BorneAgain

Mercury coming back as part of a three way feud with Helms and Hardy over the Cruiser belt could be fun. JBL could put over the OMEGA boys better than anybody else.

Odd that Helms is the longest running champion, and even odder that the Spirit Squad are second in that regard.

How much of SD do you catch, UTSH?

Technically yes, Booker still owes him. And no, Orton never collected. Many speculated that Book would interfere at No Way Out in the Mysterio/Orton match to send Randy to Wrestlemania, but they never mentioned it really after the Royal Rumble, (except for Orton saying "you owe me" to him at the NWO press conference).

Chris Nowinski's written a book on sports concussions. Promotional material for the book reads: "In 2003, WWE wrestler Christopher Nowinski took a kick to the head that knocked him out of professional wrestling and sent him on a journey that could change the way contact sports are played. Nowinski, a former Harvard football player, suddenly found himself suffering from a constellation of debilitating symptoms that included cognitive problems, severe headaches, and depression. Doctors eventually diagnosed him with post-concussion syndrome, but they couldn't tell him why that specific kick to the head created this problem, nor if he would ever get healthy enough to return to his job. His personal quest to understand his condition led him to discover that he had suffered not one concussion, but many over the course of an amateur career in football and his professional career in wrestling, and it was the cumulative effect of these injuries that had ended his career. He also learned that the worst was not necessarily behind him, as he uncovered research linking multiple concussions with serious long-term neurological disorders like Alzheimer's disease, memory impairment, and depression. Most disturbing, however, was not what the research said was happening to Chris, but to the young athletes who play contact sports. He discovered that concussions happen with frightening regularity, but over 9 out of 10 go undiagnosed. The lack of awareness, diagnosis, and treatment of these injuries causes children to die every year on athletic fields and many others to acquire permanent brain damage, some immediate, and some that won’t reveal themselves for decades. Worst of all, he found that while the most popular and violent of American sports, football, is literally overwhelmed by a concussion crisis, parents, coaches, and players on all levels remain without the information and means to protect themselves, and NFL officials actively seek to undermine and discredit the legitimate and valuable research that could make the difference between life and death for so many young athletes. Head Games takes readers through Nowinski's journey to diagnosis, then deeper into an understanding of this far-reaching national crisis. The book includes interviews with NFL Hall of Famer Harry Carson, Merril Hoge, Doug Flutie, Pete Cronan, Leigh Steinberg, Sylvia Mackey, dozens of college and youth football players, and top doctors in the field of sports concussion."

Didn't see this posted so Tecmo announces Virtual Console support I see some heavy Tecmo Bowl play in the future.

He was knighted and yelled "All Hail King Booker" last week.

286: Artie Kendall, The Offensive Radio Ghost "The poor are all just lazy parasites Who don't deserve their consitutional rights Insead of giving food and jobs To those no good dirty slobs We should kill em off with gladiator fights, bobbity boo"

Thank god the writers don't listen to Wrestlecrap Radio. Otherwise we'd have a CM Punk vs. BM (Bowel Movement) Punk feud going.

Weird, Dupree looks like Tito circa Strike Force, but acts like Martel circa Model.

I was lazy and I didn't want to spoil the title change.

*WWE World champion King Booker and Batista have a contract signing and each discuss their match at No Mercy. Batista hits a spinebuster through a table to end the show.

*WWE tag Team champions Paul London and Brian Kendrick defeat The Pitbulls. KC James and Idol Stevens attack the champions. Pitbulls join in and both teams leave London and Kendrick down.

Raw doesn't know what the hell to do with most of the guys on their roster. Smackdown's talent pool may be thin but they utilize practically everybody. The only people not competing that much are guys off due to the wellness policy, injured, or were sent back to the farm leagues (Boogeyman, Mercury, Mexicools, Albright, Burchill, Henry, Gymini Twins). Helms (and occasionally Londrick) are the only guys who aren't on TV as much as the others.

They're kind overloading on the gimmick matches for Unforgiven a little bit. TLC and Hell in a Cell? I have a sinking feeling about who's going on last as well.

I have little interest in repeating the invasion.

If Edge lost he was going to yell at Torrie Wilson and throw Kurt Angle off of a high structure. That high structure...off the shoulders of Jeff Hardy and RVD. Now I'm getting visions of Edge with a dart in his ass and a shaved head. Not a solid combination.

I can't watch Raw right now, so did the segment say that if Edge lost, he would go to Smackdown?

Bad Ass Music Video for Demolition from the Piledriver Album I wasn't aware Ax and Smash's make-up was so varied in the early days.

I'm kinda thinking UFC has been kicking WWE's ass in PPV buys the past year, INCLUDING Wrestlemania...Vince knows they are his biggest threat... The question remains however, is WWE willing to take steps to combat either UFC? Vince has never really suceeded doing anything except straight wrestling and its likely that the only person who has an interest in that is Heyman, and he's had much of his power stripped. And with Angle, the closest person on the roster to mimicking any type of MMA style gone, is there any chance of that happening? Furthermore, is there a point in doing so? Spike TV has UFC on their network and its getting an audience. MMA is in the mainstream and is far easier to access than it was in the mid-90s. Why would a fan want to watch a fixed attempt at Mixed Martial Arts when there's the real thing on another station as well as the internet? I just can't see WWE emulating it with much sucess.

I think the brand extension really hurt the appeal of the shows because often times they would split the types of performers on different brands, and thus niche fans would be less likely to watch one of them. To have a program say in late 2002/Early 2003, where you had Bookdust/Jericho/Christian/Angle/Benoit/Edge/Van Dam/Mysterio/Los Guerreros/Cena all on one show would have been fantastic because you have a solid mix of workers and mic guys to make up the program from top to bottom.

Ultimately for wrestling to hit a boom period, it can't be an overnight change. The WWF back in 97 was doing some innovative, incredible stuff, but the ratings didn't reflect that until around Wrestlemania XIV, and the company didn't actually reach their financial peak until 2000. It has to come down to building up the right guys up initially, and then when the time is right pulling the trigger and doing something innovative to grab the casual audience and hook them in while utilizing the talent you've worked on already. That's what led WWF to a boom period in the 80s and late 90s work, that they presented a product not only new to the hardcore fan, but very different to the casual fan who keeps hearing about how crazy and incredible wrestling is these days, they turn in to watch, get hooked and you start making some real money. The new babyface of wrestling being a beer swilling, finger gesturing, foul mouthed vigilante who fought his boss, far away from the generic smiling good guy stereotype that most casual fans and non fans had in the their minds, was a huge factor in getting both an older audience who had given up on the sport and new fans who found wrestling done in that way interesting. Combine that with the new crash TV method, which as opposed to the old, heavily produced and polished way of presenting it, its not a surprise that the WWF took a huge financial leap. People had never seen anything like that before, especially from a company that for so long had been stuck in its ways. Raw and Smackdown may not have been the most high brow entertainment in those days, but even with all the goofy Russo nonsense that occasionally made it on screen, overall there was something that, say a family member or friend of a wrestling fan could see that could catch their interest and make them watch just to satisfy their initial curiosity. It made them ask questions, but unlike today such questions were not akin to "what's this stupid shit?" Mick made a great point in Foley is Good when he said that the company was like a circus in that if a fan didn't like the clowns, they might like the acrobats or lion tamer. Even in 98-99, when workrate was not exactly a standard in the matches, there was a variety among the performs and divisions that a fan could find a thing/s that they could get into. If certain wrestling aspects didn't interest you, there were charismatic guys who could entertain you otherwise. Soap opera stuff not interesting? Then there's a hardcore division dedicated to violence alone. Want some T&A? There's some of that to. The formula was made to perfection in 2000, when you had solid workers, charismatic entertainers, risk-taking bump machines, well done soap opera characters, and enough Tits and Ass to satisfy. Also notice that other than Hunter a lot of the political bullshit was minimal at this point. These days you flip on a WWE program and much of the niche concept has faded. The performers and divisions are far too similar, the matches seem to blur, and anything that gets close to standing out is squashed out of fear, jealously, stupidity, or a combination of the three. What is out of the comfort zone is discouraged, lest the company put out something unpredictable. The once innovative character types are over utilized, and even if one did not watch during the initial boom period, the feuds and characters seem so derivative, and rehearsed that that the feel of spontaneity is gone. And when only a select few are shown to be worthy of attention and interest, why should the audience care when those who have been ignored are finally used? I don't doubt that change is possible within WWE. But the level of change necessary to make the company close to what it was? That I doubt.

Hey at least when Chavo says to Dominic "you're a little nasty bastard and your Daddy said so!" it will be accurate.

So that's why Double A isn't on TV anymore.