Kahran Ramsus

A) In theory this is a tough question given how Plummer put up better numbers last year than Hasselbeck, but in all honesty I don't like Plummer. He was so bad for so long, that I just don't have a lot of faith in starting him. I would start Hasselbeck there without thinking twice. B) You have to start Wayne & Johnson. Don't let Baltimore worry you. Very rarely should you let a team defense dictate your schedule (something like the 2002 Bucs where they just tore apart opposing QBs) and certainly not in a case where the offense is as good as Indy's and your starter is such a big upgrade over the backup.

- Rarely, if ever job someone on the show or in the shows leading up to a high profile match. It completely takes all momentum out of a match that should in theory be between two fairly equal competitors. WWE does this all the time and it ends up in one of two ways: Either the guy who jobbed jobs again and is completely buried (ex. RVD at Unforgiven 2002), or he wins in a big 'upset' that the fans shit on because the guy has been treated like dirt and the win came out of nowhere (ex. Jericho at Vengeance 2001). - Small thing. Champions always come out last in title defences, regardless of whether they are heels or not. Was Austin's pop any less at Wrestlemania XIV because he came out before Shawn? This just adds some professionalism to the show that is sorely needed. - Small rules differences to help differentiate the brands. For example, have RAW Cage Matches be escape only and Smackdown Cage Matches be pinfall or submission only. Have RAW three-ways be the first to gain a pinfall wins, and have Smackdown three-ways be elimination-style. Again, this makes the product look more professional by having consistant rules, but they are also relatively minor differences that you can only see on one brand or the other. Too many people watch either Smackdown or RAW and not the other. This might help that. - Stop telling announcers how to act. I'm not referring to shilling. That's a part of any sporting event these days. But stop telling them how to call a match and when to act excited. These guys were hired for a reason, let them do their jobs. If they aren't doing a good job, then WWE should fire them and hire someone better. - Bring back the impartial, impersonal backstage figureheads. Part of the appeal of guys like Jack Tunney was that in being impartial, heels were often able to exploit loopholes that the faces couldn't. A pompous suit character like Tunney got more heel heat than any of the traditional heels we've had since Austin/Vince ended. Also, keep figureheads off TV unless they need to rule on something important or make some major announcement, and except for the spur of the moment things they should be done in taped segments. You don't see Bud Selig interrupting the Mets/Braves game to talk about the latest steroid problem. - Remember this rule. Never at any time is there nothing for a wrestler to do. If all else fails, use them as enhancement talent. There is no need to release guys in the middle of contracts unless they are simply being paid way too much for the position they are in (ie. they signed a main eventer's contract and are now on Velocity). Having jobbers around can often make your stars look more credible. Every little bit helps, and Masters crushing Val Venis would do more to put him over than having him cheat to beat someone higher on the card. - Cut the pyro budget. It is a waist of money. Entrances are effective enough with the Titantron videos, theme music and the proper use of lighting. HHH, Rock & Steve Austin didn't have pyro and they had some of the biggest entrances in company history. Goldberg had a great entrance long before they gave him pyro. There is nothing wrong with it, and hell, I even enjoy it. But it just isn't necessary. - No more Diva angles. All Divas should fall into one of two categories, wrestler or manager. Any angle involving a Diva that doesn't immediately lead to a legitimate wrestling match (either by herself or her wrestler) should be banned. - Interview time is cut. TV time is precious. Playing to the live crowd is something you can save for house shows or when the cameras are off (for taped shows or dark matches). Say what you are there to say and get out. I can't even count the number of times that a promo that lasted for 25 minutes could have been done in 5.

I'm a bit concerned about Trent Green's leg. He said he was going to start last I saw, but the experts seem to suggest differently and Green is hardly a doctor. I have Hasselbeck against the Jags as my backup. Should I make the move and play Hasselbeck in Week 1? If it means anything, my opponent is starting Darrell Jackson.

I don't have a real problem with Cole. I used to hate him in 1998, but he's gotten better for the most part. The problem with the televised shows is that Vince dictates to the announcers what they are supposed to say. This is a big problem on RAW too. Try watching the commentaries by Cole & Tazz on Benoit's & Eddy's DVDs. It is 100x than anything that the company has done on their A-shows since 1998.

1) The Road Warriors 2) The Steiner Brothers 3) The Rock N Roll Express 4) The Midnight Express (Lane & Eaton) 5) The Hart Foundation 6) The British Bulldogs 7) Demolition 8) The Brainbusters Those eight teams pretty much have to be there. The only one you can fudge a bit is Demolition, but the other seven are far and away the best seven tag teams ever.

Shawn was an afterthought in the Wrestlemania feud. The real issue was Benoit/HHH and everybody knew it. That's why Shawn was getting booed all throughout that match. The only time Shawn has been on top since he's come back was for a month between Backlash and Badd Blood 2004 and his title reign in 2002. Meanwhile, Austin in 1997 won the Royal Rumble, and also main-evented Final Four, A Cold Day in Hell & Canadian Stampede. He was also in the biggest feud in the company from the beginning of the year all the way to Canadian Stampede, including an almost co-main event at Wrestlemania and certainly the most interesting thing on that show by far. After the injury at Summerslam he was still heavily promoted with the 'Who will he stun this week?' thing leading up to Vince McMahon. He had a better year in 1997 than Shawn did. Shawn since 2002 has been inconsistent at best, missing a lot of time with injuries every year and not even wrestling a full-time schedule until 2004. Austin's Top 10 matches. 1) vs. Bret Hart, Wrestlemania XIII 2) vs. Bret Hart, Survivor Series 1996 3) The Dangerous Alliance vs. Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Nikita Koloff, Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes, WrestleWar 1992 4) vs. The Rock, Wrestlemania X-7 5) vs. Chris Benoit, Edmonton Smackdown 2001 6) vs. Kurt Angle, Summerslam 2001 7) Team USA vs. The Hart Foundation, Canadian Stampede 1997 8) w/ HHH vs. Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit, RAW 2001 9) w/ Brian Pillman vs. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson, Clash of the Champions XXIII 10) vs. Dude Love, Over the Edge 1998 Shawn's Top 10 matches 1) vs. Razor Ramon, Wrestlemania X 2) vs. Jeff Jarrett, IYH 2 3) vs. Mankind, Mind Games 4) vs. HHH vs. Chris Benoit, Wrestlemania XX 5) vs. Undertaker, Badd Blood 1997 6) w/ Steve Austin vs. British Bulldog & Owen Hart, RAW 1997 7) vs. Kurt Angle, Wrestlemania XXI 8) vs. Razor Ramon, Summerslam 1995 9) vs. Diesel, Good Friends, Better Enemies 10) vs. Bret Hart, Survivor Series 1992 Austin's list is much better than Shawn's list. Shawn's #6 which also includes Austin, doesn't even get onto Austin's top ten by my count.

I really don't get the longevity argument for Austin. Sure, it was shorter than Flair, and then part I can understand, but to go on and talk about Shawn Michaels isn't accurate either. Steve Austin's peak was from late 1996 (when he started the Bret Hart feud), and he was pretty much on top all the way until his walkout in 2002. He had a few months off due to injury in 2000. But Shawn's peak was from the very end of 1994 (when they were building towards the Rumble and the Diesel feud) up to his injury in early 1998. He also had significant time off in 1997 for various reasons. When all is said and done, Austin was on top longer then Shawn was. So if you say that Austin can't be the heir to Flair because of injuries, the same is true for Michaels too. And I do think Shawn/Angle is Angle's second-best singles match ever, so I agree with him. He did have a better match than that at No Mercy 2002, but that was teaming with Benoit. Bret's completely off the mark though. It isn't even the best match the two of them had together.

Where was that classic Shawn/Hennig match? All I remember is a couple of decent matches when Shawn was with the Rockers and a lousy match at Summerslam 1993. Certainly nothing as good as the Flair/Hennig Loser Leaves Town Match.

You can put me in that league too if nobody else wants to. Since I made it in this league, I will let others get the first shot at that one. Otherwise, just use the same picks for both if you still got empty slots by the deadline. But tomorrow's September...

Austin is Hogan's heir in terms of being the big WWF draw, but his abilities were a lot closer to Flair. Rock is the one that seems to be more similar to Hogan, right down to the mainstream interest. Rock is known by more non-wrestling fans than Austin is, just like Hogan was known by more non-wrestling fans than Flair. Yet wrestling fans tend to like Flair & Austin better.

And I thought Brett Favre had it bad. At least his family was able to call him.

We all knew that if the levees went it was all over for the city, but at first when Katrina came into the east it looked liked things were going to work out. But we were wrong.

People like to forget that Austin was probably the best technical wrestler in WCW from about 1991 to 1994, with the possible exception of Steamboat, who was missing for part of that period. Pre-injury Austin was fantastic and probably the closest thing out there to an heir for Flair. Even in 1998 & 2001 he managed some great stuff.

That's a good way to put it, although people in Hamilton will get pissed off if you tell them that so they are usually left out. It covers most of the 905 area code anyways (which Hamilton is in).

That explains it then.

No. Flair was a better wrestler than Shawn. Flair's matchlist in 1989 is better than Shawn's entire career. Flair was a much better face than Shawn. Flair was more over than Shawn. Flair was around a lot longer than Shawn. Flair was a top guy from about 1982-1995. Shawn was a top guy from about 1995-1998. Flair was/is popular everywhere. Shawn is hated in the Northeast United States and Canada. No, the second coming of Ric Flair was not Shawn Michaels. It was Steve Austin. Everything except for the longevity was true for both Flair & Austin.

So...when do we need our picks in?

Didn't it go Money Inc --> Steiners --> Money Inc --> Steiners in a short amount of time in the summer of 1993?

Eddy's heel character was really good during the initial turn, but the steam went out of him after the never-ending Rey feud and horrible Dominic angle. JBL is still the best heel character from my persepective, which is unfortunate, because he's at the point he should be sliding down the card, but there is nobody ready to take over. They will probably use Randy Orton, but he's somewhere between Test & Billy Gunn as far as effective heels go.

High-speed connections aren't available everywhere, especially in rural areas. DVDs can be used anywhere.

I seem to remember it going Demolition --> Brainbusters --> Demolition --> Colossal Connection --> Demolition --> Hart Foundation --> etc.

North York is a part of Toronto already. Markham is not. I think you are confused between the GTA and the old Metropolitan Toronto. The GTA itself, extends from roughly Oakville to Port Hope from east-to-west, and up to and including Barrie in the north.

When were the Twin Towers ever Tag Team Champions?

Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels in Montreal. Almost all of Canada knows about that, even if they are not wrestling fans.