sek69

Considering the WWF was running up to three different touring groups at a time, I would think that would play a role on why Hogan didn't face certain people. I'm sure he vetoed programs against people, but Hogan's all about making money and I don't think he'd veto a program he thinks could make some money. That's why he wanted to have more than one match with Shawn. Paul himself said the arm/neck injury that ended up causing his retirement happened during the Hogan program and it ended up as bad as it was because he was afraid to take the time off to get it treated during such a hot feud. I'd wager that played a role in things ending when they did as much as any Hogan egoness did. Don't get me wrong, Hogan certainly deserves most if not all of the shit he gets from smart fans, but there were other forces in the universe that caused things to play out the way they did.

I think the big knock on Hogan is that he did just enough to not embarrass himself in the ring, but even he could have done more in a lot of the matches he was in. Look at WM 3, Hogan had to pretty much wrestle himself since Andre could barely move at that point. It's actually an amazing display from a guy who most consider one of the worst workers of all time. He's no Ric Flair, but he goes out there and bumps probably more than he did for anyone else in the 80s and salvages something watchable out of what had no right getting out of the negative star range. When you look at it, Hogan had a similar problem to what Taker had in the 90s: Both guys spent their prime years matched up against some of the most untalented lumps of all time.

Val and Vis could be a good team if WWE gave a shit about tag wrestling. I know I'm pretty much alone on this but I think Vis is an excellent worker for a guy hovering around 500 pounds. It's a shame he's really never been given a serious gimmick to go with his size and ability.

Says the guy who thinks Vince is a creative genius.....

Wow, savagerulz must work for WWE. I've never seen anyone make such a spirited attempt at turd-polishing.

History has shown the one thing Vince has talent for is taking advantage of his competitor's stupidness.

You lost me there.

There are few things sadder than watching the IC title go from being held by the most over non-Hogan worker (the 80s) to an important stepping stone for future world champs (in the 90s) to something ignored and barely defended on TV anymore today.

Luger was one of the hottest properties around during the time he left the Horsemen and started chasing Flair.

That's why I think it's unfair when a new guy starts in WWE and people immediately brand them a shitty wrestler. All the new guys are instructed to work and speak the exact same (crappy) way and if that wasn't bad enough, most get stuck with a dead end gimmick right out of the box that kills any heat they might get in spite of the style they're forced to work. What's funny is they don't work WWE style in OVW. Guys like Lashley, the Dicks, the Heart Throbs, Ken Kennedy, all had much better matches in OVW than I've seen any of them do on WWE TV yet.

Stumbled is the key word. If WCW hadn't handed him Austin on a silver platter with a bow, I think WCW might have been the company that survived and WWE would be talked about like WCW is now. It just seems that when Vince came back in 1994, it's been one bad idea after another with seemingly no one willing to say it to his face.

I think it started before HHH. Ever since the trial it seems like he's been more and more separated from the real world and his product by an ever growing parade of ass kissers and yes men.

I thought Benoit's contract wasn't up till March...

That's almost Mushnick-ian to tie every wrestling death to drugs. What if he would have got hit by a bus? Would Keller hint that he could have dodged it but his reaction time was slowed by his past drug use?

Still, that doesn't have anything to do with his past drug problems does it?

I thought it was determined Candido died from an infection from his broken leg?

Yeah, that's a complete low blow considering Candido's death wasn't even drug related. I kinda get his comments about Hayes, since he was clearly a sockpuppet for Vince in that promo in terms of trying to get people to forget Flair's troubles. In all it's just more reason why birds should be offended if their owners line their cages with the Torch.

For that matter, I don't ever remember Jim Duggan as thin as he is in the first pic, even when he was fighting cancer. He and DiBiase look like they could be related too.

A lot of people are going to be at home this New Years, since most of the US is up to its ass in snow. Now watch the last two weeks of December be unseasonably warm and causes everyone to go out and party.

Seems odd, considering Sting was the ulitmate team player in WCW, some would say to the detriment of his own career. If he's not being brought in to put people over, what is he there to do? Is JJ going to let him have a run with the belt?

The angle with Sting looks like that they're going to say they can't reveal him until 2006 for "contractual reasons" and have him make his first appearance in their "First Match of 2006" special on New Year's Eve. Seems pretty good to me, hype your special, hype your new talent, get people watching. Whats not to like from a business standpoint? You can argue if Sting can still bring the goods (he didn't look too bad last time I saw him), but if he fails it won't be from lack of trying on TNA's part.

I guarantee if there was some Internet-like communication method back in the 80s there would be much bitching over Flair never giving the title up for more than a month at a time. Again, most of it would be bullshit like most of the griping about today's wrestling is, but it would be there.

No, I don't. There are no similarities in the way Flair has been booked and the way Jarrett has been booked. Sure there are, both were protected by their stablemates from losing their titles. Just because there's a canyon between the talent levels doesn't mean its not similar.

You know what I meant, Loss. The constant negativity on the Internet causes people to base their opinions on workers or promotions almost entirely on someone else's, which may or may not be entirely full of shit. I think part of the appeal of watching all the classic wrestling I now own is being able to watch something that hasn't been completely torn to bits by smarky types.

I bet if there was the Internet in 1986, there'd be people bitching that Flair gets the title back within a month when he loses. Or that all his matches end the same, with people running in and causing a huge schmozz. Not to say JJ=Flair, but people didn't have easy access to streams of negative opinon back then. They were forced to come up with their own views without having them be shaped by others.