notoriusvig

That Hornbaker book looks like something I'll pick up. I usually pass on the historyofwwe.com books though. Do I really need to hear about Matt Striker's experiences wrestling at MSG?

I never once said he should be booked in long matches in some internet fan fantasy. I'm not an idiot. I know that matches/workrate don't mean shit for business. I'd love to see how Vince would handle owning the UFC. GSP would have been working opening fights because he was too small.

I still hate how the internet thinks DB got the short end of the stick during his run. Well, on one hand, over 9 months or less, he beat 4 major stars clean and got a lot of good tv time/angles. On the other hand, Vince wasn't very confident in him since he gave him two shitty reigns and then gave his push to the Big Show. Vince then gave Bryan a garbage man outfit for a while before starting to come around in the beginning of the year. Even then, Vince still thought Batista/Orton was going to be this huge draw and it was until February where he had no choice but to switch the main at Mania. Then, in a program with Kane, he's booked to be a coward after Kane threatened his wife. Good lord, he already beat Kane on a fucking episode of Main Event, so why in hell is he afraid of Kane? Why in hell was he worked over by Kane in that feud? Bryan should've said "fuck you" to Kane, "I beat 3 guys in one night, I can sure as shit beat you." Then he gets injured. Most of the time, in physical altercations, besides Mania and SS, he was booked to look weak.

Same here. I took Brie's heel turn as acknowledgment that Bryan won't be back anytime soon. Do they strap the rocket to Bryan if/when he does come back? Vince is said to be gunshy about going all in on guys with health or drug issues (of course, the company is still pushing Randy "Made of Porcelain" Orton, and would probably give Jeff Hardy a monster push if he re-signed tomorrow). My thinking is that they won't strap him with the rocket if they have someone like Reigns instead. I think he'll end up as an upper mid-carder/occasional main event babyface. It's been obvious Vince is reluctant to go with the guy as a main stud. Even after he got the strap and got put over by three of the biggest WWE guys ever, they ended up booking him to run away from Kane in their program.

Bryan really could not have picked a worse time to get injured. They finally got behind him for a longer title reign (I'm aware that the Kane program was shit though) and it all goes to hell.

I'm going to pass on this. There is lit-truh-lee nothing I want to see on this show. I'll read Dave's results and probably watch the best matches later. I still haven't finished the Thursday NXT show.

Is that Carpentier?

That was hilarious. Even in the longshot, you could see the inside was completely smoke-filled. Maybe he was lighting some shit up before appearing. Maybe RVD was back there with him.

You do realize he's on schedule to return like now, right? Yea but that ain't the last 11 and a half months.

I'll gladly complain about Roman. Stop shoving him down our throats so much. He's not even active right now and hasn't won any major matches this year. At least, be logical (I know that's asking a lot). Daniel Bryan should've won, I guess. He did beat 3 major stars in one night, clean.

What sick, friendless freak would wear one?

This is what wrestling is. Two guys who hate each other, fighting to be the best. No dumb jokes or lame angles going on, just two guys acting like they are really in a fighting league.

Hurricane got buried man!

I've decided to resurrect my blog and this post, from the grave and beyond. I just did a bio on 1950's journeyman, Bill Melby. For my site, I'll still be focusing on a lot of WWWF/McMahon/New York stuff but I'm always interested in branching out to other obscure stuff like Melby. I hope you guys enjoy it.

I ended up getting the Thesz book on the Kindle. I haven't read much yet but today I'm going to sit down with it and enjoy myself. Thanks folks. On a sidenote, anyone read George Schire's Minnesota book?

Help me out folks. I only have enough money for one book right now and it's between the Lou Thesz book and Matysik's Wrestling At The Chase. What do I choose?

It was nice hearing Vince like he just discovered rock music, on commentary. I'm surprised he didn't do a gangsta rap gimmick in like 2000.

On a total random note, I think a guy with a rock band gimmick would be great, like Man Mountain Rock. I was watching the old 95 RAWs from the Network, and his gimmick seemed very unique since he seemed to be playing live. The whole live, guitar solo aspect would do it for me.

That video really makes me yearn for Vince doing stand-up comedy for a gimmick. "What's the deal with Liverpool? I don't see any pools with livers in them."

Who is to say a company like TNA wouldn't pop up? Some company similar to it would have to pop up with the power vacuum. I bet, in reality, if TNA ever goes under, another company will pop up eventually. Also, I'd be willing to bet WCW would go under, in this scenario, so Jarrett might still be out of a job. There is no reason to suggest that Kellner and the rest wouldn't still pull the plug. Nitro still had decent ratings for a cable show, yet they still cancelled it even with a potential buyer for WCW.

Let's be honest, that Hogan train would've kept going, probably even longer, if the WWF went under. Also, the situation is what if they went under, not any other situation. I'm looking at a few different things that may have happened... We need a timeline, and I'm going to say late 97-early 98 since they had to let Bret out of his contract around that period. Really, what was the boom by April 98, for the WWF? Ratings. However, do those bring in revenue yet, by that time? I'm guessing not. Russo, etc. would not have been as big commodities and thus, may have never been signed to help the ailing WCW. WCW would have probably been stronger leading up to 2001 since they'd end up signing God knows who. Hogan still would not have allowed much wiggle room for new stars in that company or for putting over WWF guys. Bischoff sold Hogan the soul of the company in 94 since I think we can all agree that not creating new stars was a big part of WCW's failing business, by 2000. The only way they got Hogan, besides money, etc., is with the creative control. That being said, the Turner merger was happening, no matter what. WCW may never have turned a profit, at all, without the boom and the competitive nature of the business of the boom. So, Kellner and the rest of the corporate guys may still have pulled the plug. I suspect the ratings for Nitro, etc. would've been a little higher since I think Bischoff's business model from 95-98 would have stuck around longer and business would not have tanked quite as much leading into 2000. In my opinion, Kellner would've pulled the plug on wrestling on TBS/TNT and Fusient would not have come into the picture. It's not easy to get a TV deal so suddenly and without lengthy negotiations. I guess one could argue that the company could have gone on hiatus while negotiations took place and not be hit too badly when they returned. Of course, this is all assuming ratings for the shows were higher than they ended up being in reality, by 2001. Overall, I suspect that PPV buys, house numbers, and other business aspects would be a little higher. If the ratings were the same, they'd end up passing on buying the company, in my opinion. ECW may have had a shot at getting the USA slots of the WWF but Paul still had no idea how to handle the business aspects of the company. He would have needed to sign some new/old talent. The hayday of ECW booking and stuffing instead of potatoes were gone by 1998, so they would need fresh faces and a different business model, to live past 2001. I suspect, if they got a deal with USA, they'd be able to sustain good enough ratings to keep the deal but honestly, where does that get them? A TV deal and the usual crappy ad revenue for a wrestling product. In my scenario, now they have to pay for more talent and Paul would end up probably having to sell off part or all of the company to stay afloat. If I remember correctly, he never wanted to do that. If he ended up selling and finding some company to fix things, while retaining Paul as creative head, they'd be alright and might continue to grow in the Northeast and branch of to the West coast. In the end, I think WCW would have tanked. If Vince had some capital (pun intended) stashed, he would buy the brand and probably try and find a TV deal and he might even have gotten the brand for the same price he paid in reality. If he didn't buy the brand, I think eventually, he would have started a new company and grown it, as best he could, or even have bought into ECW, again if he had the capital (is that the correct spelling?). Wrestling would be pretty scaled back, I suspect, with one tiny company running the ship. Whether or not Vince returned, their would have been a power vacuum and someone would have shown up, with some company and would have attempted to become #1, ala TNA in 2002. Finally, I just can't see Vince just disappearing like Howard Hughes. Although, it is not a guarantee Vince would have had any money after selling off the company. I tend to think Turner would have bought the assets of the WWF and they would have died in 2001 along with WCW.

I'm surprised they haven't dressed Daniel Bryan up like Barry yet. He'll walk around reading comics and playing WOW on his laptop in hilarious backstage skits, as he is humiliated in some fashion.

Doug Dillinger isn't doing a very good job right here. No wonder the WWE didn't hire him.

Under Your Account on Amazon.com, go to Manage Your Content and Devices. Check the box next to the book, then click the icon next to it (...) and select "Return for Refund". I will say that if you haven't read the first edition, it's probably worth the $10, but if you have the original version, it's a complete waste of time and money. Ok, then. I have the original hard-copy already, so I'm good. Thanks for the headsup. I'll buy another book instead.