King Cucaracha

Ooh, while I think about it...where the hell are The Bashams. Last I saw, Doug was getting a moderate push on Velocity as "The Bash-man"...which was only slightly less crap than "The Con-man". And Danny was some sort of mysterious guy with face paint on Heat. Then, they both seemed to disappear. Did I miss their names on a release list...or are they just stuck in OVW?

My guess? They wait until someone anti-drugs pisses them off, then they call up Punk and have him parody them simply because they can. Just have him go around randomly accusing people of steriod abuse (hey, they could nickname him "TSM", eh?) which starts a whole bunch of feuds with the Lashleys and the Chris Masters of the WWE. Hell, they could team him with Simon Dean. They'd be booked roughly with the same strength.

I still don't buy Rey as Heavyweight Champion. The structure of Rey matches mean he's on the defensive for 80-90% of his matches, against everyone. He's the natural babyface in peril. Having a guy who gets beaten up for the majority of every match and is always at a disadvantage as the World Champion? Not convincing. They can't team him with guys like Batista and Taker during his reign, because people will just say 'well, why is Batista teaming with Rey when he could kick his ass just like *that*?' I still don't buy it. And besides that, the idea Vince would put the belt on Rey in the first place is pretty funny. When was the last time Rey was in US Title contention, let alone the World Title?

Pretty much. People jumped on the bandwagon is spectacular style the moment he landed in the thumbtacks at Backlash. The Evolution turn was met with mark outs from pretty much everyone on the board. But then the anti-Orton stuff started up as soon as his face run bombed and people jumped on that bandwagon. I've got no problems with Orton as a heel. He's hardly a 'terrible' wrestler like the 'haterz' say he is...infact, it's safe to say the people who don't like him over-react far more than those who do. I can't wait for him to win the title, if only for the bitchfest that'll commence here.

Thank you, fog! The ref for the United/Villareal game tonight was a disgrace. Why is it that referees can't tell when players are blatantly diving and play-acting, when however many thousand were at the game could?

Recently, times have been tough for Landon Maddix. Another show, another loss. And it's beginning to get to the point of too serious to ignore. After all, it was only a year or so ago that he was the World Heavyweight Champion of the SWF. And now, he's unable to beat the talented but inconsistant Stryke and a rusty, former indy wrestler turned movie 'star', Wes Davenport? Serious? Yes. But need to be laid out on a leather couch and talking about his problems? Well, apparantly so. "This year has been tough." sighs Maddix, wiping the hair from his eyes. "No, wait, scratch that...this year has sucked. It's been downhill ever since February and it's just getting worse by the week. Heh...and to think, this was supposed to be my year. My new beginning. The SWF under MY era. That was the hype. Beating Toxxic last Christmas put me on the top of the pile and suddenly, everything was perfect. The perfect end to the perfect year. January 14th, I lost the World Title to Sacred. To be honest, looking back, I shouldn't have been surprised. Sacred's always been...a bogey opponent of mine. I lost to him in my first SWF match and it stuck from there, though I was never a regular opponent of his, in the back of my mind. Sacred's too good for you. Sacred's better than you. I'd beaten all that...I beat him, won the Cold Front Classic against him. Too complacent. That was the start." Looking up, Maddix wipes a wry smile from his face. "Sure, I won the Clusterfuck. A big honour, huge accolade. I etched my name in history that night. A second chance. From The Fire, everything started to go backwards again. One step forwards, two steps back. I went backwards against Sacred...and then, it was as if Slay Ride had never happened. Toxxic was suddenly a worry again. If not for losing the World Title, I might have been okay you know. Fear wasn't a problem until then because I had all the confidence in the world and I was able to fall back on everything I'd ever done in the past, everyone I'd ever beaten, everything I'd ever accomplished. Then, it hit me. History doesn't mean jack. Toxxic beat me. He nearly broke my damn neck. I got over that. But I'd lost something. I had something over Toxxic from Slay Ride...mentally. That went and so did my confidence with it. I asked not to go after the World Title..." Maddix sighs deeply. "...I pleaded. Damn it, I fucking begged them not to put me in another match with Toxxic. Because my confidence was shot to bits. Toxxic didn't cripple me physically. He managed to cripple me mentally though. So I went for the second prize. I went after Johnny Dangerous. Let's face it, if I couldn't beat Dangerous, it was all over for me because I was always, always, able to pull out the victory against Johnny when it mattered. You know, I was so close to quitting back then...losing to Dangerous would have tipped me over the edge. But I beat him. The third chance. I had the International Title. You know, I held the ICTV Title for 138 Days. Two short of the record reign the company had ever seen at that time. Maybe something like that would have helped me out. Maybe that would have...I dunno...made up for From The Fire in some way." A shake of the head. "Five days. FIVE...days. I don't know to this day what was more embarrassing. Losing the World Title so quickly, nearly getting crippled trying to win it back...or losing the 'secondary' title in under a week. Third chance, gone. Strike three." Holding up three fingers to signify his point, Maddix again wipes the hair from his eyes. "Maybe then, the writing was on the wall. Maybe I was just too stupid to see it...or, just too ignorant and proud to take any notice of it. Suddenly, it all came flooding back. Fear. Fear of failure. So I fell back on someone else and went after the Tag Titles. Looking back, that was just as damaging as losing would have been. Suddenly, the threads all came loose and everything unravelled until I was left with nothing. World Title? Gone. International Title? Gone. Tag Titles? Gone. My stable, my tag partner, my manager...all gone. I was clinging on to everything that I had left from last year in the hope that eventually, it'll all go back to normal. I was in denial. 'As long as I have Martial Law, I'll be fine', I'd tell myself. 'As long as Megan's there, everything's okay.' 'She's my good luck charm'. Ha! Some good luck charm...she was just something to cling onto from the past, pretending that everything was still the same. Once I lost the Tag Titles and Martial Law fell apart, she was all I had left from Slay Ride. From 2004. Without Megan, I was nothing. When Cortez beat me at Genesis, I couldn't deny it anymore. I was going backwards." Sitting up, Maddix holds his head in his hands. "And now, I sit here...and I'm actually afraid. I beat Max King so many times in 2004, I've lost count. I beat him time after time. I beat him in Dumpster Matches. I beat him in Cage Matches. I beat him in straight up, singles matches. But...this isn't 2004. And I'm afraid of Max King. Just like I was afraid of Sacred. Just like I was afraid of Toxxic. I know I can beat him, because I've done it before. It should be no problem. Confidence should be flowing through my veins at the thought of facing Max King. It's not." At this time, the camera pans up. Far from conducting this conversation with a physiciatrist or a doctor, Maddix is actually talking to his two stablemates. One, the International Champion, Jay Hawke. The other, the Cruiserweight Champion, JJ Johnson. Neither of them looking too enthraled with Maddix's story, but both listening anyway. "So, why do you think you're going to lose to Max King?" asks Hawke finally. "I dunno...I just do." "Yeah, but why?" "Because it'd be just my luck, the way this ye..." Hawke interrupts Maddix with a raised hand, prompting Maddix to sit up. "There's your problem. It's nothing to do with 'luck'. It's confidence. And the reason your confidence is so low is because you haven't got Megan Skye to fall back on when your Plan A fails. So, the solution is pretty obvious..." "Find another rat to stick in my corner and help me cheat?" Shaking his head, Hawke immediately puts out any enthusiasm Maddix had found. "No...you need to be confident that you can win without Megan Skye, or any blonde bimbo for that matter. Me and JJ manage without valets and escorts. You just need another Plan B. Infact, now that I think of it, you'd be best served with a new Plan A as well." "Like what?" asks Maddix, sounding unconvinced. "Well, the problem is, your style isn't exactly foolproof. High flying is all-well and good, don't get me wrong. But you have to learn to play your averages. I watch you in the ring and some of the things you do look more damaging than they actually are. You need to eliminate the flash and go with something that works. Pure wrestling for example. Or maybe something more along JJ's path. Shoot wrestling. A more MMA influenced style." Maddix muses over what Hawke has suggested... ...and bursts into laughter. A little disconcerted, Hawke turns around...to find that JJ Johnson is also smirking away, not risking his throat with actual laughter but still able to see the funny side of Jay's suggestion. "I thought you said you've seen me wrestle!" splutters Maddix in the middle of his laughter. "Me? Pure wrestling? Mixed Martial Arts!?! Don't you think I would if I COULD? Being a cheating, scheming luchador is all I know!" "I know. So, me and JJ are going to teach you different." Suddenly, JJ doesn't find this situation quite so funny, looking at Hawke as if he's lost his mind. But Hawke seems totally serious as he nods to JJ. Meanwhile, Maddix too has stopped laughing. The thought of Landon Maddix, Technical Shoot Fighter should be funny. Hell, there's probably plenty of people hearing this that are in fits of laughter thinking about the mere possibility. Landon isn't one of them though. After all, it's ridiculous. As if he could win a match wrestling the way Jay or JJ do. HA! But, then again, it's not like he's winning as it is. "You're serious?" "Deadly." "...then I guess we'd better get started, because you've got a LOT of work to do."

RODEZ I'm thankful that vasectomy procedures are scientifically proven, 99% accurate. *thumbs up* WRIGHT On this national day of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my superior intellect and my unquestioned morality.

Crap. Is there any way you can sub me out for someone, because I'm going to need this show off. I would have PMed, if could have got on last night. I've got two promos going up (pre-written) and I'll be fine for the next show...but having a match this week really screws up what I'm supposed to be doing.

He'd just miss out. If he could play on the left hand side, maybe. But central midfield is another of England's pleasant headaches, like centre-back. True. Michael Carrick would have a case too for central midfield. In other news, I benched Henri Camara out of my fantasy team because Wigan were playing Arsenal. And sure enough, he goes and scores. So I miss out on points from him unless Nolan doesn't play tonight. Just my luck.

Eh, same difference.

I did it the cheap way... I've also never seen the computer do it, so what you do is put in a second player and have him steal the taunt (should be a long one, just in case), and then you, the first player, interrupt. Hmm, I didn't know you could do that. Urge to cheat...rising. Yeah. Not the same, I know, but I'm used to stopping to breath from FirePro on the GBA, so it's no big deal to me. Haven't tried it without yet.

SS 89 was all right at the start of the show.

Exactly what I was going to say. Cena's always going to be a heel over here, character change or not.

Nice to see Alpay's got his head together since leaving Villa and has finally become such a sportsmanlike, civilised human being. Good for him. 'Boose...you missed the memo about Kevin Nolan for England, I see. Also, according to the 'sheets', Ballack is on his way to Real Madrid. Further proving that Man United aren't a big team anymore. Bad news...we don't get Ballack. Good news...maybe now, United fans won't be labelled Glory Hunters and instead be labelled Glory Dreamers as we currently are.

They could always just 're-release' Cheating Death, Stealing Life with a bonus disk that maybe includes the tribute matches on RAW and SD amongst other stuff. And, maybe an adjusted title, considering. And give the proceeds to a charity Eddie would have or did support in some way.

Aside from the who should win, who shouldn't win arguement...they never should have made Christian vs. Monty Brown, because it's likely going to be a mediocre match at best. Monty is awful in the ring. I'm sorry, but over or not, putting the World Title on Monty Brown does not make TNA an alternative to the WWE. It just says 'hey, we can put the belt on a charismatic, bigman, one move wonder who sucks in the ring too'. And that's all I see in Monty Brown. The Pounce. And that's it. If they want to make him World Champion, they need to have workers in there who can cover up his limitations and carry him to good matches BEFORE he does his big move. I like Christian. I really do. But Christian, I don't think, will be that guy or should be that guy. The best way Christian can make Monty look good is to bump his ass off for the first 3-4 minutes, then cheat to gain the advantage before Monty makes a comeback. Or, in other words, exactly the same formula that was holding Christian back in the WWE. Instead of coming to TNA and having his first big match and being able to relax and concentrate on putting on a great show...he has to carry a worthless lug. Win or lose, they're already messing up Christian's debut in the company by even booking the match, because his first match is going to blow absolutely nobody away and he'll go back to being the guy that nobody liked because he did too many chinlocks. The worst thing about the match is...I don't care who wins or who loses. I don't care who it'll hurt more. I don't care, because I wouldn't pay to watch Christian vs. Monty Brown. Well, it worked with Rhyno and Jarrett. Oh. Wait.

I'm one Challenge away from completing the Amateur Challenge Set...and it's to interrupt a Stolen Taunt, which the computer NEVER does. Never seen it done, in Season Mode, GM Mode, anywhere. Frustrating.

Thanks for the feedback, Judgems. Duly noted. I figured you might have been there, which is why you knew about it and chose it for the match, so I tried to be a bit too realistic. Also part of the reason why I no-showed Mall Brawl back in the day.

Somebody booked a triple threat match? Holy crap! Judge = retro booker.

Okay, so the idea is we want a little quote from as many superstars as we can get on what they're thankful for on this Thanksgiving. A Survivor Series '89 retro flashback kinda dealy. So, rather than sending a whole bunch of PMs or making a whole bunch of threads, we might as well collect them here. Whoever's posting the show can put any from non Mods in here too if it's easier.

9 from moi. Awesome show, whole bunch of great matches and Patty's continuing bringing of teh awesome. Apologies for my rush job ending but...well, I'm a lazy asswipe who spent all week writing an SWF match that didn't even win. So sue me, and stuff. Match Of The Night: Zack vs. Brock Line Of The Night: "Did you know Taco Bell in sign language is just pointing behind you at the Taco Bell across the strip club? I didn't.", Alex Spezia

I think Prazak called it "American Strong Style". I think he was joking somewhat when he said it too, though I can't remember the actual quote. He certainly didn't have his 'serious voice' on when he said it. Trouble is, that's what most US Indy fans already think, certainly before Prazak said that. Because most fans bastardised the term Strong Style as soon as hitting people real hard in the face got popular on the indies. Ask most wrestling fans what Strong Style is and I doubt the majority would even mention Japanese wrestling. The term has been used loosely for a long time by a lot of people. And besides that, I'm not sure Ian could get 8 guys who work/try to work a 'full Strong Style' like Romero, Joe and...say, BJ Whitmer. Anyway, should be a fun enough show, so long as they put the right guys through first round. Corp and Necro would make a decent first round match but with all due respect, I wouldn't want any more of Corp than that. As long as they stick Joe and Necro together somewhere and maybe Strong/Joe II (?) or Kingston/Hero XXXVIII in, it should be good.

Duggan joining Team Canada. Why!?!

For anyone who hasn't unlocked the CAW movesets yet... - The Lungblower is in. Backbreaker 14, but it's only a finisher I think. - Regal Cutter is in. - Ego Trip is in. - There's another Shining Wizard animation beside Hurricane's that has a Japanese type of name and it's more of a knee to the face than kick to the back of the head. Very cool. - Novacaine is in...which is basically a third version of the Downward Spiral. - Styles Clash isn't re-animated - There a couple of new moves as well as those.

Field hockey?