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We had a lot of time to prepare for this. I guess the freshest memories are the most recent ones. Combine those two things and I don't think this "hit me" at all. As someone who 100% understands the Marvel style and what Kirby/Ditko/Romita/etc. brought to the table relative to Stan, I am still a massive supporter. Consistency of style mattered as much as substance in those comics. Stan was more than an editor or writer or brand. He was an identity. When you were a Marvel fan, bet it in the 80s or 90s or even later, Stan was part of not just the identity of your hobby or the comics you patronized, but he was part of your own identity and morality as well, even decades after the fact. Over time, you'd learn to appreciate Jack or John or Steve, but you had always appreciated Stan, and you never really appreciate him less for what you ended up learning later. It didn't matter how Ravage 2099 or Just Imagine or whatever else was, you were just lucky to be able to read something new that Stan "actually" wrote. He was an idea and an icon and a symbol. And we belonged to him as much as he belonged to us.

2009 was my first year going to San Diego Comic Con. That year my pal Saul had hit the hotel jackpot by getting a room at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, which was next door to the convention center, which of course meant all sorts of pros staying there. I still get tickled at remembering Jim Steranko walking through the lobby as only he could. Anyhoo, one night I excused myself from my group of friends so I could have some me time, a quiet-ish night walking around the bay and eating dinner before coming back to the hotel- I didn't even take my camera. Mission accomplished, I got back to the Hyatt and got on the elevator. And then STAN MOTHERFUCKING LEE got on the elevator next to me. Outwardly I played it cool ("Mr Lee." "Hah? Hah...") but my brain was all "SAHGFSFHC K,CSLDUT8L64 FDS RA STANLEESTANLEESTANLEESTANLEE 8OQ437651O457VQ ORQ" like a Delirious promo. Got back to my room and had the time of my life telling everyone about how you usually have to pay $250 to get that close to him. RIP, and Excelsior.

If people ever wonder why I like Blood in my wrasslin, Becky standing tall bloodied to hell is a pretty great example. Badasses being badasses.

What a segment to end it. BECKY. THE MAN.

Well at least he can still use his old tron video...

I'm crying way more than I expected to. This will get weird and personal, so you done been warned. When i was 5, Spider-Man was my favorite character in the whole world. I loved him on Electric Company and I had a Spider-Man swimsuit and a Spider-Man velcro dart ball target and a Spider-Man everything. I'm not sure I understood the underlying pathos but he looked cool and had cool powers and between Electric Company and repeats of the 60s show I could see him 3 times a day. When i was 12, Cyclops was my favorite character in the whole world. I had more of a sense of humor than Scott, but not by that much. This weird guy whose superpower often seemed to be less "laser eyes" and more "all the earnest corn of Superman without the moral infallibility" was incredibly compelling to me. It didn't hurt that I discovered him around the time I was having to wear a bioptic because my parents thought I could learn to drive with it. When I was 21, Hank Pym was...not my favorite (that was Wally West) but a character I was strongly attached to. I had just burned my world to the ground by failing out of a full scholarship, after which I'd been diagnosed with major depression disorder. And here was Kurt Busiek trying to rehab a hated character who had burned HIS world to the ground, destroyed his career and marriage because of a mental health concern nobody had noticed until he'd self-destructed. It was a good decade before I realized how strongly I'd identified with that character or how helpful he'd been at that point in my life. Chris Sims, for all the problematic shit he's said and done over the years, had it one hundred percent right when he said (paraphrased to avoid digging up a years-old ep of a podcas) that it's impossible for anyone to overstate Stan's contributions to comics...except Stan.

Alexa should be a manager at this stage. Let her manage a stable of Mean Girls.

I like there are wrestling sites writing articles about wrestlers posting about stans death.

On the one hand, we really shouldn't give Cass shit for his weight. It's uncool to do-- they guy lost his girlfriend and dream job, and plus, I myself am slowly morphing into Haystacks Calhoun, so I'd be a huge hypocrite. On the other hand, I've been laughing for like 45 minutes because fuck that guy

I hated to see TKZ deflated like that, but it was a good win for Yair and the photo of them in the hospital has reinforced my naïve believe that this is a sport full of honorable warriors that do battle and respect each other's spirit.. That elbow from the Phantom Zone was fucking insane. I had the fight scored for TKZ up to that point, but Yair did what a fighter should and kept the contest out of the judges' hands Nothing but love for both guys. Good on Cowboy for making history, but I have to think that these high profile losses will only make Mike Perry a better fighter if he can put his ego aside and shore up the holes in his fight game. Since striking is his bread and butter, working on takedown defense would be a wonderful start.

Yes, I don't believe Becky should tap to Ronda on Sunday. I don't believe Ronda should lose right now either, Becky passing out seems like the best option.

I am shocked...SHOCKED...that Nia hurt Becky and busted her open. At least it made for a great visual. Becky Lynch is the shit!

Eh, I would believe Shibata got the intended effect, he just didn't factor in his brain not being able to process that the way he wanted to.

Buffalo has released Nathan Peterman. Defenses everywhere are in mourning.

I believe so but these type of dudes don't seem concerned about their longterm health

Can we please stop with the drag stuff

His brain is not the only problem. His ears are also an issue because he never seems to listen to his fucking corner when it would be wise to do so.

Really wanted to make the Christmas porno joke here but I can't Google for an image to go with it at work

I have sent in my pick. If it is deemed thematic enough, I would suggest getting plenty of Kleenex before sitting down to watch it.

This. You can count on Herb to make smart decisions most of the time. If he does fuck up, it's usually in the process of calling it done too early because he's familiar with warrior's pride and doesn't want some asshole dying on his watch by not tapping out when he should. Unlike Mario "Dr. Death" Yamazaki and his Crom-inspired If He Dies, He Dies style of reffing matches.

Better than Punk's.

Little Miss Bliss!

They brought back Option C. That's cool. I thought Option C was always a cool concept. I liked when Aries cut the promo initiating it. Then went on the beat Bobby Roode for the championship. I also remember when Aries attacked TJ Perkins backstage wrestled as Manik (TJ's character at the time) won the X division championship revealed himself and cashed in Option C and then didn't win the Championship.

Mama Cass

One of the best defensive center fielders of all time (better then Edmonds by a great deal), 110 wRC+ while doing it, worth 62.4 fWAR over his career, ranking him just outside the top 15 center fielders of all time (Just got passed by Trout this year because Trout is insane). Basically, Lofton is very very comparable to Tim Raines, except Raines was better offensively were as Lofton was better defensively. Also, people are fucking terrible at evaluating Center Fielders and have been for years. All of Jones, Edmunds, and Lofton should be borderline locks for beling elite defensive players mixed with good to great hitters for long careers, and Carlos Beltran should be in the same group soon.

Sooooooo f'n great.

You mean the ROUS's? They don't exist

So we all love NXT and we’ve talked before in different threads about the varying fortunes of NXT wrestlers when called up to the main roster. Thought it would make for a topic on its own right. I had to start with Asuka and the Revival… Asuka. Asuka’s time on the main roster can be split into two, before and after WrestleMania XXXIV. Before then, Asuka kept defending her perfect record in WWE and winning the first women’s Royal Rumble match. Asuka wrongly lost said streak to Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania XXXIV with her tapping out of nowhere and the post match getting interrupted by John Cena finding out the Undertaker had arrived. Asuka lost WWE Smackdown Live Championship matches to Carmella, never won the title you thought she’d be a certainty to win and she wasn’t on some PPV’s either. MISS. The Revival. The best tag team in NXT history called up the day after WrestleMania XXXIII. Unfortunately injuries followed with a fractured jaw and torn bicep respectively. I was channel surfing the other day momentarily surprised that the Revival was on Main Event. Revival’s booking rivals Asuka’s for my most frustrating NXT to main roster drafts. Revival’s may be more frustrating as they’ve never had a high unlike Asuka. MISS. Seth Rollins. The first NXT Champion has held nearly every major title in the WWE including the WWE/United States Championships and the WWE Intercontinental Championship/WWE RAW Tag Team Titles at the same time. HIT. Kevin Owens. Owens’ tenure in NXT was short. Owens’ arrived on the main roster as NXT Champion cleanly defeating John Cena in his debut match at Elimination Chamber 2015. I thought KO would win an IC or US Title but never the biggest on RAW, the Universal Championship. The chemistry between KO and Y2J was fun. This year was bad for KO’, getting squashed by Braun Strowman, saying he quit only to be brought back in no time at all and knee surgery putting him on the shelf. HIT. Sasha Banks. The best women’s wrestler on the roster, Banks' held the WWE RAW Women’s Championship four times but all of those reigns were short. HIT. Becky Lynch. The first WWE Smackdown Live Women’s Champion remained over with the fans despite her win/loss record. Becky wrestled Carmella and Charlotte Flair for that title at SummerSlam 2018 and got the biggest reaction of the night attacking Charlotte post match. Lynch is the best thing going in the WWE right now, fans won’t boo her despite WWE’s attempts. HIT. Charlotte Flair. Flair’s won championships galore holding the Divas’, RAW and Smackdown Live titles, the only woman to do so. As noted she also handed Asuka her first defeat in WWE. HIT. Bayley. Bayley’s high point was brief, defeating Charlotte Flair for the WWE RAW Women’s Championship and retaining it at WrestleMania XXXIII. The writing of her feud following versus Alexa Bliss did her no favours. I can’t ever see Bayley becoming a WWE Women’s champion again. MISS. Alexa Bliss. One of NXT’s biggest success stories, Bliss was the first woman to hold the WWE Smackdown Live and RAW Women’s Championships. Little Miss Bliss is heavily featured on WWE programming. HIT.

You could tell how hard it was for them to finish at exactly 11pm. Those last few minutes were a bit weird.

In like Flynn.

The AJPW guys busy turning their spines and neck into sawdust vs the women getting injures (or botches) caused by themselves or others is different.

Mis has disregarded the smiley emote at the end of my comment and he took my joke seriously. I am sad.

WHOO-HOO!!! USA! USA!

Good luck.

I'll enter this, if for no other reason than to get the wife off of watching all Hallmark, all the time.

So I know the company doesn't have a great reputation these days, but I've been helping out with CZW lately and the last 2 shows have been pretty goddamn great. Last night's should be on Highspots soon and last month's is already there, but I feel like they're getting into a good rhythm. Lots of variety on the shows and some great deathmatch stuff with younger guys. I think it's worth giving a shot if you haven't in a while.

Feel bad for you but I mean: what type of mutants get into fights at a Goo Goo Dolls concert? Can't blame them for just wanting to get the hell out of there after that.

I'm more intrigued by the um "security" around Kane including a time traveling Glen Jacobs/WALTER clone from the future.

Herb works every weekend and he is pretty good 7 or 8 times out of 10. It just happens that when he tends to mess up, it's probably in the UFC. Otherwise, he's pretty good. Kevin MacDonald is pretty good. Keith Peterson is pretty solid. Goodard and Leon Roberts are good. Jerin Valel is decent if not consistent. He has had his screwups, but he is not on the level of a Yamasaki brother. I don't remember a bad stop from Jason Herzog.

Big Casserole.

Shaul Guerrero's a hell of a promo.

It's Gwyneth Paltrow's head.

It's just Rugby with extra rules and you know it. The hell you doing calling it football when the ball only hits feet if something has gone wrong somewhere? That's not football, that's Throw and Run Ball.

Nakamura is a miss for me. From matches (match producers don't seem to understand him) to handling to the angles (can't beat former at the time jobber Jinder for the world title) I don't consider Asuka a miss, they still protect her I think and she wasn't going to override what WWE wanted in the sense of pushing and etc. They obviously wanted the shock that Carmella can beat Asuka but nobody really cares about heel Carmella. Yeah...they leave Asuka off tv some times but it's not like her promos are that good English wise. Bringing Asuka in and then losing to Charlotte was the plan before signing. WWE bookings of Cena, Roman, Charlotte is keeping giving them accomplishments then they're finally over years later. I knew the Revival would be buried due to their height, something only Rey can escape due to Hispanic and Lucha and kids marketability. Or D-bry due to crowd reactions being so loud. Vince probably also thinks they're hokey NWA style and/or bland hence the booking. They would better off in Wrestle-1. Predestined miss. Elias seems fine so a hit. Braun shouldn't had turned heel facing Roman and needing a faction, dumb move. in limbo for me. Sasha has been demoted to a miss to me, it's probably because of Vince's lookism and the dive botches. Her baseball slides are fine though. Seems to not be treated as the big deal as she was anymore. Bayley botching that promo hurt her. Miss. Alexa Bliss is a hit but injury prone it seems. Becky is a hit but really due to being buried but getting over with the sympathies of the fans. Similar booking that benefited others intentional or not. She's more over than most women and men in the roster. Devitt is a slow project so I dunno.