Just John

1993 Sting, Davey Boy Smith, Dustin Rhodes, and The Shockmaster beat Sid Vicious, Vader, and Harlem Heat

Test's best match was at WM 17 against Eddie Guerrero. He's usually very boring no matter what, but tonight was one of those wtf anomaly matches that all bad wrestlers are bound to have from time to time.

RVD/Test was not as good as RVD/Holly. It was decent and had some nice spots, but was way too overbooked down the stretch with the security and Show. And that top rope flying con-chair-to should've been the finish. I have a very high tolerance for suspension disbelief in wrestling, and I didn't even buy that.

I actually got a tape online with all the Wargames matches, so I watched 'em all in about 3 sittings. I think what bugs me the most is how repetitive they get, and how many spots are recycled year to year. I can't count the number of times someone got military pressed into the top of the cage repeatedly, and of course, the heels won the coin toss every year. As stand alone matches, they range from passable to really good, but I strongly recommend not watching them all together. My favorites were 91, 92, 96, and 97. 92 was definitely the best traditional formula WG based on hatred, violence, and the face team overcoming the odds. The other three all stand out because the heels actually go over. 91 has an especially sick finish. I feel 96 has the best story of any WG match with the fake/real Sting storyline going on and the NWO at the top of their game. I think 97 gets overlooked because of the lack of star power, but there were more innovative cage spots, some real hatred (think about that Nash mocking Arn promo), and a good heel turn which is something that hadn't been done before either in WG. 1998 was by far the worst thanks to nonsensical rules and too much Warrior silliness. 95 wasn't real great either, probably the worst traditional format WG.

Hopefully Striker is the designated fall guy in this one. The ECW originals badly need some wins, and this should be an easy way to do it without compromising Show's status.

Quick Poll: Which shoot comment this year makes HHH look like a bigger asshole? 1. "You are the champion, not a very good wrestler though." (To Cena) 2. "What are you gonna call it? How to lose 50 pounds in 4 weeks?" (To Masters)

Raw's big matches have frequently involved Vince and Shane, so a ton of overbooking is necessary to keep those matches watchable. Raw's other big names like Cena, Edge, DX, and Foley, while infinitely more diverse than the McMahons, still excel in gimmicky matches. SD builds feuds around guys than can straight up wrestle, so no gimmicking is necessary. Still, SD has been consistently better than Raw pretty much all year.

I loved Cole's zinger on JBL earlier this year. JBL: I'm going to Germany this weekend to watch the World Cup! Cole: They're gonna let you back into Germany? ... ... JBL: That's not funny, Michael.

So, the Big Show has a new shirt. Contender for lamest ever?

On the jobber note, I just can't take it seriously when an announcer shills a newcomer for going over a "veteran" like Val Venis or Scotty 2 Hotty.

Pretty good show, again, though not much of note. Everything was pretty by-the-numbers, save for Wang losing in his debut. That match was still awesome for 3 reasons. - The Yang Time - Camera zoom in on sign reading "Tulsa <3's Wang" - Cole going above and beyond to protect kayfabe (def. my new sig quote) Oh, and I think Cole is shilling for Miz because it makes him seem even more annoying. It's like they know he'll get booed, but they try to push him as a face hoping the crowd will still hate him, if that makes sense. It's like a controlled Cena effect.

The way the quote is written makes it look like a shot at Angle.

You think WWE is a little bitter that Angle's in TNA? Maybe?

I was watching PTI the other day and they showed this great clip from some bush-league racing circuit where a guy got pissed and did a running dropkick to another guy's windshield. Tony called it "WWF-like" which bothered me. Not because it disses wrestling, though. I know real people don't care about wrestling and all that jazz, but in four years, you'd think they could catch on to the fact it's WWE now. Talk to Bill Simmons or something, jeez.

I think the Clippers will be looking at about as much success as they had last year. Playoffs for sure, can probably advance to 2nd round or even the conference finals depending on how the teams fall. Don't see 'em as a championship contender, though. They moved laterally by making 2 moves in the off season that basically cancelled each other out (losing Vlad, getting Thomas). Actually, Thomas is probably a net gain, but not a huge difference maker. I was really hoping they'd get the AI deal that was rumored over the summer. If T-Mac plays in early 05 form and Yao plays in early 06 form while both guys stay healthy, watch out for the Rockets. I like some of the spot-up shooters and defenders signed in the off season, but it all comes back to the big two staying healthy. If they can, I'll say the Rockets are a top 4 team.

Blaming the McMahons or DX. What's wrong with you?

Huckster, Nacho Man, et al.

If Jericho went to SD, he'd be fine. It's so obvious that Vince doesn't care about that show one bit and doesn't contribute anything to the booking. How else do you explain Rey and Booker getting the World title while Paul London and Brian Kendrick are pushed as serious threats? Jericho could easily be a serious champ on SD. Jericho/Benoit for the World title instead of the IC title? Oh yeah.

You know, if an "undeserving" team makes the playoffs, it's still up to someone else to eliminate them. If they're so shitty, it shouldn't be a problem. I say if an 83-win team can beat three 90+ game winners, they deserve to win the Series. It's all about who shows up and plays the best ball when it counts. If the regular season top dogs can't get it done, fuck 'em. They deserve to lose to a team that played better. Also, there's the whole problem of arbitrarily deciding how many wins makes you acceptable. Should we have just handed the WS to the Mariners when they won 116 games?

I feel bad for whomever has to watch CLE/OAK. That game will be beyond ugly.

That would be Curt Menefee. He used to do play by play with Tim Green, I wanna say. Anyway, I saw Curt during the halftime show and it threw me off. Can someone explain how it works with Curt and the unbearable Joe Buck splitting time?

Not a bad ECW show. RVD/Holly was some good spot wrestling and Holly's gash really added a lot to the match and his character. Show/Sandman was predictable, but at least it wasn't too overbooked. I'm surprised they acknowledged CM Punk having a gf when he's been close to accepting an invite from Kelly to strip for the past couple weeks. Can't say I'm looking forward to his match with Knox, but hopefully it's an easy win and he can move on.

The Astros are my favorite team. I just can never get into posting about them for an entire season. I am glad this board has a resident Astro shill, though. I never understood why everyone hated Houston all of a sudden, anyway. I can see people hating Roger, but what do people have against the rest of the team? No exceptionally high payroll, no history of domination, I don't get it. I saw someone say the Crawford boxes... You know everyone can take advantage of those, and it's not like the entire team demanded them when the stadium was built. Oh well, I'm glad the Astros at least decided to try at the end of the season. If they make it, talk about doing the bare minimum.

Alright show, only one note from me... How did the fact that Mikey jobbed to a PUNCH get overlooked? He jobbed to a Flair PUNCH.

I like CBS. The studio show is good and not overloaded with gimmicky stuff. The game announcers are solid top to bottom. I especially like Gumbel, Harlan, and Dierdorf. The screen isn't filled with unnecessary or tacky graphics. Bascially, they just don't try to be fancy, and that works a lot better than the other stations who try too hard.