The SmarK Rant for TNA Impact – 01.31.13 Taped from Manchester, England Your hosts are Todd Keneley, Mike Tenay & Taz

Welcome to This Week in the PTB Podcast! Episode 192: Summerslam 1998 In this new episode of the PTB Podcast Vintage Vault, Scott, Justin and Austin Pfaff hit the Highway to Hell to review the iconic Summerslam 1998. They chat about Val Venis, Jeff Jarrett, Ken Shamrock, Mankind, Kane, DX, Undertaker and more. And Justin may have some things to say about the AFC Championship Game too. So fire up this action packed episode, don your crown and join Scott, Justin & Austin for another edition of the PTB Podcast! Episode 193: Headlines In this super loaded all new episode of the PTB Podcast, Scott, Justin & Kyle Forchetti hit up the headlines in the world of wrestling and sports. They start with a lengthy, detailed discussion on the state of ROH, TNA and WWE and then give their Royal Rumble predictions, their views on where WWE is headed for Wrestlemania and run through the news from this past week. Following that, they preview the Super Bowl and upcoming NFL offseason...

Hi Scott, Awesome interview with Bret Hart and his current thoughts on HHH as a wrestler. Let the discussion begin... Interview here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSNJX1aBDSw&feature=player_embedded Article about interview here: http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2013/0131/560023/bret-hart-shoots-on-triple-h-calls-him-overrated/ Go Bret!  Although HHH certainly has had several great matches.  But Bret is also the guy who thinks that Flair is overrated, so maybe he's just a really harsh critic.  I can only imagine what he thinks of Randy Orton.

NXT Date: January 30, 2013 Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida Commentators: William Regal, Tony Dawson Reviewed by Tommy Hall This is the second week of the tag team title tournament and my guess is we'll get two more first round matches tonight. Other than that we've got Conor O'Brien challenging Langston for the title next week which should be interesting given that we haven't seen Conor since Cameron was released. Let's get to it.

Links IC Title Cup Tournament - OFF. Well, that was fun while it lasted.. (Wrestlezone.com) 'WWE Superstar and Intercontinental Champion, Wade Barrett, has confirmed on Twitter that the Intercontinental Cup scheduled to start on this week's episode of WWE Main Event, has officially been cancelled.' -- Dixie's yearly 'Huge Announcement!' scheduled for Impact (Wrestlezone.com) 'TNA President Dixie Carter has been promoting a "major announcement" for several days, including an interview with The American where she discussed the challenges of expanding globally and competing with WWE's 10 hours of TV programming every week.' -- Generico officially signs with WWE (WrestlingInc.com) 'El Generico has passed his medical testing and officially signed with WWE'

This is another old review.  Be forewarned. Fall Brawl 1997 Date: September 14, 1997 Location: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, North Carolina Attendance: 11,939 Commentators: Ton Schiavone, Bobby Heenan Reviewed by Tommy Hall THINK THAT’S A LONG ENOUGH LOCATION??? With so many WCW shows left I’m going to start hammering more of them out by doing the remaining versions of various shows, starting with the last three Fall Brawls, as in 97-99. Anyway this is more or less the last classic WarGames and the roster for it more or less sucks. The main perk of this show for old school fans is that there are three matches over 15 minutes. Anyway let’s get to it.

Monday Nitro #104 Date: September 8, 1997 Location: Wisconsin Center Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Attendance: 8,596 Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Larry Zbyszko Reviewed by Tommy Hall It's the go home show for Fall Brawl which I don't think we have much of a confirmed card for. It's pretty clear that Luger, Page, Hall and Savage will be in WarGames but other than that we don't have much confirmed. This week's show has to be better than last week's or at least less dull. Hopefully this won't be a bunch of whining from the announcers for two hours again. Let's get to it.

Scott, Hello.  I have a couple of questions I'd like to know your opinion on.  I think these are questions a lot of fans have.  I'm not sure if you've already addressed these in the blog but here goes anyway... As the inevitable Rock-Cena II match is coming close I was wondering your take on what WWE can do to make it different this time around?  Added stips?  Guest ref?  The simple fact that its a title match does nothing for me, mostly because I'm a Rock guy and Cena is winning.  Plus, hyping it as "Once in a Lifetime" last year and serving it up again one year later is really weak.   Weak to the tune of MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.   But OK, if we're gonna continue to play that game, then logically the escalation is for Ziggler to cash in at Elimination Chamber and win the belt, then Cena wins the belt on RAW the next night to set up the UNIFICATION MATCH with Rock at Wrestlemania.  Won't happen, but that's what I'd do.  Yeah, Ziggler gets f...

Now that it looks like we're getting HHH/Brock II at Wrestlemania, I'd like to know your opinion behind the reasoning for this match. While the prospect of Rock/Cena II has raised the ire of many a smark, I guess it is palatable in the sense that it will make shitloads of money (again) and they did have an entertaining match last year. In your opinion, when it comes to booking HHH/Brock II at Mania, what is the reasoning behind it? Their program in the summer as far as I know didn't exactly set the world on fire and their match was forgettable. Do you think it's possible that the only reason we're getting HHH/Brock II is purely for HHH to be involved in a match with the infamous Brock Lesnar, sharing a double billing with movie star The Rock Vs John Cena, at an event that could turn out to be the highest grossing PPV of all time? Hey man, HHH and Brock have to eat too.  HHH has three kids to support!  And Shawn Michaels!  You want to take the food ri...

Waiting for the Trade By Bill Miller   Aquaman vol 1: The Trench By Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado Collects Aquaman 1 – 6   Why I Bought This: As I’ve said before Aquaman is my favorite DC character, so if I was going to sample New 52 titles of course I’d pick this one up.   The Plot: Aquaman and Mera try to start a new life for themselves in the small coastal New England town of Amnesty Bay when a new species of carnivorous humanoid creatures emerge from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean .

Links Justin LaBar explains why he feels Triple H/Lesnar should be a Hell in a Cell at WM (Wrestlezone.com) 'The following is the opening segment for this past Tuesday's "Wrestling Reality 1 on 1 with Justin LaBar" on TribLIVE Sports radio in Pittsburgh.' -- Lesnar confirmed for next week's Raw (WrestlingInc.com) 'Brock Lesnar is scheduled to appear at next week's RAW at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA.' -- TLC '12 does fairly crap number (WrestlingInc.com) 'with John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler plus Ryback, Kane and Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns.'

http://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=75078&p=1 A 77 year old liquor store owner was shot in the eye during a robbery. He says that CM Punk losing the strap is worse than that. r See what you and your stupid elbow mean to people, Dwayne? Go back to Hollywood where you can buy more arm butter and practice your peck-pop. If Scott dresses me down for openly speaking against The Rock then I'll be forced to tell the Federal Government about the drugs he forces his writers to take. Fuj is actually Zahorian's son.

Hey Scott,   What are some of your guilty pleasures in wrestling? This could be a particular wrestler, match, angle, etc.   Personally, mine is the Survivor Series match with several wrestlers playing the part of Doink (Men on a Mission and such). A friend of mine coined the term "Bizarrecore" because it was just so ridiculous. Similarly, I enjoy the Oddities vs. Kaientai match for the same reason. Are they good? Oh, LORD no. I agree with the star rating you've given each. But I can't help be entertained by them.   It's probably the same reason why I enjoy Chikara so much, though at least there, the quality of wrestling is much higher. Oh man, there's nothing I love better than constantly breaking into the house of someone who has a restraining order out on me and then getting arrested for it multiple times.   Sorry, that's Tammy Sytch, my mistake. Anyway, although the matches you listed above are utter bullshit and you should...

The date movie. We’ve all been here. Be it a night out with your wife or hubby, a first date with someone you met online, or simply something you enjoy doing with your boyfriend or girlfriend, oftentimes seeing the right kind of movie can enhance your romantic endeavors for the evening, and seeing the wrong kind of movie can damn them completely. Some movies are romance neutral. I don’t think anyone seeing “Parker” is going to come out of that movie questioning the very fabric of their lives, for example. But, some are profound. In a series of articles highlighting the good date movies, the bad date movies, and the kind of date movies you should really only watch after a couple of tequila shots, I intend to provide you with a primer. These will be broken down into three categories:   The Flick: The movie, is it good, what makes it good   The Chick: Who is this movie right for? Couples? First Dates? What does it mean if your date doesn't like the movie?  ...

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2013/01/28/news/shoreline/doc51075df8b5075867880778.txt?viewmode=fullstory This is just getting so incredibly sad.  On so many levels.  

Since I'm actually going to WM this year, I continue to try and come up with ways to avoid the seemingly inevitable Cena/Rock2 and HHH/Brock2 co-main.   After last night's developments, why not hot shot HHH/Brock2 to elimination chamber?  Have Brock go over clean again.  Then have HHH turn to UT the other man he could not beat, but a man he respects and who respects the WWE, and do UT/Brock at WM.  Huge match, wasn't done as recently, has the UFC "altercation" to draw upon, and people won't freak out when Brock loses to UT at WM.   Then instead of feeding Punk to UT - a match that makes no sense on many levels - put him into the main event at WM as a 3-way match.  (Cena can still pin Rock, giving Punk an in to face Cena for the title again after WM.)   It's relatively simple, doesn't require any turns, and makes the co-mains much fresher.   Any chance? I know people really hate it, but they're...

July 14, 1984 This is the infamous “Black Saturday” show. In 1984, Georgia Championship Wrestling occupied this exact timeslot on WTBS. Vince bought the stock of the company from the Brisco Brothers (Jack & Gerald). In fact, the Brisco’s briefly teamed together in WWF later in the year. On this date, many fans tuned in expecting their regular NWA action but were shocked when Vince McMahon and his WWF showed up on the screen. Viewers were largely unhappy and I believe around 500 called into WTBS and complained. This was a major move in Vince’s plan to make the WWF a national promotion. In the end, the move to WBTS failed and several months later, NWA programming returned to that timeslot. I wish I knew more about the history behind this but I do not. Freddie Miller welcomes us to the WTBS studio and then introduces Vince McMahon. He promises us that we will see the greatest superstars in wrestling and then names off the wrestlers we will be seeing tonight, making a point to...

http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/118-daily-updates/29561-raw-rating-was-a Apparently shitty shows mean more people watching, as RAW did a 3.7, biggest number since the 1000th one.  This Rock guy might have a future in the business.  

by Logan Scisco - A video package discusses the Hart Foundation’s divided appeal and hypes tonight’s six man flag match. - Vince McMahon, Jerry “the King” Lawler, and Jim Ross are in the booth and they are in Halifax, Nova Scotia. -Highlights of the Ken Shamrock-Vader match from In Your House:  A Cold Day in Hell are shown to hype tonight’s opening contest.

Source It's called For All Mankind: The Life and Career of Mick Foley.  I like the title.

Links IC Title Cup participants listed (WrestlingInc.com) 'The participants are The Miz, Kofi Kingston, Darren Young, Antonio Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow and Randy Orton.' -- Full content listings for Foley's new WWE DVD (WrestlingInc.com) 'WWE will release "For All Mankind: The Life & Career of Mick Foley " on DVD and Blu-ray in April.' -- Vince s uffers fictional injury inevitably leaving Triple H foaming at the mouth (WWE.com) ' WWE.com released breaking news that McMahon has suffered a broken pelvis at the hands of Lesnar.'

The SmarK RAW Rant – 01.28.13 Live from Las Vegas, NV Your hosts are Michael Cole, JBL & Jerry Lawler

Scott, Love your work. I have a theory to run by you, if I may. What if CM Punk is cutting a promo mid-ring about how the Shield are wrong to have done what they did at Royal Rumble and then the lights go out. Punk continues to berate the Shield about how their dumb tricks are stupid, etc. Then lights come back on and it's the Undertaker standing behind Punk. My theory is this: do you think WWE has been conditioning aud iences to accept the lights out gimmick for the Shield so that when the Undertaker comes back they are surprised? Oh, and if you can, please plug my cartoon video about Paul London and Brian Kendrick's trip to Bob Evans. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOS_1T5gUoc Thank you! -Nick Oooo, clever boy!  I approve of the lights out gag.  Although you know it's basically going to end with Undertaker beating Punk and the Shield 1-on-4.  

We've made it to the Road to Wrestlemania! Get your sign-pointing hand ready, sit back and enjoy a few weeks of quite possibly decent RAWs. Not going to say much I didn't say in the forums. I liked the ADR-Big Show match, love the fact that a babyface ADR isn't a moron. Liked the Rumble match because Dolph and Jericho were all-world pace setters and the final six action was good stuff. With Cena, Ryback and Sheamus in the final three I thought that was an optimal place for a Shield run-in, if just to extend the segment by having a crazy brawl that either eliminated a guy or laid them all out. The title match, eh styles make fights and I'm rarely one to say one guy succeed and the other guy failed. It's a dance, both partners have to execute for it to work. Punk and Rock had a disjointed dance that looked like it could recover but there was a table breaking unexpectedly and a ill-timed run-in that stopped it. I expected more, I hope they do it again next month ...

This may sound highly skeptical, but doesn't it seem kind of odd that the shield HASN'T attacked Cena yet? They've beaten up ryback, Orton, Sheamus, Bryan, Kane, and the Rock, but not Cena. Also Punk keeps denying any connection. Wouldn't it be great if Cena is the one directing the Shield? Would be a great swerve and generate a ton of interest. Still leaves a lot of faces with Ryback, Sheamus, Del Rio, etc. Cena turning heel is like the great pipe dream of the internet and it's just not happening, sorry.  Cena's winning the belt from Rock at Wrestlemania as a babyface and he'll go on to feud with heel Orton for three months and maybe another feud with Big Show or Brock or heel Sheamus or whatever.    Besides, I wouldn't want Cena to turn heel and have a group of hired guns doing his dirty work because Jesse Baker booking coming true in real life would just be WRONG.

In your opinion, what's the best Rumble finishing sequence of all-time? (Note: I would consider the "finishing sequence" to be everything from final four until the finish, since sometimes you don't even get a proper final two showdown, you just get Brock dumping Taker from behind, seconds after Taker dumped the last guy) As a refresher, here were the final fours of each Rumble: 1988: Duggan, Muraco, Bravo, One Man Gang 1989: Studd, DiBiase, Akeem, Martel  1990: Hogan, Perfect, Hercules, Rude  1991: Hogan, Bulldog, Earthquake, Knobbs   1992: Flair, Savage, Hogan, Sid  1993: Yokozuna, Martel, Backlund, Savage  1994: Bret, Luger, Fatu, HBK  1995: HBK, Bulldog, Luger, Crush  1996: HBK, Diesel, Bulldog, Kama  1997: Austin, Vader, Taker, Bret/Fake Diesel 1998: Austin, Dude Love, The Rock, Farooq  1999: McMahon, Austin, D-Lo, Bossman  2000: Rock, Big Show, Kane, X-Pac 2001: Austin, Rock, Kane, Billy Gunn 2002: HHH, Angle, Perfect, Austin 2003: Brock, Taker,...

Waiting for the Trade by Bill Miller   Fear Itself by Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen collects Fear Itself 1-7 and Fear Itself: Book of the Skull #1.   Why I Bought This: While I tend to avoid the big crossovers, this one caught my interest because it came out the summer of the Captain America and Thor movies and seemed to be built around those two characters in an intriguing way. In my post- Cap movie rush I decided I would buy this eventually. Lo and behold about three months ago, my favorite local comic shop moved all the Fear Itself tie-in trades to the discount bin, so I used that as an excuse to buy this off Amazon (and yes grabbed a few of the tie-ins from the local store too). The Plot: The Red Skull’s daughter Sinn gets her hand on an Asgardian hammer that she uses to awaken Odin’s long lost brother The Serpent. They then deploy seven more hammers to make super powered minions to fight alongside a Nazi army in an attack on the Earth with ...

Links Details on Y2J's deal/plans, and confirmation of Diva's match being pulled from Rumble in a heartbreaking horror (WrestlingInc.com) 'Jericho will be working full-time through WrestleMania 29.' -- Lesnar signs big new WWE deal (Wrestlezone.com) 'Lesnar's current WWE deal was set to expire after WrestleMania 29.' -- Vince to "assess" Heyman in probable fake firing angle, for a while... (WWE.com) 'Mr. McMahon shares his plans with WWE.com to give Paul Heyman a performance review live on Raw.'

The SmarK Rant for WWE Royal Rumble 2013 Live from Phoenix, AZ Your hosts are Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and JBL

Waiting for the Trade By Bill Miller   Spider-man Family: Untold Team-ups by Jeff Parker, Chris Giarrusso, Kevin Grevious and Chris Eliopoilas collects Spider-man Family 4-6 Why Bought This: It features a team-up with Spider-man and Throg (aka Frog Thor). Who doesn’t want to read that?   The Plot: A collection of Spider-man team-up stories with the Agents of Atlas, Dr. Strange, Throg and Ka-Zar.

Yes, folks, it's your favorite Rock Star hosting the 2013 Royal Rumble. Let's see if your predictions come true! As our beloved Princess always says, keep it clean!

Links Tammy Sytch arrested, yet again (WrestlingInc.com) 'Sunny was arrested for violating a court order when she was found at her ex-boyfriend's home.' -- Flair's in-ring return put on hold due to injury (Wrestlezone.com) 'WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair was scheduled to make his in-ring wrestling return in a tag team match with the Great Muta, for All Japan Pro Wrestling.' -- Bo Dallas wins Royal Rumble spot (WWE.com) '“To be in the history books for anything is amazing,” the dynamo admitted. “But being the first NXT Superstar to be in the Royal Rumble Match? I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this, but that’s badass!”'

Yeah, it sucks, but it’s from the legendary Puerto Rico outdoor show in 1985, where they had to work in a torrential downpour.  Just as a sheer historical curiosity it’s worth a look for that, plus the answer to the question “Can Randy Savage save a terrible match while trying to escape a rainstorm?”  The answer may surprise you.  (Spoiler:  No.  No he can’t.)

…let’s celebrate the beginning again, with CM Punk winning the WWE title all those 400 and some days ago. Instant Catch #9 Alberto Del Rio vs CM Punk by Vinc316

Hey Scott, wrote up this blog post this morning about why I think Punk should win Sunday...and keep the belt forever. Would assume many on the blog would agree with me. Do you? I'm not really looking forward to Rock/Cena again, to be honest.   http://stholeary.blogspot.com/2013/01/WWEChampCMPunk.html Honestly, if it's not changing today, it's changing at Elimination Chamber, and that would be lame.  Rumble at least is a big show and it'll be a big memorable title change.  Either way, you're getting Rock/Cena II because Uncle Vince has lots of crappy movies that still need to be financed, so you might as well just accept it.  

http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/wwe/WWE_Hall_of_Famer_Sunny_Arrested_Again_This_Weekend.html You know, I'm beginning to think Tammy has poor decision-making skills... She can always pawn her Hall of Fame ring for bail.

Scott. I am a long time reader of your rants, back from 1997-1998, so, Wrestle Maniacs, I guess? Anyway, I actually wrote a few articles on WrestleLine WAAAAAAAAAAAY back in the day, and had a website in the heyday of wrestling, 1998-2000. Your description of Van Hammer's "Leather Jacket of Discomfort" was the lynchpin for my readership for years. Go fig, Hammer becomes a draw. Anyway.  Literally I wrote like three articles for them. Anyway, almost fifteen years later, I started a blog a few months ago. Not exclusively wrestling, there is a bunch of baseball and football. But my bread and butter writing is pro wrestling. I would appreciate a link on your site if possible, marianosaves.wordpress.com (Yankee fan). An example of my writing, which applies mostly to non wrestling fans can be found here http://marianosaves.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/top-three-royal-rumble-world-championship-matches/ . I am looking for any traffic i can get. And that, friends, is a poorly wri...

All right boys we're less than 24 hours away from Rumble time. What are your predictions: Who will be this year's "Ironman" Who will be Number 1? (Remember Dolph can pick 1 or 2) Who will be Number 2? Who will be Number 30? Who will be the first participant eliminated? Who will be the final participant eliminated? Who will have the most eliminations? Who will be in the final four? Who will give us the best elimination defense (i.e. Kofi's handstand)? And finally who will the damn thing and the right to point at the Wrestlemania XXIX (oops) sign?

PARKER (R) Director: Taylor Hackford Starring: Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez Runtime: 118 minutes The pulpy, B-movie thriller Parker is a curious choice for Director Taylor Hackford. Hackford is probably most known as the man behind An Officer and a Gentleman , Ray, Everybody’s All American, The chilling Dolores Claiborne, and one of my all-time favorite guilty pleasure movies, The Devil’s Advocate . Those movies, while varying quite wildly in terms of quality and subject matter, are almost entirely focused on human (or non-human) interpersonal drama and conflict - which is something Hackford traditionally does well. Even in a rightfully maligned film like the aforementioned Devils Advocate , the performances and characters were memorable, if not entirely three dimensional, and it made for some compelling drama and lasting images.    But, compelling drama direction does not necessarily make for a quality action thriller.

Links Sheamus admits 'disappointment' with Wrestlemania match with Bryan (WrestlingInc.com) 'We went into Extreme Rules, I thought, as the hottest match on that pay-per-view. I know Brock came back and everything, but I'm a firm believer that people really wanted to see me and Bryan go head-to-head.' -- 1 NXT wrestler will compete in the Royal Rumble match (WWE.com) 'Eight NXT stars will face off in a tournament to determine who will win a spot in the Royal Rumble Match.' -- Booker T claims Harlem Heat reunion was discussed (WrestlingInc.com) 'I think people would want to see it.'

Hey, it's DSM, "The Whole Football Show" and YOUR 2012 Fantasy Football League of DOOM! World Heavyweight Champion We talk a lot about the stale and uninteresting guys on TV nowadays, and I feel like a big part of that is the death of the backstage interview. Sure, they still exist, but it's pretty much a formula of Striker or Mathews or whoever throwing out one question and then the wrestler just cutting his own promo with little regard to the interviewer. It's not an "interview" because there's no back-and-forth. I feel like in the past, this is where we really got to know the personas; whatever memories I have as a child of Hogan or Savage in the early 1990s was not them cutting a Main Event Promo in the middle of the ring, but their coked-out exchanges with Mean Gene, who would question and banter and basically be an equal part and character to the whole segment.  What got me to send this e-mail was from when I dropped the El Dandy refe...

Who’s the jackass that artificially stretched it into widescreen?  Anyway, one of the best Wrestlemania matches ever, although I’ll probably try to do a more WM-specific great match countdown as we get closer.  This was the first PPV I saw in a movie theater, and the crowd was JACKED for Kurt Angle and just screaming for Shawn to tap out in that anklelock.  If it didn’t last for fucking TWO MINUTES it would have been a ***** match.

Scott, I was randomly reviewing some of your rants from 2003 and was interested in following the progression of Eddie Guerrero from summer to Wrestlemania.  In the SummerSlam rant, you said he was crazy over and they needed to do something with him right them.  By early 2004 (No Way Out) they had the WWE Title on him.  However, along the way, they didn't seem so sure about Eddie's push, as he worked midcard feuds, jobbed to Big Show, and did another PPV match as los Guerreros against the Bashams.  It didn't seem like they were all that sure until they finally pulled the trigger.  So my question: was Eddie's title win the long-term plan all along or was it a relatively last-minute decision?  He certainly wasn't getting the typical rocket push from summer on or anything. Related question: How far out was Benoit's title win planned?  Did they always intend to have Eddie & Benoit leave Wrestlemania XX as champs, or were there other plans for that show?...

Smackdown Date: January 25, 2013 Location: Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento, California Commentators: Josh Matthews, John Bradshaw Layfield Reviewed by Tommy Hall It's the final show before the Rumble and most of what we're getting on Sunday is set in stone. Tonight is likely going to be the final push towards the Rumble which probably means a big brawl at the end of the show with people being thrown over the top rope a lot. Other than that I wouldn't expect much more other than the weekly tag team main event. Let's get to it.

Links Final hype video for Punk Vs. Rock at Royal Rumble (HeymanHustle.com) 'It's a classic first time showdown between the longest reigning WWE Champion of the modern era CM Punk (along with his advisor, friend, strategist and Hustler De Tuti Hustlers Paul Heyman) and one of the greatest box office attractions of all time, The Rock.' -- Pettengill to host new WWE DVD? (WrestlingInc.com)   'Pettengill may be hosting WWE's Best of In Your House DVD.' --  JR kayfabs us and thinks Rocky's going over at the Rumble (WrestlingInc.com) 'Rock will walk out of Phoenix a battled and bruised man but the new WWE Champion .' -- Random Boredom possible target for Brock - God help us all (Wrestlezone.com)   'Top opponents being discussed for Lesnar are CM Punk and Randy Orton.'

Never to let anything go I did want to add to the match selections of the day. This first Rude-Savage match is the one I described yesterday, it's a lot of stalling in the first five minutes so be prepared. The actual four minutes of contact isn't awful but nothing great either. Still watching Savage play the babyface in Memphis is something different. And the second match is a great one. No DQ with Bundy/Rude vs. Savage/Lawler at the Mid-South Coliseum. Yup before the Megapowers existed in the WWF, Savage/Lawler was definitely the Megapowers of Memphis. This is the perfect definition of a Memphis-style brawl. Enjoy.

January 22, 2003 Jeremy Borash is shown from location somewhere, welcoming Australia to TNA. They will now get to watch TNA in their country. Borash puts over the Australians as being great wrestling fans. Whatever. Your hosts are Don West & Mike Tenay

Hello, Writing in with a couple of 'mail bag' questions for t he blog. 1. I 've noti ced that almost every 80s tag match I watch (from the WWF, anyway) was booked as two out of three falls. Was there a reason this stipulation was so popular, and if so, why did they phase it out? Well of course back in the old days the 2/3 falls match was pretty standard for most major title matches,and I think it was just kind of a holdover from that time.  It was also a great way to get a clean win over a top guy without actually beating him.  I'm sure they just phased it out because it took up valuable Russo time.   2. Wh y was Shawn Michaels so inactive during 1994? Most of the year (or at least the summer) he was on the outside as D iesel's buddy, and wasn't booked for King of the Ring, or SummerSlam (exce pt as a corner man). Was there an issue, an injury , something? The timing just seem ed odd . Combination of all three.  He was resting up some in...

Doctorfunkopolis from the blog here. What do you mean you don't know me? Anyway, KENTA vs Marufuji from 1-22-2006 is a hell of a match all around. Some of the best in ring storytelling you'll find this side of Hart/Austin at WM13 or the very first Jumbo/Misawa match. Plus, this one happened on my birthday.  I make it a point to watch it every year. Because why not? Worth seeing, although it may leave the viewer with a sudden desire to see Punk/KENTA.

Hi Scott, Your blog is the best. Just wondering, what do you think the level of drug use is in WWE? I know they drug test, but do you think that the recreational drug use is pretty much done and the wrestlers really are staying in their hotel rooms like good little boys and girls? Only if Randy Orton's two strikes are for pwning noobs at Halo.  

Hey Scott, Love the blog and its Simpson-savvy commentariat. Just thought I'd shoot you a topic for the blog, given that the Rumble is this Sunday.  It's what I call a "No Guts, No Glory" predictions thread, which is, specifically, for bold/daring/ballsy predictions. The "No Guts, No Glory" thread is where you can make the predictions that you just have a certain hunch about, but aren't willing to predict at any official capacity, whether it's because people will think you're out of your mind, or because you feel the prediction is just wishful thinking on your part (or whatever reason, really).  The catch is, you only get three predictions.  They can be in any order, no need to rank based by likelihood of the prediction actually happening. Of course, there's no real point to this beyond bragging rights, but at least bragging rights here on more rewarding than they were on the PPV of the same name (trophy notwithstanding). My...

The SmarK Rant for TNA Impact – 01.24.13 Taped from Orlando, FL Your hosts are Todd Keneley & Mike Tenay and featuring EVIL TAZ. Maybe Taz heeling on Keneley all these weeks was foreshadowing?

NXT Date: January 23, 2013 Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida Commentators: William Regal, Tony Dawson Reviewed by Tomm y Hall On the 29 th anniversary of the birth of modern wrestling, we're back in Florida for more NXT. After last week's transitional show we should be ready for something new tonight. Odds are Langston is going to get his next challenger tonight which should be interesting as he has no one else to fight at the moment. Let's get to it.

Sorry for being late.

I was reading this article at work today ( http://withleather.uproxx.com/2013/01/royal-ramble-an-op-ed-on-the-royal-rumble#more-103324 ) and wasn't particularly interested until I got to end: "How do you craft a reward that's on the same level with a win like the Royal Rumble when you're giving that same reward to John Cena on a biweekly basis? Well, maybe that's the solution. Maybe instead of a title shot at WrestleMania, the winner of the Royal Rumble just gets to be John Cena for a year, with unlimited title shots and the ability to kick out of everybody's finisher all the time. I'd watch it." BRILLIANT! How could anyone complain if the part of John Cena is played by more interesting characters?  What say you? -Ronnie Vod C'mon now, just because Cena failed at the MITB cash in, and at Summerslam, and at Night of Champions, and at Survivor Series, and failed at winning Dolph's briefcase, doesn't mean he shouldn't get...

Now we all know WHY this wasnt one of the WCW Top 20 matches of all-time, but this one is a forgotten classic.....the finish of the match, with Raven passing out is epic! It is indeed an awesome match, but I’d like to also point out the immense irony of Wrestling Society X putting their copyright notice on the YouTube page when they’re stealing WWE’s content.  With a business model like that, it’s no wonder they went out of business. 

Links Kid Kash gone from TNA : Confirmed (WrestlingInc.com) ' With the veteran wrestler subsequently claiming on Twitter that he's still affiliated with the company. ' -- Bi g Sexy to take on Judy Bagwell's baby boy (WrestlingInc.com)   ' Top Rope Pro Wrestling this week revealed the opponent for Kevin Nash for the Saturday, April 13 Night of the Legends II: Unfinished Business event at Waynesboro High School in Waynesboro, Va. ' -- Miz /Flair angle originally written for Ziggler/Flair (Wrestlezone.com) ' Any plans of Ziggler turning face have been put on hold hence why WWE has decided to pair Ric Flair with The Miz.'

Reading through the Horseman thread yesterday got me thinking about something. Why didn't Rude and Savage cross paths during his first title run? It would have made perfect sense for Rude to be Savage's primarily challenger after DiBiase got his MSG rematch (the match where DiBiase broke his nose, not the steel cage match). It was in Rude's natural personality to chase after Elizabeth and I can imagine those two could have had some pretty good matches even though Rude wasn't considered a great worker just yet (although he proved that when matched with a quality opponent he had the ability). Instead Savage spent most of his post-DiBiase time struggling in matches with Andre. There is a record of one encounter between the two from Mid-South with Savage playing the face. Five of the ten minutes is major stalling with the exception of Savage executing the mother of all airplane spins. After the stalling it gets pretty good but again it's just a small sample. Find it o...

From Monday Night RAW.  That was also pretty damn good.

The Masked Reviewer takes a look at a direct to video movie turned television series featuring Hulk Hogan as an action hero.

Hey Scott, once again keep up to good work! Been a fan for almost a year and still check your site daily looking for more interesting insights into the business. If you could answer, I have another question for you. Recently I read a rumour that, in 2008, Christian was supposed to be revealed as the guy behind all the attacks and incidents J. Hardy was suffering, but since the rumour was already out, WWE decided to change mid-course and go with M. Hardy, instead. For what you know, is this - by any way, shape or form - close to be true? Did WWE really changed mind mid-course because they thought Christian wouldn't be a surprise anymore ('cause the fans guessed it)? That is indeed the story, yes. More's the pity because an updated Edge & Christian v. Matt & Jeff Hardy double ladder match at Wrestlemania would have been balls out super-duper awesome, of that I have no doubt.  Matt v. Jeff was less so.  It wasn't even a particularly well-kept secret leading up to...

http://the-w.com/t/47262#504707 I'm not gonna just c&p from the new Observer because if I was Dave I'd hate for people to do that, so I'll throw some hits CRZ's way instead.   Clearly, Tanahashi had a hell of a year and actually got me to watch TWO New Japan PPVs on the strength of his matches, so that's an MVP in my books.  Congrats to Bad Influence on a well deserved Tag Team award, and I'm a little weirded out by TNA winning worst promotion but Impact winning Best Show.   So yeah, no major quibbles here.  

Monday Nitro #103 Date: September 1, 1997 Location: Pensacola Civic Center, Pensacola, Florida Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tony Schivaone, Bobby Heenan, Larry Zbyszko Reviewed by Tommy Hall We're two weeks from Fall Brawl which has barely been touched on so far. The show wound up being pretty lame if I remember right but that goes without saying for a lot of these WCW PPVs. The main event tonight is a rematch from Clash of the Champions with Hall/Savage vs. Luger/Page. Let's get to it.

This is uh....interesting. Source 20. Sting vs. Diamond Dallas Page (Nitro, April 26, 1999) 19. Dean Malenko vs. Eddie Guerrero (Uncensored 1997) 18. Big Van Vader vs. Cactus Jack (Halloween Havoc 1993) 17. 3 Count vs. Jung Dragons (New Blood Rising 2000) 16. Diamond Dallas Page vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage (Spring Stampede 1997) 15. Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne vs. Nasty Boys (Spring Stampede 1994) 14. Rey Mysterio vs. Dean Malenko (Great American Bash 1996) 13. Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan (Bash at the Beach 1994) 12. Steiner Brothers vs. Sting & Lex Luger (SuperBrawl 1991) 11. Ricky Steamboat vs. Rick Rude (Beach Blast 1992) 10. Brian Pillman vs. Jushin "Thunder" Liger (SuperBrawl II) 9. "Stunning" Steve Austin vs. Ricky Steamboat (Bash at the Beach 1994) 8. Sting's Squadron vs. Dangerous Alliance (WrestleWar 1992) 7. Ric Flair vs. Big Van Vader (Starrcade 1993) 6. Rey Mysterio vs. Ultimo Dragon (World War 3 1996) 5. Ric Flair vs...

Here's one I never thought i'd see. Mick Foley vs Andre in a tag match from 1991. My only recollection of Andre in 91 was him using that hand crutch. It's weird seeing him wrestle. That is some weird, wild stuff there, chief.  Just when I think I’ve seen every crazy dream match, YouTube finds another one.

Scott, thanks for answering one my questions a few weeks ago, so i got another one for you. In regards to my favorite and THE greatsest heel stable of all time The Four Horsemen: we all know the lineage of the group, from the good (the original group, Barry Windham, & Benoit/Malenko), the bad (Sid Vicious & Mongo), to the ugly ( Sting & Paul F'N Roma). My question is you would have liked to seen as a part of the group. For me I always thought Matt Borne would've worked as an Ole replacement, Terry Taylor when they  couldn't get Tully back and Ted Dibiase for wahtever period. You also could've thrown in an early Pillman & Austin into the group, Then  split them off into the Hollywood Blondes toward greatness. Who do you think would've made great Horsemen?? Well if "better than Paul Roma" is your baseline you're opening it up to pretty much everyone in WCW. Flair/Anderson/Austin/Pillman would have been an interesting crew in 93, althoug...