The SmarK 24/7 Rant for War Games! Well you knew I'd be all over this. The theme this is month is something or other to do with hardcore, but who gives a shit because the upshot is that they're showing ALL of the Wargames matches from 87-2000 during this month. Hells yeah.

Hello Mr. Keith.  A video you had on your wall not too long ago, and the comment you made about it, where the ring was outside on the grass and it was a safer bumping area for them, got me thinking.... Since the look of a wwe show is as stale as it has ever been, maybe a simple Raw or Smackdown in the summer Fair season, most likely at a Giant Known State Fairgrounds(Texas or NY), I think is an Idea worth exploring.  Besides the throwback to the Territory Days having these kind of shows, plenty of families(kids!) go to these fairs, and just the visual of a Match taking place with the Midway lit up at night in the background would be worth it.  Waddya think? Sidenote: Wargames dvd review coming?  Keep up the good work and thank you I've been saying for a while they should do ANYTHING differently.  A fairground would be awesome, like in the old JCP Bash days, or in a train station like the first few Shotgun Saturday Night shows, or when they had that arena problem in Denver I t...

Well, they can't all be winners...

Hi Scott -   Thanks, as always, for your support of Place to Be Nation.  We had a big week last week as we made the Wrestling Observer's F4W update THREE times.   The big story was our exclusive interview with UFC Fighter Tim Kennedy and his candid comments on fighter pay.  This story (with our quotes and link) made ESPN, Yahoo and MMAWeekly also!   http://placetobenation.com/exclusive-ufcs-kennedy-slams-fighter-pay/   We also were highlighted for pieces on Jackie Fargo and Matt Osborne.   http://placetobenation.com/strutting-out-a-legacy/   http://placetobenation.com/a-maniacal-career/   Some other cool stuff we wanted to share:   Interview with Glenn Ruth (Thrasher) on the latest PTB Podcast   http://placetobenation.com/place-to-be-podcast-episode-232-glenn-ruth/   Kevin Kelly joins the boys Monday to talk Briscoes in ROH and WWF 1999   http://placetobenation.com/kevin-kelly-this-monday-briscoes-discussion-and-1999-wwf-part-two/   War Games retrospective i...

  Waiting for the Trade by Bill Miller   The Final Night by Karl Kessel and Ron Marz collects Final Night 1-4 and Parallax Emerald Night 1   Why I Bought This: As someone who doesn’t read a lot of DC this was an event I was always curious about and at a recent comic show I attended the trade was being sold for $5. At that price why not? The Plot: A creature called the Sun Eater shows up attempts to eat the Earth’s sun causing Earth’s heroes and a few villains to unite in an attempt to save the planet.

I realize that I shouldn't throw around that claim lightly, but I can beardly make it to the end of this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yLkfoexDkk It's no worse than any of Santino's "hilarious" shows, I'd say.  Although the sponsorship thing is annoying.  Two thoughts: 1)  In Canada, Norelco isn't a thing.  Shavers are just Philips.  Always makes it weird to watch commercials for "Norelco" shavers that are exactly the same as "Philips" ones that we get up here but with a different brand.   2)  Greatest Wrestlemania match that never happened this year for some stupid reason:  Team Hell No v. Rhodes Scholars, with Cody's mustache against Daniel Bryan's beard.  WHY DID NO ONE BOOK THIS?  You can't tell me the heat wouldn't have been off the charts.

https://www.jobmagic.com/job/Media-Inventory-Assistant-Job-US-CT-Stamford-9850452.html?isd_source=twitter&isd_pub=238052 Awesome that the job actually exists.  Although 38 is probably a little old to go uprooting my life and taking on an internship position in another country.  So time for the backup plan:  Winning the lottery.

How in THE FUCK did STNG never really win anything, or even get nominated until their last year?  The cast always did fine acting work, but Patrick Stewart should have won Best Actor for his performance in Sarek alone, much less all the other fine work he did. Fuckers. Syndication was a real stigma at the time.  The fact that the show was even nominated in the seventh season was a giant leap forward for the franchise as a whole.  Plus I wouldn't ever say it was the BEST show on TV, because the seasons tended to be so hit-and-miss outside of something like the third and fourth season.  

With wrestlers basically coming into the company, usually getting start and stop pushes, until someone catches fire and people really only staying on TV if they're marketable, does "Pay Your Dues" have any meaning? It used to mean something like, "You gotta work your way to the top" or something but it's been used vaguely to answer questions like, "Why is Wrestler X not getting pushed" to "Why is Batista carrying D-Von's bag?" Nowadays, they just throw a guy out there, have him win about 3-5 matches and if Vince thinks he's marketable, he'll stay at some position Vince thinks fits. Otherwise, he's DOA or left to play the Midcard Shuffle. Where does "Pay Your Dues" fit in? I think it's actually the stop-and-start push now that has replaced "paying your dues."  The idea now is that you get pushed to a certain level, and then they make you lose all the time to see how you react.  If you s...

Thunder Date: February 5, 1998 Location: Beaumont Civic Center, Beaumont, Texas Attendance: 4,900 Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Lee Marshall Reviewed by Tommy Hall Tonight the main event is the kind of match that Thunder needs to focus on: the US Title match between Benoit and Diamond Dallas Page with Benoit FINALLY getting the recognition he deserves. Other than that we have the NWO in shambles with Savage and Hogan on the verge of coming to blows. Let's get to it.

If nothing is entertaining you this saturday night, join me over on twitch tv where I'll be simming matches from Legends Of Wrestlemania for PS3. http://www.twitch.tv/thepiledrivingcritique

Hello; So all the recent Benoit talk on the blog got me wondering: It was either after Eddy's death or Benoit's rampage (my gut tells me it was after Benoit) that I was reading on various sites that WWE had put a few wrestlers "on watch." I remember some of the names being reported were HBK and Angle.  Angle seems pretty probable.  For some reason or another, I never followed up on the news. So my question is - Was this true?  If so, what wrestlers were on this "list?"  And finally, what ever became of it? Good question.  It was actually after Eddy's death, because it would have been difficult for WWE to watch Angle in TNA after Benoit died.  But yeah, I don't recall any particular followup.  And really, given what happened to Benoit, they probably wouldn't want to open up those kinds of questions anyway. It was probably just the usual corporate deal where the people in charge decide something is going to be the new policy and the...

http://deadspin.com/hey-its-15-years-and-a-day-since-mick-foley-got-thr-611685778 Nothing here that we don't already know, but it's still a good read.

Just something I was curious about but not sure I ever saw answered; how did the 1998, post Wrestlemania version of D-X come about? What led to the NOA being part of the small faction and when was it decided to turn them face?  Brian The addition of the Outlaws had been planned for a while, because they were hinting at it back around Survivor Series when DX and the Outlaws teamed up to shave Hawk's mohawk, and then more seriously with the dumpster angle which was kind of played as them auditioning for the group.  The addition of X-Pac was just one of those wonderful happenstances, as he got fired at the perfect time to heal up and come in when his no-compete expired.  As far as I can remember from the WON at the time, Shawn was getting fired from the group over the title loss and would feud with DX as a babyface, but obviously the injury was so severe that it was dropped and DX went in a different direction completely.  The babyface turn was just one of those organic things whe...

Hey Scott, NJPW has been on fire for the past couple of years. Any thoughts on possibly reviewing their iPPV's? Or not your cup of tea? Well as I'm sure people can figure out, I do watch the shows because someone is nice enough to keep me updated with links.  But I already review five hours of wrestling a week, sometimes more with PPVs, and it's nice to just have shows I can relax and watch for fun without it being work.  But for the record, Tanahashi is fucking awesome.

------- The first tag champs I ever knew of, as a kid.. "The Maniac" & "The Mad Dog".. Batten Twins vs Borne & Sawyer --------- There's obviously some anger management issues with that team.  Man, Sawyer was a guy who snorted away millions in potential, though.

Smackdown Date: June 28, 2013 Location: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole Reviewed by Tommy Hall After Monday we have a lot more of the card set for Money in the Bank. Tonight we'll find out who the Smackdown MITB guys are as well as having a Fiesta Del Rio to celebrate Alberto winning the World Heavyweight Championship again. WWE has picked things up lately so hopefully the positive trend continues. Let's get to it.

Can you clarify for the less knowledgeable how long Borne portrayed Doink (from when to when) and perhaps clear up who all played Doink during the characters WWF/E tenure. I know of a guy named Ray something, but were there others? Sure.  Borne was the original, came in around January of 93 with the debut of RAW and lasted until sometime around Survivor Series of that year.  I still can't pin down the exact date of the change, but it's around the time he turned babyface, which was against his wishes.  He quit/got fired (depending on who you ask of course) and was replaced by indy guy Ray Apollo (real name Licachelli) who was noticeably taller.  That's the Doink with the different costume and all the midgets and stuff.  Steve Keirn would play Doink when a second one was needed for switches, and Steve Lombardi would sometimes do house shows or double for Apollo and finally took over the gimmick for good when they'd bring it back for nostalgia things like the Slammies in...

So, with Matt Borne dead - and that's the story, don't get me wrong: RIP Matt Borne, he was fun to watch, did some interesting things with the gimmicks that got dumped in his lap - I have to ask: does this put a damper on guys getting the costume and going around the indies as Doink? I'd say no because, let's face it, this is wrestling we're talking about here.  Plus there's been so many other people playing the character since then that it's become kind of a generic gimmick anyway.   I tell ya though, the more people that die from the 80s coke party era, the more I wonder how Hogan and Flair have made it this long given how much stuff went up their noses for the better part of 20 years.  

June 18, 2003 This is the TNA one-year anniversary show. It was a minor miracle that the company survived its first year. Your hosts are Don West and Mike Tenay The show starts with a video package of all the highlights from the first year of the company. They did a good job making the main event angles seem important. Sadly, they recycled some of the same clips over and over again. A limo pulls up and we are led to believe it is Sting but Shane Douglas gets out instead. He says it is time to make some noise then heads inside. Back to the arena, we see that they have a new stage set, which looks a lot better than the previous one did. It looks modern, featuring a video screen, and the production values look improved as well. The placed is packed too.   

Doink was one of the more original, and great characters of the WWE. A shame they went the safe route with him after a while. He was a bit before my time, but I loved using him in the RAW game for the SNES. Especially his super-move where he'd roll you into a ball and punt you out of the ring.

------ Hi Scott, I've been reading you forever, don't watch the current product, only read you, etc.  Anyway, I've come to realize that I have a bunch of WWE/ECW/TNA/ROH DVDs that I literally haven't watched in at least 3-4 years, so I'm selling them on ebay.  I have no idea how "rare" or valuable any of them are, but I think I have a decent lot.  Would you be willing to plug my auction?  Thank you!  http://www.ebay.com/itm/190863254256?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649 ----------- Hope that helps!

Ahoy-hoy, shlebs from Sector-7G. Today's QOTD comes from the creator of Glee, Mr. Ryan Murphy. He writes in to ask... "Got a morbid QOTD candidate for you. The interview with Nancy Benoit's sister got me thinking: say you're Vince McMahon. You're running a show in Canada and David Benoit (Chris' older son) gets backstage and asks to speak to you. He tells you that it is still his dream to compete as a pro wrestler and he'd like a tryout for NXT. Would you let it happen? Do you try to discourage the kid from joining the business? Do you just tell him good luck but not have him involved in your company? And if you do sign him, do you ever address who his father was? I'd love to hear what everyone thinks of this." On one hand, you know Vince is willing to exploit whatever he can. However, he's on such a crusade to erase Benoit from history, I doubt he'd want to hire his kid. Me, myself, I would try to discourage him. Because firs...

Hey Scott,   I'm a bit late on posting results to Tommy Dreamer's House of Hardcore 2, but I have a story featuring some fun quotes from Dreamer and Paul London. Screw CNN...sometimes you wait til the news is accurate, no matter how long!   http://temple-news.com/arts/2013/06/25/corrigan-temple-almost-hosted-house-of-hardcore-2/ When has accuracy ever stopped me before?  

Hi, http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/pop-cult-1.811972/new-jack-done-with-daily-show-barks-at-dog-the-bounty-hunter-1.5586423 Also, we added photos to our Women of professional wrestling photo gallery. http://www.newsday.com/sports/pro-wrestling/women-of-professional-wrestling-1.5018715 Thanks much! Josh I'm shocked and appalled that New Jack would be unable to secure steady employment for himself.  

The SmarK Rant for TNA Impact – 06.27.13 Taped from Peoria, IL Your hosts are Mike Tenay & Taz

For my next shoot interview review, I will be doing something from the "Timeline Series." Here are the three choices: Honky Tonk Man, 1987 WWF Kevin Sullivan, 1996 WCW Fit Finlay, 2006 Blue (Smackdown & ECW) Vote by clicking the link below. Voting ends Sunday at midnight Which "KC Timeline" would you want to see reviewed next

Here's a pretty insightful interview about the Benoit murders straight from Nancy Benoit's sister. This quote especially stood out to me " The medical examiner told us after the autopsy that Chris was on his way to death within 10 months. His heart was huge, about 3 times normal size, and it was ready to blow up at any moment." That's just frigthening. Here's the full interview below.   http://the2count.com/?p=765 Yeah, the "roid rage" angle always gets overplayed with the Benoit deal.  He had drug problems WAY worse than steroids.  Plus a neck that was falling apart and a brain that was turning to mush.  Much like Eddie Guerrero, even if he hadn't died on that particular occasion, the clock was pretty much at midnight for him.   This is a really great interview, by the way.  She's very well-spoken and actually comes across as knowing about the wrestling business.  

Announced matches for tonight: Kenny King vs. Suicide vs. Chris Sabin for the X Division Title Velvet Sky vs. Mickie James for the Knockouts Title Magnus vs. Bobby Roode in a BFG Series match Mr. Anderson vs. Samoa Joe in a BFG Series match

NXT Date: June 26, 2013 Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida Commentators: William Regal, Tom Phillips Reviewed by Tommy Hall The focus shifts back to the titles tonight as Bo Dallas and Big E. Langston both return to the NXT Arena after their title match two weeks ago. We also have Dawson'Dylan vs. Ohno/Graves for a future title shot against the Wyatt Family. This is a pretty stacked show by NXT standards so let's get to it.

Man, just when you thought Hawkeye  couldn't get any more awesome, the Pizza Dog issue comes along and might have been one of the best comics I've ever read.  Why can't this series be biweekly like all the other Avengers books?  If you want a lesson in sequential storytelling without dialogue, this is the one to pick up. 

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Long time, first time, I am getting ready to move across the country and getting rid of some stuff I no longer have a need for.  Included in that is my collection of WWE/WWF DVDs, as well as a bunch of indy DVDs from the last few years. Any chance for a plug? If it helps, the Maple Leafs suck. http://www.ebay.com/itm/300925906246?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649 --------------------------------------- Sorry, the answer we were looking for is "Blackhawks can die in a fire", but enjoy the plug.

For the record, this shoot beat out the London & Kendrick one by a single vote. Due to legal issues, they could not refer to themselves as the "New Age Outlaws" This was filmed in 2005, with both men working for TNA at the time.

Howdy, buckaroos. First off, thanks to everyone who's sending in questions. Do keep them coming. Today I'm going to go with a question I've been wanting to ask for a few weeks now, and tomorrow I'll resume with the questions that have been sent in. What's the most surprised you've been since entering the realm of Smarkdom? Once you become a smark, hip to the game, it's almost impossible to be surprised, because news just isn't kept. However, from time to time it can happen. So, how'd they get you? For me, it was when DDP was revealed as the stalker. Weeks prior I heard the unaltered voice, and was rather disappointed that Vince McMahon was once again going to be a payoff. Boo to that, I thought. Then I was watching at home, and holy shit, it was DDP. I literally jumped up to my feet in excitement. Also, when Cena debuted at the 2008 Rumble that was pretty great too. How say you?

Monday Nitro #125 Date: February 2, 1998 Location: Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas Commentators: Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Larry Zbyszko, Tony Schiavone Reviewed by Tommy Hall Much to my surprise, this is the first time Nitro has ever been in Texas if the announcers are to be believed. We're on the way to SuperBrawl and Sting vs. Hogan II but the main story continues to be the NWO falling apart. Savage is almost off the team due to fighting with Hogan and Nash is being fined to death. Let's get to it.

http://vimeo.com/69165195    (password:  "whattooksolongkatz") So a LONG-ass time after Jeff Katz funded his pet project on Kickstarter and took a bunch of money from people with absolutely nothing shown and no communication to anyone about it, we get a battle royale featuring people who who are now stars in bigger promotions, with different names, plus the usual parade of indy mainstays like Adam Pearce and Colt Cabana and such.  Why Karl Anderson would be slumming it here is beyond me.   I found the concept interesting when we were first discussing it what feels like years ago, but the thing just looks low-rent and the camera work is horrid.  It just comes across like a male version of GLOW, to be frank.  The name changes wouldn't be so jarring but we KNOW who Colt Cabana is, and we know Chris Hero, and Chris Masters, and slapping silly new names and characters on them is just insulting.  If you take Joe Indy and give him the evil priest gimmick (that was Gangrel, r...

Wrestlemania 29 was the 29th annual "Grand Daddy of Them All", held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford New Jersey on April 7th, 2013. It drew 80,676 fans according to WWE, becoming the second highest attended WWE event ever, and about 1,048,000 ordered it worldwide. 

Hello folks. I’m Luigi Evangelista and I’ve been a wrestling fan since the first Wrestlemania. I’ve got WWE Classics on Demand as part of my cable package and Mr. Keith has graciously allowed me a tryout, so if things go well, I’d be able to review some of the programs on this great station. I hope if and when the WWE Network is up and running, it’ll have similar programming to what they’ve got on demand right now-it’s incredible to think of what’s in the vault. Anyways, this first review is going to be a house show from the Boston Garden on May 18, 1985 under the WWE Old School block of programming. Just a bit of background going into this event to get everyone up to speed. The WWF is just coming off the biggest gamble in the company’s history with the wildly successful Wrestlemania 2 months ago and Hulkamania is one of the biggest things going in the USA. The WWF’s national expansion is in full swing and they are selling out arenas all over the country. In fact, this broadcast is the...

Scott, Given that all the MITB contestants for the WWE title are faces, and all the contestants for the World title MITB are heels, do you think we're moving into an era where there are no faces/heels, just characters? Take also into account the WWE/John Cena himself finally and repeatedly acknowledging the boos he gets, Ziggler and others' heel/face behaviour and tweener status, the fact that they had a hard time turning Punk/Bryan heel, and the fact Sheamus is a huge babyface who behaves like a terrible heel. Call me crazy, but I think it could work. Just let the characters breathe and be themselves and the crowd can cheer/boo who they want. Or does the super lucrative kiddy market need to be told who to cheer/boo in order to keep watching? Thanks Given that the entire basis of most storytelling is "good guys v. bad guys", I'm thinking they would stupid to do away with the concept now.  That being said, no, heels and faces aren't going anyw...

Some people thought this might be a fun idea, so here's a thread to chat about new comic releases this week.  And Holy CRAP what a loaded week this one is.   http://www.comixology.com/New-Releases-6-26/comics-collection/1286?app=1&tid=E130626005&utm_source=comiXology+Digital+Comics+Newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=E130626005_new_Wed_DC_B DC Highlights: Batman & Superman #1 Justice League of America #5 (the book itself is shit, but I'm curious how they get out of Catwoman's "death") Justice League #21 The Dark Knight #21 (A reliably good and creepy title these days) All Star Western #21 (Jonah Hex + Booster Gold = AWESOME) Marvel Highlights: X-Men Everywhere!  X-Men #2, All New X-Men #13, Uncanny X-Man #7, and Wolverine and the X-Men #32 Hawkeye #11 Daredevil #27 (I've really been digging the "Matt's Bad Month" story) Deadpool #12 And that's not even counting the Image and other indy stuff.  Whew....

Greetings, Superfriends. Today we have a daily double. The first is from Jeff Bailey: "Looking back on Dusty Rhodes' stint as booker, does the knowledge that Ric Flair is such a gigantic cock alter your perspective on it?" Well, not really. I've never really heard a bad-word about Flair during that era. It was only when he started to look like a piece of beef jerky with bleached strands of hair coming out of the top that he became a prick. I've often wondered what would happen if Triple H from 2003 and Dusty Rhodes from 1988 were in the same company. It would have to implode. Like in Time Cop when two beings take up the same space.  Second question comes from QOTD Hall of Famer, Mr. Gavin Lee. " Not a wrestling question today but with the impending release of Star Wars ep7 What do you want to see or what storyline should they follow? There's rumours  there bringing back the original cast Luke han leia etc I'm unsure if I could  belive a 7...

November 26, 1984 Your hosts are Lord Alfred Hayes and Gorilla Monsoon

So sure, is Cena actually going to tap out to Bryan? Probably not. But I still think there's a good chance Bryan gets a win via some sort of Bret Hart-esque reversal-into-small-package, or Cena passes out in a No-Lock. Something clean that puts Bryan over, but Cena continues to "Never Give Up." I think I accidentally downvoted you because I’m still learning to navigate on the iPad keyboard, sorry. Anyway, given my experience with WWE-ese and translating their storylines, I’m actually thinking Bryan v. Cena at Summerslam is going to be split with Vince on Cena’s side and HHH on Bryan’s side, with Vince basically doing like MITB ‘11 and threatening to fire Cena if he loses to midget Bryan.  Because people are gonna boo Cena anyway, so might as well align him with Vince, and as a bonus HHH gets to align himself with hot new thing Daniel Bryan and thus take credit for it.  So HHH can help Bryan win to further his feud with Vince (because Vince has established that he doesn...

Sorry about the delay, a combination of Final Exams and unpleasantness in my personal life conspired against getting this out by Monday like usual Brace yourselves boys and girls, shit gets weird this episode.

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/men-action/201306/george-animal-steele-jim-myers-wrestling-elizabeth-randy-savage Kind of fascinating look at one of the underrated programs of 1986, if you ask me.  Also a great look at how bonkers Randy Savage was. --------------------- Oh he was crazy all right.  Funny to read that excerpt  and think of George Steele writing it.  Not the kind of guy you'd normally think of to be making literary allusions and sly pop culture references.  

by Logan Scisco - Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, and Jerry “the King” Lawler are doing the announcing duties and they are live in St. Louis, Missouri .

The 20 Greatest Superman Fights Part 3

Hello Mr. Keith, My name is Graham Clark and I am fan of your blog. I paint using the beard that is currently on my face and then I sell these paintings and give the money to charity. My most recent piece is of Bret the Hitman Hart and thought you might be interested. All the proceeds will go to the flood relief effort happening in Alberta right now, which is where Bret hails from. You can see it here: http://beardpaintings.com/post/53778129970 Keep up the great work. -Graham Clark -------------------------- What more could I possibly add to this?

Hey Scott, Other than the 1984 David Schultz interview in which he slapped the reporter who insisted wrestling was fake, are there any other instances where a pro wrestler has lost his cool during a press interview? The only other examples I can find are Vader in Kuwait and Randy Orton in Mexico. Maybe the BODers can help? Thanks -------------------------------------------------------- Vince McMahon lost his shit on Bob Costas during the XFL era and that's worth a look on YouTube.  

A title change occurs before SummerSlam.

Greetings all. After seeing the disappointing Man of Steel, I needed to cleanse my pallet, so I finally saw Richard Donner's cut of Superman II. Man, that's one of the greatest super hero films of all time. Fantastic stuff. Plus, there's no ridiculous Superkiss, making the film that much better alone. Anyway, on to the QOTD... Today we have a question from a returning Gavin Lee. "If WM30 is indeed going down the route of UT/Cena would that be a good time for the deadman to hang it up? They could even do a angle like if cena beats him the streak is over but UT beats cena his career is over. So that would be an awesome dilemma either take a loss and still have a career or keep the streak intact and retire. Also there has been discussion on the blog lately about the merits of mark Henry going in the HOF would Kane be a better inclusion?"   Oh, definitely. This should absolutely be Undertaker's last match. I think that should not only the streak be over, but ...

The SmarK RAW Rant – 06.24.13 Live from Charleston, SC Your hosts are Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler & JBL

http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/103-indies/31908-hall-of-famer-fargo-passes-away Jerry Lawler is gonna be bummed tonight.  

Howdy Blog Of Doomers! It's going to be hard pressed for the Whiff to surpass what they did Monday night. The show was so good, moved so well that even the McMahons stuff didn't bother me that much (eventually it will). This week there will be lots of questions answered (I hope) about the impending Cena-Henry and Brock-Punk encounters. If they can keep those stories moving well AND provide some good matches I won't complain. Otherwise I was thinking on this TV title thing. It truly was an undervalued concept back in the day because it was a simple way to put over a midcarder without really giving them anything. Tully Blanchard, who held the title for damn near most of the mid-80s, would defend it against a mid-level guy on the Saturday night show. 10 minute match and Tully would mostly get the shit kicked out of him for 70% of the match, make the guy look like a million bucks and then time expires. Sounds all great right? Here's where the value of the concept works...A ...

Today we've got a question from a Mr. Gavin Lee. He writes... " In the UK my sports channel run sports events in 3d ie soccer, golf,  f1 etc do you think WWE would transcend well in 3d?  For like a special event such as mania?  Would it pull more buys if the granddaddy if them all was in 3d? Also would PPV's in general pull more buys if they were held on a Saturday?  I for one would be more inclined to buy a PPV if it didn't have to go to work  on a Monday cos PPV's finish at 4-5 am In my neck of the woods and it sorta  loses its appeal if your not watching it live."   Honestly, I'm a sucker for some good 3D. I dig it. However, I'd be afraid if  Vince were to try it,because he'd insist on doing gimmicky things that would  take away from the match. If they left things alone and did standard 3D,  then I'd be interested, and I think others too.    As for the second part of your question, yeah, I always thought PPV...

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x115rh8_njpw-dominion-2013-06-22-part-4_sport?search_algo=2#.UcfQ_vm1Go0 The video starts with the end of Naito vs. Yujiro, then you get Shibata vs. Goto, and Tanahashi vs. Devitt (w/ BulletClub).. good stuff.. Goddamn Tanahashi is just killing it this year.  I don't think he's gonna have any competition for Wrestler of the Year unless Daniel Bryan wins the WWE title.  Which will probably happen as well, so who knows.  

Hi Scott,   Thanks, as always, for your support of The Place to Be Podcast.  We had some cool things from the last week we wanted to share with the blog.   Our PTBN staff series "The Five Count" debuted with a look at The Most Wasted WWE Title Reigns:   http://placetobenation.com/the-five-count-the-most-wasted-wwe-title-reigns/   We have Instant Reaction for The Best in the World ROH iPPV from last night:   http://placetobenation.com/instant-reaction-roh-best-in-the-world/   We looked back and evaluated all the Kings of the Ring:   http://placetobenation.com/evaluating-the-kings-of-the-ring/   Our MMA team interviewed Stipe Miocic after his UFC 161 win:   http://placetobenation.com/grappletalk-podcast-episode-two-62213/   We also have this cool GrappleTalk Rewind Podcast that is going through all the UFC events (similar to what you did years back - only in audio form):   http://placetobenation.com/grappletalk-rewind-ufc-2/   This week we have a big retrosp...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBqq2fJVLQc&feature=youtube_gdata_player Never even heard of this one before. For good reason apparently.

http://www.wwe.com/classics/inside-video-vault-26125073 Truly, this would be my dream job.  Really, anything associated with it.  

Hey Scott, I was wondering about contracts in wrestling, particularly in the WWF/WCW/ECW era where talent would jump ship at the end of their contracts and it would be big news. Has there ever been an instance where another promotion actually BOUGHT OUT a wrestler's contract in order to bring him to their promotion rather than wait for his contract to run out? It happens in soccer all the time and I'm guessing in other sports too. Did Vince/Bischoff/anyone else ever buy out a wrestler's contract? Does the option to do so exist?  Also, has a wrestler even been so willing to leave a company before his contract runs out that he performed poorly on purpose so as to get his wish? Thanks Well, in 1997 Shawn Michaels whined a LOT about wanting to go to WCW and join the nWo, but no matter how badly he tanked it and messed around he was never going to be let out.  Kevin Nash supposedly tried a similar tactic in 99 once he lost his job to Russo.  It doesn't seem...

Scott, What are your predictions for this years BFG series?  Winner: Champion they will face at Bound For Glory?: Will they win the belt?: It'll be cool to look back at in 4 months when it's all over. I'm going with the obvious AJ win and then defeating Bully. -------------------------------- Yeah I'll also go with the safe choice of AJ beating Anderson in the finals and then winning the title from Bully.  There's a lot of chaff to separate from the wheat in this tournament.  

These will be posted on Saturday from now on. Thunder Date: January 29, 1998 Location: Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Lee Marshall, Bobby Heenan Reviewed by Tommy Hall Back to Thursday nights here with the fourth episode of the series. The main story continues to be the destruction of the NWO as Nitro ended with Hall and Hogan standing around while Sting beat up Savage. The main event tonight is the Steiners challenging for the tag titles in a match we haven't seen before. That shouldn't make sense so let's get to it.

So UWF'n pumped for this. > First Mid-South Wrestling TV taping under 'UWF' Brand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4L-vByQwaY > > Also, the DVD cover and match list for the WWE produced Legends of Mid-South Wrestling > > http://www.wrestlingdvdnews.com/wwe-legends-mid-south-dvd-cover/44834/ > http://www.wrestlingdvdnews.com/wwe-mid-south-blu-ray-extreme-rules/44987/ > Ted DiBiase vs. Paul Ordnorff > Andre the Giant, Dusty Rhodes & JYD vs. The Wild Samoans & Ernie Ladd (1983) > Jim Duggan vs. Ted DiBiase (Coal Miner's Glove, Tuxedo, Loser Leaves Town Match, 3/22/85) > Storyline: Mr. Wrestling 2 Mentoring Magnum TA > Storyline: JYD Tarred and Feathered > JYD vs. Hacksaw Butch Reed (Ghetto Street Fight, 6/17/84) > Rock 'n Roll Express vs. Midnight Express (multiple matches) > Shawn Michaels vs. Ted DiBiase > Rick Steiner vs. Nick Patrick > Ric Flair vs. Ted DiBiase (NWA Title, 6/11/...

> I remember watching this show on TBS. The matches were determined by "the fans". I remember being royally pissed that Ron Garvin was wrestling in the main event instead of Magnum T.A. The card was pretty decent for a tv show. > > Rock and Roll Express vs. Midnight Express NWA tag tiles > Road Warriors vs. Ivan and Nikita Koloff > Dusty Rhodes vs. Tully Blanchard  National title > Ric Flair vs. Ron Garvin NWA world title > An interview with Dusty Rhodes and Willie Nelson. > >  I love the ads for the Starrcade 85 vhs tape. I remember begging my parents to drop $40 so I could watch the I Quit cage match. Another highlight was David Crockett bitching at Tommy Young over the finish of the Flair match and Ric yelling at Crockett to shut up.  > > Here is the link to the show http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNsVQXNNuUg Dang, why didn't they ever show this one on 24/7 when I had it?  Awesome find.

> Okay, so I'm willing to accept this as my overreaction, but... > > The Orton/Bryan match ending makes me hate HHH that much more.  Why?  Because it's clear he's booking us to believe that any injury not absolutely visible (such as a concussion or nerve damage -- things that ended the careers of Bret Hart and Arn Anderson, mind you) is a meaningless injury and can easily be ignored for the purpose of wrestling, and anyone trying to hold you back is misguided at best. > > Meanwhile, Dolph Ziggler just came back from being hit so hard he forgot what day of the week it was. > > I get the feeling that had Bret's concussion and stroke happened today instead of ten years ago, HHH would be at the comatose Bret's bedside telling him to stop overselling and report to Raw like a real man. > Bret would likely give him a scathing review if so.  Like 2/10 or worse.

Scott, Love your blog. Quick question. Sexual Chocolate hinted last night on twitter that he is announcing his retirement tonight. If this is true it marks the end of an 17 year run with WWE, that up until recently was pretty underwhelming. Of course the last few years have been pretty entertaining and enjoyable though. Do you think his career warrants a place in the Hall of Fame for the Hall of Pain? This guy probably feels kind of silly now. But no, I don't see a Hall of Fame nomination in Mark's future.  

I just watched RAW last night and Payback the previous night, and I haven't read your rants yet. I will do so later but wanted to go on record as saying this has been the best WWE has had to offer in a long time. You're often highly critical of the product, and often justifiably, but if you didn't like the past couple of days there's just no hope for you. It's never going to get any better than this. Yes, RAW was still an hour too long and therefore must be DVRed and not watched live. (Yes, this means a Twitter and 411mania embargo until getting caught up.) But, although you've mocked them for "telling stories" they're finally telling stories that are interesting. Even the Kaitlyn/AJ storyline is the best divas storyline I can remember since Mickie James/Trish. I did see on a random clickover to your Blog that you did like the Mark Henry swerve. I'm interested to see what you had to say about the rest. It's never going to get ...

The SmarK Rant for TNA Impact – 06.20.13 Even though I’m a longtime Android guy, I kinda…love my iPad. Like, really, REALLY love it. Dammit. Live from Peoria, IL Your hosts are Mike Tenay & Taz

Smackdown Date: June 21, 2013 Location: Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield Reviewed by Tommy Hall We're past Payback now and the main story is the double turn by Ziggler and new world champion Alberto Del Rio. That's the best outcome as Del Rio was only working to an extent as a face while Ziggler was getting over more and more as a good guy. Other than that we have Bryan vs. Orton tonight in a continuation/rematch from their stopped match on Raw. Let's get to it.

I don't know if it's the "Flight of the Valkyries" song or what, but Daniel Bryan reminds me of The Ultimate Warrior in a strange way. He isn't HGHed out or anything (actually he's one of the rare examples of someone who you can be totally sure isn't) and is a much better worker. That said, he has a visceral energy that really brings something out of the crowd in a very simple way. Is he this generation's smark Warrior? " I would not have made that comparison, personally. 

June 11, 2003 Your hosts are Don West and Mike Tenay We are shown a video package of Jeff Jarrett, Raven, and AJ Styles. It features older clips of them all making their cases as to why they should be the Heavyweight Championship. This did a good job of hyping tonight’s three-way match for the title.

Hola and hello, buckshots. Today we have another double dose. The first up is from future BoD Hall of Famer, as well as future cirrhosis of the liver survivor, Mr. Ryan Murphy. "Two questions, really: How important is timeliness in hip hop? It seems like even the best stuff ages quickly; Watch the Throne already sounds played, and guys like TI and Wacka Flocka feel like dinosaurs. So is it just, in your opinion, not important that rap has replay value? Is it just a bonus if it does? And what are some hip hop tracks/albums that, IYO, have longevity? Illmatic, Enter the Wu Tang, the first Black Star record, and Illadelph Halflife all still feel essential to me, for example. Whatcha think?" It's important for rap to have replay value, otherwise it would have died out like disco. However, since the year 2000 basically, all hip-hop has absolutely, completely sucked. Ever since then, rappers weren't trying to make real music. They only cared about having a choru...

Loved the Savage/Liger match, which leads me to ask, do you have a 10 top matches that you'd never expect that did happen? C an't think of any right off the top of my head, so I'll open this one up to the blog.  Bonus points for YouTube links.

I was just watching Raw through 2001 and I really liked the build to Rock/Austin at WM17. Most people shit on Debra's involvement but I thought it did a good job of taking away a lot of cool factor to Austin in some ways. Here's this badass beer drinker who kicks ass. Then they have him "feelings". Then the teasing if his heel turn through the obvious(I need to beat you Rock) and Austin sitting back and drinking beer while Rock was being beat up. Also Rock was constantly booked in handicap matches during this time while Austin didn't wrestle or had more fair matches. I thought it did a good job of planting seeds so you could look back and say "well that makes sense". The night after sucked though with Austin's whole I don't owe you anything deal and Triple H and Austin teaming up despite trying to kill each other(literally) a few months prior. My question is: What would you have done with Austin immediately following his heel turn? Who ...

NXT Date: June 19, 2013 Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida Commentators: Tom Phillips, Brad Maddox Reviewed by Tommy Hall We're into the Bo Dallas era on NXT as he won the title from Langston last week. Due to the title situation the rest of the main stories have been put on hold for the last few weeks. The only other major story going on is the Women's Title tournament which is only halfway through the first round. Hopefully things pick up a bit tonight. Let's get to it.