Cheech Tremendous

If WWE is forced to clean up, most of the other promotions will as well. In the current environment, there is increased incentive for WWE to push the wrestlers who use steroids because they have been traditional money draws. Therefore, the workers are indirectly encouraged to be users for two reasons: 1. it helps them ascend the card, which allows them to make more money and 2. if they choose not to use they might be passed over by someone who is willing to. If Congress is able to stronghand WWE into a difficult drug testing program, there will be far less rewards for steroid users (and possible negative repercussions as well). Theoretically that would trickle down to the lower card workers and those working the indy scene. Once there is realization that there is no reward for usage, the incentive goes away and so does much of the drug abuse. It could be a long and arduous process, but that's the basic premise.

Sorry, but that's one awful fucking card.

But Yokozuna was actually good. And once again you're forgetting they also pushed the smaller wrestlers like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, etc. And Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels have both been linked to steroid usage at various times in their career as well. But who really cares about other two-bit promotions? Pro wrestling and WWE are synonymous terms in American culture. That's like sayin that Congress shouldn't worry about cleaning up MLB because there might be users in Joe Blow's company softball league. WWE should be and will be the no. 1 target.

At least we now know that the real Kenny Williams is alive and well and that the evil imposter that surfaced from 2005-2006 has been eradicated.

A judge denied the Associated Press' request to have the names in the Jason Grimsley cased disclosed to the public. They said it might compromise current investigations. I guess you're safe for now Roger.

Then those people are extremely naive. I suspect just about everyone that's been in the WWF the last 20 years of doing steroids. That may not be fair, but there's just way to tell who is and isn't on them.

Well, yes I know that. I just wanted to point out that WWE still has a ridiculously hard travel schedule that causes excessive strain on their workers. I was amused how many people cited the easier schedule compared to the eighties during the Benoit debates.

I could care less what size guys are. I just want the industry cleaned up so that my favorite wrestlers stop dying in their 40s.

But hey, the travel schedule is easier compared to the 80s right?

I find this to be the most interesting statement in the whole article. Once they get into seeing the flaws in the testing program, the many guys with "presciptions", the unreported failed tests and everything else that makes their policy a joke, the WWE might be in some serious shit. If it really parallels what they have done to MLB, this won't go away easily and the WWE will forced into wholesale changes. If anything, it looks like there might be some industry changing positives associated with the Benoit tragedy.

Hear that sound... that's everyone at WWE headquarters collectively shitting a brick.

I asked a similar question earlier in this thread (although in my scenario Hogan just returns to WWF), but go no responses. I figure that Flair would have remained the babyface champion throughout the fall, eventually transitioning the belt to a heel Steve Austin at Starrcade '94. Austin spends most of 1995 defending against Flair, Sting and Savage (and maybe Steamboat if he doesn't get injured). Guys like Duggan, Beefcake and HTM would have never been signed and the promotion would have looked much the same way as it did from December 1993 to May 1994.

Interesting deal for the Rangers. I wonder if that decreases the likelihood of a Saltalamacchia deal now that they have a stud young cather in the fold. Granted, Ramirez might not stick at C because of his defense, but the same concerns could be applied to Salty as well. With the opening of CF in Texas, I'm starting to think that Theo should revisit the idea of a Lester/Ellsbury for Teixeira deal. I'm not sure if that's enough to get it done for the Rangers perspective, but it would certainly give them some young talent to work with.

With regards to Booker v. HHH, it was being reported for weeks beforehand that HHH would go over because they wanted to keep him strong for a title program with the recently signed Goldberg. With Benoit, Meltzer was reporting in December of 2003 that he would win the Rumble, switch brands, get the title at Mania and feud with HHH through 2004 a la Steamboat/Flair and their 89 series. I just don't see how you guys could be surprised by a match finish when it was given away months beforehand. They do change their minds a lot, but when it comes to Mania this stuff is usually set up for months.

Sigh... the more things change, the more they stay the same.

January 2000-March 2000 was much, much worse. That was the worst booked promotion I've seen in my entire life and I've been watching since the mid-80s. Russo's first run in late 1999 had its moments and I think things would have been okay had he gotten another 6-12 months to establish new characters and round out some storylines that he was starting to build. Three months just isn't enough time to property evaluate a booker.

It was an okay read. It's been a while since I've read it, but I remember it being well written. It is filled with some factual errors, but nothing so egregrious that it makes you question his credibility. It's a nice overview of Vince McMahon and WWF's rise to power. It's a little easier to manage than pouring over old Observers.

How was that shocking when they built to it for 3+ months?

I feel bad for Utley. He was probably the NL MVP up to this point (although the dimwits in the BBWAA never would have voted for him). Philly has an important decision to make. Do they go after one of the big bats on the market to try and go for it, or do they sell off Rowand and other pieces (Burrell?). Could be an interesting subplot as we approach the trade deadline.

Much like porn, wrestling is one thing I don't need to see in HD.

I'm still the only Zeppelin fan I know that loves Presence. Well, me and Jimmy Page.

Beers: 1- Stone IPA 2- Pelican Ale 3- Lucky Lab's SuperDog 4- Widmer Hefeweizen 5- Great White

the guy telling us to check history needs to check history himself, you're saying? Well, more checking than seemingly taking one book at face value. The value of Ms Hammer's contributions are way overblown, that's for sure. I do admit to liberally borrowing the opinions put forth in Sex, Lies and Headlocks, even though it's been shown that some of Assael's fact-checking was spotty at best. I've emailed Meltz to see if he can shed a little more light on the subject. Maybe I'm attributing too much to her, but it is fact that she was there when the company turned the corner. Many people have credited her involvement as a determining factor, but admittedly, that is conjecture. Regardless, I think many in the thread are missing the point of what her involvement can mean. It's not about Attitude or old stars, it's about putting on compelling television. She at least had some input during their most successful period ever and has a similar reputation with other products. I don't know if that means anything, but I get sick of the knee jerk reactions on this board to anyone that is not smark friendly being involved in the product.

I like Pro Football Prospectus and FootballOutsiders.com for my NFL coverage.

By the way, for those of you piling on without doing any research, Bonnie Hammer was not a big fan of Vince Russo's work and helped him streamline it to stop confusing viewers (something he could have used in TNA and WCW, respectively). According to Sex, Lies & Headlocks, Bonnie was assigned to Vince and WWE after their disgust over the Pillman gun angle. She had never watched wrestling, but came in and overhauled the product so that it would be appealing to mass audiences. She once remarked to Russo, "If I can't understand what's going on in the first five minutes of the show, then we're in trouble. You have to get viewers in right away, tease them." She was responsible for many of the changes we take for granted now. Among her changes to the product were the estabishment of hot minutes (9, 10, 11 o'clock hours) to help draw viewers. She wanted the best stories displayed at these times. She helped them flesh out their one-dimensional characters. She convinced Vince McMahon to become an on-screen character. She encouraged them to establish strong female characters (like Sable) that women could respect. In my opinion, she's exactly what the product needs right now.