*KNK*

Another thing, if Eddie wanted the show to go on...Why would he want them to spend 4 hours devoted to him? Hyprocritical comment as usual from WWE. Basically WWE is admiting that certain people are more important then others when Eddie gets this treatment and rightfully so, but others get a graphic at the start of the show and maybe a mention during the show, if the announcers aren't busy shilling some product. What saddens me is that they got a fucking formula for this now. It's the OWEN formula. They used it for 9/11 as well as last night. Even with deaths to their own wrestlers, they got a script for "honoring" them. A: Show wrestlers standing on ramp, brief speech from Vince, ring the the bells and show "touching" video with various clips of the wrestler who died, usually along with a sad song. B: Show various taped testimonials about how great the deceased was, close ups on the criers. C: Throw together random matches that dont really serve to "honor" the deceased but used the guise "he/she would've wanted this" D: Have the current #1 babyface offer some sort of final "touch" to the tribute using that babyface's signature item (Beer Can/Title belt) E: Close show.

Honestly, I think it's too early to state the obvious. Drug Abuse in Hollywood never stopped in Hollywood just because one big name died of an OD. It's a sad part of the business that really doesn't need to exist but it's a part that we can no longer escape from. We lost a good one with Eddie Guerrero but to say it's surprising, is denying the harsh reality we must accept.

It's great to see this match living up to the hype and more so. It might be the first time I've ever been this excited to order a DVD. I'll have this DVD in my hands in 4-5 days. Just from reading the reviews, nothing seems comparable to this match, at least in NA. It's amazing that two years in a row, the same guy will have the legit MOTY ***** match to his credit. So far, my MOTY is Gibson/Aries 5/13 but im sure that's going to change this weekend.

1. The finish only. Wrestling is about inscinct. The workers who designed a match entirely did it out of obsessiveness and compulsive need for control. Things break down, crowd responds differently then how you expect. A good worker crafts the match as it goes on like a web. 2. As a former state qualifyer in impromptu speaking, naturally it's the "wing" it style. I thrive off my emotions. My heart speaks to me best. 3. Only for special occasion. Those who blade consistantly do it for style or to compenstate. Blood, a true gusher is special and should be used for the right occasions. 4. Strong Style. I would employ it because it's a sound style that doesn't come off rehershed. 5. If im asking the worke to trust me, I should trust them. If I have any doubts about their abilities, I dont get in the ring with them. I'll take the "dangerous" manuvers if I trust them. 6. Scientific matches laced with storytelling. I'd refuse to partake in hack em up brawling. 7. I would have to determine if I have the charisma to attract attention alone but I've always liked Managers because they should add to the environment 8. Just about anything WWE's braintrust has come up with, anything that discriminates without substance or meaning. I would love anything that is creative, original and most importantly realistic enough but perfectly suitible for the wrestling world. 9. Ring of Honor. I'd like to stay close to home and work where I'm not worried about national spotlight. Where I know my work is valued and consistantly forced to raise my own personal bar. I wouldn't want to work for any hardcore based promotions such as XPW or what-not. 10. NWA 80's. WCW Late 90's. 11. Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Homicide, Chris Benoit, Christian and Austin Aries, I would work with. Against? Anyone with less then a year's worth of training. 12. Arn Anderson, Dean Melenko and Curt Hening. I would not want to work with any of the cartoon fatties of the 80's.

I always found Dibiase the most under-appreciated star of the 80's and really deserved a run of some sort. Anyways, I'm currently watching ROH Summer of Punk. This was just a brilliant story from start to finish. WWE should look at Gabe to learn how to work a storyline based on reality. Fuck anyone who says emotion is dead in Wrestling because Punk: The Final Chapter is crammed with emotion. Pure genuine emotion. Not controlled reactions.

It's not anything horrible by any means but it's tremendously over-rated and glorified. I haven't seen this match since I rented this video about a year ago just because of how strong that show was over-all. I remember it being significantly less impressive upon second viewing (first, being the live edition). If pressed, I'll give it ***. I can see why some would like it, specifically the Austin marks because it hit the Austin formula pretty well and was somewhat, a step above the usual hilt from Austin.

You missed the clever part of Fast Eddie using that song as his enterance. He used it because, he is in fact, BLIND. Yes you are watching the wrong stuff, That match just for spotfest whores.

DREAM CARD The Concept It is my intention in this "Dream Card" is reach my goal of offering the best overall card in order ensures that I can attract all the niche markets I can in order to assure myself a maximum draw. I believe this idea is put yourself in the role of a promoter who has the once in a lifetime opportunity to give the greatest card in history. If I wanted to, I could easily slap 8 ROH/Puroseu matches on here in an attempt to simply justify it as a "wrestling purist" dream card. However I refuse to do such. I'm a promoter in this concept; keep that in mind because I will sacrifice "quality" in order to maximize profit. This will be a North America exclusive card. As a promoter, I should know why such a match would be needed for this card and since Im using myself as the “promoter”, my knowledge of Japan is limited and I never wish to risk making a mistake by using a match for the wrong purposes. The Card Opening Match Halloween Havoc 1997 Cruiserweight Title Eddy Guerrero Vs Rey Mysterio Time: 13:51 +The perfect North American cruiser/junior style match that includes two of the top names in the division going at it in a legendary encounter that is still revered to this day. My intention was to offer something different as much as I could and this style was crucially needed to be used to exploit that intention. There are only a handful of matches that fit the bill and ultimately, it had come down to a choice between this match and Pillman/Liger. I salivated at the possibility of using Jushin Liger for this card to finally give the show some international flavor but ultimately, I had to settle for Eddy/Rey because it was in my opinion, the perfect cruiserweight match. It gets the opening spot for the obvious reasons, it's a fast paced match that would surely get the crowd excited. It's not an epic match, thus is why it's perfectly suited for the opening slot. Match Two WCW US Tag Team Titles Great American Bash 1990 Time of Match: 18:14 Southern Boys Vs Midnight Express +This might be an rather unconventional pick because it’s not as famous as some other matches and some would’ve expected to see a match involving the Bulldogs, Hart Foundation, MVC, Steiners or Warriors or even the latter day era of E&C, Dudleyz and Hardyz but if you remember, my intention with the HIAC was to make sure it was the lone gimmick match. This match isn’t even for the WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE’s but its moot point. This was just an excellent textbook formula of a wonderful tag team match and because it doesn’t overload itself on star power, it doesn’t damage the other matches as it could have done, if I used the TLC matches. I wanted this match because it’s not big on star-power, doesn’t take anything away from the big matches but still adheres to the quality wrestling proclamation. No specific reason for it's placement other then I didn't want to blow my load on a bigger match this early. Match Three Low Ki Vs Christopher Daniels Vs Bryan Danielson ERA OF HONOR BEGINS +The emphasis of what the Triple Threat should be and the best execution of a flawed concept that is brilliant worked here by three world class superstars at their very best. It doesn’t fit the bill for “BIG DRAW” but I assured myself the rest of the card is strong enough that it’d warrant the inclusion of this match. It's place on the card is early because they are virtually unknowns in the big picture. Match Four Hell in a Cell Bad Blood 1997 Shawn Michaels Vs The Undertaker Time of Match: 29:59 +This is a case of me wanting to put two big names into one match and it’s my opportunity to offer a bloody war. The match isn’t pretty and it’s far from the “norm” and it was my objective to assure that it was the LONE gimmick match of the card to maximize its impact. The match was a carnal beating and that’s something that fans crave and this offered it on a big level. There are numerous battles across the world and in a small pond in Philadelphia that offered bloody brawls just as similar to this match or even, sickeningly beyond it. However this match offered a good story with the beating. It was one of the very few times that Shawn Michael’s over the top bumping didn’t degrade a match and almost accepted with open arms. It’s not the perfect match and some believe, such as me, the impact of the match doesn’t survive but that’s irrelevant in this situation because we are building a card based upon the match and its immediate impact, not it’s historical impact or its re-watchability. It's a big epic war that secures a mid-show spot where it can stand out more because thus far it's been pure wrestling and fast paced action Match Five ROH World Title Samoa Joe Vs CM Punk 10.16.04 Time of Match: 60:00 +Wrestling has a long and deep history of legendary World Title matches, so it might seem suspect to include a very recent match in a lesser known promotion (on the grand scheme of things), like I said in my introduction. I will have to sacrifice quality for maximum profit…It also works the other way. There are a lot of matches that fit the bill of the world title match that would be absolute draws alone. However I feel confident that the rest of the card will shore up on drawing power that I can justify using a WORLD TITLE match between two lesser known names from a lesser known promotion The absolute bottom line is this; this is the only RING OF HONOR WORLD TITLE match that could possibly take the very lofty spot of world title match from a long list of matches. Why? Because the match was pure brilliance. It wasn’t your textbook match and the fact it’ll stand out from the other matches on the list, only cements its value and quality furthermore. I realize the risk of including a 60 minute draw because as a promoter, you never can gauge how a crowd reacts to a draw. In this instance, it was tremendously well received and the draw wasn’t done for political reasons or ego reasons but rather for the context of the story and that’s why it’s my opinion that it’s the best WORLD TITLE match possible to use because there’s other big matches and big names to allocate this match’s location on the card. Why is it right in the middle of the show? The finish of the match, while great isn't the appros way to conclude a "DREAM CARD" and because the two workers aren't at the same level with other names here to secure that spot Match Six Bret Hart Vs Stone Cold Steve Austin Survivor Series 1996 Time of Match: 28:36 +Arguably the last great North American mainstream match. That alone should justify it but I won’t stop there. The match is pure quality with such a tremendously told story and it naturally involves two legendary names of the business in what could easily be their best work. It was a difficult choice for me to figure out where to include Bret Hart. He has had such a rich collection of matches that it was initially difficult to decide where to place him. The biggest challenger to this match, was as you would imagine was his WrestleMania X bout with Owen Hart. I decided it was best to select this match because Owen wasn’t @ Austin’s level and Austin never could touch this level again and you would struggle to find a more suitable option for either man. WMX might be more historical because of the location and the external story but the work is where I was focusing here. I feel this match edged out the WMX bout. What about the infamous submission match involving the same two men @ WM13? You might ask; what about it? Legendary match, no argument there and a fantastic brawl for WWE’s standards but it pales in comparison to their first encounter. I want the best wrestling I can get and offer a big draw at the same time, this gives me that edge. I almost considered giving this match the main event treatment but I remember the main event is just to irreistable to NOT be the main event. I wish it didn't follow the previous match but i felt without choice. Match Seven IC Title Match WrestleMania III Randy Savage Vs Ricky Steamboat Time: 14:35 +15 minutes of quality wrestling for a title that was, believe it or not prestigious at one point in time is enough to certify it’s worthiness to make this list. The match damn near stole the show from Andre/Hogan and that’s really amazing if you honestly think about that. Savage wasn’t yet at that major mainstream level that he would enjoy 2 years later and Steamboat was your conventional humble baby face, completely different from Hulk Hogan. It’s used to get a mid-level title bout on the card and because of the quality that came with it. It’s subtle enough that it doesn’t take away from the other matches but still holds its own. It got the spot before the main event because while it's still a great match, it's not nearly as tremendous and epic as the previous two matches and it's essentially a cool down (a negative to the 7-9 match only rule, is that i can't pad the card to space out the matches). Match Eight Hulk Hogan Vs the Rock WrestleMania X8 Time of Match: 16:23 +The essential “money-draw” match that didn’t compromise any titles and still was a legitimate enough match to qualify under the specification of “Money Draw”. If it’s a dream card, two of the biggest names in the sport are essential to the show and this match allowed me to kill two birds with one stone. The match itself wasn’t embarrassing enough that it would drag down the quality of the show and the heat alone, almost justifies its place. I would rather use Hulk Hogan in his 1980’s prime as my draw but the problem is you can’t really use him without giving up the lone World Title spot. The Rock is another worker with an exceptionally ignored string of quality work but similarly to Hogan; a title usually was involved. The heat for this match was astronomical and it’s still regarded as a legendary match-up today, if the title rule wasn’t in effect, Hogan/Andre or Austin/Rock would easily transition into this spot but the rule is stated as such. Why was it the main event? Simple because the WORLD TITLE match was a draw and because The Rock and Hogan are such astronomical names they certainly justify their inclusion as the main event. No match would have been able to follow the heat of this match and it's not worth risking it. I wasn't going to let Samoa Joe/Punk fall into the same hole that Jericho/HHH did in WMX8. /// There's my card. I know it's not the best card and I wasn't intending for it to be a purist's dream card. I wanted an equal balance and I hope I accomplished that.

Completely true. I understand that Vince wanted tonight's show to be "ultra" special because moving to a new network supposedly merits some huge accomplishment. When the truth was, they basically got kicked out of their house in Spike and USA scooped them up at a much lower rate then WWE wanted. The return of Triple H and maybe the legends apperences would have been more then enough to make the show "special". It didn't require the need for Hogan (Whom already did his yearly run just 2 months ago), Austin (Who was on Raw just a few months ago) and Mick Foley (whom hasn't appeared as a character in quite some time). Simply announcing HBK/Angle III was fine enough but it added the masturbatory Ironman gimmick despite it's history of being ratings death. Where was the reasoning for this? It was supposed to be the rubber match right? Why did it require a needless gimmick like this when another singles match or even 2/3 falls would have served the job well, and kept the crowd into it and then do the draw and THEN do Michaels/Angle IV with the Ironman gimmick for NYR's. The Ladder Match could've easily been saved for Taboo Tuesday. Was there a rush to getting Matt jobbing time on Smackdown? You set up the "Loser Leaves Raw" gimmick for TT, with 3 gimmicks for the fans to choose "Ladder Match" "Strap Match" "First Blood Match" Obviously they fans will select Ladder, you draw in an little added revenue for the PPV, instead you blow it off on free tv on a night where it was already over shadowed before it began. They likely drew a good rating for tonight's show, Maybe even high 4's but I wouldn't go that far....but then what? They made no money off those ratings, made no improvements (not even cosmetically) and nothing changed from It's SpikeTV days, except they might show more skin and coarser language. That Foley return coupled by a Ladder match and an Iron-man match could have made nice coin for Vince. Instead, it'll rely on the hopes that Angle-Cena III (of this round) is enough to draw people in, which it won't.

I agreed that the show as a whole was completely a postitive rather then an negative. AJ Styles and Monty Brown were the first of the two BIG NEW FRESH stars TNA will be promoting and pushing and they looked like a million bucks here. Presentation wise, TNA was gloriously slick and well produced. In fact, eons more flashy then WCW ever was. We've gone over the Jarrett/Nash embarassment enough as it is, so nothing else to add. I can't wait for next week when they start the Samoa Joe hype machine. It is in my opinion, They need to start slowly rolling to JOE/MONTY at next year's BFG because imo, that's the MONEY MATCH.

I was hoping someone would ask this one... Kevin Nash Kevin Nash is human fucking scum, and is one of the lowest forms of life to ever infest the wrestling business. This talentless piece of fucking shit only got over thanks to leeching off of far more talented or charismatic people, and because of Vince McMahon’s fetish with trying to create the next Hulk Hogan. Nash was never any good in the ring, possessing six moves at most, though that was bumped up to seven if you include slicking back his hair, and eight if you include tearing his quad from walking. Nash was the lowest drawing WWF champion of all time, and with good reason, because he couldn’t draw flies, which is a surprise because he’s the biggest piece of shit I’ve ever seen not called Triple H. He couldn’t make it on his own talent, because Nash having to make it on his own talent would be like asking a quadriplegic drowning in the ocean to make it to safety by swimming. When in WCW, he managed to latch onto one of the biggest money drawing angles of all time and actually was part of something that drew, but let’s be honest here; just about any WWF personality put in that position and booked like supermen would have gotten over. Nash’s reign in WCW was lowlighted by his beyond inept booking reign, that saw this egotistical fucker book himself to be the first man to pin Goldberg which was a major part in WCW falling from its lofty perch, and was done purely to inflate his already huge ego, and eight days later he and Hulk Hogan figuratively jacked each other off in the ring to put the final nail in the coffin of a company that would take almost two years to finally die. This nauseating pile of puke managed to smooth talk Vince McMahon into paying him $750,000 for two years which saw Nash wrestle maybe three matches in the first year, and he injured himself in two of them, though it was one of those injuries that gave us the highlight of Nash’s lousy career as he managed to tear a muscle simply by walking, which I will openly admit to laughing my ass off at. Nash’s streak of being lousy fucking scum and a totally worthless human being even saw him rip off the fans at one of the Brian Pillman Memorial Shows, when he said he would pay $25,000 to the Brian Pillman fund if Missy Hyatt would take her top off. Missy would only go down to her bra because there were kids there, but Nash said he would make the $25,000 donation anyway. And then this piece of shit refused to pay up, making some bogus bullshit claim that he didn’t know if all the money was going to actually go the fund, and the fund never saw one cent of the donation that Nash said he would make. Kevin Nash is a lousy human being, a terrible wrestler, he has no redeeming features whatsoever, and the day he dies is the day I hire a marching band to play at his graveside while I drink a six-pack of beer and spend the night pissing on his grave. Everything there was great and point on, except the Pillman thing. Nash might have just been a prick but considering the fact Melanie Pillman wasn't using the money for the kids but rather on herself, kinda lessens the "asshole" factor of that.

Because he was smart enough to buy the rights the name before Vince even considered it. Also, great fucking idea there. It'll never happen but good work.

It's true and really the 4th one isn't really ***** because I know it had flaws in it and likely will fall down to the **** level but It's one of those cases I'd perfer to be blind to them. I'm one of those people who perfer the final stage of the '89 triology over the 2/3 Falls match. I'm not knocking the 2/3 Falls match but I've always taken a better liking to the last match.

IIRC, the **3/4 rating was probably out of disgust at only a few things in the match, so I unfairly rated it low with that in mind. A second viewing will probably give me a more accurate picture. Hase-Muto was weird because it was wrestled in such a retro style and caught me so off guard. I didn't mind the style they wrestled, but I just wasn't looking at it the right way I think. In general, I just have really high standards after **** I think. Like, I only have something like 7 matches at *****. It leads to me having A LOT of high quality matches in the upper *** range. Oh well, the discussion is what counts I loved the match and the style, because it was so different and unique to just about anything else being done at that time. I have very few matches at ***** myself, and most of those are listed above. I only have 4 ***** matches and that's because Im very limited in my Puro expierence and because of that, I refuse to grade any puro match because im not properly qualified to make any such critique. CM Punk Vs Samoa Joe 10/16/04 Bret Hart Vs Steve Austin Survivor Series 1996 Owen Hart Vs Bret Hart WrestleMania X James Gibson Vs Samoa Joe Vs Christopher Daniels Vs CM Punk 8/12/05 (Although that's likely to change once i observe it again and break it down)

I haven't seen Joe vs. Punk I, but I have seen III. I liked III, but it was only ok to me. I didn't think it was as good as II, and certainly not the ***** that some have given it. See that's the thing, Watching WTC makes JVP2 so much better. I'm surprised you haven't gone of your way to see that match considering it's a ****+ match on it's own and it's impact is clearly carried over into the second match. Some argue that JVP2 on its own is ***** and I do agree with that statement because, a brilliant match is always a brilliant match but it's added so much to it when you get the full context of what's going on and WTC gives you a fuller context even if the match is slightly lower on the "scale".