thee Reverend Axl Future

Did you mean "toked up"? - RAF

Aiaiai, a speedy recovery to you, sir. May Allah/Odin/Shiva/Crom/Buddha/Abbudadein and/or Harley Race bless your future. - RAF

Today you are a man, Marty Sugar. - RAF

Aww, man - RIP KKBundy. Super effective big heel and cemented Hulkamania as a thing. I had a roommate who confided in me that he a fear of Bundy, so when my pal was tripping on the LSD acid, I would take a couple Apter mag foldout posters of Bundy and secrete them into his double LPs of Hot Tuna and Grateful Dead. Quite amusing (for me) (sorry, Whitney). I hate when this thread gets bumped... - RAF One of them was this poster (cropped at source)

I have always wanted a ring tone of that fellow ineffectually shrieking "GETBACKINTHERING" over and over again. - RAF

Re: the AWA and WWF expansion - It was Vince, it had to be Vince. There was no board of directors to hold him back or to tell Verne what year it was. The traditional method of make money on the house show circuit - lose money on TV and have supershows a couple times a year in the big cities - had been in place for 50 years but technology was going to force a change, and would benefit the early adopters. VKM's ventures on his own were unsuccessful and he was going to go into the family business and do it his way ("dammit" (sorry)). He knew he was right and in hindsight, he was. Part of that focus is that he can't understand why everyone else doesn't see it his way. If you don't, you are WRONG and deserve your failure. He believed (believes) that all the workers are willing to sacrifice their home life (on the road), bodies (schedule, steroids) and autonomy (gimmicks). If he can do it, they can too (see also: Shane M.: gigging, Stephanie M.: breast implants). The man is driven. Wrestling genius? Maybe - it depends whether your definition of wrestling ends at the ring ropes. Business visionary? 100% ("pal" (sorry)). His ambiguity in dealing with his choasen profession to the rest of the world is understandable when viewed thusly. - RAF

Looks to be a Rockin' Randy card. Not the original Doink or Golga, I assume. A quick Googling shows no results, but random people say they saw Booger v. Spinks "box". I reasch out to a source, so if I hear anything I will let you know. I did stumble across the archives of the Upper Midwest Wrestling Newsletter, so that was trippy. Davis was a good guy. http://drdarindavis.com/oldsite/umwn/ SorceressKnight hit the major points. I feel that no one else could have done it, only Mr. McMahon and the WWF. He saw what was coming and took the gamble. He understood what the tech revolutions of cable and PPV were rapidly going to mean for sports/entertainment culture. It was the perfect time in pop culture. He had the capital, and the correct superstar in Hogan. The ringwork was generic enough to appeal to most, and he was willing to adjust the booking and traditions of the classic pro wrestling of his father to maximize profit. He used celebrities and music unashamedly and understood merchandising and marketing better than any other promoter. He really was interested in taking over and making money, not in spreading his vision of wrestling around. With nothing to prove, he would even jettison kay fabe, which everybody else thought would kill the business but really wouldn't the internet have destroyed it anyway (or transformed it utterly)? Watts was pretty smart and ambitious too, but had money problems and his stubborn view about 'rassling really wasn't fit to explode nationally. WCCW was set to crash'n'burn from the get-go. JCP tried, but we know what happened. Turner's millions made it a possibility, but I believe that the headstart of only a year or so that WWF had in the expansion war was too much for any other promotion to overcome, and that is even taking into account all the bad luck, scandal and hubris that VKM and the WWF had. - RAF p.s.- Dammit, Harley Race, I pictured you to live forever. Don't prove me wrong, sir...

Here's my old man off the topic story, I hope I can do it justice: In the early Aughts, a loony money mark was active for a couple months in the Wisconsin area, and used a bunch of unemployed ex-WWF/WCW talent as well as a bunch of indie guys from the area, including your humble narrator. Wow, I made a bunch of money from this coke-addled goofus and more importantly, got a whole passel of amazing tales out of it. One night, we were in a nightclub's utility room that was serving as the locker room for this money mark's card (no advertising, about 14 people in attendance). The Fabulous Moolah was there, as well as Jim Neidhart, Sensational Sherri, Carmine the Hustler DiSpirito (who was the contact for many of the vets), some indie cannonfodder (inc. thee RAF) and Mike Shaw. Mr. Shaw always had a lot to say, and was really holding court on this night. He was telling everyone how he had asked the "promoter" if he could work early in the card because he had to get back to Michigan to get to his wrestling school in the morning, and that he had gotten his hotel moneys in cash (and how he could use any of his gimmicks, and how cold it got in Calgary, and how nice Hogan was to him, et al...). He really went on and on about his students, and no one else had much to say or the time to say it. When Shaw lumbered out of the room, there was a pregnant pause and Moolah quietly said in her Southern lilt, "Well, who is gonna teach Mike how to work?" and we all fell out. She really was a master of timing. emmis, RAF

That is dang brutal and amazing, and and extra star for that handle "Paula Abdullah the Butcher"! - RAF

I would be hard pressed to decide between Blanchand/Magnum and Lawler/Idol. Both had incredible heat, psychology, story-telling and finishes. Both are in my top ten faves to re-watch.I also dig Muraco v. Snuka. - RAF

I bet it is the angle of the photo, but man it sure looks like everything on DFJr has wizened in thee Florida sun except those giant mitts. - RAF

When Vader was good, he was so so good, a true force of nature & effective in so many federations. His stuff still stands up. And Vader and Harley Race? Foergetaboutit... - RAF

There's nothing wrong with having a contrary opinion from the masses, be they in the arena or here on the DVDVR or even on the booking team. "What am I missing" implies that your lack of enthusiasm for Toni Storm is wrong. Relax - there is nothing wrong with disliking a wrestler for petty whims (a backwards baseball cap, shmutz under the eye) let alone substantial stylistic ones (ham-fisted audience pandering, vague & undefined gimmick, default emotion is crying, weak selling for a babyface, shite promos). This, of course, is exacerbated when said wrestler is being shoved down our throats. I can see how it is anticipated that she will appeal to the greatest percentage of people, which a sure ticket to rejection by my disobliging self. Ah well, it does make life interesting, and there still is plenty of room for the other far more festive lady grapplers around (Ripley, Dawn, Kelly, Priestly, Ray, Niven(?)). On more than one occasion as a youth I was threatened with violence for cheering for someone that was unpopular with the crowd and/or booing some overrated fan favorite. Remember what Handsome Dick Manitoba teaches us: I AM RIGHT. - RAF

My favorite thing about the show was when the WWE gave the Elimination Chamber some promo time. It was pretty good on the mic, building anticipation and possibly even selling some Network subs. Kind of like a Jake the Snake promo, all confidence, dire predictions and growly menace. I wish the other anthropomorphic plunder of the PPV universe could be featured thusly: some Tables, a few Ladders, an eloquent Chair, comedy from the MITB belt and of course - the imperious imposing Cell That Holds Hell itself in all it's glory. End this primate bias and no need to worry about "Southern style rassling managers", Mr. McMahon - the next gen of talkers are right there and already copyrighted. - RAF

Counterpoint: Ken Patera. - RAF

No, it's a helluva bump. - RAF

And, their protest did not really change much after all... - RAF

So much genius in this video. I would rather watch a SD Jones or Tony Garea opener from the cheap seats than have ringside VIP for a Shane McMahon main event. I am both smart and weird. - RAF

Hey, I worked with a handful of those names. Aahh, memories... The standard for indy workers is so much incredibly higher now. Wrestling was so popular back then that every goof with a couple bucks was inspired to become a promoter & start a fed and put on a show, and innumerable sub-normals were inspired to believe that their love of wrestling was a substitution for dedication, athleticism, talent, intelligence and/or study, thusly stepping into the ring in county fairs, VA halls and armories (and backyards) everywhere. I loved it (in hindsight). - RAF

Having a ginormous roster contributes to under-exposure of much talent, but at least now the WWE has learned to give people time off and that it will not affect the quality of the shows (and incidentally make the worked injuries more believable). - RAF

Bryan and Balor (and also Backlund & (babyface) Michaels) are also physically smaller wrestlers who use smarts, techniques and heart to win, and thus underdogs. Why do you think Hogan wanted big monsters to work? As was stated, David versus Goliath is a timeless world-wide mythological archetype of conflict/combat/battle/competition. Simple. It is harder to book a giant face champ - the DvG scenario is limited. - RAF

Reading can be hard. - RAF

YOU SHUT YOUR LYING TRAITOR HOLES!!!!!! The Boogie Woogie Man loves all his street peoples! It's that dirty Paul Jones! VVAAALLLIIAAANTTT'SSSS WWAAAARRRR!!!! Take heed, squares. - RAF p.s. - one of the great things about recognizing BWMJV's brilliant genius is the digital cornucopia of festive pics available to learn from

So, the mistaken kayfabe (as opposed to the storyline kayfabe, which is itself a fictional version of a theatrical reality) of these hardcore fans is driving Mr. McMahon, HHH, the booking & writing committees to adjust angles, feuds and PPVs - nay WrestleMania itself! - to this minority's perceptions? This is some wild and wooly through the looking glass stuff indeed... - RAF p.s. - The exposure of the idea of "kayfabe" (more properly "kay fabe") into the mainstream (or at least the internet) has diluted its original usages, to my ear. In many places, I see the confusion of "kay fabe" for "working" - there is a difference between subtlety and obfuscation via misuse.

I see what you are saying in the first couple of paragraphs, and agree we are living in a post-kayfabe world (or more technically, a new kind of self-delusional kayfabe) but you lost me by the end. Are you stating that the fans' perception of their favorites & villains is causing the addition of Charlotte into Lynch v. Rousey? Who is the "they" in the first sentence, last paragraph? - RAF