NintendoLogic

Whether steroids should be illegal is a separate question from whether using them results in negative side effects.

I'm not denying it. He's clearly juiced to the gills. But so is like 75% of the roster. Right, and George Burns living to be 100 proves that smoking isn't a big deal.

The best in the world stuff is fine, though it should really go without saying since that's what the world title is supposed to symbolize. And all the crap about alcohol wasn't too bad when Jericho was just using it as an excuse to hit Punk in the head with a whiskey bottle. The angle went off the rails when it became apparent that Jericho's primary motivation really was to make Punk start drinking.

It's just a shame that a few bad apples like Rey Mysterio cause doubt to be cast upon the good names of guys like Mason Ryan.

In this match, Mita is the one in white and Shimoda is the one in pink.

Here's the thing. Brock's not an actor. Having him deliver scripted lines in the middle of the ring is a rough proposition. Maybe he did as well as could be expected in that situation, but why not play to his strengths?

I'm pretty bummed that somebody already came up with Waylon Mercyful Fate.

Whenever people say that you need to watch match X, Y, and Z to get a certain match, my usual reaction is to reach for my revolver. But I really think this match is required viewing to truly get 12/6/96. In this match, Kawada and Taue cut off Misawa's comeback and seemingly have victory within their grasp. When Akiyama tries to make the save, they figure he's no real threat and disdainfully swat him away like a bug. But he ends up turning the tide for his team. So in the RWTL final, they make sure to kill Akiyama dead every time he comes to Misawa's aid. I also loved Misawa dragging Akiyama's body over to his corner and then tagging himself in. The only real off note was Kawada's leg giving out on him, which struck me as kind of random. Excellent match overall.

I know he was a guest lecturer a few times for a sports business class Bill Walsh used to teach at the business school.

I somehow doubt that someone who gets on the mic and tells the audience they just witnessed a five-star match is going to be open to constructive criticism.

This might be the closest thing to a World of Sport match to take place in a US ring. All the matwork was great, especially Arn's arm work. The problem is that none of the arm work went anywhere. And the finish felt disconnected from the rest of the match. If they're going to go that long, they might as well just go with a time limit draw. Also, Dave reported at the time that this match went way longer than it was supposed to and Flair/Vader ended up being rushed as a result.

It seems that Buff Bagwell was in a serious car accident. From the Observer website: Shit.

Also, if the other wrestlers care about the title, shouldn't they be pissed about Jericho cutting to the front of the line again after already having two opportunities? You'd think one of them would say something.

That's not what happened, though. Punk didn't demand a match so he could get his hands on Jericho. Dousing Punk with beer somehow led to Jericho being granted a title match without Punk's knowledge or consent.

It was supposed to be Beefcake at Summerslam, but his face got destroyed in a parasailing accident. And wasn't the missing foot not widely known until after Kerry's death?

How do you accomplish this in the WWE, though? It's not like they ever mention the winner of a match getting more money than the loser. And there's no rhyme or reason to who gets title shots. Chris Jericho loses clean at Wrestlemania, but he gets a rematch because he hit CM Punk in the head with a whiskey bottle? So stupid.

I think the fact that Ryback is doing the same thing and looks cooler doing it does him no favors.

From DVDVR: It occurred to me recently that in a perverse way, Richards really is bringing realism back to wrestling. What's more realistic than exposing how fake and harmless most wrestling moves are?

Dave discussed the phenomenon in exhaustive detail in the 9/29/08 Observer. A few snippets: Since then, numbers have only gotten worse across the board.

The next episode of Impact ends with Eric Bischoff being thrown into an outhouse and coming out covered in shit.

Dude, that's Bizarro World. That doesn't count. It's pretty clear that when adult fans show up, they boo Cena. They'll boo him at house shows too, but they mostly don't go to house shows these days.

It's something I've heard a bunch of people say. I'm pretty sure Dave has said it a few times, but I can't pinpoint where. And every house show report I've read has mentioned that the crowd was overwhelmingly pro-Cena.

Actually, he almost never gets booed at house shows, which kind of proves my point. Cena isn't the sole or even the primary cause of the WWE's current issues. But it's undeniable that a significant portion of the audience has a viscerally negative reaction to him. Whether that reaction is warranted or not is immaterial. And nobody the WWE has offered up recently to appeal to that audience has clicked.

We really need to get away from this idea that the Cena dynamic works so well because he's the top face to one portion of the audience and the top heel to everyone else. That's all well and good, except the latter group no longer goes to house shows or orders PPVs because they hate him so much.

It's especially infuriating considering how WWE management has a long tradition of preaching that the talent need to work hard and get themselves over, that nobody is just handed a push. Which is double nonsense; guys get handed pushes all the time, and there are countless examples of wrestlers being held back despite their hard work and/or popularity with the fans just because they don't fit the office's incredibly narrow-minded view of what a "superstar" is supposed to be. Ask Zack Ryder what happens when you get yourself over without the WWE's permission. Or Luke from Tough Enough. Before their match in FCW, Bill DeMott told him that if he tried to play to the crowd, they'd start fighting for real. They want their talent to show them something, but they only want it from the ones they've already decided should have it.