DMJ

Anyone else hoping for a "Tell Me A Lie" video package?

Just watched this for the first time and totally echo the above sentiments. I'm admittedly more of a "modern viewer," so watching old matches and enjoying them is sometimes difficult for me because I don't know the context and, this being 2016, am much more used to the workrate and high spots of today's wrestling than I am with, say, the kind of match Manny Fernandez and Black Bart had earlier in this show. That being said, I really, really enjoyed this one and feel like it is the type of contest that holds up strongly compared to today's sort of matches. From the get-go we see a big vertical suplex out of Steamboat followed by straightforward attacks on his injured ribs by Tully. Later, with both men fatigued, we get a great suspense-building sequence that really defines the characters involved as Tully refuses to lock up and not only slaps Steamboat on the head, but spits in his face, a show of disrespect that never goes out of style. The suspense is brought to a boiling point and leads to two impressive leapfrogs followed by a high-velocity powerslam. Blanchard ends up busted open in the corner, but survives various nearfalls, proving his arrogance is only matches by his toughness (which is sold really well by Solie on PBP). The final third is what Michael Cole might call "vintage" - the ol' "roll of quarters" in the trunks during a back suplex spot that most fans have seen a dozen times before. Here, though, they follow it up with two nifty nearfalls before bringing it back at the tail end to give the match its real finish. To be honest, I feel like they could've stretched this one a bit in the middle and, me being a more modern viewer, maybe brawled on the outside. How that would mesh with the "No Run/Title Changes Hands on a DQ" stipulation I don't know, but I'm willing to wager Steamboat and Blanchard would've made it work (also, no JJ Dillon?). I dug it. 4/5

So, a cursory search on xvideos yielded a 35 minute scene that has leaked. It is probably the most unsexual sex tape I've ever tried to "enjoy." She looks absolutely terrible in it, as if she "prepped" for the role by eating nothing but Haagen Dazs, chili cheese fries, and bagel bites for a month. Despite the fact that at no point does Sunny actually stand up or do anything athletic (she is essentially a pin cushion for the dude to poke), she seems winded after minute 3. Unless you were dying to hear what Harvey Fierstein's orgasm sounds like, the audio is the opposite of erotic. Y'know the diet I mentioned above? I forgot to add that, based on the timbre of her voice and her immediate fatigue when asked to essentially just sit on the guy's dick, you can probably guess she's washing it all down with a carton of smokes and a bucket of vodka. Finally, while Chyna doesn't deserve an Oscar nod for any of her Vivid performances, Sunny's "dirty talk" is some of the weirdest, most cringe-worthy dialogue ever recorded. She disgustingly details her orgasms, but each time she approaches one, tells the guy to stop, firmly telling him "No" - which makes things a bit "rapey" when he tells her, mid-pounding, "No means yes." Now, it is obvious that she is kinda enjoying herself and the "no" just means "I think you're breaking my vag with your indifferent, unromantic jackhammering," but that certainly doesn't help the viewing experience for the audience. It is gross in a way that goes beyond the normal level of gross that most porn hits. But don't take my word for it, catch it yourself if you dare. RIYL nauseau.

I wouldn't call Ballers a great show (it's not), but I think Rock, Rob Cordrry, and the underrated character actor Omar Benson Miller (and his wife on the show) carry it through sheer charisma. Miller is the only actor/character I really, really like on it. Denzel Washington's son is on the show too and while I don't like him, I'm not sure if that's because his character is so unlikeable or because he's overacting or unbelievable or what. Overall, though, not a great show, but I'd put it above Entourage (which I find to be mostly unwatchable), which it is often compared to. If you don't find Cordrry funny, though, I'd steer waaay clear. If you're like me and enjoy him, though, it's not a bad way to put your brain on pause for 30 minutes.

Is this the only takeaway you got from my post? No I agree Braun Strowman isn't Bill Goldberg. Not even close. What I am saying is people are taking Taker for granted assuming he'd be available years down the line when Strowman "might be ready". On one hand people complain about not making stars, and that is a very valid complaint, the solution is to do Taker vs Miz. I mean, like...wha-? Miz is dead in the water. He is the goldfish floating on top of the tank. Flooding the tank with fish food isn't bringing it back. Miz trolling Taker before getting destroyed might be amusing for a minute and only a minute but then what? The fans aren't gonna get behind Miz going forward. Braun Strowman sucks as a wrestler but he fills a very key role on the roster- the suoer duper monster heel. Who else do they have that can do that? Kane is in his 40s and also stale. Ditto for Big Show. Luke Harper is nearly 40 himself and already damaged. Unless I'm forgetting someone that leaves Erick Rowan and Bray Wyatt (who isn't really a monster). Rowan is never gonna be the guy they want to push in that role and he is only marginally better than Strowman in ability. Bray has already had his Mania match with Taker. No one is thinking Strowman is gonna help put out a 4 star claasic but that isn't the point anyways. Like I said, it could be that Taker chose Strowman himself because he knows the future is going to need a guy like him and he sees the value in giving something back to the business that has treated him so well in the form of elevating this guy. Of course there will be issues of booking Strowman going forward after. Maybe the WWE feeds him too early to WWE champion Roman Reigns and sets him back or something but you can't sit there and try to tell me the fucking Miz deserves the spot over Strowman...or just about anyone else. Same for Sheamus. What you've outlined, though, is the same line of reasoning that brought us Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez, Undertaker vs. Great Khali, Undertaker tagging up with Nathan Jones against Big Show and A-Train, Undertaker vs. Heidenreich - this crazy idea that you take the Undertaker and pair him up with green big men that nobody knows about or cares about and somehow he'll create a new star who will last years and years when, in actuality, what fans really want to see is Undertaker coming in, kicking ass, and rolling his eyes into the back of his skull. I'm not saying Taker didn't help establish Kane or Brock Lesnar or Mankind...but if I was a betting man, I'd wager that Braun Strowman ends up being The Next Great Khali and not the next Brock Lesnar, Mick Foley, or Kane. And on the point about Miz - we gotta agree to disagree there. You say he's dead in the water, I say he still gets heat despite being unfavorably demoted and de-pushed as not even worth the audience's scorn. You say nobody cares about him, I say, last year around now, people were clamoring for a Sandow/Miz match at WM.

I just don't get why they don't make life easier for themselves and just have Taker/Miz. Have him boast that he is going to retire the Undertaker. You have him gloat and gloat and, for good measure, also verbally attack the whole state of Texas and Dallas in particular (again, I feel like a Hollywood-type like Miz would be perfect at that). Then, at Mania, Taker comes out and destroys him in an 8-minute squash. 1. This puts a guy like Miz in a showcase match. Even in a loss, Miz comes off as a bigger deal than in a multi-man. Plus, his mic work is good enough to have him carry the load of the match on RAW and SD when Taker isn't there. 2. I'm a Taker fan, but I'm not so blind as to believe he's going to deliver many more "classics" or that he should be expected to do insane feats of strength and agility. Taker squashing Miz can give us "the hits" - the Deadman's entrance, the heel cowering in fear (Miz's quality facial expressions will be great here), Miz hitting the Finale only for Taker to do a sit-up, a Tombstone/Last Ride finish that Taker can deliver without injuring himself. 3. Thinking longterm, if Strowman is going to become a major player, it's not going to happen by April. It may not happen by next April either, but I'd be willing to wait and see on it. Braun Strowman is an unproven commodity/non-draw right now and two and a half months from now, I don't see him being more than that. 12 months from now? Definitive victories over a number of performers? When he's got more experience/confidence/presence? There is potential for him to be a big deal. (And, just to add, I'd say the same for a guy like Luke Harper, who I love. If it was going to be Harper/Taker, I'd still call it a bad idea because, like Strowman, Harper isn't hot and doesn't have the ability to "get hot" as quickly as The Miz)

Oh, Marty. I can definitely see the "delusions of grandeur" thing with Marty too. But, in his defense, the WWE has also, historically, made him a huge deal - definitely more than other ex-tag partners of Hall of Famers/World Champions (Jim Neidhart, Matt Hardy, Stevie Ray, Lance Storm, etc.). The Barbershop segment is always hyped as HBK's "origin" story, as integral to his character as little Bruce Wayne witnessing the murder of his parents, so Jannetty matters there. His initial return on Monday Night RAW in the mid-90s was also considered a "classic moment," so much so that they brought it him out again in 05' (?). (Checked wikipedia - they also had him involved in segments in 07' and 09'). So if Jannetty has an inflated sense of his importance, the WWE created it.

I don't know if I totally buy the "fans have been programmed" bit as a leading culprit. While I wouldn't argue that the workrate/high risk style isn't more common than it was 15 years ago, I'm not sure if that stopped tomorrow - if Big E stopped spearing people onto arena floors, if John Cena didn't attempt Code Reds, if Seth Rollins wasn't trying to powerbomb Kane off the top rope, etc., the audience would all of a sudden turn their backs on the product. Look no further than the booking of the storylines over the past half-decade as proof that there is a large segment of the audience that is willing to sit through just about anything. Take out half the high spots on any given episode of RAW and I don't think anything changes in dollars-and-cents terms. So, I kind of put the blame for this on the agents, producers, and the people leading the ship. They are less patient than their audience. Just this week, AJ Styles busted out the Styles Clash on an episode of SD that few saw while, at the Rumble and RAW, they had built some serious suspense over when we'd finally get to see it. The answer was "You missed it" instead of them actually making it a moment at Mania. Again - the people in charge of the weekly episode TV series known as WWE are less patient than their audience.

I think the post above would've made more sense if, instead of that reading "Mizdow," it just read Miz. The Miz is one of the few guys that gets legitimate heat anywhere on the card. Sure, Sandow is an entertaining performer, but let's not forget, that whole run wouldn't have been seen as anything special if it wasn't for the fact that the fans (smark, mark, the average "IWCers," kids, adults, and everyone in between) genuinely despise The Miz and will probably never make him a babyface (which you can't say about an Owens, Wyatt, or Rollins). I can come off as a bit of a homer for the guy as I'm a Clevelander, but honestly, I'd love to see the case for The Miz not being a better all-around heel worthy of a top position over a Sheamus or Del Rio, who don't elicit half the response Miz does regularly and that the company constantly has to "rebuild."

EDIT - Not positing that Jericho be the mechanic, just some thoughts on him. Jericho has often told the story of how he was given "one last shot" to prove himself worthy of being in the WWE in a match against X-Pac because Vince told him something like, "If you can't have a good match with Waltman, you can't have a good match with anyone." While I don't think AJ Styles or Fandango were put against him because they were on any kind of thin ice (ditto for John Cena, whose first real feud and PPV opponent was Jericho), I do think Vince sees Jericho as someone who has proven himself able to have good matches with just about anyone and get the desired reactions out of the crowd. I know Y2J is nobody's favorite here, but I tend to agree that in terms of making fans care about the outcome of the match, making his opponent look good, and keeping himself over, Jericho is as good as you're going to find on the current roster. For another recent example, aside from the Cena debut, can anyone name a main roster Neville match that seemed "bigger" than his one against Jericho in Japan? He was also the only relevant singles opponent Evan Bourne had in his entire run too.

Cleveland and Cincinnati hate each other, so I doubt the audience will see Ambrose as a hometown favorite. Mind you, Reigns will still get booed out of the building, especially when he backdoors his way to a victory after the Wyatts take out Brock. I was at TLC 2014 and can say I thought Dean would get booed heavily there when, just a few hours earlier, the Bengals had trounced the Browns. The opposite happened. Aside from true hometown hero Dolph Ziggler and John Cena (who was immensely popular with the kids, of which there are typically many at Ohio shows), Ambrose was easily the most over babyface and even the announcement of his hometown didn't draw nearly the chorus of boos that it should've on that day. Lesnar is going to get huge pops. Ambrose is going to get huge pops. The best Reigns can hope for is that the younger fans somehow prefer him over Ambrose, but considering most young fans will cheer ANY babyface (for example, if this were Reigns vs. Cena vs. Lesnar, they may have a favorite, but would likely cheer anyone BUT Lesnar), I don't think this is going to solidify Reigns much as the "next Cena."

I didn't think of that at the time, but now, I think it would've worked. It also makes it much easier to explain why Reigns should be getting a title match aside from "rematch clause" as they could've played up the idea that Triple H didn't eliminate Reigns - that it was Vince and his goons - and that Triple H knew he couldn't take Reigns out himself, goading the Game into a match by questioning his greatness. Instead, I feel like Triple H won things fair and square, that Reigns deserves a shot no more than Ambrose (IC Champion and runner-up) or Lesnar.

Full review on my blog forthcoming, but some quick notes - * I definitely don't think Lesnar was booked as "just a guy." He tossed out Swagger in under 20 seconds. The Miz wouldn't even get in the ring with him. He turned the Rumble into Suplex City and blasted Braun Strowman so hard in the mush that I wouldn't be surprised he can't eat solid food for a few days. * What bothered me more than Lesnar's elimination (which didn't bother me) was BRAY WYATT's elimination. He was the one that was booked like "just a guy." They should've had Lesnar come back and toss him as the rest of the Wyatts were being forced to the back by officials. This "eye-for-an-eye leaves everyone blind" twist would've established that, like Lesnar only losing because the Wyatts ganged up on him, Wyatt only lost because Lesnar got to him alone. Instead, Wyatt was tossed by either Reigns or Triple H in a routine fashion that made him look like nothing special. * Equally stupid was the League of Nations attack on Reigns. The Rumble has one very basic, ultra-important rule. A rule that Vince McMahon knows well (considering he masterfully subverted it to win one a decade or so ago). The heels not actually eliminating Reigns was flat out dumb. After TLC, I was on board for Sheamus to get a bit of a second look as a major heel act and possible Taker opponent for Mania, but the League of Nations garbage and the stupidity displayed at the Rumble has me back to not caring about him. * People are overstating Triple H's babyface reaction. Yes, he got cheered when he came out...but there was a definite shift in fan responses as the crowd (correctly) recognized and became disappointed in what that meant for the outcome. Triple H was cheered for his entrance, but when it came down to him and Ambrose, it was obvious that the audience wanted Ambrose to win. The fact that Ambrose was positioned there also tells me that they knew exactly what the responses would be - that Reigns would likely get a mild reaction (and that his elimination would be cheered) and that Triple H would initially be viewed as a "savior" but that they could keep him heel by having him eliminate perennial underdogs/fan surrogates like Ziggler and Ambrose. * I'm going to FastLane so I'm eager to see how that card shapes up. In my mind, though, if this match was about building Reigns up, it seemed to do the exact opposite. I can name 4-5 guys that came out of this one with a fair amount of shine (Styles, Owens, Ambrose, even Jericho and obviously HHH), but Roman Reigns would not be on that list.

No complaints about AJ's elimination. Owens was the best possible choice, aside from Lesnar. AJ came in and seemed like a huge star from the first second he was on screen. The question is whether or not they'll lose that once he starts appearing on RAW every week. And here comes Zayn! Excellent.

Ain't too proud to admit that I'll check this out when it shows up on one of the millions...and millions of free porn sites out there. Also thought it was funny that the OP asked "Who is going to sit through this film?" If this is how people view hardcore porn on the internet, by sitting through entire 90-minute videos, I've been doing it wrong for close to two decades now.

Really enjoyed reading this. I had no idea of this whole story.

I think the idea is going to be that Charlotte needs Ric to help her cheat to maintain her title and will continue to do so...until Charlotte ends up turning on her dad, claiming she didn't need him all along and, by turning on her beloved old man, becoming an even bigger heel. Then Flair backs up whoever Charlotte's challenge is for Mania (maybe Nikki?). It won't make a lick of sense, but when has that ever stopped the WWE before? Its kind of a shame that 6 months after the Divas Revolution, I'm already kind of over this group and am eagerly anticipating the promotion of Asuka and return of Nikki Bella. Granted, Sasha getting injured definitely took some air out of things, but its not like the "revolution" was producing great TV before that. I blame myself for being naive enough to believe a roster consisting of the aforementioned women and Becky Lynch and Alicia Fox and Natalya and Paige could actually yield at least one engaging storyline.

I was a mega-mark for Kevin Nash and Alex Shelley's skits in TNA, though, it kinda got worse the more other X-Divisioners got involved. Probably the only TNA I would put on this list, but I'll admit I hardly watched the promotion regularly at any time.

Here's hoping he's right - I've got tickets!

Couldn't agree more with the post above. At the time, it was cartoonish and silly and eye-rolling stuff...but I almost think it would be pretty over now. Would Stardust not benefit from delivering his backstage promos from some weird B-movie sci-fi setting? Or think of whether The Ascension would be more enjoyable if they had wacky Kevin Sullivan as a mouthpiece and really acted like they were legitimately from a dystopian future, cutting promos from a cheap Mad Max-ian post-nuclear desert wasteland. On my rewatches of WCW PPVs and Clashes from 95', when I rated stuff, I typically gave their segments bonus points for the simple fact that it put a smile on my face as I was watching. The beauty of wrestlecrap means something to me as a fan and the Dungeon of Doom is a great example of it (compared to, again, The Ascension or Stardust, which is just crap because it doesn't even bother to go "all the way" with the ham factor).

Anyone else dig the cage match between DX and Vince/Shane/Big Show from 06'? Haven't watched it since the night it aired, but I rememer having a blast watching it at a bar with my buddies back then. On that same note, I dug the WM22 match between Vince and Shawn. It was a blatant retread of the matches Vince had 4-5 years earlier, but in 2006, after a bit of a gap in Vince's in-ring action, it was really fun to see him out there, bumping and bleeding.

Not that it is a small detail, but I think this only affects the rumored Cena/Taker match (which I do believe/suppose was the plan). I still think Brock/Reigns II was the main and I expect it will still be that way. "Who does Taker face?" is the major question because from a marketing standpoint/drawing ability, I do think he still has an aura that makes his match the second most important of the night - but he needs an opponent worthy of that. I'm not sure there is one on the current roster because Wyatt certainly wasn't one last year and I'm not sure Sheamus or Rusev fit the bill either. I kinda like the off-the-wall thought of Ambrose being a "lunatic" who wants to challenge the established legend to make his own name. Even in a loss, Ambrose wins. (This is also why, in the summer of 2014, Ambrose/Lesnar would've been the hottest ticket the WWE could've produced) I'm crossing my fingers that HHH's match is some sort of Ownership of WWE stip and that it will be used to "end" the Authority angle (in wrestling terms that means no Authority for maybe 24 months). If that is the stip, Triple H can wrestle a box of unsold DX DVDs and I'll be happy as long as he loses.

I wasn't a fan at the time and don't know much about the WWE Confidential program, but didn't the WWE air the Lex Luger/Miss Elizabeth 911 call? I don't even know what the context of that was and I don't care how newsworthy it is - airing it just seems really classless to me. I'm not saying the WWE is completely reformed, but it strikes me as somewhat of an improvement in that I don't think the Network or WWE.com posted photos from Hulk Hogan's sex tape or clips from his racist rants.

I'm really surprised about the Balor talk. To me, he's about as main roster as you can get. Ridiculous entrance? Check. Offense full of crowd-pleasing high spots? Check. Overdramatic kickouts that made Dolph Ziggler an IWC darling for years before everyone got kinda sick of him? Check. Guaranteed pops for his debut if its in a big post-WM or SummerSlam town due to his NXT/indy background? Check. Dashing good looks? Check. I'm not a massive fan of the guy or anything, but I'm amazed that there is any question on whether or not he's going to get over. He's pretty much everything the WWE wants and needs in a babyface character right now (which, I'll remind everyone, the main roster is sorely lacking). If Balor doesn't click on the main roster, Sami Zayn should probably retire because skinny Seth Rogen who likes ska music is not gonna work either. Bayley is a tough one. Tremendous potential, hard worker, and, to me, has shown incredible range over the past year - maybe even a hair more than Banks due to a more varied list of opponents (I thought her match against Nia Jax was reminiscent of a Sting/Vader match). I definitely am worried, though, that unless they restart her story arc, she's going to get lost in the shuffle. Her character is just so not what a typical WWE diva, even a babyface one, has ever been. Honestly, when's the last time the WWE promoted a white meat, non-sex-based female diva? Molly Holly? Alunda Blayze? Bayley has almost no footsteps to follow - she will be charting her own course entirely. (One could point to Natalya or Paige, for example, as second gen-ers like Charlotte, or, if you're willing to stretch, look at AJ Lee as what Sasha Banks could be due to the somewhat anti-Barbie look but undeniable charisma). I feel like even the NXT Creative team looks at her success and asks in admitted astonishment, "What did we do again...?"

Am rewatching SuperBrawl VII right now and thought this was pretty good. I'm not a fan of the finish, but I feel like this is a better match then the Guerrero/Syxx Ladder Match from the previous month. Malenko brings more character and fire into this than in most that I'd seen from him prior and Syxx's offense is just on point throughout. Thought these guys showed good chemistry and given an additional 2-3 minutes and an actual clean finish, this would be much better regarded.