Tawren

I think Troy will have a strong opening weekend (40-50) and then bomb big time from then on. I did not expect Van Helsing to bring in that much money. I expected it to be a hit, but 54 mil? Gahdamn.

Did they ever give a reason for Garrison Cade's turn at Backlash?

5 Japanese 1. vs Great Sasuke, 4/16/94 2. w/ Shinjiro Ohtani vs Eddy Guerrero and Great Sasuke, 10/22/94 3. vs Jushin Liger, G1 Climax 1992 tape 4. vs El Samurai, 1993 Top of the Super Juniors 5. vs Eddy Guerrero, 6/11/96 5 WCW 1. w/ Dean Malenko vs Raven and Saturn 2. vs Chris Jericho, Fall Brawl 1996 3. vs Bret Hart, Owen Hart Tribute match 4. vs Raven, Souled Out 1998 5. vs Shinjiro Ohtani, 3/20/96 (it aired on WCW TV...yeah) 3 ECW 1. vs Al Snow, Double Tables 2. w/ Dean Malenko vs Sabu and Taz, Return of the Funker 3. Interview with Benoit from Three Way Dance + w/ Malenko vs Public Enemy vs Steiner and Sabu 10 WWF/WWE (since it is a WWE sponsored DVD) 1. w/ HHH, X-Pac, Malenko, Saturn vs Rock, 2 Cool, Rikishi, Foley, 2/7/00 2. vs Jericho vs Benoit, WrestleMania 2000 3. vs Jericho, Judgment Day 2000 4. vs Jericho, Royal Rumble 2001 5. w/ Jericho vs HHH and Austin, 5/21/01 6. vs Austin, 5/31/01 7. w/ Angle vs Rey and Edge, No Mercy 2002 8. vs Angle, Royal Rumble 2003 9. vs Matt Hardy, Smackdown US Title Tournament 10. vs HHH vs Shawn Micheals, WrestleMania 20

Did he and Jericho get a standing ovation for their match at the 2001 Rumble? I seem to remember the crowd standing after that match.

I am not a fan of Homicide, so I don't really care for Homi/Spanky, but RRC3 and 6 man mayhem both look great. Stryker/Shelley also has potential.

Danielson

Wildpegasus, Benoit got several standing ovations at Raw a few weeks ago in Calgary, both during the show and post-show.

Youre just jealous you arent on Originals You aren't on it either.

National Enquirer is a tabloid, no? I call bullshit on this until a real source reports it.

2.8, down from 3.1. Apparently Friends is being blamed for the drop.

From puroresupower.com: Dream Stage Entertainment ran their Hustle-3 wrestling show on May 8th (Saturday) at Yokohama Arena, claiming 12,057 paid. Modified results & news report: Attendance predictions from PPH hosts: Zach Arnold - 12,000 Mike Sempervive - 11,500-12,500 Dr. Keith Lipinski - more than 12,000 1. Kaz Hayashi & Leonardo Spanky defeated TAKA Michinoku & Low Ki in 13 minutes, 22 seconds when Hayashi used his "Final Cut" on TAKA for the win. Hayashi and Spanky are now calling themselves the "ikemen tag team." Ikeman is Japanese slang for "hot guy." 2. Oscar Sevilla, Cynthia Moreno, Pimpinella Estrella, & Mascarita Sagrada defeated Gran Apache, Faby Apache, Polvo de Estrellas, & Mini Abismo Negro in 11 minutes, 32 seconds when Sagrada pinned Apache with a hurricanrana after Faby accidentally hit her father with a belt. In the mixed tag match format, they listed the guys and girls and then for Pimpinella and Polvo, they listed them as "okama." Okama is Japanese slang for "gay." 3. Dusty Rhodes defeated Steve Corino in 6 minutes, 37 seconds after an elbow drop. Blood fight with weapons and attacks. After the match, there was supposed to be a handshake but it did not happen... 4. Tiger Jeet Singh (Hustle mystery man) defeated Zebraman (Kazuhiko Ogasawara under the mask) in 5 minutes, 43 seconds with a cobra claw. Sabu came out with TJS during the ring introduction. After the match, Rhodes & Corino came out to challenge TJS & Sabu to a tag match at Hustle-4. Background information: Nobuhiko Takada, boss of Hustle, decided that he wanted to get his revenge back against members of the Japanese pro-wrestling community who has he feuded with in the past when he was a member of UWF-International. Takada's well-known political enemy in Japan was New Japan matchmaker, Riki Choshu. Choshu was the booker during the New Japan vs. UWF-International series in 1995-1996 that produced heavy cash flow for New Japan. As an attempt to get back at Choshu, Takada decided to place him into a comedy match against samoan wrestler King Adamo (renamed Adamonster since he became a part of Takada's Monster Army team). 5. Riki Choshu defeated Adamonster (King Adamo) in 2 minutes, 35 seconds with a lariat. Background information: Wataru Sakata is a former member of Akira Maeda's RINGS promotion and has fought for both Antonio Inoki (under the UFO banner) and for PRIDE. Sakata is more famously known in Japan as the boyfriend to supermodel Eiko Koike. 6. Mark Coleman & Dan Bobish defeated Shinjiro Ohtani & Wataru Sakata in 10 minutes, 2 seconds when Coleman used a side-crank hold on Sakata for the win. Before the fight, Shimada asked his team, "Dan, are you monster? Mark, are you monster? Do the hustle!" Sakata came out with a brand new costume (he normally wears the shooter gear), this time pantaloons. They did the trademark Ohtani facewash spot in the match. Finish saw Coleman get mount punches on Sakata and then transition into the can opener/side-crank for the win. "Hustle Time" with two "Hustle divas" occurred in bikinis to warm up the crowd. 7. Dynamite Hardcore Hustle Weapons Death Match: Sabu, Kintaro Kanemura, & The Gladiator defeated Masato Tanaka, Tetsuhiro Kuroda, & Tomoaki Honma in 16 minutes, 12 seconds when Gladiator pinned Honma after a top-rope awesome bomb. The theme of this match was that they had hardcore legends from FMW, W*ING, IWA Japan, Big Japan, ECW, etc. in one ring. Joe Son arrived in a thong and started dancing, this as a heat-up for his future appearance in Hustle (for Hustle-4). They did a gimmick in the weapons match where a new weapon would be introduced every three minutes. They had a table, then a guitar, then a bicycle, and then a dustbox. Giant Silva made his appearance with the weapons. Finish saw Gladiator used an Awesome Bomb on Honma through a table for the win. Pre-match angle (Kawada/Foley): A press conference with DSE boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara was held outdoors with two tables holding the three belts that comprise All Japan's Triple Crown championship. Kawada appeared in his usual expensive suit, Sakakibara appeared in same attire, and Foley appeared in his normal red plaid shirt with a black "MONSTER" t-shirt underneath. Foley came to the press conference with a barbed wire bat, as the other Japanese in attendance sat seriously. Foley discussed his last singles encounter with Kawada in Japan, which was in 1991 in an All Japan ring for the "Champion Carnival league." Foley said that this would be a revenge match and that he was not the "green boy" that he was in 1991 in AJ. "Green Boy" is a commonly known term in the wrestling community in Japan if you say it in English. Foley pointed towards AJ's newest "green boy," Taichi Ishikari. Foley went to whack Ishikari with his barbed wire bat. Interview - Foley tells Shimada and Takada about Kawada. "Takada-san, I know Kawada. Great Fighter. But, I am King of Death Match. And, special surprise for Kawada!" Foley said this in somewhat broken English to the Monster army bosses. Background: For those who do not know the angle with Nobuhiko Takada in Hustle, here is some information. Takada has created an American-style army called "Team Takada" or the "Takada Monster Army," with its main goal in destroying the Japanese wrestling community by having access to PRIDE shooters or foreign pro-wrestlers. Bill Goldberg, Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, Giant Silva, etc. are part of the army. Introduced into the army three days before the show were Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Mick Foley. Takada's main pro-wrestling rivals are Naoya Ogawa (who he calls "chicken") and Shin'ya Hashimoto (who he calls "pork.") Takada appeared at a previous Hustle show making fun of the two eating a plate of chicken and pork. Takada makes appearances in ZERO-ONE, All Japan, Hustle, etc. wearing colorful, wacky tailored suits along with sidekick, former Battlarts referee/matchmaker Yuji Shimada. Shimada is currently a member of PRIDE's office and owns a health gym in Japan that is prominently known. Shimada is a big-time wrestling fan. At the same press conference that Nash, Hall, and Foley attended, Shimada appeared as Takada's "Chief of Staff" with his own Hustle girl. The "babyfaces" in the Hustle ring are Naoya Ogawa & Shin'ya Hashimoto, with Toshiaki Kawada (representing All Japan) as a "tweener" (babyface in most occasions, can be a heel against Hashimoto). 8. Triple Crown: Toshiaki Kawada defeated Mick Foley in 12 minutes, 56 seconds after a stiff kick to the face. Before the match, Nobuhiko Takada came out representing the Takada Monster Army (and subsequently got booed). Takada talked about his suits, All Japan's style, pork (Hashimoto), and chicken (Ogawa). All Japan referee Kyohei Wada was the man in charge of the action, but Takada sent "Chief of Staff" Yuji Shimada to be on Foley's side. Foley brought out the barbed wire bat but teased that he wouldn't use it. Main point of the match saw Shimada hand Foley the barbed wire bat, only for Kawada to stop the spot with a back-drop suplex. Kawada put Foley in the stretch plumb. Foley went for Mr. Socko and put it on his hand. Kawada protected himself with kicks, but Shimada pulled Kawada's leg to allow Foley to get Mr. Socko on Kawada. Kawada went crazy for having to taste the dirty sock and started drilling Foley with kicks. Kawada hit jumping high kicks and elbows, then low kicks, and finished Foley off with a stiff low kick to the face for the three count. 9. Naoya Ogawa & Shin'ya Hashimoto defeated The Outsiders (Kevin Nash & Scott Hall) in 7 minutes, 37 seconds when Ogawa pinned Hall. This was Ogawa's first win in a Hustle ring (Hustle-1 - lost to Bill Goldberg, Hustle-2 - lost to Giant Silva). Basic American style angle with Yuji Shimada as the referee. Whenever Hall or Nash had a pinfall attempt on OH-gun, Shimada counted ultra-fast. When OH-gun had a pinfall attempt, Shimada counted slower than molasses. Hashimoto KO'd Shimada with a chop. Ogawa laced into Hall with chops, punches, his finishers, etc. Shimada "woke up" and made a mistake, thinking that Hall was making a cover on Ogawa and did a fast three count. After the match, Hashimoto and Ogawa led the crowd into a "3, 2, 1, Hustle, Hustle!" chant. Post-match, Ogawa appealed to Takada for a war in the pro-wrestling ring. However, Takada said that his attempt to destroy the Japanese pro-wrestling community didn't include just PRIDE fighters and foreign wrestlers - it also included Japanese allies. Takada indicated that he would bring in UWF-International stars to start going after Ogawa & Hashimoto. The first acquisition? The hint was "No Fear." Takayama. ... I want to see Foley/Kawada and Taka/Ki vs Spanky/Kaz so much. Kawada kicking the shit out of Foley? It sounds so priceless.

Yes, those fans HATED, I say they HATED, the Benoit/Jericho series in 2000/2001. Angle/Benoit? The fans shat on it! Advanced matches like Hart/Austin SS96? NOBODY LIKED THAT. My god, we need more generic brawling! THAT'LL BRING THE FANS BACK TO A WRESTLING SHOW! Ever notice how WWE at its peak (2000) both financially and creatively was in its best wrestling stage?

NHL: Tampa Bay: Vincent Lecavalier Boston: Bobby Orr Philadelphia: Eric Lindros (sadly) Toronto: Dave Keon Ottawa: Daniel Alfredson New Jersey: Martin Brodeur Montreal: Maurice Richard Islanders: Denis Potvin Buffalo: Dominik Hasek Atlanta: Ilya Kovalchuk Carolina/Hartford: Ron Francis Florida: John Vanbiesbrouck Rangers: Mark Messier Washington: Peter Bondra Pittsburgh: Mario Lemieux Detroit: Gordie Howe San Jose: Mike Ricci Vancouver: Trevor Linden Colorado/Quebec: Joe Sakic Dallas/Minnesota: Neal Broten Calgary: Theoren Fleury St. Louis: Bret Hull Nashville: Thomas Vokoun Edmonton: Wayne Gretzky Minnesota: Richard Park (just because of his Game 7 2003 opening round goal) Los Angeles: Wayne Gretzky (can't think of any others) Anaheim: Paul Kariya Phoenix/Winnipeg: Bobby Hull Columbus: Rick Nash Chicago: Tony Amonte

Just because it's over doesn't mean it's good. EX. Rikishi

Correct you are, sorry.

Edit: Nevermind, I'm wrong

They had to drop that. It was Goldust. Goldust left. They released him. They shouldn't have done that angle when they knew he was leaving.

"There are some wilder angles planned both for new characters and exisisting characters, including a more outlandish reprise of the old Papa Shango character in a new role for Booker T which is supposed to come out of his Undertaker program." ...it's...just...so...infuriating...sometimes.

LesnarHeyman/Edge is fun, **-**1/2. Angle/Benoit vs Guerreros is really good, around ***1/4 with lots of neat spots. Rey/Noble/Tajiri is chock full of goodness but it has the usual repetitiveness from Rey and Tajiri. Booker/Hardy is fun, if not great. Worth $20? No.

The hype was also "Triple H wants his belt back" and "HBK wants what he thinks he deserves". I'm not saying Benoit doesn't deserve some blame. But he doesn't deserve all of it. On a related note, what did Bad Blood, Unforgiven, and Armageddon get?

Stephanie: Paul WHO? Ultimo WHAT? Rey McMEXICAN? No, we need...um...YOU! Yeah, Jacqueline! That'll work swell. Argh.

Benoit was in the Final Encounter, he wasn't the Final Encounter. Foley/Orton also had a lot more build to it. Would you give Benoit all the credit for the Rumble? WMXX? ALL the credit?

Noble vs London Rey vs Chavo Eddie vs Haas RVD vs Shannon Moore Booker T vs John Cena Maybe not the build that Raw has done for this weeks Raw, but definitely better quality-wise.

Show was built more around Foley's return and the Final Encounter than Benoit as a single person, genius.

Don't like good wrestling, eh?