Zakk_Sabbath

Imagine how pissed off people would be if HHH/Steph allow him to use it on any title, and he goes over Dolph tonight for the IC

Speaking of which, what do you fellas think happens with Rollins? Does he just get destroyed by Brock, or will he not even attempt to pay the dollars until after someone (possibly) goes over Brock at 31?

Maybe there's nothing YOU could ever do about it..

Yeah, that's too bad he's not here to serve as a believable threat to Brock Lesnar. I suppose this is my fault for trying to be sarcastic while using a medium that doesn't allow for inflection of voice and clear facial expressions. Yeah man, that went right over my head actually Man, I wonder if there is a dollar amount that is both low enough Vince would do it, and high enough Punk would say yes, for a one month return to cut promos on RAW for 4 weeks and then get Brock'd. Everything Heyman said about him feeling like a failure if he ever goes back makes me think that he might honestly be just THAT headstrong. On the other hand, they keep sendin' them gimmicks called bills in the mail

Yeah, that's too bad he's not here to serve as a believable threat to Brock Lesnar. I've been a supporter of Hero for a long time, but remember, he's never been on the main roster TVs-- 65-70% of the crowd probably wouldn't think he's a threat to The Miz

I'd lose my mind as well, but the smart money says if they do that, it needs to be saved for whenever they run Chicago next

It's cool if you want to keep said opinions to yourself, obviously, but I feel as though the ellipsis at the end say that you're open to the idea of elaboration. I understand where you're coming from, and don't entirely disagree, but Bruno or Larry Z. didn't have almost a billion dollars in movie box office to their names either. On a slightly related note, I wonder how big the payday would actually have to be for Austin to come out of retirement for Brock at 31. The build-up books itself, really.

I was looking for info on this Davey Richards leg break, and thought Wikipedia might have a source by now. There wasn't one as of yet, but I did see this line, and it made me laugh my ass off: In October 2013, Richards mentioned in a blog posting on the Ring of Honor website that he was "freshly engaged".[111][112] He was originally set to marry her on March 30, 2014 but the event was evidently scrapped as Richards was booked by TNA to work a house show in Spencer, Iowa.[12]

Man, I always wanted one of those silver and black NWO shirts that Bret is rocking there. Off to eBay. Also, I can confirm that the $9.99 flag is real, and is visible from the highway.

I always liked the differing inflections of the ICOPRO slogan: Lex: You've GOTTA want it Bret: You've gotta want it Shit, there was a Razor one but I don't think he even delivered the line, it was just footage of him lifting and mean mugging

Man, as excited as I am, this actually kinda bummed me out because it made me realize that it has been 15 years since the schedule was: Monday- Raw/Nitro Tuesday - Nitro on VHS (post-1999) Wednesday - Thunder (dying days) Thursday - Thunder/Smackdown Friday - ECW on TNN Saturday - The Muthaship/Shotgun/ECW on MSG/Worldwide Sunday - Heat/PPV This is to say nothing of Superstars and LiveWire on weekends (if I was up early) as well as WCW Pro until they killed it off. I remember watching Pro as a kid thinking it was live, and saying to myself HA! No way Eddy takes Rey's mask, he's already had to wrestle tonight!

There are so many fantastic ideas concerning the IC and US titles in this thread that I am nearly out of likes for the day. I agree that having the WWE WHC only on PPV makes those matches feel much, much more important. I can remember being a kid (I think I'm a lot younger than most here)-- Hogan was old then and Shawn was always hurt and/or pill-faced, so when either defended on a Monday it felt like a huuuuuge deal. That should be the idea moving forward. I think that's why it always made the IC feel like a big deal when it was Rock/Austin/Owen/HHH and the WCW US when it was Flair/Eddy/Hennig/Bret/DDP. That was the top title you'd see every week. Get your 30 bucks together or find a buddy whose parents had a black box if you wanted the real shit. The idea of making the US title the top title for Main Event and the IC for Raw/SD is fantastic. I watched a tight bit of Main Event last night, and although I didn't see the actual match, I saw the opening promo with the three teams and the subsequent RVD/Sheamus promo. At NO POINT did Sheamus say anything along the lines of "I'm looking to add to my collection of gold" or "Two belts are better than one"-- it made the US title seem like more of an afterthought than it already is.

Even if Taker doesn't physically return, if the finish is just random *BONG*, Brock distraction, AA, Cena wins... is that acceptable? I dunno. I'll readily admit that I'm probably more of a Taker mark than is healthy for a grown man, so with that in mind, I feel like Brock having beat the streak means he shouldn't ever, ever lose. He should be Great Leader and Eternal World Champion much in the way Kim Il Sung still rules Naughty Korea decades after his death.

I'm probably showing exactly what my age is with these picks: 10/23/1999 ECW Arena show for Sandman's return 8/26/1999 Raven return at the Madhouse Halloween Havoc 1997 Starrcade 1997 SuperBrawl 8 Foley's first title win in Worcester, December 1998 Foley goes off the Cell in Pittsburgh at KOTR Manias XII - XIX HeatWave 1999 There are 20,000 more if I really think about it, but these immediately came to mind and reminded me of being a yout

Yeah what the hell was the deal with that?? Something about WWN tapes??

Man, reading these backyard wrestling stories tickle me so much. I was terrible at actually wrestling so I was always doing this AWFUL Mick Foley tribute act, which pretty much consisted of me getting hit in the head with stuff we found in peoples' large item pickup piles.

* Managers. There are probably tons of talented guys and girls out there who aren't athletic enough to be active wrestlers, but still have the verbal performance skills to talk people into the arenas. Zeb and Paul E., I love them, but they can't do it forever. Where is our generation's Heenan, or Ellering, or Blassie, or Sherri? I mean, it's to the point where I was watching old Raws on the Network and I found myself becoming strangely nostolgic for freakin' Johnny Polo. I beyond hated that dude when my dad would rent me the Coliseum Videos from Blockbuster as a kid, but now realize how well Raven did in that role. We need more of that. Not every wrestler is capable of speaking on their own behalf. Don't send someone like Brie Bella out there to drown during a 20 minute promo. And speaking of 20 minute promos... * A format change. Similar to what alstein said above about straying from certain match formulas, when was the last time Raw or Impact didn't open with a long, boring, promo? Full of baaaaaaad acting. It's such a turn off for me, and I'm a hardcore, life-long fan. I very seriously doubt that they appeal to the non-fan or mythical "casual viewer." I mean, look at that South Park episode for crying out loud-- that sums up what the "acting" looks like outside the bubble. Like, yeah, do a few weeks of vignettes for a debuting character-- that's worked for 20 years now. But these "no 4th wall" conversations and unnatural dialogue and shit, has to go. * Less authority figures, as Charlie M. said above. It was cool when Vince and Bischoff did it in '97/'98 because it had never been done before. You'd get Jack Tunney live via-satellite 4 times a year. Now every damn week it's Steph, and HHH, and like, Kane for some reason, but then also Vickie and Brad Maddox for a bit, plus lets not forget Dixie... blegh. Someone on this board (at least I think it was this board-- if you're reading this and it was you, please speak up and take credit)-- someone on this board said that wrestling was becoming less of a wrestling show, and more of a show about running a wrestling promotion, and I agree entirely. I think wrestling needs to move away from that. This ties right into what piranesi was saying above about the corporate speak on TV, and the announcers treating it like a sport. And speaking of sports... * Titles that mean something! The great thing about legitimate sports is that there is always competition for the top prize. We are only into the 2nd week of meaningless NFL pre-season games, and there is already rumblingz about which starters are looking like Super Bowl caliber players. If the wrestlers aren't chasing titles, like I mean REALLY making it their mission, then the fact that it's a work really, really shines through. Or maybe the announcers should start talking about winners' purses and DA PAY WINDAH on TV again! "Motivated by titles/money" is the perfect way to jazz up a match that, otherwise, has no angle and no heat. * Mystique! The Undertaker was the last guy left who really had an "aura" to him. I suppose maybe Brock too, since he appears so infrequently. But a guy like Bray Wyatt having a Twitter account is a fucking travesty. These are supposed to be larger than life, living comic book characters-- if you keep that built in for the younger audience, you'll have a fan for life, which is key. I'm sorry I can't add more to the discussion in the way of Japan, Mexico, or the indies. I just haven't watched a lot of modern stuff from any of those places

Joo started the war, esse, we gon' finish it. Isss my destinyyyy Edit: Ok, so this post, like 90% of my output here, was a joke. But in all seriousness, how does TNA think they're going to pay for this? It's just crazy at this point. Every star who was ever a star that was not under WWE contract has been there (I suppose Ultimate Warrior and Goldberg would be the glaring exceptions) and they did nothing to move the needle. I like to goof on Del Rio, because like I said above, he had a gimmick that, if wrestling were college would be taught in "Heel 101," but I honestly don't think a deal would do shit for either party. That's just me. I'm entirely too cynical toward TNA right now, not because I want to see them fail, but because they've blown a million opportunities. If I'm ADR, I'm going to AAA or NJPW and getting my ass some checks that don't bounce.

He was really, really good in the ring but honestly, how do you fuck up a Razor Ramon/Mexican Flair pastiche so badly? I just feel that whole aristocratic gimmick could have been a license to print money in the right hands. Sir I'll have you know they're also half Italian I agree entirely, but don't you think that's sort of the level the WHC was on at the time he held it?

Too bad TNA is going tits up, it would be hilarious to watch him drive a '96 Ford Taurus into the Impact Zone

They did exactly what I was hoping they wouldnt do with the belt. The new logo looks dopey as shit, too.

Just for a quick peek outside the bubble, a non-fan friend of mine e-mailed this to me, and asked me if it was from an episode of Raw:

5.99 what, rupees?

I'm going to the Thursday one. Is it going to be the last taping for a while? If TNA were smart (we know they aren't) if they're still running house shows, just further angles and tape matches at them. Might give it an even grittier feel. Though turn the lights off cause no one wants to see a good match with say Joe vs. Aries with only 10 people in a 1000 seat building. And just turn the lights off during Wolves matches because no one wants to see those matches period. I'm tempted to bring a giant WORKRATE!!! sign for them. That's awesome. I'd go with something like this dude has, except it would be Russo's face:

Freudian slip? I could go for a little Korean