Just John

No love for Akiyama/Kobashi 04? I thought it was better than the 2000 match. And did you not watch WCW in the 90's or did you just not like any of it?

Bret/Owen Hart vs. The Steiners (1/11/94) Anderson/Flair vs. Savage/Eddie (Slamboree 96) <- Short, but very fun story-driven match Harlem Heat vs. The Steiners (Hog Wild 96) Glacier/Miller vs. Mortis/Wrath (Bash at the Beach 97) Hardy Boyz vs. E/C (No Way Out 2000) <- Should be surprisingly high Haas/Benjamin vs. Mysterio/Kidman (Vengeance 03)

I agree with the Sixers needing to trade AI. I understand the idea of keeping your superstar to keep your team competitive, but this line up Philly is putting out hasn't been anywhere near good in years. Occasionally, they'll make it to the playoffs because the competition is so weak (the East has put 1 or more sub-.500 teams in the playoffs for a few years now). Unfortunately, a few years down the line, it creates a retrospective illusion of success for the team, when in reality, that isn't the case. If you look at the past couple of seasons where Philly has gone to the playoffs, they stumbled in and/or were picked to be beaten easily in the first round. Their current lineup is a not a championship caliber lineup and never will be. Sometimes you have to take a step backwards to go two steps forward.

Anyone wanna bet the match ends with Carlito doing a roll-up and holding the ropes?

The Punjabi Prison match totally needs to be used again with guys who can do more with the gimmick. It was a really cool concept for a match. Also, while the show was good overall, did anyone else think that the theme of the night was lame finishes? I don't think any match had a particularly good one. At least 3 matches had exceptionally bad ones (Hardy/Helms, Taker/Show, Batista/Kennedy), and the rest were just lazy booking.

I hope Show and Kane do another scientific, mat-wrestling clinic like they did on Raw earlier this year (which to date is still one of the weirdest matches I've ever seen).

Finlay turning face? Um, ok. That'll be interesting at least. I'm all for Shelton Benjamin getting shipped to SD. Hell, send Charlie Haas while you're at it. Neither of them are doing anything on Raw, and it replenishes some midcard depth to SD.

Another big thing I thought of... Repeating a spot after a botch. Definitely gives off excessive "these guys are clearly cooperating" vibes. One example would be when Orton did the infamous R-K-Whoa to Chris Jericho. In kayfabe, why wouldn't Jericho start kicking Orton after he fell on his ass right in front of him? Instead, he just stood there for a few seconds and let Orton come back with the same move!

So much for that "shoot" interview being from the heart, eh? I'm also upset that the Haas/Vis program was dropped. I enjoyed Haas being on tv. And the faster DX dies, the better. Turn Shawn heel with Vince, even if it means going against the entire main Raw storyline so far this year. The angle sucks anyway, so why not try something completely different?

Damn, beaten to it.

Good lord. I hope this isn't true. I mean, Nitro's a funny guy and gets some decent one-liners every now and again, but carry Flair on the mic? Um, just wow. I imagine the only reason Gerwitz has a job is because he's a Vince lackey.

I'll break this down by group... Smackdown: - Everything except the leprechaun Raw: - Edge - Mickie James - The 3 guys in the IC title hunt - I actually don't have many problems with the personnel, I just hate the way the show's written ECW: - Nothing

RKO'ed on the truck of his own car? Do some proofreading, WWE. Let me guess: This Raw turns out like every other Raw this year. 40% Michaels vs. McMahon in some capacity 20% WWE title picture, most likely portrayed as a disntant second to item #1 in terms of importance 20% Diva Search (Replacing an extra 20% of traditional filler) 10% traditional filler (IC stuff, Umaga squash, random divas tag) 10% Miscellaneous = 100% shit

Sounds like an interesting show that made the most out of what it had (which admittedly wasn't very much). I'm surprised at the move of making Kennedy the #1 contender. Obviously, it won't stay that way, but throwing him in the Summer Slam ME isn't a bad idea. He has nothing else to do on that show. I'm also disappointed there was no UT murder. I was really hoping they would make that an annual tradition.

Ok, who isn't white? Kurt Angle or Batista? I'd guess Batista, but he still looks like a darker white guy. Batista...how could you not tell? Because he looks like a tan white guy. I would've guessed he was of Italian descent. Anyway, on another note... There is no way Booker's reign will be better than Rey's. It'll be shorter with little to no chance of a clean win. The best he can hope for now is a massive cheating victory over Batista at Summer Slam.

Ok, who isn't white? Kurt Angle or Batista? I'd guess Batista, but he still looks like a darker white guy.

Just to clarify some intent, I was looking for things that do go above and beyond typical pro wrestling physics. In wrestling, it's a given that an Irish whip works, no matter how silly the idea is in real life. Things like worked shoot angles and HHH surviving being dropped 40 feet in a car is stuff I'm looking at. To a smaller degree, some individual moves and spots do come across as exceptionally contrived and fake-looking. I'm looking at things like the catapult and 5 guys who are supposed to be fighting convening outside the ring for someone to jump on all of them.

I know Darsow did lots of jobs on Saturday Night, but they may all have been pre-hole in one gimmick. The best moment was when he was scheduled to face Tokyo Magnum and offered to do the putting challenge instead. Magnum accepted and lined up to putt, but Darsow told him he was doing it wrong. He showed him the "proper" way to putt (laying down and poking the ball like the club was a pool cue). Magnum looked confused but laid down and tried to line up his shot. Except as soon as he laid down, Darsow hit him with an elbow drop. I'm not sure if that turned into a match or not, but it was funny as hell.

I wouldn't be surprised if Dusty has a big role. Makes sense because the show feels so old school.

The liver is the new quad in WWE.

On paper, this looks like a solid show. Then again, so did last years, but I think the thin roster has forced the writers to be more conservative and making safer choices with booking. I think this show will be similar in quality to JD. Predictions: Booker T vs. Rey Mysterio (World title): If SD was any indication, I expect we'll see an above average to very good match. Don't necessarily see it getting too much time for a ME (around 15-20 minutes) just because that doesn't really play to Booker's strengths. Might see the Chavo turn here, or just basic King's Court interferrence. Either way, Booker leaves with the title. Undertaker vs. Khali (Punjabi Prison match):I'll admit that I am curious as to what the match actually is. I know it won't be very good, but the concept is interesting. I can't see the actual match going longer than 10 minutes, but we could very well have a few extra minutes for a Khali murder. UT wins, and quite possibly extends his murder streak (2 more years, and he'll have a killing spree). Batista vs. Ken Kennedy (#1 contender): No question about the outcome of this. Batista comes out, gets a huge pop, 7 minute competitive squash, wins, moves on. Finlay vs. William Regal (US title): Given that Finlay frequently gets 10+ minutes on free tv, I don't see why this wouldn't get 20 or so on a shallow card. I know the "two heels" thing might turn WWE off to that idea, but I think they know if they let these two go out and stiff the shit out of each other, they can get the crowd into it. No way Regal gets the belt since he doesn't work full-time, but you know he'll step it up here anyway. Finlay wins, and they probably get along afterwards. London and Kendrick vs. The Pitbulls (Tag titles): Nice to see two actual teams fighting over the belts, even if they're the only two real teams on the show. Again, with the shallow card, this should get plenty of time and should be a really good match. The problem is, what does either team do without the belts? Probably not much, but Kendrick and/or London could go for the CW or possibly US title. When in doubt go with heel champs, so I predict a Pitbulls victory. Greg Helms vs. Super Crazy (CW title): Should be a decent match with enough time. Both guys are just drifting right now, so I think Helms retains and Super Crazy goes off to ECW. Jillian vs. Kristall vs. Ashley vs. Michelle (Bra/Panties): Lame time-filler. Won't last too long. Just your typical T/A match piss break. If I have to pick a winner... Um, Ashley, I guess. Don't see anything earth-shattering here, outside of maybe Khali's death. Booker/Batista is a fairly predictable program, and the rest will just be business as usual. I think the writers will let the wrestling carry the show, as opposed to overbooking to compensate for injuries (as evidenced by letting Finlay/Regal go one on one).

Another good show from SD. I really want to know who writes this show because it's obviously not the same people writing Raw and ECW. For all its faults, SD is very efficiently booked with the strengths maximized and the weakness kept to a minimum. Minus the diva search (which I admittedly fast forwarded), everything moved along and furthered some storyline. The workrate matches at the Bash (Basically all the title matches) were built up in the ring, while non-workrate matches (Khali/UT and Batista/Kennedy) were built with short, but effective promos. The divas tag was just kind of there, but like most bad things on SD, it was short and out of the way. This was a very well done pre-ppv show, which isn't something WWE does too often. And JBL gets better each week on commentary. He's starting to settle in and not be so blatantly biased. The chemistry with Cole is improving a lot too, as they're not arguing with each other all the time. Friendly announcers that know when to discuss things and when to rib each other are better than guys that argue non-stop.

Any chance we can get a match listing here? I'll probably DVR it anyway, but I'd like to know what I can look forward to besides some promos the diva shit.

Judging it on its own merits, I think the show is still awful. It's consistently the worst wrestling show on tv. Yes, even behind Raw (which at least has some decent characters).

My favorite Scott D'Amore jobber moment was when he teamed with Lenny Lane and Joey Maggs to get squashed by The Giant in a 3 on 1 match.