C.S.

J.R. never got along with Randy Savage. Could that simple enough reason be why we never saw the Macho Man back in the WWE? J.R. was in charge of WWE Talent Relations at the time, and Savage did back out of a Mid South deal many years before. I never bought the Stephanie story. Always smacked of DVDVR "sleaze thread" bullshit to me.

Reposting my solution to the Firefox issue: I do have Adblock, but I'm not sure if that makes a difference. I had it when the issue happened.

Any reason TNA isn't on Hulu? You'd think Dixie would be smart enough to get something like that going. Or does WWE have the exclusive rights to current wrestling content on Hulu? (I say current, because there's some other wrestling organization on there, but nothing recent.)

Ziggler, Ryback, and Rowan looked like impotent morons not immediately beating the living shit out of Trips. They were "fired" so what did they have to lose? Just awful.

Survivor Series was #FreeFreeFree, and WWE holds the traditional PPV purchasing audience in contempt. But yeah, The Authority's comeback has sucked. Not gonna get too carried away though, because no one really got fired and they won't be gone more than a week or two anyway.

LOL, yeah, and that makes for a pretty terrible non-character. Shawn Michaels said the same kind of stuff too, but he had an actual character on top of that.

I'll have to catch the second match. Sounds like a fun combo. My feelings about Dolph in general: + Fun in the ring + Hard worker + Sells really well - But maybe oversells? Might need to be more selfish? - Stupid name. I remember him saying he chose it, so that's on him. - No character whatsoever. Who is Dolph Ziggler? I have no clue. The last point is the killer. Everything else can be overcome.

Same thing can be said for Meltzer, honestly. I've felt that way for years. His heart doesn't seem to be in pro wrestling anymore. He much prefers UFC, which is why half the newsletter is littered with that junk. (Sorry, I don't give a fuck about UFC, except when it's relevant to pro wrestling - Brock, CM Punk, etc.) Not that I'm comparing CSS to Meltzer...I'm just saying. Anyway, I like CSS. They can come across as overly snarky, I agree, but I disagree that they're burned out on wrestling. If anything, they seem to be having a lot of fun over there. What you call markishness, I call genuine enthusiasm. Then again, maybe we're reading different people on that site? What is the story here? This is the first I've heard of Lance Storm's chairshots being evaluated. Are they really bad? I honestly can't remember what they looked like. If it's not something he did often, I can understand why they'd look terrible. Maybe he was trying too hard to be safe? Gonna look for some YouTube footage now. EDIT: Found this. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x37dva_ecw-rvd-vs-lance-storm_sport 10 minute mark. The chairshots look...okay? Maybe a bit hesitant and soft, but I don't have any real issue with it. Is there another chairshot in that match that I missed? (I was only skimming to look for the spot.) Another video had this in the comments section: "No no no....this by no means is not as funny as Lance Storm's "ahmm" chair shot on RVD at Barely Legal '97 I believe . To think it happened in ECW, in Philly. Ya , the fans let him hear it." The Worst Chair Shot Ever (not about Storm).

I'm wondering that right now. It was one of the worst matches of the year IMO. Yes, I get that people are going gaga because it was so unique, but so were the Cena/Wyatt matches and everyone shit all over those (I defended them at the time because of their uniqueness, but I wouldn't call them great from an athletic or artistic standpoint). Cena/Brock at SummerSlam was just plain boring (IMO, of course). A thousand German suplexes - or so it seemed - isn't my idea of a compelling match. At least the Cena/Wyatt series had a fun WTF trainwreck appeal about them - not that those were MOTY candidates (or anywhere near) either, of course. Then again, I may be biased - I consider Brock one of the most overrated and overpushed guys ever.

I always thought Brad Armstrong deserved a bigger push. I was glad to see him get it with the Light Heavyweight Title and awesome Pillman angle.

He still felt fairly new by Beach Blast, from what I remember of my own impressions at the time. Remember, wrestling moved a lot slower back then. A big signing in February was still new and fresh in June or July.

*Groan* Where was this announced? I can't find it on WWE.com.

But what did it mean after? Nothing. WWE has always been better about making their big moments matter, not only at the time, but for years after the fact. 1-2-3 Kid became a huge star because of it, and it's constantly touted as a great Raw moment, etc. Iaukea is barely remembered today. I think that's why no one else is jumping on Iaukea/Regal as any kind of big deal, because it ultimately wasn't.

So, nothing should be a surprise anymore because they might lose money? Yet, wrestling has done fine for the past hundred years by having surprises. It's one of the best parts of watching, especially in the internet age, where true surprises are harder to come by. There is merit to what you're saying, don't get me wrong, but does that mean we should never have surprise returns again because it might affect the bottom line? This kind of thinking is exactly why the WWE has become such a bland, sterile, corporate, and completely unwatchable product. They're leaving money on the table now by being that way. EDIT: Just saw your edit. Yeah, I probably went overboard in my wording. But the lack of surprises, the lack of fun, has just really weighed the product down. Everything is pre-planned, pre-packaged, homogenized, bland.

Yep. If it was so "FUCKING DUMB," Grimmas, how come it worked so flawlessly for Cena?

The Authority is back because Cena wanted to save...Edge?! *Groan* Christian's retirement pisses me off. Edge got a big speech, HOF induction, the whole nine. What does Christian get? Jack shit. I'd love to see Christian crack Edge in the neck, hit the Unprettier, and go off on Edge with a scathing heel promo. Won't ever happen, and there'd be no point to it, but it's no less pointless than fucking Edge being the cause of a major angle like The Authority's return. *Groan* again.

How do you figure? I think Bo Dallas and Adam Rose are miles ahead of The Ascension as characters and in the ring. With that said, I agree with you. May as well push them and be consistent about it for a change.

Maybe, but again, who "looks forward" to a major surgery?

Can't see it being retirement, as others on the 'net are speculating, because who "looks forward" to an early forced retirement? My guess is he's entering the Rumble, but if so, how fucking dumb to blow their load by announcing that now. Imagine what an awesome surprise that would be. The entire arena would become unglued. Guess we'll find out in a few hours...

Count me in as another one who thought the Liz heel turn was an awesome shocker. Didn't see that coming at all, which was rare for the mid-'90s - one of the most predictable eras ever.

And you think the crowd wouldn't turn on him in a heartbeat if they thought he was being a diva who refused to lose, was leaving right after Mania, etc.? I'm not understanding your logic. Maybe I'm missing something?

I can't agree with this. Was he Flair? No. But his "defining moment" promo after beating Hogan for the WCW World Title was fantastic, and he was always at least "solid" otherwise (sort of like Bret Hart was 80% of the time, with the other 20% being quite good). Lex's promos during the "you sold out" Tatanka feud, for example, were always convincing. Was he ever all that fiery or passionate? No. But he delivered the message he needed to deliver, and he did it realistically. I won't call Lex a "great" promo, but I do think he's an underrated one.

I agree with your general point, but I think they'd be better served finding someone new and fresh who fits that bill. Kofi has stale midcard stink all over him. I was hoping The New Day would be a heel gimmick that would give him a character and rejuvenate his career, but alas, that's not what ended up happening.

I didn't take it literally to the point that they'll put him in a mouse costume (although I wouldn't put anything past the WWE), just that it's going to be some goofy, kid-friendly, lame, uncool, opening card purgatory gimmick. I think we'd all love it if they booked him like Dynamite Kid, but I'm not sure how you got Dynamite Kid out of Mighty Mouse.

Does the Dome show come with NJPW World? Whether it does or not, what are the other ways to see it? I want to keep my options open.