The SmarK Rant for Monday Night RAW – 07.25.94 I’ve got six Clashes left, and the only one I’ve actually seen before is the infamous “reviving elbow” one, so that’ll take me a little while to catch up. Just in case you were checking every day and waiting. Taped from Bushkill, PA Your hosts are Jim Ross & Randy Savage

Scott, Thought this would be some fun discussion for you and the blog. Which theme song you liked best for each wrestler: Austin Clearly the classic is the best.  When you hear the glass, it’s your ass.  Eddie Guerrero I’m partial to the “Lie/Cheat/Steal” theme myself, but they were all pretty close. Rey Mysterio The one that goes “Booyaka” took me a while, but I think it’s the best one now.  The energy just matches him so well.  Randy Orton Has he had anything other than “Voices”?  I honestly don’t remember.  HHH OUR TIME. Trish Stratus The classic one.  I’m not a fan of whatever she’s been using in her various comeback appearances.  CM Punk I HATE that screamo bullshit, so Cult of Personality is the only choice for me.  The Rock Really, he’s had a million different mixes of the same basic thing, but the one he was using by 2000 is the best combination of factors for me.  Once they nailed down the “If you SMELLLLL” at the be...

No matter how much WWE books Dolph Ziggler to look like a midcard loser, he seems to stay over with the fans -- which makes me think he'd be a good pick to help fill the void of main-event babyfaces WWE could have with Daniel Bryan's uncertain future. (And we still don't know how Roman Reigns will respond to being a top singles star.) So between now and let's say Night of Champions, how would you book Ziggler and/or tweak his character to get him back to the main-event level? ​It doesn't matter what you do with his character.  He was doing just fine as the guy with the briefcase who cashed in on ADR last year.  The problem is that he doesn't know when to shut his big fat mouth, and if he can get THAT problem under control, he should be on track to be something again.  But it doesn't seem terribly likely.  ​

Going on tonight:  Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference Finals  MLB Action UFC Boxing on HBO 2 Also, the Powers of Pain shoot won the poll with 54% of the vote. The review will be posted Thursday

Waiting for the Trade By Bill Miller   Spider-man/Lizard: No Turning Back by Dan Slott & Giuseppe Camuncoli Collects Amazing Spider-man 688-691 plus Untold Tales of Spider-man #9   Why I bought this: The Lizard is one of my two favorite Silver Age Spidey foes so I had wanted to read this since it came out around the time of the Spidey reboot film. At Free Comic Book Day this year one of my local shops ran a buy one, get one free sale on all trades making it an ideal time to finally pick this up.   The Plot: Spider-man captures Lizard and takes him to Horizon labs in an attempt to cure him but Morbius’s presence there soon leads to events spinning out of control as the Spidey mythos takes a rare foray into the horror genre.   As always spoilers after the break.

Thunder Date: January 7, 1999 Location: Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia Attendance: 8,597 Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan Reviewed by Tommy Hall It's a new year but somehow it feels like we're still in 1997. Hogan is World Champion again and he has the full NWO behind him including Lex Luger and the Outsiders. This is the first show after the Fingerpoke of Doom, which is kind of uncharted territory. So many people remember the Fingerpoke of Doom, but after that you barely hear any TV talked about until Russo came in. Let's get to it.

The Masked Reviewer takes a brief look at a lucha libre documentary from director Carlos Avila.

Based on what I saw on NXT Takeover last night, I believe that Charlotte has to be the greatest wrestler that the NXT developmental program has ever developed completely from scratch.  Does anybody else, male or female, even come close? ​Dolph Ziggler.  He's still the best they've created from scratch by a mile. I mean, Charlotte is freakishly gifted and could very well go on to be the greatest woman wrestler ever and stuff, but if you watch her week to week she's still very green and clearly Natalya was the driving force in getting such a great match out of her.  ​Watching her against someone like Alexa Bliss, for example, shows that she can't carry anyone yet.  But for the level she's at, she's amazing and absolutely deserved to get the title.  

Here's a nice change of pace today from a reader, as the buzz around Nattie/Charlotte makes it a good time to post some Death Rey from SHIMMER. Odd that they trust her to train people but won't even put on NXT, but I guess that she's old and washed up in WWE terms.

Smackdown Date: May 30, 2014 Location: Phillips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield Reviewed by Tommy Hall It's the final show before Payback and every major match is firmly set up for Sunday. The main story coming off Raw is Daniel Bryan having to surrender the title on Sunday or have his wife Brie Bella get fired. If nothing else we should get a solid conflicted promo tonight, which should be good coming from someone like Bryan. Let's get to it.

We Found the SmackDown Fist! - WWE Warehouse - Ep. #2 The wwe kept the smackdown fist. I had no idea it weighed that much nor that it took 1 whole truck just to drive the fist around. I feel like I shared this clip before, but it's still awesome.   

This week, on Legends' House,  the guys play "How well do you know your roommates?", and then, apparently, Shawn Michaels drops by.

Welcome to the weekend. Here is an overview of the week that was at PTBN. Featured Piece The staff discussed their favorite TV season finales:  The Other Five Count – Favorite TV Season Finales Wrestling Roger went to class to study some classic tag matches:  The Cowboy Goes to Class – Classic Tag Team Matches Steve & Glenn chat TNA vs. ROH, the Von Erichs and more in the High Spot:  The High Spot: Ring of Honor, TNA, Payback, and the Top Stories of the Week The PTBN Staff created a Mount Rushmore of tag teams: Place to Be Nation’s Pro Wrestling Mount Rushmore: Tag Team Edition Miscellaneous Todd Gessling kicked off his FIFA World Cup previews: 2014 World Cup   We recapped our preseason Americans Season Two predictions: The Americans Season Two – PTBN Prediction Results Greg & Nick give their comics rundown for May 2014: Hard-Traveling Fanboys: The Rundown (May 2014) Podcasts Kevin Kelly chatted with Sean Grande and also told some r...

The Network live stream schedule for today: 9:00 AM ET - RAW Flashback - 7/25/94 - Tatanka vs. Nikolai Volkoff; Adam Bomb vs. Yokozuna. 10:00 AM ET - RAW Flashback - 8/1/94 - Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels; Alundra Blayze vs. Bull Nakano for the Women's Championship. 11:00 AM ET - WWE Payback 2013 - 6/16/13 - John Cena vs. Ryback in a 3 Stages of Hell Match for the WWE Championship; Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk. 2:00 PM ET - Beyond the Ring - Batista: I Walk Alone. 3:30 PM ET - WWE Main Event Replay - 5/27/14 - Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan. 4:30 PM ET - NXT Takeover Replay - Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd for the NXT Championship; Natalya vs. Charlotte for the Women's Championship; Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze. 6:30 PM ET - WWE Superstars - 5/29/14 - Big E vs. Titus O'Neil; R-Truth & Xavier Woods vs. Ryback & Curtis Axel. 7:30 PM ET - Smackdown Pre-Show. 8:00 PM ET - Legends of Wrestling - 4/30/07 - Wrestling's greatest rivalries. 9...

The SmarK Rant for NXT Takeover LIVE from Orlando, FL Your hosts are Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and William Regal.

I have a very busy week coming up so I have selected three tag team shoots that are short in length, at around 90 minutes. They are all entertaining, despite not being the biggest starts, and I figured it would be a lot more enjoyable than no shoot interview recap. Here are your three choices: Powers of Pain http://www.rfvideo.com/shootwithpowersofpain.aspx Sheepherders http://www.rfvideo.com/shootwithsheepherders.aspx Beverly Brothers http://www.rfvideo.com/shootwiththebeverlybrothers.aspx Vote by clicking on the link below. Voting ends Saturday at 7pm. http://poll.pollcode.com/22398349

Impact Wrestling Date: May 29, 2014 Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz Reviewed by Tommy Hall After last week, the only hope that I have is that the focus is spread out a little bit, rather than having almost everything being about the new trio. We're coming up on Slammiversary with Eric Young defending against MVP, but now we also have to deal with Dixie Carter not being ok with MVP's actions. Let's get to it.

NXT: Takeover Date: May 29, 2014 Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida Commentators: Tom Phillips, William Regal, Byron Saxton Reviewed by Tommy Hall It's the second two hour live NXT special tonight and the card looks solid. The main event is Adrian Neville defending the NXT Title against Tyson Kidd after Kidd won a triple threat a few weeks ago. Other than that we've got the other two titles on the line as well, with Ascension defending against Kalisto/El Local and Charlotte vs. Natalya for the vacant Women's Title. Let's get to it.

The Preshow Starts at 7:30pm as the panel includes Renee Young, Christian, Paul Heyman, and Cesaro Matches for tonight include: Tyson Kidd vs. Adrian Neville for the NXT Championship Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn in a Number One Contender Match Kalisto & El Local vs. The Ascension for the NXT Tag Team Championship Natalya vs. Charlotte for the NXT Women's Championship Adam Rose vs. Camacho

In an interview with RedEye Chicago, he is referred to as a retired pro wrestler and says that it feels "good." http://www.redeyechicago.com/sports/redeye-cm-punk-is-an-artist-for-wrigley-field-cent-20140529,0,3545640.story EDIT: Mike Johnson from PWInsider.com reported that the WWE removed CM Punk & AJ Lee from their talent list for the 7/29 Smackdown Taping in Corpus Christi, TX

The SmarK Rant for Clash of the Champions XXVIII (August 1994) There are apparently “technical difficulties”, which forces the deletion of the country singer singing the national anthem. OK then. I also had technical difficulties with the original rant, in that it sucked and had bad formatting, so here’s a fresh version. This was the highest rated Clash ever and one of the highest rated wrestling shows on cable until the Monday Night Wars started blowing all the old records away. I’m pretty sure that Hogan had nothing to do with that. Live from Cedar Rapids, IA Your hosts are Tony Schiavone & Bobby Heenan

This was filmed in 2005. This copy I watched was remastered by Highspots but the shoot was conducted by RF Video. You could hear Feinstein asks questions along with Doug Gentry. The Highspots guy was asking questions too. It runs at one hour and fifty-five minutes long.

RAW Ratings Lowest of 2014 http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/96-wwe/37217-wwe-raw-audience-hits-2014-low Money in the Bank Match Update While no final decision has been made about the match, Cesaro is currently the front-runner to win the briefcase. Credit Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter Updates on Potential WWE Signings Right now, both Steen and Mack are in the background check phase, which if it goes okay, they will schedule for medical tests and if they pass that, they will be offered a contract. According to Dave Meltzer, the current plan for the WWE is to have Steen, Prince Devitt, and KENTA all start at the Performance Center in August. Credit Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter WWE Planning to Put Tyson Kidd Under a Mask The WWE has already made a Lucha Libre-style match for Kidd. The feeling among the company is that he is a talented worker but that he has been marginalized as Tyson Kidd for s...

The Network live stream schedule for today: 9:00 AM ET - RAW Flashback - 7/18/94 - Lex Luger vs. Diesel for the Intercontinental Championship. 10:00 AM ET - RAW Flashback - 7/25/94 - Tatanka vs. Nikolai Volkoff; Adam Bomb vs. Yokozuna. 11:00 AM ET - Best of RAW - 1/9/06 - Edge & Lita have "live sex". 1:00 PM ET - Legends of Wrestling - 7/31/11 - Historic outdoor events in wrestling. 2:30 PM ET - WWE In Your House I - 5/14/95 - Diesel vs. Sid for the WWF Championship; Bret Hart pulls double duty against Hakushi and then Jerry Lawler. 4:30 PM ET - WWE Countdown - 5/27/14 - Top ten greatest factions. 5:30 PM ET - Wrestlemania Rewind - 5/27/14 - Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania XXV against the Legends, and Wrestlemania XXVI against Edge. 6:30 PM ET - WWE Main Event Replay - 5/27/14 - Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan. 7:30 PM ET - WWE NXT Takeover Pre-Show. 8:00 PM ET - WWE NXT Takeover - Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd for the NXT Championship; Wome...

Scott, Some random WCW questions, just for a change-of-pace from the Network/stock content lately. . . 1. In 1994, WCW brings in Hogan to big fanfare, they shoot their wad right away with Hogan beating Flair for the title in his first match. . .then Hogan isn't even on the next ppv, Fall Brawl '94.  What gives?      Much like Brock, Hogan had a limited set of dates and neither side wanted to waste one on that show.  2. Have you ever seen or reviewed any of WCW's 1998 internet-PPVs?  "Boston Brawl", "Malice at the Palace", "Profiles in Pain", "L.A. Melee".  The Boston Brawl show sounds like a pretty decent card, with Hart vs. Flair, Benoit vs. Guerrero, Malenko vs. Jericho, Booker vs. Rotunda, and Steiners vs. Saturn/Raven, all before Hogan vs. Sting.    Nope.  Heard of them before, although I can’t imagine how horrific a streaming PPV would be in 1998!  3. Whose idea was the "Dungeon of Doom"?  Was there ever any explana...

As the business has changed over the last 20-30 years, I was wondering what insight you had on a breakdown of how an average wrestler is paid.  In the 80's when the NWA was running 350 shows a year, it made sense for Flair to wrestle every night because I assume that 90% of his salary was made from live gate revenue.   However, in today's era it seems like there's a slew of factors that are involved, from merchandise to PPV/Network revenue cut, etc, to where the equation isn't simple any more. So what is the breakdown (estimated of course) for an average wrestler in terms of percentages from house shows, TV, PPV, merchandise and any other factors I didn't list, and is there still a downside guarantee for them to be paid no matter what (I assume Yoshi Tatsu doesn't work for bits of string). ​ Dude, even the WRESTLERS don't know how they're getting paid anymore.  That's why CM Punk left!  Basically they get a downside guarantee and a cut of mer...

Scott, Long time reader...you know the drill....I see alot of talk about Dbry and dropping the TITLES...however....and this might just be me...but when they always talk about it on tv, it's about forfeiting the WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP....could it be possible they strip him of one title and go back to two titles? or is that just me reading more into it? ​Just you. ​

On episode 10 of The Kevin Kelly Show, Kevin talks about the WWE’s TV deal, NXT, and movies staring wrestlers. Kevin also welcomes Boston Celtics play-by-play announcer Sean Grande as his guest and Sean talks about Channel 9 Wrestling in NY, Bob Backlund, Bruno Sammartino, and crossing over from the world of wrestling to sports. Sean also talks about today’s NBA and calling games for a team having a bad season. Kevin and Justin then play a game of sleaze thread “true or false” and preview the WWE Payback PPV questions!  If you enjoy old school wrestling, road stories and wrestling’s urban legends, this is the episode for you! The Kevin Kelly Show Episode 10 - Featuring Sean Grande

The Netcop Retro Rant for WCW Clash of the Champions XXVII (June 1994) - Live from Charleston, South Carolina - Hosted by Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan and Jesse Ventura.

Monday Nitro #170 Date: January 4, 1999 Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia Attendance: 38,809 Commentators: Larry Zbyszko, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Mike Tenay Reviewed by Tommy Hall We had to get here eventually. This is the show that a lot of people people credit with putting WCW down a hole that it was never going to get out of. The main event here is Goldberg vs. Nash II for Nash's World Title, but the major story coming out of last week is Flair winning control of the company for 90 days by defeating Eric Bischoff. I'm sure that will go perfectly smoothly. Let's get to it.

This is the only newsworthy item from today. Whoever recapped this did an excellent job. http://pwinsider.com/article/85944/full-recap-of-triple-hs-very-interesting-nxt-takeover-conference-call-.html?p=1

Figured this could get some discussion going on here. Some of our staff members assembled their Mount Rushmore of pro wrestling...share your four choices in the thread for some debate. Place to Be Nation’s Pro Wrestling Mount Rushmore We also ranked our favorite TV season finales, if we want some variance in the discussion... The Other Five Count – Favorite TV Season Finales

The Network live stream schedule for today: 9:00 AM ET - RAW Flashback - 7/11/94 - Bret Hart vs. The 1-2-3 Kid for the WWF Championship. 10:00 AM ET - RAW Flashback - 7/18/94 - Lex Luger vs. Diesel for the Intercontinental Championship. 11:00 AM ET - WWE Countdown - 5/27/14 - Top ten greatest factions. 12:00 PM ET - Wrestlemania Rewind - 5/27/14 - Chris Jericho vs Piper, Snuka & Steamboat at WM XXV and Chris Jericho vs. Edge at WM XXVI. 1:00 PM ET - WCW Slamboree '96 - Sting vs. The Giant for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship; Battle Bowl. 4:00 PM ET - RAW Backstage Pass - 5/26/14. 4:30 PM ET - Best of Smackdown - 12/13/01 - RVD & The Rock vs. The Undertaker & Chris Jericho; Steve Austin and Booker T at The Green Frog. 6:00 PM ET - WWE Main Event Replay - 5/27/14 - Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan. 7:00 PM ET - WWE NXT - 5/22/14 - Big E vs. Bo Dallas. 8:00 PM ET - Best of RAW - 1/9/06 - Edge & Lita live sex episode. 10:00 PM ET ...

I'll admit to not being much of a dirt sheet reader so I'm not sure if this idea has been considered. Anyhow you have a guy of Bryan's choosing be able to defend the title for him. As months go on this guy gets even more attached to the belt. Thinks of himself as the actual champion. One Raw Bryan returns to take his title back. As he goes to take it back, he's blind sided with a shot right to the head. Boom, insta feud. Either way as long as I get Bryan vs Lesnar next mania, and Cena challenging for Taker's streak I'll be happy (What, they actually threw away the streak before doing one of the last true main event matches they still had? Well Vince deserves losing all that money now.) ​You know you just described Stevie Ray stealing the TV title from Booker T, right?  Although in that instance WCW kind of forgot that he was supposed to be the "fake" champion after a while and just had him defend it for real.  ​

Hi Scott, Longtime fan and religious Blog of Doom reader. Quick question: Why doesn't Andy Kaufman's work get more acknowledgement on WWE retrospectives and other "legacy" products? I ask for two reasons: First, his promos, angles etc. for Mid-South, as well as his Letterman appearance, were ridiculously influential and groundbreaking. And, second, unlike virtually all of the other celebrities that followed for 30+ years, it seems like he was a die-hard fan and truly understood the business. Is it because the original angle wasn't done in New York? Has the family been objecting? Seems like insanely low-hanging fruit to me, if only because Andy Kaufman is certainly more well-known to the mass audience the WWE covets than 80-90% of the wrestlers they induct into the HOF every year. Any insight? ​Well they certainly acknowledged it around the time of Man In The Moon, when Jerry Lawler was doing his cameo in the movie and there was the silliness with...

The SmarK Rant for Monday Night RAW – 07.18.94 Taped from Bushkill, PA. Your hosts are Jim Ross & Randy Savage

Welcome to the big Tuesday Show where we cover the former "#1 Show on the WWE Network". At least that's what the ratings report said about the show about a week ago. As of last night, that spot took a hit. Still, Main Event sits at the "#2" spot. So, welcome to the recap for the #2 Show on the WWE Network! To be honest, the WWE is lucky the show was #2. It was terrible last week. But, that's just typical of Main Event. One week, the show has the momentum of a MAC Truck. The week following, it's like the wheels have come off and the truck has driven off a cliff.  If we're going by Star Trek Movie Rules and last week sucked, then this means we're on the even numbered Trek this week and we should have a good Main Event...and, yes, I realize ST: Nemesis sucked so the "even numbered Star Trek scale" is bullshit on toast. So, tonight, just think of it as "Main Event IV: The One Where the Humpback Whales Sing Adam's Theme ...

This week's episode of WWE Countdown ranks the top ten greatest factions of all time. Speaking of which, the Greatest Factions DVD set was released this week. Coincidence? The voice over lady says "We list them, you rank them". Again......that's the problem. So here is the list presented. I am the messenger of said list, and I do not endorse this list. If it angers you, seek help. It's a wrestling list! CLICK "READ MORE"!

April 26, 1986 Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon After last week, Andre the Giant selected as a partner to face Big John Studd & King Kong Bundy. Also in action are King Tonga & Ricky Steamboat, Hercules Hernandez, Tito Santana & Pedro Morales, George Steele & Junkyard Dog, and Jake "The Snake" Roberts.

I saw the above quote today while browsing through quotes because I'm a geek, and couldn't help but think of Triple H and Daniel Bryan, and how while Bryan got his moment at Wrestlemania, the shenanigans surrounding it, before and after, made the whole shebang feel like a pyrrhic victory.  Which in turn got me thinking about the thing we all care about here: How much Triple H is a political jerkface, or so we think. It's a strange situation where it's clear he cares about 'the business', wants it to succeed, and is willing to bleed, humiliate himself, hold down others, and generally say and do whatever it takes to ensure the company does what HE thinks is right. Similarly, it seems most modern-day superstars are yes men. They're happy to have the gig and do whatever the bosses tell them because it's the best way to guarantee themselves a paycheck. However, it's also been made abundantly clear by folks that Paul Heyman that the WWE is actively ...

Hey Scott, it's James from the comment section again. I wrote a post about the general state of the WWE and the disappointing product as of late as well as how Bryan's neck injury will affect things going forward. I'd really appreciate a plug. http://badmanbureau.com/2014/05/27/daniel-bryans-neck-injury-and-what-it-means-for-the-wwe/ ​ Enjoy!​

by Logan Scisco - Kane and Mankind’s beatdown of Steve Austin at the end of last week’s show is replayed. - Jim Ross and Michael Cole are in the booth and they are live from San Antonio, Texas.  Hell in a Cell is hanging above the ring, but Ross does not know why.

(I finally figured out the problem that was preventing me from adding WWE Network to my Roku box, and now the heavens have opened and I can get that and Hulu and everything else that’s coming to me as a fake US citizen again.  In fact the WWE website claims that they don’t support the Roku HD or streaming stick, but it now works fine on both.  Thank you, Unblock-US!) (Also, before we start, I would like to declare VINDICATION for the people who were giving me shit about saying that Shawn wanted Jose Lothario in his corner in 96 and that Shawn hated it and stuff, because Meltzer got that very question on the radio show last night and specifically said that Shawn asked for him to be there.  Ha!)    The SmarK Retro Rant for WCW Clash of the Champions XXVI - Live from Baton Rouge, LA, January 27 1994. - Your hosts are Tony Schiavone and the debuting Bobby Heenan, fresh from quitting the WWF. Mean Gene’s sell of his appearance as the worst news since the Tita...

Pretty much the best subject line ever am I right. I've been going through a lot of Flair stuff on the Network, late 80's Steamboat, Funk, and Sting, and now back into WWF era Flair with Hennan on color. Hennan doing color on Flair matches has got to be some of the most amazing heel commentary I've ever heard. He is so intense and so real during those matches that you could almost believe that he and Flair have been friends for decades and it's the end of his world if Flair loses. Even at the end of Flair/Macho you can see Heenan in the locker room inconsolable, biting that towe. 1. Why don't we see more of that heel color commentary/bff/relationship between wrestlers/commentators/managers? I guess JBL is kind of a heel but he does that goofy laugh to often for me to care. (Something lame happens on-screen that WWE thinks is great ->"HaHA yea this is great Michael Cole!" etc etc) The King was pretty great in his day, I think, as a heel comme...

I'm not sure if you stuck it out or not, but Forever Evil finally limped to a close last week.  Seems like it took 3 years.  As usual for Johns, started off really cool and then totally lost its way and spread out into like 13 titles and became a big old mess.  I was totally ready to just get the final issue, the follow-up JL issue and then take a break from Johns for a good long while.  But then he did what he always does.  He throws in a last page that makes me excited about where he's going again.  Its quite aggravating.  Did you stick with it the whole way through?  What did you think?   I also have no idea what's going on at Marvel now.  The two best books that they have, hawkeye and superior foes of spider-man, haven't moved the storyline along in a year and six months respectively.  Its to the point where I forget the even exist anymore.  At least DC actually keeps people reasonably on schedule (except Sandman, but what can you do about that?) ​Yeah, I st...

The SmarK Rant for Monday Night RAW – 07.11.94 Live from Bushkill, PA Your hosts are Jim Ross & Randy Savage.

Hi Scott, PhilippeTCA from the blog here. I wondered if you do me the tremendous honor of plugging my very first Kindle e-book. A sci-fi epic called When the Ice Breaks. Here is the description as I wrote it for Amazon. "Inspired by the saga of King Henry IV and V by William Shakespeare, this book is alive with escapades and action, comedy and tragedy and wonderful technology set around the many moons of Jupiter. Eric Wen-Cai has a good life working for Captain Michael Miranda. The boisterous and often drunken captain has given Eric and the crew of the Archangel access to all of the temptations of youth one can find around the great gas giant. However, Eric's father is the King of Europa, and such a royal lineage does not come without a price to pay. When a rebellion is imminent, the king will do anything he can to make an ally of his wandering son." The book is $2.99, though there are sales which knock it down and I believe it's actually free...

Hey Scott, I am a big fan and have been following and rereading your rants for over a decade now.  I was wondering if you would mind posting a link promoting my new podcast:  THE LAPSED FAN on wrestlezone.com .  My longtime friend Jack Encarnacao (of the Sherdog Radio Newtork) and I are sifting through the content on The WWE Network and reviewing old pay-per views and television broadcasts while adding our own unique viewpoints, memories, nostalgia and sense of humor to the business that was.  If anything, it promises to be a lot of fun reminiscing about the good old days. www.wrestlezone.com/news/479259-press-release-the-lapsed-fan-podcast-debuting-on-wrestlezone-this-week-show-to-discuss-archived-wwe-network-content-complete-details Thanks! JP Sarro www.jpsarro.com

The Network live stream schedule for today: 9:00 AM ET - RAW Flashback - 7/4/94 - Tatanka vs. Jeff Jarrett; The King's Court with The 1-2-3 Kid. 10:00 AM ET - RAW Flashback - 7/11/94 - Bret Hart vs. The 1-2-3 Kid for the WWF Championship. 11:00 AM ET - WWE Superstars - 5/22/14 - The Big Show vs. Titus O'Neil; Cody Rhodes vs. Jack Swagger. 12:00 PM ET - Wrestlemania Rewind - 5/20/14 - Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage from Wrestlemania V. 1:00 PM ET - WWE NXT - 5/21/14 - Big E vs. Bo Dallas. 2:00 PM ET - WWE Payback 2013 - John Cena vs. Ryback in a 3 Stages of Hell Match for the WWE Championship; Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk. 5:00 PM ET - Beyond the Ring - 25 Greatest Rivalries. 8:00 PM ET - WWE Main Event Live - Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan. 9:00 PM ET - Wrestlemania Rewind - Chris Jericho vs. Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka & Ricky Steamboat at Wrestlemania XXV, and Chris Jericho vs. Edge at Wrestlemania XXVI. 10:00 PM ET - WWE Countdown - Top ten great...

Daniel Bryan Advertised for the 6/24 Smackdown Tapings He is advertised in a match in which he teams with the Shield against Randy Orton and the Wyatt Family at the Smackdown taping in Pittsburgh Credit F4WOnline.com What Did the Shield/Evolution Contract Actually Read? Here is what it said: "World Wrestling Entertainment is a creative genius. The whole creation of the universe was fashioned by his ever-toiling hands. All living mortals should praise his name and image." Credit PWInsider.com Target Date For the WWE Network UK Launch According to sources Justin LaBar spoke with the target date for the UK launch will be SummerSlam http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/478349-exclusive-target-date-for-wwe-network-to-be-available-in-uk Kayfabe Commentaries Announces Release Date for Next Installment in the "Breaking Kayfabe" series. "Breaking Kayfabe" with Troy Martin (Shane Douglas) will be released on June 25th. https://twitter.com/Ka...

KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Takashi Sugiura & Katsuhiko Nakajima I know we're only a couple months away from when he debuts as Kenny "The Jet" Velasquez in NXT, but until then I'd like to remember the guy more like this. Marked when he came out to "What You Know" instead of "Enio", crowd kinda lost it too. When he signed that last shirt, for the last time.. damn, we aren't gonna see that for a while.. All in all, a fitting send off and a nice exclamation point on a memorable era.

Watching bits of the show tonight at work with a non fan.  He asserts that it's really fake.  I defend it for a moment, then get to see Davy Crockett fighting Russell Brand and a dude in a lemon suit getting kidnapped and rescind my objections. 

When last we left our heroes, they lay in peace. Never Forget those who sacrificed on this Memorial Day. The PG Era Rant for Raw, May 26, 2014. Live from the University, Knoxville, TN. Please inform Rebel and Crazzy Steve they're in the wrong building. Your hosts are Cole, King, and Bradshaw, with Josh, Book, and A-Ry on the pre-show. Your Pre-Show Report: SIR NOT APPEARING ON THIS RAW: Santino Marella. SUPERSTARS MATCHES: Big E Langston vs. Titus O'Neil, Ryback/Axel vs. Truth/Woods RAW PREVIEW: The Shield and Evolution sign contracts; Daniel Bryan makes a decision; Sheamus faces Alberto Del Rio Also announced: Paige vs. Alicia Fox for Payback made official. Memorial Day tribute video to open.

This has nothing to do with the WWE

Howdy Blog O'Doomers! Wishing the best of holiday weekends to those celebrating and hoping those that didn't weren't forced to work too hard. I'm finally indoors to tend to my sunburn and wait for the man and kid to bring home their take from a weekend fishing trip. I was told there will be enough grouper and snapper to last for most of the summer so I will have to really test my recipe chops to make fish interesting day after day. Anyway there's enough for everyone to enjoy. Some holiday baseball. Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals in the NBA. Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals in the NHL. Probably some replay French Open tennis if you are into that sort of thing. And oh yeah, there's wrestling. I think I'm going to do a PPV review this weekend. Leaning towards Superbrawl II but not sure. Anyway, enjoy the show and come out swinging but try to keep it clean!

The SmarK Rant for Clash of the Champions XXV (November 1993) I’ve never seen this show before, actually. Although I have seen Austin v. Pillman a few times, so I suspect it was on the All-Nighter because I used to watch the shit out of that. Live from Leningrad, FL Your hosts are Tony Schiavone & Jesse Ventura. This is also the debut for Mean Gene, which is weird because he became so entrenched as a part of the WCW product from here on, so it’s hard to remember it without him.

I was going to review the 6/27/77 MSG Old School, but...well.....let's just say that it was over two hours long and featured Ivan Putski and Baron Von Raschke going at it for thirty minutes. "Going at it" is up for interpretation because they sure weren't wrestling.  Vince McMahon & Dick Graham provide the commentary.

The SmarK Rant for Monday Night RAW – 07.04.94 Taped from White Plains, NY Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon & Randy Savage

WWE.com RAW Preview http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2014-05-26/five-point-preview-26326999 WWE Network "Monday Night Wars" Update The "Monday Night Wars" show on the WWE Network is expected to debut sometime this fall Credit Mike Johnson, PWInsider.com New PWG Champion Crowned Kyle O'Reilly defeated Adam Cole to win the PWG Championship on Friday night. Credit PWInsider.com Memorial Day DVD Sales Here are some links of sites offering sales today: Ring of Honor http://www.rohwrestling.com/news/20-roh-dvds-10-apparel-memorial-day-weekend-sale Highspots http://www.highspots.com/c/5-dollar-dvd.html

April 19 th , 1986 Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon In action this week are Nikolai Volkoff & Iron Sheik, "Adorable" Adrian Adonis, Killer Bees, Hoss Funk and Randy Savage. Plus, we will see highlights from the Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania 2 and "Piper's Pit" with guests King Kong Bundy & Big John Studd

Godzilla Directed By: Gareth Edwards,  Starring: Godzilla, Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, and Aaron Tyler Johnson Between the Roland Emmerich comedy...thing, and the Japanese movies that haven't aged well, for a time Godzilla was most valuable as an idea. We saw movies that aped Godzilla's genre for low-fi horror movies like Cloverfield, or big budget, tonally bizarre flicks like Pacific Rim. Even watching "Godzilla 2000" requires accepting it as a cheesefest and not so much as an actual movie made with dramatic intent. However,  thanks in part to director Gareth Edwards and some deft directional choices, it's clear the King of Monsters is back, and anyone who wants to take his crown better bring their "A" game.  

The SmarK Rant for Monday Night RAW – 06.27.94 Taped from White Plains, NY Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon & Randy Savage

NJPW Dontaku PPV Review Date: 5/3/2014 Venue:   Fukuoka Kokusai Center

Waiting for the Trade by Bill Miller   Superior Spider-man (1): My Own Worst Enemy By Dan Slott, Ryam Stegman and Giuseppe Camumcoli Collects Superior Spider-man 1 -5.   Why I bought this: The last trade (ASM 698-700) was epic and I needed to read the follow up. The Plot: Doc Ock switched brains with Peter Parker and then Ock’s body with Parker in it died leaving Ock as the new Spider-man. This trade is Ock’s first days in his new role.   Spoilers after the break  

The SmarK Rant for Clash of the Champions XXIV (August 1993) Old rant sucked. Too hot to sleep while I wait for the sweet sweet A/C to kick in. Clown will eat me. Let’s rant. Hopefully there’s nothing legendarily terrible on this show. But what would be the odds of that? I’m also going to have to do Clash 25 because I’ve never actually ranted on it that I can find, but I’m working all weekend so that might take some time. Live from Daytona Beach, FL Your hosts are Tony Schiavone & Jesse Ventura

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1wmaqj_never-openweight-title-match-tomohiro-ishii-c-vs-kota-ibushi-njpw-5-25-14_sport?start=960 Did somebody say Japanese Pro Wrestling? From earlier today, this just wrapped up. Show was main evented by a great AJ Styles/Kazuchika Okada rematch for the title. But in a continuing trend, the match that most people will be talking about is the Tomohiro Ishii match, defending the NEVER Openweight Championship against Kota Ibsuhi. Really brutal stuff further solidifying Ishii as the go-to guy for great matches, and perhaps lengthening his lead for 2014 Wrestler of the Year.

What's the best match by a non-wrestling celebrity you've ever seen? Which celebrity has 'moved the needle' in terms of pro-wrestling popularity? Who is your favorite Raw Guest Host? I won't lie, I liked it when David Arquette won the world title. I thought it was cheesy and silly and dumb and stupid, but it was totally unexpected and got me to tune into Nitro for the first time in forever after it happened. I always thought that Coachman would make a good wrestler. There was a moment on a PPV where he showed up and whalloped someone and he seemed pretty jacked, but I guess it didn't pan out. Requisite applause for Lawrence Taylor / Bam Bam, and for K-Fed taking that FU a few years ago, too. Also kinda bummed Rourke didn't get more involved at Wrestlemania with Jericho, but oh well.

Scott, I've been a lifelong fan of professional wrestling, but I've never really strayed from the American product. I'd love to try some rasslin' from the Land of the Rising Sun, and would like advice from you as to where to start. Promotion(s)? Match(es)? Wrestler(s)? Thanks, Scott! ​Well the thing is that New Japan isn't what you'd call storyline based in any real way, or at least not in the way that we think about it, so really it's a case where you can just dive right in and watch something and see if you like the style.  If you want current product, New Japan is the place to go right now, and you've even got AJ Styles on top as the champion and some other guys like Bulldog Jr. and Karl Anderson working a very American-ized style.  It's very easy to jump in, as long as you don't get hung up on the lack of English commentary.  I've posted a million Youtube clips on here with Tanahashi v. Okada and other great combos, so maybe just se...

Kicking off a series of Dreamcast reviews, a game so great it made me buy the system. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQHgRu6XkS8 ​Everyone should have a Dreamcast anyway.  Although once again, the Fire Pro games...I just never "got it".  Sorry.  ​

It’s the beginning of NWA-TNA. Who became the first champions for TNA? Plus, a country singer gets physical in the ring with a former wannabe country singer.

The SmarK Rant for Monday Night RAW – 06.20.14 Sadly, the Network is skipping the COUNTDOWN TO THE CROWNING. So this would place us at the night after King of the Ring. Live from White Plains, NY, in an arena that at least looks slightly less embarrassing than the last set of tapings. Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon & Randy Savage. I miss Vinnie Mac already because this gonna be a fucking trainwreck.

Sorry to flood the inbox with another "inside baseba- er hockey" question, but IYH "It's Time". You list the real names of everyone after their ring name. Was this something that was edited in, a rib on your part, or just a stab at something new? Bonus! In the line of Paul questions, do you think you'll do a rant on something that's not a contemporary WWE/TNA show or something off the network in the near future? Maybe a big NJPW perchance? DAMMIT - Last one. Colosseum Video releases on the Network... think it'll happen? ​1)  It was something that Meltzer has always done and I thought I'd try it.  Everyone HATED it.   2)  I get enough Paul questions as it is, thanks.  And I watch NJ for fun, not for work.   3)  It fucking better.  ​

Scott, This is supposed to be a good tape. Thought you'd want to review it. http://www.amazon.com/1986-Star-Wrestling-Free-Brawl/dp/B000A0HHEW I really don't even know where  to start with this one.      -Paul.

On tap for tonight: UFC 173 Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers at 8:30pm EST Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference Finals between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Los Angeles Kings at 8:00pm EST MLB Action Showtime Boxing, headlined by Adonis "Superman" Stevenson vs. Andrzej Fonfara Also, the Scott Steiner shoot interview won the poll with 55% of the vote. The recap will be posted Thursday at noon.

The SmarK Retro Rant for WCW Clash of the Champions XXIII - See, now this is why my fans rule. I complain about not having a good copy of something to rant on, and it shows up in my mailbox a couple of weeks after. This is courtesy Kurt Killberg, and it’s much appreciated. - Live from Norfolk, VA. Original airdate: June 17 1993, according to the PWI Almanac.  (June 16 according to WWE Network.  I don’t get why they keep messing up dates.)  - Your hosts are Tony Schiavone & Jesse Ventura.

Possible Match for RAW This Monday As of right now, Randy Orton vs. Dean Ambrose in on tap for RAW Credit Bryan Alvarez, Figure Four Weekly Newsletter AJ Lee Not Returning to the WWE Until After Wedding to CM Punk? According to Dave Scherer of PWInsider.com, AJ Lee is not expected to return to the WWE  until after her wedding to CM Punk. EDIT: I misread the news item. AJ will not be returning to the WWE before her wedding next month. She is expected to be back afterwards. I apologize for misquoting the source and spreading false information.  Credit Dave Scherer, PWInsider.com Possible Match for Payback A match between Summer Rae and Layla, with Fandango as a special guest referee, is going to happen soon and possibly at Payback. Credit Bryan Alvarez, Figure Four Weekly Newsletter Potential Feud Dropped As of now, the teased feud between Big E and Rusev is off the table. Credit Bryan Alvarez, Figure Four Weekly Newsletter

So this would be the YouTube channel version of the Network's "Best Betrayals" show, with 2 drastic improvements: 1)  It's much shorter. 2)  They actually get the order correct! Of course, it's still WWE-exclusive stuff, but consider the source.  A much better list, at any rate.

My buddy Todd is a cool cat. However one of the odd things about him is his esoteric interests having gone to Catholic school for most of his youth. As a result a lot of stuff our group of friends he grew up with, he has a tangential relationship with. For example he's over-the-moon for anything Aaron Sorkin has written, anddddd never saw The West Wing. So I showed him. It was terrifying. Have you ever shared something that's 'important' to you with a friend and been terrified they may not like as much as you do? Are there any films, shows, books, or albums that you avoid sharing your passion for because you're afraid others won't 'get it'?

The SmarK Rant for Monday Night RAW – 06.06.94 As requested, here’s the link for this show: http://network.wwe.com/video/v32464003 Taped from Youngstown, OH Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Randy Savage

Smackdown Date: May 23, 2014 Location: 02 Arena, London, England Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield Reviewed by Tommy Hall It's the second straight show in this building as we wrap up the European tour. As is usually the case with Smackdown, this is just a holding show until we get back to America to find out what happens to Bryan and the title. Other than that we're likely to get a bit more on the Shield vs. Evolution match as we're closing in on their showdown at Payback. Let's get to it.

The SmarK Rant for WWE NXT – 05.22.14 Taped from Orlando, FL Your hosts are Renee Young and some other people who aren’t William Regal.

http://deadspin.com/unedited-unaired-wwe-smackdown-broadcast-leaks-online-1580739646?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow ​Yeah, there was a threadjack on this earlier.  Really interesting stuff, and I kind of wish they'd release that kind of thing on the Network for fun. Speaking of which, there was a SHITLOAD of current content added tonight, basically all the RAW and Smackdowns up to April 21 of this year, so I guess it's going to be on a one month delay.  ​

This week, on Legends' House, a bunch of grown men dress up in silly costumes and pretend to fight each other.  Hmm...

This time we’re starting back in 1987 when there was only one WWF pay per view a year.  With Wrestlemania III being a huge success, it was decided that another pay per view should be added to help bridge the gap between Wrestlemanias.  The fact that it was able to cause major damage to the NWA was just a bonus. There has been a long list of great Survivor Series matches over the years, including the tag team Survivor Series matches, Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels in 1992 and Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart. There’s also a big list of people making their debut with the company at the show. Names like the Undertaker, Kurt Angle and The Rock all stepped into the ring for the first time at Survivor Series. On top of all that Survivor Series had the most infamous moment in wrestling history that changed a lot of things forever. In this new book, I’ll be looking at the history of the Survivor Series, breaking down each show and going over every match, promo and segment,...