MARTYEWR

Can I call it a push, Loss? The reason for me is this. While Hogan and the nWo got me into wrestling again (I missed a chunkload of the 90s), at the same time, I'd argue that I was a casual follower until 1997. I'd consider myself more of a WWF fan, just because of the history in Canada and all (and the lack thereof of WCW history in Canada) as well as a lack of access to it. Until we got Nitro on TSN in 1998, the only WCW access I had was butchered one-hour replays on the weekend on some local station (believe it or not). On top of that, while they should've had more, the Chris Benoits and Chris Jerichos at least had a cup of coffee with main events as opposed to what they didn't have in WCW. However, the advantage of WCW's era was because I was still a casual fan, I had not nearly as much access to the net as I did in the WWF's era, and so the element of surprise was there. I think if I had to give a slight edge, it might be to the WWF, because I saw the beginning of a turnaround in 1997, but really, both eras have their pros and cons.

I got back into the product again just before the Hart Foundation storyline, but I'd say the ONE thing that made me believe the turnaround was in full effect was the night Austin and Tyson stood eye-to-eye. I felt that they had finally found that one big star to hitch their wagon to again. People may argue that Austin had that before, but even during 1997, there was still Hart, Michaels, and even Undertaker for Austin to leapfrog. Once the Tyson confrontation happened, it was there that they really pulled the trigger on the Austin push which, given his popularity, was naturally the correct thing to do.

I skimmed through the thread, and I don't know if this has been mentioned, but the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos, led by Warren Moon, were very deadly from 1978-82, winning a Grey Cup each of those years. Al's comment about winning = attendance is true for them as they kept having crowds of anywhere between 50,000-60,000, a consistent figure that's rare in the CFL.

- Jericho losing to Chyna - HHH losing to Ultimate Warrior - Angle losing ... his tights and wig all the time in mid-2002. Really, Angle's character was hurt by all that comedy stuff.

Worthy of 2-discs: - Hall Of Fame 2005 - Triple H (just about all the matches from Triple H: The Game would be of good use) - The Rock (his full-time career is well over; might as well release a 2-disc set covering his whole career) - Steve Austin (see The Rock. Austin needs something better than the half-assed Stone Cold Truth release) - Chris Jericho - Kurt Angle - Undertaker (but maybe wait until he does truly retire) The obvious choices, actually.

IIRC, I gave up and stopped watching around the time of the Nash/Savage sewage angle.

BTW, since some people have mentioned next year, here are the Patriots' free agents for this offseason. (ERFA = Exclusive Rights, RFA = Restricted, UFA = Unrestricted). May be interesting to see what happens with Adam Vinatieri. Eric Alexander LB ERFA Kory Chapman RB ERFA Scott Farley S ERFA Cedric James WR ERFA Ethan Kelley DT ERFA Justin Kurpeikia LB ERFA Gene Mruczkowski C/OG ERFA Buck Rasmussen DL ERFA Billy Yates OG ERFA Tom Ashworth OT RFA David Givens WR RFA Brandon Gorin OT RFA Jarvis Green DL RFA Kevin Kasper WR RFA Earthwind Moreland CB RFA Stephen Neal OG RFA Rabih Abdullah RB UFA Joe Andruzzi OG UFA Rodney Bailey DL UFA Je'Rod Cherry S UFA Don Davis LB UFA Adrian Klemm OT UFA Jim Miller QB UFA Patrick Pass FB UFA David Patten WR UFA Adam Vinatieri PK UFA

X-Pac joining the nWo in 2002. (Worst part is that I was there live.)

I think they're a dynasty, in spite of the one year they missed the playoffs. In fact, they right now, as well as the Lakers' recent run, are solid arguments that a salary cap does not necessarily generate parity nor competitive balance. Nonetheless, congrats to the Patriots.

Thoughts: - Cardinals need a new stadium. I think it may gain some new fan interest, and there will be a huge improvement quality-wise. Seriously, a pour soul can fry his ass on those metal benches at Sun Devil Stadium. - Colts' one looks like a football version of Conseco Fieldhouse. (I think) - I'm going to miss Texas Stadium and the hole in the roof. Jerry Jones got a break, as I heard the thing will be fully paid by taxpayers. - Can't make a judgment on the Jets, since I can't see the inside. But, finally, the two New York teams have separate stadiums! - Hope the Vikings one happens. I hate the Metrodome. Looks like the unhealthiest stadium in football (and maybe even baseball too). - Saints one looks nice, but what's wrong with the Superdome?

I still have a passing interest in the Bulls and always will. They were my favourite team back in the day; admittedly because Michael Jordan was my hero in my childhood days.

I'd compare it a bit more to Foley's disc, minus narrations about some matches, plus RVD's comments about other subjects.

Piper at WM XIX. Hogan joining the nWo in 1996. The (brief) return of ECW in 2001 (during the invasion). Rock coming back to help Eugene versus Coach and Cade last year.

I find it interesting how out of the five selected, only two have been in the "50 Greatest WWE Superstars" book produced about a year ago (Sheik and Orndorff).

I own it. It's clipped matches but the only reason why I got it is because its the only DVD I know of that has the Benoit/Jericho vs. Two Man Power Trip match where Trips tears his quad. Dames I only have the VHS version of that DVD. Does the DVD have Benoit/Jericho-Austin/HHH clipped or in full?

It did for me because they hardly say anything. I agree with you, Smilac. The Sabu-RVD match alternate commentary was better, as it went into a bit more detail about how they had to work around the broken ropes. Heyman talking about Kimona's prematch act while they fixed the ring was funny too.

Others I like are Molly Holly, Stacy Keibler, Ivory, Dawn Marie, Manami Toyota, and Takako Inoue.

Cheers and happy birthday to TSM's straight shooter and master of shoot interview coverage, teke184 aka Brandon Truitt. Have a good one today and welcome to the quarter-century age club!

http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/news_story.asp?id=113531 Well, if it helps the Jays financially, than good, but, damn, "Rogers Centre" sounds way too much like a hockey arena...

Not only do you have a fine sense of humour, but an up-to-date one as well.

Here's one for you guys... In 1998, HHH was briefly talking with WCW about contract negotiations, albeit the talks were just HHH teasing receptions of offers. WHAT IF: HHH had signed with WCW in 1998?

I'm a Bills fan, so I HATE the Cowboys, but I've always respected Emmitt. A great career, and a first ballot Hall Of Famer.

I don't order PPVs too often, but on my birthday in 1999, my friends took me out to see King Of The Ring 1999. Still haven't forgiven them for that.

Al, thanks for the review. I do have a question, just because your review didn't state it clearly (unless I missed it somewhere): Are the matches in full, as in bell-to-bell time? I know Coliseum Video was pretty hit-or-miss with full match coverage and I wasn't sure if this one had matches in full or not. I've thought about picking this up too, generally because, even if the matches weren't Andre's best, I wish the guy was remembered more for THAT time period (late 70s-early 80s) or sooner, instead of being known for WrestleMania III, Ted DiBiase's buddy, Colossal Connection, etc. (I worry that guys like Ric Flair and Terry Funk are remembered more the latter stages of their careers rather than their primes as well.)

If it's worth anything, back in 1998, my mom thought Undertaker had "fantastic hair". My girlfriend likes Randy Orton. Likes Simon Dean too, but I think it's just because of his character (she's not a wrestling fan).