BillThompson

I have no rooting interest in that series. A dirty hit is a dirty hit.

I'm going to have to chalk this up to being a delusional Blackhawks fan. There's no way anyone can watch that replay and honestly think that Seabrook didn't lead with his elbow, didn't leave his feet, or that Backes somehow ducked into the oncoming elbow. I just don't see how that's possible, not when the video evidence is right there that shows Seabrook leading with the elbow, leaving his feet, and Backes not adjusting at all as he gets cracked in the face by an elbow.

Yeah, let's leave out the part where Seabrook led with his elbow. Or that numerous replays show Backes didn't duck down, and that Seabrook was clearly headhunting. None of that's pertinent I guess.

Yeah, even all the Blackhawks fans I know are in agreement that the hit was Seabrook's fault and that it was dirty. Most of them think he should have been suspended longer. I agree, it was a dirty hit that could have been super dangerous, and from every vantage point I've seen all of the blame should be placed on Seabrook.

The Attitude Era is by far the worst era I've seen from the WWF/E. It's like any other era in that it produced some great matches and some new stars, but on the whole I find it to be an era where you have to wade through far too much crap to get to the good stuff.

I don't dislike the Sharks anywhere near as much since they got rid of scumbag Heatley. That being said, their ability to choke year after year is highly amusing and I hope it never ends.

They have to end up in Global Force right? I mean there's no chance of them ending up in WWE and they'd be a very positive signing for GFW.

Oh boy, I just saw an article from BCB come up on Facebook where they played out a fake conversation between Ricketts and Theo where they talked about bilking the Cubs fans, taking everyone's money and making sure the Cubs were the worst team in baseball. I just don't understand how people can stomach Al or that site anymore. It's one thing to be against the rebuild, it's another to ignore all the facts of what the rebuild has accomplished. They're right there in front of Al, and the BCB nation's face, and yet they ignore those facts and continue to want winning right now, no matter what cost. The fact that these people are now clamoring for Theo and Jed to be fired and Hendry to be brought back is one of the most pathetic things I have ever read.

My first thought as pretty much the same. In a day and age where the Network exists going back to PPV is archaic. I know RoH won't get any of my money by doing this. Maybe it makes short term business sense, I don't know, but long term it seems like a step backwards instead of a step forward.

And to be concise, I wasn't aiming my comment at you. More the majority of loud fans, especially when you have columns coming out of BCB on a weekly basis now that are intimating Theo is a liar, and that the rebuild has been a complete failure, and that it's time to move on already.

I find my fellow Cubs fans pessimism hard to stomach. We're seeing good things in a team that everyone knew was at best a year away from seriously contending for a playoff spot. Shark has been dominant, Wood has been great, Hammels has been pretty good, and the main people who matter- Castro, Rizzo, and Castillo- have all been doing really good in terms of progression.

That last paragraph removes any actual hope I had for this promotion.

How so?

Watching Mania IX, and is that terrible looking Rana that Shawn Michaels goes for on Tatanka the first time he ever tried one? He takes forever setting it up, is awkward as heck getting on Tatanka's shoulders, and the final execution is pathetic looking. Unless Michaels was wasted, I hope that was his first time and that explains away how awful the move looked.

Watching old Attitude stuff, and I find even the storylines in that era to be bad in an infantile way. I'll take any period WWF/E over the Attitude Era.

Are they still taking down shows and putting them back up after tweaking them a bit? I'm working my way through all the vault PPVs and I'm up to 1994, but I noticed there's no Starrcade listing for that year.

Calling it a fairy tale is about the same as burying him,. Eventually they will run into trouble if they don't recognize Bryan's accomplishments as legit and not just blind luck, a miracle, or some sort of fairy tale run. On that front, there's a difference between being a heel and burying someone to the point where you're doing him a disservice. That's what JBL does with Bryan, where even when he does win he really doesn't acknowledge his win and instead keeps taking shots at his height and the like. That's not what a good heel announcer does.

I've been watching a lot of older stuff lately, and the difference in announcing is incredible. Say what you will about a Jesse Ventura, Bobby Heenan, Gorilla Monsoon, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, or whomever, but they didn't make it a point of trying to bury the most over guys. You did something good and they recognized it, they would get their heel and face stuff in, but they never seemed to work against whatever the company wanted put forth. Watching a Daniel Bryan match is harsh these days, as far as announcing goes. When the company is pushing him to the moon there's no reason the announcers should still be making fun of his height, discounting his accomplishments or ignoring when he does something great, etc.

Watching 1993 WCW, and were there ever any plans to turn Vader face? As the year goes along the fans cheer Vader more and more, and by the time Battlebowl comes around it appears as if the fans have taken such a liking to Vader beating the tar out of everyone that they cheer him ferociously all night? I know Vader was very effective as a monster heel, but he sure seems headed towards being a face by the end of 1993. Did Hogan arriving change all that, or were they just content to keep Vader as a heel?

Kind of like allowing a guy to wrestle with a taped fist, or a loaded glove, and so on and so forth?

The greatest strap match of all time.

After the talk about Chris Hero's match with Masato Tanaka this weekend, I got to thinking about Hero. He's never going to be a WWE guy, and I doubt TNA has much interest in him. Is he forever going to be one of the best guys on the indies, or does he end up with Jarrett, or possibly settle down for the rest of his career in Japan?

This could end up being a potential problem for NXT. They have some talented wrestlers there, but with all these call-ups they may not have enough to fill out a weekly show on a consistent basis to the point where it doesn't get stale. Maybe it's time for WWE to sign up a bunch, at least a handful, of guys and gals to new developmental deals.

Rollins and Big E both continued to work NXT after debuting on the main roster, at least long enough to drop the NXT Title. I could see some kind of Paige/Sasha/Charlotte/Emma-or-Bayley four-way match where Charlotte steals a win. I just don't think it looks good for the holder of main roster's women's title to go and drop her NXT title on a NXT show.

They are guys who need development though, otherwise they would be wrestling on the main roster. They obviously need to work on their stuff according to the WWE, and that's why NXT exists, to develop younger talent into future stars. Repackage them or whatever, but them sitting around not doing anything makes no sense whatsoever. Also, I haven't thought NXT has been that great since the Network launch. Arrival was great, and Dallas/Neville was pretty good and Zayn/Graves was decent. Otherwise it's been a series of squashes, which is not the wrestling I want to see.