NMB Wrestling Archive

Of course, he'll probably just lose it to Batista once he comes back, but it makes me feel good just for right now. I didn't watch the show (or any show in about six months), but Booker's been through a lot of BS since coming in, and he deserves it.

I've been thinking, considering TNA and ROH share much of their talent roster, could a combined TNA/ROH pose a stronger challenge as a national #2 promotion? The current setup is backwards by wrestling standards, as the guys who work both promotions get more money for themselves but the individual companies don't benefit. As nice as it is to see the workers make out for once, it seems to make more sense business wise for the offices to work together. The whole bullshit fiesta with Aries and Strong no showing the TNA PPV to work ROH shows illustrates how the current setup isn't in either company's best interest as it lets the workers basically play one off the other. …

Both Bobby Lashley and Great Khali have been pulled from the Great American Bash card due to increased enzymes in the liver. *searches medical books to find what performance enhancer has that for a side effect* *edit* Found it: http://www.medibolics.com/qa2.htm

So they were totally buried by DX on Saturday shortly after getting totally buried at the last PPV. So can they be saved and how can they do it?

This came up as the possibility for the next poll at smarkschoice the other day and I'm curious about what matches people think would be the favorites to win it all. I'm guessing Bret/Austin Mania would be the frontrunner, but I could see some backdoor support for Iron Sheik/Slaughter. I've been thinking about the list in general lately and how it would actually be alot of fun, but really hard to construct. I wonder how high Rock/Austin Mania 17 would fit.

Saw a similiar thread at another forum and figured it would make for good discussion. Who has bodyslammed Andre the Giant? Obviously Hulk Hogan has the most famous slam at WrestleMania III. Others I can recall: The Ultimate Warrior (did it at house shows throughout 1989 with little to no fanfare). Stan Hansen did it at least once (I just saw their 9.21.1981 match online, which is what inspired this thread). I seem to recall Harley Race slamming Andre in Houston in the late-70s. Any I'm missing?

Saw ths at DVDVR and found it to be hilarious. To answer the top three questions you're probably asking yourself: 1. Ken Doane is Kenny from the Spirit Squad 2. Doane and Mickey James are a real couple, I think they're even engaged. 3. Yes, this guy with the hurt shoulder is the biggest pussy and/or douchebag ever.

Another decent show from what is, easily, the company's best brand. Despite that, it had a really weird vibe to it, like most SmackDown!s, but more than usual. The crowd reactions are maybe the weakest I've ever heard for SD. There was no real reaction to any match. Certain guys are still over, and Batista got a good return pop, but it seems like the crowd has no reason to care about anyone, and they don't. The battle royal, the Kennedy match, Vito's match, etc. They were all played to a dead audience, and it really takes away from what is, otherwise, a thoroughly enjoyable show. I missed the first segment, but I presume it was merely setting up the battle roya…

WWE has reached a deal with the Madison Square Garden Network. The network will begin airing classic WWE MSG footage on 7/5. MSG's website has a page up for "The Vault" that will feature class WWE footage. Credit 411Mania.com That's channel 621 for those who have DirecTV.

From F4W: The world champion was arrested for drug possession. Wow.

John Cena is great! He's not only survived the fans turning on him, he's used it to become an even bigger star than he was before it started. They've hit on a really awesome dynamic and WWE is actually playing his push really wisely by giving the fans who hate him more reasons to hate and the fans who love him more reasons to do so. Michaels in '96 started getting bad reactions and had temper tantrums. Cena gets the same reactions and has managed to use it to re-energize two ultra stale wrestlers in Kurt Angle and HHH, and also to finally make Edge appear like he might reach his potential. This is a rub they've all gotten from working with him. Cena has had the pressure o…

Makes you wonder what will last longer, ECW or Kurt Angle?

I've heard rumblings that going on hiatus, like what Benoit and Angle are doing, is WWE's way of dealing with top name guys who maybe didn't get straight A's on the drug test. Angle in particular has said many times he's on scores of painkillers just to function. Odds are one had to have shown up on a test somewhere.

From Zach Arnold @ Puroresu Power: (NOAH) A shocking announcement was made today by NOAH President Mitsuharu Misawa, as Misawa announced that Kenta Kobashi would undergo medical treatment to remove a renal tumor (kidney cancer). The tumor was discovered during a medical check-up. Medical consultation is currently taking place. There is some concern that the tumor could be malignant. His participation in the "dream" tag match (he was going to partner with Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Jun Akiyama & Misawa on 7/16 at Nippon Budokan) is now canceled. Misawa noted that Kobashi was maintaining his strength both physically and mentally. Tamon Honda also commented on the s…

I got this in the mail today, and watched it. I must say this is must see viewing. There was some kayfabing involved, but overall pretty interesting. Some of the stories are incredible. They had this visual on the screen with all the deaths, and they kept adding them to the screen until the screen is unreadable. One of the stories Kevin tells about his father is just jaw dropping.

from the Wikipedia article on the NWA World Heavyweight Championship: This probably won't mean much to the smarky-smark-smarks like us, but for PWI to restore world title status is a boost in the eyes of the non internet savvy fans. We may poo-poo it, but PWI is still front and center on every magazine stand I come across to this day. Not bad for a company that everyone's been expecting to go out of business for the last 4 years.

Evil Russians: I still love this heel archtype. Abdominal stretch: You don't see this hold nearly enough these days and it's even rarer for a heel to grab the ropes. True Heels: Everyone's got to be this cool heel type now. It usually only accomplishes undercutting the babyface because a cool heel makes them look bland. Mysterious Asian Heel: The type that never really talks and not much is known about. Also uses mist or salt to gain an unfair advantage. Managers: The WWF has used male managers in almost a decade. It seems the current idea of a manager is parading a pair of tits out there and hoping that will somehow make up for the fact that a…

The only thing great about subpar WWE PPVs is how Big Dave will just totally go off at random points in his recaps:

Quick recap: Retired collector Brian Last gave me 2" tape reels he got from Bill Watts with early Mid-South, Georgia, Southwest, World Class, later Mid-South, and more. I need it all converted to a modern format. The guy who does the conversion is able to convert 5 reels at a time. I started with the stuff labeled as older Mid-South and got it back this week. Details~!: All 17 screenshots I took are at http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y175/davidbix/watts/ Scorecard for what ended up being on the reels (in the order they were on the converted DV master, not chronological): Newer Ink: Wrestling Dub Tape; Older Ink: 7/7/69 Superdome Promo Reeser In Cage L…

PWI: Gotta love the mutants

I've never really been able to tell. I've always assumed that Knobbs was the better worker overall. But what's your opinion on it?

I have to say that I've really become a fan of his again since he joined TNA. He's been a fabulous heel. I love the way that he goes out every week and through the strength of his promos forces a smark crowd to react more like marks would. I really wish more heels in wrestling would take his approach. No trying to be cool, just making the people hate you. I think he might actually be my second favorite current heel in wrestling behind only El Hijo Del Perro Aguayo. Funny how playing to a guy's strengths and covering up his weaknesses at the same time can work like that. Steiner just goes to show you that the WWF is more interested in making some guys fail. …

So I'm starting to at least form somewhat of a list for my top 100 picks at Smarkschoice. I'd post this there, but I think this qualifies as spoilers, and they don't really care for that. Anyway, right now, I'm just trying to sort out the American and Canadian guys and where I stand on all of them before diving into the rest of the world. This will probably change a million times between now and then, but I'm pretty sure this is the group of guys I'm going to be ranking, somewhere close to this order. Notable (and intentional) misses include HHH, Kurt Angle, Hulk Hogan (who I'm still going back and forth over whether or not I want to include), Chris Jericho, and a few oth…