DrVenkman PhD

Those numbers don't even add up. 66 + 55 = 103? Really?

When I checked my 24/7 programs this morning, I was very shocked to see WrestleMania VIII available. Not because I didn't know the airdate of the PYBO winner, but because Cogeco discontinued the PYBO show almsot a year ago. A welcome return. I watched this show over the weekend on an aging VHS tape as part of my Mania countdown. I don't know if it's my tape or the lighting / Hoosier Dome roof but the lighting for this show always looks a bit off (and because it looks after sundown, I'm going to assume it's the building, but it could be a combination of both). In the first 15 years of WrestleMania, this show was one of my favourite shows. More recent Mania's have set a new standard in great world title matches but until Rock/Austin at Mania X7, Flair vs. Savage was my all time favourite WrestleMania world title match. The match placement might hold this show from being highly regarded from an overall standpoint when looked back on historically - the first half is great, the second half is dull and features a DQ in the main event - but I still love it. Let's break it down: 1. "El Matador" Tito Santana vs. Shawn Michaels: These two could probably have had a faster paced match but while it's not all that exciting, I find nothing wrong with the mat work they did instead. It's a good match to open the show with. This is Tito's last televised WrestleMania bout - he often played very minor roles on the show but as I've gotten older and have been exposed to more of his work via 24/7, he was clearly a hard worker and perhaps never got his due at a WrestleMania. 2. Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs. The Undertaker: Not much of a match, but when I was 10 the idea of Undertaker surviving two DDTs was something else. Effective way to end their short feud (which was awesome - Jake slamming a casket on Undertaker's hand and giving him multiple chair shots that barely phase Taker, causing him to cahse Jake with the damn casket still on his hand is a memory from Superstars I will never forget - and won't need to since they show that footage on this show, so even better). A satisfying way to send Jake packing to WCW. 3. IC Champion Roddy Piper vs. Bret "Hitman" Hart: Recently watched this in restored digital quality as part of the Piper HOF month. Great match, probably Piper's best ever. Great drama, story telling, and wrestling. 4. Nasty Boys, Repo Man, and The Mountie vs. Jim Duggan, Sgt. Slaughter, Big Bossman, and Virgil: This match is nothing at all, but it's not bad. Just short and kind of pointless, though I was a big Bossman fan at this point. The quadruple clothesline spot is pretty cool though (but a bit mistimed). The highlight of this match is actually the locker room promo where Repo Man just jumps into frame. This is not something you'd put on Mania today (or is it? See the ECW 8 man from Mania 23...) but in 1992 this sort of thing was ok - just a way to get 8 characters into a match. 5. World Wrestling Federation Champion "Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage: Where was the centerfold picture, Ric? I was so, so happy to see Savage win the title in this awesome match. Great heel work by Flair and Perfect all the way, Liz looked good in her purple dress, and Shane McMahon tries to get her to go away. A classic. Had the show ended here, we'd have a fairly short Mania but a pretty damn good one since both title matches delivered and the rest served it's purpose. This is what I mean about match placement as we now have 5 more matches to go and none are at this level. 6. British Bulldog vs. The Berzerker: Never happened, cut for time. I was actually looking forward to this as a 10 year old. 7. "The Model" Rick Martel vs. The Native American Tatanka (I'm pretty sure Monsoon calls him "Native American Tatanka" 9 out of every 10 times he makes reference to him): This is pretty dull but serves to put Tatanka over, I suppose. I'm always itching to FF during this match but Heenan's commentary is excellent ("Lumpy Indians" / "Hey how are ya, Hey how are ya!"). 8. Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated vs. Natural Disasters: Very dull tag title match with no conclusive ending. 9. The Alligator Man, Skinner vs. "The Rocker" Owen Hart: Extremely short but I actually like this because it put Owen Hart over (he kicks out of Skinner's finisher and beats him quick). 10. Hulk Hogan vs. Sid: Another dull match (though I'm a sucker for spots where Hogan gets jumped during his entrance music, clears the ring while his muisc is still playing, then rips his shirt). It's cool to see Sid kick out of the legdrop, though. How can a WrestleMania main event end in a DQ? By having The Ultimate Warrior make an awesome return that had the schoolyard talking, that's how. The Warrior moment actually saves the 2nd half of the show. Obviously I enjoy the 1st half WAY mroe then the 2nd, but for nostalgia sake - this is the first Mania I saw live on PPV and it was very exciting seeing Warrior, plus I didn't realize Hogan vs. Sid sucked - I enjoy the whole thing overall. The quality of the first half - specifically the fact that the two singles championship matches are incredibly strong, which is important to the legacy of a major show - make up for the dull 2nd half. Great WrestleMania.

Commercial breaks on live TV matches seem to be where they do their rest holds for a few minutes (or, as mentioned, sit on the outside to sell going splat). During a Raw I was at, during a Flair/Batista vs. Booker/RVD match, someone got Flair a bottle of water while Batista had one of the opponents in a rest hold. It looked kind of weird in person and naturally it was not part of the television broadcast. I believe it is because they have 20 minute non-match segments go uninterrupted that they need to take "extra" commercial breaks in the middle of a 10 minute match, or have segments that are only 3 minutes long (ex. commercial - King and JR run down a PPV card and we cut to a shot where HBK IS WALKING~!, then another commercial).

The whole movie I was thinking "I know that guy / voice from somewhere" but couldn't put it together. Thanks. I saw it cheap last night and actually enjoyed it, though it's not much different than typical Ferrel. Will Arnett was great though (as previously stated by others).

WrestleMania VIII is now available - I know this because in an incredibly weird moment, Cogeco actually put the PYBO winner up. Now I actually care what wins for April. As expected, the Hart matches against Austin and Hennig are from Survivor Series 96 and Uncensored 98 respectively.

Make a new folder that only the final four have access to (but they have nothing else to access).

I believe it is the longest - at least since I've subscribed - and that can be chalked up to his 30+ minute speech.

I think this tournament and talk about how the forum is a community and not a sentient being designed for Marvin to leave messages for has taught us all a lesson. Let's show him mercy and see if the corrections system has worked. Marv, I know you're not a religious man, but I implore you to seek the Lord's love and guidance. The Church of TSM may be closing it's doors on you, but He still loves you and you can never be banned from prayer (except in a public school). Peace be with you!

I'll leave this in Al's hands but perhaps one thread for Primetime / TNT / OTHER - I don't think an episode of Wrestling Challenge deserves it's own thread and the SNME's are shown so far apart.

Bret Hart being the HOF wrestler of the month has been a joy - all 3 matches currently available are great and I look forward to the 6 additional matches we're going to get. The actual HOF piece on him is quite good (as they usually are too) - if you don't have the 2006 Hall of Fame handy, his speech is a must watch.

I really enjoyed the match and thought it was one of the better offerings on ECW in awhile, however I didn't realize it actually has a place in ECW History as one of their highly overrated matches that I actually already own on DVD. I just thought it was a long match on TV. I believe Chris Jericho debuts in the episode coming up late tonight and that's pretty exciting.

http://www.wwe.com/inside/industrynews/6622626 They didn't even bother to mention the SD! delay was in Canada only due to The Score. Joe American could get easily confused by that story.

Many attempts to correct him of anything results in being reminded about the ignore feature.

Giving screw-ups immediate world title runs to see if they can REALLY change their ways sets a both a bad example to follow and a bad precedent - the fact that Orton being champ is already causing people to say "yes, give the title to a man with two strikes and a documented drug problem in another company immediately after his suspension is done" attests to this.

bps earned it though! (I guess). Also keep in mind I said I Was being a grumpy old wet blanket - yes, at the end of the day it is just a message board with a community of people that need to work together and respect everyone's cultural backgrounds and beliefs. The power is YOURS. Remember, this isn't just a sentient website for us to post something and get automated responses.

Well for the sake of the board, I'll try to refrain from doing what i'm here. I thought the quality of a post matters, not the format. Somehow I doubt people would be raving about The Great Gatsby if it was written in that format.

"General" also used to be "Old School", and 90% of 24/7's programming would fit that classification. Edit: You were probably referring to "PWNED"...

I was really amused at how during the main event, JR and Vince just started naming every black wrestler they could think of as the possible 2nd new member for the Nation. "How about Abdullah the Butcher!".

I don't like that idea because it would kill General too, and that's the home of the new 24/7 project.

Or perhaps he won't get one all year. Maybe they'll just run with Jericho in his spot.

I'm probably going to end up watching the original DVD instead of the 24/7 version. For one thing, I'm only at WrestleMania X in my countdown and Smash Brothers isn't helping this move along. Secondly, as is usually the case with PPVs that have DVDs out, they just stuck the Anthology version up which has weird music issues, though that's not terribly important to the overall show, and lastly the DVD isn't all blurry. Flair vs. Taker seems to have very polarized views. I love it, I think Double A's appearance was a highlight, and it's a good brawl with some good wrestling (I love Taker's top rope superplex - looks great when someone his height does it). But I've also heard people (like spman) call it an awful match. I don't think I've ever really watched or paid close attention to the tag title match since originally seeing the show in 2002. It just seems so dull.

I'd say about 80% of Truthiness' posts in the Raw thread irritated me (some irrationally) and I can't stand the stupid way RonL21 formats his posts. Like maybe.. There is some reason he posts like this.. But it's just a bit annoying. (And yes, one of his posts in the Raw thread really were broken up mid-sentence... and what's with just using incomplete ellipses? I'm probably coming off as a grumpy "wet blanket" as Kristianna called me but I figured this was the venting ground).

As part of TSM's expansion of 24/7 discussion, I welcome you all to The Schedule Thread. As you all know I love my 24/7 and I'm hoping this expansion idea works. The very first post of this thread will always be the most up to date schedule (thanks to the magic of post editing) with information typed up and researched by yours truly. Feel free to use this thread to comment on impending excitement or crushing disappointment at the programming or themes 24/7 will be offering in the upcoming weeks. Note: The Venkman Schedule is currently on hiatus. WWE.com "Hardcore Heaven" Preview:

Gotta tell ya... not quite sold on it. I LOVE Al's 24/7 sub-folder though. That shall be my new home.

I like the idea of General Discussion for just that - General discussion. There are times you have a comment to make that clearly doesn't warrant a thread (ex. I just posted a story from WWE.com about Vince getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame) but where it's become an issue is TSM Poster X will say "hmm, mid-card / jobber guy was released, that seems thread worthy" just to have it merged and told the guy wasn't important enough to be discussed in their own thread. A lot of the CTDWAT threads have come full circle and gone from being useful places to make mundane comments without cluttering up the forums to black holes of discussion. They have their place but I think it's time mods loosen the leash on them. I know this is about the WWE Folder but the Video Game folder is another great example - from what I gather, Mole decided to just merge or close threads people started about individual games, so now instead of people starting a thread about Mario Galaxy, they make comments about the game scattered amongst other comments in a generic "Wii" thread.