cabbageboy

Know what's hilarious about that WCW/USWA ill fated crossover? In the early 90s I think the USWA actually drew better it its main areas (Memphis, Louisville, Nashville) than WCW was drawing in its home area.

The best thread in the history of this site however was the Raw from 2002 where Nash tore his quad. That was sheer brilliance yet to be matched.

Predictions for the games this weekend: Colts 28, Chargers 24. Same score as last year, but different actual result. Does anyone realize the sheer folly that could occur if the Chargers somehow get to the AFC title game and play the Ravens? Yes, a crappy 8-8 team could have home field in the AFC title game. Nip this in the bud, Peyton. Ravens 35, Dolphins 21. I haven't bought the Dolphins at all this year, but at least they served a purpose of keeping NE out of the playoffs. Ravens will stomp them now however, much like they did earlier in the season. Falcons 35, Cardinals 31. ATL just barely beat the Rams so this is no sure bet. AZ can put up points at home if nothing else. Still, the Falcons need to win this because the Cardinals have zero chance after this game. Eagles 21, Vikings 20. I don't think the Eagles will get to the Super Bowl, since they aren't much of a road team (unlike the Giants last year who were 7-1 on the road). That said they will figure out some way to scrape by here.

I thought Bruno did a west coast stint after losing to Koloff in 1971. In fact the 1972 match of the year from PWI was a battle royal he won in LA. No clue if he drew though, anyone know?

There's also more to wrestling than simply knowing a ton of moves. Hogan didn't use a ton of moves, but for the most part he was selling like a mofo for the heel. Hogan could in fact sell like crazy before his hulk up comeback, and he was excellent at psychology. Regarding this JBL/Cena match....doesn't JBL almost have to win this thing to pay off this goofy HBK angle? As in wouldn't Michaels have to cheat to help him win and then maybe win the Rumble (or EC at No Way Out), then JBL tries to make him back out, but Shawn refuses. I can't think of a single compelling scenario involving Cena defending the title at WM, and the way Orton has been losing clean there's no way that can seriously be a title match. Or maybe throw Cena in there with HBK/JBL at WM since that match 1 on 1 would likely blow.

Let's see how the last week of predictions went: 1:00 STL @ ATL: Obvious beatdown as the Falcons are playing for the #2 seed and the division. No way is this one close. Atlanta by 20. (Wow, this one was close but the Falcons did manage to pull it out. 1 for 1) CHI @ HOU: I have no idea what to think of the Texans. The Bears have everything to play for here but why is it I just don't see them getting it done? Houston by 3. (This one went about like I figured, Texans too much at home. 2 for 2) NYG @ MIN: I don't really care much for the Vikings with Jackson at QB. This is a tough one since who knows what the Giants will do in terms of playing people, but if they do go all out I'll take NY by 7. (Well, I have to stick with this pick...2 for 3) CAR @ NO: Here's an upset pick. After that insane OT game I just can't see Carolina getting up for this one, and the Saints are ultra tough at home. High scoring game, Saints pull it off 35-31. (Almost had the score right but the wrong team. Panthers at times have 9 lives. 2 for 4) CLE @ PIT: Squash city. Even if the Steelers rest people they will still cruise here. Steelers by 16. (This one went exactly as expected. 3 for 5) OAK @ TB: Okay Tampa, you have one shot left to get it done. It's the crappy Raiders, it's at home, but for whatever reason it won't be that easy. Tampa by 4. (Certainly wasn't easy and in fact wasn't a win at all. Tampa = biggest chokers in the league. 3 for 6) TEN @ IND: Nothing game since both teams will likely rest starters. Colts never care about these games, so I'll take TN by 7. (Colts won a mostly meaningless game. 3 for 7) DET @ GB: Historic game for all the wrong reasons. What the hell, just for fun I'll take the Lions by 1 point here on a last second FG. Then watch as GB releases everyone and fires the GM. (This was mostly a joke pick to see Detroit get a win, ah well. 3 for 8) NE @ BUF: Bills may well have knocked Denver out of the playoffs last week. Doubt they can do the same here. Pats by 10. (Bizarre, windy game but went according to plan. 4 for 9) KC @ CIN: What did the world do to deserve this one? Chiefs are somewhat better at a glance so I'll take KC by 6. (Bengals came on at the end of the season as usual to screw up their draft status. 4 for 10) 4:00 JAC @ BAL: Ravens need this one to get in the playoffs and the Jags likely couldn't care less. Baltimore by 12. (What's this, a team needing a win that took care of business? 5 for 11) MIA @ NYJ: I mentioned a few weeks ago that I thought NE would win this division and I'll stick to that pick. Jets by 3, knocking Miami out and doing themselves no good either. (Dolpins keep proving me wrong week after week, but it's going to stop next week. 5 for 12) SEA @ ARI: Doesn't really matter since the Cardinals are in, but they need to win this game to get back some semblance of credibility and finish 9-7. AZ by 10. (This one went about as expected, ho hum. 6 for 13) WAS @ SF: Redskins shot their load last week to knock off the Eagles. Niners are doing fairly well under Singletary so I'll take them here by 5. (Niners rallied to go 7-9, solid finish for Singletary. 7 for 14) DAL @ PHI: This is the prototypical game where Tony Romo will choke. Doesn't even matter if the Eagles are playing for nothing. Philly by 4. (Cowboys choked big time as a team here, ouch. 8 for 15) Night game DEN @ SD: The Broncos could make history here, being the only team ever to be up 3 with 3 to play and not make the playoffs. Chargers are playing well right now so I'll take them by 10, thus giving the Colts a much tougher opponent. (Ugh, did the world really need yet another Chargers/Colts matchup? Did the world need Colts/Broncos either for that matter? 9 for 16)

It isn't just Cruise though. The rest of the cast seem like a bunch of British guys playing Germans, which gives the vibe of a war drama where the Allies impersonate Nazis in order to kill Hitler, rather than actual Germans turning on Hitler.

As far as I'm concerned the greatest WWE title belt is easily the 1988-98 title. The ones before it are primitive by comparison and the ones after have all been tasteless on some level.

Last week of predictions: 1:00 STL @ ATL: Obvious beatdown as the Falcons are playing for the #2 seed and the division. No way is this one close. Atlanta by 20. CHI @ HOU: I have no idea what to think of the Texans. The Bears have everything to play for here but why is it I just don't see them getting it done? Houston by 3. NYG @ MIN: I don't really care much for the Vikings with Jackson at QB. This is a tough one since who knows what the Giants will do in terms of playing people, but if they do go all out I'll take NY by 7. CAR @ NO: Here's an upset pick. After that insane OT game I just can't see Carolina getting up for this one, and the Saints are ultra tough at home. High scoring game, Saints pull it off 35-31. CLE @ PIT: Squash city. Even if the Steelers rest people they will still cruise here. Steelers by 16. OAK @ TB: Okay Tampa, you have one shot left to get it done. It's the crappy Raiders, it's at home, but for whatever reason it won't be that easy. Tampa by 4. TEN @ IND: Nothing game since both teams will likely rest starters. Colts never care about these games, so I'll take TN by 7. DET @ GB: Historic game for all the wrong reasons. What the hell, just for fun I'll take the Lions by 1 point here on a last second FG. Then watch as GB releases everyone and fires the GM. NE @ BUF: Bills may well have knocked Denver out of the playoffs last week. Doubt they can do the same here. Pats by 10. KC @ CIN: What did the world do to deserve this one? Chiefs are somewhat better at a glance so I'll take KC by 6. 4:00 JAC @ BAL: Ravens need this one to get in the playoffs and the Jags likely couldn't care less. Baltimore by 12. MIA @ NYJ: I mentioned a few weeks ago that I thought NE would win this division and I'll stick to that pick. Jets by 3, knocking Miami out and doing themselves no good either. SEA @ ARI: Doesn't really matter since the Cardinals are in, but they need to win this game to get back some semblance of credibility and finish 9-7. AZ by 10. WAS @ SF: Redskins shot their load last week to knock off the Eagles. Niners are doing fairly well under Singletary so I'll take them here by 5. DAL @ PHI: This is the prototypical game where Tony Romo will choke. Doesn't even matter if the Eagles are playing for nothing. Philly by 4. Night game DEN @ SD: The Broncos could make history here, being the only team ever to be up 3 with 3 to play and not make the playoffs. Chargers are playing well right now so I'll take them by 10, thus giving the Colts a much tougher opponent.

I would think Maryse won the Divas belt mainly to be Ms. Transition to a returning Gail Kim. Show sounds adequate for the most part but what is up with the SD title scene for the Rumble and beyond? Who is Jeff's top challenger? Shelton may well be the worst booked champion in WWE today. He jobs constantly in non title matches and somehow sneaks out a win in the title match. But then I've never been a fan of that sort of booking, since in the end the champ looks weak and the challenger doesn't really gain anything in the end.

Anything would be better than Cena/Orton at WM, but it's really the only thing that makes sense right now. But is there anyone who thinks Cena is going to job yet again to Orton at a major PPV, or that Orton would beat Cena at 2 straight WMs? Cena vs. HHH, Cena vs. UT, or throw a 3rd guy in there with Orton.

I saw Flair/HBK at a house show in 2005, right after Shawn's pseudo heel turn on Hogan. He even did a promo before the match trying to justify his actions. Crowd mostly cheered him anyway. Michaels won that match and it was probably the best thing on that mostly dull show.

Shamrock just does not have a voice that matches his tough guy mystique. It's a bit too high pitched. I too didn't buy HHH at all as a main eventer up until about Dec. 1999/Jan. 2000. His whole main event push from roughtly Aug. 1999 until Survivor Series 99 was mostly dreck. In fact if WCW could have done anything right they could have mounted a comeback during that time period.

Time to check the predictions for this penultimate week of football: Thursday INDY @ JAX: There is absolutely no excuse for the Colts to not go down to Jacksonville and get this win. It will be tough as it tends to be in the Colts/Jags rivalry, but the Colts are playing to get into the playoffs. Indy by 7. (Nailed this one exactly. 1 for 1) Saturday RAVENS @ COWBOYS: Poor Baltimore, they had that tough loss to the Steelers and now have to turn around and play at Dallas. Basically an elimination game of sorts. Dallas by 4. (Congrats to the Ravens, though Sunday would show that the Cowboys still have life. 1 for 2) Sunday SF @ STL: There are plenty of fun games this weekend, this is not one of them. The Rams are awful, Niners have improved, so I'll take SF by 10. (Rams somehow found a way to lose one that they had in the bag. 2 for 3) PIT @ TEN: I've been skeptical of the Steelers but the Titans are hurting a bit with Haynesworth out most likely so I think the Steelers will go on the road and secure home field. Steelers by 5. (Wow, Titans flat out sent a message in this one. 2 for 4) CIN @ CLE: Wow, crappy game #2. Bengals at least are down to a 2nd stringer and not a 3rd stringer, so I'll say Cincy by 7. (Possibly the worst game ever. 3 for 5) NO @ DET: Well, the Saints do suck on the road and the Lions can bring it at times. Ah who am I kidding? Brees isn't going to lose to these scrubs. New Orleans by 9. (Brees certainly did not lose to the scrubs. 4 for 6) MIA @ KC: This is like a mirror universe game, with the Chiefs always finding ways to lose and the Dolphins usually find a way to win. I'll go out on a limb and say the Chiefs pull an upset here by 3. (I keep picking for the Chiefs and against Miami...neither pick works all that well. 4 for 7) ARI @ NE: This could be a fun shootout, or it could be the Cardinals phoning it in again on the east coast. I vote for the latter. Pats by 14. (One of these teams will make the playoffs, and it's the one that lost by 40. Bleh. 5 for 8) SD @ TB: The Chargers still have some slight hopes of making the playoffs. Can't see them having any after this one. Tampa badly needs this win at home. Bucs by 10. (SD is starting to come to life and coupled with the next game here creates an interesting finale. 5 for 9) BUF @ DEN: Denver is a baffling team but the Bills are totally out of it now and the Broncos have no excuse not to win here. Broncos by 6. (The Broncos just suck and I don't like their chances at this point. I've thought all year that a team with a negative differential would have trouble making the playoffs, so really if SD beats them next week it's the universe righting itself. 5 for 10) HOU @ OAK: Feel the power of the mighty Texans! Houston has managed to sneak up to .500 and a win here would assure them of an 8-8 finish. Texans by 12. (I think the Texans might have been a little full of themselves after the TN win. Ugh. 5 for 11) NYJ @ SEA: Okay this is a curious game. Seattle plays people tough at home and the Jets seem to suck on the west coast big time. But with it all on the line the Jets have to win this game, and I'll take NY to win it here. Jets by 2. (I really thought about picking upset here but thought the Jets might finally be men on the road. They weren't. 5 for 12) PHI @ WAS: The Redskins look to be flat out done and the Eagles are starting to get on a roll. So why is it I think the Redskins muster up some futile last ditch effort? Eh...not happening. Philly by 7. (Here's another one where I thought about picking the underdog but didn't at the last second. Eagles are actually not 100% done though, but it would take beating Dallas and Tampa losing to the Raiders for them to make it. 5 for 13) ATL @ MIN: Oh, man. The Falcons need this one big time. Vikings need this one big time. I bet they will start Tavaris Jackson and he'll revert back to mediocre form, and the Falcons find a way to win it. Falcons in OT by 3, much like in a more famous game in Jan. 1999. (Wasn't in OT like the NFC title game classic, but the Falcons did clinch a playoff spot. 6 for 14) CAR @ NYG: Giants are struggling but Carolina has yet to prove they can beat anyone of note on the road. Undefeated at home, .500 type team on the road. Giants by 9 to secure home field. (This one WAS an OT classic, probably the best game of the year with Ravens/Steelers I being #2. 7 for 15) Horrible week of predictions, and what's weird is most of them weren't even crazy picks. It was just a crazy week of upsets and unexpected results.

I wonder if that Michaels/Bulldog match is one I saw on an old Coliseum tape from 1992? If so it has Sherri causing a DQ. Pretty good match otherwise. Probably saw that show when it initially aired too.

You know what's funny about that Nitro? They hype that they've signed Bret and all, but he can't show up on the program until December. I thought at the time the whole Montreal fuss had died down by the time he actually debuted, and thus his momentum suffered a bit. So not only did Vince screw Bret, run him off to WCW, but he also made sure that his own program got a ton of hype over it while Bret couldn't just show up on WCW TV for another few weeks. Brilliance.

Yeah, Insight has MyNetwork TV in HD. It sometimes gets scrambled up though, hard to explain it unless you see it. Usually just momentary and rights itself however. ONS 05 is a great show and it's about the atmosphere and nostalgia. Comparing it to a PPV like WM 17 is tough to do since the shows are at opposite ends of the spectrum. I've never gotten the love for SummerSlam 2002. In fact I think SummerSlam 2001 is a better show. But it had the Invasion at its core, so automatically people look down on it or something.

Considering Miz and Morrison apparently can show up on any show they feel like why not just unify the tag belts and have them as the champs? The belts Carlito and Primo have are useless. Anyone have a feel for where SD is headed in the new year? I thought they would build to a Jeff WM title win but now he's already the champ. Anyone else think Edge should have kept it for a while and then Jeff could win the Rumble and go to WM, then get the title?

Regardless of what the Colts do in the playoffs Manning has had an amazing season. The Colts are an aging, washed up team in a lot of ways and yet somehow they have gotten to 11-4 and are in the playoffs. Will they make the Super Bowl? I doubt it. But that talk at the beginning of the season of who was more valuable between Manning and Brady was a joke. Brady got hurt and the Pats took a guy who hadn't played since HS and will likely go 11-5. If Peyton got hurt the Colts would be like the Detroit Lions with Jim Sorgi at QB. Anyway this game tonight will cause some worries in Baltimore, New England, New York, and Miami. One of those east teams is winning the division of course, so that leaves 3 teams for 1 playoff spot. The only team of those I feel sure will win out is New England. If I had to guess who gets in I would go with the Jets and Patriots (Jets as east winners, Pats with the wild card). I don't buy Miami winning at NYJ in late December, and hell they might lose to the Chiefs this week given the close ones they've had against scrubs. That leaves the Ravens, and as much as I've enjoyed them at times this year that last Steelers game just screwed them. Dallas will figure out some way to edge them on Saturday and that will be that.

While the 1970s movie The Wrestler is in kayfabe it's fun stuff in terms of being a document of the early 70s AWA scene. The whole idea of a World Series of Wrestling back then with the WWWF, AWA, and NWA champions appearing was a cool concept. And yes, I am definitely interested in seeing this new movie once it expands to my area.

This Raw was truly a bizarre show. The Canadian crowd was in utter shock the entire time. DX never even really drew much in the way of heel heat, it was more just a baffled crowd reaction. HHH/Shamrock did get a "WE WANT BRET" chant going though. What was up with Cornette doing commentary on some of these shows? Seems like it wasn't until early 1998 when they finally settled on the classic Ross/Lawler teaming. What I found interesting was how little this show actually focused on the screwjob. They show a bit of the footage and then just move on as if nothing happened and they go into the Michaels/Shamrock angle. It was actually in weeks following this that Vince did the famous interview and DX beat up the Bret midget. It was amusing hearing Jarrett call HHH nothing but a "tag along." There was a funny sign in the crowd saying "Helmsley: Midcarder 4 life." And some wonder why long time viewers have a problem with HHH's uber push over the years.

It's odd but Haku and Meng almost seemed like two different guys. Haku was in some ways a hybrid islander type wrestler, as in he had a combo of the Afa/Sika strength and also a bit of the Snuka agility. The Islanders were a really good team in the late 80s but Haku never really connected as a singles guy in the WWF. Doing the King gimmick didn't help. He bulked up a lot by the mid 90s and seemed very different as Meng in WCW. In fact I think WCW could have gotten more out of him, in particular when Bill Goldberg had the title. Instead of Goldberg not even being on a few PPVs why not have a Goldberg/Meng feud?

I'm fairly sure that the DX skit with the midget and the total trashing of Bret on the mic (not to mention burying Neidhart) was the week after this. In fact I don't even recall what happens on this particular Raw. At the time I was insanely hyped for it since I read about the screwjob, but oddly enough I think Nitro the same night had more mention of Montreal. When does Scott Hall do the rant about Larry Z. being the main cause of the AWA going under?

R-Truth could easily get over if they would do something more with him besides having him say "Wassup?" constantly. Let the guy cut an actual promo. I won't lie....when I first read those two main events I thought it would be a clean sweep of the Hardys jobbing to Edge and Kozlov. The spoilers were a little confusing though. Did Jeff actually pin Kozlov and then the chaos started, or was it a DQ after Edge ran in? They might as well give Kozlov the yearly lame duck Rumble title shot.

Yeah, Lillian screwed up an announcement of someone having a tag belt when it had just changed hands on a house show. And even Adamle said "Jeff Harvey" on his first night on the job. But Michael Buffer, a veteran announcer who worked for WCW numerous times, saying "Bret Clark" is the worst announcing mistake ever.