cawthon777

Pointless? I thought everyone here was at least partially blaming the loss of the IC title as a reason why Raw sucks. I'm all for bringing it back - mid carders need it.

Maybe it's just me looking at the show through mark-colored glasses but aside from the far too lengthy Nash / Triple H brawl (which was laughable), I didn't think the show was all that bad. It might have been predictable in spots but when has wrestling not been predictable? I'm noticing a lot more structure to the shows as of late. By hyping the matches for the following week and stretching out rivalries (Goldberg / Christian, Steiner / Frenchies, etc) they're giving us a reason to tune in - which is a great move considering the shape they're in.

Well Rey lost the belt in October 96 so it would have to be before that. I'm thinking either Hog Wild (which was, partly, shown for free on WCW Main Event to hype the PPV) or the before mentioned Nitro. Both were title defenses for Rey (Mysterio never won a belt off Ultimo in WCW). They had a match at World War 3 that year with the Dragon winning.

Any random PPV from 89-92. <---- Marks out for the action figure commercials at the beginning. Piper: "YOU HEAR THE REAL VOICE OF HULK HOGAN AND THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR! EACH SAYS SIX FIGHTING PHRASES!" Savage: "I CHALLENGE YOU, WARRIOR!" Electronic Warrior: "I ACCEPT THE ULTIMATE CHALLENGE!" *footage of Warrior pounding Savage is shown ... Savage cringes on the screen*

I'm not insulted by the whole Hogan issue. They did the same thing with Andre in 86 when he was Giant Machine and if he were to be unmasked as Andre he'd be suspended (like no one knew who it was).

That was the Havoc 96 match - which was equally awesome.

I LOVED the GAB 96 match with Malenko. The Nitro match, which took place at Disney / MGM the day after BATB, wasn't bad but I get distracted by all the uber marks that showed up.

Second episode of the Action Zone. Bret vs. Owen in Owen's last title match was on the first episode (which aired the same day as Havoc 94, if memory serves).

About a third of Wrestlefest was cut from the CHV. My best guess is because no CHV at the time ran 3hrs and they could use the other matches to sell future video tapes (like Macho Maddness). I believe a few others were aired shortly thereafter on Prime Time.

It was at a TV taping, in Ft. Wayne, IN specifically. They taped one of the Main Event episodes the same night - Warrior vs. Dibiase was the title match. I want early singles HBK, like 92-93, vs. Jannetty, Razor, Perfect, Martel, Bret, hell - even Virgil. I mark out for Sherri's theme.

I'd prefer they hold off on Benoit / Brock until Summer Slam but ... it has potential.

If Vince read that he'd assume you meant Hogan. *shudder* I think "Mr. America" will be involved with Piper. *gag* And what would that make Piper, Mr. Iraq? Best thing to do with Hogan / Piper is to spread it out. Have each guy work programs with others and then bring them together at ... oh ... WrestleMania. Or even a little earlier at Summer Slam. If Show doesn't get the title shot (which is a good thing and could only increase buyrates and attendance), the only other WORTHY contender I can think of is Benoit. Albert sucks beyond words, Rhyno hasn't been properly built, same with Matt and Eddie. Taker ... eh, I suppose they could hot shot a program there but I'd rather not see it.

Whoohoo!

...I laughed my ass off when he called Sting "sunshine" in 96.

Yeah, it was very controversial at the time and even I thought it was a little over the line. Of course this was 1998 and the WWF was going so far over the line then that they pushed it back about 10 feet.

I think that took place last week because there was no record of it when I checked the schedule this weekend.

Steal the line from Bret Hart in Wrestling in Shadows where he's comparing wrestling to Shawshank Redeption and how he has the warden (Vince) in his back pocket. Can he get out of the business and stay out? ... etc

The APA were the #1 contenders in January 00 but the Hardyz and E & C were regularly challenging for the titles during the same time period. I believe Matt & Jeff had a cage match with the Outlaws on Smackdown! shortly before Thanksgiving.

I hope not.

Gotta love the WWE historians... O'Haire & Palumbo didn't lose the WCW tag straps to the APA at Invasion. That was a non-title champions vs. champions match.

Worcester, Mass ... Centrum

I think it might have had something to do with the Outlaws being the tag champs. Maybe Steph was trying to eliminate the competition.

They've included that in the end credits for almost as long as the show's been on the air.

I was rummaging through Ticketmaster.com - just checking the dates and locations for upcoming shows. Came across a few interesting things: Rikishi will be appearing this weekend when tickets go on sale for a TV event following Judgment Day. That in itself isn't news. What's interesting is that the TV event in question is Raw. No, I'm not thinking Rikishi will be jumping - I just find it funny that the WWE expects the fans to understand the whole brand extension idea - yet they pull this crap. Both Raw and Smackdown will have seperate tours of the UK prior to May's Insurrextion. I came across a card scheduled for June 29th in Syracuse. I found it interesting that it didn't indicate whether or not the show was Raw or Smackdown - which led me to believe it's the date for that month's PPV. The name given was "Unleashed". Maybe this isn't news and I'm just behind (?). Tickets for the New Years Eve Raw brand event at Los Angeles' Staples Center are already on sale.

5. Chris Benoit, the Giant, Eddie Guerrero, Alex Wright, Lex Luger ... there's a start