Question of the Day: In honor of "Labor Day" (being celebrated in america), and celebrating the day off - 3 questions: a) What is the greatest job you've ever had (not considering salary, or course)? b) What was the worst job you've ever had? c) When celebratingmholidays (or other occasions), just out of curiosity, what is your favorite "go-to drink"?

Jesus, I go to work for the day and the internet blows up.  I think these celebs need better security on their cell phones.  Anyway, although I'm not posting direct links, but here's the Reddit link for those who want to discuss these for educational reasons: http://www.reddit.com/r/TheFappening/comments/2f44n0/new_celeb_leaked_pics_all_in_one_place/

Waiting for the Trade by Bill Miller   Demon Knights: Seven against the Dark. by Paul Cornell, Diogenes Neves and Oclair Albert Collects Demon Knights 1 – 7 Why I Bought This: This has a Camelot connection which always peaks my interest; but I was wary of buying it at first because I never cared for characters like Morbius or Ghost Rider in Marvel and Demon (who has top billing) seems like he’s just DC’s version of Ghost Rider (at least viewed superficially from the outside). Eventually my curiosity led me to buy issue 1 in a $1 bin and it was quite good so on Free Comic Book Day 2013 I bought the first trade at 25-percent off. The Plot: In the Dark Ages an unlikely group of characters with a connection to Camelot or who happen to be immortal and that are still active in the current DCU find themselves in a bar in a small town just as an unstoppable horde descends upon the town forcing those characters to band together for survival. Spoilers lurk below ...

Well, that daytime thread certainly escalated quickly. Perhaps we can reach some decorum this evening. Tonight, the WWE Network is featuring Night of Champions 2011 on the live stream, which some of us will be watching. That begins at 8:00 ET. There's a couple of college football games on, if you're so inclined. The SEC Network is carrying Utah State-Tennessee, and Fox Sports 1 has SMU-Baylor. ESPN2's Sunday night game is Cleveland-Kansas City, as the Royals try to keep ahead of the Tigers in the AL Central. Big Brother, NASCAR, The Simpsons marathon continues, etc. It's not like there's nothing on. Just come on in and hang out. We have psychiatrists waiting to hear from you.

Some of you may want a place to talk about whatever it is you're doing right now. There will be another thread in the evening.

Slim Jim brings the excitement (SNAP INTO IT), and WCW brings a FULL 2-hour edition of Saturday Night, due to the fact the Braves played (and got killed) at 12:05 in Wrigley. Their loss is YOUR gain. Midcarders, Jobbers, and Mean Gene oh my! TONY SCHIAVONE and DUSTY RHODES recap the most recent nWo attack. Dusty wonders what Ted DiBiase has in store for us, now that he’s stepped onto the “bowels of the battleship”.

Hey Scott, I was flipping through the 1st Warrior DVD and I had an idea: Is there anything completely stupid about just giving Reigns either the US or IC belt and having him run with the thing, beating people left and right until WM, THEN having him straight up challenge Lesnar and having them do a Title vs. Title Match? ​Yeah, because the US title is considered such a midcard geek title now that it would actually bring him down several notches to even want it.  If they start him down that road, there's no point in even putting him in the main event.  Those titles destroy everything they touch.  ​

Dear Scott, You recently claimed on your blog that JBL was the "lowest drawing champion since Diesel". This may lead your readers to assume that Diesel did not draw well during his title reign. I think you will find that Diesel and the WWF/E enjoyed overwhelming success (both creative and financial) during his run as champion. He easily ranks as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, champion in wrestling history. I have included a link to verify this fact, which details the record-breaking profits the WWF/E made during his tenure as champion. http://youtu.be/fob4r2N-upg I believe after watching this video you will feel inclined to offer Kevin Nash an apology. ​Wow.  And I mean, if Scott Steiner has taught us anything, it's that math doesn't lie.  Plus Nash had a chart and everything.  Case closed, I guess.  ​

What exactly is the story of JBL not just winning the title in 04 but having it for so long?  ​I think for a little while he was doing it to troll the people who were so offended by the Nazi salute deal, and then from there it seemed to turn into a war of wills where Vince was stubbornly keeping the belt on him despite being the lowest drawing champion since Diesel.  Not to mention that Vince LOVED the character because it was basically Vince himself.  ​

November 16, 2002 American Civic Center in Wakefield, MA Your hosts are Jeff Gorman and Chris Levy

On tap for tonight: UFC 177 MLB Action College Football The Mike Awesome shoot won the poll with 45% of the vote and that recap will be posted on Thursday.

Spring Stampede 1999 Date: April 11, 1999 Location: Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Washington Attendance: 17,690 Commentators: Bobby Heenan, Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone Reviewed by Tommy Hall This is a show that hasn't had the chance to build up that well as they made the two main events on Monday. The midcard stuff is decent enough but there's some stuff in the main event that makes me shake my head. There are some matches on this show that pique my interest though which is more than I can say about most WCW shows. Let's get to it.

The evening thread will be up, well....this evening. Here's a catch-all thread for whatever it is you're watching/doing today.

Thunder Date: April 7, 1999 Location: Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia Commentators: Mike Tenay, Larry Zbyszko Reviewed by Tommy Hall This is a Wednesday show for no apparent reason and we now only have a two man booth. It's also the go home show for Spring Stampede and we have a main event as of the last fifteen seconds of Nitro. This is also a taped show, meaning we're probably in for a very dull show. Let's get to it.

The SmarK Rant for Monday Night RAW – 04.17.95 Nitro is coming to the Network next week and I’m getting tempted to jump ship, but really I’m only four months behind at this point. Any preference? Keep sticking it out or do something different? Taped from Poughkeepsie, NY Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler and the green screen.

So what did we learn this week? a)   Ted DiBiase loves his numbers, especially #4 and #5. b)   There’s someone named Terry that Hacksaw Jim Duggan has issues with. Could this in fact be the mysterious Glacier? c)   Cruiserweight wrestling takes a backseat to the nWo, but Nick Patrick does not. d)   Johnny B Badd remains a staple in the opening to WCW Prime, and may in fact return at any moment despite being involved in the Intercontinental Title tournament on RAW. I suspect he’s WCW’s answer to the nWo invasion, and he’s taking over the WWF in a much more stealth manner, along with Cactus Jack (disguised as a mutilated basement dwelling weirdo), Dustin Rhodes (pretending to be a gold-obsessed homosexual movie star), and Stunning Steve Austin (has shaved his head so as to “sever” his ties to his WCW past). Don’t rule this out, Bischoff is crafty and would be happy to tell you himself.

Depending on your time zone I might already be 40 by the time you read this, so BOO for that. Anyway, I’m trying to put together a fund to buy a Wii U for my birthday, so if you’d like to donate I have a button below.  Not exactly world-changing, I know, but DAMMIT I want to play Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario 3D World.  Back to the blog!

Smackdown Date: August 29, 2014 Location: Citizens Bank Business Arena, Ontario, California Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Tom Phillips, Michael Cole Reviewed by Tommy Hall I can't believe I'm saying this but Smackdown might be the best thing I could sit through right now. To say Raw wasn't that great is an understatement and WWE really doesn't seem to be the most interesting right now. However, two hours of decent wrestling and far less nonsense might be the cure for some of their issues. Let's get to it.

Stranger here, For your perusal: http://www.reddit.com/r/wwenetwork/comments/2exqht/found_another_nitro_episode/ Some guy created a script that found the first 16 or so episodes of Nitro before they go public with them. Enjoy. I accept payment in toonies and loonies. ​Well, tomorrow IS my birthday, so maybe this is their gift to me.  ​

October 4, 1986 Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino, Jesse Ventura, and Vince McMahon Hulk Hogan will be here tonight as he gets interviewed by Jesse Ventura. In action tonight will be Paul Orndorff, Honkytonk Man, Koko B. Ware, and Randy Savage. Plus, an update on Roddy Piper and our featured bout, the Killer Bees vs. The Moondogs.

I dug around for this one. US title on the line here, and if anyone from the WWE Network is reading (and why wouldn't they be), THIS is Video Vault worthy.

Welcome to the long weekend! Well, for some of us, anyway. Enjoy this sampling of PTBN from the past week! The Titans of Wrestling crew welcomed in the legendary Ivan Koloff for an interview:  Titans of Wrestling #34: Interview with “The Russian Bear” Ivan Koloff Scott & Justin went back to 1985 to kick off their Vintage Vault Refresh Series with WrestleMania I:  Scott & Justin’s Vintage Vault Refresh: WrestleMania I The PTB Seinfeld Rewatch is into season two and some great episodes have begun popping up:  Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch Knockout Round Two of the PTB Greatest TV Character Tournament rolls on with some big names:  PTBN’s World Cup of TV Characters – Knockout Round Two, Day Four Steve Corino welcomed in Kevin Kelly to talk about his career and ROH plus a few other topics:  The Steve Corino Show Episode 18 – Kevin Kelly Todd Gessling kicked off his 2014 NCAA Football conference previews:  PTBN College Foot...

WWE.com Smackdown Preview http://www.wwe.com/shows/smackdown/2014-08-29/five-point-preview-8-29-14-26605045 Tough Enough Update Tough Enough, which was originally scheduled for July, has apparently been the victim of budget cuts. There were some preliminary talks about doing the show in the Fall but there have been no discussions at all about the show within the past few weeks. Credit Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter Zeb Colter Update Colter has been telling friends that he suffered an injury as a result of getting kicked by Rusev at SummerSlam. However, there is a story making rounds backstage that he was injured outside of the ring as well. He is expected to be back on TV at some point. Credit Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter Reason For NXT Talent Getting Fired? Shaun Ricker, who was let go from NXT recently, has been reported to have had heat with WWE management regarding social media issues, one of which was him constantly re-tweeting m...

Hey Scott, Just wanted to pass along that my WWE Network expired earlier this week, but I still have access to the shows on Xbox 360. Just wanted to point that out and see if anyone else is having that same access. Thanks! ​That's not a bug, it's a feature!  What they're doing is giving you your free trial week at the END of your subscription, after you've already paid for it.  Some might call this scummy, we just call it business as usual for WWE.​

Because I like to be a little more obscure with my tactlessness.

WCW’s biggest weekly program is on, with WCW Nitro. But do not discount the secondary programs, oh no – because over the last week, we have established the following: Nick Patrick referees a lot of matches on a wide variety of shows. Don’t think I haven’t noticed, Nick. Is tonight the night we finally reveal the Ultimate Dragon as the nWo’s 4 th  man? Will Glacier debut after 5 months of hype? Will Bobby Heenan pass on that 5 th  drink? All this will be answered and more because … We are LIVE from Palmetto, Florida!  TONY SCHIAVONE  and  LARRY ZBYSZKO  kick off the first hour of Nitro. And we do not have time to say hello, because we have wrestlers already in the ring.

This?  Is AWESOME.  Where are the guys doing this goofy self-aware comedy when the main shows need them?  SCUBA KANE!Way better than Slam City.

I just heard from a friend out in California, that Jake the Snake Roberts is in ICU in a Las Vegas Hospital with Double Pneumonia, and his Immune system has basically shut down. Just when he appeared to turn the corner on life. My prayers go out to his family and friends.....

If Lex had stayed put in WWE in the fall of 95, what was in the cards fot him? Obviously a feud with a heel British Bulldog would have been on the list, but would he have been pushed any harder? It would seem he would put Bulldog over since Bulldog was in world title matches with Diesel and later Bret Hart.  Was there any salvaging his character by that point? Lex deserved better in my opinion. Who could blame hin for leaving?   Also in your opinion could Lex have been a better option than Nash to beat Backlund?  ​Clearly Lex was checked out and done by that point, and watching those RAW shows week to week right now, I don't blame him.  He was booked like shit and clearly Vince had given up on him.  There's no clear idea of what Lex was going to be doing, but putting over Bulldog seems obvious. I don't think there was any saving the character by that point, they had already got whatever mileage they were going to get out of the Made in the USA deal and once the Allied Pow...

I'm watching over the edge on the network right now and it feels like watching a snuff film. Is this weird? Should this be on here and am I a bad person for looking for this to be available the second I subscribed? ​Well it's not like you were seeking out the video of the 9 year old girl who shot her gun instructor with an Uzi (WHAT THE FUCK, AMERICA?) and besides the Owen deal is scrubbed from the Network version anyway.  If you want to watch for historical curiosity, feel free.  It's just not a very good show otherwise and feels like it's hanging out at 1AM at the house of some people who would rather just go to bed​ but have to keep entertaining you to be polite.  

This week, I thought I would pick four guys that all seemed to have the tools to become stars but for some reason it did not happen. Here are your four choices: Mike Awesome http://www.highspots.com/p/14015.html Matt Morgan http://www.rfvideo.com/mattmorganshootinterview.aspx Tonga Kid http://www.rfvideo.com/shootwithtongakid.aspx Al Perez http://www.rfvideo.com/shootwithalperez.aspx Vote by clicking on the link below. Voting Ends Saturday at 2pm EST http://vote.pollcode.com/93654245

An all-purpose thread for your all-purpose needs. If you happen to watch the Network tonight, you have Total Divas at 8:00 ET, NXT at 9:00 and Superstars at 10:00.  If you're watching baseball, congratulations, your team must still be in the race. There is still September and then playoffs in October. Longest....season....ever. The Simpsons marathon is still on, but people stopped caring a week ago when the funny ones ended. Preseason football continues, and college football opens up the schedule tonight. Lots going on, plenty to chat about. Join in and assume meltdown position.

NXT Date: August 28, 2014 Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida Commentators: Rich Brennan, Alex Riley, Jason Albert Reviewed by Tommy Hall We've got something to look forward to now with Takeover II just a few weeks away. All of the titles will be on the line but the champions need some challengers. As for tonight, the main story is the debut of the new General Manager to replace JBL who left for undisclosed reasons. Let's get to it.

I hadn't seen this in years. I threw it on randomly at 4 in the morning and couldn't turn it off. Say what you will, it's hard not to like the guy here, if you take it as a small sample size. But damn, it's been 10 years already? . Chris Benoit Story Hard Knocks (2)

I thought this would be a good follow up to the Punk-Lesnar match from yesterday. This was a very good match, with the right guy going over. This would begin the greatest title reign the internet has ever seen, with Cena passing the torch to the new face of WWE. Instant Catch #69 Daniel Bryan vs John Cena by Vinc316

Hey Scott,  I was wondering, with Rybacks ridiculous and hilarious social media gimmick, how is he not on TV? No heat? Too much heat? What gives?  His latest video in hospital  http://youtu.be/rqAOMnTDwQw P.S Odds on Sting working the Bee gimmick and Undertaker coming back to solve it as Detective Undertaker? No way, he's at best a Bee-plus player.  

This was filmed in December 2006. This is a two-disc set, totaling at two hours and fifty-eight minutes long It is conducted by Rob Feinstein and Doug Gentry, in his last on camera appearance before he passed away. The poor guy looked sick too. A graphic for him is on the screen before the interview.

Stranger's been watching the Network in chronological order because he's a big, stupid, nerdy mark. He's been needing to get back into the swing of doing actual reviews and thought this show would be a good place to jump back in. Stranger's also picked up the habit of referring to himself in the third person. STRANGER'S GETTING VEXATIOUS! From the Make Believe Gardens in Toronto - November 10, 1985. Your commentators are Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse "The Body" Ventura. Well, thank God for that, at least.

Who Wrote John Cena's Segment on RAW? Vince McMahon was the one who came up with the idea of Cena destroying the Wyatt Family. McMahon felt that since Cena's loss against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam was so one-sided that his fans would lose faith in him unless he made an immediate statement. Credit Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter RAW Segment Changed at the Last Minute Originally, Cesaro was going to beat Swagger to become the #1 Contender to the United States Championship with Bo Dallas coming out to taunt Swagger afterwards instead of Swagger facing Rusev. Credit Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter WWE Unsure About How to Present a New Stable? It is reported that the WWE is still deciding on how to present the group of Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods. At one point, Mark Henry was rumored to be the leader of the group. Credit PWInsider.com Reason Behind NXT Wrestler's Gimmick Change Solomon Crowe (Sami Callahan) has droppe...

I can remember the first time I ever thought that titles were important.

http://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/2eqjsy/swerve_vince_russo_will_join_us_thursday_morning/ Thursday 10am ​"Bro, I have no idea.  Swear to god, bro." "Bro, I had nothing to do with that.  It was all the guys who were before me, bro." "​Bro, I'm 100% with you on that one, but creative control and Standards and Practices tied my hands, bro." Just a guess.  

8/16/14 .. Ok, I know people totally prefer when I explain the stage, so here it goes.. The Tag Champs, Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Ishii, are DDT guys who won the titles 4 or 5 months ago just by being pretty goddamned great. They beat a more-than-formidable tag team to win the titles and have had killer defense after killer defense since then. They are the reigning AJPW All-Asia Tag Team Champions, a title that the Meltz has referred to multiple times as the "Workrate Titles". Basically, what the X Division Title meant a decade ago, in the sense that you're about to watch that amazing hybrid style of wrestling that never fails to deliver. They are taking on the time proven, other worldly Kotaro Suzuki, teaming up with the next Tanahashi in the making (a trait you may notice) Kento Miyahara.. Tokyo's Kōrakuen Hall is the setting , Kyohei Wada is the ref.. YOU are the most important fan in the building, and the match is pretty fresh.. Check it out.. . . . Shigehi...

The SmarK Rant for Monday Night RAW – 04.10.95 Let’s see how well the Network feed cooperates tonight. It’s weird, too, because I watch these things at about 11:00PM Central time every night, or roughly “the middle of the fucking night” if you’re in a time zone that matters, so it’s not like the Network should be super-congested with people all trying to watch shitty 1995 RAW episodes all at once. Also, positive thoughts and best wishes to Karl Stern. No-sell that shit like John Cena, buddy. Taped from Poughkeepsie, NY. Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler and our good friend the green screen.

Impact Wrestling Date: August 27, 2014 Location: Manhattan Center, New York City, New York Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz Reviewed by Tommy Hall We're still in New York for about the sixth straight week and there are some big deals to get through tonight. First of all we've got the first match in the tag team series between the Wolves, Hardys and Team 3D with the winners getting to pick the next stipulation. There's also the fallout from Roode and Young escaping the cage last week at the same time, meaning there's no #1 contender. Let's get to it.

Today's Question:  Let's say somehow, someway, on that day in July of 1988 in Puerto Rico, Bruiser Brody makes a full recovery from those stab wounds and is ready to go by the beginning of 1989....in 100 words or less, How would the next 25 years in the career of Bruiser Brody have unfolded ? Yesterday's Question: Totally random and off the grid, but I've been trying to rack my brain to think of the best "White Meat Babyfaces" of all time....so as part of this, I ask the blog a 2-part question:

Matches tonight include: Hardy Boys vs. The Wolves vs. Team 3D Rhino vs. ECIII Taryn Terrell vs. Madison Rayne

Monday Nitro #183 Date: April 5, 1999 Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan Reviewed by Tommy Hall It's a new era (kind of) for WCW as tonight they're unveiling a new set and logo, making a change for the first time in several years. The main story coming into tonight is some announcement by Sting, who will be making his first scheduled appearance on the show since the fall of last year. Let's get to it.

Scott, How completely stupid would it be to have Lesnar lose at Night of Champions? Would you rank it higher than their stupid decision to have him lose his first match back against Cena? Or would this be even worse? I would call it a strange decision, but I can at least understand the mindset if they do.  Pop a big Network number and then go back to the touring champ model.  Plus Brick is already damaged goods now to a degree, so it's less of a big deal.  

These rants are awesome. There are more of them on this page, but this might be my favorite one of them all. Classic Bryan Alvarez TNA/Vince Russo rant.

OK, so it happened a year ago, therefore it's not a "classic" by the common definition. However, this is a ***** match that will easily be considered one of the best SummerSlam matches ever. The Best vs. The Beast. Due to health and behind the scenes drama, this may possibly be Punk's last great match. CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar - SummerSlam 2013 by AndresGuilherme

November 9, 2002 From the Murphy Rec Center in Philadelphia, PA Your hosts are Jeff Gorman and Chris Levy

So I'm watching The Monday Night War, episode two in specific, and I can't help but feel grateful that Vince went into wrestling instead of world domination because MAN does that guy know how to do propaganda. I had gotten used to the line of "WCW was competitive because they stole WWE guys" but hearing them now take it a step further and say it's because the WCW fans were actually just WWE fans and they were glad to see the superior WWE guys come in and beat up the inferior WCW guys...mindblown. The most interesting part about it is that you listen to Vince talk, you see the decisions he's made since buying WCW, and you just have to know that it's how he really believes it happened. Is there any hope that Trips isn't as insane as Vince and that some of this will get better when he takes over? ​I dunno, but holy shit did that second episode kind of go off the rails already.  Hall and Nash were apparently carrying the WWF through 1995 and everyone tho...

WWE Concerned About John Cena's Future? Over the past several weeks, Cena has been dealing with a shoulder injury. Also, Cena has been dealing with neck pain and there is a real concern within the WWE as the company has noticed that he is not moving around as well as he used. And, if Cena's acting career takes off while is injuries mount, there is a concern that he will leave the company and choose Hollywood as an alternative. http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/505881-john-cena-dealing-with-injuries Batista Update There are many people within the WWE that feel since Batista's chances of returning as a full-time performer are decreasing. The original thought was that he would be returning once his media obligations for the film "Guardians of the Galaxy" were finished but those people saying that have been changing their tune as of late. http://rajah.com/node/42864 WWE Tag Team Turning Heel? There is a belief among those in the company that Goldust ...

Today's Question: Totally random and off the grid, but I've been trying to rack my brain to think of the best "White Meat Babyfaces" of all time....so as part of this, I ask the blog a 2-part question: a) In the history of wrestling, who best exemplifies the term "white meat babyface"? b) Who is the greatest wrestler of all-time to never have a run as a heel?

The SmarK Rant for Monday Night RAW – 04.03.95 Live from…ugh…Poughkeepsie, NY. Why not just go back to the Manhattan Center for a while? Was it a cost issue? Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Jim Cornette. This would be the first actual “Night after Wrestlemania” show, as the previous couple of years have been taped shows due to the taping cycle. And this is a big one.

We are just 24 hours removed from John Cena adding a German Suplex to his moveset. So, I guess I am right after all: JOHN CENA IS PRETTY MUCH BROCK LESNAR NOW ZOMG. (Wink, Wink, Nudge, Nudge) Let's go...

So let's say that the Lesnar/Cena program is indeed building to Cena Never Giving Up and defeating Brock at Night of Champions. While it wouldn't exactly surprise me, it seems ridiculous that they would spend nine months building Brock up as an unstoppable monster just to give him a one-month title reign where he loses in his first title defense. Would the WWE really go to all this trouble just to run yet another Cena-redemption story line, especially one where Cena's fall from grace only lasted a month? Could Lesnar survive this scenario with any of his heat intact? And is there any chance he just takes the title hostage, as some speculate? ​There's always a chance, but I'm getting a real bad vibe from the buildup so far.  That being said, I fully expect Cena's next big program to be Rusev, although that might not be until Wrestlemania, so it's always possible that Rusev costs him the match to start the build.  Or maybe something in the middle, like Cesar...

September 28, 1986 From the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center in Salisbury, MD Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan, marking the first time these two have done commentary on Wrestling Challenge Tonight, the featured match up is the British Bulldogs vs. Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff in a non-title match. Plus, the debut of the Honky Tonk Man, the "Snake Pit" with guests the Hart Foundation, and more.

Tonight, on the WWE Network, at 8:00 ET it's Main Event live, followed by a new episode of Monday Night War at 9:00 and a repeat Countdown episode at 10:00. Some key MLB games tonight: Tampa Bay @ Baltimore, Oakland @ Houston, Miami @ LA Angels, NY Yankees @ Detroit, Washington @ Philadelphia, St. Louis @ Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee @ San Diego. The Simpsons marathon continues on FXX. I believe it's up to season 12 at this point. There's money on the table here tonight, but it looks like e-book money, so it's not real currency.

Hey Scott, Long time reader, first time emailer..... In Andy's latest Raw Review, another poster made a comment about how different the shows feel when Brock Lesnar shows up.  Rather than the "Raw Variety Show" it actually feels like a real wrestling program (at least at the top of the card).  I argued the way Brock comes off, he makes you believe he's going to whip somebody's ass, he has a real cockiness about him and the ability to back it up.  Is this something that's unique to only him, or is it an approach that the WWE should try to have throughout the rest of the card?  (Not saying the ENTIRE show should be like this/him, but more of it should).  Thanks! ​There is truly only one Brock Lesnar, which is as it should be.  It makes Brock all the more effective when he's out there doing his super-intense 300-pound gorilla act amidst all the wannabe comedians and midcard geeks, because it's DIFFERENT.  Just like Brock was the pro wrestler a...

Am I alone in thinking a fun way to fill some time on the Network would be to bring back the 24/7 rule that accompanied the Hardcore Title? Except this time, maybe use Zack Ryder's Internet Championship. Something to kill the extra few minutes in between shows or even to cut in to something live. Hell, with the WWE app, you could even get real-time alerts. It's 1am and you get an alert on your phone ("Cody Rhodes challenging for the Internet Championship right now on WWE Network!") and the few night owls that are awake at the moment turn it on and there's Cody, beating up Zack at a Burger King drive-thru to win the title and run off into the night. It's something that probably wouldn't be acknowledged much on TV but it'd give the lower card guys something to do, give the internet fans something amusing to talk about, and give the Network a little bit of new material. Eh? I thought Zack was sold to YouTube for $10 as a part of  the cost cutt...

by Logan Scisco - The Undertaker and Kane are shown walking out of a backstage locker room and down a dark hallway. - Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler are doing commentary and they are live from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  We are six days from SummerSlam.  The Hell in a Cell is hanging above the ring.

Hey, remember when the Summer of Punk was tainted by the involvement of Kevin Nash and Triple H and Alberto Del Rio and pretty much anyone else they could throw in the mix? This match was a #1 Contenders match for new champ Del Rio, and it's a pretty good match all things aside.

Live from Charlotte, NC Airdate: December 27, 1993 Attendance: 8,000 (7,000 paid) Hosted by Tony Schiavone and Jesse “The Body” Ventura The tenth anniversary show opens with a series of photos of Ric Flair as he grew up. Included are a clipping of a newspaper article of the plane crash as well as Flair’s victories over Harley Race at Starrcade ’83 and Ronnie Garvin at Starrcade ’87. Suddenly Vader roars and a sequence of his squashes permeate the introduction. As an added bonus the aftermath of Vader’s powerbomb of Cactus Jack is briefly shown.

WWE Star Says That He is Going Away For a While? Last night, Ryback tweeted that he was "going away to get some stuff fixed and that he has not been himself for quite some time. He then finished his tweet by writing "PS Sorry Punk" http://pwinsider.com/article/87838/wwe-star-says-he-is-going-away.html?p=1 Dean Ambrose Update Ambrose is currently filming the WWE Studios film "Lockdown" which is scheduled to film through 9/20 and he is not expected to be back full-time until then.  Credit PWInsider.com Kayfabe Commentaries Releases YouShoot with Monstrous BC This is the former Brodus Clay and below you can view the trailer

Not a match with Dragon actually in it, but rather the match that he was going nuts for in that Meltzer interview.. Maybe it makes you go nuts as well, maybe not.. Your call.. From G1-24 Day 1 (7/21/14).. G1 Climax 2014 Block A Match Katsuyori Shibata... by original_bonski

The goal is to supply readers with an alternative to the traditional review style. This column will be an overview of what happened rather than a blow-for-blow. It is intended for those who watched the show already. I would recommend reading Andy PG’s review if you have not watched the show.

Today's question : With the Monday Nitro series debuting on the Network, we will surely get sick of hearing each week being the "biggest moment/match/night/main event/....you get the picture in the history of WCW" from Tony Schiavone. So I ask - What episode of NITRO are you most looking forward to seeing on the Network? Yesterday's question had to do with the biggest pops you as a fan had ever heard......tons of responses.

The PG Era Rant for Raw, August 25, 2014. Your Raw Preview: Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Shawn Michaels host a Hall of Fame Forum. John Cena and Bray Wyatt meet in a WrestleMania rematch. Seth Rollins will deliver a eulogy to Dean Ambrose. Brie and Nikki Bella attempt to hash out their family differences. The Usos face the Brotherhood for the Tag Team Championships. Live from Anaheim, CA. Your hosts are loud, old, and overwhelmed.

This has nothing to do with the WWE

The SmarK Rant for Monday Night RAW – 03.27.95 Taped from Stockton, CA Your hosts are Jim Ross & Gorilla Monsoon, so I guess this is a repackage of the Sunday Night Slam show? And why not show THAT in between the 3/20 show and this one? I know the people putting this network together aren’t actually paying that much attention, but GEEZ. This is actually the kind of thing people are complaining about. Vince McMahon and Todd preview Wrestlemania, recapping the Diesel v. Shawn storyline and then the LT v. Bigelow one. Hey, and then Jarrett v. Razor as well, as the entire first 2/3 of the show is WM previews. No Holds Barred: Bret Hart v. Owen Hart So they meet again for the first time for the last time! Bret attacks and hammers away in the corner to start, then tosses him and beats him up on the floor as well. And we go back to the dressing room, but this isn’t 1998 so Bret hauls him right back to the ring again. Back in, Bret pounds away on the ropes, but Owen drops him with ...

Howdy Blog O'Doomers! Someone asked how TNA may have fared if they let Eric Bischoff run the show from the beginning and didn't have to interject with Russo or whatever other clowns they came across. Would TNA be a successful number two? Would they be in a better position to challenge a very stagnant WWE right now? Would they be in the same place? What's the general opinion on Bischoff around here? Right guy at the right time? Visionary? Someone that lit a fire under Vince's ass? A lot of people take claim for the nWo angle (hell Jim Cornette described it in a shoot a couple years before it existed I believe) so who created it isn't as important as the execution. Personally I think whether it was Bischoff or Nash or whoever, the guy who deserves the most credit was the one that convinced Hogan to turn heel. Even though Hogan's popularity might have been waning, it's hard to tell a guy that's made stacks upon stacks over a 12-year-span of being the bigge...

No sign of Princess so let's set this up.  We got Cena/Wyatt tonight, as well as a Hall of Fame Forum. Come out swinging, but keep it clean.

I was looking for he Batista-John Cena match from SummerSlam '08, but could not find a good quality vid. So we'll run with this one instead. No complaints from this side. It's a solid ****+ Hell in a Cell match.

Episode list below:

Today's Question : In the history of your fandom, what is the loudest pop you've ever heard/seen (on TV or in person) during a wrestling event? Yesterday's Question: In this month's 35th anniversary issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated, they ask several people what's the best and worst thing about the business today as compared to 1979. Assuming everyone here wasnt a fan in 1979, we'll say 1989 and ask the same question:

Blog fodder: So I just watched the first episode of The Monday Night War on the Network, and I gotta say it was pretty good, as reported. A little spin work, as expected, but mostly it was a nice in-depth look at the very start of the war leading into the nWo forming. THIS is the type of show they need more of to really hook viewers...they need to use their library to make new shows out of rather than just copy reality TV shit and pretend that wrestling can be squeezed into any format. They should have an Attitude Era show, and while they should show the Nitros in their entirety like the RAWs, they need to have a Best of WCW Saturday Night or a Best of the WWE: 80's & 90's type show to show some of the forgotten TV stuff that up until now only made it onto their DVD sets. Would those concepts work you think? You got a better idea, tough guy??? ​The video vault is such a gigantic waste of time right now and it could be awesome.  They could be showing all those Yo...

WWE.com RAW Preview http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2014-08-25/five-point-preview-26581432 Smackdown Moving to Thursday Nights The show will start airing on Thursday's beginning on October 2nd http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/96-wwe/38627-smackdown-move-to-thursday-looks-to-be-confirmed Rey Mysterio Update According to a source within the WWE, the company is not planning to have Rey Mysterio return to TV. Also, the WWE is more focused on preventing him from doing anything with another promotion than anything else. Credit F4WOnline.com

Guys, I know you have been waiting ALL WEEK since I spoiled at the tail end of last week’s edition that both Maxx AND High Voltage would be here. I don’t want to leave you salivating for these huge appearances any longer. TONY SCHIAVONE and “SOBER” BOBBY HEENAN welcome us to Disney. And they waste NO time in setting us up for our opening match, which could main event any arena in the country!

Episode list to follow:

September 27, 1986 From Baltimore, MD Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino, Jesse Ventura, and Vince McMahon Tonight, we will have the showdown between Adrian Adonis and Roddy Piper. Plus, the return of Superstar Billy Graham, a surprise from Slick, the featured bout of Tito Santana vs. Jimmy Jack Funk and more.

The SmarK Rant for Monday Night RAW – 03.20.95 Taped from Stockton, CA Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Jim Cornette

Tonight on the WWE Network, Night of Champions 2010 at 8:00 PM ET. The card includes Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler for the IC title; The Big Show vs. CM Punk; Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz for the US title; The Undertaker vs. Kane in a No Holds Barred match for the WHC; Tag Team Turmoil with the tag team championship on the line; and a six pack challenge for the WWE Championship with Randy Orton, John Cena, Chris Jericho, Edge, Sheamus and Wade Barrett. ESPN Sunday night baseball action has a key AL West match between the Angels and the A's, with both teams tied for the lead in that division. Sunday night preseason football has the Bengals facing the Cardinals on NBC. All this and much, much more TONIGHT.....in the BoD Evening Thread.

Hey look, it's MY favorite topic and YOUR favorite wrestler. Everybody WINS! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMp93sXeZDI . .

So how do we feel about the Roman Reigns push? Is it too soon? Think back to 2004, when it was decided to pull the trigger on a Randy Orton title run. This match is a setup for that push, prior to the title match at SummerSlam 2004. It's a **** six-man match, easy.

I have a full edition of WCW Saturday Night this week, and it’s going to be one of the most trying recaps I’ve done since I started this project nearly 2 years ago. The video quality of this show appears to have been recorded over a VHS tape that had been used to record daily episodes of Another World for mom, before eventually being deemed as unwatchable, and THEN passed down to little Jimmy (shout out Ron-Truth!) to record his wrestling programs. Only after it was gnawed on by a pitbull. This is worse than any episode of WCW Prime.

Specifically citing this quick interview ( http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/wrestling/os-hulkster-back-on-track-looking-for-one-more-match-20140822,0,7466942.post ) where he has a chance to put some caveats on his "one last match" rhetoric, is the Hulkster the single most legendary spin artist of all time or has he ACTUALLY learned something from age and suffering? Oh sure, and Andre was totally 900 pounds when Hulk slammed him in front of 200,000 people too, brother.  

Today's Question: In this month's 35th anniversary issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated, they ask several people what's the best and worst thing about the business today as compared to 1979. Assuming everyone here wasnt a fan in 1979, we'll say 1989 and ask the same question: a) How is the business better than 25 years ago? b) What is the worst thing about the wrestling business compared to 25 years ago?

It is almost impossible to remember how tragic a place this world is when one is playing golf. ~Robert Lynd Game: The Golf Club Developer: HB Studios Price: 39.99 Did I Pay For it: No. Golf is a game of  mitigated  triumph; a nice drive then a pitch that slices so hard it ends up in the thousand acre wood. Playing the round of your life, only to six putt on the final hole and end up with a score akin to a high powered NFL offense. Phrases like 'beginners luck' qualify the good play of newbies, and wind and lie and balance dull the sting of defeat.  So, the last thing a golf videogame needs is a frustrating interface and long loading times - both which serve to rub salt in the wounds of a bad round and break the flow of good one.  The current king of digital golf is Tiger Woods PGA tour. A franchise more omnipresent than spectacularly good. It's a quality game of golf, sure - but between strange in-air spin, fade, and draw controls, EA's c...

The SmarK Rant for Monday Night RAW – 03.13.95 Be sure to check out my latest Sporting News column , covering my picks for who Brock Lesnar’s Wrestlemania opponent might be. Spoiler: Probably Roman Reigns. Share on the social medias if you enjoy! Live from Stockton, CA Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Jim Cornette

Come on in with your quotes. Episode list inside.

Here's that meltdown that I've been promising y'all!

Thunder Date: April 1, 1999 Location: Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia Commentators: Bobby Heenan, Mike Tenay, Tony Schiavone Reviewed by Tommy Hall We're closing in on Spring Stampede and the card is starting to come into focus. It's pretty clear that Hogan will be involved in the title match but nothing has been made official yet. This is a live episode of Thunder, meaning the levels of suck shouldn't be as high. Granted they've surprised me before. Let's get to it.

http://www.sportingnews.com/sport/story/2014-08-23/wwe-brock-lesnar-john-cena-roman-reigns-wrestlemania-cm-punk-daniel-bryan-seth-rollins-summerslam-night-of-champions-world-heavyweight-championship In my newest Sporting News column, I examine the odds of various people challenging the Beast should, say, an airplane fall on Roman Reigns and manage to penetrate his flak jacket.  

On tap for tonight: MLB Action NFL Preseason Football Also, the On the Road with Raven shoot won the poll with 49% of the vote and that will be reviewed Thursday

Reading the 94 / 95 rants, one thing becomes obvious, and that's that Raw used to be structured like SNME, with the main event going on first more often than not (Diesel / JJ being an exception this past recap). Two questions: 1. When did they switch to the main-event-last format?  I seem to recall it happening more in the Nitro era, as the Owenzugiri angle closed an episode. 2. Was the reasoning much like SNME, in that people would turn off the show the later they went so they needed to get all their stuff in ASAP? ​ 1. The Russo era in late 96 was when I really recall it becoming a thing, because that's when the new format of the 20 minute interview to open the show became in vogue, which would then set up a main event that the show built towards.  Say what you will about Russo, but he tended to put together shows that were more in the traditional format of wrestling booking with minor things to open, leading to bigger things at the end.   2.  Yeah, following from...

Hall of Fame Panel Discussion Next Monday on RAW Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, and Shawn Michaels will all be appearing on RAW to discuss the Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena match at Night of Champions http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/96-wwe/38609-notes-on-mondays-raw Backstage News on Roman Reigns Push Right now within the company, the plan is for Reigns to win the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania and for him not to challenge for the belt before hand as they feel a loss would be counterproductive and prefer that he slowly rises to the top. Credit Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter Spike TV Not Going to Re-Sign TNA? Sources inside of the TV industry Spike is not going to re-sign Impact to a new deal, no matter what. Wednesday's Impact rating did poorly as well. Credit Figure Four Weekly Newsletter RF Video Announces 25% Off Sale on All Shoot Interviews The sale runs through Monday http://www.rfvideo.com/

For the scheduled episodes for the day, click below:

It just goes to show that you never know who's going to become a 16 time World champion in the future.  Also, this was the year I was born, and Flair is STILL trying to get back into wrestling again.  That should make everyone feel old.

Reading the 95 Raw rants, Why did Vince stick with the Bret/Backlund 4 months after the Survivor Series 3-day Bob reign.  Why not blow off the year long Owen angle and give Bret a definitive win over his brother to avenge WM X or do a Bret/Bulldog vs. Owen/Bob match which at plays off the SS match?  Wasting Bret is partly why WM 11 is so forgettable. ​Vince was just really in love with the Backlund character and seemed to think that character still had legs, even though the 8-second loss clearly destroyed any sense of threat that Bob had built up.  I think in his mind it was the best use of Bret and somehow a guy on Bret's level was "needed" to blow off the Bob character for good.  I mean, the storyline is fine, in the sense that Backlund makes people submit to the chickenwing for months and here's Bret to force him to say "I quit" and teach him a lesson and stuff, but the Backlund deal was such a dead issue after November and obviously running him as th...

Question of the day: I think a pretty good portion of the blog are fans of the show Big Brother. a) What to you think of the season so far? (Particularly as compared to last season) b) Who do you think will be in the final 2?

Scott, Thumbs up or thumbs down on the design of the WWE title? I know it's basically the previous title with the new logo slapped on it, but after a couple of days of seeing photos of it, I'm loving it. The logo is sharp and the belt just looks like something you'd want to have, which is what a title should be. I kind of wish it had a nameplate, but the personalized side plates are kind of a cool touch. Your thoughts? ​I'm a fan.  I never liked nameplates in the first place so that's no big loss.  It's blingy without being gaudy like the spinner belt was, and it's distinctly WWE, unlike generic belts like TNA or ROH where you can't tell from a distance what title it is.  You look at the WWE title and this, clearly, is someone who is the champion of the entire WWE.  For me it's a winner.  ​

Hey long time follower here. Pimpin aint easy, neither is paying for school yourself.  I'm selling off some of my rare DVDs. A plug would be very appreciated.  ​ http://www.ebay.com/sch/mallett4heisman2010/m.html?item=151386602159&ssPageName=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562 ​ Thank you

Hey Scott, semi-frequent blog contributor, and long time fan here. I write for a geeky pop culture blog called Cultural Compulsive Disorder, and was wondering if you'd mind plugging the Best of SummerSlam  podcast we just did. I'll be your best friend!   http://www.ccdblog.com/2014/08/the-ccd-podcast-episode-18-best-of.html   ​You sound like my daughter.  She offers EVERYONE "best friend" status.  It loses all meaning when you tell random kids on the playground that you'll be their best friend!  You have to earn that shit through years of emotional blackmail and mixtapes!  ​

September 21, 1986 Your hosts are Ernie Ladd, Johnny V., and Gorilla Monsoon In action this week are the Killer Bees, Sika, The Dream Team, and Dick Slater. Plus, the “Snake Pit” with guest Paul Orndorff and our featured match, the Islanders vs. The Hart Foundation.