DrVenkman PhD

I suppose him saying "This is a new ECW, not the ECW of 10 years ago" is not the worst way to wrap up continuity issues in a single sentence. Wonder where HTQ has been the past week.

I hate Finlay. A lot. But I guess I hate Kid Kash more. Bottom line America? I wish I knew Finlay had ECW involvment because I would have picked him instead of Kash/Heyman (I think Heyman's $1M price tag will pay off with multiple appearances tonight, Friday, and Sunday though).

Hooray for Kid Kash being a huge waste of $2M in Fantasy. He could still appear on the PPV or special I guess.

2 more weeks!

Thanks for posting that youtube video. I missed the bump because I was another room showing someone the pictures Sugar from YTV has on her mySpace profile. I came back to watch the match and saw them carrying Lillian out and it was all very confusing.

My take on the situation is that ECW One Night Stand was - as the name says - a one night deal. It was a nice ECW reunion and fun was had by all. Now it's just a PPV that involved ECW and WWE guys, under the ECW banner. This would probably bother me, but since the long term plan is to revive ECW as a brand full time anyway, an "invasion" style PPV is not a terrible idea. I think it will be an interesting piece of business to watch, at the very least.

I was under the impression everything Foley is doing right now is his own idea, not just following strange orders from WWE writers. That said, his legacy since 2000 has been putting people over and looking good at the same time. He did it with HHH, tried with Orton (and suceeded, I believe, until WWE turned Orton face one day after winning the title), and is now trying with Edge. I think people are just mad he didn't go put Joe over in TNA.

Go Sandman! I'm off to a good start, with Sandman being the top pick for Raw but everyone else scoring poorly (3-5 points), but that's all build to the end of the week. My only questionable pick right now is Kid Kash, but it was only $2M and I wanted to pick someone with a chance to appear on the Wednesday and Sunday shows. Hell, might even be an off chance he appears on SmackDown!

Super Tuesday - Trish vs. Torrie November 12, 2002 | Approx. run time: 5 mins. The weather may have been getting colder in November, but Trish Stratus and Torrie Wilson did their best to hit things up in the ring at Super Tuesday in a Bikini Contest. With both Divas possessing so much beauty, how could a winner be decided? Badd Blood - Goldberg vs. Chris Jericho June 15, 2003 | Approx. run time: 15 mins. Goldberg and Chris Jericho's bad blood in WCW has been well-documented, so it was only fitting that when they met in WWE it was at an event called Badd Blood. Could Y2J find a way to overcome the mighty Goldberg? WrestleMania X8 - Undertaker vs. Ric Flair March 17, 2002 | Approx. run time: 21 mins. Coming into WrestleMania X8, Ric Flair was a 16-time World Champion. He had accomplished almost everything there was to accomplish in WWE, except beat Undertaker. Something had to give when two of the most popular WWE Superstars of all time went at it on sports-entertainment's biggest stageg. Was the Nature Boy able to ground Taker with the Figure Four? Or did Undertaker add yet another victim to his list? King of the Ring - Bret Hart vs. Bam Bam Bigelow June 13, 1993 | Approx. run time: 25 mins. The only thing standing in the way of Bret "Hit Man" Hart becoming King of the Ring was the monstrous Bam Bam Bigelow. While Bigelow had a huge size advantage over the Excellence of Execution, the Hit Man had technical prowess. See which factor played a bigger role and who earned the crown. WCW Great American Bash - Interview with Scott Hall & Kevin Nash June 16, 1996 | Approx. run time: 5 mins. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash delivered a message at the Great American Bash, and it was one that Eric Bischoff will never forget. The Outsiders laid out a challenge to the rest of WCW and punctuated their challenge with an attack on the interviewer - Eric Bischoff. WCW Great American Bash - Dean Malenko vs. Rey Mysterio June 16, 1996 | Approx. run time: 20 mins. Dean Malenko and Rey Mysterio were two of the greatest Cruiserweights to ever step into a WCW ring. They carried their success over to WWE, but their match at the Great American Bash in 1996 was one of the greatest Cruiserweight Championship matches of all time. Who would emerge as the champion? WCW Monday Nitro - Villano V vs. El Dandy vs. Psicosis vs. Silver King vs. Juventud November 15, 1999 | Approx. run time: 5 mins. This may be the first and last ever Pinata on a Pole Match. A pinata was suspended from a pole that was attached to one of the ring posts. The object of the match was to grab the pinata and grab a check that was inside. But after the match, all of the participants received a beat-down from Dr. Death Steve Williams. WrestleMania XIV - Undertaker vs. Kane March 29, 1998 | Approx. run time: 29 mins. The first big match between long time rival brothers Kane and Undertaker took place on the grandest stage of all, WrestleMania. Led to the ring by his druids, Undertaker faced the biggest challenge of his career. Did the Deadman survive his brother's challenge? Or would Kane conquer the WWE legend? WrestleMania X-Seven - Undertaker vs. Triple H April 1, 2001 | Approx. run time: 26 mins. At WrestleMania X-Seven, two future WWE Hall of Famers squared off in a memorable WWE classic. The Game was the latest challenger to Undertaker's WrestleMania streak, and maybe the most difficult opponent to date for the Deadman. Did the Cerebral Assassin add to his impressive WWE resume? Or did Undertaker turn back yet another challenger to his untouchable streak? RAW - Trish vs. Terri June 3, 2002 | Approx. run time: 5 mins. It's not every day that the Women's Championship is defended in a Lingerie Match. Well, that was the case in this heated battle between Trish Stratus and Terri. You won't want to miss the post-match altercation that occurs. WrestleMania XI - King Kong Bundy vs. Undertaker April 2, 1995 | Approx. run time: 10 mins. Two WWE legends went toe-to-toe at WrestleMania XI. King Kong Bundy, who made a career out of dominating his opponents, finally came face-to-face with a man who was not ready to be pushed around. In Bundy's corner was Undertaker's first manager, Ted Dibiase. Could the Million Dollar Man guide Bundy to the WrestleMania victory? Or was the Deadman able to conquer the mammoth Bundy? WrestleMania XIX - Undertaker vs. Big Show vs. A-Train March 30, 2003 | Approx. run time: 11 mins. Coming into the event, the Phenom had never lost a match at WrestleMania. At the 15th edition of WWE's biggest show, Undertaker would face his stiffest challenge. Taker had been expecting to have a tag match, teaming with Nathan Jones to take on Big Show and A-Train. Before the match, Nathan Jones was taken out, leaving Undertaker to fend for himself in a handicap match against two of WWE's biggest stars. Was the Taker able to protect his unblemished WrestleMania record? King of the Ring - Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect June 13, 1993 | Approx. run time: 24 mins. Bret "Hit Man" Hart and Mr. Perfect were two of the greatest technical wrestlers to ever step foot in a WWE ring. They've had amazing matches over the Intercontinental Championship, but the throne was at stake in this one. Find out how if the Excellence of Execution was able to overcome perfection. WCW Monday Nitro - The nWo parody the Four Horsemen September 1, 1997 | Approx. run time: 11 mins. The nWo were one of the most brutal, vicious groups in sports-entertainment history - but they were also one of the funniest. Then again, after this parody, the Four Horsemen probably didn't think they were too funny. This one has to be seen to be believed. WrestleMania XIX - Trish vs. Jazz vs. Victoria March 30, 2003 | Approx. run time: 10 mins. Over the years, there have been several classic Diva moments. But perhaps the greatest actual wrestling match between the Divas came at WrestleMania XIX. Victoria walked in as the champ, but could she overcome the vicious Jazz and the versatile Trish? WCW Clash of the Champions 7 - The Ding Dongs vs. Cougar Jay & George South June 14, 1989 | Approx. run time: 5 mins. Not a lot of people remember The Ding Dongs. And for good reason. They weren't around very long, and weren't very successful. The best way to describe this tandem is that they were masked wrestlers with bells on their trunks. It's safe to say that a picture is worth a thousand words with these guys. WCW Great American Bash - Booker T vs. Finlay June 14, 1998 | Approx. run time: 15 mins. While King Booker and Finlay have worked together well on SmackDown, that wasn't always the case. In fact, they were opponents at the Great American Bash in 1998, and the Television Championship was on the line. Who walked away with the gold? WrestleMania XV - Undertaker vs. Big Boss Man March 28, 1999 | Approx. run time: 16 mins. At WrestleMania XV, Undertaker put his undefeated WrestleMania streak on the line in a Hell in the Cell with the Corporation's Big Boss Man. The battle was full of surprises and interference from a variety of WWE Superstars. The Undertaker was able to capture the win, but what happened after the match was one of the more shocking moments in WWE history. Watch the match to see the stunning conclusion yourself. King of the Ring - Mabel vs. Savio Vega June 25, 1995 | Approx. run time: 19 mins. Now he's the World's Largest Love Machine. But back in 1995, Viscera was ring royalty when he vied to become the King of the Ring. Known as Mabel back then, he clashed with the Caribbean Legend Savio Vega in a battle for the throne. --- This is the second time they've posted the KOTR 95 finals! Anyway, as usual with me, the WM stuff is useless but there are some things I haven't seen in awhile (KOTR 93 finals) or ever (Horsemen parody, Finlay/Booker from GAB).

Some key questions answered today: Question: How will scoring work as far as specialty matches go for the new ECW shows? In the past, ECW basically had no rules and foreign objects were always allowed. How will this be handled? -Nicholas of "Simple Design" Answer: Since this is a new ECW, the Fantasy Board is assuming nothing about the rules of the matches. In the past, yes, ECW matches were often chaotic. However, as it stands for Season 7 right now, no ECW match will be considered a specialty match unless announced as such. Should foreign object use occur, it would be scored as it would for any other match unless it occurs during a specialty match type where object use is considered inherent. A non-exhaustive list of such matches can be found on the specialty matches page. Question: Now that ECW has been added to WWE Fantasy, will the salary cap be raised? -John of "No Advance Warning" Answer: Unfortunately, the salary cap cannot be raised during the season. However, the Fantasy Board is looking into the possibility of raising the salary cap for Season 8.

The Vengeance 2002 ME has been posted two or three times as well. Invader: The backstory for the WWE match was the WCW backstory. Oh, and I think Jericho threw paint on Goldberg's car and it didn't start.

Repost

After posting that intro clip I found 10 minutes of it ("Pryde of the X-Men" - youtube it). The animation is topnotch but overall it's terrible, I can see why NBC didn't pick it up. Wolverine's Aussie accent was too much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVMTBWPUCSk

AMuse yourselves with this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNgX3wnj-uk

"Sabu has kept a low profile in recent years, and the lack of exposure may prove to be his greatest advantage. " Burn.

League Rankings as of Week 2: Top 15: 1. Scrobinites: 372 pts 2. Palumboners: 365 pts 3. Mailbox Heads Alliance: 361 pts 4. TNBC Squad: 359 pts 5. The Real Ghostbusters: 350 pts 6. T.W.E.: 346 pts 7. I hate wrestling: 340 pts 8. Destined For Second Place: 338 pts 9. never kissed a girl: 326 pts 10. TheMaxRebo: 320 pts 11. UTB Scorpions: 310 pts 12. RANDALL ORTON POOPED IN MY BAG: 307 pts 13. The Rated 'R' SuperStar: 306 pts 14. Fighting Spirit Squad: 304 pts 15. Fazzle: 300 pts ---- The rest: 16. team benn: 296 pts 17. Finlay's Leprechaun: 294 pts 18. Monkey On Your Back: 291 pts 19. Dok's Office: 280 pts 20. GENext: 277 pts 21. X-Rateds Champions: 275 pts 22. Jobbers for Trips: 274 pts 23. The Thunder From Down Under: 269 pts 24. Flair's 17th Title: 267 pts 25. McMahonism > Christianity: 263 pts 26. Make Me A Sandwich B!tch: 259 pts 27. Amped Up: 252 pts 28. Team Disaster: 252 pts 29. Workrate Is Overrated: 249 pts 30. teamfranchise: 245 pts 31. I<3MickieJames: 240 pts 32. Number13: 235 pts 33. TheMOC: 233 pts 34. bmayes: 222 pts 35. Luke-o: 206 pts 36. Steve Blackman Dream Team: 206 pts 37. Hunter's Torn Quads: 205 pts 38. Fantasy Screw Job: 189 pts 39. Cena's Reign Depresses Me: 186 pts 40. Mad Gear: 150 pts 41. Fishpwnsyou: 134 pts 42. Don't HHHate the Game: 108 pts 43. Vanhalen: 73 pts 44. Use The Sledgehammer Uh: 0 pts

Well, having Brian Kendrick score me zero points while Finlay scored 35 points for others dropped me down to 5th. The season is young though! I hope the ECW issue is addressed on Monday in their questions. Is every match a specialty match since no one will be disqualified? Is every match a normal match, but all weapon shots count for points? Or is it just ECW and no weapons will count, and only something like a cage or ladder would be specialty?

I'm with you on this question. I checked before I went to work and . . . bupkis. It's the only WWE-related thing I look forward to on a monthly basis. According to this guy, he thinks they will be up "in a couple of days", but has no more information on it.

They could, in theory, have Angle pissed that his matches lately are ending in count out. The "wrestling machine" needs a place where he can fight to the finish and elevate his game to be more intense than ever. Most likely, the route will be "I'm a good guy now so I love ECW! Yeah!" or something lame.

I received a book in the mail today called World Wrestling Insanity. It appears to be anti WWE so I suspect I should write a review without reading it that bashes the hell out of it... then maybe read it later and laugh. Time will tell.. I still have several unread books from ECW Press lying around my computer room and bedroom. I don't ask for these, either, they just have me on a mailing list from when I did a book review in 2003. Also, where the hell are the June 24/7Online matches?

Fantasy gets extreme June 1, 2006 The newest season of WWE Fantasy is only a few weeks old, but it’s already the most played season ever. And now, believe it or not, WWE.com’s popular Fantasy Game is getting even better. Effective immediately, due to the overwhelming demand from the fans, ECW Superstars will be available to choose for your Fantasy roster. The addition of the ECW brand into the Fantasy Game gives new meaning to the term “fantasy.” When the game first debuted a few years ago, fans were elated to have the opportunity to put both RAW and SmackDown Superstars on the same roster where they served as the General Manager. But now, the possibilities are near endless. Mike A., a Fantasy Game player from Springfield, Mass., already has plans for next week’s roster. “I’m a huge fan of both WWE and ECW. And now, I have the best of both worlds in one game. Thank you. Next week, I’m taking Triple H, Undertaker and Sabu, that’s for sure. Who knows after that, I’ll have to do some research.” Now you too can have Superstars from three different brands on one roster. But be wise when choosing your team. You still have the $30 million salary cap. While it may seem like a lot to spend, the green goes fast when you’re buying the top Superstars. Remember, WWE vs. ECW Head to Head is right around the corner (June 7 at 9/8 CT on USA). So start scouting your for your roster now. --- Guess I'm changing my roster. I already had it set for this week, but now there's PPV points to be had. Raw, SD, WWE vs. ECW, ONS... this is a big week.

- Randy Orton is not terrible - The Spirit Squad is a good heel stable - Snitsky and Goldust skits ARE funny - The double Kane angle IS good TV (Vince apparently hates it though) - Snitsky CAN have decent matches these days - Shoot fights are boring - HHH is a solid worker - Estrada is not the promo man the OVW marks have made me assume he was. While I'm sure WWE is to blame, he joins list of people I've heard nothing but good things about from the OVW community that I could care less about when they were on WWE TV (Heartbreakers, The Damaja, etc.).

Agent Confidential - Television production By Ricky Steamboat June 1, 2006 Today’s televised sports-entertainment events are so much different than they were back when I wrestled. In my era, we’d be in a small studio with about 50, 60 or 70 people and there was one camera mounted on a tripod sitting on top of a trunk. Then there would be one guy with a handheld camera running around the ring. Back then, I wasn’t as much into the production level as much as I am now, but I’m pretty sure that the cameraman with the handheld running around the ring had no communications to the production truck. So if that cameraman was able to get any kind of key shots, it was pretty much by accident. Looking back, I’m sure that there were many shots that were missed which didn’t help the small companies during that time. Coming back to WWE and now being on the production side of it, I’m just astounded with what they are able to do and how the cameras are able to pick it up. The guys today have a much better luxury of being able to take whatever skills they possess and just have them magnified and multiplied many times over. Guys like myself and those who wrestled 25 years ago didn’t have this luxury. We didn’t have the luxuries of all the different camera angles being able to pick up everything we did in the ring. In today’s level of wrestling, guys can do something simple but have it mean so much. It’s like taking something that’s about a half an inch wide, which is a small item, and you end up growing it to three feet. That is what we’re capable of doing now and that’s what we’re able to do for today’s Superstars. A lot of it has to do with emotion and being able to read the Superstar’s face and mannerisms. If you come in with two or three different angles of a guy’s anger and also the other guy who is on his hands and knees crawling and showing that pain in his face, then we are giving our viewing audience the “wow” factor. It’s almost like we are able to put the fans right in the ring with the Superstars. I wish that myself and the other guys that really knew our business well had the same luxuries back when we wrestled. We really knew how to express our body languages and movements in the ring. We had lots of guys that I would say were four and five-star wrestlers. They could go out there and, as the old expression goes, have a broom stick thrown in the ring with them and the son-of-a-gun could entertain the fans with a broomstick. They were that good. We don’t have as much of that today. That’s where guys such as myself, Arn Anderson, Dean Malenko, Steve Keirn and Tim Horner, who just came aboard, come in. One of our many job descriptions is to sit down and explain to the Superstars 30 years of experience in however much time we are given to work with that person. All the guys from my era wish that we would have had the production level that everybody has now. God, everybody looks at me and says “oh, Ricky Steamboat, you’re a Superstar.” And I of course thank them for it, but the guys from my day all sit at the round-table discussions and talk about what we could’ve become if we had the level of production that is available today. We’re called Superstars now, but what would we be? It’s just amazing.