What's up, Scott?
Great job with the BoD, as always. As a longtime reader (dating back to the Netcop days), I love what you've done re: diversifying the content and the contributing writers (....missives that no doubt relieve stress from your shoulders). Your rants are still a must-read in any case, though.
You've helped me out in the past with a couple of on-site plugs, and was wondering if I could go to you for what could be a VERY location-specific plug.
I'm based in Pittsburgh, PA, and in addition to the Major League Baseball team (the Pittsburgh Pirates), we also have an independent minor league team baseball about 30 minutes south of Downtown Pittsburgh.....The Washington Wild Things....home games in Consol Energy Park in Washington, PA).
This Friday (8/1), a good buddy of mine who owns a remodeling company, SDC Remodeling, is sponsoring an event at the Wild Things game featuring former ROH champ (and SDC Spokesman) Adam Cole. Game time is 7 PM EST....Adam will be throwing out the first pitch, then setting up shop for a meet-and-greet (autographs, pictures...the usual).
Just throwing out there as something to do for anybody who is (A) a wrestling fan from the Pittsburgh area, or (B) a REALLY big Adam Cole fan from anywhere.
(Again, Scott, I realize this is hyper-local, so if you feel this is TOO small-time for the blog, I understand completely. Thanks in advance for any consideration you'd be able to provide)
-Darryl Grandy (posting occasionally on the blog as BoD-er "OSBL")
There's no such thing as too small-time for MY readership!
Shane Douglas would have done this appearance, but he couldn't get the day off from Target.
ReplyDeleteTONY SCHIAVONE : This is the shittiest plug in the history of our blog!
ReplyDelete"Too many people already took that day off... the RIC FLAIRS... the BARRY WINDHAMS..."
ReplyDeleteUndoubtedly, your staggeringly comical reliance on ostensibly impressive polysyllabic words serves not to endear you to the discerning reader, nor to leave him in awe of your supposed literary prowess, but instead leaves said reader struggling in vain to suppress mirthful eruptions at your expense.
ReplyDeleteTHE FAT MAN HIMSELF DUSTY RHODES
ReplyDeleteShane would probably kill for a job remodeling a basement. Or he'd at least backstab the NWA for it.
ReplyDeleteScott, thanks for the plug! Didn't think it would actually go through! I know there are some BoD'ers here in Pittsburgh, so maybe we'll see you out there!
ReplyDeleteAs for "SDC Spokesman" Adam Cole, here's the ad in question....this airs during the local broadcast of ROH.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZt6O265IvE
In all seriousness, he was great to work with, and my buddy and his son (the ones next to him in the ad) were thrilled to work with him. (Personally, I lobbied for in-gimmick Briscoes to do the ad, but Sinclair thought AC would be a better fit....go figure.)
Along those lines, I'll throw this out there as fodder for a potential QOTD, mainly because I'm actually curious myself, and I think it'd be a lot of fun:
-Best LOCAL ad featuring a wrestler (not counting promos for house shows or the old LJN action figure ads or anything like that). Stuff like this Adam Cole ad.
They HAVE to be out there. I know WCCW had some great Dallas-based ones back in the day (the Von Erichs at that pizza place...I think Iceman had one for a used car lot or something). And can't forget the Ric Flair lottery spots.
Love to see what's out there....
Kyle Warne just booked his plane ticket.....
ReplyDeleteyou prefer your wrestlers when their time is done to be out of work and on their death bed??? im sick of ppl making fun of old wrestlers past their prime who work to pay the bills. he could be a leach and drink him self in a soma coma, but at least he works.../rant lol
ReplyDeleteYeah!
ReplyDeleteIT IS DETRIMENTAL TO OUR YOUTH!!!
ReplyDelete*slaps cross face chicken wing*
What was wrong with Bret's bladejob against Bulldog? He was bleeding like a stuck pig.
ReplyDeleteYou lost me at Bret Hart trying to emasculate Diesel. To quote Inigo Montoya, "I do not think it means what you think it means."
ReplyDeleteThey pulled the Bret Hart vs Taker match from the one night stand on wwe network :(
ReplyDeleteJR: "Perhaps this particular example of the genre came with a little too much sizzle on top of the steak"
ReplyDelete[X] VERY STRONGLY AGREE
ReplyDeleteThat Hart vs Diesel match is a masterpiece. Best match of Big Kev's career.
ReplyDeleteThe hell?!?!
ReplyDeleteI'm sort of torn between it and his match with Michaels at In Your House: Better Enemies. Both have a no-DQ stip and both see Bret and Shawn bump like crazy and go through tables. I will say that Bret-Diesel was one of my favorite matches when I was an early fan, though. I remember being VERY excited when I tuned in on RAW the night after the pay-per-view and Vince announced that Bret was the new champion.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Kyle, this was a superb review. One thing that I liked about your Austin/Hart match review is how you show that Austin does Babyfaces actions in the end, if he had tapped out instead of passing out maybe the future would've been different.
ReplyDeleteLooking back, the WWF did a good job making the Bulldog seem like a threat to Bret. They really played up how he beat him at SummerSlam '92. I remember as a mark thinking that Bret was in real trouble.
ReplyDeleteI'm not big on getting compilation DVDs, but I really need to get this one for my collection as a Bret fan. I have seen it, though, because my roomate in college had a copy.
ReplyDeleteWithout question, Austin-Bret is the biggest match in WWF history. The other four that rival it historically are Hogan-Sheik, Hogan-Andre @ WM 3, Bret-HBK at Montreal, and Austin-HBK @ WM 14. It began the process of turning business around for the WWF and may have saved the company.
You know why Austin/Hart is great feud?
ReplyDeleteSense of progression, every segment, match had something to add. So at WM you fell like hell was gonna break lose between these two.
Is it possible they uploaded the commercial VHS version? That thing's cut to like 90 minutes and is missing a couple good matches, including Taker/Hart.
ReplyDeleteIm almost certain that's the deal. Its missing a few other matches as well and is quite short compared to the other wwe UK ppvs. It sucks because I've seen that hbk vs dbs match a bunch but I've never seen this taker vs Bret match!
ReplyDeleteIt's on DailyMotion in watchable quality.
ReplyDeleteI was going to comment on this too, that bladejob was incredible. It was bump on the outside and then seconds later there is a huge freaking puddle of blood on the mats. Bulldogs red white and blue tights were just red and blue by the end. It was awesome.
ReplyDeleteIt's also on the 3-disc Undertaker compilation from 2005.
ReplyDeleteSame here. Jim Ross did an analysis of their Summerslam match, and MAN, it not only added credibility to Bulldog, it made wrasslin' seem more legit. I hate that they never pursued that style of hype again.
ReplyDeleteI bought this when it came out, it came with a Bret "skull heart" logo beanie. I met Bret at Best Buy for a release signing. He gave me the nastiest "Meh... whatever" type response and dead fish handshake when I told him how much I enjoyed the Bret/Davey bloodbath from IYH Dec 95 (the match was playing at the table he signed at). I'm sure he's in a better place now. But to me... Bret will also be an A player compared to A+ players like Shawn, Flair, and Eddie.
ReplyDeleteNo one even ordered WM 13, buddy. Austin was already turning, so while it's an awesome match... those others you listed are wayyyy bigger, IMO.
ReplyDeleteHBK/Diesel is better. HBK '96 was untouchable and Kev went out a champ, his last good match.
ReplyDeletehaha, I got the same handshake from him- he does that classic wrestler thing with the limp hand. He was actually super-polite to me and we had a nice conversation about Carl Oulette of all people, but I think that was because I asked him something he probably didn't get to talk about all the time. Other people from the same convention talked about how disassociated Bret was, so I guess I got him on a good day. He never struck me as a people-person, though.
ReplyDeleteI would imagine that most wrestlers hear the same stuff over and over again ("Hey Bret, that Wrestlemania match with Austin is a five star classic! Is that your favorite too??") and probably dread fan interaction. Talking to him about Carl Oulette was probably a sigh of relief for him.
ReplyDeleteI disagree. Hart told a better story and a lot of the ideas that were new and groundbreaking in the Series match had become warn cliches a mere six months later.
ReplyDeleteI have the commercial VHS and a DVD9 copy of the overseas release and can make copies of both!
ReplyDeleteIt seemed strange to me that they did such a huge rematch on a December IYH.
ReplyDelete"When winning, however, is not the essential reason behind the match, the high spots and sheer craziness are likely what is getting over with the crowd. Not the wrestlers themselves." - This is like listening to the John Tesh show - intelligence for my life.
ReplyDeleteTotally disagreed. Hart/Diesel was the better story and the better match.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather watch a Bret match than a match from any of those guys.
ReplyDeleteMaybe post-comeback Shawn as an exception, but it's close.
*Aldo
ReplyDeletethose Ross reports were a great thing that lasted way too short (just a few months in the last months of 1995, right?). I remember a similar segment for the Survivor Series 1995 main event with him pointing out the strengths of both Diesel and Bret Hart (and also mentioning their potential strategies).
ReplyDeleteI just love the opening of both guys looking at each, turning around, unbuckling the turnbuckles, and saying "let's go!"
ReplyDeleteYou're quite the cunning linguist.
ReplyDeleteOf course he's a people person, he was always one of the boys! Unlike that dirty rotten clique!
ReplyDeleteI feel like maybe the 'Taker/Shawn matches from the two consecutive Manias should be on that list too maybe, and possibly something with Cena although I can't think of anything in particular because the last ten years of him just sort of blend together in my mind.
ReplyDelete"his last good match"
ReplyDeleteHa ok. He was really in ZERO good matches from Mid 96 - Late 2011??
I had tears in my eyes the moment I shook his hand in IHOP as a youth...
ReplyDeleteSCHIAVONE: We're about to get a plug and--OMGWEREOUTTATIMEFOLKSEEYOUONTHUN--.
ReplyDeleteSad to see that the Survivor Series 96 match with Austin hasn't been included. I find that match so much more enjoyable to watch than the Mania 13 one.
ReplyDeleteI met Bret in Toronto while he was playing the Genie in a production of Aladdin. I stayed after the show with a couple of friends (in the rain, just to pay our dues) and he was really nice. He hung out with us for a few minutes, signed my copy of "Hundred Greatest Wrestler" (including an awesome little remark about how he was only ranked #25), and walked down the block with us. He was fine to talk to, though we were the only ones waiting for him that night. Maybe he just isn't a huge fan of the overwhelming superfan crowd that probably shows up to most of his signings.
ReplyDeleteI will own up to looking a few words up, such as venerate, before I could continue reading.
ReplyDelete