Hunter's Torn Quad

Read the report. Dave doesn't have an update from Monday, and it's only feared he has a broken back.

They don't know that he has a broken back yet. That's why his status is questionable. It could be something he can work through, or it might not. They don't know. This line isn't actually on the WO site, but they are both out of action for the time being.

Yea, Though I Walk Through The Valley Of The Shadow Of Suck – Part 11 The Undertaker v Big Bossman – Hell In A Cell, Wrestlemania 15 This match is largely refereed to as ‘The Forgotten HIAC’, and you’ll see why in due course. The build up to this match centered around Vince McMahon’s’ Corporate Team, and their fight against the Ministry Of Darkness, led by The Undertaker. It was classic Vince Russo soap opera nonsense, which meant it was filled with over the top angles and storylines that nobody could take seriously, despite Russo long having been an advocate of ‘not insulting the viewers intelligence’. In any event, this dire soap opera crap absolutely did not call for use of the Hell In A Cell gimmick, as it was still hallowed and could draw money then, having built up a near-legendary reputation off of the only two major HIAC matches to take place before then, that being Shawn Michaels v The Undertaker, and Mick Foley v The Undertaker. Maybe it was the fact that Undertaker was in both of them that led Russo to deem this nonsense worthy of a HIAC match, because it certainly wasn’t common sense and logic, two concepts that were foreign to Russo. On a side note, there was a HIAC match on Raw the year before, but they had such little meaning, that they’ve, thankfully, all but slipped from memory, and don’t tarnish the legacy of the HIAC gimmick. Bossman gets a normal entrance, with, interestingly enough, nobody accompanying him, which is strange considering the storyline involved would make it logical for him to have some sort of back up with him. Then again, let’s remember who the ‘brains’ behind this is. Undertaker comes out with Paul Bearer, and Undertaker is in full-on Satanic Mode, with fancy coat and the like, and with none of the trimmings you’d expect from a typical Undertaker entrance. The match itself had almost no heat, with the only thing close to a reaction being for when Bossman crotched Undertaker on the top rope to counter the rope walk move, and a chair shot on Bossman from Undertaker. Apart from that, the crowd made no noise at all, save for a “boring” chant halfway through the match. And who could blame them, because this was dull, lethargic, and totally devoid of life and passion. Had this been a regular match, Undertaker and Bossman might have been able to put something decent together. Unfortunately, the genius of Russo demanded a Hell In A Cell match, because of what would come after the match. After a lot of slow brawling, which, in a normal match, could at least have been punctuated by using the commentary table in some fashion or even some outside interference, Undertaker hit a tombstone, to almost no reaction, and got the win. And it’s at this point that the ‘fun’ begins. Undertaker raised his arms, and, from the ceiling of the arena, Gangrel, Edge and Christian descended on wires (a descending that almost nobody remembers anymore), and break through part of the roof of the cell to slip a long rope and noose to The Undertaker, with the other end attached to the Cell. As G, E and C rise back to the top of the arena, Undertaker wraps the noose around the neck of Bossman (in reality, he’s attaching it to an apparatus on the back Bossman’s bulky bulletproof vest-like ring attire), and a cackling Paul Bearer presses a button on the controls of the Cell, and it rises above the ring, with Bossman dangling from it. Bossman jerks and writhes around for a few minutes, before going limp, and just hanging their like a dead man. As Michael Cole prattles on about how maybe Undertaker is symbolically sending a message to Vince McMahon, I’m wondering why this absolute nonsense is on my screen, and realize I have MARTYEWR to ‘thank’. I hope you celebrate Halloween Marty, so that someone can blow up your pumpkin. Rating: This was one of the most nonsensical, horrible, beyond logic, beyond common sense, beyond all forms of reason, intelligence insulting concepts that Vince Russo has ever crapped out of his brain. Are we meant to believe that Bossman was really hung ? Are we meant to believe that we’ve just witnessed a murder ? Well, Vince ? What the hell is it ? What the hell are we meant to have seen ? Someone tell me how this absolute garbage is in any way, shape or form meant to make me give a flying fuck about the Corporation v Ministry feud. Well ? I’m waiting. That was Vince Russo’s biggest flaw, though he had plenty. He had so many grand and spectacular ideas that he had to have play out, that he never bothered, because he’s an absolute idiot, to come up with a way to fit them within the proper wrestling-logic context of a wrestling program or a wrestling storyline. There is a certain inherent logic to wrestling, wrestling-logic, and everything that happens in wrestling should fit into it in some fashion. But Vince Russo never understood that, because he was too busy trying to create soap opera and entertainment, because god knows nobody tunes into a wrestling program for wrestling matches or wrestling angles. This match was a disaster on all levels, and only served to tarnish the legacy of the Hell In A Cell gimmick, and it’s perfectly easy to understand why this match is almost always left out of any video pieces on the history of the Hell In A Cell gimmick. Avoid this like the plague. Better yet, get the plague, so you can die and not have to risk ever watching this.

That's a good measure to whether something on wrestling is any good. If you can explain a match or an angle to a non-fan without sounding like an idiot for defending the match or angle at hand, then chances are it was something good.

If they had to have that segment take up air time, they could have at least had Coach being in it instead of Vince. That way, at least the guy making fun of JR would be the guy taking on JR's best friend on the PPV and it could be argued that the skit was building up a PPV that could make money. As it is, it just took up air time that could have been used for something that might have drawn.

Mistico is under contract to CMLL.

Prefer to be given only finish and call everything else in the ring? Lay the entire match out beforehand? Unless I’m in with a greenhorn who can’t find the ground with his hat, just give me a finish and I’ll call the rest on the fly. Like to have your promo's scripted? Or just be given a couple of bullet points, and wing the rest? Give me a point to make, and let me do the rest on my own. Scripted promos are killing the emotion and creativity of the business. Blade often? Only on occasion? Would you rather never blade at all? I’d do an Eddie Guerrero at Judgement Day 2003 once a year. What style would you like to wrestle? Why would you prefer to employ that particular style over others? I’d like to wrestle a technical style, ala Ricky Steamboat. I like the idea of actually wrestling, with fighting with my opponent over holds and counters. Refuse to take certain moves? Only take them when working with certain wrestlers? I wouldn’t take any moves that see me land on my head. Sorry Kenta. Are there any match types you'd like to wrestle in a lot? Some match types you'd rather never have to work in? One hour Iron Man matches from time to time would be nice. I would never do any stupid death match stuff, with light tubes, fire or crap like that. However, I wouldn’t be against doing a barbed wire match (with the wire kept to just being wrapped over the ropes) once in a blue moon. What style of normal match would you like to do the most? Would you prefer to sell or to dominate? Would you like to do long matches? Long, 30-minute matches with lots of wrestling, counters and the like. I’d prefer to sell for the most part, because I’d be a babyface and the heel is meant to lead. Would you like to have a manager or valet to work spots with or would you rather just do it all yourself? If I was a heel, then I would like to have a manager, ala Jim Cornette, to work spots with and get heat. Are there some types of angles that you would refuse to do? Some types of angles that you'd love to do? I would refuse to do anything that I couldn’t watch with a non-fan in the room. To me, if I can’t watch an angle with a non-fan in the room, then it’s not something I want to be a part of. I’d love to do a heel turn angle akin to Ole turning on Dusty in Atlanta, where the fans just go nuts. What promotion would you like to work for the most? What promotion would you hate to work for? Right now, NOAH, because I wouldn’t have to worry about stupid booking or political bullshit. I’d loath working for WWE for all the obvious reasons. What promotion of the past would you most liked to have worked for? What promotion would you have hated working for the most? Mid-South, All Japan, or New Japan. I would have hated working for WWE because of the insane travel schedule. Any wrestlers today that you'd like to work against? Any you would avoid working against at all costs? I’d like to work against Samoa Joe, Jushin Liger, Christopher Daniels, AJ Styles, Kenta Kobashi, Brock Lesnar, and Honkytonk Man. I’d avoid working against big juiced up clods who can’t stick their thumb up their ass. That means no Snitsky, Heidenreich, Masters, etc. What wrestlers from the past would you like to work against? What wrestlers from the past would you not want to work against? Ricky Steamboat, Bret Hart, Keiji Muto and Kenta Kobashi in their primes, Vader, Hiroshi Hase; people who can work their asses off and are not afraid to do so. I’d refuse to work against juice heads who can’t work a lick, though I’d be tempted to work against Tom Magee just to see if I can do what only Bret Hart was able to.

I would have kept the belt on Rhino and pushed him as the top face. Long term plans are nice, but when something like this happens you need to roll with the punches.

Thanks. I still can't fix this issue, so I'm still looking for a way to make this file work. What else is there to try?

I'm winning the lotto just so I can start my own wrestling promotion and hiring you as head of creative. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Can I be Head of Talent Relations? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Only if you are willing to get demoted for a shitty yes man and be subjected to a humilating string of horrible comedy skits attacking your health. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Pass.

I forgot to mention that I also watched BFG. I liked Joe vs. Liger, even though it was rushed and they could have done more had they the time to do so. I knew people would bitch a fit about it, and true to form the usual suspects were pissing and moaning about it. Check out SSS for some really pathetic crying and whining about this whole thing. The MB2 match was an ok stuntfest. The Iron Man was good, but not at the level of their first, but still blew Angle vs. HBK out of the water. Shawn needs to pay attention to AJ Styles to see how you are meant to work an adrenaline burst. I skimmed through the battle royal. The main event was a mess, but kept short. Though, whatever good came out of it was damaged by putting the belt back on Triple J so soon. The follow up needs to be good.

I'm winning the lotto just so I can start my own wrestling promotion and hiring you as head of creative. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Can I be Head of Talent Relations?

Vince should put Trish and Shelton together to piss off the KKK-types.

Matt Hardy was fired for not shutting up. WWE don't fire people for being unprofessional if nobody finds out.

If the Amish had television, it would be, because that is one of the few groups that I don't think Vince has pissed off yet, and you know he wants the whole set.

John Cena is doing that.

Just for giggles, I booked a Raw consisting of: A 10:00 Triple promo to hype up his match with HBK A 10:00 HBK promo to hype up his match with Triple H (Both promos had to contend with a restless crowd, even though they both got an A rating) An 8:00 video to hype the match Triple H and Shawn Michaels going to a 90:00 draw The road agent told me they were both exhausted by the end and that their styles didn't click. The report of the overall Raw said that both men might have been overused, and that the people wanted more wrestling and storylines.

I don't like the idea of Rhino only having the belt for so short a time, because it could make him come across as someone who can't cut it on top, and you don't want that in a guy who is one of your main players. However, the real test comes in the follow up. If they handled that right, and hopefully they will, then it might not wind up being that bad.

I see the usual suspects have crayoned out an attempt to defend the skit. As others have pointed out, and as has gone over the heads of those people, not only was the skit not funny, but it didn’t even build to something. It didn’t make people want to go to house shows to see a payoff, it didn’t make them want to watch TV to see a payoff, and it didn’t make them want to order a PPV to see a payoff. That skit had no purpose but to display Vince McMahon’s lower than juvenile sense of humor, and expose him, and the supporters of the skit, as being woefully out of touch with what the vast majority of his audience want. If you don’t believe me, check out the reaction from the live audience. Nobody cared. Even Vince realized that, and we all know how blinkered he is. It’s a shame that some people here are somehow even more blinkered than that.

It wasn't a heart attack. It 'turned out' to be just heartburns, but nobody bought that Nash was ill to begin with, and it was just his way of getting out of doing a job. And the finish was meant to be a clean job to Giant.

That nurse did nothing for me. She was just another big tittied blonde with no talent.

Is Russo Vince’s new priest? That putrefying load of complete human feces was the most horrible segment WWE have expelled since the Katie Vick bullshit. It wasn’t funny, it didn’t build to anything, and it achieved zero positives. Even if it gets a car crash rating, and that is what it will be if the rating is high for it, WWE doesn’t benefit, because USA keep the ad revenue.

Whether someone wants to accept the story is up to them. It doesn't stop it from being true.

Wow. You sure told me. Raven vs Jarrett II is the biggest PPV match they have on tap right now. Jarrett against Brown could draw big, but that needs to be built to. Same with Jarrett against Styles or Abyss (playing off of their past dealings). Whether people think Raven will win the title isn't the point. That they want to see the match at all, and will PAY TO SEE IT, is. If they give the match away with zero build and Jarrett wins, then not only does it cement the idea you think the fans have that Raven isn't getting the belt back, but why would people be happy with having to see the match again one month later? They've already seen it with zero build and didn't get the outcome they want. If the match is being thought of as just a way to kill time before Jarrett vs. Brown, what sense does it make sense to give it away with zero build and then try to make people accept it again the next month? If he is there, go with Waltman. The live crowd go nuts for him. He and Jarrett can have a hot match. They can even tease problems with Waltman and Oritz off of Waltman's martial arts background, which is something they can't do with Raven. Waltman and Oritz can play off of each other better. Jarrett vs Waltman also has the benefit of being something they arent saving, aren't building to down the line, and something they can go back where the momentum and atmosphere won't be affected if they give it away with zero build.

Hell, if Raven doesn't win, it's all the more reason to still be able to do another match. Hell, the finish I'd book would be Jarrett cheats, AMW interfere whatever, and Tito calls for the DQ. Then they can attack him and Ortiz can make his big comeback on them all. It doesn't hurt anything. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Remember the atmosphere and emotion during Raven vs. Jarrett way back at Destiny a few years ago? Do you really think it would have been like that had they given the match away three weeks prior with no build just to get themselves out of a jam, and then gone back to it again at Destiny? TNA MUST NOT PANIC BOOK. The first Raven vs. Jarrett rematch on PPV is where you get the most juice, not the second, no matter how well it might get built up. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I hate to tell you, but TNA can never replicate that atmosphere for that match. They have no long term plans to book Raven vs. Jarrett as a major feud, this I know. At most, Raven will be a fill in for Jarrett to beat on one of the months on the way to Monty Brown who is the chosen one. Remember, Raven won the title in a match he wasn't even advertised for. We can argue back and forth all night but Raven is the most likely substitution if one needs to be made. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It doesn't matter if they can replicate that atmosphere again. The point is that the best atmosphere and the best return they can get on Raven vs Jarrett II is from building it up for a few months and then delivering it. They are clearly saving Raven vs Jarrett for some point down the line. If they give it away with zero build on PPV, not will they get no buys from it, if they go back to it a month later, like you want, whatever atmosphere and emotion they get won't be anywhere near to what it could be, because the people just saw it the month before with no build. They will be throwing away PPV revenue by giving Raven vs Jarrett II away with no build.