The Dames

In My Opinion. Dames

Heh, I didn't think anyone actually read the play by play. Dames

Thank you Bravesfan. As a matter of fact, I neglected to mention that ever since Cablevision took away the PPV Ordering Capabilities, ironically enough, the only thing that we CAN get are the WWE PPV's. They must be a big source of income for Cablevision so they've allowed those with analog boxes to "keep" it by having it share a channel with the Health Channel. Basically, on PPV nights, The Health Channel turns into the PPV channel for 6 hours, including the 3 hours for the replay. This is the only reason I'm even able to get the WWE PPV's. There have been a couple of times in the past where the PPV didn't even come in on time. Survivor Series as well as No Mercy came in an hour late for some reason, so I freaked out thinking that I wouldn't be able to review anything. Not only that, but it forced me to tape the replay, delaying my review even further as I try to get it done the same night. Dames

Everyone, Ever since I took on the task of reviewing TNA over a year ago, I've come to really enjoy it. Even when the product is bad, just knowing that my words are affecting other people and is being read by thousands is enough to keep me going. As many of you know, living in The Bronx, my cable system is Cablevision, which I hate with a passion since they have a tendency to screw over the customers. For example, over 3 million Bronx residents weren't able to watch their New York Yankees in 2002 because Cablevision couldn't work out a deal with the YES Network, causing tons of people to switch to satellite cable. Last October, four months since TNA started, Cablevision was one of the last PPV companies in the U.S. to start broadcasting TNA. Prior to that, I was traveling every Wednesday to my friend Jose's house in Harlem to order and tape the show, to come home and review it. However, Jose took up a job offer out of the state and that no longer became an option, so thankfully, Cablevision picked it up a few weeks later and I began to review the shows weekly without having to go through a lot of hassle to watch them. Then, sometime during the summer, with Cablevision introducing their new digital cable boxes a few months back, they decided to try and "persuade" those with analog boxes to switch to digital cable by taking away some of their options, such as PPV ordering capabilities. Basically, what that means is illegal cable box or not, if you don't have the digital cable boxes, you can't order any PPV's. Now, since I'm not in charge of making decisions in this household, it's not my call to say "well, lets get digital cable then". Basically, I brought up the suggestion and I was turned down because of the added expense, amongst other reasons. This lead me to work out a deal with TSM Forum member and 411 Writer Bob Barron. Bob goes to school in Toronto as many of you know, but lives in NYC during the summer time. Our arrangement was simple. He would tape the shows for me on Wednesday night, we'd meet up sometime on Thursday and I'd review the tape that night. Although I didn't pay him $10 every time we met up, I would pay him in lump sums so I wasn't screwing him out of anything. I knew this arrangement would have to come to an end when Bob went back to school in September, so I was dreading the end of the summertime as I'd really gotten into a groove and I'm now posting in TNA Diatribes on a few sites, such as Online Onslaught, Wrestling Headlines (Lords of Pain) and various wrestling message boards. Luckily, I was able to find another source. It turns out that my best friend had JUST gotten digital cable the week that Barron went back to school, so all seemed to be going well. Not only would I be able to watch TNA that Wednesday night, but that meant that my review would be going up earlier, which equals more reads. However, a new arrangement would have to be made with my best friends father, since I'd be ordering PPV and putting an extra 40 bucks on his cable bill. We struck an agreement that I'd pay for any TNA PPV's I ordered whenever the bill came. Things haven't exactly gone smoothly with his father and I, but for the most part, everything has worked out to a point. Then, a couple of weeks ago, his cable bill came in at a whopping 500 dollars. Now...I KNOW that I sure as hell didn't do it and judging from the times everything was ordered, it was clear that it was an error on Cablevision's fault. Calls were placed and Cablevision denied any problems and blamed it on the family, of course, being the fucking jerks that they are. Anyway, it was made perfectly clear to them that we were NOT the ones responsible as the PPV was actually ordering ITSELF somehow...which happened while they were on the line with customer service. Now, if you were Cablevision, what would you do? Fix it all, right? So, I head over today to tape TNA, thinking that everything has been fixed with the cable. Boy, was I wrong. Cablevision blocked all of the channels that can cause charges (PPV's, In Demand Channels, etc) until this matter can be resolved and my best friends father is STILL being charged the 500 bucks. Obviously, until this matter is resolved, I don't think I'll be able to tape TNA there and right now, I don't have any other options. I can't wait until I'm able to move out to my own place so I don't have to depend on anyone else for this. I'm really sorry. I genuinely enjoy reviewing shows, so not being dependable on writing them for you all legitimately bothers me. I've traveled through harsh weather and was planning on trekking through the snow when it starts to come down just to make sure that I'm able to see the show for you guys. This is something that I truly enjoy. I hope this doesn't cost me my spot on the other sites, but I can understand it if it does. I'll still be writing PPV Diatribes for WWE and Raw Diatribes and actually, this is one of the reasons why I've began to review Raw. Not only did we here at TSM need a new Raw recapper, but I figured that incase something like this would happen with TNA, I'd have something to fall back onto. I hope you'll all continue to read Dames' Diatribes...I just hope that I'm able to review TNA again sometime soon. Dames

While you might be right about Batista just being thrown out there as an opponent for Shawn, he's been getting decent reactions and rumor has it that WWE is high on him, so I wouldn't put it past them to have him go over Michaels on PPV and job on the TV rematch. Dames

I wouldn't be surprised with Batista getting the win at Armaggedon, extending the feud until possibly the Royal Rumble (or a Raw prior to it) with Michaels going over. Michaels tends to always be a big deal going into the Rumble match. Yes, I remember he was the first eliminated last year, but he WAS a focal point going in. Dames

Sorry about that Andrew. There was so much feedback in there (which I FUCKING APPRECIATE, thank you) that I forgot to answer the question. I think HBK can pull a *** out of Batista with no problem. People forget that he got a couple of passable to great matches out of Sid of all people. I'd say Batista is a better worker than Sid and that should amount for something, even if HBK isn't the same worker he used to be in '96. Dames

I marked out every time I saw Bret Hart. Even when he was feuding with Will Sasso. Goddammit...Will Sasso. The first time I ever saw Hatred at CZW's Cage of Death 3, I marked out HARD. He came in, looked totally badass and scary and destroyed EVERYTHING. Dames

OMG. How could you not notice it on his PHAT ASS Leather Chair? Yes, it is indeed on the money clip as I do have the collector's edition. Dames

Oh...don't worry, that's going into the Diatribe in some form or fashion next week. Dames

Sorry, I haven't been online in a bit. I recognized the continuity when Bischoff mentioned Foley and Kane's history the first time over, but when actually reviewing the show (skimming through the tape the second time to flesh out my thoughts), I forgot. Dames

Actually, in my defense, he reference the real Johnnie Cochrane while I referenced the parody of Johnnie Cochrane without mentioning him by name. Dames

NOOOO!!!! Dames

I'd like your thoughts Dames

Get it straight, Puffy's peak was clearly in 1997. He practically dropped out of the public's eye musically during his trial in 99/2000 and came back strong in 2001, but he's not NEARLY as big as he was in '97 when Bad Boy ruled the radio. Dames

You guys are so late. That's what my niece asked me for Christmas last year. I took a look at it and laughed in her face. She's 7, so it's ok. I got her something else, obviously.

Let them all have their fun Banky. It'll all be over very soon, you know that.

Trust me when I tell you that you won't.

Oh come on, ECW Heatwave '98, Barely Legal '97 and Anarchy Rulz '99 were better than all of those AND some PPV's this year. I wouldn't call those PPV's bad by any means.

Better yet, they should just give the woman a free shopping spree. It would be a hell of a lot cheaper than paying litigation fees. Dames

I was in the arena that night and he received a tremendous pop live, which is usual for Triple H regardless of whether or not he's a face or a heel, but I vividly remember the "Tri-pul H" chant. It was the first time I had ever heard it from a crowd prior to or during a match, so I would say that you're right on this one. Dames

Well, the problem is that I've already got the Alien Legacy 4-Disc set, so I would hate to double dip without getting rid of the old set. I don't know anyone who would buy it from me though. I'd rather not go through the hassle of Ebay right now. Dames

You want to take over one of my folders? How about addressing this with me before assuming you could. Dames

...I completely forgot about potato chips. Wow. Dames

As a Yankee fan, this is my only retort. Fuck. Dames