Kaptain Kayfabe

I called this a few weeks back, except I said Cody and Dolph (this was before Goldust showed up).

Of course we all know what happens tomorrow night on RAW when Triple H overturns it because of the fast count... but really this thing has been booked perfectly. This was the exact finish they should have done.

Going back to Alex Riley for a minute... I loved his "Varsity Villain" gimmick. I think it had some legs (maybe a year or two) of him being some dude who is still stuck in high school/college despite the fact he's pushing 30. Almost an Al Bundy "Well I scored 7 touchdowns..." gimmick. Then you could eventually turn him face at some point where he realizes the error of his ways and admits it is time to "grow up and be a man, not a kid." My biggest knock on Riley is that his in ring work is super generic. From the TKO finisher on down everything he did just seemed so... second rate. Like he was trying to mimic a lot of different guys by taking their moves and spots, but he couldn't pull it off. But dude does has charisma and is above average on the mic. Hopefully he gets another shot to do something.

Goldust/Orton was good, but it would be lucky to crack my top 10 TV matches of the year, much less number one. Cesaro is just amazing. He reminds me so much of a Benoit or Malenko in that his personality isn't where it needs to be, but he always wins over the crowd with his amazing in ring work. Every week he comes out to crickets but by the end the crowd is going nuts. Zeb is tremendous. Really one of the best promo guys of the year in my book. Count me in the boat that AJ owned the announcers out there. The crack about Lawler was funny - and true. Especially because in the past Lawler has always objectified every woman by making comments about their physical appearance and some slick innuendo. Lawler coming back with the "You are too ugly for me" line sounds like the guy who is so cocky he thinks every woman wants him, goes up and asks some chick at the bar out and she says no... and he comes back to the table all "she's a stuck up bitch."

So, Sami Zayn is getting his first shot at working WWE house shows tonight.

Love Triple H's line in that WWE.com video: "Nobody is being punished for speaking their opinion, they are suffering repercussions for their insubordination." Classic sleazy corporate double speak.

Which left Bryan laying long enough for Show to get halfway to the back (and he wasn't even moving fast by 500-pounder standards) and the Shield to charge the ring. Let's go at this from a different perspective. First, here are the major players and their motives: Big Show is a big scary dude, the most physically imposing man on the roster. He has knocked out everybody from Cena to Brodus Clay with a single punch. Show doesn't want to do what evil boss Triple H wants him to do, but his job and financial future is on the line. Should he do the easy thing and give in to Triple H? Or should he risk everything just to get at the boss, knowing that in the long term no good can come of it. Triple H is the "drunk with power" dictator who is getting off on pulling the puppet strings of his employees and putting his enemies (or people he is fearful of) in positions where they can't succeed. He knows that he can manipulate Show and he also knows that if he can control the monster he makes his position that much more secure. Stephanie is the wife of the dictator who plays the more human role and appeals to your emotions and "logic." Even though she too is evil and manipulating, she has (not yet) completely toyed with someones emotions or threatened their career/livelihood.. Daniel Bryan is this paranoid guy who thinks everyone is out to get him - especially when they really are. His fantasies have turned into realities, and because he spent the better part of 2 years alienating himself from everyone (save Kane) he has no one who is willing to help. Yet. The Shield are basically mercenaries who may or may not have a long term allegiance to Triple H. But, they are effective and have destroyed pretty much everyone they have come in contact with for the better part of a year. Let's pretend you are an agent or producer or whatever WWE is calling it now. Here is the outline of the story they were trying to get across in that main event: Big Show knows he will hurt Daniel Bryan if they have a match. Show is confident in his abilities (as he should be) and therefore he is trying to reason with DB. Daniel Bryan doesn't care. Show isn't his friend or his ally - he is just another obstacle put in his way by Triple H. Bryan has already made it clear he thinks everyone is against him and see's no reason for Big Show to be any different - especially considering the past they have had (and Big Show's own track record). At some point you have to built to a spot where DB is hurt, Show just says "enough is enough" and walks out. You don't want him to hit his finisher (if he is going that far, why wouldn't he pin the guy?). But whatever the spot is, it has to be big enough to keep Bryan down for a minute or two so the angle can play out. Given all these factors, I really don't see a better way this could have played out.

Which match were you watching? Bryan was going all-out against Show who spent half the match yelling "I don't want to do this to you" and when he finally pisses Show off enough, Show dominates him and, after the obligatory fight-back, leaves him laying, presumably beaten, then starts to leave, at which point Shield pick the bones. I was watching the match where Bryan got splashed in the corner by a 460 pound guy and NO SOLD IT by dropkicking him in the knee seconds later. Bryan took Big Show down several times, even doing the "Yes" series of kicks. Bryan was actually in control until Show caught him with the spear coming off the top rope. It was a simple transition spot, just like in every other match in the history of forever. Show certainly thought he was going to deliver the KO punch at that point, but who's to say DB wouldn't have reversed it? We will never know because it didn't get to that point. I think folks are just seeing things that aren't there because internet darling Daniel Bryan is the one being "screwed" by internet anti-christ Triple H. Y'all are getting worked and it's mind-boggling you can't see that.

Thoughts: I don't understand how people can compare this to the NWO angle. The NWO angle would have been great had Sting won cleanly at the end of '97 - a YEAR AND A HALF after it started. Then they could have started the fractures of the NWO and gotten another year or so out of the angle. Instead it got stupid with nobody wanted to do a clean job ever, the Wolfpac/Hollywood nonsense, and the bums like Stevie Ray being involved. Until the Corporation starts adding guys like Mason Ryan or Jack Swagger or until this angle lasts past Wrestlemania, shut up. I'm not getting the whole Daniel Bryan getting buried thing. He ran through the Shield last week and if it wasn't 3 on 1, would have beaten all three of them. He was very competitive with and easily knocked down (multiple times) Big Show WHO IS TWICE HIS HEIGHT AND WEIGHT and one of the most heavily pushed killers of the past 17 years. You can't book Bryan as a kick ass babyface like Austin - you book him as this crazy dude who doesn't know when to quit and is either going to do it all by himself or die trying. Early on he is going to show reckless abandon and just charge head on into the brick wall hoping to knock it down. Eventually he is going stop and regroup and find a way to get to the other side of the wall. To me, it totally makes sense for Daniel Bryan to have Orton in the yes lock at NoC until something screwy happens (lights go out, ref is attacked by the Shield, whatever). No way in hell should DB be winning the title. But he does need to look like he is capable of winning the title. I'd put a rematch on RAW about two weeks later with Big Show at ringside. Finish would be Big Show being forced to KO punch DB, but he "misses" and nails Orton. DB pins Orton only to have HHH come out and say DB has been disqualified for outside interference. They can bring 'em back at Hell in a Cell where Orton again wins in some crazy fashion. By this point, DB should have his army of guys to run against the Corporation - Show, Cody?, Dolph, etc. Random fantasy booking part 2: I would have Dolph be the next one to get fired. Finally the night you are ready to do the big "their fighting back" angle, you have Los Matadores work some meaningless undercard squash. Then suddenly they show up in the big angle as the guys saving DB. They unmask and - by God that's Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler! I mean, WWE has to know there is no longevity in Epico and Primo pretending to be bullfighters, right?

First of all, the Swagger lovefest from Fred Kyrptonite is a little disturbing. I saw one of Swaggers first half dozen or so pro matches back in the day and you could tell then he had something special, more so than a lot of OVW guys, but not something that screamed "superstar." I'd say overall he is a disappointment because he could have been the next Angle - and really, despite getting a bigger push, he is not even the next Shelton Benjamin. The role he is in now is fine for him - mid card guy who can challenge for a belt and be credible (maybe even get a run with the US title) but is never going to be a consistent main eventer. And there's nothing wrong with that!

DiBiase Jr. had a chance to do something if the Fortunate Sons gimmick ever got off the ground, but really, he was doomed the moment Legacy broke up and Orton killed him. My 5 year old will miss him being on WWE video games though, because he is the guy my son always picks to wrestle against "because he is easy to beat."

So if rumors are to be believed, AJ Styles contract is coming up in a few months as well. Maybe that's why we got the sudden change back to the old AJ? Or did TNA finally realize that his piss-poor Sting impression was actually doing more harm than good?

Pretty sure if Battleground were to have some sort of War Games deal it would be Orton/Shield vs. Bryan, Henry, Big Show, and Dolph.

The official roster reveal is this Saturday.

1996 was such an interesting year for both WCW and WWF, which is why reading the classic Observers from that time period are so interesting. WCW began just ammasing this huge amount of talent but from the get go obviously had no idea what to do with it, while WWF was starting to really get edgy/ECW-esque and build for the future. Looking back on it now, it was like an NFL team drafting for the future. The second half of '94 was rough and '95 was even worse, but by '96 the corner was being turned and then by '97 it was on fire. ECW in 1995 was the best year ever for that promotion, by far. SMW 1994 was awesome too.

"All the key talent from the major Mania events has been locked down for the game. " Mr. T? King Kong Bundy? Kurt Angle? Lawrence Taylor? Suckas gots to know!

I really don't get what they are trying to do with Kaitlyn. They make her look like a fool constantly, she is the butt of jokes, everybody turns on her... yet she is still on TV every week. It's like they are burying her, but instead of sticking her on Main Event with a never-ended feud against Alicia Fox, they are keeping her on TV for the sole purpose of making her look bad. I'm usually not into the whole "so and so has backstage heat and is being punished" blah blah blah whatever, but my God, what did this girl do?

1980/08/07: WWF @ Asbury Park Convention Hall in Asbury Park, New Jersey (United States of America) 1. Angel Maravilla vs. Johnny Rodz - winner unknown 2. Hangman vs. Ricky Stallone - winner unknown 3. Larry Sharpe vs. Rene Goulet - winner unknown 4. Frankie Williams vs. Tor Kamata - winner unknown 5. WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Ken Patera © vs. Pedro Morales - winner unknown 6. Ivan Putski vs. Larry Zbyszko - winner unknown Show @ Kansas City Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas (United States of America) 1. Jesse Barr defeated Black Devil 2. Billy Howard defeated Ringo 3. Bob Sweetan and Mike George defeated Omar Atlas and Yoshihiro Momota 4. Bob Brown defeated Roger Kirby 5. Killer Karl Kox and Takachiho defeated Rufus R. Jones and Dick Murdoch MACW @ Norfolk Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia (United States of America) 1. Bobby Duncum vs. Jim Brunzell - winner unknown 2. Russian Chain Match: Blackjack Mulligan vs. Enforcer Luciano - winner unknown 3. Ric Flair and Sweet Ebony Diamond defeated Jimmy Snuka and Ray Stevens by disqualification CWA @ Lexington Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky (United States of America) 1. Carl Fergie and Cowboy Lang defeated Buddy Wayne and Little Tokyo 2. Sonny King defeated Eddie Gilbert 3. Bill Irwin vs. Jimmy Valiant ended without a winner as a time limit draw 4. Jerry Jarrett and Tojo Yamamoto defeated Tio and Tapu 5. Killer Karl Krupp and El Mongol defeated Paul Ellering and Ken Lucas 6. Bill Dundee defeated Billy Robinson by disqualification AJPW @ Tokyo Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan) 1. Motoshi Okuma and Masao Ito defeated Atsushi Onita and Masanobu Fuchi 2. Great Kojika defeated David Sammartino 3. Rocky Hata defeated Pampero Firpo by disqualification 4. Takashi Ishikawa defeated Dominic DeNucci 5. Prince Tonga and Tiger Toguchi defeated John Davidson and Rick Davidson 6. Giant Baba defeated Ernie Ladd 7. Bruiser Brody vs. Jumbo Tsuruta ended without a winner CWF @ Jacksonville Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Jacksonville, Florida (United States of America) 1. NWA Florida Tag Team Titles Match: Ivan Koloff and Nikolai Volkoff defeated Jerry Brisco and Jack Brisco © - TITLE CHANGE!!! 2. Bill White defeated Frank Monte 3. Raúl Mata vs. Reggie Parks ended without a winner as a time limit draw 4. Wendi Richter defeated Winona Little Heart 5. Masa Saito and The Super Destroyer defeated Gordon Nelson and Scott McGhee 6. Bobby Jaggers defeated Bubba Douglas 7. Mike Graham defeated Lord Alfred Hayes 8. Bobo Brazil, Bugsy McGraw and Barry Windham defeated Don Muraco, Dick Slater and The Spoiler Stampede @ Calgary Calgary, Alberta (Canada) 1. Jim Neidhart and TG Stone defeated Carlos Peron and José Peron 2. Kazuo Sakurada defeated Barabas 3. Bret Hart and Keith Hart defeated Fidel Castillo and Kasavubu 4. Hércules Ayala defeated Duke Myers by disqualification 5. Dynamite Kid defeated Dan Kroffat

Has Brock been involved in a brawl in the past two years where someone doesn't end up bleeding hard way?

It's been mentioned a couple times in the thread, but is there a better character right now in TNA than Joseph Park? Mad props to the guy for pulling off two completely different characters and absolutely nailing it with both of them.

To follow up on my point from a few days ago about Sabin being an awful champion... I'd take Dolph over him. Dolph is at least over with the crowd. He is a superior worker. He has more charisma. Literally every tangible aspect of pro wrestling, Dolph is light years ahead of Sabin. Khali as a worker is horrible, but in his original build up to winning the title he was presented in a way that made him credible. I have no problem with him having the relatively short reign that he did. I'm not going to count "world" champions like the Colorado Kid. The NWA title from '94 on isn't worth talking about in this discussion. If you want my top 5 worst world champions of the last 30 years, here you go (in no particular order): Sabin, Swagger, Ezekiel Jackson (if you count his ECW title win), Justin Credible, and Xavier. Sabin just has nothing that makes him world champion material. He has virtually no charisma. He's an above average worker, but not a great worker by any stretch. He's not a great promo. He's not one of those guys who the hardcore fan base has been begging to see "break out" for years. He didn't have a great build up or storyline leading into the title win. Everything about him screams, to quote Kevin Nash, "vanilla midget."

It really depends on the state. There aren't many states anymore that require wrestlers to be licensed, but I believe Missouri is one. Two others are Kentucky and Virginia. Most of the other states that have commissions only deal with the promoter end of things, with some of the toughest being Oregon & Maryland. For the most part, states that have commissions at all have them as remnants from the old days, when there was actual money involved, and wrestling promoters went along with the commissions to help kayfabe - the idea being that wrestling must be legit if it is overseen by the government/elected officials. Keep in mind, in the old days, the commission helped the established promoters protect their territories, and to run outlaw promotions out of business. There was no "indy wrestling". So, as the '90s moved along and states went from having a territory running multiple shows within their borders multiple times a week/month, to the WWF/WCW running a few times a year, most commissions lost their teeth. But then when the late 90s boom period brought about a massive increase in indywrestling, some states still had their commissions in place, and it quickly became a source of revenue with very little work. For example, in a state like Pennsylvania, the boxing commission & the wrestling commission are the same thing. So, they implement a ton of rules on wrestling promoters that make very little sense, but help generate revenue for boxing. For example, the commission gets 10% of the gate, in addition to a license fee for each show. If they send a representative to the show, you have to pay them a $200 fee, so they can collect the 10% in person. You have to have a ringside doctor for the entire card, but he is not required to provide medical treatment, he is only there to "stop the match if one of the competitors is unable to continue". The doctor's fee is NOT covered by the state, nor are they provided by the state. Between Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Central PA & Erie events, there are 5-10 wrestling events these fees are collected for every week. On the flip side, the commission pays for and provides boxing referees, judges, and medical personel, with only 4-5 professional boxing events each year. Ohio is a very hands-off commission - they require promoters to be licensed, and to obtain license for each event, as well as having a surety bond & spectator insurance. The OAC often published information regarding shows in the state, and often they will grant show licenses to folks without promoters licenses, or licensed promoters will not obtain show licenses. The commission has made it clear that they do not even want to deal with wrestling, and they want the wrestlers to patrol the business themselves. However, unless the state legislature grants them a bigger budget or abolishes the commission, they can't really do anything either way. Really, there is no clear answer. A commission doesn't weed out the crap, it doesn't help protect the wrestlers, it does nothing to help the business, because it is too much work. Honestly, most of the strict commissions are strict because they WANT there to be few shows, so they do not have to deal with it at all - I'm looking at you Virginia. I can say this for KY. When I started working in KY back in 2000 you had to fill out a form and pay $10 to get a card in the mail saying you were a licensed wrestler. The form was pretty silly... most of it was basic biographical info, although there was a section for "how long have you been a professional wrestler" and something like "explain why you feel you should be granted a license." I always figured nobody looked at any of that stuff and just cashed the check. The sucky thing was EVERYONE has to be licensed in KY in order to get in the ring. That means wrestlers, refs, managers, ring announcers, etc. Back in the day, you had to have a separate license for everything - so for example I reffed and managed, so that was two different deals. I also covered my butt by having a wrestler license "just in case." I was out $30 every year. Finally they changed it a few years ago to where its $20 a year for a license that covers everything. The KY commission is weird though. They were very "hands on" 10 years ago. The two big rules were no brawling in the crowd (there had to be some sort of barrier between ringside and crowd) and no blading. Now they pop in every so often, maybe drug test a few guys, make sure everyone has their card... that's about it.

I know I'm tardy to the party and all, but Chris Sabin for my money might be the worst "World" champion ever. Obviously guys like David Arquette or Vince Russo would be "worse" but as far as legit wrestlers... I seriously can't think of anyone over the past 30+ years any worse.