Just John

JBL from No Mercy: (Referring to Marty Garner): He looks like he just walked out of a concentration camp. (About Miz's b-day): He could give me a birthday wish... He could die.

I'm surprised no one guessed Orton as Edge's guest. Wasn't there a rumor going around a couple weeks ago that those two were the next feud for DX? Anyway, I think it makes perfect sense, though their choice of video for the build was rather odd. Two disgruntled young guys (well, Edge has to be about 30, but still) who are pushed aside for the old, tired, un-funny antics of HHH and Shawn. Good feud, but unforutnately, it will likely fail due to the "Millionaire's Club effect." That is, the fans are told that the young guys who have very valid points are evil for wanting to move up the card. The face/heel roles should be reversed, but they won't and DX will almost certainly go over. Our only hope is that Edge does most of the talking and doesn't take any of HHH's shit and shoots right back at him. Other notes on Raw: - DX still sucks. Both promos were long, and not funny. Note to HHH: Shoots are best when used sparingly, and not to openly bury other people on the roster. - Who the fuck did the Highlanders piss off? Seriously. - The opening promo was good. Booker ruled all, and Cena even got in a couple good lines. - WWE is really dropping the ball with Cade and Murdoch. Disappointing, yet not surprising. - In kayfabe terms, Coach must be the dumbest GM ever if he thought Jeff Hardy would teach The Big Show a lesson. - The Flair legends reunion was pretty cool. - Has any tag division ever any worse than the one on Raw right now? - Benoit is awesome. I wish he could've had a longer match with Shelton. - Why did Kennedy do next to nothing after pushing UT to the limit at NM?

The Austin/HHH alliance always confused me. I mean, HHH had clip in his tron where he was hitting Austin with a sledge hammer. They did have some good beatdowns on the Hardys, though. I always hated the unwritten rule in wrestling that all faces like each other, and all heels like each other. I think it'd be funny if in the background of backstage segment to have random guys like Orton and Jeff Hardy talking like friends.

Hahahahahaha... We can see the asses of Vince, Coach, Big Show, and 5 midgets over the course of 2 months on Raw, but a one-second slip-up on "that other show" and the PR monkeys are out giving the typical WWE phony apologies. I'd hate to see Regal's package as much as the next guy, but isn't this double standard a little much, even in WWE?

Fox sold the game on the premise of "OMG TO goes back to Philly!" And how many times could they mention that he was doing absolutely nothing? If anything, calling attention to the fans yelling at him (which almost no one would've picked up on tv) is just more attention whoring. NBC was pretty shameless in their post-game interview too. McNabb says on the first question he doesn't care about the TO thing, so naturally the interviewer follows up asking more questions about him. At least I didn't hear anything about him on CBS (though I didn't see any of their studio show).

Lashley was on Raw when they hyped the Raw vs. SD Survivor Series match. I think we can all agree Raw Homecoming is just a stupid name. On the surface it sounds special, but even the slightest bit of thought makes you realize how dumb it is. Sort of like Taboo Tuesday.

Something that popped into my head while talking about WWE weddings... In 1999, I remember something about Stephanie getting hit in the head with a trash can thrown by the Bulldog. She then suffered some amnesia, I think. What was the timeline on this? Did anything happen with the Bulldog? And how was the amnesia resolved?

Yeah, but everything with Test was pretty boring. Here's how'd I rank 'em: - Edge/Lita - Kane/Lita - Billy/Chuck - Test/Steph - Al/Dawn - HHH/Steph The last two both really sucked, but Dawn sexing Al to death was slightly better than Vince looking down Steph's dress.

Good times. This was like the one week WWE actually did something right with Orton's character. And Kane's work from unmasking to being killed by Snitsky at Taboo Tuesday was the best he's ever done. Comedic gold week in and week out. I'm not sure where this ranks in terms of attitude-era weddings, but it's up there with the Billy/Chuck swerve and the Edge/Lita white trash extravaganza. The wall of fire was great.

Screen capture (I think most WWE.com pics are anti-right-click). Not sure how it works on Windows, but if you have a Mac it's command+shift+4. That'll give you a cross hair which you can use to capture whatever image you want, then it saves in a PDF file.

I forgot about that hilarious WWE vs. ECW banter between all the announcers. Styles: It's "sports entertainment" that gives Finlay a leprechaun on Smackdown! Lawler: There's a leprechaun on Smackdown? Tazz (embarrassed): Yeah, there's a leprechaun on Smackdown.

Tough loss for the Titans today. Very uninspiring win for the Colts who, though undefeated, look more vulnerable this year than in years past. Of course, the Patriots built a dynasty on doing the bare minimum, so maybe the Colts are on to something. The Bears look in top form. I can see why their bandwagon is overflowing. Good start for Arizona today. Hopefully they can sustain this level of play with Leinart in.

Scorpio's in Japan right now, so it certainly won't be him.

I thought it was cool. And I'm not a huge fan of Fox. Meanwhile, how the hell do the Titans have a two-score shutout lead on Indy?

Edge's whole promo with the Summer Slam poster was great. "Of course, DX has to be front and center, no surprise there. And look! They're holding hot dogs! Oh, I'm dying of laughter. And then there's Cena doing what he does best... Looking like a complete idiot (you really have to see Cena on the poster for maximum effect). And we had to get Batista on there before he gets injured again."

Word on the streets is MVP isn't too good in the ring. If that's true, the loser gimmick makes perfect sense. There aren't many things worse than listening to announcers trying to tell you a guy is a great talent when it's obvious to everyone he sucks (See: Chris Masters last year).

Check my sig every 1-2 weeks. Some more JBL goodness: Cole: And there's the little bastard! JBL: Shut up, Michael Cole, he might have parents! *Vito's dress flies up* JBL: Oh, come on! My mother watchers this show! *Cole and JBL have an argument during a Sylvan/Tatanka match* JBL: Alright, alright... Let's just get back to watching the Indian and the Quebecer. JBL: I don't know anything about figure skating. That's something you talk about when you're at the bar with Vito. Cole: There's Jillian, your former image consultant. JBL: She wasn't my image consultant... I lost her in Japan.

The best part about the Yankees losing was that MLB message board. E-Fraud's a 65 on the choke-meter. What teh fauk.

They wanted their "best defensive lineup" on the field. Don't know if I agree with the call, but it didn't hurt them today, so no problem I guess.

The thing is, they're advertising Rey and Chavo for Raw Homecoming. That's why I think Rey wins, then Chavo beats him up later. And I think MVP being a loser who can't back up his own hype would be a better angle than MVP becoming another generic, arrogant heel midcarder. He'd practically be the same thing as Elijah Burke. Oh well, just a difference of opinion, I guess.

Ah, thanks. "You think this is about... Coffee?"

I have stupid class times and missed most of the A's/Twins games... What is this about spilling coffee?

Actually looks pretty solid on paper. Nothing really must-see, but I bet the show turns out pretty well, about on par with Judgment Day. Anyway, predictions baby: King Booker vs. Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Batista (World title): Every combination brings something to the table in this one. I know Booker/Batista at Summer Slam was a mess, but with the other two, I don't think things will get as confused and sloppy. I don't like the spontaneous booking (reeks of GAB), but the match should be solid nevertheless. I say Booker retains by sneaking a pin on Lashley after the other two are taken out. Chavo Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (Falls Count Anywhere): Battle of the former Juniors. Should a be a decent match, as these two have good chemistry. I recall them having an above-average hardcore match on SD a while back. I think Chavo gets the Eddie treatment, and loses this match. He then gets revenge on Rey on Raw or SD. Ken Kennedy vs. The Undertaker: I don't get why this can't be for the US title. Kennedy hasn't defended it since he won it. Oh, I know... Taker has to go over clean. Same old shit. Kennedy looks ok, about as good as he looked against Batista, but Taker still pins him. Doesn't help anyone, but I guess the marks will eat it up. Paul London and Brian Kendrick vs. KC James and Idol Stevens (Tag titles): Should be a solid filler match. James and Stevens are pretty bland, but Team ROH is always fun to watch. I'm really shocked at how much they've been getting put over, so I don't see them jobbing to the greenhorns here. L/K go over clean, Ashley thwarts Michelle interference attempt. Matt Hardy vs. Greg Helms: Another should be title match. These guys have done well so far, but hopefully they mix it up with some new spots in this match. Since it's non-title, Matt wins, but Greg gets to keep his meaningless and false label of "longest reigning champ in sports entertainment." MVP vs. Mystery Opponent: This could go one of two ways. (A) The opponent is Scotty 2 Hotty, MVP wins easily, low card push. However, I'd rather choice (B)... The opponent is Chris Benoit who destroys a MVP who gets turned into a loser who can't back up his own hype. SD has too many guys filling the low card push spots like Sylva(i)n and Terkay, so I think going with choice B is better. Gives us a fresh, interesting character with real potential. Oh, and it gives us Chris Benoit. Which is always a good thing.

Good show from what I saw. Unfortunately, I had to step out before the ME, but everything else seemed alright. The Booker/Finlay match was good as expected, and Lashley/Batista was a surprisingly nifty power match, that could be huge later on. I know some people were complaining about this happening now, but I thought what they gave us was a good teaser before the interferrence. Speaking of that interferrence, that was weird as hell. Booker chased Finlay down to the ring just to beat on him, then Lashley and Batista still fight after the bell for no reason, then after about a minute they finally paired up with who they're feuding with. At least it led to a Dean Malenko AND Mike Rotundo sighting.

On the lines of young wrestlers, I was watching a show from 2000, and JR called Benoit and Jericho "youngsters with bright futures ahead of them." Never mind they had each been wrestling for 10 years or more by then.