JimmyHendricks

No, Shawn was nowhere to be found on RAW is Owen. Going back to the first Smackdown, where he superkicked Rock, costing him the title against HHH....obviously something was planned beyond that, but then he disappeared again until (as mentioned) the JD 2000 Iron Man match. What happened?

Watching the 1991 Wargames match on the Pillman DVD, I'm left wondering why it's so loved, especially by the IWC. Not necessarily the 91 match, but the WarGames format itself. I just have never been able to get into a WarGames match. I just don't know why. I guess it's because the heels ALWAYS win the coin toss. Not really, but you'd think everyone would have caught on by 1996 or so. I always thought it would work better if it became a single elimination match once everyone got in, instead of the "first submission by ANYONE wins the match" rule. Call me crazy, but I just don't understand why everyone in the IWC goes nuts over the format, and is always hoping the WWE will bring it back.

Sound familiar?

I was shocked by that. It seriously made my jaw drop. That HAS to be a mistake, on FindaGrave's part.

There were only 2 Pillman DVD's left at my CC this afternoon. I picked mine up around 1, so 3 hours after opening, along with the SS/Cena 2 pack. Got all three for $30.09 with tax. What a deal! I think they were so low everywhere because it's so damn cheap. 14.99? 12.99 for the SS/Cena pack? Wow. I'm going to watch the Pillman feature now.

I'm thinking now that he was telling them to go to the finish. When they get back into the ring, you can clearly see the clock on the side of the arena, and it says it was 48 after the hour, which is an unusually long time for a PPV (don't they usually end around 40-45 after?). Shawn and Foley ended up going something like 26 minutes, and I think Vince was getting restless because they were so close to the top of the hour. I don't think he was asking if they were OK, because both Shawn and Foley looked at him and shook their heads "No". I bet he said to go to the finish and both of them protested. The finish itself was quite jumbled, with Vader basically doing a "Papa Shango at WM 8" run in. I can see where Scott Keith came up with the idea that Vince was changing the finish, but that wasn't the case. If so, how could UT end up in the casket? Anyhoo, I'm done.

No, Randy Orton would be a huge acquisition in TNA. The Boogeyman wouldn't be. Orton has star power outside of the WWE (in terms of pro wrestling), the Boogeyman does not. That is why Randy Orton is still employed (one of the reasons)--he's too big to just be let go.

Okay, myth on the finish nonsense. But yeah, I'd like to know why Vince actually gets out of the announce booth and talks to Earl and Shawn. Obviously in kayfabe they played it up like Vince was checking on them after the bump. I was just watching this on the WWE Championship DVD today, and came back here to see if anyone answered. Not yet, at least. Vince is obviously over there for a reason. If he was supposed to be "checking on them", he would have done his overdone concerned look. Instead, he very specifically says something to Hebner, and then Shawn gets up and shakes his head "No" at them. Then you see Foley very slightly do the same thing. Sorry, this is driving me nuts, and neither Foley or Shawn talk about it in their book.

Eh, I won't miss him.

Well, they just sold me SummerSlam. I never bought Cena's DVD, and getting both for 12.99 is an awesome deal, as is Pillman's as well--but I was already buying that one. How do you know these things, is why does CC all of a sudden (well, actually over the last few months) have WWE DVD's super cheap? I bet both Pillman's and SS go for 19.99 at Best Buy.

The Undertaker will never lose at WrestleMania. His whole HOF induction will be centered on the fact that he went 25-0 or whatever at the Grand Daddy of them all. Numerous, numerous times we have all talked about how, when, and who he will lose to. It's not going to happen. He'll probably face Viscera or Umaga in Detroit in a Buried Alive or some other gimmick match, and win.

I've always said that part of 24/7 should include all the RAW's and Nitro's from a particular month. Hell, I've always thought an all wrestling channel could air each week's RAW and Nitro back to back each night.

Pretty bleh logo if you ask me. Oh, and hearing Vince rattling off the Royal Rumble participants was one of the funniest things I've heard in a while. I'd kill to hear him do it again someday. "Jooooooooooooooooooooohnnnnnnnn Ceeeeeeeeeeennnaaaa!" "Trrrrrriple H!" "The product of my Seeeeeeeeeeemmmmeeeeen, my son Shaaaaaannnneee!"

I picked this up today as well, and thank God Jesse is on there. It makes it worth every penny.

For another Invasion to work, it has to seem spontaneous, and feel like a total shoot. We need Bischoff or whomever is the leader to hop the rail and rush the ring, then get arrested Matt Hardy style. We need J.R. to cut to commercial whenever one of the invaders makes it into the ring. We need microphones being cut off, no mention of them on air, and when they finally do become part of the show, have the WWE really seem in danger. Have Bischoff somehow secure a court order allowing his faction airtime, instead of some dumb loophole. Have them constantly beat the shit out of every WWE "star". Hell, have them actually win control of the company--of course the WWE will win out in the end, but it's something that can last years if done right. Have the members be combinations of people we wouldn't expect. The nWo worked partly because people believe Hall & Nash were real invaders, because they had never been on screen buddies in the WWF. Having Shane and Steph lead the "Alliance" with Hulk Austin let everyone know this was a WWF production. Don't have Teddy Long stand in the ring and give a long explanation on how Austin somehow bought Shane's percentage in WCW and he blah blah blah is now the owner, blah blah blah Vince is pissed dammit. That feels so much like what they WOULD do, and as others have said, people would care for about a week, then figure out it's Just Another WWE Angle and stop giving a shit.

I remember the kayfabe reason was Gorilla Monsoon was interim WWF President and wanted to give the fans something exciting that they've never seen. I can remember them many times talking up Monsoon as the Fans' President and that he wants to give them whatever they want. It was also used as the kayfabed reason when they changed the Shawn/Sid match at SummerSlam that year to the Shawn/Razor ladder match II, and the weird Diesel/Shawn vs. Owen/Yoko match at IYI when all the titles were on the line in the same match. It was quite the interesting booking idea. I wish they'd try it again sometime. Lord knows we need something different NOW.

Well, you're obviously new.

Did the heels ever lose the coin toss in a WarGames match?

Ultimate Warrior in a (New Year's Day?) Parade in 1991: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaxJvc3YPik I was a big fan back then.

Anyone know if Jesse will once again be absent on the History of the WWE Title DVD? I'm assuming so, but there are many, many matches with his commentary on there, so perhaps this is one release that will let it by. I doubt it, though.

This is a real odd question, but what the hell. Watching the 3 way Main Event from WM XX eariler today, I noticed something. Why did Earl Hebner always hang around in the ring after matches were over? What I mean is, at WM XX, Benoit wins, Hebner gives him the belt, raises his hand....but doesn't leave. He stays in the ring, and raises Benoit's hand AGAIN, and AGAIN. He's still in there when Eddie shows up to hug Benoit. Shouldn't he have just raised his hand and left? It was annoying seeing Benoit crying and such, and Hebner's following him around the ring for no reason. I remember him doing that at WM 12 when Shawn won the title from Bret. Shawn eventually pushes him out of the ring. I think he did it with Austin at WM 15, too. Is he trying to bask in the spotlight or something? I know it's a weird question but I've noticed it several times.

"Hogan's legs are BENT, Orndorff's are STRAIGHT!" Seriously though, this is awesome. I can remember reading some newsgroup posting from 1991 about The Undertaker, and being amazed at how Smarky it was. It's one thing to read about these events in the past tense, but as they are happening is awesome. Keep them coming, I definitely appreciate it. And I second the idea for Meltzer to have a subscription based database of all these old Observers. Even if it was 100% text based, I'd definitely pay for it.

Picked it up at Circuit City for $15.99. ---They spend about 10 minutes on everything pre-1998 or so, talking about how he took over for his dad, took over all the regions, and we even get a weird clip of him on TBS announcing in front of a "World Championship Wrestling" backdrop, in the days before Turner took over. ---They cover Montreal again, and it seems most of it is a re-hash of info from Confidental and Bret's DVD. We do get Shane's comments, though. ---On to the Austin feud, where the consensus is (on this DVD, at least) that it was successful because Austin had such a great heel to work with in Vince. Forget that Austin was a one of a kind character, but it IS Vince's DVD, I guess. ---They talk about Vince's in ring ablility, and surprisingly everyone, including HHH, thinks he's terrible in the ring, but makes up for it in psychology. ---The XFL gets more time than I thought it would. Joey Styles gets me excited by saying something like, "What was the first thing you ever saw on a XFL game? The Rock, cutting a promo about how the XFL will lay the smackdown on the NFL. What's the SECOND thing you saw on an XFL game? Vince McMahon himself, screaming "This is the XFLLLLLLLEELLLLLEEELLLL!!!" I thought we would get a massive "Vince made a mistake with the football thing" rant, but instead, Styles follows it up with "That's when the WRESTLING HATING MEDIA turned on the XFL and it didn't stand a chance!" Yeah, forget the record low ratings and terrible games and players....it was all the media's fault. The whole XFL segment is full of shit, with everyone talking about how cool it was, and ends with Vince himself talking about how he always thought it was a good idea, and still does. Give me a break. ---They cover the infamous Bob Costas interview, and I'm starting to think this is a DVD about Mr. McMahon, and not Vince McMahon. ---Vince loved the Katie Vick segment, but everyone else thought it was awful. They show some old footage of The Rock (on the Rundown set) talking about how he hated it. ---On to the HHH/Steph romance, and how Vince stopped it, but says that he only did it to see how serious HHH was about it, and if he was, he wouldn't care what Vince said, and that's what happened. ---Onto the on-screen McMahon family feud, which is quite troubling to watch all at once. Of course, they all love each other, but still, damn. ---Vince the womanizer is covered, and again, it's weird to watch him making out with diva after diva. Regal says it's alright because Vince always gets what's coming to him in the end. Trish says fans still ask her about the barking dog segment. ---The WCW buyout bummed out Vince, says Steph, like a part of him died. Everyone agrees that they wish there was more competition. TNA isn't mentioned. ---Kiss My Ass club, where everyone says that Vince hates Yes men and ass kissers. Yeah, right. ---The Brand Extension is treated like another genius Vince idea, although Lawler doesn't think it was pulled off right. ---The Austin walkout is covered via re-hashes of the Confidental piece and Austin's DVD. Did we really need this again? ---Onto hiring Bischoff, which everyone (including Linda) couldn't believe. Bischoff gives his comments in what seems to be a recent interview, because he mentions being "fired" and thrown in the trash truck later on. ---The feud with Hogan, including the WM 19 match. This is the only time the steroid trial is mentioned, via Hogan talking about having to testify. ---Vince is inducted into the MSG Hall of Fame, which Steph thinks is one of his biggest moments, because it puts him in there with his dad. ---Onto the feud with Steph, and the I quit match was six days before her wedding to HHH, and everyone threatened Vince that there better not be a mark on her. HHH says Vince wanted to put the wedding on PPV, and he said no. It gets REALLY weird, as Steph said he proposed that HE (Vince) would end up being the father of her baby on TV, and when she said no, he suggested that it be Shane. WHAT? Who does he think he is, Russo? ---Shawn talks about how Vince rode the wire he used at WM 12 before him, and they show Vince doing it. I bet he didn't try out Owen's harness. BTW, Owen is never mentioned at any point. ---They cover his double quad tear at the Royal Rumble. Vince attributes it to sitting at the Gorilla position for 3 hours and not warming up before going out there. I didn't know you had to "warm up" just to slide into a ring. Linda and Steph say that Vince was in hell not being able to be at tapings, and that Steph had to run the show by herself for a while, which is the first time I've ever heard them mention that Stephanie was in charge of creative. HHH says Vince is proud that he came back quicker than he did, and Vince confirms it. ---a big "You're FIRED!" montage, with Slaughter, Shawn, and Matt Hardy talking about how nice Vince is when he REALLY fires someone. ---Vince is apparently a patriot for supporting the troops, and they show his speech at Smackdown in Iraq. ---They end with Vince's 60th Birthday party, and everyone talking about how demanding he is and how he expects 100% out of everyone, or he fires them. Oh, and he loves being a grandfather. Extras: ---HHH talks about how pissed Vince got one time when Steph and him beat him at a pool game. ---HHH talks about how he really wishes Vince and Linda would take time off, because they deserve it. ---Regal talks about how right after he signed his WWF contract in 1998, he passed out on drugs in Vince's office. Vince paid for his rehab and has never mentioned it. We really needed more segments like this one on the main feature. ---Big Show talks about how on a flight to Iraq, he had put an air mattress in the back of the plane, and Vince cut it with a knife as a rib, making him move to a small seat. ---Show talks about how Vince refused to leave a bar one night because he wasn't done yet, or something. ---Steph cries talking about how much she loves her dad. ---They cover the 1998 motorcycle crash that famously confined Vince to a wheelchair, which made his segments with Austin that much better. ---HHH talks about how Steph gave him framed pictures of every World Champion one year for Christmas, and that he always puts the one with Vince wearing the belt out whenever he comes over. ---the 9/11 Smackdown, which I thought was fantastic. Apparantly Vince almost didn't go ahead with it. ---Funny comments from Jimmy Hart and Cena about how Vince won't change his ideas, and somehow convinces you that he is right all of the time. Jimmy tells a great story about Dusty talking to Vince about the polka dots. ---The goofy Vince walk, complete with everyone mimicing it. ---The entire "Stand Back" performance from the Slammys. ---The hilarious training montage with Shane, getting ready for the 1999 Rumble. Matches: vs. Austin on RAW 4/13/98 (the one hand behind your BACK match) vs Austin in a Steel Cage (Valentine's Day Massacre) with Shane vs. Austin--Ladder Match KOTR 99 vs HHH--Armageddon 99 vs Shane--WM X-7 vs. Flair--Royal Rumble 2002 vs Hogan--WM 19 vs Steph (I quit Match) No Mercy 2003 vs Undertaker--Buried Alive--SSeries 03 Overall, it wasn't bad, but some segments, especially the XFL one, seemed a little out of touch with reality. This really shows that Vince is nuts, and maybe that's what they wanted. There weren't enough comments about how great a boss he was, or how kind/giving/wonderful of a person he is. Mick Foley said in one of his books that it seems like Vince wants us to believe that "Mr. McMahon" is the real him, and I think he's right. This DVD didn't change my mind about the man in any way. I'm kind of mad that they really only focused on the things he did after the "Mr. McMahon" character was born, and not Vince McMahon the person. I could care less about his feud with Zach Gowen. I'd recommend it, but only if you can get it cheap like I did. It's not worth more than $20.

There's also about a 7 year difference in AGE in those photos, too. I agree that he physically looks considerably different, but I think part of it is that he was probably 30 or 31 in the first pic and is 37 or 38 in the second.

Speaking of Jesse and Tito, was there any reasoning behind him always calling him "Chico" Santana? I always found it hilarious, but I never knew why. Was it just so that Gorilla could correct him? Here an odd one: At the end of WrestleMania 9, after Hogan has won the belt from Yoko, there's a closeup of him in the ring, and he says something that I still haven't been able to make out, nor understand. Something like, "It's not the best, with Mother Nature....YOU!" I could definitely hear "Mother Nature", but don't know about the rest. I don't know why I'm even asking, but it's always driven me nuts, because Hogan had to have known he was being heard at that moment. Anyone know, or care?