cabbageboy

I'm sure others have mentioned this, but how did Cena exactly get back for Raw? Let's look at the logistics of it. I can assume Edge and Lita fucked with his dad early in the day and then got on the plane for Raw. Are we to assume that Cena was at the show already, heard about what Edge had done, left to attend to his dad, and then got back during Raw? Why even leave the show for that silly shit anyway? His dad was in no major jeopardy.

Is it just me or did Raw really lose something once RVD was caught with the weed? I doubt he would even be there right now anyway since he would have lost the title at SNME, but when he had the WWE title on Raw the title seemed of utmost importance and was heavily featured. The thing I don't get about the McMahons/DX crap (aside from the obvious playing to egos) is what exactly is the point of any of this? Vince's promo tonight was bizarre and I notice this a lot with him in these feuds, where he says the name McMahon is bigger than HHH or HBK, etc. Thing is, that's in a nebulous business sense. In the ring Vince and Shane aren't actual wrestlers and HHH and HBK have a combined 14 or so world titles between them. How is this a contest? What does either side really gain if they win?

It's probably a good idea to break up RVD/Angle for a while. Those guys were flat out killing each other on house shows. Save it. Why would you be shocked that RVD would own Kevin Thorn?

Brooke wasn't on TV much after SNME mainly because 1. She isn't under any WWE contract as far as I know and 2. Hogan probably doesn't want his daughter doing some goofy ass heel turn.

I think you guys are reading a bit much into the dead crowd for Hogan. First off, Orton totally killed the crowd with his yawn inducing promo (note the sign: Orton is boring). Second, they already played the music for the fake Hogan. I'd say the crowd assumed it was another joke Hogan, like a midget or something and thus didn't react. That said, it disturbs me greatly that Hogan chased Orton tonight since that might signal Orton winning at the PPV. But this IS Hogan we're talking about here. Maybe he'll no sell a whole match of Orton working his bad knee, Hulk up, and nail Orton with the bad leg for the 1-2-3. This might sound silly, but does Raw actually have a roster anymore? I'm serious, what is Raw's roster? It's like watching an entire show of nothing but the part time legends, with some Cena/Edge thrown in. At least SD (and even ECW) are giving some new guys a shot.

Joe vs. Rhino should be the #1 contender match at whatever the next PPV is. Joe wins, then takes out Jarrett at BFG. Sure, the show is worth a look. I liked several of the matches and the fire is certainly a bizarre moment. Just FF through the crap during the fire where they recap Sting/Jarrett TWICE, but then watch the deranged Monty promo as well as Douglas.

Dames, who the hell even remembers that shit with Jackie Gayda? I assumed that whole idea was dropped once she got knocked up. In fact trying to tie the current Zybzsko/Hebner collusion to the Team Canada/Jarrett screwjob on Raven further complicates things. I mean, yeah, I guess in an unspoken way there's something to it given Raven's outrage at Zbyzsko. But I think it's best left at this: Raven was pissed at being screwed and raged against Larry Z. for not doing anything about it. Besides, Raven looks like he's going to feud with Abyss in the whole Runt situation.

Honestly, I don't think beating anyone really makes Joe because it's obvious he's going to win regardless of whether it's Sting or Jarrett. They can't get cutesy with that booking either...if Joe challenges he has to win it, no bullshit finish. I am possibly the only one on earth who bothers with this Zbyzsko/Hebner angle. I thought they had given up on it since they edited them out of the Jarrett title win footage, but here's Hebner back tonight blathering about exposing Zbyzsko. I mean what is there to expose? I can see Hebner now going to Cornette, saying how he and Larry were in on a mass conspiracy with Jarrett. Cornette would say "No shit, Sherlock" and throw him out. The point needing explanation is not whether they were in collusion but WHAT and WHY? Why did Zbyzsko and Hebner aid Jarrett? What were they hoping to gain? Who gives a shit what Hebner has to say now anyway? Cornette already noted he can't fire Zbyzsko due to a no cut clause, so he punished him with the hair match. So why the fuck are they keeping this angle going, when the end result in terms of a match is just Jarrett getting smeared by Joe anyway?

Well, I think we all knew Christian was turning. The thing I didn't get about it is why did he attack Steiner and actually help Sting for most of the match if he was going to just turn on him later? I mean his help might have won Sting the title. I think Jarrett has taken insanely overbooked NWO stuff to new extremes, with a bit of Memphis heel tossed in. The guy flat out cannot win a match cleanly. Not ANY match. He could be wrestling the Brooklyn Brawler and he'd have to have 3 run ins, a ref bump, and a heel turn to get the win.

More info on the RVD/Angle match from insidepulse.com: "In the Kurt Angle vs. RVD match, with RVD on the turnbuckle, Kurt went to do the pop-up suplex, slipped on the ropes and got crotched on the second and third ropes, likely injuring his groin and/or hamstring. They went right to the finish, and then he was helped to the back by three refs." You know, from these past few ECW house shows Angle seems like he is really out of it. As in he has no business being out there right now. First he damn near kills RVD by dropping him on his head, now it seems like he may have hurt himself.

I am intrigued that they are mixing up the finishes on these RVD/Angle house show matches. I wonder why promotions don't do this more often? Let each guy get some wins so you don't look at house show results and know immediately that the next show will have the same results.

Snakes, this is TNA and this is Jarrett we're talking about here. You knew going in you would get your overbooked nonsense and the Christian heel turn. Buying this show and expecting otherwise is sheer folly. Oddly enough I think they managed to pull out a decent show in spite of the debacle of the fire early on. I enjoyed the Joe/Rhino/Monty match, the Abyss/Spike match, and the X title match. I'm baffled as to what some on this board see in LAX....I mean they fucking blow. Just a 2nd rate ripoff of the LWO with Konnan taking the place of Eddie. It was blatant watching that Hernandez is crap, by far the worst of the 4 workers in the ring. With a shortened PPV why keep the pointless Kim/Zerelda match? I'd also be remiss in not noting the Zbyzsko/Hebner silliness is back. I'm not exactly sure what the point is now, considering everyone KNOWS they aided Jarrett in some sort of collusion and Larry Z. was already punished by Cornette. Seriously, this is the single worst angle of the year, but at least so bad it's kinda funny.

This stuff like "So and so's match lost 100,000 viewers" is so silly. It's just a statistical anomaly. I remember Booker T. used to be one of the main guys who would lose all sorts of viewers in these Observer reports. There are too many extenuating circumstances in regards to TV ratings. Maybe the previous segment was a turn off, maybe there was something else on TV that drew away viewers.

Russo was relieved of command in Jan. 2000, not really fired. He was under contract the whole time. Basically he just sat at home and watched as WCW really got hideous during Kevin Sullivan's tenure from Jan-April 2000. WCW got desperate so they brought Bischoff and Russo back.

Yeah, I still have to wonder about the logic in putting Angle on ECW. He's now going against guys like RVD and Sabu who have little regard for their own safety in a hardcore match, much less their opponent. I have to admit I am interested in this match Tuesday. Angle winning is the least likely since Angle vs. Big Show at SS for the ECW title is so wrong on so many levels. Yet I don't know if they want to put it right back on RVD right after he got back without any chase to build it. If I had to say anyone, I'd go with Sabu. They've built it on TV for a few weeks at least.

I maintain there was a serious amount of money to be made from Goldberg chasing the belt after the Fingerpoke of Doom. I think the following idea would have drawn money: --Goldberg is screwed out of the title and his streak vs. Nash via the Hall run in. --They do the Fingerpoke angle. Yeah, it's still stupid but it gets the title back on Hogan which is what we need for this angle. They could just stick Flair or whoever in there for a 3 way, Hogan wins minus fingerpoke. --They do most of the same booking that they DID do. Hogan can still feud with Flair for the time being, but Flair never actually wins the title and there's no goofy double turn. Goldberg meanwhile takes out Scott Hall in the same ladder match to complete step 1 of getting the belt back. --Goldberg then takes out Nash in that rematch to prove that he is the better man without interference. They did this fine as well at Spring Stampede 99. --From here on in actuality things got really odd. I personally maintain it was a combination of DDP getting the belt and nobody buying him as champ and the realization that GB wasn't getting the title back that really started WCW's plummet in 1999. Hogan losing the title to Flair and then getting hurt seriously screwed things up. --What I'd have done is then build to something like Bash at the Beach. Have a tag match main event at one show with Goldberg and Hogan involved, then finally do the big blowoff at BATB 99. Goldberg wipes out Hogan and regains the title, and WCW would have ended up in much better shape. As an aside what happened to Goldberg post Spring Stampede 99? It's like he vanished from WCW until Fall Brawl, and I am at a loss to recall why. Was he injured?

Honestly, Nashville was never the biggest town for Memphis/USWA. Lawler was never quite God like in Nashville, not like in Memphis. So Jarrett wasn't ever especially liked there. This might sound strange but I quite preferred the Nashville TNA to the Orlando TNA. It had a much grittier, hard edge to it. Kind of like a mesh of the ECW Arena and old school Memphis. The Orlando Impact Zone is like watching prefab WCW shows circa 1993 from Disney, except with the inmates running the asylum and booing and cheering anyone and everyone. If ever a group needed the signs of "BOO" and "YAY" that Bischoff provided the tourists it is these people.

I have been a fan of KC James since I saw him at an OVW house show and he did a riotous Memphis heel schtick. It might be too regional to get over in WWE however. Neither James or Stevens is particularly good in the ring, but James has it all over him in terms of natural charisma. Aaron "The Idol" Stevens had a fantastic gimmick in OVW with Beth Phoenix and Shelly (now Ariel on ECW). Once they broke up the menage a trois his heat vanished, because then people saw he was a fairly mediocre worker with bland mic skills.

I don't get the NBC Universal part. Do they not grasp the concept of ECW being a separate brand from Raw? It'd be like having Raw guys show up on SD every week to continue some phantom storyline. ECW has one hour a week, they don't need this crap. They have a top tier mix of RVD, Sabu, Angle, and Big Show. Who needs these Raw guest stars? Those guys are big stars and can draw.

Human Highlight Reel, I get some of what you are saying but it's hard to know how they originally put this to Rey. I can see them saying "We want you to dedicate your Rumble performance to Eddie" and him agreeing, thinking it would be a moving moment. But then it kept going and got out of control. Either way I can't see Rey main eventing without doing this Eddie angle. Anyway what are you exactly arguing? That Rey is actually right to constantly mention Eddie, or that Chavo is the heel in this feud for being upset about it? Compare the way Rey has used Eddie's death (and the closeness of their friendship isn't what I'm debating) with someone like Chris Benoit. Benoit is also grieving. But before he was injured Benoit wasn't out there dedicating all of his matches to Eddie. He did some low key tributes and that was it.

Having seen Elijah Burke on OVW I can safely tell you he is horrible. He's actually better served being a manager, since his mic work is vaguely irritating so it lends itself to being a heel. Terkay is more interesting. I remember him in OVW in roughly 2000 as part of Bolin Services when he was called The Collector. I don't remember a particularly good match he had (mostly just these squashes like on SD) but I did remember his incredible credentials. They even had Angle come down for a special OVW Louisville Gardens show, since Angle was the only man to ever beat him in college. Of course Angle beat him again and soon after Terkay was history. I don't know what to think of this whole Rey/Chavo angle. I'm not as offended by it as some people, mainly because I figure if Chavo is going to be in a major angle it's almost got to involve Eddie in some way. I just don't get why Chavo is in any way the heel in this. Over the past year Rey has used his son in an angle to get himself over, and then used the death of his best friend to get himself into the main event. Do they even realize how bad Rey looks in some ways? Further, there's a rumor of Vicki "turning heel" and siding with Chavo. Thing is, Vicki Guerrero CAN'T TURN HEEL. She frames the issue between them. It is Vicki who ultimately decides who is right and who is wrong here: If she sides with Rey, then Rey isn't offending the Guerreros, and Chavo is a bitter heel loner. If she sides with Chavo, then Rey is a sneaky opportunist using Eddie's name to get himself over. I recall a few months ago mentioning the whole Chavo heel turn scenario to my dad. His response: "You know, I can see why Chavo would be rightfully upset with Rey. He shouldn't be out there constantly talking about Eddie. He isn't a relative." In the end, they are asking fans to cheer for a guy who has been using his dead best friend, and to boo the dead man's nephew who is legitimately grieving. Besides that, SD is a nice breath of fresh air compared to Raw. Raw has a show built around a bunch of old guys (Vince, Hogan, Flair, Foley, even HBK and HHH), whereas SD has a new talent initiative and brings in newcomers as well as having a solid mix of veteran guys. And yes, I watched the Diva Search segment last night mainly for Luke Perry.

Here are two questions I have about Edge's future: 1. Will Edge retain his heat once Lita is gone? Let's face it, she is a major reason he got that extra push over the cliff into top heel territory. 2. Is it feasible to assume Edge will get the hometown pop from the Toronto crowd? The last PPV I recall in Toronto was SS 04, where Edge was trashed by the crowd in favor of Jericho...and that was when Edge was a face to boot.

You know, on pwinsider.com's audio today Buck Woodward mentioned how funny it would be for Nash to win and be the #1 contender to Senshi and then Senshi could kick the brains out. Thing is, Nash would win that match. And given how self serious Senshi is I'd probably laugh my ass off. FroGG, your Jarrett/Lawler analogy is scary. The main difference here however is that the Orlando fans detest Jarrett, whereas Lawler was always God in Memphis.

Jarrett in TNA is an example of taking Memphis heel tactics to a terrifying extreme. The guy literally cannot win a match cleanly. He can't even beat Jay Lethal without interference. Not that I think Lethal is weak or anything but he's certainly not a world title contender at this point.

BVD, Sting has absolutely no chance in hell of winning here. He's just jobbing most likely with the ultra predictable Christian heel turn. There's no way Jarrett is jobbing the belt until BFG when I'd have Joe crush him. If anything having Sting win it accomplishes nothing, just gives him a token reign and then Jarrett beats him back. Then Jarrett has somewhat less heat for BFG. Anyone have an idea of how JJ can win this match without the Christian heel turn?