Hawkius Maximus

Those two promos were AWESOME. Hogan was in 1980's form, talking about riding into the pacific with a hippy in one hand, and a palm tree in the other which somehow allowed him to speak to god himself who indeed, said Hogan was in fact, Immortal. THAT was the Hogan I grew up loving. That just made me wanna see this show.

I had given up on Lost, but I've watched the last few episodes and they may have pulled me back in. Desmond is easily the best character on this show now. Unlike the others, he's intelligent but keeps his secrets to his vest and is guided by his own code, not really caring what anyone else knows, or cares. Him saving Charlie, and the internal battle he had on if he should save him again was fantastic in the episode before this...then his slow realization that when he saved Charlie, he killed his vision's original meaning. Absolutely fantastic. Tonight was another example. He gave that guy his word, and no matter what Charlie or anyone else said, Desmond was going to adhere to HIS word. Just absolutely fantastic. Jack's the only other character on the show with convinctions, but Desmond's are his law. Episode with major Desmond influence = GOOD episode.

I downloaded Opera. I'm digging it so far. It doesn't tax my PC at all, and I can watch videos in it, which for some strange reason I lost that ability in firefox looong ago and could never get it back. Thumbs up from just a few hours with it.

Lance Cade is the most obvious one of those four. If you go back and watch Cade's matches before the team with Murdoch broke up, he wasn't very good. Murdoch was carrying just about everything. When they reformed, and Cade had his black hair, there was a GIGANTIC difference in Cade's abilities. He hit harder, he used more credible moves, and he portrayed his character far better. Since then, Cade's only gotten better. I'd argue that he may have passed Murdoch as a worker. He has very credible strikes, he has a very good power game, his character inside the ring is great, and he has fantastic intensity. He's almost like a Steve Williams now. It's fully believable that he's gonna FUCK people up in the ring. On top of that, Cade and Murdoch gel as a team. I don't think WWE's stumbled upon two people who work as well as a team in a long, long time. Their a unit, and have great in-ring chemistry, and double team moves. It's a shame that they've never given them a long term significant push.

For the first time, I'm noticing the memory issues. Right now, with four tabs I'm using 134,000 memory. That's...friggin insane. It's slowing my PC down. I got rid of a tab, it only took me down 1,000. Me thinks I'm gonna have to downgrade, or find a new browser.

I'm not reading the spoilers. Last week, they would have ruined the only thing good about RAW (Marella) I will mark very hard if Harry Smith debuts. This is the perfect chance to do it. Rumors have said he'd be coming up for awhile, so if they want to have the biggest impact possible, this is the night. Just have someone introduce him as the son of the British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith, and you'll get a god reception for Harry. Knowing WWE, they'll wait till their back in the US to do it...because they can.

I thought it was interesting. However, I subscribe to the "Malcolm" theory from the Jurassic Park book. Yes, I know, not the greatest source for theories, but the point was valid during his rants near the end of the book. The idea that we, as humans, are "killing the planet" is idiotic, and conceited. We are changing the prevalent systems on the earth, but we're nowhere NEAR killing the planet. Long after we're dead, the planet will still be here. Provided we don't blow the damn thing up in a whacky Sci-Fi misadventure. If anything, we're just hastening our own extinction. I think if they put the Ecology movement from "Save the Planet!" to "WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!", a lot more would get done.

Mirko has always had a flaw in his fighting abilities. Namely, that he does NOT fight well under pressure. If the opponent refuses to back down from him, it psychologically messes up his fighting. It happened with Hunt, and it happened with Fedor. If his opponent will not give him range and time, he can't function at 100%. Gonzaga knew this. He came straight at Mirko, and REFUSED to yield to him position in the cage. You could see it bothering Mirko, because Gonzaga was constantly staying away from Mirko's powerbase. It was a damned good strategy. If Mirko can't get you within his range, then he can't land shots. The one kick Mirko did land, he bruised the crap out of Gonzaga's side. Gonzaga did a very good job keeping Mirko outside of his comfortable range. Quite frankly, I gave Gonzaga no shot. I knew there was a chance, but I didn't give him any myself. You may have thought Gonzaga would win, but no one predicted what happened. Had Gonzaga ever fucking THROWN a highkick like that before? I don't blame Mirko for being surprised. That shit was STRAIGHT out of left field and cracked him upside the head. You can't prepare for what you don't know is coming. This is probably one of the best examples of that in modern MMA history. Well this and Soukodjou anyway. If you don't know what the hell is going to happen, you can't train for it, and you can't prepare for it. You can CLEARLY see Mirko's thinking "Okay, he's kicking. It's going to be a middle or low kick" and is just...completely caught off guard. I also disagree with the "PRIDE > UFC HW's?! HAH!" sentiment I've seen online. Gonzaga is a relative new face to the division, and UFC hadn't been pushing him at ALL. Even with this loss, Sylvia and Arlovski are still a step or two below Cro Cop, Fedor & Nogueria in ability. Arlovski looked BAD in a fight that he should have easily won when Werdum couldn't do anything. Werdum could not do anything, and Arlovski should have been teeing off on him. Instead he just...stayed back and took the easy JD. Sylvia is...well...Sylvia. The pacing of this show was horrendous. Just...very slow, and the fights themselves didn't exactly set the world on fire. Outside of the shock of Mirko losing, and Bisping's win, I don't think I'll remember much about this show in a week or two.

How does one express the expressionless? if I was Couture, I'd be scared. He put on a brave face for the concept of fighting Mirko, but after watching this...You'd have to be somewhat afraid. How do you prepare for someone like Gonzaga, who just displayed a HUGE aspect of his game never seen before? That wasn't a lucky kick either. He kept away from Mirko's power, pressed the fight, and then psyched him out before the kick. That was skill.

Wait, who...Whoa... You thought this PPV was fantastic, but called Wrestlemania subpar? ...Just gonna...gonna walk away.

I think the Smackdown bookers realize they've got something with London and Kendrick. they could have been broken up so many times before, and after they won the tag titles but they never did it. For months now, Kendrick and London have been a fixture of Smackdown's midcard/uppercard, where they virtually guaranteed a great match every time out. In fact, weren't D&D originally depushed BECAUSE the bookers felt they weren't selling London and Kendrick enough? That suggests that they don't see them as just a team, but a featured part of the "brand". D&D will hold the titles for probably a max of two months. Since day one they've been built up as the London & Kendrick killers, so it makes sense that they get the tag titles back relatively soon. This is probably going to be a long term feud which makes sense. They've already been feuding off and on for the better part of the year, and it'll continue from here. I sincerely doubt London and Kendrick are going to be broken up or depushed significantly anytime soon.

I'm not blaming Russo for the Electrified Cage. He might, or might not have pitched the lights dimming idea, but we all know he's had insane/stupid ideas. So I really don't care. The problem with the idea for the cage...was they USED IT. They had the common sense to explain to Russo why the heels had to have the advantage in the Lethal Lockdown...but someone didn't have the common sense to go, "Hey...Shouldn't we have like...sparks...or something?" The worst part, is they tried to build it up like a legitimate deathmatch with the teases. So once they hit the cage, it just DIIIIIIIIIIED. There's a reason FMW and other companies had a huge show of sparks and fireworks when someone hit the electricity. It's the payoff to the match. It's the whole POINT. They finally hit the cage, a big spark goes off around the wrestler and you legitimately think he got hurt. Just a horrible idea all around. and for gods sake, get two rings for the Lethal Lockdown so they can DO SOMETHING in it. It's basically just a battle royale with teams in a cage as it is. Not enough room to do anything.

There is absolutely no excuse for the Electrified Cage Match. None, whatsoever. Whoever thought the best way to simulate an ELECTRIFIED CAGE was to DIM THE LIGHTS is a complete and utter moron, and should be fired immediately. I don't care who it was, that was the stupidest thing I've seen in wrestling in a long time. The Chamber of Horrors from 1991 simulated electricity better then that, for gods sake.

I thought it was a strong Impact...first Impact I've enjoyed in some time. Black Machismo was friggin great. I'd have went for the straight Pomp and Circumstance instead of the remix though. LAX/3D stuff was where it was. Main event was good. Joe & AJ can't produce a bad match. The post-match angle was good. What really drove the Jeff return was how everyone reacted. While Angle celebrated, the heels were in an almost comatose shock over it, and the faces didn't know what the HELL was going on. That kind of personal selling is what alot of pro-wrestling lacks. Nice job there. I think Jeff coming out without his theme, and without being so frantic would have done more for it...but it was still good.

If I remember right, Gomi broke his fucking EYE with one of those shots. Diaz just...took it. So, I actually do think if he tested that high that it could have numbed the pain significantly. And in any case, it's his own damned fault for being stupid in the first place.

The show was exactly what I hoped it would be: Pure fun. Every fight on the card was fun, entertaining, or exciting. Absolutely no lulls. The heat for the main was really hot, with the fans buying into the "UFC VS. PRIDE" gimmick. There's absolutely no doubt about Sokodjou now. Arona couldn't do anything to him. Arona's never had the best shoots for a takedown, but if he grabs you, your usually going to get pulled to the ground. He couldn't do ANYTHING to Soko, even after having death grips on him. The dude is too well balanced, too skilled, and too strong. He EASILY blocked Arona's best tries, and then made him pay a million fucking deaths for trying it. There is absolutely no one in the LHW division who could eat that uppercut. Anyone would be on their ass after that blow. I don't care who it is; Silva, Liddell, Shogun, it doesn't matter. That blow will turn out ANYONE's lights. Right now, as it stands, he has no weakness. Inless he's got a horrible chin, or pisspoor submission defense (Strongly suspect he doesn't since he's supposed to be a world class Judo fighter) then I have no idea what his weakness is. Superb takedown defense, great grappling, crisp and clean striking that made Arona veeery worried, and INSANE KO power where one shot is just...lights out. Right now, he looks like the total fucking package. Kinda funny, after all the time of people saying Judo wasn't an elite style...Now Sokodjou has emerged, and is WRECKING people using his Judo as a base. He hasn't even showed off what he can fully do with his Judo yet, and if I remember right, he's one of the best to have entered MMA. Right now, PRIDE's got potential to make alot of money off Soko and Aoki. Both are just storming the ranks of their divisions, have good looks, and have charisma. What more could you want? The only thing I hope for, is they do not change anything about how PRIDE runs their Japanese PPVs, and completely NUKES the American office for doing such shitty ass jobs.

There's no words. No words.

I would like to know what constitutes a ***** match for you then. This had LAYERS of psychology, great work, a super hot crowd, and good spots. For the record, Cena DOES sell the knee. He shakes it during his big comeback. Not everyone is a Benoit or Savage. Selling it to that extent is more then 90% of the wrestlers in the world do, and need I remindyou that someone like Angle NEVER EVER sold leg/arm work and yet people ROUTINELY gave him MOTYC honors. Explain that to me. For the record I give it ****3/4 right now.

I'm going to give my thoughts on the show, and ignore about four pages of this thread after my post. I'm not going to try and convince you that Cena's one of the best in WWE, that him going over Shawn was perfectly fine, and that if one smark leaves the WWE over Cena, four marks will be drawn by him...it's a dull topic. Nor will I tell you that Cena's booing is nothing more then something the fans have involved themselves in, like the "what" chants. Cena still draws. He still sells insane merchandise, and he's only going to more popular. Not worth the effort. If you've closed off your mind that much to John Cena, then enjoy it. Cena turning heel would be an astronomically bad idea right now, and if you can't understand that then whatever. MITB: I was actually kind of disappointed in this. After the Jeff/Edge spot it kind of seemed to lose it's speed, like it was planned but it still messed them all up. Matt taking Sharmell hostage was one of the best spots of the entire night I thought. I did like how they teased the Hardy Boys ladder see-saw spot, which I'm sure absolutely NO ONE wants to take anymore. Some of the matches had weird pacing, and I think this was one of them. They teased the ladder spots in the early going, then once the ladders came in play it just seemed like it was a road runner cartoon with no stop for breathing. I expected a little more from it, I think. Kane/Khali: Meh. Twas what was expected of it, really. Saddly, no one got stabbed. Benoit/MVP: I was LOVING this until the abrupt finish. This was another match with weird pacing. They built up the counter wrestling for a significant portion of time, with some very nice exchanges and then right when the match seemed to be getting in gear for a five, ten minute finish spree...it ended. I'm confident with more time, these two will produce some great matches. UT/Batista: This was the big surprise of the show. Batista came to work tonight, and really did his share of the workload. UT, of course, showed why he's a "big match player" and really excelled with some awesome work. I liked how the further into the match they went, the more aggressive Batista became like he was reverting right before our eyes back into his "Demon" era style. Some good spots, including the tope suicida, announcer table powerslam and Batista just tossing UT through ringside objects including the ringbell table for a good visual. Ending was hot as hell, and UT going over was a good moment for the show. ECW/NB: Meh. They could have probably gotten something good had they had a few more minutes, and been allowed to use weapons but it was alright for what it was. Nothing bad, nothing good. BOTB: This was THE big disappointment of the night for me. I went out on a limb with my prediction, and I really paid for it. Umaga tried to carry Lashley, but the match was booked really awkwardly at the beginning, and Lashley wasn't peaking like he could have. They made Umaga look incredibly weak at the beginning of the match with a second rope shoulderblock killing him for some time while Lashley beat on Estrada for no reason. When Umaga took over, Lashley didn't sell Umaga's moves more then simply laying there, while Umaga sold everything Lashley did like he was being killed. Lashley is completely unable to connect to the fans through his in-ring work or his character, which makes "face-in-peril" spots not work at all. Once Umaga whacked Austin the match picked up, but when you look at it...it was really just a tool to get Lashley more over. He had Umaga, Shane, and Vince all working on him, or distracted him and without any help at all he overcame it and beat Umaga after a Stunner. Austin did more to put over Umaga by taking two Samoan Spike's and being KO'd. Just...really disappointing, and I blame the booking and Lashley's inabilities in both charisma and ring-work. Womans: I was surprised Melina retained. Nothing more, nothing less. Shawn/Cena: This was a flat out great match. Everything about it was great. Shawn's cocky attitude at the begging giving way to sheer desperation near the end. Cena's worry turning into a burning desire to win. Shawn working heel, then Cena working heel, then Shawn working heel to keep the fans unable to really do the token "BOO CENA" crap. The teases of the FU, SCM, and STFU were really nice and the fact that Cena had a second finishing hold, while Shawn didn't proved to be the ace up Cena's sleeve again just like last year at WM. Cena's not a brawler, despite what they want to bill him as. Cena's an overall wrestler with good high flying abilities, good brawling, and decent to good technical abilities. Cena can really do ANY style of match now. Shawn was great in the match, selling everything that was going on including the disappointment at having to lose. They had some great exchanges, told a great story about a veteran in Shawn being unable to put away the newer Cena and included many nice spots like Shawn ramming Cena's leg into the post in the opposite direction you usually see, Cena countering the SCM with a Windham-style diving lariat, and the ringsteps Piledriver. The exchanges with Shawn desperately trying to kick Cena away from the STFU were great, and him BARELY surviving the hold despite being right next to the ropes really sold that the move could end it. When Cena got the second STFU, and proceeded to put INSANE tork on it (It's called Leverage, folks. Look it up.) you knew there was no way in hell Shawn was getting out of it but he still sold the small desperate glimmer of hope he had until he couldn't anymore. Just a flat out FANTASTIC match, that may have been better the second time around. ****3/4 to ***** and I do not feel sorry for saying that.

If you have a problem with how that match ended, then you don't fucking know wrestling *AT ALL*. They built up the STFU finish for over HALF THE MATCH, with Shawn desperately trying to avoid it, and barely surviving one before. That's wrestling logic 101. A finish isn't some random headdrop or finisher. A PROPER finisher makes logical sense and is built towards. On top of that, if you do not think the finish STFU wasn't vicious, then you know NOTHING about that hold. Cena was torking the fuck out that, even going SIDEWAYS with it. You would either have to tap out, or your neck and knee are going to be ripped to shreds. And finally, if you do not like Cena, then quit watching WWE right now. Cena's going to main event WWE for ATLEAST the next five years, if not a decade or LONGER. He is our Hogan. Either learn to enjoy him for his charisma and GOOD wrestling ability, or just give it up. Cena is THE guy now. It's not going to change for anyone. So give it up.

This will be the first WM I've ordered since WM 11, the first I've ever paid for by myself, and the first PPV I've ordered by the WWE in two years. I am, as they say, excited.

For everyone saying this is a weak WM card...what do you want? Constant ***** matches? I think some people are being too "smarky" for their own good. Historically, and I know this will shock some people, WM cards...AREN'T that super. The whole purpose of WM is to have the definitive card of the year not to have constant mind blowing matches. There hasn't been a single WM that was top to bottom epic quality work, and I think the term "Wrestlemania Level match" gets thrown around waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much. Every match on this show has an issue, and a reason for taking place. That's the first time that's happened in a loooong time. I fail to see any gaping holes in this card, and I'll do them in order. Kane/Khali: This will be fine. Khali's fun in his way and Kane will likely pinball as best he can for Khali. On top of that, I FULLY expect that chain & hook to be involved in this match to some extent. Either someone is going to be hanged post match, or one of them is going to be stabbed in the head. It's been built up too much to not happen. If UT wasn't allowed to beat Khali, there's no way in hell Kane goes over here. * to ** at best. MVP/Benoit: I fully expect *** or better here. Benoit is...well...Benoit, and MVP is a fine wrestler. I used to mock MVP until I saw him more on SD but not only does he have charisma, he's a good worker who is both good at selling, and has simple credible offense. I expect them to have a solid eight to ten minute match with the promise of far greater matches later on. MITB: I really don't get why some people have called this MITB a weak lineup. This should be the best of the bunch. While someone like Shelton isn't in the match, they threw in both Hardy Boys who more then make up for his exclusion. Booker & Finlay give the match more focus while Edge, Kennedy, Orton and Punk are the only viable winners. This should be a **** ladder match with all kinds of insane spots going on. My pick to win is either Edge or Punk, but any of those four could win it. Lashley/Umaga: This one has gotten ALOT of hate that I've seen, and I don't understand it. Umaga is one of the best workers in the WWE right now. Silly gimmick and everything. He has YET to have a bad main level match, and he's really the most unappreciated wrestler in the WWE. How quickly we all forgot the epic badass match with Cena at the RR. Lashley is limited, and despite his looks he's really not that strong. Lashley has a bodybuilder's body, not a pro-wrestlers and there's a big difference. Since his "strength" is his selling point, it makes him even worse. However, I fully expect this to be COMPLETELY overbooked, and Umaga to completely carry Lashley to the best match of his career. Anything less then *** and I'll be amazed. I'll go out on a limb and predict **** or so. Woman's Title Match: There's really nothing to expect here. Ashley is easily the worst woman WWE has...which is saying something. The question is, what will Melina do to save her job? Will she stiff Ashley in a "fuck it" way, or will she go out there and attempt to pull a Ric Flair and carry a broomstick? Ashley wins, no one really cares, and Melina probably gets fired or depushed severely because I doubt she can work a fucking mirale here. UT/Batista: Having Batista win would be a silly move, and I sincerely doubt it happens. That said, I think this'll be a FINE match. UT really pulls out everything he's got in these situations, and seems to love working with inferior workers. I expect them to have a decent heavyweight match with UT winning convincingly. **1/2 probably, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them work out something better. Cena/Shawn: I saw someone say this'll only be *** at best...Are you KIDDING me? Cena has been fucking fantastic for quite some time in big match situations, and Shawn knows this'll be his final hurrah as a top flight contender. They are going to pull out absolutely everything they possibly can and have an epic final match for WM. This will probably be in the **** or greater range, with anything really being possible. Both men are peaking right now, and this will be a daaaaamn good match. Given how hot this match will be, and what they do in the match, I would NOT be surprised to see them nearly hit *****. So by my calculations, I've predicted THREE **** or better matches, one *** and three below ***. That's a damn good match lineup. Even if you went by the low end of the scale with every match underachieving, there's still NO WAY this show will have less then two *** matches, and several solid matches. After it's all over, provided WWE doesn't royally screw this show up, this WM will go down as one of the best in history.

That eight man could end up being the match of the year, easily. It's going to follow the DG formula (which is probably the greatest junior formula in wrestling) with enough differences on the ROH side to keep it from being a carbon copy of DG scrambles. The only sad part is there's no comedy guy on the DG side to work with Delirious. Someone like Iwasa could have have done something REALLY cool with Delirious. It does kinda amuse me that DG fans bitch about ROH workers, and now in this thread I've seen someone complain about the DG workers in ROH. That's funny.

I took my time to think about this, and to formulate a solid opinion. This isn't probably isn't going to work the way Zuffa wants it to. It's pretty obvious that Zuffa wants to keep PRIDE going as a separate entity, and for good solid logical reasons. UFC isn't very popular in Japan, it would take them time, a lot of resources, and a lot of micromanaging to break into that market, and once you do you have a lot of established smaller feds, and K-1 to deal with. Japan is a HUGE market for MMA, only rivaled by the United States, and I'd argue far stronger. It's like a gold trinket just...sitting there, waiting to be snagged. So the idea is buy PRIDE, since despite their issues, UFC was the only fed PRIDE really allowed to work with them that could buy PRIDE, and then keep it alive in Japan. Rebuild it, get them back on TV, and aim for gigantic shows and crowds. With the right lineup, enough momentum, and some type of hook PRIDE could easily still advance on the Tokyo Dome, or Osaka Dome and do astronomical numbers. It's a fantastic idea...on paper. The problem doesn't come from the setup, but from how different the two markets are. Japan doesn't just watch MMA for the fighting like American's do. Japan wants something MORE. They want to feel like they are watching a spectacle, like a roman gladiator event. In America, it's driven by who the best is. In Japan, it's driven by what's the most interesting match. Japan really doesn't care about wins or losses, they just want to be ENTERTAINED. It's why someone like James Thompson kept being booked by PRIDE. He's not a great fighter...but he's entertaining as hell with his style. That alone is a huge hurdle to pass. Another problem, is while MMA is real in Japan...they still kayfabe it. They don't come out and say Pro-Wrestlers are fake, instead, they say they are "adapting" their style to MMA. PR is soooo important in Japan, that Takada and Sakakibara just MADE UP shit that may or may not happen just to keep their names in the paper. Dana can't just go on some news show and air out all the dirty laundry in Japan. That shit don't fly. You have to CAREFULLY manage both your image and other groups, so that you can work together. With so many freelance based fighters, pro-wrestlers, and groups in Japan, it'd be suicide to upset any of them. Once again, hugely different then in the US. Another big hurdle, is the fact that MMA is primarily judged by TV ratings in Japan. PPV buys really don't mean jack. Hardcores will buy the PPV's to see the full show, but the vast majority of the fans will watch the TV show. TV Companies invest money into the feds to up the production, to get better ratings. K-1 in Japan has the PERFECT setup for this. Their shows don't draw well, PRIDE consistently outdrew them pretty much every time they ran near to each other...but K-1 does monster ratings based off their native fighters, and freakshow draws. Which means their TV company pours more money into K-1, which offsets their costs from the attendance, and helps them continue to grow. It's not really pretty, the shows generally suck...but K-1 knows exactly how to draw in Japan. When PRIDE lost TV, they effectively got their arm chopped off and never got treatment, and slowly died. TV was big in getting UFC popular in the states...but TV is ESSENTIAL in Japan. You cannot exist without it. The big question is, how much will Zuffa pour into PRIDE to make it viable. WEC is easily workable since it's just going to be a low-scale UFC...but PRIDE will require massive amounts of money to pay for production, and the fighters. The fans will not come to see PRIDE inless it's the same product as before. They HAVE to retain that status quo. Zuffa has the money to run PRIDE easily, but at some point if it doesn't take off, the costs versus the gains has to be explored. My final point, is PRIDE's image in Japan is very tarnished. Not only was there the Yakuza scandal (Which I remember saying would kill PRIDE when it came out, but was told no way...HUZZAH!), but they don't have TV and now they'll have the stigma of being sold ... to American's at that. However, there is one thing Zuffa can do immediately to salvage PRIDE's image: Keep Nobuhiko Takada. Takada is largely just an on screen figurehead, but he's IMPORTANT. He gives PRIDE an aura of credibility with the Japanese that they badly need. He's been there since the first show, and without him PRIDE would have never existed (Many call Sakuraba the man who built PRIDE...that's a bogus claim. Sakuraba fueled PRIDE, but he didn't build it. Without Takada, there would have never BEEN a PRIDE. Takada sacrificed his image as one of the elite pro-wrestlers in history to make PRIDE. *THAT'S* building PRIDE.). They either need to give Takada an expanded role backstage to keep him, or offer him something else. It sounds little, but the credibility Takada will give them is massive. Plus, he wears a man-thong on NYE and beats on a gigantic fucking drum. In tune with the PRIDE theme. Without missing a beat. He is god. I think the next few days are going to be very, very important. PRIDE's going to hold a press conference in a few days, that will either announce PRIDE has been sold and will keep going, or PRIDE has been sold and is dead. I think Zuffa CAN keep PRIDE going, but they have to be smart and put people in positions of power that know the fight culture of Japan intimately. If they charge in there guns blazing thinking it'll be just like the US, then it'll already be over.

Anyone know where I can watch The Sheik's HOF video? I tried WWE.com, but it's way too high of quality for my crappy DSL to take.