cabbageboy

Appaloosa looks really good but the reviews thus far haven't been all that amazing. I have a feeling that might be one where Renee Zellweger hampers it. It looks basically like Open Range with Harris and Mortensen in the Duvall/Costner roles, with Jeremy Irons in the Michael Gambon role. Not a bad thing, but the two seem similar.

If I'm Michaels there is no way I would ever let stuff like that air on TV. The key to these "I nailed your wife in the past" angles is that they really shouldn't be true (like Macho/Flair/Liz...at least I don't THINK Flair ever banged Liz for real).

Exactly. WCW built everything to that big Starrcade but had zero clue what to do after it. History has always shown Sting to be a better chaser than champion, since he loses steam once he actually wins the belt. Personally I would have had Sting hold the belt for a while, then around mid 1998 drop the belt back to Hogan in a screwjob (let's say Bret runs in, setting up Sting/Bret). Then at Starrcade I go with Hogan vs. Goldberg. Oddly enough with some tinkering the NWO wasn't really out of steam, but branching off into the Wolfpac and Hollywood hurt a lot. Eventually Hogan could have been ousted from the NWO for losing to Goldberg, then he could have feasibly turned face in 1999 instead of the half ass way he did.

I don't really recall how many people in grade school were wrestling fans, but I know I was watching in 1988-89. I went to HS during a dubious time to be a fan (1993-97), although I guess by the time senior year rolled around at least WCW was hot with the NWO. Anyway, after seeing this Nitro it's far past time they stopped with this Benoit shit. It was so blatant and annoying that they could out the Benoit/Hennig match since they came back with Flair running to the ring and Benoit was being attacked by the NWO. Given how hot that Hennig/Flair angle started, how did WCW not make insane money off of it? Maybe if it had been 4 years earlier it would have with both guys as the top draws instead of upper midcard. Raw really started getting insane during this period of time. Lots of Russo type shoot stuff on this show with Bret and Shawn flat out laying into each other on the mic, but the difference is these guys were feuding with each other and the shoot comments fit into a context.

This was on 24/7 a while ago and I recorded it. As far as all the HOF guys go, even though there are a lot of them on this show the only really good match was Flair/Magnum. I guess Martel/Hansen has its moments, but it's just a crazy brawl that never really gets started.

Again, this info basically backs up what I'm saying. Vince would have just taken some UWF stars he wanted and watched Watts go down in flames. He wouldn't have bothered buying him out or anything that foolish, so Crockett was a fool for buying that line of BS. Besides, why would Crockett give a crap about a syndicated deal when he had NATIONAL TV on TBS? Further, why did Watts splurge for TV deals in towns where he either didn't run or hadn't yet run? Truth be told, in the end Watts was screwed when Turner got the NWA stars back after the WWF experiment tanked. I think Mid South was on TBS for a while but was tossed in favor of the NWA.

That's great. Matt, you mention seeing a lot of Benoit signs, but who is favored to win that election?

While watching that Davis press conf. and then Kiffin I had to wonder why they kept arguing over whether they talked to each other or not. Who really cares and why is that such an issue? Of course Kiffin sucked but Davis did hire him so the buck stops there. That said, I think Kiffin should sue to get whatever money is due him.

I don't get why the blurring is necessary anyway, as in why did WWE ever allow that to happen? I get losing the rights to the name WWF but there's no way if I'm Vince I'd change my video library and make it unwatchable with blurred logos.

Knox is a fairly competent big man but he desperately needs to be repackaged with a gimmick. He's got the crazy beard going now, which at least helps him stand out. But he needs something besides being "Mike Knox: Generic Big Man." As an aside I don't totally understand the booking of the Dreamer/Swagger/Knox segments. I would assume they are using Dreamer to put over Swagger and get him over, but how is Swagger going to get much out of beating Dreamer if Tommy is getting waxed by Knox? Why not give Dreamer a few jobber wins and rebuild him and then job him to Swagger?

Yeah HHH going over is something that almost had to happen since SD is debuting on the new network. I would hope that Phoenix beat McCool since I still think the Divas belt is a total joke and there's no way whoever has it should be going over the actual women's champion.

I'll take the Rays in 5 and Red Sox in 4. The White Sox will have a tough time winning in Tampa, yet I can't see the Rays getting a game in Chicago either. So the home field will be crucial there. However, I think Daisuke can steal that game in Anaheim and the Red Sox will take it back to Boston and win both there to finish it.

I'll take the Phillies in 5 and Cubs in 3. I figure Sabathia will win his start and somehow, some way the Brewers will take another game in Milwaukee to set up a decisive game 5 in Philly. As far as the Cubs go, if they just deal with Manny the best they can the Dodgers shouldn't be a big problem. At most the Dodgers might get 1 game, but I think the Cubs sweep.

Let's think about this for a minute. Crockett likely wouldn't have wanted the NWA title going to anyone who wasn't a JCP guy, not for any amount of time. Some of these guys might get a token title run but the only guy who likely was groomed to be a face champ was Magnum, since he was a fellow Crockett employee.

So from reading that...Joe did a heel turn? Actually sounds like a decent show but there's so much up in the air for BFG on the undercard that isn't delved into here. First, what are the losing guys in that X Division match going to do at the PPV since Creed is getting a title shot? Second, is there a women's match on the PPV? It's far past time they ended this Taylor Wilde crap and put the belt back on Kong where it belongs. Oh and as an aside, why is Rhino jobbing to Billy Gunn? I actually think putting him with the Beautiful People is an amusing little angle, but he shouldn't be going over anyone of note.

1. Who is the best team in the league? I'll go with the Titans right now. They just look solid on both sides of the ball and nobody has figured them out yet. I would say the Giants, but I can't help but deduct slightly for the dubious OT win over Cincy. 2. Who is the worst team in the league? Rams. No one is even in the same ballpark of suck, not even the Lions. 3. Who is going to take a big step forward the next 4 games? As much as I have dissed Jacksonville I can't help but think they are going to make a run now that they are back to .500. They get an injury riddled Pittsburgh at home, might lose to Denver, and then have no one of note for a while. 4. Rookie of the year candidates? As mentioned, guys like Slaton, Royal, etc. 5. Other than Brady, what is the most costly injury to have happened so far? Merriman. The Chargers D just isn't very good without him in it.

I must say, Michaels had a fun match with Virgil on this show. The storyline of the match with Virgil having his nose broken and Shawn going for the face guard was good stuff. Main event was also amusing enough.

They definitely made the right call. I can't see David working in that role anywhere near as well as Race did. Can't see him doing the bounty angle with Flair as well at all, although it would be an amusing payback from when Flair took out the bounty on Kerry. In fact I don't know if David would have ever been a long term champ. Crockett controlled the NWA title by 1983-84 and I can't see him not wanting Flair as champ for an extended amount of time. Particularly when keeping it on a Von Erich for a long time would have made WCCW the place to be in the NWA.

I've never been a big Twins fan but I am definitely rooting for them tonight. I don't like the White Sox, I don't want the White Sox in the playoffs, and I don't think they deserve to be in the playoffs. Add in the astonishing fact that the Twins won the season series 10-8 and yet have to play this in Chicago. That said, if the Twins had simply beaten the Royals over the weekend this wouldn't be happening. As far as the Angels go, I said it on here before and I'll repeat it. They went 100-62 this year, but a quick look at baseball-reference.com shows that their Pythagorean W-L was only 88-74. That's a startling difference. In fact if you believe in that stuff the Angels are the weakest of the 4 AL playoff teams, with even the supposedly mediocre Twins and White Sox having a Pythagorean W-L of 89-73. The Angels did smoke the Red Sox this year 8/9 times. That said, 6 of those wins were during the Red Sox swoon in July at the height of Manny screwing around.

After reading this it does trouble me a bit seeing all of this Jarrett/Angle stuff all over the show, with hardly any mention of the actual main event of the PPV (Sting/Joe). That said, I did have the slight thought that Jarrett would end up with Karen when they started this angle, and it wouldn't shock me if they actually went in that direction.

Predictions: Early Kansas City at Carolina: Wow, Chiefs got a big win over Denver this past week. Still, I need to see a bit more before picking them. Carolina by 10. Chicago at Detroit: The Lions finally fired Matt Millen! And they still suck. Bears by 14. Atlanta at Green Bay: I'm baffled on this one since we don't know how healthy Rodgers is. That said I can't see the Falcons winning at Lambeau, so I'll take the Packers by 6. San Diego at Miami: Miami is a mystery right now, but I can't see the trick plays working as well now that someone will have film of it. Chargers by 7, tougher than expected. Seattle at NY Giants: Without Burress this one will be a decent challenge for the Giants. Still, this is Seattle travelling to the east coast, so the Giants still get the win. NYG by 8. Washington at Philadelphia: Redskins have been a bit better than expected, but the Eagles now really need to hold serve at home. Philly by 4 in a good game. Tennessee at Baltimore: This game is so manly it will make hair grow on your chest just watching it. Both teams are awesome on D, but the Titans have a bit better offense. Titans by 7. Indianapolis at Houston: Oh man, this is the "both teams must win" game of the day. The Colts are coming off a bye, but I just don't see this being their year. So yes, I'll take Houston to get their first win by 1, something like 28-27. Late Tampa Bay at Denver: Tampa is winning almost in spite of Griese, yet the Broncos puzzled with that beating from the Chiefs. Still, Denver will find some way to steal this thing 31-28. Buffalo at Arizona: After that fiasco in NY I am done picking the Cardinals to do anything. Buffalo will stagger for 3 quarters and then turn it on in the 4th to win by 10. New England at San Francisco: Pats are actually favored by 3 in this one, though I don't exactly know why. Niners are actually fairly tough at home, so I'll take them by 6. Cincinnati at Dallas: Oh man I wouldn't want to be the hopeless Bengals this week against a likely pissed off Cowboys. Dallas by 17. SNF Pittsburgh at Jacksonville: The Jags bore me to tears but the Steelers aren't exactly inspiring much confidence of late. JAX by 2 or so on another Scobee FG. MNF Minnesota at New Orleans: Vikings have been a puzzling disappointment thus far and it's hard to see their luck improving in New Orleans. Saints by 4.

Enjoyed the 8 man tag tonight but I have to wonder if Rey/Bourne would be a better match than Punk/Kofi for Team Priceless. They do need to get Rey away from Kane as soon as possible and not even think of having him lose the mask. Did they learn nothing from WCW's debacles circa 1999? The finish to the main event was goofy. When I figured it would be HHH as the partner I figured Cade would eat a Sweet Chin Music and then a Pedigree. After this angle plays out I might suggest trading Cade to SD for someone. As the rosters are currently assembled Raw has too many cookie cutter vanilla white boys like Orton, Rhodes, Dibiase, Cade, etc. SD has a bunch of black guys all of similar size and position on the card (Truth, MVP, Shelton). Since MVP is mostly being jobbed out on SD, trade him for Cade.

Tampa is a puzzling team. They are winning but it almost seems in spite of Griese. The benching of Garcia is puzzling to me since I had no idea his starting job was in jeopardy going in. Then they lose a tough game at New Orleans by 4 and he's benched just like that and demoted to 3rd string? That game with Green Bay shouldn't have even been close yesterday, but Griese nearly handed the Packers the game. It was an entertaining game too, certainly better than the alternative in this area (the Bengals/Browns anti classic).

Some of those dark matches from 1993-95 sound cool. Benoit vs. Owen, Sabu vs. Owen...I would have liked to have seen those.

Given the NWA's booking of the day I wouldn't 100% say that was a done deal. It's probable, but what if Magnum ended up the victim of another bullshit Dusty Finish?