My Most Shameful Moment of 2013 so far (and there's room for several more at the rate WWE's going) has to be Cena coming in after Orton/Big Show two weeks ago. I felt disappointed in a way I had no idea I could feel about a product or a company. It has to be what it's like for an extreme console fanboy to brag about how his console of choice is going to outsell the competition tenfold and the numbers coming in to it having bombed completely.
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December Wrasslin' |OT| This title has been held by all the greats...and Triple H
Excuse you, I always loved Bo.
It's like WWE learned nothing from the Rumble staredown reaction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBbIwPsO9vw#t=4219
NO ONE GIVES A SHIT!
And you're saying Devitt has? Beyond the first week? Because every 'bullet club' thing is the same, show after show. Powerbomb on the apron by Big Fatty? So fresh.
Depends if it happened during the match or before his match. If his match was the cause of it breaking, I'd say no case. But if it was left from a previous match, or was just broken? Yeah, he'd have an issue.
Also...screw a broken freakin neck. That guy has a freakin hole in his leg.
TheWarrior
Banned
WWE commentary every time there is a divas match.
Serpentine
Banned
"oh-ho, she can count to three! it took her a while, but she managed to get it, ha ha ha!"
Professor Beef
Banned
A commercial for Total Divas came on in the break room at work while I was on lunch. Someone asked what it was about, and I was too busy being embarrassed at what a train wreck the show looked like to tell them what it was actually about.
TheWarrior
Banned
I also want to nominate a new category.
Mark out moment of the year
Mark out moment of the year
If it wasn't for NXT, Total Divas would be the best episodic wrestling program on television right now!
British Monsoon
Member
Devitt went from one of the most over babyfaces of the company to the leader of the only legitimately heel faction left in New Japan - Suzuki has his fans, so does Nakamura, Okada, Yujiro and, hell, even Yano, but Bullet Club are well and truly hated. And, yeah, it's a simple formula of US-style heel interference and the tried and tested routine of beating up Tokyo Sports reporters, but it works and you can't deny that it's gotten over or that it hasn't lacked for reaction from the audience.
Mr. Sandman said:
Some fans on twitter have told him the barricades were fucked up at the start of the show, so he may be in with a chance of a claim. Crazy dude to pull six inches of metal out of his fucking thing and carry on, though. Jesus.
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
Is this because ps4 has no other racers, or is it genuinely good? Because NFS has sucked for a while. The Run was okay.
Jesus christ
Mr. Luchador
Member
Damn.
Wasn't this why the Dubble Dubble E switched to the padded setup around the barriers?
Wasn't this why the Dubble Dubble E switched to the padded setup around the barriers?
But Devitt has his fans too. They might be all US and Euro, but I see more Devitt avatars than anyone else in NJPW on various message boards. So by that logic are they legitimately heels? Because the Yano and Yujiro fans are just the Japanese versions of those Devitt fans. 'Smart fans' who like the heel for being a good heel.
Wow, I remember it being quiet... but there's like no reactions... not even to the sign pointing
http://youtu.be/c6x4466yN3k?t=1h3m14s
Now listen to this from just them being across the ring
FallingEdge
Member
And you're saying Devitt has? Beyond the first week? Because every 'bullet club' thing is the same, show after show. Powerbomb on the apron by Big Fatty? So fresh.
As far as Devitt, that was Bootaaay who said that, not me
If you are trying to win me over on a tag team, gifs of superkicks and flippy floppies aren't the way to do it
And guess who got the biggest pop?
Staying winning
And guess who got the biggest pop?
Staying winning
British Monsoon
Member
Maybe that wasn't the best analogy, as by that logic who is a legitimate heel? Certainly no one in the WWE, as all their heels seem to have their fans. I was simply pointing out that Devitt's heel turn has had the intended effect with the domestic audience - sure, he's popular with the western audience, but I've seen more than a few foreign fans complaining about the constant interference and the effect it's had on his match quality.
Has Kane's recent turn had the intended effect? I couldn't say, I'm still not watching any WWE until the Rumble.
There's a lot of genuinely good things about it. For one, the open world concept is really well done, you're constantly in a world with other human players (six total) that are either cops or racers and when you go near them you simply tap a button and off you go racing or pursuit. Same with AI racers and cops. Then you just drive to an event and off you go. No load times, just racing until you go back in a hideout or command post and spend your SP. If you get busted or wrecked you lose all points from that session so it's quite challenging too.
I dunno, it's just a lot of genuine fun instead of just completing race after race in automatic mode.
Serpentine
Banned
By that logic, Alberto Del Rio is the only legitimate heel in wrestling. He has no fans!
Kane hasn't done anything. Like, I think he bickered a bit with Brad Maddox and Orton, but that's about it. The only notable thing he's done since unmasking was showing up in a suit the first time. The rest is just speculation/imagination.
Kane hasn't done anything. Like, I think he bickered a bit with Brad Maddox and Orton, but that's about it. The only notable thing he's done since unmasking was showing up in a suit the first time. The rest is just speculation/imagination.
Perspicacity
Banned
Why do I always click your links? Do I hate myself?
Professor Beef
Banned
But superkicks and flippy floppies are all the Young Bucks have!
British Monsoon
Member
Seriously, they made Randy look like such a little bitch throughout this whole feud. The turning point for me was when he took zero exception to Hunter saying it was "his" belt and that Randy was only holding it for him.
Also, why the fuck would Randy trust Hunter? H's turned on him once before, as well as feuding with him for what seemed like an age. Or why would he feel like he needed H's to secure and hold on to the WWE title? If there's two things that WWE have established about Orton's character, it's that he's a vicious competitor and that he certainly doesn't lack for confidence. Hardly the kind of guy content to be H's lapdog.
TheWarrior
Banned
That AJ is such a crazy slut.
I would actually like to see some of their quotes applied to Cena.
Funny that the Bellas don't get talked down that much.
Randy very rarely seems to care about anything. People say you can tell he doesn't want to be a face and doesn't care about what he does as one, but I feel like that's jsut him 75% of the time as a heel too.
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
Sounds like the first Test Drive Unlimited. I'll be alright w/o Rivals. For now...
I get the feeling Indy wrestling isn't too popular here but is it still ok If I share my review?
Foreword: I stopped watching ROH in 2009 though I did buy Final Battle 2010 based on internet recommendations so I am unfamiliar with the backstory to some matches so please keep this in mind. Also I do my best not to spoil outcomes as I want the review to inform the reader on the entertainment and quality factor rather than just who won each match. Thanks.
ROH Final Battle 2010 18th December 2010
Rhett Titus & Kenny King vs. Kyle OReilly & Adam Cole = Grade: B, Fun.
Colt Cabana vs. TJ Perkins = Grade: D, Weak.
Amazing Kong & Daizee Haze vs. Sara Del Ray & Serena Deeb = Grade: C, Passable.
Eddie Edwards vs. Sonjay Dutt = Grade: C, Passable.
Christopher Daniels vs. Homicide = Grade: C, Passable.
Claudio Castagnoli, Chris Hero & Shane Hagadorn vs. Jay, Mark & Mike Papa Briscoe = Grade: B, Fun.
Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards (ROH World Title Match) = Grade: A, Exciting.
Kevin Steen vs. El Generico (Fight without Honor Mask vs. Career) = Grade: S, Spectacular.
Review: So here we have the final show of the 2010 ROH calendar and looking through the card it seems like it has the potential to be thoroughly entertaining. Lets see what happens, oh and I will be watching without commentary as that is now an option on these DVDs and my preferred way to watch.
First time seeing OReilly & Cole for myself and I thought they were both excellent in the ring, a load of potential right there. That was one hell of a hot opener and so much fun to watch, high volumes of energy from all the wrestlers and the crowd were very much into it. I liked how things meshed together and all the transitions were really well executed. I would gladly sit through more matches between these two teams and for an opener it did its job of electrifying the crowd very well indeed.
With TJ Perkins I have always admired how hard he tries and I personally think he has an excellent style of wrestling. Colts antics seemed very counterproductive for what should have been a competitive match instead felt flat and was a bit more of an exhibition with antics thrown in rather than a match.
A great little video package that set up the womens tag match, I think it is a good touch that adds something to what on paper seems pointless. I really like it and wish ROH had adopted it much sooner. While the execution may be lacking at times I feel the basic psychology is there to keep the tag match together. All 4 worked hard and the crowd loved themselves some Amazing Kong.
Eddie Edwards is extremely popular with this crowd and it was a pleasant surprise to see Sonjay had finally decided to wear proper ring gear, granted I havent seen him wrestle since 2007. They work together quite well and Sonjay tried his hardest making for a solid match even if the crowd lost its steam. There was plenty of athleticism and potential for a great rematch in the future. I will say that so far the whole card has flowed really well and nothing has been boring at all.
Another great video package again, this time show casing The Kings of Wrestling, The Worlds Greatest Tag Team and the tag titles. These are so fucking good and make ROH seem like a professional wrestling company rather than just an indy.
We have Mike Bennet sat ringside for the next contest, which sort of makes me feel we may see some interference but it thankfully never came to pass. I have always appreciated Christopher Daniels work in the ring as he is extremely well rounded but have found he can straddle that line between boring and entertaining by focusing so much on the fundamentals that he never adapts or evolves, he just goes through seemingly the same motions in singles matches unless his opponent can force him to mix it up. Homicide was exceptional in 2003 though he has changed over time and has never once had a good singles match against Daniels and this time was no different. It lacked that momentum to make the pin falls matter or even tell a bigger story it was just as average as it can get while being technically sound. I was not a fan of the finish at all with it being lacklustre in build up and basically just protecting the fallen.
Hey guess what, we have a video package setting up the next encounter and they continue to be ace. The crowd are booing the Briscoe trio, which is unexpected but I do feel this isnt a match the audience wanted and would have preferred a tag title contest. I find it both hilarious and weird seeing an older Briscoe in wrestling gear as he seamlessly fits right in. Kings of Wrestling are seemingly the fan favourites, which creates a messed up dynamic considering how they are portraying the story here. It was a perfectly entertaining match and they did a fine job considering the constraints put on them. The Papa Briscoe interactions were far more enjoyable than I was expecting, they used him almost perfectly making him not the hindrance I was sure he would be. The crowd were on their feet and were very much into the fray so overall it must have done something right.
Lots of history going into the ROH World Title match with both being former stable mates etc etc. That was a very hard hitting battle and a frenzied array of moves. Davey threw his entire offensive repertoire at Strong, seriously he did fucking everything. It was verging on being a very one sided affair as Strong was taking it all and not reciprocating. The crowd were molten hot for the entirety and were into all the near falls. The contest was an exhilarating watch and full of so much momentum, it is flawed as the start was not as it should have been to justify the comeback but regardless it was very engaging.
Now it is the main event, which I have been looking forward to since first looking at the card listing. It was the conclusion to a feud that lasted a year and saw former tag team members become bitter hatred fuelled enemies. All the tools possible were involved and they took everything to the next level in regards to destroying each other. Bodies were broken and lives changed, cliché ridden I know but it is true as both played off their past very well and let it all out and what we got was a sensational and trilling blood bath. This was not a wrestling match but a fight, no screw that, a full fledged war.
To sum up I was blown away with what was a truly compelling and lively show, there was nothing, not a damn thing that dragged it down. The crowd were hot and each match did its job to a tee, yes some of the undercard matches could have been a little better but even so the event as a whole was overflowing with excitement. I have no idea if this Final Battle was topped in the following years but it is easily my favourite right there next to Final Battle 2005 as a show which just flowed and never stopped giving.
Foreword: I stopped watching ROH in 2009 though I did buy Final Battle 2010 based on internet recommendations so I am unfamiliar with the backstory to some matches so please keep this in mind. Also I do my best not to spoil outcomes as I want the review to inform the reader on the entertainment and quality factor rather than just who won each match. Thanks.
ROH Final Battle 2010 18th December 2010
Rhett Titus & Kenny King vs. Kyle OReilly & Adam Cole = Grade: B, Fun.
Colt Cabana vs. TJ Perkins = Grade: D, Weak.
Amazing Kong & Daizee Haze vs. Sara Del Ray & Serena Deeb = Grade: C, Passable.
Eddie Edwards vs. Sonjay Dutt = Grade: C, Passable.
Christopher Daniels vs. Homicide = Grade: C, Passable.
Claudio Castagnoli, Chris Hero & Shane Hagadorn vs. Jay, Mark & Mike Papa Briscoe = Grade: B, Fun.
Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards (ROH World Title Match) = Grade: A, Exciting.
Kevin Steen vs. El Generico (Fight without Honor Mask vs. Career) = Grade: S, Spectacular.
Review: So here we have the final show of the 2010 ROH calendar and looking through the card it seems like it has the potential to be thoroughly entertaining. Lets see what happens, oh and I will be watching without commentary as that is now an option on these DVDs and my preferred way to watch.
First time seeing OReilly & Cole for myself and I thought they were both excellent in the ring, a load of potential right there. That was one hell of a hot opener and so much fun to watch, high volumes of energy from all the wrestlers and the crowd were very much into it. I liked how things meshed together and all the transitions were really well executed. I would gladly sit through more matches between these two teams and for an opener it did its job of electrifying the crowd very well indeed.
With TJ Perkins I have always admired how hard he tries and I personally think he has an excellent style of wrestling. Colts antics seemed very counterproductive for what should have been a competitive match instead felt flat and was a bit more of an exhibition with antics thrown in rather than a match.
A great little video package that set up the womens tag match, I think it is a good touch that adds something to what on paper seems pointless. I really like it and wish ROH had adopted it much sooner. While the execution may be lacking at times I feel the basic psychology is there to keep the tag match together. All 4 worked hard and the crowd loved themselves some Amazing Kong.
Eddie Edwards is extremely popular with this crowd and it was a pleasant surprise to see Sonjay had finally decided to wear proper ring gear, granted I havent seen him wrestle since 2007. They work together quite well and Sonjay tried his hardest making for a solid match even if the crowd lost its steam. There was plenty of athleticism and potential for a great rematch in the future. I will say that so far the whole card has flowed really well and nothing has been boring at all.
Another great video package again, this time show casing The Kings of Wrestling, The Worlds Greatest Tag Team and the tag titles. These are so fucking good and make ROH seem like a professional wrestling company rather than just an indy.
We have Mike Bennet sat ringside for the next contest, which sort of makes me feel we may see some interference but it thankfully never came to pass. I have always appreciated Christopher Daniels work in the ring as he is extremely well rounded but have found he can straddle that line between boring and entertaining by focusing so much on the fundamentals that he never adapts or evolves, he just goes through seemingly the same motions in singles matches unless his opponent can force him to mix it up. Homicide was exceptional in 2003 though he has changed over time and has never once had a good singles match against Daniels and this time was no different. It lacked that momentum to make the pin falls matter or even tell a bigger story it was just as average as it can get while being technically sound. I was not a fan of the finish at all with it being lacklustre in build up and basically just protecting the fallen.
Hey guess what, we have a video package setting up the next encounter and they continue to be ace. The crowd are booing the Briscoe trio, which is unexpected but I do feel this isnt a match the audience wanted and would have preferred a tag title contest. I find it both hilarious and weird seeing an older Briscoe in wrestling gear as he seamlessly fits right in. Kings of Wrestling are seemingly the fan favourites, which creates a messed up dynamic considering how they are portraying the story here. It was a perfectly entertaining match and they did a fine job considering the constraints put on them. The Papa Briscoe interactions were far more enjoyable than I was expecting, they used him almost perfectly making him not the hindrance I was sure he would be. The crowd were on their feet and were very much into the fray so overall it must have done something right.
Lots of history going into the ROH World Title match with both being former stable mates etc etc. That was a very hard hitting battle and a frenzied array of moves. Davey threw his entire offensive repertoire at Strong, seriously he did fucking everything. It was verging on being a very one sided affair as Strong was taking it all and not reciprocating. The crowd were molten hot for the entirety and were into all the near falls. The contest was an exhilarating watch and full of so much momentum, it is flawed as the start was not as it should have been to justify the comeback but regardless it was very engaging.
Now it is the main event, which I have been looking forward to since first looking at the card listing. It was the conclusion to a feud that lasted a year and saw former tag team members become bitter hatred fuelled enemies. All the tools possible were involved and they took everything to the next level in regards to destroying each other. Bodies were broken and lives changed, cliché ridden I know but it is true as both played off their past very well and let it all out and what we got was a sensational and trilling blood bath. This was not a wrestling match but a fight, no screw that, a full fledged war.
To sum up I was blown away with what was a truly compelling and lively show, there was nothing, not a damn thing that dragged it down. The crowd were hot and each match did its job to a tee, yes some of the undercard matches could have been a little better but even so the event as a whole was overflowing with excitement. I have no idea if this Final Battle was topped in the following years but it is easily my favourite right there next to Final Battle 2005 as a show which just flowed and never stopped giving.
FallingEdge
Member
FallingEdge
Member
A lot of us watch indy wrestling so the write up is appreciated.
My all time fav ROH show is Glory by Honor V - Night 2. Double main even was fantastic.
D
Deleted member 47027
Unconfirmed Member
It used to be more popular here but I feel NJPW coming out of the gate hard this year has monopolized peoples' time a little bit more. Thanks for sharing the review, we definitely love em.
Serpentine
Banned
Can't be talking down to the stars of the hit WWE reality show Total Divas (which airs every Sunday night on the E! Network)
British Monsoon
Member
Haha, early 90's photo of Bully Ray, bonus Little Guido on the right;
Check out that mullet.
Reviews of any sort are always welcome! Nice write-up, I loved the hell out of that main event and, yeah, ROH used Papa Briscoe so well.
Yeah, that's probably been the primary reason for me - multiple New Japan iPPVs each month and British wrestling taking up more of my money & time.
Check out that mullet.
Reviews of any sort are always welcome! Nice write-up, I loved the hell out of that main event and, yeah, ROH used Papa Briscoe so well.
Yeah, that's probably been the primary reason for me - multiple New Japan iPPVs each month and British wrestling taking up more of my money & time.
For the record I generally grill the shit out of Indy wrestling critique way too much, which has lead to some interesting situations over the years so if its ok I will share my other ROH reviews in the future.
My most recent one after Final Battle 2010 pretty much shat on the whole thing so take it for its worth I guess.
I'm a big fan of 2003-2008 ROH and was a big fan of PWG for a while.
My most recent one after Final Battle 2010 pretty much shat on the whole thing so take it for its worth I guess.
I'm a big fan of 2003-2008 ROH and was a big fan of PWG for a while.
FallingEdge
Member
I need to put up some PWG reviews but it is just so time consuming. Props for you guys for doing them and doing them well.
Serpentine
Banned
thought that was Brian Knobbs for a sec
mechashiva
Member
When Callihan powerbombed AR Fox out of the ring in LA onto a guardrail his head was inches from being impaled. I wonder how more tables and crap don't impale these guys.
TheWarrior
Banned
Haha, early 90's photo of Bully Ray, bonus Little Guido on the right;
Check out that mullet.
Can't unsee
These days I wait to see what digital albums are 5 bucks on amazon each month. That's about it unless it's a band I REALLy like.
legitshook.com
WCW Monday Nitro 12/20/99
This is the second to last Nitro for me to do. There is one Thunder and one Nitro left and it feels pretty rad.
Last night, Bret Hart retained his title over Goldberg when Roddy Piper reenacted the Montreal Screwjob.
Madusa and Spice come to the ring. Madusa cut an AWFUL promo. It was really bad. It's bad every time she talks, but this was worse than normal. She issued an open challenge to any men that want a match. Then she saw Buzzkill in the crowd and called him into the ring.
Madusa vs Buzzkill
Despite having won the Cruiserweight Championship last night (and being the first woman to win a male championship in WCW history), Madusa didn't bring the title out with her. Buzzkill dominated her. Spice distracted the ref and threw something to Madusa. Madusa hit Brad with it and pinned him with a German suplex. Title retained. Maybe.
Double J and Benoit will have another ladder match. DDP vs Kanyon vs Bam Bam. Meng/Norman vs Knobs/Finlay. Sid vs The Wall. The Varsity Club returns to action.
TO THE POWERS THAT BE. Russo tells his men to be on guard tonight as emotions are running high. Hennig says Hugh Morrus was walking around. Russo books Hennig/Hugh with the intention of getting rid of Hugh for good. Apparently there were problems with Hugh and TPTB that were never mentioned on TV. He wants Piper brought to him as soon as Piper arrives.
TO THE BACK. Piper arrives in a limo with his son. BUT WHO WAS LIMO?!? After a break, Creative Control get Piper. Piper insists on taking his kid with him.
Hugh Morrus vs Curt Hennig
Someone in a mask was beating up Virgil backstage. There is an old man in a hospital gown walking around ringside. Hugh calls the man Pop. Pop keeps distracting Hugh. Perfect Plex for the win. Pop looks like John Carpenter.
TO THE POWERS THAT BE. Russo and Nick Piper are in the office. Russo says he must be looking for sympathy, but he doesn't get Russo's sympy because Russo is an asshole. He then says that Piper is to go to the ring and confess that he sold out and Russo had nothing to do with it. "You WILL take my heat, Piper." Well, it sounds like Russo just admitted to being behind the Screw Job on his show that anyone could be watching right now. Piper is going to SHOOT. Marks, smarks, SPORT. Dudes trying to fuck kids on the street. Hogan and Piper built pro wrestling. Piper seems like a genuinely unsound parent to me.
Tony talks about the Montreal Screw Job, where the WWF promoter Vince McMahon screwed Bret Hart out of the WWF championship. Vince Russo, the head creative writer of WCW, was a writer in the WWF at the time, and many speculate he was the one who scripted the finish to that match. Jesus. Why even pretend to have any kind of semblance of on screen kayfabe? Kevin Nash has been very vocal in his defense of Goldberg.
In fact, Kevin Nash comes to the ring. He talks about breaking into wrestling and the rules he was taught. The number one rule is the boys don't screw the boys. It's always been a struggle between the boys and the office. "Because, quite frankly, the office doesn't give a SHIT about us." It sounds like Nash is trying to form a union here. "What happened to you last night at Starrcade was BULLSHIT." Shit, asshole, and bullshit have been used tonight, totally unmuted. Nash claims that Bret screwed Goldberg. "Well buddy boy, you're nothing but a piece of SHIT!"
DURING THE BREAK. Bret arrived.
TO THE BACK. Gene talks to Creative Control. They say Nash is the biggest politician there is.
Tank Abbott vs Jerry Flynn
The ref is thrown down twice right away. Security members are taken down when they try to break it up. Tank punched Flynn while Flynn was handcuffed.
TO THE BACK. Goldberg has arrived. He's pissed.
The Revolution come to the ring. Jim Duggan must renounce his citizenship. Saturn talks about Tootsie Pops. Shane compares the US flag to a used piece of toilet paper. Sad Duggan walks out. Duggan won't do it. He lied about the stipulation. Shane calls Standards and Practices either "fucks" or "fags". They beat up Duggan and attempt to burn the flag. The Filthy Animal's music hits and they calmly and slowly walk to the ring. Rey was still on crutches. The Revolution could have easily won that fight.
TO THE BACK. Piper walks with his son.
Roddy Piper comes to the ring. Bret and Goldberg were both watching. Piper says he sold out. He then lists off his WWF accomplishments. Then he talks about Russo the writer booking stupid stuff and guys to fake lose or something. Fans don't want to see that shit. He apologizes to Goldberg. He doesn't want to do the dog and pony bullshit anymore. He's a real deal fighter. He's quitting. His son runs out to hug him. Goldberg meets them both near the stage. Until last night, Goldberg had a lot of respect for Piper. Piper made the wrong decision. He sold out, and Goldberg will never do that. Bret also comes out. Bret says Goldberg's heat is with the office. "You think I want to walk around with this piece of trash around my waist?" He vacates the title and heads to the back to tell the office to shove the belt up their asses.
TO THE POWERS THAT BE. Bret calls Russo a piece of shit. This was Russo's way of trying to make up for Montreal. Goldberg vs Bret in a rematch tonight.
Norman Smiley/Meng vs Brian Knobs/Fit Finlay
Meng beats up Norman before the match. Norman tries to run away, only to run into Finlay and Knobs. THEY BE IN THE BATHROOM! Norman gets a swirly. Knobs pins Norman on the bathroom floor. This show has been pretty awful.
TO THE BACK. Piper is talking to his son. He leaves with a baseball bat.
TO THE RECORDING STUDIO. Prince won't sing because he doesn't like the music presented to him. Maybe he should write his own music.
TO THE BACK. Piper and Bret talk. I couldn't hear a word Bret said.
The Maestro vs Evan Karagias
God damn. The show just gets worse. Symphony SWERVES Evan and Stro wins.
TO THE BACK. Russo tears down the PTB office set. Literally breaking the 4th wall. Russo is the most meta booker of all time. As he's doing this, he's screaming about Owen and Gorilla Monsoon. Elsewhere, Chavo tries to sell Evan a book on how to pick up chicks. Evan beats him up.
Chris Kanyon vs Bam Bam Big Yellow vs DDP
TRIAD EXPLOOOOODES! 4 months after they broke up. J. Biggs is on color despite apparently having strep throat. He made a valid point about this match being stupid since Kanyon defeated DDP and Bam Bam in the past week. Bam Bam and DDP double team him. Kanyon appears to injure his leg on a uranage. Greetings from Asbury Park. DDP the gives Bam Bam a Kanyon Cutter. BANG! DDP kisses a woman at ringside and leaves. Kanyon busts a bottle of champag Ne on Bam Bam. It apparently wasn't a gimmicked bottle, as Bam Bam was immediately busted open and Kanyon's hand was also bleeding. Kanyon wins.
TO THE BACK. Nash heads to the ring.
Kevin Nash vs Creative Control
Hall comes out on crutches. This actually isn't even a match. There is no ref. Hall gets in the ring and uses his crutches, seemingly totally fine.
Lex and Liz were up near the rafters, with Lex dressed as Sting.
TO THE BACK. Benoit heads to the ring.
Chris Benoit vs Jeff Jarrett WCW US Championship Ladder Match
I'm not a fan of rematches the night after a PPV, but gimmick rematches are even worse. Instead of a ladder, Benoit uses a chair. Jeff's knee goes out on him. Benoit quickly climbs up the ladder. The rungs all break. A quick glance showed that the other side was already half broken. Benoit climbs up the other side. They also break. Jeff gets back in the ring and uses the guitar. Jeff gets a second ladder. New champion! I can't even count how many times "gimmicked" was said during this match.
TO THE BACK. Jeff talks with Gene. Gene says it was bullshit. Jarrett also says it was bullshit last night. Hennig takes Jeff to the limo right away.
Sid vs The Wall
I seem to recall a match in 2000 between these guys where Sid completely squashed Wall while Wall was in the middle of a big push. Sid chokeslam. Berlyn came out. Berlyn missile dropkicks Wall, causing a DQ. Sid powerbombed him. Wall and Sid shake hands.
TO THE BACK. Russo tells Jeff from a limo that tonight is the night. "Are you ribbing me?" BUT WHO WAS LIMO?! Elsewhere, Tony Marinara talks to his dad. The Mamalukes bring Disco in. Chuck Zito is Tony's father. Disco's money is no longer good to him. Disco can either spend his life in a coma or join the family. Elsewhere elsewhere, Bret and Goldberg get ready. JIGGLY JIGGLY JEW.
The Varsity Club vs Harlem Heat
Sullivan is on color. IRS does some collegiate heel heat. Sullivan keeps calling Rick "Robbie", which is his SHOOT name. This show is truly awful. The Club switch guys out in the ring and on color. The lights go out. IT'S SABU! Midnight gets in the face of Stevie. IRS rolls him up to win. PG 13 attack the Club, who completely no sell it.
TO THE BACK. Daffney gets a SURGE. The Misfits hit on her. She kisses Jerry Only, then knees him in the balls.
David Flair vs Vampiro
David and Daffney beat up David Penzer before the match. Vamp came out to apologize, saying it was all a big misunderstanding...that David is a psycho freak. David then attacks him with the crowbar. Jerry Only was also attacked. Match never happened.
TO THE BACK. Vamp is bleeding from the mouth and The Misfits are throwing shit around.
TO THE MEAN GENE. Buff Bagwell is the guest. Buff talks about his neck injury and how he needs some gold around his waist. Gene talks about rumors about Buff and Kim. Buff says they're just friends. Gene won't back down. WE'RE GOING TO GO THERE. If DDP wasn't married to Kim, he'd put his stuff all over Kim. Was he talking about cumming on her? DDP comes out of the crowd and attacks Buff. Security breaks them up.
TO THE BACK. Piper says goodbye to Sid. "See ya, little kid." Piper wishes The Filthy Animals and PG13 a Merry Christmas. He thinks they need to show some balls and show the writers that they are the best athletes. Piper didn't see his first 2 kids growing up. Jesus Christ, I'm fucking sick of Piper. FORM A UNION! Lol. Elsewhere, Jeff sits down to watch the monitor.
Bret Hart vs Goldberg WCW Championship
Bret clearly had at least one concussion last night, but likely two. There is no way a doctor wasn't aware of this. Bret is still wrestling the very next night. Ref bump. Bret low blows Goldberg and puts him in the figure four. The Outsiders come out with ball bats and start beating on Goldberg. Bret takes one of the bats and hits Goldberg. SWERVE! Piper comes out and covers Goldberg's body. The ref counts this as a pin and counts the fall. The ref gives Bret the title, but Roddy Piper clearly just won the match. Jeff Jarrett comes out and hits Piper with a guitar. The spray paint is out. NWO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fuck this company. "The biggest SWERVE ever has just come down the pike!" Nash has been saying the band is getting back together for months now. The show ends with spray paint, trash in the ring, and nWo music.
DQ Count: Shit doesn't matter
What a truly awful show. Maybe the worst Nitro of all 3 years I've gone through. The whole angle going through the show was that Russo was doing a SHOOT worked shoot angle. Piper was the main character and was a really pussy to bring his young son to the show to make sure no one would attack him. He literally tore down the 4th wall. Piper tells the young guys to form a union. "The boys", "writer", and "gimmicked" were said about 30 times a piece. Buff talked about cumming on Kim. Worst of all, the show ended with the nWo starting up again.
You can't have a show where the main angle is that the writer openly SHOOT screwed a wrestler on a worked finish, have Piper talk about works and shoots all night and how the fans want real fighters, then have the same two guys have a rematch and expect anyone to buy it. You can't break kayfabe that hard and fix it by the end of the show. You can't literally say things like "scripted finish", have guys wrestle with silly gimmicks, then show them backstage palling around and talking about unions and the office. It doesn't work that way. But that's how Russo has done every show since he came to WCW. From his very first night. Using actual personal issues and blurring the lines can be great. Going out of your way to call attention to the fact that everything is a big work and the REAL angles are people being mad at each other behind the scenes because of politics and bullshit isn't. Unless it was a movie or TV show. Not a wrestling TV show, but a TV show about how the wrestlers interact behind the TV cameras. Maybe that's what Russo was trying to do. Maybe he was super ahead of his time with meta shows. Or maybe he had no idea how to actually write a pro wrestling show and had no business being a booker. His talent was writing angles for programs that were booked for him, with McMahon filtering out the bad stuff. It wasn't in writing EVERY angle, with zero filtering to stop him from bad shit.
Just the Powers That Be angle alone is enough to know shit is bad. The angle is that the new writers, who are openly referred to on screen and off as Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara, are writing themselves into the show as faceless mystery villains, except everyone knows who they are and let the fans at home know who they are on every show. Someone needs to get Charlie Kaufman to write a movie based on Russo's booking. That's the only way any of it makes sense.
Vince Russo lives in a world where it makes total sense to book an angle where Vince Russo the writer makes Roddy Piper LEGIT SHOOT screw over Goldberg, then quit the next night not because he screwed Goldberg, but because he hated that he was booked to screw Goldberg. At the same time, Bret Hart is mad about both Vinces, while the Goldberg character is only mad in kayfabe. But Bret and Piper are mad as characters and as real people. It makes no sense at all. Or why is it that at the start of Russo's run, he had Buff booked to job and it was part of Buff's angle that he was being booked to job, but guys that Russo wants to win still lose matches? He's the writer. Vince Russo is both the writer off screen and the on screen writer. So if we've already been shown that not only is he a writer for real and in kayfabe, and he has shown that he scripts the finishes to everything, why do some matches seem not to work by the same standards as others? Jeff Jarrett should never, ever lose if he's really the chosen one and Russo doesn't want him to lose. Why are some angles real, some worked, and some worked shoots, sometimes with the same people involved?
I'm so glad this is almost over. I believe this was the last show that Russo booked on his own. After this, they tried to do a committee with Russo, Ferrara, Kevin Sullivan, Terry Taylor, and I think Mike Tenay. If this was his last real show in power, he burnt everything to the ground on his way out. This was the kind of show that makes people give up on wrestling altogether.
WCW Monday Nitro 12/20/99
This is the second to last Nitro for me to do. There is one Thunder and one Nitro left and it feels pretty rad.
Last night, Bret Hart retained his title over Goldberg when Roddy Piper reenacted the Montreal Screwjob.
Madusa and Spice come to the ring. Madusa cut an AWFUL promo. It was really bad. It's bad every time she talks, but this was worse than normal. She issued an open challenge to any men that want a match. Then she saw Buzzkill in the crowd and called him into the ring.
Madusa vs Buzzkill
Despite having won the Cruiserweight Championship last night (and being the first woman to win a male championship in WCW history), Madusa didn't bring the title out with her. Buzzkill dominated her. Spice distracted the ref and threw something to Madusa. Madusa hit Brad with it and pinned him with a German suplex. Title retained. Maybe.
Double J and Benoit will have another ladder match. DDP vs Kanyon vs Bam Bam. Meng/Norman vs Knobs/Finlay. Sid vs The Wall. The Varsity Club returns to action.
TO THE POWERS THAT BE. Russo tells his men to be on guard tonight as emotions are running high. Hennig says Hugh Morrus was walking around. Russo books Hennig/Hugh with the intention of getting rid of Hugh for good. Apparently there were problems with Hugh and TPTB that were never mentioned on TV. He wants Piper brought to him as soon as Piper arrives.
TO THE BACK. Piper arrives in a limo with his son. BUT WHO WAS LIMO?!? After a break, Creative Control get Piper. Piper insists on taking his kid with him.
Hugh Morrus vs Curt Hennig
Someone in a mask was beating up Virgil backstage. There is an old man in a hospital gown walking around ringside. Hugh calls the man Pop. Pop keeps distracting Hugh. Perfect Plex for the win. Pop looks like John Carpenter.
TO THE POWERS THAT BE. Russo and Nick Piper are in the office. Russo says he must be looking for sympathy, but he doesn't get Russo's sympy because Russo is an asshole. He then says that Piper is to go to the ring and confess that he sold out and Russo had nothing to do with it. "You WILL take my heat, Piper." Well, it sounds like Russo just admitted to being behind the Screw Job on his show that anyone could be watching right now. Piper is going to SHOOT. Marks, smarks, SPORT. Dudes trying to fuck kids on the street. Hogan and Piper built pro wrestling. Piper seems like a genuinely unsound parent to me.
Tony talks about the Montreal Screw Job, where the WWF promoter Vince McMahon screwed Bret Hart out of the WWF championship. Vince Russo, the head creative writer of WCW, was a writer in the WWF at the time, and many speculate he was the one who scripted the finish to that match. Jesus. Why even pretend to have any kind of semblance of on screen kayfabe? Kevin Nash has been very vocal in his defense of Goldberg.
In fact, Kevin Nash comes to the ring. He talks about breaking into wrestling and the rules he was taught. The number one rule is the boys don't screw the boys. It's always been a struggle between the boys and the office. "Because, quite frankly, the office doesn't give a SHIT about us." It sounds like Nash is trying to form a union here. "What happened to you last night at Starrcade was BULLSHIT." Shit, asshole, and bullshit have been used tonight, totally unmuted. Nash claims that Bret screwed Goldberg. "Well buddy boy, you're nothing but a piece of SHIT!"
DURING THE BREAK. Bret arrived.
TO THE BACK. Gene talks to Creative Control. They say Nash is the biggest politician there is.
Tank Abbott vs Jerry Flynn
The ref is thrown down twice right away. Security members are taken down when they try to break it up. Tank punched Flynn while Flynn was handcuffed.
TO THE BACK. Goldberg has arrived. He's pissed.
The Revolution come to the ring. Jim Duggan must renounce his citizenship. Saturn talks about Tootsie Pops. Shane compares the US flag to a used piece of toilet paper. Sad Duggan walks out. Duggan won't do it. He lied about the stipulation. Shane calls Standards and Practices either "fucks" or "fags". They beat up Duggan and attempt to burn the flag. The Filthy Animal's music hits and they calmly and slowly walk to the ring. Rey was still on crutches. The Revolution could have easily won that fight.
TO THE BACK. Piper walks with his son.
Roddy Piper comes to the ring. Bret and Goldberg were both watching. Piper says he sold out. He then lists off his WWF accomplishments. Then he talks about Russo the writer booking stupid stuff and guys to fake lose or something. Fans don't want to see that shit. He apologizes to Goldberg. He doesn't want to do the dog and pony bullshit anymore. He's a real deal fighter. He's quitting. His son runs out to hug him. Goldberg meets them both near the stage. Until last night, Goldberg had a lot of respect for Piper. Piper made the wrong decision. He sold out, and Goldberg will never do that. Bret also comes out. Bret says Goldberg's heat is with the office. "You think I want to walk around with this piece of trash around my waist?" He vacates the title and heads to the back to tell the office to shove the belt up their asses.
TO THE POWERS THAT BE. Bret calls Russo a piece of shit. This was Russo's way of trying to make up for Montreal. Goldberg vs Bret in a rematch tonight.
Norman Smiley/Meng vs Brian Knobs/Fit Finlay
Meng beats up Norman before the match. Norman tries to run away, only to run into Finlay and Knobs. THEY BE IN THE BATHROOM! Norman gets a swirly. Knobs pins Norman on the bathroom floor. This show has been pretty awful.
TO THE BACK. Piper is talking to his son. He leaves with a baseball bat.
TO THE RECORDING STUDIO. Prince won't sing because he doesn't like the music presented to him. Maybe he should write his own music.
TO THE BACK. Piper and Bret talk. I couldn't hear a word Bret said.
The Maestro vs Evan Karagias
God damn. The show just gets worse. Symphony SWERVES Evan and Stro wins.
TO THE BACK. Russo tears down the PTB office set. Literally breaking the 4th wall. Russo is the most meta booker of all time. As he's doing this, he's screaming about Owen and Gorilla Monsoon. Elsewhere, Chavo tries to sell Evan a book on how to pick up chicks. Evan beats him up.
Chris Kanyon vs Bam Bam Big Yellow vs DDP
TRIAD EXPLOOOOODES! 4 months after they broke up. J. Biggs is on color despite apparently having strep throat. He made a valid point about this match being stupid since Kanyon defeated DDP and Bam Bam in the past week. Bam Bam and DDP double team him. Kanyon appears to injure his leg on a uranage. Greetings from Asbury Park. DDP the gives Bam Bam a Kanyon Cutter. BANG! DDP kisses a woman at ringside and leaves. Kanyon busts a bottle of champag Ne on Bam Bam. It apparently wasn't a gimmicked bottle, as Bam Bam was immediately busted open and Kanyon's hand was also bleeding. Kanyon wins.
TO THE BACK. Nash heads to the ring.
Kevin Nash vs Creative Control
Hall comes out on crutches. This actually isn't even a match. There is no ref. Hall gets in the ring and uses his crutches, seemingly totally fine.
Lex and Liz were up near the rafters, with Lex dressed as Sting.
TO THE BACK. Benoit heads to the ring.
Chris Benoit vs Jeff Jarrett WCW US Championship Ladder Match
I'm not a fan of rematches the night after a PPV, but gimmick rematches are even worse. Instead of a ladder, Benoit uses a chair. Jeff's knee goes out on him. Benoit quickly climbs up the ladder. The rungs all break. A quick glance showed that the other side was already half broken. Benoit climbs up the other side. They also break. Jeff gets back in the ring and uses the guitar. Jeff gets a second ladder. New champion! I can't even count how many times "gimmicked" was said during this match.
TO THE BACK. Jeff talks with Gene. Gene says it was bullshit. Jarrett also says it was bullshit last night. Hennig takes Jeff to the limo right away.
Sid vs The Wall
I seem to recall a match in 2000 between these guys where Sid completely squashed Wall while Wall was in the middle of a big push. Sid chokeslam. Berlyn came out. Berlyn missile dropkicks Wall, causing a DQ. Sid powerbombed him. Wall and Sid shake hands.
TO THE BACK. Russo tells Jeff from a limo that tonight is the night. "Are you ribbing me?" BUT WHO WAS LIMO?! Elsewhere, Tony Marinara talks to his dad. The Mamalukes bring Disco in. Chuck Zito is Tony's father. Disco's money is no longer good to him. Disco can either spend his life in a coma or join the family. Elsewhere elsewhere, Bret and Goldberg get ready. JIGGLY JIGGLY JEW.
The Varsity Club vs Harlem Heat
Sullivan is on color. IRS does some collegiate heel heat. Sullivan keeps calling Rick "Robbie", which is his SHOOT name. This show is truly awful. The Club switch guys out in the ring and on color. The lights go out. IT'S SABU! Midnight gets in the face of Stevie. IRS rolls him up to win. PG 13 attack the Club, who completely no sell it.
TO THE BACK. Daffney gets a SURGE. The Misfits hit on her. She kisses Jerry Only, then knees him in the balls.
David Flair vs Vampiro
David and Daffney beat up David Penzer before the match. Vamp came out to apologize, saying it was all a big misunderstanding...that David is a psycho freak. David then attacks him with the crowbar. Jerry Only was also attacked. Match never happened.
TO THE BACK. Vamp is bleeding from the mouth and The Misfits are throwing shit around.
TO THE MEAN GENE. Buff Bagwell is the guest. Buff talks about his neck injury and how he needs some gold around his waist. Gene talks about rumors about Buff and Kim. Buff says they're just friends. Gene won't back down. WE'RE GOING TO GO THERE. If DDP wasn't married to Kim, he'd put his stuff all over Kim. Was he talking about cumming on her? DDP comes out of the crowd and attacks Buff. Security breaks them up.
TO THE BACK. Piper says goodbye to Sid. "See ya, little kid." Piper wishes The Filthy Animals and PG13 a Merry Christmas. He thinks they need to show some balls and show the writers that they are the best athletes. Piper didn't see his first 2 kids growing up. Jesus Christ, I'm fucking sick of Piper. FORM A UNION! Lol. Elsewhere, Jeff sits down to watch the monitor.
Bret Hart vs Goldberg WCW Championship
Bret clearly had at least one concussion last night, but likely two. There is no way a doctor wasn't aware of this. Bret is still wrestling the very next night. Ref bump. Bret low blows Goldberg and puts him in the figure four. The Outsiders come out with ball bats and start beating on Goldberg. Bret takes one of the bats and hits Goldberg. SWERVE! Piper comes out and covers Goldberg's body. The ref counts this as a pin and counts the fall. The ref gives Bret the title, but Roddy Piper clearly just won the match. Jeff Jarrett comes out and hits Piper with a guitar. The spray paint is out. NWO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fuck this company. "The biggest SWERVE ever has just come down the pike!" Nash has been saying the band is getting back together for months now. The show ends with spray paint, trash in the ring, and nWo music.
DQ Count: Shit doesn't matter
What a truly awful show. Maybe the worst Nitro of all 3 years I've gone through. The whole angle going through the show was that Russo was doing a SHOOT worked shoot angle. Piper was the main character and was a really pussy to bring his young son to the show to make sure no one would attack him. He literally tore down the 4th wall. Piper tells the young guys to form a union. "The boys", "writer", and "gimmicked" were said about 30 times a piece. Buff talked about cumming on Kim. Worst of all, the show ended with the nWo starting up again.
You can't have a show where the main angle is that the writer openly SHOOT screwed a wrestler on a worked finish, have Piper talk about works and shoots all night and how the fans want real fighters, then have the same two guys have a rematch and expect anyone to buy it. You can't break kayfabe that hard and fix it by the end of the show. You can't literally say things like "scripted finish", have guys wrestle with silly gimmicks, then show them backstage palling around and talking about unions and the office. It doesn't work that way. But that's how Russo has done every show since he came to WCW. From his very first night. Using actual personal issues and blurring the lines can be great. Going out of your way to call attention to the fact that everything is a big work and the REAL angles are people being mad at each other behind the scenes because of politics and bullshit isn't. Unless it was a movie or TV show. Not a wrestling TV show, but a TV show about how the wrestlers interact behind the TV cameras. Maybe that's what Russo was trying to do. Maybe he was super ahead of his time with meta shows. Or maybe he had no idea how to actually write a pro wrestling show and had no business being a booker. His talent was writing angles for programs that were booked for him, with McMahon filtering out the bad stuff. It wasn't in writing EVERY angle, with zero filtering to stop him from bad shit.
Just the Powers That Be angle alone is enough to know shit is bad. The angle is that the new writers, who are openly referred to on screen and off as Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara, are writing themselves into the show as faceless mystery villains, except everyone knows who they are and let the fans at home know who they are on every show. Someone needs to get Charlie Kaufman to write a movie based on Russo's booking. That's the only way any of it makes sense.
Vince Russo lives in a world where it makes total sense to book an angle where Vince Russo the writer makes Roddy Piper LEGIT SHOOT screw over Goldberg, then quit the next night not because he screwed Goldberg, but because he hated that he was booked to screw Goldberg. At the same time, Bret Hart is mad about both Vinces, while the Goldberg character is only mad in kayfabe. But Bret and Piper are mad as characters and as real people. It makes no sense at all. Or why is it that at the start of Russo's run, he had Buff booked to job and it was part of Buff's angle that he was being booked to job, but guys that Russo wants to win still lose matches? He's the writer. Vince Russo is both the writer off screen and the on screen writer. So if we've already been shown that not only is he a writer for real and in kayfabe, and he has shown that he scripts the finishes to everything, why do some matches seem not to work by the same standards as others? Jeff Jarrett should never, ever lose if he's really the chosen one and Russo doesn't want him to lose. Why are some angles real, some worked, and some worked shoots, sometimes with the same people involved?
I'm so glad this is almost over. I believe this was the last show that Russo booked on his own. After this, they tried to do a committee with Russo, Ferrara, Kevin Sullivan, Terry Taylor, and I think Mike Tenay. If this was his last real show in power, he burnt everything to the ground on his way out. This was the kind of show that makes people give up on wrestling altogether.
Perspicacity
Banned
I'd like to know opinions here as to what people think is worth seeing on Wrestlemania weekend. Here's the most complete event listing I can find:
Things underlined are definite, things italicized are what I'd personally like to see. I'm going with four other people with varying interest in indy wrestling, but we all like it to some degree and we're spending a week down there so there is plenty of time to do nightlife and non-wrestling stuff.
Anything definitely worth checking out?
Things underlined are definite, things italicized are what I'd personally like to see. I'm going with four other people with varying interest in indy wrestling, but we all like it to some degree and we're spending a week down there so there is plenty of time to do nightlife and non-wrestling stuff.
Anything definitely worth checking out?
slightconfuse
Banned
Pepsi city check out dragon gate and shimmer for sure .
that goldberg Q and A could be awesome
Also young bucks have the best super kick since HBK
that goldberg Q and A could be awesome
Also young bucks have the best super kick since HBK