Dobbs 3K

It's fine to speculate, but it silly to act like it's already happening. I mean stuff like "this is a great career move for Christian to go to TNA" is kind of jumping the gun. To add to that...remember when everyone thought Matt Hardy was going to TNA for sure, and was going to team with Jeff again and then win the NWA Title from Jeff Jarrett?

Guys, he hasn't signed with TNA yet...let's quit evaluating his career there until something actually happens. For all we know, he could decide to retire or go work in Japan or something else entirely. I wonder if him not re-signing was another WWE contract gaffe...kind of like when they forgot to re-sign Jeff Jarrett in '99, or the Rock earlier this year. I think Christian is a good worker. He had a great match last week on Velocity with Brian Kendrick, and it didn't look like Kendrick was carrying Christian or anything ridiculous like that...

Yeah, good for Kanyon, assuming the story is true (which I have no reason to believe it isn't). I hope he gets another run in WWE or TNA someday As someone mentioned earlier, I think a Kanyon/Saturn tag team would be awesome...like an updated Eliminators. I think Saturn is retired now, though, isn't he?

Are you guys sure about Flair not drawing well in WWF? I was under the impression that WWF's numbers started declining after Warrior won the title, and then Flair coming in started a short "hot" period again in WWF. I could be wrong, though.

You are right that Sato started with Tanaka as the Orient Express. As far as I remember, when Kato came in, he replaced Sato, who I believe left the WWF. I believe he was only brought back for that one SS match, because they wanted a heel trio for the three popular babyfaces to go over, and that was it. Checking Obsessed with Wrestling, Akio Sato actually had a long career before even coming to the WWF, as his debut was in 1970. I wonder if maybe he left due to health/age reasons?

I'm pretty sure the whole gimmick was actually Dinsmore's idea, too.

Not. A. Chance. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Why not? Again, this thread isn't about who you'd _like_ to see pushed to a main event spot, but who you think will be. Given my reasons above, I think Heidenreich isn't a bad guess (as that's all we're really doing here, unless someone here knows Vince McMahon personally and isn't letting on).

bigolsmitty, I understand Saudi Arabia is socially backward (as are most Muslim nations), but it certainly isn't a poor country, at least since oil was discovered there. I may be somewhat ignorant, but I've been under the impression that most people there live fairly comfortably (although not compared to the royal family, of course).

- Rob Conway: Great look, can get over with the crowd, and a decent worker. WWE seems to be pushing him right now in a way similar to Randy Orton last year, having him beat up on "legends." - Mr. Kennedy: It's so obvious they love him right now. When Vince McMahon states your name in an interview, it's probably a pretty good sign. Again, great look, ok worker (with an awesome, devastating looking finisher), and obviously good enough on the mike. - John Heidenreich: They've stuck with him for this long, I don't think they're abandoning him now after a couple character tweaks like they've done. He's a current tag team champion, and I could see him being a surprise World Champion at some point, kind of like what happened with Big Show a few years back in that Fatal Fourway match. Yeah, he's a pretty crappy worker, but the crowds seem to dig him, and he has a great big man look that WWE probably has a hard-on for. Plus, he can do ok in comedy skits and things, which is something Vince seems to value a lot. I would say Bobby Lashley, but it just seems like he's the kind of guy who will get over on his own, and then WWE will cut his legs out from underneath for petty internal reasons.

By his appearance on RAW, it looks like we're going to have another midcard heel who is arrogant and full of himself.

Interesting, though I wonder how they defined corruption and measured it in their study. Also, I see flaws in that map. Some wealthier nations in the world are dark red on that map (Saudi Arabia as an example).

I understand African-Americans and black Africans are different entities, but I thought it was valid to discuss both groups since the person cited in the original post seemed to insinuate that all whites are one analagous, and evil, group. As for your short comments about corruption and poverty...I always thought most people said wealth leads to corruption? Which is it? Does poverty or wealth lead to corruption? It doesn't matter. It is up to a civilization in and of itself to forge ahead. The US can provide technical assistance and training, but I'm tired of seeing our dollars going to dictatorships. No more Live Aid concerts, please. As an aside, I feel ulimately Africa must unite if they are truly going to forge ahead. Put aside the ancient tribalism, overthrow the dictators and monarchs, and create a United States of Africa, at least on regional basises (an idea which ironically has been put forth by Libya's Kadaffi (sp?)). Granted, this will probably never happen in our lifetimes, but they should look to the US and EU as examples. I guess my general feeling is that if most of the world hates America, then fine, let them. America does more for the world, and gives more aid in dollars then any other entity in the world. We give more troops to the UN than any other nation. Yet many world leaders continue to spout off about how wicked the US is, and how our policies are supposedly doing the harm. I think it is time for the US to take care of Americans for a time, at least, and let the rest of the world take care of itself. That goes for Africa as well as the rest of the world. Let them come crawling and begging us when they need it, so they can once again acknowledge the glory of the United States of America, and they will learn once again that we truly are the greatest nation on earth.

OK, because it's been brought up, I need to weigh in. Let me preface this by saying I'm not a racist. I believe the US is the greatest nation on earth, and that there's room for people of all races and colors within our borders. That said, the black movement is irrelevant in this country at this point in history, and idiots like that aren't doing it any favors. I'm sorry, but slavery ended almost 150 years ago. It's time to stop blaming the slavemaster and start looking at what your own people are doing to better themselves. Yes, there is still racism. But clearly many blacks are so mind numbingly racist against whites that they can't look at their own problems. Furthermore, the black race isn't even the biggest minority in this country anymore (Hispanics are), so the unfortunate reality is that black causes will move further and further into the background. You want to exterminate white people? OK...what have black nations done lately that is so great? What have they contributed to the world? Look at Africa, the natural bastion of the black race...it is a literal checker board of tribalism and dictatorships. Many peoples on that continent haven't even advanced past the stages of basic hunter/gathering. Sure, the Europeans did a lot of harm by colonizing Africa, supposedly. But one fact that is never brought up is that the Europeans brought many things like literacy, and irradicated disease. Many of those same diseases that were nearly wiped out by the Europeans have come back because the Africans have regressed so badly. Look at what happened in Rhodesia...it was a country created by whites, and was moving toward integration of blacks. But, the blacks decided they didn't want that and replaced it with Robert Mugabe's dictatorship. More than 25 years later, the people of Zimbabwe still are not free. Do you still want to pretend that black nations somehow have some sort of moral superiority to the USA, when that continent is full of examples similar to the one I just illustrated? At some point blacks in the US need to pull themselves up. I understand that even in the '50s and '60s in the US, blacks were discriminated against and segregation was a harsh reality. But what about since then? Do blacks want the white man to pull them up, or do they want to pull themselves up? What are they doing about their own self destructive culture that glorifies violence and shuns education? Not enough, apparently. Maybe it is jealousy. White people, starting in Europe, created new inventions and changed the world, and made their societies better. Yes, attrocities were commited as Europeans advanced, and often indiginous peoples died off or were driven away, but that has happened repeatedly throughout history in every corner of the world. To say otherwise is being close minded. African nations still ask for handouts and do nothing to make their nations better themselves. It's not enough to point fingers and blame nature. At some point you have to do something for yourself. Sure, we could give them more money, but it inevitably goes to feed a dictator's army, or to fund terrorists, or into a monarch's coffers. We Americans are sick of our money being used to help other countries. Someone should punish this Kamau Kambon person who made those remarks. They are completely divisive, and do nothing to advance the cause of his own people. Clearly he has some kind of mental disorder. It just goes to show how far to the left some parts of the black community have gone in 2005.

You guys are forgetting that Eugene was insanely popular for a while. Then HHH decided that was enough of that and "broke" his arm in that cage match. I figured they were going to bring Eugene back in a month or so with a revamped character. Maybe he'd reveal he'd been faking, or come back as a heel, or a "normal" wrestler or something, as a lot of people thought. Instead, he showed up again about two weeks later as if nothing had happened. That basically killed any viability Eugene had left.

10 Pounds of Gold hit it pretty much on the head. There are very few matches in WWE anymore that actually mean anything. I can barely remember anything that happened last month in WWE. I mean, there are four hours of original programming every single week, and almost 2 PPVs every month. It doesn't really matter if a match is on TV or a PPV, it will probably be forgotten or nullified by WWE's writers within three or four months at most anyway. The Monday Night Wars spoiled us, and now my brain feels like it's been fried from too many WWE matches.

Wow, ouch. At least the guy taping it actually went over to help him, unlike the idiot in that video where the guy piledrives his other friend off the roof of a house, and the guy asks them "what's wrong?" at the end.

Who do I think will win? This board as soon as you're banned. Gimmick posters are so passe.

I would like to see WWE do a tribute for the Crusher...something a little more than a quick photo with "RIP Crusher" displayed at the start of RAW. Maybe do a quick segment where they show some classic clips of Crusher in action, etc. I know, wishful thinking, but he deserves it.

I don't mind Larry Z because he at least isn't the focus of every show, and has credibility as a former wrestler. It's not like he's in every other segment.

That's too bad, but you're right, it is nice to see a legend like that get to live to a ripe old age and pass away from what I assume are natural causes. Saw the Crusher at an indy show about five years ago. He made a special appearance, and still cut the same classic promo. He was known as "The man who made Milwaukee famous."

People actually still care about Jerry Lynn???

Yeah, I do kind of agree that giving away Jarrett vs Raven is a bad business move, but I'm under the impression they want this show to get raves reviews, get a lot of hype and all that...and just blowing off a World Title match seems like something that would piss off a good portion of the audience. Bringing in Waltman wouldn't be bad. They could play it off as Jarrett having some of his thugs take out Nash, and then Waltman shows up to get revenge. He doesn't really _deserve_ to get a spot like that, but it wouldn't be a terrible option.

Some comments (I just watched TNA Impact via ReplayTV about half an hour ago). I'm someone who has never followed TNA all that closely. I never had the ability/desire to order the PPVs, and while I did sometimes watch Impact on FSN, my viewing was sporadic at best, mainly due to the crappy timeslot. While I did usually like what I saw on FSN, my main criticism was that the matches were too short and usually didn't do a lot to build up the storylines. I have enjoyed Impact on SpikeTV so far though. The matches seem to be longer than on FSN, and they are actually building up some storylines. Some general comments on this week's episode: - Samoa Joe is indeed awesome. This was only the second or third time I've see a full Joe match, and his moves are pretty cool. I wish I could order the PPV to see him wrestle Liger (who's one of my all time favorite Japanese wrestlers), but I don't have PPV capability where I live (long story). - Naturals vs AMW was pretty good, although even I know it's a match that's been done about 200 times. If either team ever gets away from TNA, WWE should snatch them up in an instant. At least TNA sees some potential with Gail Kim, someone WWE never should've let go. I'm not totally sure where they're going with the whole Jarrett-AMW-Team Canada alliance (with Abyss seemingly a part as well). - One of my main criticisms is that it seems like interference plays into the finish of almost every match. I understand it's only an hour show and they need to showcase as many guys as they can leading into a PPV, but last week's show had a lot of run-ins too. - The six sided ring is cool, I don't care what anyone says. TNA is trying to portray themselves as the future of pro-wrestling, and the six sided ring makes them seem cutting edge and different. I think it reminds people of the UFC octagon as well, which lends some credibility. - The production has been very good too. The video package for the Ultimate X match was very cool, and the moves they showed off looked awesome (something TNA should keep highlighting, since you won't see anyone in WWE doing springboard shooting star presses, etc). - I'll give them credit for not focusing the whole show on Jeff Jarrett. He makes a decent heel, but he's been so overexposed for a lot of people to stomach anymore. Overall I'm really enjoying TNA so far, now that I'm getting to watch regularly. I'm so glad they've moved away from the very early days of WCW circa 1999 gimmicks that they had when they first debuted. I hope Spike eventually moves them to a weeknight spot (how about Thursday nights, since I personally miss having Smackdown on that night to watch, when I'm, you know, actually home?)

Well, they _should_ have Jarrett defend against someone. They have Tito Ortiz booked for the show, and not having him work as a ref would be dumb. They've advertised an NWA Title match, and not having one on such short notice would be dumb and probably piss off some fans. (Believe it or not, a lot of people are Kevin Nash marks.) I would have Raven show up and challenge Jarrett, since they've already announced that Raven will be at Bound For Glory, and obviously he still has storyline issues with Jarrett. Larry Z or someone then makes the match official, and Raven goes over Jarrett to win the title with Ortiz somehow factoring into the finish. Then build up to a big three way match of Raven vs Jarrett vs Monty Brown.

Tomko, if they're going to keep using him, is a guy who should _only_ be used in tag matches, or as someone's body guard. He's too green to put out there in a singles match. If they want a big menacing guy who can actually work, they should push Vito instead.