RavishingRickRudo

Ok, I read the first two match spoilers. I can go to bed now. .... Spoiler (Highlight to Read): Fedor KO'd Goodridge like a minute into it, and Liddell KO'd Overeem BOOYAH! I love finishes.

I think it's a valid complaint. Though I personally won't lose any sleep over the fact that Brock was able to fool the paramedics and we have to fill in the blank as to how he did it.

Mysterio is a few inches away from being a midget. The Avg. Japanese Man is like 5'6. Which is 4 inches taller than Rey. It's not munchkin land for crying-out-loud. ... or is it. *books tornado to Japan*

Why don't YOU smash my CPU to piece or something. RRR: Witty. RRR: Would love to live in Japan. I'd tower over everyone.

Must... Resist... SPOILERS...

All Hope is Lost. No good can come from this. I was going to do a fight analysis; a "what should ___ do, what will ___ do" etc. but then I realized it would be pointless, since they fought eachother twice before and I don't see how this will stray from the 2nd. Maybe is Sak goes for a knee bar... but knowing his luck lately, Silva would pull out of it and kick him dead. RRR: Lost $80 at the Casino last night. Is a bit pessimistic.

YOUR (Final) Tournament Fight and Tournament Fighters of the Day ARE: Wanderlei Silva vs. Kazushi Sakuraba Name: Wanderlei Silva Nickname: The Axe Murderer Record: 21 - 3 - 1 Height/Weight: 5’11 / 199 lbs. Birth Date: 7/3/1976 From: Brazil Style: Muay Thai Association: Chute Boxe Last Fight: vs. Hiromitsu Kanehara (Win *TKO/Towel* - Pride 23: Championship Chaos 2) Key Fight: vs. Kazushi Sakuraba (Win *TKO/Strikes* - Pride 13: Collision Course) Key Win: vs. Kazushi Sakuraba (Win *TKO/Doctor* - Pride 17: Collision Course) Vs. Name: Kazushi Sakuraba Nickname: The IQ Wrestler/The Gracie Hunter Record: 14 - 5 - 1 Height/Weight: 6’0 / 185 lbs. Birth Date: 7/14/1968 From: Japan Style: Submission Wrestling Association: Takada Dojo Last Fight: vs. Antonio Schembri (Loss *TKO/Knees* - Pride 25: Body Blow) Key Win: vs. Royce Gracie (Win *TKO/Towel* - Pride GP 2000: Finals Kazushi Sakuraba is a legend. He has participated in 19 Pride fights. At the last Grand Prix he went 90 minutes with Royce Gracie and won. He has beaten 4 Gracies. He is the biggest draw in MMA history. His inventive and creative style of fighting has made him one of the greatest, and most endearing fighters of all time. At such a small size, to have done all this, is an inspiration to fighters everywhere. Kazushi Sakuraba is a legend. If Sakuraba is a legend, then Wanderlei Silva is a legend-killer. In their first match back on March 25th 2001 Sakuraba was on his legendary run having beaten the 4th Gracie to meet him in the ring in Ryan Gracie and only lost one fight to date (against Igor Vovchanchyn after said 90 minute match with Royce). He was the odds on favourite to win. March 26th had the MMA world in shock. On March 25th 2001, Wanderlei Silva obliterated Kazushi Sakuraba. When I say obliterated, I mean O-B-L-I-T-E-R-A-T-E-D. He went through Sak like a hot knife though butter. He made the legend seem like a rookie. He truly was the Axe Murderer. People will make excuses for Sakuraba in that fight. “He didn’t know knees were allowed”, “Silva had too much weight on him”, “He underestimated Wanderlei”, some may be valid, but none can escape the simple fact that Sakuraba got beaten to a bloody pulp and that Wanderlei Silva did it to him. And those excuses were put to rest in their second fight where Silva once again beat Kazushi Sakuraba for the newly created Pride Middleweight Title at Championship Chaos. Since then, a new cry has been heard about Sakuraba in the MMA world, “He is burned out”, “He is past his Prime”, “He should quit”. Since his first fight with Silva, the once 12 - 1 - 1 Sakuraba is now 2 - 4 - 0. So those cries may be true. Sakuraba is 35 years old. His body has taken a beating, be it from in-ring competition or “extra-curricular activities”. The “IQ Wrestler” may not even be there mentally, as a short-sighted error cost him his last fight against Nino “Elvis” Schembri. The Sakuraba-camp has been saying he’s bigger and stronger and meaner than before, that this fight will be the fight where he gets his revenge. Forgive me for being skeptical, but I’ll believe it when I see it. But then again, many people were skeptical a former pro wrestler and 185 pounder could become one of the biggest draws and greatest fighters in the world. People didn’t think he could beat Royce Gracie, let alone go 90 minutes and win convincingly. Sakuraba is the underdog, he has made a career of proving people wrong, and that may very well be the best place for him going into this fight. Despite being a legend-killer, Wanderlei Silva has a big problem. That is to say, he hasn’t had a big problem in a long time. How is that a problem you ask? Well, he has gotten the distinction of being a Tomato Can fighter. He has fought nobodies since winning his Middleweight Title. Hiromitsu Kanehara? Tatsuya Iwasaki? Kiyoshi Tamura? Alexander Otsuka? The only credible fighter he has faced was in a non-title, non-pride rules, match in Mirko Cro Cop (which, to Silvas credit, was a match he won despite the rule changes and size disadvantage, though it was ruled a draw.) And quite frankly this 3rd fight against Sakuraba isn’t going to prove the critics wrong. In order to prove his worth as a champion Wanderlei Silva will have to win the Middleweight tournament, and he will have to beat #1 contender Quinton “Rampage” Jackson to do so... but THAT is another story for another time. To be honest, I don’t want to see this fight. I’ve seen it twice before and I don’t think anything new will happen the 3rd time. Silva will win, Sakuraba will lose. I don’t think there’s much more to say about it than that.

From DA meltz: There were no problems at weigh-ins as all the competitors made the 205 pound weight limit without any issues. There will be a ceremony on the show for Giant Ochiai, who passed away on Friday. Ochiai had fought on one major and three minor Pride events. An announcement will be made for a 10/5 show, which will likely not be on PPV in the U.S., at the same Saitama Super Arena. It will be the first of a new series called Pride Bushido, open to fighters 183 pounds or less. Fuji Network aired a live show earlier today showing Hidehiko Yoshida training to catch Kiyoshi Tamura's kicks and taking him down from there, and countering the kick with a straight right. They are trying to remake Kazushi Sakuraba as a killer to hype late interest, since the show will be airing on network television in prime time and the company is hoping for its biggest audience in history. The story is that Sakuraba didn't show up at the press conference because he is so serious and mad that he didn't want to even see Vanderlei Silva before the fight. The claim is that in a training session, Sakuraba busted up Daijiro Matsui's face horribly.

Mainstream Sports and the Medias perception of Vince McMahon. Vince has always tried to become "legitimate", which is why he always tries to branch out from wrestling, yet he is still seen as a carnival act - no matter if he becomes a publically traded company, has millions of fans, makes more money than the Yankees in a given year, etc. etc. He's still "that crazy McMahon" at best, and "who?" at worst.

And to add to that... Pride wants a certain semi-final on their next show. It's no coincidence that they gave the easiest fight to Yoshida, put the two strikers together (who would then most likely face uber-grappler Yoshida), put Jackson in there with a BTT member (if Silva beats Sak, Silva vs. Jackson or Chute Boxe vs, BTT, if Sak beats Silva its a Jackson rematch or Sak vs. Brazil). While Pride is a shoot organization, there is a way to book the matches.... to a point.

I can see your point, but you gotta understand that there really can't be a major disagreement on this card. It's competitive enough that there could be an upset, but across-the-board MMA writers and experts have the same winners and losers. There will have to be an upset, cause there always is, and I tried to hint at that in the Jackson, Overeem and Rodriguez previews; but there are only so many bases you can cover I think I picked Sakuraba over Silva on another board as well. There's a few fights (eps. the Jackson one) that, as Dave said, your mind changes at the blink of an eye. I'm a bit saddened that DD didn't have more to say as well, because his previews (Pride 25 in particular) are awesome. But then again, I don't mind the rub from the veteran

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on Japanese Talk Show August 8, 2003 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira participated in an August 5th Tokyo talk show, only 5 days away from his August 10th bout at the Saitama Super Arena. Under an air-conditioned tent, fans were shown the actual ring to be used in the August 10th PRIDE Grand Prix and they formed long lines to get a chance to see one of the most popular fighters. The already-hot August day seemed to get even hotter when Nogueira appeared on stage at 1pm. Nogueira looked a little bigger and in good condition, doing some shadow boxing for the excited fans. His secret…3 months training in Holland. This was Nogueira's 5th trip to Holland. In addition to therapy for his back, he also trained with K-1's Peter Aerts in Muay Thai for 1 month. With the help of a trainer, Nogueira was also able to do some body-building. "I didn't have time to work on conditioning last year because of all my fights." Nogueira continued "This time I had a lot of time so I was able to adjust my schedule and get in some good conditioning training." The time off definitely seems to have benefited Nogueira. Nogueira seems confident about his future, as well. "Rico is a great fighter but I will prove that PRIDE fighters are better than the UFC's. I will beat him. I lost to him in Abu Dhabi but I won't lose in vale tudo. Beating Fedor is my goal now. I want to fight him again and show everyone that I am the best heavyweight." Nogueira also did the fans a favor by having a triangle-choke "seminar." Asked for volunteers than didn't mind being choked out, many fans raised their hands but only 2 were selected to become prey. Of course, they tapped out immediately. The 2 volunteers later commented that Nogueira is a lot more flexible than he looks on TV. Next was an omo-plata "seminar", followed by picture taking with the fans. After the event, Nogueira showed his confidence again when speaking with reporters. "I'm better than Rico standing and on the ground. I'd like to finish with striking since I've been doing so much Muay Thai training. Rico is heavier so I don't want to be on bottom." As his followers know, Nogueira's talent really shows when he's fighting from the bottom. However, Nogueira must have re-thought his strategy since he lost beneath Emelianenko Fedor last time. In the current field of PRIDE fighters, it's dangerous to be on bottom, even if you have the skill level of Nogueira. Nogueira has improved himself all around, including his ground work. The proof? He sent Mario Sperry to the hospital with a wrist injury from their sparring. Nogueira may just be able to show us a new side and beat Ricco Rodriguez from the top. ------------ 1 Month with Peter Aerts? OOOOOH YEEAAAAHH!!! Nog is gonna fuck shit up. FUCK IT UP! YEAH! YEAH! FUCK THAT SHIT! FUCK THAT SHIT UP GOOD! YEAH! YEAH! FUCK IT HARD~! ..ahem.. Getting too excited.

I agree with that. ...to a point. This is that point. The WWE is down... a lot... there needs to be something to freshen the product. They've done nearly everything creatively to do that and it hasn't worked - it's about fucking time to stop limiting your wrestlers.

Yes.

Maybe Brock still has his concussion from WM.

*is waiting for Mole to change his signature to ALL BEAST images* Oh it will happen.

Edge needs to bulk up HHH 99-Style to get the title.

Don't get me wrong, I _like_ Edge and all of his goofy-ass offense, he just can't seem to get the intricacies of selling down. RRR: Uber-Worker.

No one, wrestling in the WWE, is an exception to the WWE style. The WWE style is "fast paced brawling", and everyone does the kick/punch, everyone does those spots, everyone does their signature moves. There's the format, you can apply it to every WWE match - from Benoit/Angle to RVD/Eddie to Austin/Rock. It's all the same fucking style, and that shit gets tired. The only difference is workrate and move execution.

Actually _it does_. See, the WWE style is this - kick punch kick punch *insert signature move here* kick punch kick *transition move that really isn't a transition move* kick punch kick punch punch punch *signature move* kick punch kick punch *another spot (aka "transition move" -wink-)* kick punch punch punch punch *finish*. All of this in one of the WWE's many many formula (note singular form) and changes up once in a while with some rope running, move teasing, etc. You know, meaningless crap. But they do that formula real good. Good bookers.

Has Rey even defended the title in the past 30 days?

RVD's workrate is fantastic. He has seemingly endless endurance and can bump like a motherfucker. He's just horrible "technically".

I'm sorry, but Edge's selling is comical at best and suicide-inducing at worst. It's BECAUSE of his "ARGH!" selling after successfully doing many leg-dependent moves, and being put in the ankle-lock for 5 minutes, and then running around and going up to the top rope that really hurts the believablity of what he's doing. And this is not an isolated incident either.

I have a feeling that Vince never seen a Ultimo Dragon match until his Smackdown debut in MSG.

Is posting Jubuki-written material allowed here