a new Joker. Right now, it just wouldn't be worth the backlash to cast a new Joker. Since they don't have to have one, I don't see why they should immedietely go about looking for a new Joker. And Man-Bat is an interesting idea for a villain in the next one if not a bit obscure. Having thought about it some more, I'd almost rather have a villain we haven't seen before on the big screen.

First off, kudos to my good man, oldskool for coming up with this thread idea. In this thread, we'll look back on a turning point in wrestling history and discuss what might have been, if things had turned out a bit differently... The Setup: In September 1993, Shawn Michaels quit The WWF after it was announced that he was stripped of his WWF Intercontinental title for failing to defend his belt enough times during a set period. In reality, he had been suspended for testing positive for steroids. During this time period, Michaels receives numerous offers to join the roster of World Championship Wrestling. The Actual Result: Michaels spurns WCW's offers and returns to the WWF in November of that year. He goes on to have a memorable feud with the winner of the vacant IC title, Razor Ramon which culminates in a legendary ladder match at WrestleMania X. This match in effect launches Michaels into the stratosphere. Eventually, Michaels becomes a 3 time WWF Champion, the first Grand Slam Champion, the founder of DeGeneration X, and the alleged leader of the infamous backstage group, The Clique. The Question is...What Might Have Been? Let's say Shawn Michaels doesn't turn down WCW's offers and agrees to join the then somewhat struggling promotion in the Fall of '93. What do you think Michaels immediate impact is on the promotion? Where does he enter on the card? Mid card? Upper mid-card? Main-event? What happens to Razor Ramon and the Intercontinental title scene? Who does Razor face at WrestleMania X without Michaels around? What happens to Shawn Michaels' bodyguard Diesel (later to be known as Kevin Nash)? Without Michaels around, does he eventually become a part of the main event scene in the WWF? How about Bret Hart, Michaels' in the ring and out of the ring archrival? Without the Clique around to play backstage politics, does Bret become a full time staple of the main event (Instead of drifting between that and insipid feuds with the likes of Jean Pierre Laffitte and Issac Yankem)? Without Michaels, there would be no Montreal Screwjob. Would Bret Hart retire with the WWF/E? Would he stay a babyface for the rest of his career? Would Michaels eventually reach the main event in WCW? Would he become a World Champion as he has in the WWF? Where would he fit in when Hogan signs with the company in June '94? Would we see their SummerSlam '05 match a decade early? What do you think would happen?

You know I was actually thinking of picking Maven in one of these later rounds. It seemed like just as he was showing some good improvement in mic skills and ring work- WWE decided to release him. Ah well- we'll always have that cool mini-angle with The Undertaker.

After veering into the late 90s and early 00s, it's time to go old school again with my next pick and I'm going to go for yet another tag team. This team is another excellent fit in my division, they're shitkicking brawlers who will fit in well paired up against The Nasty Boys, Public Enemy and The Mamalukes. I think they could also produce a really entertaining match against Strike Force. Hell, they'd be good against any team in my division. But I plan on using them as grizzled veteran tweeners who just straight up like to kick ass- be it babyface or heel. I plan on using them against The Mamalukes. It'll be Shitkicking Cowboys Vs Wiseguy Mafiaso in a series that is sure to produce some entertaining brawls and vignettes. These men are former AWA World Champions and individually and with other tag partners, were notable stars of the 70s. Ladies and gentlemne, with my 27th pick in The All Time Wrestling Roster Draft, I'm proud to select... ...Blackjack Lanza and Bobby Duncum Sr!

I'm telling you if The Expos were going to have to move, they should have moved to the Norfolk/Hampton Beach/Newport Roads area. Fastest growing region in the country and no other professional sports teams. Could have been huge. Washington strikes me as more of a football town (IIRC- The Senators had attendance problems for most of their run there) and the baseball fans that are there seem to lean more towards The Orioles.

Sandman is a Truther? This is a feeling not entirely unlike finding out that Santa Claus isn't real. I hate Truthers as much as the next guy but that was easily the most absurd (and amusing) theory on 9/11 I've heard. Buried gold under the Twin Towers? George H.W. Bush and Osama Bin Laden hanging out on the day of the attacks in some hotel conference room? Oh man, it almost makes me want to buy that shoot interview. I wouldn't because I'd feel like an enabler. Hell, any of those YouShoot videos would make me feel like an enabler if I bought them since it seems like almost all of them are done with crazy drug addicts and/or alcoholics (The exception is Honky Tonk Man who's just a wildly entertaining bitter hasbeen). I wish someone would post some of those on YouTube or DailyMotion or bump up that old Shoot Interview MP3 thread.

Daniel Day Lewis isn't one to do big blockbuster movies. Especially in the last decade or so. I guess Gangs of New York would be the closest to that he's made but even though it cost $100 million to make, it wasn't very commercial persay. And besides, Daniel Day Lewis seemed really devastated by Ledger's death for some reason so I think he'd be the last guy who'd want to be his replacement. Here's a sort of off topic fun fact- Daniel Day Lewis was one of the original choices for the lead in Cutthroat Island. It would have been interesting to see one of the worst directors of our time direct one of the best actors.

It's way too early to seriously predict Oscar nominations but I will say that Ledger's Joker is probably the best villain in a movie based on a popular comic book. Really, it's no contest. The only one who's in the same ballpark IMHO is Alfred Molina in Spiderman 2

Someone suggested Angelina Jolie earlier and I wholeheartedly agree. She was born to play the part.

Is it wrong that my first reaction was "Damn, if I knew she was alive at the beginning of the year I would have picked her for the death pool?" Yes, it probably is. Ah well RIP. It wasn't her fault that Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot was one of the worst Stallone movies. Just for fun, let's look at the first user comment for aforementioned movie on IMDb User Comments (Comment on this title) <script type="text/javascript"> 9 out of 15 people found the following comment useful:- What the hell is wrong with you people?, 2 June 2005 Author: amos_mcelhone from Denmark It's actually quite a while since I watched this film, so I'm not sure, that I remember it right. And I've read your comments about the film. And my comment about your comments is: What the hell is wrong with you people? Stop Or my Mom Will Shoot, may not be very good film, but it's fun, and I was very good entertained by it. What the hell is wrong with you people? I know that it's not a film you would watch over and over again, like The Godfather, but it's good entertainment. And the acting is not boiling, but it's okay. Like it or not, I enjoyed watching this film!! That's right!! But I advice every people who gets the chance; give "Stop! Or My Mum Will Shoot" a chance! Freakin' give it a chance! Well, at least if you like action comedies!! Look it's the Danish Exslade! Even Stallone's admitted he wasn't very good entertained by it.

My picks; 1983-88 "Rowdy" Roddy Piper Vs Greg Valentine- Dog Collar Match Ric Flair Vs Harley Race Magnum T.A. Vs Tully Blanchard- "I Quit" match Rock 'N' Roll Express Vs The Andersons Sting and Dusty Rhodes Vs The Road Warriors (Not a great match, I grant you but ya gotta have some Dusty and some Road Warriors on here and this is the best option available for both) 1989-94 Sting Vs Ric Flair Doom Vs Arn Anderson and Barry Windham Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas Vs Brian Pillman and Barry Windham Sting Vs Vader Vader Vs Ric Flair 1995-the bitter end Lex Luger Vs Ric Flair Vs Sting Dean Malenko Vs Ultimo Dragon Hollywood Hogan Vs Sting Goldberg Vs Kevin Nash Shane Helms/Shannon Moore Vs The Jung Dragons Vs Jamie Noble/Evan Karagias

I was leaving the theater for Wall-E at around 9:15 tonight and there was already a line out the door for the 9:40 showing of The Dark Knight. Granted, it was $5 night but nobody ever comes to the movies thirty minutes earlier around here except dopes like me who like to sit in the theater and complain aboud how unfun "The Fun Facts" before the trailers are.