strummer

Holy Shit, did anyone just see that TD by NorthWestern, that has to be the worst tackling ever by TCU. It was like a 7-8 yard route and the receiver make one move and just breezes by the rest of the defense for about 60 yards. Fun game.

Bruce was Brother Love/Reo Rogers. He was also an announcer briefly in the mid/late 80s (pre Brother Love), doing some house shows at MSG. He is known for doing GREAT impressions of other wrestlers (Piper most famously, also Dusty Rhodes, Stu Hart) He started doing exclusively backstage stuff in late 90/early 91 when Brother love was killed off by Ultimate Warrior. He briefly became Reo Rogers (cowboy, hick heel) in 94, but that lasted literally like 4-5 weeks. Brother Love returned briefly in 95-96, to add heat to programs, most notibly Bret /Backlund. Steve Austin made his debut on the Brother Love show in Jan. 96. In later years he has produced vignettes along with Stephanie McMahon/Paul Heyman/Gerwirtz/Vince. He became head SD writer in FEB 2003 when Heyman was fired.

Owen was this close to being fired in 93, but Bret saved his job and got him a push. Lanny Poffo was fired while Savage was still with the company. I'm sure there are other examples, can't think of any more

Brothers. Bruce has been working backstage and on-air for WWE for about 20 years.

"Associated Press MIAMI -- Florida State, Miami and Atlantic Coast Conference officials have decided to postpone the Seminoles-Hurricanes game, originally scheduled for Monday, to Sept. 10 because of the immiment threat of Hurricane Frances. The game, to be played in the Orange Bowl, was the only prime-time game on Labor Day. It will still be televised by ABC. Miami is No. 5 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll and No. 6 in the AP poll. Florida State is ranked sixth and fifth, respectively. Meanwhile, Florida's season opener Saturday against Middle Tennessee State was postponed because of Hurricane Frances. Florida's game, which was to be played in Gainesville, will be rescheduled Oct. 16, athletic director Jeremy Foley said Thursday. The Gators are ranked 10th in ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll, 11th in AP's poll. Miami has had two games postponed because of hurricanes in the last seven years. The Hurricanes had a game against UCLA postponed more than two months in 1998 because of Hurricane Georges, and one against Temple was delayed nearly three months in 1999 because of Hurricane Irene. In baseball, the Florida Marlins' game Friday against the Chicago Cubs has been postponed, with no makeup date set. The Marlins said no decision has been made on whether to call off Saturday's or Sunday's games. In the NFL, the Miami Dolphins said Thursday they were still planning to travel to New Orleans for Friday's preseason finale with the Saints, but that could change. Players are concerned about leaving their families behind to deal with the storm. against the Cubs or when Friday's postponement will be made up. Several other sporting events had already been postponed or canceled, including Thursday night's Jacksonville-Florida International football game and Saturday's Gateway Classic between Bethune-Cookman and Savannah State at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville. Hampton and Jackson State moved their season opener Saturday from Orlando's Citrus Bowl to Virginia. Frances, which is packing winds of 145 mph, is expected to hit the state late Friday or early Saturday. On Thursday, as more than a million people were told to clear out, residents scrambled to board up homes and stock up on water ahead of what could be Florida's mightiest storm in a decade. A hurricane warning covered much of the state's eastern coast, meaning wind of at least 74 mph was likely by midmorning Friday, three weeks after Hurricane Charley raked the state's western coast with 145 mph wind, causing billions of dollars in damage and killing 27 people. With its winds also at 145 mph, Frances is as strong as the Category 4 Charley, and it's twice the size, with hurricane-force winds extending up to 80 miles from its center, said Stephen Baig, a forecaster at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. That means the path of destruction could be much wider. Frances was also about twice the size of 1992's Hurricane Andrew, the Category 5 storm that destroyed much of southern Miami-Dade County. Traffic on Interstate 95, a main Atlantic coast highway, started to back up by lunchtime Thursday. Supermarkets were stripped of bottled water and canned goods, and long lines formed before dawn outside home supply stores in Palm Beach County, with dozens of people hoping for a chance to buy plywood or generators."

David Wright so far this year .299/ .329/ .552 Damn, if he could get that OBP up, he could be one hell of a player. He takes pitches and has long at bats, but never walks, it's weird. He's a patient hitter, but hopefully those long at bats turn into walks in the near future. This is the guy that Mets fans will be talking about in the future, forget Reyes or Humber, if this continues, he will be the hope for all Mets fans.

if it wasn't for David Wright (2 more homers today, on base 3 times), I would have committed suicide weeks ago. He is the only reason to watch the Mets. Nice 1-10 homestand for the Metsies, 13 under .500 and falling BTW, Bruiser, the Cubs/Marlins game tomorrow has already been postponed because of the hurricane, Saturday's game will most likely also be cancelled.

Favorites: Savage crying on the way backstage after losing to Steamboat at WM 3 Savage/Warrior from WM 7 Warrior returning at WM 8 Ladder Match at WM 10 Owen FINALLY winning a title at WM 11 Pretty much all of WM 14, except for the opening battle royal Stephanie's outfit at WM 2000 Everything at WM 17 except for RTC/Tazz + APA, Chyna/Ivory Heenan getting a huge pop at WM 20 Benoit winning the title Worst Beefcake/HTM from WM 4, match felt like 45 minutes, when it was only like 6 Duggan/Bad News from WM 5 All the filler at WM 6 (filled with squashes) All of WM 9 the dead crowd at WM 15 ( can't blame them though) Bossman/UT HIAC Dead crowd at WM 2000 the Hardcore title nonsense at WM 18 the thrown together tag matches at WM 20

The Marlins are 23-4 vs. the Mets and Phillies this year. And they are 46-58 versus everyone else. WOW

A MikeSC, explain the success of 80's WWF. TERRIBLE wrestling, big business. Hogan fighting big stiffs on top and drawing huge houses. JYD, ANDRE, Bundy, Studd all subpar workers that did good business. I'm not all for Sports Entertainment, but there has been bad wrestling that has drawn. 84-90 in WWF, and 98-99 WWF. Zeus did a huge buyrate at SS 89, better than the next 7 Wrestlemanias (from Meltzer). If the people care enough about the workers, sub par wrestling can draw. I'm not saying it can today, but it has in the past.

YES network said it was the worst shutout loss in American League history and the worst shutout loss in baseball since 1900. WOW.

Angels making it interesting 10-7 in the 9th, Mike Myers getting knocked around Vizquel fails in his attempt to get his 7th hit of the game as he goes 6-7

One positive for the Cubs is that they don't have to play the Cardinals again. The talking heads on ESPN kept saying how terrible and disgraceful that was, well from the Cubs standpoint, it is a GREAT break. And watchout, because the Expos are about to catch the Mets, that is how bad it has gotten, Mets have lost 10 of 12 and are 11 under .500. Could be the third year in a row Mets finish last

I'm in the minority here, but I didn't find Mordal or Voss funny at all last season. In fact, the funniest person for me from Season 1 was Jay Mohr. But then I saw Dave doing bits on the Tonight Show and I thought he was pretty funny. His set last night was a lot funnier than anything he did last year. Voss is too inconsistent for me, too hit or miss. It seems that people (well at this board at least) like the comics who have a tight act, that sprinkle in personal life and contemporary issues. I've always liked comedians that are just out there, that do random stuff, like Norm McDonald, David Spade, David Cross, Patton Oswalt, Bob Odenkirk, Brian Posehn, Harland Williams (yeah I know most people hate him, but he's my kind of comic) Mitch Hedberg (sp?), hell I even like Todd Glass. The Season 1 cast were too "Standard Comic" for me, nothing out of the norm, nothing innovative. Season 2 was a definite improvement with Todd, Gulman, and Heffron. Again, I probably didn't like Mordal last year because he was too "cookie cutter" for me, but he has improved IMO. Season 2 should win in a landslide.

Announced on wwe.com Triple H vs Eugene Batista vs William Regal Chris Benoit vs Ric Flair The Triple H vs Eugene match is billed as a no disqualification match.

He was treated as a big star to a degree. However, he sold too much to be a top face in the WWF. That might not make sense, but the WWF wanted their top faces to be indestructable and Ricky sold so well and convincingly, that he got great sympathy heat, but not Hogan or Warrior "Superman" heat (the Roberts and Savage programs come to mind where he got great sympathy heat) When Ricky came to the ring, the announcers weren't going "OMG, here's Ricky Steamboat, Randy Savage is going to get demolished" And towards the end, he was doing jobs to Kamala and the like, establishing him as not "big enough" to beat the monsters. It was just so weird to me to here the NWA announcers go crazy for Steamboat, like everyone should cower in fear from him. He was getting the "Superman" sell from the announcers.

What were some of the best lineups for different networks over the years? My all time favorite lineup was Thursdays on NBC in the 80s. 8 -Cosby Show 8:30- Family Ties 9-Cheers 9:30 NightCourt (this may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it had this slot) 10:00 Hill Street Blues/ then later on LA LAW Loved the Weds. line up on HBO in the early 90s with Dream On, Larry Sanders, and Tales from the Crypt. Never really cared for TGIF I'm pretty sure that ABC used to have Who's the Boss, Head of the Class, and Growing Pains on Tuesday, which was also pretty damn awesome (now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure HOTC was on Weds.) Any others, especially classic lineups from 60s,70s

USC not looking sharp early on, Virginia Tech is getting a consistent pass rush. 10-7 VT.

Why does everyone on this board hate 3LK so much? Well, I do know why, but they are very popular with the audience. I mean Meltzer in his reports always says that they are getting some of the bigger reactions on the shows. One of the FEW that are getting actual reactions from the tough crowd. If you just listened to this board, you would think they were heatless wonders who no one gave a damn about. I know they aren't good workers, but I give them credit for being over. I don't understand how it would be "career suicide" for a new wrestler to join them.

wow, why does he hate the Knicks so much?

Detailed Spoilers from LordsofPain: "Dark Match #1: Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Akio Akio was sent down to OVW a few weeks back to work on his intensity in the ring. I saw some improvement, but not much. Akio wrestled a more ground based match here, without many of his high-flying spots. He did get booed heavily by the crowd while Scotty got massive pops. The match began with a typical cruiserweight exchange, with Akio mocking Scotty's dancing. Akio worked on Scotty in the corner. He hit a legsweep into an interesting leglock submission. He put an abdominal stretch on Scotty as the crowd chanted for him. He fought out of the hold, as Akio charged into an elbow and a boot from Scotty. Scotty cranks up the offense with some dancing put in. Scotty tries the bulldog for the Worm, but Akio clotheslines him flat to the floor. Akio tries to do his own version of the Worm, but Scotty sneaks up, bulldogs him, and hits his patented finisher for the victory. Winner: Scotty 2 Hotty Match Rating: 4/10 And now it's time for WWE Velocity! Velocity Match #1: Rene Dupree vs. Charlie Haas (w/ Miss Jackie) Just to state the blatantly obvious, Jackie = HOT. I couldn't tell whether Dupree had Fifi with him or not. The match started off with Haas dominating Dupree with his amateur wrestling expertise. He hits a pair of nice armdrags into arm wringers as the crowd lets out a loud "USA!" chant. They ended up botching a spot (I have no idea what they were trying to do) but Dupree gets a snapmare out of it. He draws a chorus of boos as he performs the French Tickler, but Haas sneaks up and rolls him for a 2 count. Dupree brawls with Haas outside, rolling back in and getting a 2 count. Haas comes back with a nice suplex and two spears in the corner. He counters Dupree into a neckbreaker for 2. They run into the ropes, and they roll through several times as Dupree gets the upper hand and stays on top of Haas for the pinfall. Winner: Rene Dupree Match Rating: 4.5/10 Velocity Match #2: Mark Jindrak vs. Funaki A mirror is set up in the ring, as "The Reflection of Perfection" comes out to worship himself in it. Funaki gets a pretty good pop. You gotta love the guy. Jindrak bullies him to start, but Funaki gets an early burst of offense with some hard punches and armdrags, but it turned out to be short lived as Jindrak delivers a LOUD slap and a high dropkick to the face to get a 2 count. He applies a side headlock. Funaki fights out, but he goes down again. Jindrak charges into an elbow and a boot by Funaki and gets hung up on the top turnbuckle. Funaki with an inziguri followed by a bulldog for a near fall. Jindrak finishes things off by executing a high one-armed side slam for the win. Winner: Mark Jindrak Match Rating: 4.5/10 Velocity Match #3: The FBI vs. The Basham Brothers Nothing too noteworthy in this match. Nunzio played the face in peril. At one point, Nunzio was outside on the apron and Danny rammed his face into the steel ring post. That pin attempt was broken up by Stamboli. Doug's top rope leg drop misses, and that allows Nunzio to take in Stamboli, and HE'S ON FIRE!! After clearing house, he throws Doug into Danny and rolls him up for the 3. Winners: The FBI Match Rating: 3.5/10 Velocity Match #4: Bubba Ray Dudley (w/ D-Von and Spike Dudley (Cruiserweight Champion)) vs. Hardcore Holly (w/ Billy Gunn) Lockup to start. Bubba shoves Holly in the corner and screams "You're not so bad!" Holly responds by furiously shoving Bubba to the mat. Holly gains the upper hand, chopping the hell out of Bubba. Bubba battles back with punches before his "suck on this" taunt, but Holly immediately clotheslines him down. Holly hangs Bubba on the top rope and kicks him low as Billy starts chasing Spike up the ramp. Bubba with a turning spinebuster for 2. Both men clothesline each other down. They're slow to their feet as Holly lands The Best Dropkick In The Business. D-Von gets on the apron, but Billy pulls him off. Holly nails a top rope clothesline. However, Spike distracts Holly enough for him to turn around and take a spear from Bubba and score the pinfall. Winner: Bubba Ray Dudley Match Rating: 4.5/10 Next, we get T-shirts fired into the crowd, and who better to do it than Dawn Marie and Miss Jackie. Afterwards, Michael Cole and Tazz come down to take their seats at the announce table. The lights go out, the opening plays, and the pyro goes off. And now, welcome to SmackDown! The show opens up with Eddie Guerrero walking down to the ring, drawing a huge "Eddie!" chant. "What's up, Fresno!?" He says it's real simple: Kurt Angle ruined his lowrider last week. He defaced his property, so tonight, he's gonna deface him. He says make no mistake about it. He's not here to wrestle, he's here to fight. He tells Kurt to get his ass out here. Angle's music plays, but instead of Angle, we get Luther Reigns. He questions whether "Mr. Vato Loco" really wants to fight a guy like Angle. He tells Eddie to be careful, because he's seen a lot of fights. If he fought Angle, Angle would annihilate him. Eddie tells Luther to get him out here so we can see, and Angle obliges by appearing on the Tron and calling Eddie out to the parking lot. Eddie rushes out of the arena to the parking where Angle runs away. They circle around a brown Nissan and warns Eddie not to mess with his car. Latino Heat then gets to idea to dump garbage all over Kurt's car and bash its windows in with a pipe. As Eddie destroys the vehicles, Angle and Luther drive away in another vehicle. SmackDown GM Theodore Long rushes out to stop Eddie. He asks what Eddie thinks he's doing, and Eddie says he's destroying Angle's car. It's not Kurt's car ... it's HIS! Eddie doesn't believe him at first, so Long repeats it twice. Long yells at Eddie to get out of the arena, and as security comes to take him away, Long begins weeping over his trashed ride. Match #1: Rob Van Dam vs. Kenzo Suzuki (w/ Hiroko) Suzuki is carried to the ring on his own personal throne by four of his lackeys. As they set him down by the ring, RVD leaps over the ropes and kicks him off his seat. RVD proceeds to kick the crap out of everybody around him. The action starts in the ring with chops galore by Suzuki. A big boot gets 2. A knee drop gets another 2. He applies an abdominal stretch, but RVD fights out and nails a standing kick to Suzuki's face. He hits a second rope springing kick, then a top rope kick to the head for 2. RVD continues the assault with shoulders to the gut of Suzuki in the corner followed by a scoop slam and a split-legged moonsault for 2. He hits a spin kick, then goes up top for the Frog Splash, but turns the other way and leaps at an advancing Rene Dupree! They brawl for a bit before RVD rolls back into the ring. Suzuki tries the Clawhold STO, but RVD rolls him up and scores the pin. Winner: Rob Van Dam Match Rating: 4.5/10 Afterwards, Dupree joins Suzuki in dishing out a 2 on 1 beatdown on RVD. A double vertical suplex caps it off. Back in the parking lot, Theodore Long is still moping over his car as John Bradshaw Layfield and Orlando Jordan drive up in their limo. JBL complains to Long about having to be here in Fresno while he's in such a crippled condition. Yes, he's still wearing that goofy neck brace. Not in the mood for any of JBL's crap, Long announces that JBL will be defending his title tonight... against the Undertaker! JBL protests, saying that he's in no condition to wrestle and it's not fair. Long changes his mind, but only replacing JBL with Jordan. Should Orlando Jordan lose the match, JBL also loses the title! Match #2: Chavo Guerrero (w/ Jamie Noble) vs. Billy Kidman (w/ Paul London, WWE Tag Team Champions) Kidman starts off in control of the match. He hits a head scissors to take down Chavo. He follows up with a snapmare and springs off the ropes into another head scissors. "Chavo sucks!" chants start. Chavo applies a side headlock. He hits a faceplant on Kidman for 2. Chavo with an armbar takedown for 2. Chavo applies an elbow lock on Kidman. Kidman fights out, clotheslining Chavo and hitting a back body drop for 2. Kidman sells the elbow injury as he dropkicks Chavo and goes up to the top rope. Noble stops Kidman, but doesn't catch London leaping off the steps at him. Kidman takes Chavo down and nails the Shooting Star Press for the victory. Winner: Billy Kidman Match Rating: 5.5/10 During the break, Chavo is still in the ring... and he's not moving. Referees, trainers, and EMTs rush out to aid him, as this looks like a legitimate injury. They put a neck brace on his and gently slide him onto a stretcher. Chavo finally starts moving his left hand. The concerned crowd gave him a "Chavo!" chant and a huge ovation as he was wheeled out of the arena. Afterwards, a promo aired featuring a dark skinned man with an afro talking about how "cool" he is and about "having the cool" and whatnot. He eats an apple off a fruit stand and spits it in an old guy's face. His name is Carlito Caribbean Cool... oooooooookay... Match #3: John Cena vs. Booker T (United States Champion) in Match #2 of the Best of 5 Series for the United States Championship Lockup to start, with Booker gaining the early advantage. Booker hits a vertical suplex on Cena for 2. Cena responds with an armdrag for 2. He shoulders Booker in the corner he hits and elbow takedown for 2. An arm wringer and an armdrag gets another 2. Booker stops the momentum with an eye rake and a side kick for 2. He applies a read head choke, which Cena fights out of. He headbutts Booker and shoulder tackles him for 2. Booker with a knee to the back and sends Cena over the top rope. Cena crawls back in and takes a top rope dropkick from Booker for a near fall. A roundhouse kick gets 2. Cena ducks another kick, but eats a spinning heel kick for 2. Cena fights back, but Booker hits a spinebuster for 2. (damn, there's a lot of pin covers in this match) Another headlock. Cena battles back with punches, and clothesline and a flying shoulder takedown for 2. He bulldogs Booker and delivers the Five Knuckle Shuffle for a near fall. He pumps up his shoes and tries the F-U, but Booker fights out and kicks Cena. He hotshots Cena and pins him with his foot on the second rope. Winner: Booker T (Series Tied 1-1) Match Rating: 6/10 A sweet Divas video plays, hyping their latest video "South of the Border." Theodore Long is still tending to his car as it's about to be towed away. At that time, Angle and Luther pull back in to the arena. Long confronts Angle about deceiving Eddie. Angle claims that that car is complete junk anyways. Angle, however, didn't realize that the car belonged to Long, and when Long broke the news, Angle tried apologizing for it. Long says Angle's gonna pay for it next week when he battles Eddie Guerrero in a 2 out of 3 falls match! But tonight, Angle gets to take on Rey Mysterio! Angle goes into the arena to get ready, but Long stops Luther. Luther says he's gonna help Angle prepare, but Long tell Luther to grab a broom because he's gonna help clean this mess up. And now for the moment we've not been waiting for... Josh Mathews and Paul Heyman are in the ring, but Heyman doesn't let him talk for long. Heyman cuts a promo basically saying that he was once a fearful man, on his knees begging not to be harmed by the Undertaker, but now he feels empowered. He's got backup; a guard dog who is loyal to him. Heyman then introduces Heidenreich to his own video and entrance music. With Heidenreich in the ring, Heyman reiterates that he once feared Taker, but not anymore. Heidenreich will deal with the Undertaker and all of Heyman's other enemies. Mathews brings up that Heyman has A LOT of enemies, and questions if Heidenreich will be able to live up to the hype. That question just bought Josh an ass whipping as Heidenreich responds by a pair of punches to Mathews' stomach. He carries Josh over his shoulders and hits a backbreaker. He slingshots Josh into the ropes, where he bounces back onto Heidenreich's knees. Heidenreich finishes off the beating by choking Josh out. Heyman: "That's not hype. That's Heidenreich!" A video promo aired featuring the return of the Big Show. Match #4: Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio This should be good. Angle displays his amateur wrestling mastery on Rey, keeping his opponent on the ground. Rey gets up and armdrags Angle then mocks his spin taunt. Angle is not the least bit impressed. He lifts Rey up and takes him down into a headlock. Rey fights out and Angle takes a shoulder knockdown. Angle with a back suplex. Rey comes back by head scissoring Angle through the ropes followed by a baseball slide. Angle eats a kick coming back in, but comes back with a suplex. Rey misses a charge to the corner and takes a german suplex. An Angle backbreaker gets 2. Rear chinlock. Angle with a release body slam for 2. Another cover for 2. Angle with a belly-to-belly suplex, then celebrates to the crowd's chagrin. He applies a bear hug to Rey. He tries to fight out, but for his troubles ends up on the receiving end of a release german suplex. That gets 2. Rey manages to counter an Angle Slam into an armdrag, followed by a split-legged moonsault for 2. Angle tries a fireman's takedown, but eats a dropkick. Rey turns up the heat with a hurricanrana, head scissors, then trips him into 619 position. Rey tries for it... but Angle moves! He tries the wheelbarrow bulldog, but Angle prevents it but Rey shoves him back into 619 position... and connects! Rey goes for the West Coast Pop, but Angle counters it into a vicious powerbomb. That gets a near fall. Angle pulls down the straps. Another Angle Slam attempt, but Rey reverses it into a neckbreaker for a VERY near fall. They both ascend the turnbuckle and battle. Rey ends up on Angle's shoulder and Angle rolls on top of Rey and scores the victory. Winner: Kurt Angle Match Rating: 8/10 And now for the Raw Rebound, featuring Orton spitting in Triple H's face and the Kane & Lita Wedding From Hell. An agonizing JBL goes into Jordan's locker room, whining that this whole situation isn't fair. Jordan says he knows he's good, but this is the Undertaker he's dealing with. He promises JBL he's gonna work hard to beat him. JBL says Taker is good, but he's no Orlando Jordan. JBL: "How many main events have you been in?" Jordan: "Well... none, really..." JBL says that means Jordan is fresh. He's got to believe in himself. Champions defeat Taker, so go out there and be a champ. After Jordan gets psyched up, he heads out to the ring, where Bradshaw shakes his head and says to himself "I am screwed." Match #5, The Main Event: Orlando Jordan vs. The Undertaker Taker starts off in control, but Jordan comes right back with three armdrags. Taker with a big boot to Jordan by the Old School. A clothesline gets 2. Taker stares down JBL, allowing Jordan to jump him from behind. Jordan with an elbow drop for 2. He bodyslams Taker and drops the leg for 2. Taker hotshots Jordan then boots him down. He stalks JBL outside, again allowing Jordan to jump him from behind. Back in the ring, Jordan tries to keep Taker down. Taker gets in an elbow on Jordan, but Jordan takes him down for 2. Taker sits right back up and Jordan freaks out. He charges Jordan in the corner, then punches JBL off the apron. Taker signals for and nails Jordan with a Chokeslam. He then signals cutthroat as he flattens Jordan with the Tombstone Piledriver. The ref counts, but JBL pulls him out of the ring, causing the ref to DQ him. Jordan wins by disqualification, but JBL makes Tony Chimmel remind everyone that the title cannot change hands through a DQ finish, so he's still the champ. Winner: The Undertaker via DQ Match Rating: 5/10 An enraged Taker beats on Bradshaw outside, slamming his head on the announce table. He rips off JBL's neck brace and throws him into the ring where he nails him with the Chokeslam. Taker stands over a fallen JBL and Jordan with the belt in hand as he bows to the gold to end the show. Nothing truly noteworthy happened after the show. Jordan got on the mic and demanded EMTs come out to help Bradshaw. They put the neck brace back on Bradshaw and helped him to his feet. He sold the neck injuries all the way up the ramp." I wonder if Chavo is legit hurt? I guess Carly Colon debuts on SD soon, is he any good?

Andre the Giant v Big John Studd from the HOF DVD( 4/25/83; New York City, NY; Madison Square Garden) Certainly not a good match, but it brought back memories of my childhood when I would have been marking out like crazy seeing them in the ring together. I will say this, they actually try to incorporate psychology as Studd works over Andre's arm, and Andre sells it A LOT better than some (maybe most) of the guys in the WWE today. 1992 Royal Rumble Just finished watching it and it holds up today. People like Scott Keith have complained that there were too many jobbers clogging up the middle of the match. IMO, it didn't hurt the match at all as Gorilla and Bobby put over every wrestler that entered and tried to convince the audience that anyone could win. Obviously it was far fetched, but they did their job trying to create suspense. Every fresh wrestler attacks Flair immediatley and Flair bumps for EVERYONE, not just the top guys. Undertaker's performance is pretty bad, as he constantly trips over other guys in the ring and chokes WAY too much. They did a good job of weaving the Jake/Savage storyline into the match as Jake looks to the entrance way every time the buzzer goes off. Couple of missed spots as Shawn's superkick to Flair misses by a mile and Flair sells it anyway, and Big Bossman essentially has to eliminate himself as he was supposed to jump over the ropes after missing a splash, but he falls short and has to hang on the ropes and push himself out of the ring (really ugly spot). Great Rumble and Heenan is gold on commentary.

From Scherer at PWI: The word we are getting is that the segment with the Rock appearing on Raw tonight was known in advance by WWE. It just was not promoted by the company. I have no idea why they didn't take advantage of his appearance. Steve Austin was backstage at Raw tonight and seen talking with Vince McMahon. Austin lives in the Los Angeles now and Anaheim is close by. It's not known at this point if Austin was just visiting or if there was more to his being at the show, but he has remained in contact with McMahon since leaving the company earlier this year. Sean "X Pac" Waltman was also backstage at the show. Method Man was also there. Rene Dupree has some heat with management right now on the Smackdown brand. He was fined recently for doing his dance at the shows after being told not to do it because it gets a face reaction and, since he is a heel, that isn't what they want out from him. He also has heat for the work in some of his matches of late as it has been seen as not being good in the eyes of the agents. Since he is the heel, he is expected to carry his bouts and thus gets the heat when they aren't good. Some people have told me that because he is so young, he isn't overly diplomatic and that gets him heat with some in management, like some of the agents, as well. Speaking of agents, a number of wrestlers have told me that Arn Anderson is the preferred guy to have in charge of your match since he has a very good grasp on how to help the workers. As for Dean Malenko, he doesn't get as glowing reports since some people still remember that he had given Rhyno instructions the night at Nassau County Coliseum when Vince McMahon watched Rhyno's match with Tajiri, hated it and went out in front of the crowd and embarrassed them on the mike. A number of wrestlers I have spoken to felt that Malenko let the guys hang when he could have told Vince he had given them input into their match. Rey Mysterio, Johnny Stamboli and Mark Jindrak were fined for being late to the 8/22 house show in Bakersfield, CA. Also at the Bakersfield show, John Heidenreich had a major tantrum at the end of his match with Scotty 2 Hotty. Something happened at the end of the bout (I think Jon blew a few spots) and he went nuts on the way to the back, swearing and screaming. Once he went through the curtain, he did a little bit of rearranging of the backstage area and management was not happy with his behavior. A number of wrestlers that I talked to about it said the guy just went nuts and they wondered if he was cut out to be in the business, especially in a semi-prominent position. WWE loves his fire and intensity, even though everyone knows he's green as grass in the ring, but incidents like this will not get him over with management, no way no how.

So ANT got chosen because the NBC execs wanted a little gay guy running around the house? I couldn't imagine anyone voting for him, turns out I was right. Does anyone know why Kathleen was so pissed at the end? I get the sense she thought the contest was favored towards the guys. BTW, Bonnie was hot, but I never thought she was funny in the slightest.

I was at a Raw taping in Sept. 97 (the Raw after Austin stunned Vince for the first time, where HBK climbed the Titantron running away from Taker). First of all, these 2 young "wannabe gangster" white teenagers were sitting in our ( myself, My brother and his friends) seats, so the night started out just great. So I had to sit next to these two douchebags the entire night. There were just some great ones "ECW was real" "Hogan was coming back to the WWF" (remember this was 1997), "Sting and the Undertaker were going to form a tag team and destroy the NWO" They spent the whole night laughing at the workers and saying things like "he didn't even hit him yo" "That was so fake yo" "If wrestling were real yo, no one could beat the Undertaker yo, especially Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels" There was a smart mark in back of us that tried to explain how things work in wrestling, but they didn't believe any of it, and just started laughing at the matches and how "fake" they looked. They almost ruined the night for me, but thank God they left early.