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That's just embarrassing . . . it's no wonder WCW went in the freakin' toilet. I can deal with three or four title changes in a year, but 24? That's almost one every two weeks. Of course, if you remember, Russo had a hard-on for title changes when he was in WWF(E) . . . I seem to remember the Intercontinental title changing like 15 times or something during 1999, and going on several undeserving wrestlers to boot.

They can't use Jesse's voice. Not sure if you bought Foley'd DVD but his match with Vader, you only hear Tony talking though Ventura did commentary on it. Same thing with Foley vs. Sting on the DVd, notice Foley and Coach did commentary, that's because Jesse was on that one too with Jim Ross. They can use Jesse's voice as long as it meets two requirements: A) It's not a WCW match and B) It's a match that has previously been released at some point on a WWF(E) video or DVD release. The commentary may likely be an "alternate commentary" choice rather than deleting the original commentary altogether, or maybe they just decided to give another perspective on the match.

MIZ! Yeah, I flipped by reruns of Real World/Road Rules Challenge a couple of days ago, and he's on there this season too. Damn, he's getting more TV time than a lot of established celebs right now . . . . He's not gonna win Tough Enough, unless the voting is rigged. I think Puder has got it, but damn, I hope Puder doesn't have to do many promos on the mic, he's dreadful. Let him be the "Silent Killer" or something of the sort.

Meh, I was hoping for just a bit more, even though it is the Turkey Day show. I've got tickets to Armageddon, so I was at least hoping for one or two more match announcements to add to the whopping two-match card they've got right now. So in that regard, I'm disappointed. But in their defense, the Thanksgiving show is usually always a crap/placeholder show, expecting minimal ratings.

I think last night's angle on SD! pulled it all together since JBL's title victory in June, and believe it or not, I'm looking forward to the Armageddon main event moreso than any ME since Backlash. The angle is simple (he's screwed everyone since winning the title, so now he's paying the price), but I thought it was an effective way to deal with the criticism that he's not won cleanly yet. And my personal feeling, to further develop the character and keep things going, is that he should lose the title without even being involved in the pinfall. An ironic outcome for someone who's screwed all three guys before, to me, is the only way to go. Let him gripe and moan to Teddy Long for the next few weeks about getting screwed out of the title . . . and Teddy keeps telling him to "get 'ta steppin'" I see a US title reign from JBL in the future, as Teddy finally relents to giving him a title match, just not the one he bargained for. It's the first show in a while where the outcome of the title match is completely up in the air. Let's face it, most of us knew that Booker wasn't gonna get the title back at SurSer, and the previous PPV's were pretty much foregone conclusions as well. We all are pretty much sure that JBL's losing at Armageddon, but to whom? My prediction - Eddie pins Booker for the title - then defends (and loses) the strap to Angle at the Rumble (or No Way Out at the latest), setting up the rumored Angle/UT title match for WM21. No Way Out would be fairly appropriate for Angle, since it's at the Igloo in Pittsburgh.

I have seen all of those Hogan title defenses, multiple times over, and they are outstanding matches, no doubt. I'm just saying that from a "Big Man" perspective as it relates to the WWF/E title, I personally don't think that JBL is all that different (better OR worse) than any of the larger champs. I don't think his matches have been atrociously bad, and given the right opponent (such as Eddie Guerrero), they're actually fairly decent. Not saying it's right for him to have a long and storied title reign . . . just saying that, as "Hoss Champs" go, I don't think he's all that bad. To me, it's the comedic gimmick that's the problem, thus making him an iffy champion at best. And in no way am I comparing the greatness of his matches to past champs like Hogan and Warrior, none of JBL's matches have even come close. But as a hoss goes, JBL isn't all that bad - what can I say, I guess he's grown on me . . . I was pretty pissed when he first won the title, and I still have mixed emotions about it, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I know that makes no sense, but that's how I feel about it. It's my own damned opinion, I know . . . . go ahead and flame me :-)

Think about it this way . . . . if the Honky Tonk Man had become WWF Champ back in the late '80's, what would the main event scene be like? Much the same as JBL, Honky was good for an entertaining, albeit comedic match, and never really decisively defeated any opponents. Would HTM's character fit the mold of a WWF Champion? I don't think so . . . . . and it's the same type of deal with JBL. JBL's matches have largely been entertaining, but not on a "dramatic main event" level, but more on a mid-card/maybe semi-main-event level. I think he'd be a fantastic US champion, especially with the Dallas-esque gimmick and a "Chief of Staff" that's constantly saving his ass. But as a WWE champ, I'm just not buying the credibility. I think he was on to something right before the Great American Bash when he was madder than hell - I think he could've played off of that situation to become a more aggressive champ. But soon afterward, he went back to the same comedic gimmick he still has today. In his defense, he's really done the most with what he's been given. And let's face it, if you'd been in the business for 10+ years, and the creative team decided to put the title on you (no matter the gimmick), would you say no? I'm honestly OK with JBL as champ from a wrestling perspective - after all, we endured Diesel, Yokozuna, Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, etc. as champ - none of which, IMO, are any better than JBL wrestling-wise. But from a "gimmick" perspective, it's just been an odd fit. That's my two-cents worth . . . well, more like 40 or 50 cents, I guess LOL

I like it as well, I think it looks much more professional than the last design Hopefully they'll keep this one more than a few months.

I don't think it was the worst PPV ever, by any stretch, but it wasn't good either. HHH/HBK was an OK match, as was Jericho/Benjamin. But the rest rode somewhere between mediocre and not-so-good.

Knowing that our local Wal-Mart almost always has the newest WWE DVD's on the release date (at least for the last year or so), I headed to Wally-World this morning to purchase the Unforgiven '04 DVD scheduled to be released today. I got there and, alas, no Unforgiven. I was kinda shocked, it seemed like they'd become a fairly reliable and inexpensive source for the WWE shows recently. I checked FYE in our local mall and they had it, but at $24.99. I refuse to pay that, considering Wal-Mart and online stores like DeepDiscountDVD.com usually have it at a must more reasonable price ($13-$15). DeepDiscountDVD doesn't have it listed either. Kinda strange. So, has anyone seen it at their local Wal-Mart? Just kinda curious as to whether it's just the ones around this area, or whether most of them don't have this release.

Yeah, I checked our Best Buy as well . . . they don't have Unforgiven '04, nor do they have SummerSlam '04 OR Benoit's set (or WM XX for that matter). But, they have about 9 copies of the Tenth Anniversary RAW and about 6 of the latest Divas DVD, plus the Great American Bash '04 and Bad Blood '04. No rhyme or reason whatsoever. FYE has the best selection, but they rip you a new asshole with their prices. I honestly don't see how entertainment stores like that maintain enough business to stay open, when you can buy stuff so much cheaper at a major discount store or online. Anyway, that's another rant :-)

Note: Do not press the button like a retarded kid. I pressed Submit ONE TIME - the screen froze for about a minute before it actually told me the post was submitted, so I'm not sure what happened. I was in the process of emailing one of the mods and letting them know what had happened. But thank you for being a complete and utter ass and calling me retarded. I've posted on here before, and I know how it works. I'm so glad, though, there's wonderful people like you on here to belittle and berate someone over something that was a complete accident. What a dickweed . . . .

We're thick in the Russo era in WWF. Fresh off of the epic "Greater Power" angle, and Stone Cold and the McMahons are feuding over the ownership of WWF. First up for the tournament is X-Pac vs. Hardcore Holly. It's nothing really offensive, but it might as well be the typical Raw match that was 3 minutes or less. Holly is DQ'd for using a chair. Next up is the infamous Kane-Big Show match. Pretty much what you'd expect from the two: crap. Suddenly, after a ref bump, Kane locks Show in a one handed choke that goes over 2 MINUTES. At first, the crowd is cheering on Show to make a comeback, but after a minute, everyone turns on the match completely. Kane later advances with a chairshot. Backstage, Shamrock has been sitting in the middle of the floor for the entire PPV with his dreaded internal injuries (blood from the mouth, of course). His match with Billy Gunn is next, feel the excitement. The referee says Gunn is the winner when Shamrock is being beaten so badly, especially after that sit-down powerbomb! The last quarterfinal: Road Dogg vs. Chyna! Finally, a match that goes 13+ minutes.. too bad that it's basically nothing but stalling. Road Dogg wins when Chyna hurts her hand by trying to lowblow him, only to hit the "metal" cup. Oh, the irony! To be fair, the Hardy Boyz-Edge & Christian match isn't bad. They were given no time, and it was just filler for a match that was supposed to happen on Heat. Billy Gunn vs. Kane in the semi's is another horrible match, and Road Dogg & X-Pac have a basic 3 minute match. Undertaker vs. The Rock is about 20 minutes of garbage. Unfortunately, it was the only WWF Title match that would've made sense at the time since the only other top face was Austin, who would actually win the belt back the next night. Taker tries to use the dreaded ETHER, but Rock reverses it and uses it on Taker. HHH interferes on the Corporation's behalf, and Taker retains. Billy Gunn is crowned KOTR after beating X-Pac in another short match, and the phrase, "Billy Gunn'ing the KOTR" is born a few years later when Edge wins. Billy Gunn will likely go down as the second worst KOTR ever, after Mabel of course. At least Edge had decent matches mostly, and he did get a good push for a while before his injury. Shamrock's win in 1998 was just really forgettable, and it was rarely even acknowledged. The main event... Steve Austin vs. Vince & Shane McMahon in a Ladder match, for ownership of the WWF! Shane was "injured" earlier on Heat by Shamrock, though, so Vince brings Steve Blackman out as his suitable replacement. I will admit that as a rabid Blackman fan, I mark out for this moment. Commissioner HBK sends Blackman packing though and brings Shane back out. Damnit. This is the MOTN, and the only match to even break one star, IMO, with **1/4! It's mostly just Austin kicking the McMahons asses with some fun spots thrown in, like the entrance set of ladders collapsing on the McMahons. In the end, Austin reaches for the briefcase hanging high, but it moves up! WHO MOVED THE BRIEFCASE!? It's a question that is still asked today, although most believe it was actually the Big Boss Man, who was kicked out of the Corporation the Raw previous, only to rejoin the next night. The WWF never directly acknowledged this again. The McMahon's outsmart Austin and win. End show. Not a single match except the ladder match breaks one star in rating, and it's just 3 hours of boredom. If you want to know how bad this show is, I have two words for ya... KING ASS. I actually went to this show in person - and if you think it's bad watching it at home, it was REALLY BAD watching it at the arena. At least, on PPV, you have commentary that can make things somewhat entertaining . . . at the arena, it was the most boring live event I've ever been to - bar none - and the only entertaining "commentary" came from fans around me that were as appalled as I was that we'd paid hard-earned money to watch this tripe. If it means anything, I went to a WCW house show in Feb. 2001 that was twenty times better than this atrocity.

Probably. Amish in the City and America's Next Top Model both do better ratings than Smackdown, have more of a mainstream buzz and don't have the negative stigma that Wrestling has. Not really in the case of the former. "Amish in the City" fell off sharply in ratings after a strong opening. "America's Next Top Model" is still doing okay. I wouldn't be surprised though if "WWE Smackdown" does get cancelled. The negative stigma among ad buyers is real. UPN just can't get the ad money for "WWE Smackdown" that it can now get for other shows with equivalent ratings. Network fall 2004 ad rates, courtesy of The Futon Critic... Problem here is, I don't think UPN has any shows with "equivalent ratings" to Smackdown - Thursday night is pretty much the ONLY night of the week that UPN doesn't finish last in the network Nielsen's (sometimes even finishing ahead of FOX and the WB on Thursdays). Smackdown is a pretty big staple of UPN's schedule, and I would think that they'll be interested in keeping it when renewal time rolls around.

Well, "technically" that doesn't count, since that wasn't the end of the PPV. The Goldberg/Hennig match was before the main event, if I'm not mistaken. I just watched it about a week ago, I could have sworn it was the end. Maybe that's just where I stopped watching. Nope . . . . Hogan/Rodman vs. DDP/Malone was the main event for that show. But you're right about the Goldberg/Hennig match sucking fairly badly - Hennig deserved a bit better than a four-minute squash in a World title match. Then again, SO MANY wrestlers deserved a bit better than the shit sandwiches they were dished out while working for WCW.

Well, "technically" that doesn't count, since that wasn't the end of the PPV. The Goldberg/Hennig match was before the main event, if I'm not mistaken.

I sometimes agree with that, but in the age of 14 PPV's a year, it's hard to keep a feud going without the occasional DQ ending. When there were only 5 PPV's a year, a DQ ending was just inexcusable, but with the current product, I think it's more acceptable sometimes, if not necessary. I really don't mind it too badly as long as A) the match itself was at least watchable, and B) the ending helps to advance the storyline to an even more watchable match at a future PPV.

I really like the US belt for some reason . . . most people absolutely hate it, but I think it's a unique design that "stands out" from the rest of the belts. The lack of gold on it doesn't really bother me, for some reason, I think it just kinda works the way it is. The current WWE title belt is horrid. It's nowhere near as classy as the Winged Eagle from 88-98, or even the Big Eagle from 98-2002

Uncensored '96 Doomsday Cage Match That's all that has to be said.

Since Cena's gonna be gone filming a movie, they had to get the title off of him somehow . . . . but Carly Colon? I guess I'll reserve judgment until I see the match and/or see how this push goes as the weeks pass. I've yet to see him wrestle, dark match or otherwise, but I've been told he's fairly good in the ring, and it looks as if he'll be OK on the mic, so maybe this won't be such a bad thing. What can it hurt? Put Colon in a feud with Booker T or something of the sort until Cena comes back . . . it'll at least be something fresh, as long as Colon can work and be accepted by the fans.

So, what I'm wondering is this . . . . Since HBK is in the World title "chase" at Taboo Tuesday, his natural opponent otherwise at this point would be Christian. So, if HBK doesn't win the poll, will he not wrestle at all, or will he be thrown in a last-minute match with Christian? It seems that the guys that don't win the voting will either not be involved in a match at the PPV, or they'll be put into a match during Heat or something, and I find it rather unbelievable that they would have a PPV and have most of their top guys NOT appear just because they didn't win the fan polls. I kinda like the concept of the show, but it just seems like it'll be chaos figuring out what to do with all of these guys that don't win the fan voting. Am I crazy or did that make any sense?

Supposed to be re-released on Sept. 28, but apparently DeepDiscountDVD.com already has a new shipment of them in. Don't know if that means anything. I think I'm gonna wait 'til Mid-Late October to buy mine, just to make sure all the crap ones have been removed from shelves.

Maybe a little generous, but I enjoyed the hell out of the show . . . . it was definitely a ton better than some of the crap we've been dished out in recent months. Austin/Rock may not have been anything too unique, but the match was solid and, IMO, just as good as what we saw at WM19 from these two. I liked the show, what can I say? Minimum crap + solid wrestling + a couple of decent extras = a DVD worth owning, especially when you can find it a lot of times in $5 bins at your local chain pharmacy/Walmart/Kmart, or on half.com for next to nothing.

Rebellion 2001 is actually a really good show, I'd recommend picking it up if you can find it - Rock/Austin in a **** match, Angle/Jericho was roughly ***1/2, Edge/Christian in a cage at about ***1/2, plus as an extra, it's got Rock regaining the WCW belt from Jericho on RAW in a really good match . . . . it's probably the best international show that WWE has done, save for One Night Only.

Exactly, it would be somewhere near the **** to ****1/2-star range, which makes Shane vs. Kane a MUST SEE on the Unforgiven '03 DVD. But that's not all, you've got a **** women's tag team match, a ***1/2 to **** Steiner/Test match, and the only match to ever hit a 50-star rating (if my math is correct) in Goldberg/HHH. It's THE MATCH OF THE AGES, folks. You won't get any better than the Goldberg/HHH match in terms of awesome workrate, FANTASTIC crowd reaction . . . it's simply one of the most technically sound matches of our era, period. Screw WM XX, WM X-7, Canadian Stampede, and Backlash 2000. THIS is the best PPV in the history of our great Universe, people. Can't you hear what our good friend at Amazon is trying to tell us? If you put Flair, Steamboat, Angle, Benoit, Guerrero, HBK, Bret Hart, and Austin in a one-night tournament for the Undisputed Championship of the World, and broadcast it around the world on PPV, it STILL wouldn't be nearly as great as Unforgiven 2003 was. It is, quite simply put, THE measuring stick by which all other PPV's . . . nay, all other forms of entertainment, period, should be compared to.