All posts related to pro rasslin’ that isn’t covering specific shows or events.
On the one hand, TNA Impact is airing another live episode of Impact, with no means for reruns. On the other hand, RAW has Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Difficult decision…
Actually, I tell a lie. Austin will at least make the show worth watching… even for a sliver.
The man formerly known as The Rock meets up with the man formerly known as The Coach in this brief ESPN clip. (2018 Update: Once hosted on the ESPN site, this bit has been preserved by Youtuber FreeformAggie.)
Apparently, Titan Publishing (the guys who publish various trade paperbacks) has inked a deal to do comic books based on WWE. You can read some of the press release here if you want.
I’m not too keen on the idea. I’ll admit that the run by Chaos Comics was actually pretty good (the highlight being a 10-issue miniseries on Undertaker, which I actually enjoyed for the most part – and a few other oneshots). But that was during a different time.
This time, I’m not sure. But hey, it can’t be all bad, right?
EDIT: PWPix has some previous pages of the first issue of WWE Heroes, which features medieval knights, demons, and Hell In A Cell… and a Royal Rumble. Looks promising? See for yourself.
For the first time anyone can remember, TNA’s television ratings were discussed at WWE TV this past week. Michael Hayes reportedly noted the lowest-rated quarter hour of last week’s episode of iMPACT being the one where Hulk Hogan appeared.
In response, Vince McMahon said, “Ouch.”
Oh, by the way, for those wondering, here’s the ratings breakdown of the amazing IMPACT episode featuring the Hulk Hogan announcement that aired on November 5th (source: rajah.com)
Q1: 1.21 – Desmond Wolfe/Angle promo; AJ Styles/Samoa Joe promo
Q2: 1.27 – Tara vs. Alyssa Flash; Team 3D promo
Q3: 1.26 – Motor City Machine Guns vs. Team 3D; Scott Steiner promo; Bobby Lashley vs. Eric Young
Q4: 1.30 – Bobby Lashley vs. Eric Young; Scott Steiner run-in; Kevin Nash promo; AJ Styles/Daniels promo
Q5: 1.24 – The Beautiful People vs. Christy Hemme, ODB and Hamada
Q6: 1.19 – Abyss vs. Dr Stevie; Matt Morgan vs. Rhino
Q7: 1.24 – Samoa Joe/Daniels promo; Homicide attacks Don West; Kurt Angle promo
Q8: 1.18 – Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe; Hulk Hogan press conference
Oh yeah, Hogan is definitely a step in the right direction.
SPEED OF LIGHT!
Here’s the link to Shane McMahon’s statement on WWE.com.
I honestly don’t know what to make of this, as to whether this is legit or not. But whatever the case… it shows Shane has more balls to step down than the senile old man running the company. Oh well.
Strange this “professional wrestling” thing. Even though it’s not considered a legitimate sporting event and is promoted as the more-ambiguous “sports-entertainment” event, wrestling has seen its share of high points and low points. Either way, it’s also seen as the lowest form of entertainment out there, simply because it’s “fake” and “stupid.”
But then that’s why I enjoy it. I like my action predetermined. It makes sense to me that when one wrestler rapes another man’s wife, said man challenges the fiend to a wrestling match when in real life, the wrestler would get arrested and tried. It makes sense that two guys would feud over a woman’s manegerial services. It makes sense in the realm of professional wrestling, where the backstories is almost as important as in the in-ring product.
I’ve been watching wrestling (and will refer to it as such for the remainder of this post) on and off since the early 1990s… mostly with nothing more than a passing interest. But really, it was only around 1998 where I really got hooked. Yeah, the longtime fans know this period as the Monday Night Wars, where two wrestling companies fought toe-to-toe for ratings supremacy and resulted in plenty of product, both good and bad.
But even when I saw the shows, I knew it was scripted. It had to be. I mean, the first show I’ve seen that got me hooked was Wrestlemania XIV, where Steve Austin won his first WWF World title. There was a clip show promoting a match between Undertaker and Kane and some of those clips involved lightning bolts and guys being set on fire. Seriously, did anyone watching this doubt that this is nothing more than elaborate spectacle? Did anyone need more proof than this that all this was just for show?
So I’ve been watching wrestling for about a decade. Times have changed, old promotions have fallen, and new ones rise to fill the void. Unfortunately, the product that I watch now is nothing like the product that got me hooked… almost to the point where I’m content just buying the various anthology DVDs comprising classic wrestling matches. Even so, I still watch the shows and I still follow most of the happenings. The interest is still there and I still pay attention to what’s going on.
Of course, even though the action in the ring is fixed, what happens outside is anything but… what with all the drug abuse stories and drug-related deaths that have happened. It’s rather funny to think that there’s a bigger death toll related to a “fake” sport than a legitimate one. Alas, that’s the sad truth…
But for those who put that little lining aside, they’ll find that the product is still somewhat enjoyable and anxiously await the next big golden age. I know I am…
End obligatory first post.
Here’s the website.
Um…
Uh..
I got nothing.
(2019 Update: Much to my utter amazement, the site is still up… I’ve got nothing… but hey, if you want to check out a time capsule of sorts, the link is there for all to see.)
(2024 Update: Never mind. Site’s gone now.)
According to this article, Jeff Hardy was arrested for trafficking perscription drugs and possessing anabolic steroids. As a result, WWE is not going to be producing that Jeff Hardy DVD that I never knew about.
Hardy apparently left WWE back in August to do other stuff. My guess is being arrested wasn’t high on the list. Hey, the guy made his decisions and could have gone clean, but some people don’t have the will to get it done and most of his colleagues are none the wiser to clean up either.
All we could do now is wait for Matt to cut another scathing rant about how the Internet knows nothing and blows everything out of proportion… even though Jeff’s mugshot will probably grace the Smoking Gun website by the time that gets done.
From rajah.com:
As noted last week during TNA Wrestling’s important announcement to wrestling fans in Colorado feeling burned by WWE canceling shows, president Dixie Carter made a formal invitation to the Denver Nuggets players and staff to attend this Friday’s TNA live event in Pueblo, Colorado. Unfortunately, they will not be able to attend the event as a result of their win over the Los Angeles Lakers last night at the Pepsi Center. They evened the series and have Game 6 scheduled for Friday night at home.
Apparently, someone else didn’t think the Nuggets were gonna make it this far. Oh well.
So the past two weeks saw TNA and WWE have PPVs and I missed both shows… probably because I forgot about them. However, looking back at the recaps of these shows yielded some rather questionable reactions on my part.
On the Backlash show, there were four championship matches, including the John Cena Spinner Belt being defended in a six-man tag-match while John Cena himself defends the Big Gold Belt against Edge. The other two matches has ECW Champion Jack Swagger defend against Christian Cage and Intercontinental champion Santino Marella defending against Beth Phoenix, who is attempting to pull off a Chyna.
Three out of the four titles mentioned changed hands. The one champion who left the event champion… is Santino Marella. Go fucking figure.
Meanwhile, over at the TNA camp, the Lockdown PPV event – the one where every match took place in a cage because fuck you, that’s why – featured the main event that saw Mick Foley – the man who supposedly wanted to retire with dignity back in 2000 – defeated The Man Called Sting to win the TNA World title… in 2009.
My brain hurts.
dtm666 