RavishingRickRudo

Well now your selling him short, the product is predictable and stale right? Well then what are the chances of being suprised to the point where you think a promo is on but a match is instead? *Laughs at the irony* While the storylines and match outcomes are foreseeable, the format itself as well as match/promo/skit placement cannot be predicted. Naturally, you're taking his words too literal (despite knowing what his intention was) in hopes of proving a point. The point has been made, but it's not the one you wanted.

The purpose of those shows is not to put on classic wrestling matches, but to develope characters and storylines based around one ground concept, in this case, that concept is wrestling. If its purpose was to develop characters and storylines then they would hire actors. E.R. didn't hire actual doctors and Law and Order did not hire actual cops and lawyers; character development and storylines are significant, however wrestling is an integral part to the shows and it always has been. The matches they build to occur at actual wrestling events, otherwise there used as a ratings grabber. The basis of it all is wrestling, what happens around the wrestling is pure TV show. "Pure TV show"??? WTF does that even mean? Monday Night Football is on TV thus making it a TV show. They aren't purely Football as they spice it up by having pregame shows, half-time analysis, announcers, fun graphics, etc. They bread and butter, however, is the FOOTBALL. RAW (and wrestling) is a mock sport; they have announcers, they have titles, they have wins and loses, they have competition, it is much closer to football than it is to "Pure TV" like Friends. I understand what you're saying by telling Dama not to judge Orton's matches by TV - I think Orton is an ok wrestler and doesn't suck - but I disagree with the notion that you can't judge TV matches because they are on TV and therefore have different objectives. If they had different objectives, then they wouldn't do it in-ring. But it's still a television show, just like Survivor, which is more TV show than it is survival competition. This is why I laugh when I here someone say "the latest ROH show was soooo much better than Raw" as if there was a point of comparison to begin with. Raw had 88 minutes to put on a good show. The WWE decides to use their time to put on a bad show. RAW is a live show which charges, what, 40 bucks per ticket (avg)? They have 2 hours to put on a good show for that live crowd. The WWE decides to use their time to put on a bad show. They have the same objective; to put on a good show (well, they should). Their methods might be different, but the objective is the same. If RAW fails and ROH succeeds in achieving their objectives, the the comparison is valid.

You wrote this knowing that this thread would turn stupid. ...Restriction on civil liberties IS terrorism.

The average in-ring time is about 45 minutes. That's more than half the show. So the "majority" of the show is used for wrestling; which, if done right, can further characters and develop storylines. The storylines and characters, if done right, is FOR wrestling. Besides, the wrestling isn't nearly as bad as the storylines and character development - comparitively speaking. Avg. Skit time is what, 1-3 minutes? Sometimes those skits go long - sometimes they go short; this effects how long they will give whatever wrestling match they're showing. If he changes the channel expecting a long promo and turns back to see a match almost over, then that's a waste.

Raw's not a wrestling show, it's a television show. I'm so glad they changed their named to World Television Entertainment - that "Wrestling" part was just holding them back. Using your approach, it's still a television show about wrestling and it's still a live event AND it's a television show that affects NON-televised live events (those WRESTLING SHOWS). Therefore the excuse "I just watch wrestling" doesn't work, because your not just watching matches and critiquing them, your watching characters and how there used and critiquing them. If it's about wrestling, change the channel when a match isn't on, and then go back when you see a match on there. Simple. How can he see a match on there if he's not watching it?

WOL usually starts at around 8:05-8:10.

Well, I don't really watch a lot of TV... cause 99% of it is stupid. So my suggestion is "don't watch it". Wrestling, of course, is the exception cause -well- I'm stupid for watching it.

He's a soldier-guy in Area 51. He, most notably, greets The President & Co. and tells them they have to get detoxified (for lack of a better term) but The President says "fuck that" and Jayne has to open the lab to them. He also shoots the Alien when it comes back to life. He also drives The President & Ladies to pick up Will Smith and the Stumbling dude. He was on-screen for like, 15 minutes.

Just because I proclaimed Firefly as my new-god and Angel as a lesser-god doesn't stop Angel from being godly. - RRR's lesson of the day.

Dude, I've been watching it. Jeez, miss one show (but still catch the rerun a few days later!) and all-of-a-sudden I've given up on the show... SORRY! We all can't be perfect like ME!

and MMA and Joss Whedon shows.

Here's the usual list... Pride 10 - Is probably the most recommended show for newcomers to Pride. It features a lot of “old stars” (which, given the turnover rate of stars in MMA, is only after 3 years) and really got the ball rolling for PRIDE. Mezger/Silva, Vovchanchyn/Inoue, Sakuraba/Renzo are all really freakin good matches. Plus there are some _sick_ KO’s in it. Pride 12 - Silva vs. Henderson rules. Sakuraba vs. Gracie is really good. This was the first Pride a friend-of-mine saw and he became instantly hooked. Pride 14 - Daijiro Matsui vs. Pele is really, really good. Shoji vs. Henderson is non-stop. Silva continues to build his reputation. Mezger vs. Liddell is back-and-forth action with a sick finish. Pride 17 - a really awesome bout between Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera and Heath Herring. One of the best heavyweight fights you will see. This is the show where they determine the 2 champions (Heavyweight and Middleweight) and it’s in the Tokyo Dome so the atmosphere is amazing. This show has a lil bit of everything on it and features mainly current fighters. - these are the top 4. If you can get Pride 19 and 20, do so. Newton vs. Pele is stunning, as is Ninja vs. Sperry.

Lemme put it this way; I now want to see the show. With that said, I'm not sure if I'm going to pay $30 for it.

Ok, so I read spoilers.... <---- Is Giddy. You have NO IDEA how good this show will get. NO IDEA. It's best that you keep it that way, cause when it happens, you will FREAK THE FUCK OUT. RRR: Taunting you all. Muhuahahahaha

So I'm watchin Independance Day on TV and I see a familiar face as they enter Area 51. "Who's that man?! WHO'S THAT MAN?!" - RRR "Jaaaaaaaayne, the man they call Jaaaaaaaaaayne"~! That was fucking awesome. I've seen ID4 (as the kidz would say) a dozen times and I still marked out big seeing Adam Baldwin in a rather big supporting role (with lines and everything~!).

Richard Hatch is SO the star of this show. That's all I really have to say.

Well, which one do you think JR and Vince were watching? Neither. I think they're on here reading us, right now, as we speak. HEY VINNIE AND JIMMY!

It's great how the WWE was basically advertising the superbowl on their website while they actually compete with them.

The toilet bowls in Arenas around the country will be floating at half-full.

Courtesy of (and ©) Full Contact Fighter: From Las Vegas this afternoon, recently unseated light-heavyweight champion Randy Couture called into FCF to let everyone know that he's okay. In a slightly somber tone, Couture says his injury last night at UFC 46 was caused by a seam on the outside of the commission issued gloves that grazed his left eye. (Couture says he didn't feel any impact from the actual punch). The damage required three stitches to his lower eyelid and five to his upper lid. Couture says there was also some retinal abrasion, as well as some irregularity with his pupil dilation that he was given eye drops for. Patched up and back in his Mandalay Bay hotel room, Couture says he has been resting with his wife and family members. On the positive side, Couture was told all his optical maladies are expected to heal completely and with his stitches out in a few days, "the Natural" hopes to be back to training in less than two weeks. According to Couture, Zuffa has already started discussing the inevitable rematch with newly crowned champion Vitor Belfort and he let the promotion know that he'll be ready to fight again as early as April (although he realistically anticipates a June date at the earliest.) FCF wishes Couture, as well as the other injured UFC 46 participants, the speediest of recoveries. www.fcfighter.com ...whew

We very much have an option on the way we perceive and enjoy the product, some people are just too stubborn to realize it. Yes, you can enjoy the product when you turn your brain off and become a zombie. Which is why I don't like anti-smarks; they promote stupidity and ignorance.

Question though, why doesn't UFC have a rule where the title can't change hands on a doctor stoppage? It would make more sense, like in wrestling with a DQ. It doesn't seem right that the champion should lose his title when something like that goes down. It should go down as a loss but he should keep the title until a rematch. Personally, I don't think this should have been a title fight anyways. Vitor beat Marvin Eastman - a top 20 light-heavyweight at best; that doesn't call for a title match. This was set up because of a previous match they had and that's it, so it should have been non-title. That's what PRIDE does and it works for them. Then, if you have an upset, you can have the rematch where the champion has to prove his worth. I agree with the sentiment that titles shouldn't change hand son things like "that", however, that leaves it up to the judges' descretion, so where do you draw the line? If a fighter gets bloodied up because the opponent was simply beating the shit out of him, then shouldn't the title change hands? Another question, they were stressing how they were going to fight a rematch at the next possible conveniance. Is it possible for them to add it to UFC 47: It's On? They've already booked all the matches.

I wouldn't mind doing a DVDVR100 style review, where you have a top 20 matches you need to see with different people looking at various "great" matches.

Thanks Dave. I really enjoyed your columns before and coming from you, this means alot. It wasn't really much of the exciting column, I hope to improve on that for the future. I'd love to do another joint-column/preview or maybe a round table discussion on various subjects. I'm hoping to try and get a non-preview column up sometime in the next 2 weeks on "The Top 10 Fighters You Need to Know About" - Dave, I'd love for your insight on that.