CM Punk vs. Curtis Axel on RAW Tonight
Here is the rest of the preview
http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2013-08-26/five-point-preview-26142812
Ted Dibiase Jr. Leaves the WWE
He announces this via YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7C8mJvases&feature=player_embedded
Kayfabe Commentaries Releases Timeline Series of 2000 WCW with Vince Russo tomorrow
Here is the trailer for the shoot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5HM4-uuFzo&feature=c4-overview&list=UUxY4Sa92Z0xbzuSrRhBMJZQ
And another sneak preview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPB1Eqeuf3o&list=UUxY4Sa92Z0xbzuSrRhBMJZQ
Here is the rest of the preview
http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2013-08-26/five-point-preview-26142812
Ted Dibiase Jr. Leaves the WWE
He announces this via YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7C8mJvases&feature=player_embedded
Kayfabe Commentaries Releases Timeline Series of 2000 WCW with Vince Russo tomorrow
Here is the trailer for the shoot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5HM4-uuFzo&feature=c4-overview&list=UUxY4Sa92Z0xbzuSrRhBMJZQ
And another sneak preview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPB1Eqeuf3o&list=UUxY4Sa92Z0xbzuSrRhBMJZQ
Oh man, I love the Timeline series, but they got Russo to do this year? What a write off! I like to know what happened, not 3 hours of illogical self-justifications. Gutted!
ReplyDeleteCan kind crazy that only a few years ago everyone thought Ted Dibiase would get the Randy Orton treatment and it was inevitable that he would be a main eventer. Starred in the Marine 2 and people were even throwing out his name as a potential WM opponent for Undertaker. Who would've thought Cody would be the successful one?
ReplyDeleteYou just don't understand bro.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. I love that he insults Lance, saying he gave him three belts and the biggest push of his career. I just covered that bit, and Lance's push was beating guys in 3 minute throw a way matches, zero builds to his zero feuds, and the only time he has a successful defense is when Mike Awesome kicks the shit out of him for 10 minutes, and The Mountie kept changing the rules to keep the belt on Lance. Then the next night he just gave two of his belts away to his Canadian group. Yeah, Russo, that's a hell of a push. Not to mention WCW's Hardcore, US, and Crusierweight titles were VERY big honors in the year 2000.
ReplyDeleteWell ted Jr is perfect for aces n 8's if TNA is still running that dog shit angle.
ReplyDeleteI honestly never saw anything in Dibiase. He never really did anything onscreen that convinced me he had anything to deserve being pushed. I thought he was bland, both on the mic and in the ring. Cody's worked hard to show that he wants to be there, but I never got that feeling from Dibiase.
ReplyDeleteHey Scott, in lieu of the Russo shoot preview talking about Bash at the Beach 2000, think maybe we could get a 2013 Scott Sez edition of your rant on it?
ReplyDeleteTed DiBiase was still in the WWE? DiBiase's posse is crying today.
ReplyDeleteFans def wanted him to blow up but the guy just doesn't have any personality or charisma. He could fight but you also need to find ways to get the crowd interested in your work. I suppose you can't teach that kind of stuff to some guys though no matter how hard they try to learn.
ReplyDeleteI actually didn't mind his ring work. At times he looked pretty smooth and refined. He definitely didn't find a voice and once Legacy blew up there wasn't much he did to separate himself.
ReplyDeleteBut it looks like he's at peace with his decision and I can't think of many better things in life than being a parent so I understand that.
Ezekiel Jackson, Mason Ryan, Hunico, and David Otunga are still employed, too, despite not having done anything of consequence in over a year. Is your mind blown yet?
ReplyDeleteOk, let's not go nuts now. Is Cody still employed? Yes. But I'd hardly call him "successful."
ReplyDeleteI assume he'll have to wait for a non-compete clause...despite the fact that he hasn't competed in over a year.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember the scenario or what was at stake, but he was in a battle royal that came down to him and Rey Mysterio and they did a brilliant sequence together that took place on the apron.
ReplyDeleteI had never bought into him as someone who could be a top guy before that moment, but I definitely saw it there.
Then I think his ankle exploded or something.
Who knew that those few months with Virgil would end up being Teddy Jr.'s peak?
ReplyDeleteRead that Mason Ryan is at NXT, what are those other three doing? I actually liked Otunga as a mouthpiece.
ReplyDeleteOh, yeah, regardless if we agree on his work rate or not, he's leaving for some very good, healthy reasons. Seems like a good guy who deserves happiness. Maybe we'll see him again someday.
ReplyDeletePlus his dad is super rich so he doesn't have to work!
ReplyDeleteAt least Otunga has the lawyer and the wife to fall back on.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Some people are just great as part of a team and not individually. The WWE needs to recognize that and put these people in tag teams. (or at least give them managers to do the talking for them)
ReplyDeleteI always thought Cody was the better worker of the two. It's just that somewhere along the line Cody found some charisma and took off.
ReplyDeleteWas it Awesome or Hugh Morrus? And it was in Canada! way to kill the crowd Russo.
ReplyDeleteOh God when are they going to give up on this Curtis Axel clown. THE GUY SUCKS
ReplyDeleteOtunga as the lawyer was GOLD. I was really surprised that they didn't continue that gimmick. He is amazing in the lackey role and even if he can't wrestle, he's big enough to make him look somewhat intimidating. In fact, I don't know that I've seen a better stooge since the stooges. I wish they'd bring him back. Even as Maddox's lawyer or some such.
ReplyDeleteDibiase and Axel would make a pretty good tag team.
ReplyDeleteHated Otunga int he ring, but as a lawyer or a manager he was pretty good.
ReplyDeleteIs JTG still employed?
ReplyDeleteI believe so.
ReplyDelete"I don't know that I've seen a better stooge since the stooges.."
ReplyDeleteI don't know. I think he's definitely better than Curly Joe. But he's not up there with Moe Larry or Curly...maybe Shemp.
Definitely no Iggy.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if no-compete applies to this situation. He said he's not signing a new contract; it's not a matter of him being released. It would seem he's free and clear, although I suppose it would be possible for WWE to build no-compete into this situation as long as they add the provision to the original contract. If so, that's fairly ridiculous and it's an example of how unfair the WWE can be with the monopoly they hold given that there is also no union to act in the best interests of the talent.
ReplyDeleteWatching the Russo timeline right now, about halfway thru. Nothing bad about it, nothing great about it, kind of the norm as he gets in defense mode about everything and how nothing is his fault. Decent watch so far
ReplyDeleteThat's my biggest objection with his Youshoot as well. He's a complete bore and refuses to explain why he does the things he does. I found it to be a complete waste of time.
ReplyDeleteBTW - It will be a waste if the Axel/Punk match isn't a title match..especially if Axel has been booked to win.
ReplyDeleteIt always comes down to "my job is to get as many people watching the show as possible". Then he'll quote some ratings figure to justify whatever he's talking about, and ignore that the company rapidly went to shit under his watch. But I guess keeping the company in business wasn't his job he was just responsible for putting ridiculous shit on television. People might watch it and never watch the show again, but they still watched it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big fan of collective bargaining on general principle, but the wrestling industry NEEDS it something fierce. Without true competition in the workforce sans leaving the bloody country, the talent needs to have the ability to negotiate for better benefits commiserate with the physical strain they must put themselves through to perform.
ReplyDeleteAlmost thing from the Hogan/Jarrett story makes sense.
ReplyDeleteSo the plan was to put the title on Booker? Wasn't Booker doing nothing leading up to this show? Why would his big moment be as a surprise last minute match?
Russo predicted Jarrett's prediction as just wanting to lay down and not do the match? And he was correct? And Russo didn't bother to let his buddy Jarrett in on the plan?
It's as illogical as a wrestling show written by Vince Russo.
Threadjack: Does anyone know where I can view the full Paul London/Brian Kendrick shoot interviews? I can't even find the version you pay for, that's how retarded I am
ReplyDeleteI know this is the least popular opinion a person can have, but I don't think Russo is to blame for WCW's demise. I think that ship was already sinking when he got there. I mean, he didn't help save it in any way and metaphorically speaking, he was pouring buckets of water into an already sinking ship, but I think the handwriting was on the wall during the fast count of the Sting v Hogan match. When the nWo Wolfpack started, it was cool and all, but it really needed to go somewhere rather than keep Hogan doing the same, tired nWo schtick week after week.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.highspots.com/p/24008.html
ReplyDeleteThat is the same issue with every Russo shoot. He always passes off the blame to someone else. Although, I have seen some of this and it is easily his best shoot. The interviewer does a solid job, too.
ReplyDeleteOn the other end of the spectrum, I am halfway through the Marty Jannetty shoot, which is almost four hours long, and it is pretty fucking funny.
WWE missed the opportunity on naming Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase's tag team as: The Million Dollar Dream Team...a perfect play on their wrestling heritage...
ReplyDeleteWCW was going down and there wasn't anything anyone could've done about it since AOL Time Warner was getting rid of wrestling. However, Russo's run was atrociously bad, marred with terrible booking, bad gimmicks and his patented "wrestling is fake except for watch you're watching right now, that's real" bullshit. Let's face it, he's one of the worst bookers in wrestling history.
ReplyDeleteHe jobbed on Superstars last week I believe
ReplyDeleteI don't think anybody seriously thinks Russo is the *only* person to blame. Lots of people deserve blame - including Bischoff, Nash, Hogan, etc. And of course you have to look at the the effects of the Time Warner/AOL merger and the bursting of the tech bubble
ReplyDeleteThat being said, ratings plummeted under Russo's watch. All Russo cared about was getting attention and 'shocking' the audience. He had no business plan, no long-term strategy, nothing to offer other than trying to get people to pay attention to whatever he was doing right at that moment, whether it was good or bad. Hence "David Arquette, World Champion."
He did a Superstars match last week.
ReplyDelete"It always comes down to "my job is to get as many people watching the show as possible"
ReplyDeleteThe fact that was all Russo cared about shows why he was such a disaster as a booker. He considers making David Arquette the world champion to be a success because USA Today covered it. Of course it pissed off fans, made the product a laughing-stock, and drove people away. Only Russo would think that was worth it just to get a couple of inches of newspaper coverage.
And didn't ratings plummet under his watch? So even by the standard of "My job is to get people watching the show" he was a failure.
I honestly forgot he was still in the WWE
ReplyDeleteI'm probably one of the few saddened by the Dibiase departure. He was a true pro that tried to make any silly angle work (Virgil, being loser to Maryse, etc). He even gained some traction doing the Dibiase posse tailgating thing...unfortunately, it was at a time when Ryder was doing his own thing and I guess some WWE big cheese decided that they didn't really mean it when they told talent to "create their own breaks."
ReplyDeleteHe was also a solid hand in the ring and I enjoyed many of his matches on Superstars.
I believe they said it was for the title, in which case I really hope Axel goes over. If Punk grabs the belt it will be a distant second priority to his vendetta against Heyman. And that will be the end of any chance Axel has of going somewhere with this run. Since we know Brock isn't likely to be there, I'm hoping they use this opportunity to bring in another new Heyman guy. It sucks that Ted is retiring because he would have been perfect in this role. It would be a cool spot to bring up a new FCW guy, make him a Heyman creation from the get-go. This would have been perfect for Cassius Ohno, but if the HHH/workout story is true, then I doubt we'll be seeing him anytime soon, if ever.
ReplyDeleteI recall when he and I guess Johnny Ace were being taken out of the ring by security, Otunga doing everything in his power to get one last sip of coffee from his travel mug. I don't know why, but that sold me on him forever.
ReplyDeleteIf WCW was the Titanic, Russo got there after they hit the iceberg, and his plan was to hit three more icebergs all at once.
ReplyDeleteI've watched some of the timelines with Cornette. With those I know I'll agree with about 85% of his opinions. Why would I watch an hour of Russo?
ReplyDeleteI don't want "Heyman guys" to be WWE creative characters or gimmicks. I want it to be like Punk or Brock and be directly influenced by Heyman in the creation of the character. It would suck for Pauley to have to sell some shitty idea that was thought up by Stephanie.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I also think that there are many people who think Russo was actually very effective AS LONG as he had a filter with more authority than him. (Admittedly we only have one data point to go on.)
ReplyDeleteI just watched his match from Payback and that did not suck.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing for him would be to go around the horn with CM Punk working long house show matches to get his psychology and pacing down. If he's no better after that, the kill the guy's push.
Ted was getting the bigger push around Wrestlemania 26.
ReplyDeleteWho would have thought that a gimmick of "Ted DiBiase likes to cook burgers" wouldn't get over?
ReplyDeleteI think they'll be running that angle until they're out of business.
ReplyDeleteSo only like six more months, tops.
He's in angle over the magic briefcase! That's SUCCESS.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think working with Punk could do him a lot of good. Have them get comfortable with each other on house shows, work out their matches, and then they could potentially have a good match on a PPV.
ReplyDeleteBut for that to work they kinda need to keep them separated on RAW for a while.
We also forget how much crap there actually was during Russo's peak in the WWF. We remember the good stuff at the top of the card (Austin, The Rock, DX, etc.) and forget crap like Kaientai trying to castrate Val Venis.
ReplyDelete"Women and children first! What, the lifeboat's are on fire? WHAT A SWERVE! Everybody's paying attention to me because I sunk the lifeboats!"
ReplyDeleteWhat's the difference between Michael McGillicutty and Curtis Axel? Nothing. The guy has been given a chance to show what he's got and he's still bland as shit both in the ring and on the mic (especially on the mic). Hanging with Heyman/Punk/Cena/HHH and he can't do ANYTHING worth remembering? Wow... the guy's push should have been killed weeks ago and the 'Curtis Axel' character should have been given to someone else
ReplyDeleteI think the plan became to put the title on Booker once Hogan decided he wasn't gonna job to Jarrett.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't watching WCW at the time so I have no idea what Booker was doing during 2000.
I thought Russo meant that he predicted Jarrett would be pissed about Hogan refusing to job and that when Russo would suggest that Jeff just lie down instead, Jarrett would be on board... not necessarily that Jeff would come up with the idea to lie down.
That is a good point. But they could get Heyman's input and have him to choose guys he'd like to work with. I wonder if he had any input in the selection of Hennig. It's too bad they didn't give him RVD as that would be a great feud to holdover Punk while they build toward another Brock match, but I suppose they probably want to cash in on RVD's popularity.
ReplyDeleteChoppy-choppy your pee-pee!
ReplyDeleteHe should go on the comic convention circuit with Virgil. I don't know what would be more disappointing, though... seeing a sign that says "WWF Superstars Ted Dibiase and Virgil" where the Million Dollar Man isn't there, or seeing a sign that say "WWF Superstars Ted Dibiase and Virgil" where Ted IS.
ReplyDeleteThe "man of the people" gimmick actually seems to fit him better than the Million Dollar Man one does, if everything I've heard about him is true. But there was never a connection made between the tailgate parties and his wrestling. They just mentioned the fact that he did it, but never developed it into an angle. I think it would have worked if they'd had a heel come out and do the Rick Rude promo where he just degrades the audience and then Ted comes out to stick up for his friends, the fans. Or they could have had Ted start watching the show from the audience, then climb over the rail when it's time for him to work, and brought him into an angle that way. They could have done something rather than nothing with it is what I'm saying.
ReplyDeleteTag team and a give them a mouthpiece and it can work.
ReplyDeletePeople talk up the Attitude Era as the golden age so often, you'd get the impression it was awesome segment on top of stellar match week after week if you didn't live through it and remember it as it happened.
ReplyDeleteLike you said, Austin, Rock, DX, etc. were all classic and deservedly-remembered. 90% of the Attitude Era was dreadful dogshit. Go back and watch a random Raw from 1998 or 1999. You'll have trouble making it through the full 2 hours.
I'm pretty sure the non-compete still applies, just as it would if the WWE decided not to resign him and allowed his current deal to expire.
ReplyDeleteOf course, it's probably a dead issue in this case, since he claims to be stepping away from the wrestling business altogether and the fact that he wasn't rushing to get back/start training/working off ring rust would suggest that he's not smokescreening and really is getting out of the industry.
And if it takes off you bring his dad in. he's angry his son is wasting time with the riff raff, and hires goons to punish him.
ReplyDeleteBecause it's easy and non-threatening to only listen to things you know you'll agree with and never hear anything that challenges your established beliefs?
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, if nothing else, Russo's should be entertaining if approached with an open mind. A shoot with, say, Hogan is going to be 99% lies because that's what Hogan does. I don't think Russo's a liar so much as clueless about the business and very delusional about his impact on it.
It was Mike Awesome at New Blood Rising. They were going for the Austin/Foley vibe from Over the Edge with the changing stips on the fly thing but it fell flat.
ReplyDeleteStill not his wife...
ReplyDeleteBooker was doing the GI Bro gimmick, if memory serves.
ReplyDeleteChallenges, sure. Insults? No.
ReplyDeleteSkipping down the aisle didn't do him any favors, either.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I thought they gave up WAY too early on the DiBiase/Virgil thing. A lot of fans seem to dig it (I know I did), and it allowed fans to identify with DiBiase. The Maryse thing was awful because the two had no chemistry together.
ReplyDeleteI think WWE needs to get out of this mindset that everybody -- even top guys -- HAVE to be the total package. Look at the legendary managers of the 80's -- Bobby Heenan, Capt. Lou, Mr. Fuji, Jimmy Hart, and others. These guys really don't exist anymore, because WWE has this belief that if you can't speak for yourself, you don't belong in the main event. I'm not saying it doesn't help, but it seems like WWE takes people and puts them in situations where they struggle to succeed. Work with them, not against them.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying he did any good; I'm just tired of hearing how he's the one who sunk WCW. Mostly I'm still angry I read that book by Alvarez. I just don't think Russo was influential/powerful enough to affect the fortunes of a company that big.
ReplyDeleteLance Storm said it was Johnny Ace behind that anyway and that Russo's contributions was to have team canada call itself the new Canadian organization, because it would be funny that they didn't know it was order.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone ever attend a "Dibiase posse" event? Ted Jr doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who had the charisma to be the life of a tailgate party. It's not a bad gimmick for a guy who has loads of personality and could pull off being a man-of-the-people type of thing.
ReplyDeleteIf you're happy with any talk of the Bash of the Beach 2000, I'll post my review of it.
ReplyDeleteGood idea but that would-have required creative to book a mid card angle
ReplyDelete