C.S.

But that's the fun part of Twitter! Especially when they respond. I think the Bucks responded to something of mine once, though I can't imagine I would've @ them since I was even less familiar with them when this happened. I can only assume I responded to someone's else post where they were already @. I've been blocked by: Bubba Ray Dudley: He was doing his usual "you marks don't know anything" routine and I gave right back to him. He's one of those can who dish it out but can't take it. With that said, I was harsh, so I understand it. Tama Tonga: He was bashing JR's commentary on Twitter instead of being a man about it and approaching JR personally. I cannot stand this millennial bullshit where kids feel they have to air their shit out on social media instead of man-to-man. He blocked me. Isn't Haku his dad? I may be wrong on that. Either way, wow, can you imagine Haku blocking anyone on Twitter like a 12-year-old girl? I can understand "working" on Twitter, but coming across as so soft, thin-skinned, and unprofessional seems counter to his Tongan tough man gimmick IMO. Ryback: Shrugs. Your guess is as good as mine on this one. I only ever tweeted complimentary things about him. Too much IcoPro? What a knucklehead, lol. If it sounds like I'm holding a grudge over any of this, I'm not. In case you can't tell, I'm mostly laughing. I've also had cool interactions on Twitter with Dolph, Vader (even though we were disagreeing), Rip Rogers, and a few others. To me, Twitter is all in good fun. I don't take any of it too seriously. Most of these wrestlers are "working" on Twitter, so there's no point taking offense to the Bucks or even Meltzer (he's working a gimmick too IMO, just not a good one).

I don't think his credibility is shot. It's not like he gave the match five stars. Plus, this probably enhanced his knowledge as a journalist about the subject he was covering, which is never a bad thing.

I forgot there was a PPV and ended up cherry-picking what I watched. - Mojo vs. Ryder was nothing special, but man, Mojo is a much better heel than I expected. He reminds me of the crazed psychopath jock type. - I was kind of expecting Ziggler to win the U.S. Title in the match between him, Bobby Roode, and Baron Corbin, but make no mistake, it's still a surprising result. Otherwise, I can't bring myself to care about any of the three. - Rusev Day is fun, and I'm glad English is getting something, but I can't help but think he'd be nowhere without Rusev (even though he's more than carrying his fair share) and Rusev deserves to be much higher on the totem pole than this. - I mostly skipped the women's match. What was with Nattie's meltdown and mouth at the end? Did she get busted open during the match? - The KO-Sami vs. Orton-Nakamura match was nothing special from an in-ring standpoint, but it was great sports-entertainment. What's with Orton's hair though? And Nakamura seems to be moving at half-speed. While watching Nakamura against Sami Zayn tonight, it really dawned on me - not for the first time - that Nak's entire main roster run has been such a disappointment compared to his hot NXT debut against Zayn. - I skipped most of AJ vs. "That Indian Guy." Did I miss out? Maybe. But I don't care about the match or feud. I supported Jinder's reign but it got exhausting. I love AJ's matches, but I'm ready for him to move on to something else. - Imagine if Dolph Ziggler had been the one to end Mahal's reign. I know I sound crazy advocating for that over the reign we currently have with the MVP of WWE, AJ Styles, but hear me out! Yes, Ziggler is tired, stale, and no longer means anything - but a surprise win over the then-dominant Jinder would have been a genuine feel good moment and heated Ziggler right back up. His U.S. Title win feels like a meaningless consolation prize because the U.S. Title in general is pretty meaningless. It was cool during the Cena Open Challenge and KO Face of America reigns, but I haven't cared about the title otherwise since the WCW days.

You picked the same two I was going to make a case for - along with Roman Reigns and AJ Styles. I'm honestly surprised at all the love for Zack Sabre Jr. I thought he was the shits in the CWC but I confess that I haven't followed his work since then. Perhaps that was simply not the right platform for him?

If it ends up being true maybe they would show the original ones on the network. If they thought out of order regional rasslin' uploads did poor numbers, those would seem gigantic in comparison to what they'd get for old XFL games.

I really think this is going to end up being a bullshit rumor and it will turn out that Vince just wants to invest in a legit sports team or something. If not, this will mark the beginning of what people in later years will refer to as "Vince's decline." He'd have to be batshit crazy or in the early stages of dementia to think the XFL is viable to invest in again.

Double post.

Amazon code for $5 off $15 on any print book: BOOKGIFT17 Works perfectly with the Pillman book, which I just ordered.

Wrestling in movies: Pay It Forward Haley Joel Osment watches a WCW Monday Nitro match. I believe there are also WCW and WWF action figures and/or posters elsewhere in the movie. Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi "The Undertaker" (Brian Lee) and Crush randomly appear in this Indian Bollywood movie. Credit goes to MoS:

Maybe, but the excerpt specifically mentioned the Horsemen, not just Tully. Then again, it was a recap, not a direct quote, so I guess we'd have to hear/read what Tully actually said word-for-word.

Good riddance to Rich Swann.

Awesome, awesome post! I've spent the past 20 minutes trying to Google more information about who this host could have been, but nothing. Is it possible that it actually was Rey? Nah, he was unmasked by then, so probably not, right?

Russo has really become a professional troll - that's his occupation now. Even the most casual of wresting fans knows J.R. wouldn't come up with rubbish like that - he prefers a serious sports-like presentation over ridiculous soap opera bullshit. I could see the idea coming from Vince McMahon maybe, but not J.R. Wow, this is new, right? "The party lifestyle people think the Horsemen lived is a myth. The guys had a hard schedule and by the time they were done wrestling it was late in the evening, and most of the times all that followed was finding some food and having a few beers before bed." The ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on Flair - as well as thousands of other interviews, articles, sources, etc. - give the distinct opposite impression. The Horsemen "party lifestyle" is so woven into wrestling lore, but I guess like everything else in wrestling, it's carny bullshit - assuming "born again" Tully isn't just downplaying his wild past.

...nosedive

I just hope WWE doesn't ruin it by having the ice cold Bray win "because he's owed one." He's absolutely awful and his character is beyond repair at this point after so many start-stop pushes and losses. I'm not sure what the solution is, but a win over Matt Hardy isn't it.

I just finished The Power Slam Interviews Volume 2: https://smile.amazon.com/Power-Slam-Interviews-2-ebook/dp/B06XQQ8KJW/ It's a long, fun read. Volume 1 is good too. The author also wrote Pro Wrestling Through The Power Slam Years: 1994-2014, but as someone who never read the magazine and doesn't live in England, I'm not sure how much interest that holds for me. Interview books though? I could read those all day long. I tweeted Wade Keller to turn his Torch Talks into a book - seems like a major missed opportunity - but of course he ignored me (or doesn't know how to use Twitter, which is probably more likely considering his age). I realize there were Torch Talk "Yearbooks" once upon a time (or something like that), but those have been out of print for decades. Pushing them all on Kindle seems like easy, instant money to me - but what do I know? Maybe he feels the need to keep them exclusive to the PWTorch site as a subscriber incentive? I have no idea...

Man, now I want to see this promo!!! Can someone who has the yearbook upload the promo to YouTube?

At least mention me by name if you're going to direct a post at me... Anyway, I'm just joking around with my comments. Cody's current traveling NWA World Champion cosplay character does nothing for me, but I know so little about the Bucks (and Hot Topic) that I'm not enough of an authority to rail against them seriously.

Yep, every ICP fan I've ever met is borderline mentally ill and/or mentally challenged - no slight intended to those who are either or both. ICP's brand of wrestling exists in its own universe, and I don't think it would mesh well with the larger Cody/Bucks type of wrestling. Then again, if it's presented as a once-off on a loaded card, it could work - kinda like the Broken Hardys universe did. But then you have the issue of those degenerate ICP Faygo-popping fans polluting the rest of the crowd of Hot Topic-buying geek losers smart marks. How do those two completely different types of audiences co-exist in the same arena? Cody and Bucks might have to go back to pre-Sputnik Monroe levels of segregation to make that work, but instead of separating whites and blacks, you separate the ICP Faygos from the Hot Topics. Edit: BTW, in case "Faygo" sounds like some kind of insult or - God forbid - slur, it's not. It's a terrible soft drink brand favored by the ICP fanbase.

Well I feel I pointed out that a lot could have been edited out that changes the context. Shit I think I said it twice. Fair enough, but what I think is more worthy of psychoanalysis is that Flair's parents were very distant with him and Flair (apparently) ended up being the same kind of dad to his own kids.

A lot of bizarre psychoanalysis from a 20-second clip of David Flair. As for Hogan and Flair, didn't Hogan pay for one of Flair's surgeries or some other big expense? So, yeah, I believe Hogan. I think he and Flair are genuine friends now.

I wonder if Anderson and Gallows are on their way out? Have they made any appearances since the big round of releases? They're not in the least bit over in WWE, and have they had even one memorable match since leaving Japan? (Assuming they had any in Japan.)

He won't wrestle full-time much longer, I agree, but nothing's stopping him from doing the Undertaker/Triple H schedule for the next 10-20 years.

As tempting as it is to go through your wall of quotes and rebut one by one, the forum software here makes that too difficult. So, let's take this from the last point. I live in a wrestling bubble because I realize sports careers are finite? Cena can wrestle another 20 years. Can Joe Montana return to the NFL as a football player now? THAT is what I meant. But you're right that I don't like or care about UFC or other sports. I watch wrestling because it's NOT a sport, even if I do think a sports-like presentation is a better one.