Dobbs 3K

Hopefully Vince understands that Styles is the kind of announcer that does best when he can just call things as he sees it, and that he has an air of credibility that RAW badly needs right now. That said, I think people are taking the whole aura of Joey Styles a little too seriously. By all accounts WWE is paying him a pretty big chunk of change to be their lead announcer. I don't think he's going to sabotage that by going over the line and deliberately pissing Vince off.

How do they "integrate" Greg Valentine into their regular tv? I mean, unless he's going to wrestle regularly again? From what I remember, Valentine was never much of a talker or anything, so I don't see how having him be a manager would really work out.

How about shooting the rioters to start?

President George W. Bush called it a "religion of peace."

I don't get why TNA is bringing in even more X Division guys at this point. I mean, don't they have a big enough roster already? I think TNA should focus on building up the guys they have right now. Sure, if a can't miss star comes along (like if Christian really is available), then go ahead, sign him up. But why are they bringing in more ROH type guys at this point?

I think the key point is that it would be a solid business strategy for the WWE to at least take input and use the internet to build their business further. I'm not saying that it would be smart for WWE to base all of their booking on what the IWC feels. A comparison was made a couple years ago to the movie business. It used to be that online spoiler sites and review sites were loathed by Hollywood. Now, movie producers will often invite people from websites to visit their sets, and get input from them. I'm not sure how extensive this practice is, but I know it does happen. I'm seeing signs that it's starting to happen...wwe.com posting online interviews and pictures of people visiting Titan Towers, etc. I think WWE should spend less time fighting with internet sites and fans, and more time _working_ with them. After all, the IWC represents some of the most rabid and devoted wrestling fans. I think that's something WWE should be exploiting.

Ok...because this is a pet peeve of mine...from www.m-w.com: "resigned": 1 : RELEGATE, CONSIGN; especially : to give (oneself) over without resistance <resigned herself to her fate> 2 : to give up deliberately; especially : to renounce (as a right or position) by a formal act intransitive senses 1 : to give up one's office or position : QUIT 2 : to accept something as inevitable : SUBMIT "re-sign": transitive senses : to sign again intransitive senses : to sign up again Not trying to be a jerk, but I see this time and time again in reference to wrestler contracts and such, even from major websites. I'm probably guilty of it too.

It's not so much about religion as it is about culture. To be fair, France has tried to assimilate these Arabs and North Africans into the French culture (at least from what I understand), but it seems more and more like they _don't_ want to assimilate. France has social welfare, giving people housing and such. I guess that is not enough for many of these people though, members of the so called "religion of peace." The Middle East is not the frontier of jihad, Western Europe is.

This is why crew members of large passenger ships and planes should be allowed to carry guns.

I don't know what Chris Benoit will do, but he does live in Georgia...not too far away to make a trip down to Orlando once or twice a week...

In Brewers news, general manager Doug Melvin's contract has been extended thru 2009. Bad news for Red Sox fans who thought he might be coming to Boston. Also, earlier this week, the team named Robin Yount their new bench coach.

Um...could Benoit really make more money working for ROH than for TNA or going overseas?

WWE isn't doing great right now, but let's not kid ourselves. This isn't 2001 WCW.

I _really_ enjoyed the show last night. It was nice having wrestling on a Thursday night again, if only as a one time thing. Some thoughts: - The six man tag was far and away the best show of the evening. My wife, who is only a very casual wrestling fan who sometimes watches RAW with me, said "this is the best match I've seen in months!" She was really into it, and liked all the high flying and flipping moves. If TNA can keep attracting casual fans like that, they could really turn into something big. - Samoa Joe is the real deal. When he yelled in AJ Styles face...well, it was awesome. You don't see that kind of emotion in a match too often nowadays. - My wife also noticed how there was less talking on this show than most WWE matches. It was a nice change of pace. - Ultimate X was good, but it didn't blow me away. The match felt a bit disjointed to me. - The Dudleys, er...Team 3D had a decent match, using some moves I don't remember them doing in a while. - Some of the guys really do need personalities though. Especially a lot of the X Division guys...I mean, is there any difference between any of the guys in Team Canada? What sets apart guys like Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, and Austin Aries? Other than using slightly different moves, I have no idea. - I liked the segment with Raven and Rhino. It served a purpose, and both guys seemed believable. - I didn't mind Jeff Jarrett as much as usual. I thought he wrestled a pretty good match. I think the Stroke is fine as a finisher. Keep in mind, I'm never going to be a JJ fan, but at least he wasn't totally annoying like he has been on previous shows I've seen. - Monty Brown has the total look of a star. I was laughing at his facials, and loved how he gave that jobber the Pounce three times in a row. I thought it was a good way to keep hyping Brown. I can summarize my thoughts like this: Spike TV, please move TNA to a week night (when I'm actually home), so I don't have to tape it! I will watch!

Yeah..."Byte This" only fits the term "WWE programming" in the loosest sense of the phrase.

Around here it is pitch dark by 6 PM (after daylight savings ended). There was some local trick or treating, but it was wrapped up around then. Apparently, Fat Vader and Goldust don't bring ratings?

How many minutes did it take Snuka to get up to the top rope and steady himself enough this time?

FWIW, Shelton wrestled on Heat...does that count as a "PPV pay day?"

I think it would be funny if they show a clip on Impact (assuming he signs with TNA) where he just shows up randomly in the back, walks up to Larry Z, shakes his hand while everyone looks on dumbfounded, and says "Hi, I'm Jay Reso, let's talk," and then they walk into Larry's office, or something like that.

When is WWE going to realize people are sick of seeing announcers and other non-wrestlers in matches and major angles on TV? I mean, what possible good could have come from Austin laying down for frickin' Coach???

I agree. I don't mind Goldust being back. It appears he can still work and is in good shape. He can do comedy really well...hell, my wife thought he was hillarious when he was teaming with Booker T, and she's barely a wrestling fan at all. Vader looked awful though, and it's a shame because I used to be a big fan of the guy. Maybe if he had a few months to train, he could've come back and not embarassed himself.

Yeah, I get the impression that Vader showing up was pretty last minute. Maybe if he had a few months of hard training he could get himself back to a decent weight. I mean, it was pretty embarassing to watch him fall twice in the ring, and then fall off the ring apron. At least Goldust hit his finisher and stuff. When Coach was telling Vader to finish Batista off, I thought we'd at least get to see a powerbomb or the Vader Splash. Instead, we get a lame double axehandle. Pretty pathetic.

This is the kind of thing TNA fans can point to when they say TNA is better than WWE.

My top three: - Super Mario World: Mainly due to cool stuff like the cape, and being able to use Yoshi. - SMB3: Man, this game was hyped like crazy, and deserved it. I remember going to the local rental place, and it was always rented out for weeks at a time...I finally got to buy it later than summer, and had a blast with it. Took me a LONG time to beat, too. - Super Mario Bros: I begged my parents for a Nintendo pretty much just for this game alone. Honorable mention: SMB2...I like how the environments are fairly interactive, like climbing vines and being able to ride on enemies, etc. I've never gotten to play Super Mario 64, sadly. I didn't get an N64 right away, and when I finally did, this game was kind of passe at that point, I guess.

For what it's worth, I hope he _does_ go to TNA. I think he'd instantly give TNA some more credibility, and they could use him in a lot of different ways (as has been mentioned earlier). Personally I'd hope they push him as a face, because I think TNA could use that one pretty recognizable guy who can talk on the mike in their main event scene (discounting older guys like Nash and the Outlaw, etc).