Guest Trivia247 Report post Posted June 30, 2003 The following recap was written by [email protected]: Chris Benoit says he is excited to be in the U.S. Title tournament and looks forward to competing in it. He doesn't consider this as a step back from the WWE Title hunt, rather he looks at himself as constantly refreshing himself as he searches for newer goals to meet, whether it be winning the WWE Title, the Tag-Team Title, or now the U.S. Title. Benoit praises Ultimo Dragon's quick wrestling ability, saying that he will be very intriguing to watch as he arrives in WWE. As he is many times labeled as the best technical wrestler, Josh asks him who he would consider the second best. Chris answers that there are so many wrestlers to choose from as he has so much respect for a lot of wrestlers that he steps between the ropes with. He likes the idea of separate brand pay-per-views as it gives wrestlers more of an opportunity to be in higher profile matches. He doesn't feel more pressure to outperform the Raw crew but he does allow a more competitive atmosphere to creep within him, he says. His neck is doing okay. He is taking care of it and exercising it regularly and makes a point to stay very aware of everything he does and all the wrestling moves he makes. The Smackdown crew does get the chance to catch Raw usually on Tuesday in catering. They don't see it live since they are usually wrestling on Monday nights. Chris thinks Goldberg has made a pretty nice impact in WWE thus far although feels that it could have been a bigger one had he returned earlier than now. He relates that he often finds himself, when he gets two days off from work, that he is half a step behind upon returning and figures that Goldberg is suffering from this same ring rust, as well. He imagines that it will take Bill a while "to get that ball rolling" as he continues to work on his WWE career. If he could wrestle people on Raw, he would like another go at Triple-H, being that the two only wrestled each other once, and that one time was right when he came to WWE. He also wouldn't mind another run with Chris Jericho, as well as some matches with Bill Goldberg, but really everyone who brings him some competition doing what he loves, he would love the challenge to face them, he says. Josh wonders aloud how great it would be, now that Ultimo Dragon is in WWE, for the cruisergates to open and people like Jushin Liger and Sasuke entered WWE. Benoit agrees that it would be incredible if that were to happen. Josh asks Chris if he has seen the light heavyweight action over at NWA TNA, "which is of course on wednesday nights on pay-per-view and they have an X-Division, similar to our cruiserwieght division, guys like A.J. Styles, Lo Ki, Dragon Kid, and Christopher Daniels," Josh plugs. Chris says that he hasn't gotten the chance to see them as his schedule is quite hectic # Kane debuted a new look at weekend house shows, with his head totally shaved and no face paint or makeup. Whether he will debut the look on RAW remains to be seen, but either way, expect the show to heavily focus on Kane's unmasking last week. # As you may know, TNN began its new "just for men" format last week by debuting three new shows. In order to test the waters, so to speak, the network is planning to air a "100 Most Irresistible Women" special immediately following tonight's RAW, which is clearly aimed at the male demographic. With RAW being the highest rated show on the network, this will be a strong indication as to whether this new approach will work or not. # It's nearly 100% confirmed that Mick Foley will not be appearing on tonight's RAW in Buffalo, NY. Foley is expected to remain off television until a few weeks prior to Summer Slam, in order to build a program for the PPV. # There is some talk in WWE circles of sending Goldberg to Smackdown as a heel to feud with Brock Lesnar in order to refresh his character. No word on how serious these discussions are. # Officials are encouraging Linda Miles, who is the new valet for the Basham Brothers, to play up the dominatrix gimmick more. # Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, who are formlerly known as Team Angle, will now be using the name "The Best Damn Tag Team Period", which is obviously copied fom the popular sports show on Fox Sports Net. (Thanks to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter) MICK FOLEY ON NO HOLDS BARRED This past week Mick Foley joined the No Holds Barred radio show to talk about a bunch of different issues in addition to promoting his brand new book "Tietam Brown". NHB aims to bring you the biggest names in the wrestling business week in week out and if you'd like to hear the show in your area, log on to www.noholdsbarredwrestling.com and fill out the petition on the main page and then e-mail it to [email protected]. Now on to the highlights from our interview with the great Mick Foley. Mick opened up the interview by talking about the great reception he received last Monday night at MSG on RAW. He said he really appreciates that the WWE decided to hold the tribute for him and he added that it's always a plus when you can entertain an audience with a segment which is heart warming and very emotional. He joked about not plugging his book enough during his recent WWE stint. He said the WWE promised they would promote the book but there was no set way for them to do so. Mick said he didn't want to come right out and plug the book because he felt that fans would look at him and think it was the only reason he was there and while that was the original plan, he said he got caught up in the storyline and really enjoyed being a part of the mix for the short time he was on the program. He said the WWE have an idea of what they want to do with Evolution and while he's heard different names mentioned as a 4th member, he feels it would be better to keep the group with 3 members as he feels Triple H, Ric Flair and Randy Orton have great chemistry. Mick said he chose the name "Tietam Brown" for his book because he liked the title and felt it summarized everything he was talking about in his new book. He joked that he probably should have called it "Bob Brown" since it's an easier title for people to say and remember. He said the verbiage on the plane when Vince fired him was pretty much a shoot from both sides. He said that while wrestling was a huge part of is life, he reached a point where he thought his career was over and had no plans to return when he parted ways with the company. He notes that the wrestling audience can help prevent "Tietam Brown" from being a failure yet he's not sure if they alone can help make it a huge hit. He said his editor thought it would be a good idea for him to return to the business during conversations over 1 year ago but at that time he wasn't ready to do so. He said as the book came out and he started getting criticized by mainstream press for being a wrestler who was now trying to write a serious piece of material, the rebellious side in him came out and he felt that it was an unfair criticism and if he was going to be looked down upon for being part of something he truly loved and still does, then he would return to the business and prove them wrong. Mick said he doesn't believe he was outspoken about his criticisms of the WWE product last year. He admits to being negative about the necrophilia angle and he feels it became a big issue because he cancelled his appearance on Livewire. He said that had he not been scheduled for the Livewire show then nobody would have known how he felt about the segment at all. He added that he was very outspoken about certain things with the company even when he was active in the ring. Mick talked about different ideas that were tossed his way that he didn't feel comfortable with and he brought up a point from last year during the Invasion angle where he was to do a tongue in cheek segment with Trish Stratus. He said he didn't feel it was going to do much for the character or program and he approached the McMahons about doing something that would get people talking which ultimately led to him ripping the company's saturation of championship belts on RAW. He said his promo got people talking and it was followed up the following week by Paul Heyman's incredible in ring promo with Vince McMahon and he feels that segments like his and Heyman's are needed because fans relate well to real situations. He closed the statement by saying that he feels the company sometimes go a little too lesbian heavy and he questions some of the decisions but it doesn't mean that the whole product is bad and it doesn't mean that he can't take part in the show and add something different to it. He mentioned that he was recently criticized by various top websites about being a hypocrite of the highest order since he returned to the business after criticizing the product. Mick said that he compares it to a politician who practices politics but doesn't always agree with the government and he feels he was simply offering constructive criticism to the WWE with the hopes that they would improve certain parts of the product which he feels they have been doing. Mick said hell in the cell is what he is and despite the topic being one that he has had to talk about time and time again, he has reached the point where he has accepted that people are always going to want to know about the match. He said that the match was real scary for him and had he went up to the top of the cage before the match to test it, he would have called it off. He said that he thought he was ok after taking the bumps during the match but weeks later he was still in pain especially in his kidneys. He said after falling thru the cage he had no recollection of what had taken place and the only thing he remembers was seeing Terry Funk's sneakers after Funk had come in the ring to by him some time by taking a chokeslam from the Undertaker. Mick added that he was conscious of his decision to go up to the top of the cage after taking the bump thru the ringside table and while he doesn't consider himself to be best of friends with the Undertaker, he feels they have a solid friendship and after the match he asked Undertaker if he used the thumbtacks and he was informed that he indeed did use them. He also asked referee Mike Cioda if he had been taken out on a stretcher and when he was told that he was, he remembers pleading with him to not have him removed on one again that night. Mick finished up his comments on the match by adding that Stephanie McMahon remembers him going out of his way to say hi to her that night following the match despite him not knowing where he was plus Pat Patterson had a friend die during the match and for the longest time Mick thought he had caused Pat's friends death but was relieved to find out last year during a conversation with Pat that he had nothing to do with it. He said that of all the characters he's played, he most enjoyed playing the commissioner role the first time around. He talked about the pressure the PTC was placing on the WWF product at the time and while he could see certain points of theirs, he felt the product overall was very enjoyable and was not as bad as it was being made out to be. He gave an example of having access to a full NBA video library and making Michael Jordan out to be the worst basketball player of all time if all you did was show the shots he missed rather then the one's he made. Mick also said that he enjoyed the Cactus Jack character and while he was shocked and disappointed when the WWF came calling and said they wanted the character and not necessarily him, he was also glad to see it do well since it had never reached it's potential in other organizations. He felt that by playing a character like Cactus, it allowed for a character like Mankind to be able to do different things and showcase other sides of his personality. When the subject of Mick's second commissioner role came up he said that while he felt that he and William Regal clicked, he didn't really enjoy the angle. He said he regrets the angle because he didn't feel it served a purpose since Vince McMahon returned a week later as a babyface owner and all it did was put Regal out of a commissioner job. He added that it was during that time when he began working on the "Tietam Brown" project. Mick feels that "Tietam Brown" offers characters and storylines that wrestling fans can relate to yet it also gives those who simply enjoying reading books a piece of reading material they will find fascinating. He said it does offer some violence and a look into history and if readers enjoyed "Have A Nice Day" and "Foley Is Good" they will enjoy this book even though it's different then the other two. Mick acknowledged that he did have conversations with Jerry Jarrett about being a part of NWA TNA and while he certainly respects him and Jeff, he wasn't confident that their business plan would be successful. He said that it's nice to see that it has lasted thru the year and while they did touch base several months ago, he always had it in the back of his mind that he would return to the WWE at some point and be able to make an impact plus he didn't feel NWA TNA offered a high enough impact role for him. He said he was fortunate that when he reached out to the WWE he didn't get his hand slapped away and that would have most likely had been very different had he taken part in a NWA TNA program. He finished by saying that he hopes that once his book tour is done that he can return to the WWE and play a small role in a future PPV or two. Mick said he's heard about the Summerslam rumor of him returning to the ring but he says he hasn't been approached about it yet and he's not available to do TV nor travel and get in shape around his book tour. Mick said that one thing he needs to be comfortable with if he were to return to the ring is to know in his mind that he could be as good as he was before he left and that he would be able to commit to being a part of things like he was before. He said it was always assumed by fans, critics and himself after he left that he would return and do something with the WWE once a year and after being involved recently on RAW he hasn't ruled out a future return to the ring although he has been enduring some pain and discomfort lately following the RAW incident where he was thrown down the stairs. Mick closed the interview by saying that his next project may be in conjunction with the WWE and it's a children's book which he put together several years ago. He also added that he's currently working on another serious novel at the time and he hopes to be able to make a living off of his writing and anything beyond that is appreciated. For more information on "Tietam Brown" or to find out where Mick Foley will be appearing, visit www.mickfoley.com. To hear the interview with Mick Foley log on to www.noholdsbarredwrestling.com. We hope to have our audio section available later this week and NHB visitors should know that we do not believe in charging to hear our material and all information that states otherwise does not represent the views of the No Holds Barred radio show. The No Holds Barred radio show is hosted by Jason Barrett and George "The Animal" Farmer and airs every Sunday night on 101.5 WPDH in parts of NY, NJ, CT and PA. # It's now confirmed that Hulk Hogan and WWE have indeed decided to go their separate ways. Hogan first informed the company after Tuesday's Smackdown taping at Madison Square Garden of his decision to quit, but WWE chose not to make a public announcement since they were under the impression that they could try to talk Hogan out of it. # Crash Holly has officially been released by WWE. (Thanks to WrestlingObserver.com) # To add to the Hogan story, it has now been learned that he and Vince McMahon had a meeting on Thursday to discuss Hogan's future with WWE. During the meeting, the decision was made mutually for both sides to part ways for the time being. Hogan's concern mainly stemmed from the fact that his television appearances weren't being treated as anything special, and was being portrayed as "just another babyface". He felt that in order for him to be an effective draw, his appearances needed to be treated as a big deal, rather than being the third rung of a three man team in a TV main event. His frustration boiled over during his match at Tuesday's Smackdown taping. When the crowd began to chant "Hogan, Hogan," he felt that Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle should've played into the chants and tagged him in. Instead, Lesnar and Angle decided to follow the script instead of improvising, which is normal for a TV taping. There are already rumors of Hogan wanting to get the XWF going again, which could be Hogan wanting to form a group to compete with WWE, or him wanting to use this as leverage for McMahon to give Hogan what he wants both creatively and financially. After the cameras stopped rolling at MSG, Hogan unmasked for the crowd, which was his way of saying goodbye to crowd in person rather than under the mask. # Stephanie McMahon/Zach Gowen vs. The Big Show will be taking place on this week's Smackdown. It was originally thought that the match would be taking place at Vengeance, but the decision was made to put the match on free TV. (Thanks to PWTorch.com) well there you have it... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Repo Man jr Report post Posted June 30, 2003 It's really weird that they plug TNA on Byte This. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest AndrewTS Report post Posted June 30, 2003 *Insert asshole remark about Benoit from Choken, Nevermortal, etc.* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest El Psycho Diablo Report post Posted June 30, 2003 *Insert asshole remark about Benoit from Choken, Nevermortal, etc.* The occasional anti-Benoit comment is nothing compared to the slobbering fanboy cult the guy has on the IWC. Seesh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest AndrewTS Report post Posted June 30, 2003 *Insert asshole remark about Benoit from Choken, Nevermortal, etc.* The occasional anti-Benoit comment is nothing compared to the slobbering fanboy cult the guy has on the IWC. Seesh. "Fanboy" is one of the gayest phrases ever, I swear. Sorry I forgot about you. Wait...no, I'm not. It's a shame I couldn't keep it that way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest El Psycho Diablo Report post Posted July 1, 2003 *Insert asshole remark about Benoit from Choken, Nevermortal, etc.* The occasional anti-Benoit comment is nothing compared to the slobbering fanboy cult the guy has on the IWC. Seesh. "Fanboy" is one of the gayest phrases ever, I swear. Sorry I forgot about you. Wait...no, I'm not. It's a shame I couldn't keep it that way. It may be one of the "gayest phrases ever"..but untl somebody comes up with a more appropriate label for a group that rabidly defends the slightest insult against their hero, let me know. I don't hate the guy, I just think it's stupid that some things are readily accepted..but the second somebody says they don't even -like- the guy, ("Oh, you just don't 'get' his work, obviously..") they get mauled for it. *shrugs* Though, you could easily replace the Benoit love up there for a lot of other stupid 'net things..but I won't get into it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest AndrewTS Report post Posted July 1, 2003 That still doesn't explain why you act like an overbearing prick any time his name comes up. You're doing the same exact shit except on the polar opposite on the spectrum. As for a more appropriate term, how about what "fan" is derived from, "fanatic?" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest El Psycho Diablo Report post Posted July 1, 2003 Every time? *cough* I haven't posted here regularly in a while, and not much of that was anti-anything..except for Raw comments. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest AndrewTS Report post Posted July 1, 2003 It seems when you do actually show up, you flame-bait, and that's about it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest El Psycho Diablo Report post Posted July 1, 2003 *chuckles* I find it strange that anything against the general leanings of the board is "flame baiting"..but all of this "Fuck Goldberg" and the like nonsense wasn't. (There's a long, long list of things before that..) Hm. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest JRE Report post Posted July 1, 2003 "Fanboy" is one of the gayest phrases ever, I swear. It's not as bad as "apologist" though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kotzenjunge Report post Posted July 1, 2003 Calling something you disapprove of "gay" even if it has nothing homosexual about it is worse than all this shit you people are catfighting about. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest AndrewTS Report post Posted July 1, 2003 Stating a disagreement that most people disagree with in a calm manner = ok. Stating a disagreement with most people and being a prick in the way you express it = flame baiting. And most people here don't like Goldberg. So fuck Goldberg. No one minds except Downhome and a few others. And most of these fanatical Benoit fans aren't here. For example, I'll admit that most of Benoit's matches since the post-Rumble job to Angle have been shit. He happened to be working with lower caliber workers, but still they've been shit. End of story. He still happens to be a good worker, though, just not as much as he used to for whatever reason. Still, even though I feel that way, I get annoyed with your bullshit and think "will he shut the fuck up already?" Fuck Goldberg is two words I state a few times now and then. Easy to ignore. Calling something you disapprove of "gay" even if it has nothing homosexual about it is worse than all this shit you people are catfighting about. Er, no it isn't. Find me a better word to describe such a fucking annoying word and I'll use it. I'd use "pet peeve" if that word wasn't even more annoying to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Shaved Bear Report post Posted July 1, 2003 There is some talk in WWE circles of sending Goldberg to Smackdown as a heel to feud with Brock Lesnar in order to refresh his character. No word on how serious these discussions are oh so this way Brock can be called "the blonde one" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest AndrewTS Report post Posted July 1, 2003 Please turn Goldberg heel!! That worked great last time! DO IT DO IT DO IT!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest TheZsaszHorsemen Report post Posted July 1, 2003 Calling something you disapprove of "gay" even if it has nothing homosexual about it is worse than all this shit you people are catfighting about. Gay is now a synonym for "stupid" it has more then one meaning. Get over it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Nevermortal Report post Posted July 1, 2003 *Insert asshole remark about Benoit from Choken, Nevermortal, etc.* Hey.....I love Benoit's work. I hate Molly Holly. Why am I lumped into the Choken category? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mecha Mummy 0 Report post Posted July 1, 2003 It's really weird that they plug TNA on Byte This. I know, but at the same time it's so great.... even if none of the guys Josh mentioned are currently in the X-Division. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest EricMM Report post Posted July 1, 2003 Gay is now a synonym for "stupid" do you even hear yourself? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest AndrewTS Report post Posted July 1, 2003 *Insert asshole remark about Benoit from Choken, Nevermortal, etc.* Hey.....I love Benoit's work. I hate Molly Holly. Why am I lumped into the Choken category? I could of sworn you were doing that in the Velocidential thread. Sorry if I made a mistake. *shrug* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Nevermortal Report post Posted July 1, 2003 *Insert asshole remark about Benoit from Choken, Nevermortal, etc.* Hey.....I love Benoit's work. I hate Molly Holly. Why am I lumped into the Choken category? I could of sworn you were doing that in the Velocidential thread. Sorry if I made a mistake. *shrug* Nope...wasn't me. I was only in that thread up until the Spanky/X match ended. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
