Ditch

I don't think this is enough to sway things in a state like Connecticut. If it's the south or midwest, sure, but Conn isn't a big chest-thumpin' military locale and Blum had such a big cushion to work with. Plus it's 5 and a half months out, nobody's going to care about one line after a few weeks.

I'm going to write it up as Inoki hoping that if Fujinami fails, he (Inoki) won't be asked to pass the torch again.

So... who was booking/owning NJ at that point, then? edit: Hmmm, and it looks like someone in WCW was reading his WON, given what happened with the Road Warriors...

Hm, you're right, I guess I misinterpreted the note from the 9/12/88 WON.

Funny how AJ sold out Budokan, with inflated ticket prices, then the next night the same match doesn't even do 2/3rds full at a smaller venue, just because Osaka is weaker for the promotion. It's frigging two hours away by train! And NJ smokes it with a non-title tag featuring Koshinaka. The more things change...

With that note about Joe to All Japan rather than UWF, it's no wonder he showed up in PWFG before too long. Great to have these again. More quality content for my columns (with credit of course!)

It helps if you think the Angle formula of having guys kick out of the Angle Slam and survive an ankle lock every other week is enough to make him a top 10 wrestler in the world. If you take "Angle has been a world-class wrestler for a decade" and add whatever drawing power he's had, it's a much more reasonable case than three years ago. I happen to think that his TNA run has exposed him quite a bit, but lots of people don't.

I'll never understand how wrestling in Japan could have better TV timeslots but never fill Nippon Budokan in the '80s. Smart booking from Baba to have a tag on top, thus not giving anything big away on a card that was sure to draw. A good match to send the crowd home happy and make them want the Jumbo vs Tenryu singles match a few weeks later. I wonder at what point a video party with Meltzer stopped being a possibility.

Shouldn't the WON voters get most of that blame?

Good to see Dave give Fujinami/Inoki credit after saying it would suck beforehand. Actually I think the first 25 were better than the last 35, especially the last 20 which dragged a lot.

I don't think Eaton even begins to work in 2001, he was so far removed from being relevant in WCW.

Wait, I thought Mickie was fired because she missed the bus twice?

I'd be shocked if Lynch watches even a 10th of new stuff that comes in. For one thing he's got kids now.

Dave hasn't really been watching a ton for the last, I dunno, 7 or so. Like, I really doubt he's ever seen a Dragon Gate show from Japan. Will's been going strong for a couple decades and has been super-efficient of late. Would be interesting to know.

Was WWF in a position to take on the contracts if they so chose? Certain ones just weren't going to happen, for instance Hogan's with the creative control, limited dates and high price. But given the potential that was there, surely they could have convinced a couple more guys to work for their WCW deals plus some incentives and the ability to take part in a huge angle. Maybe if there were more 'names' involved, the angle would habe been booked better. Ah, wishful thinking...

Hansen/Dibiase were good, but no way were they ever better than Jumbo/Tenryu or Choshu/Yatsu. I will say that with Ted, Hansen sometimes worked smarter/more focused, like the excellent 8/31/85 match vs Jumbo/Tenryu. Definitely a better unit than the uneven Hansen/Spivey duo.

Neat reading NJ notes after watching the set!

They're worth hundreds of millions on paper and have banked millions from dividends year after year since going public, plus whatever assets they had before then.

Thanks for the link. Here's the specific line from Bradshaw: "You guys who are out there, we're gonna find your ass. We're gonna make whatever country's hiding you into a stinking parking lot." Pretty sure that would have gotten about 75-85% approval in the US on that specific day.

Not sure what "we'll turn your country into a parking lot" has to do with Wilsonian democracy-spreading but w/e.

Saying "I'm going to give a lot to the campaign" and limiting donations is one thing, but there's like 6th place House primary candidates doing better than that. There's a reasonably big "donate" button on her homepage. That's just a pitiful amount, and I'd take her over Blumenthal just as much as any red-blooded wingnut.

RE WM 18: I was at the show and the main event had heat more on par with DDP vs Christian or Regal vs RVD than any of the important bouts. Way less heat than the sub-par Austin vs Hall. Not even in the same universe as Rock/Hogan.

WON: "Linda McMahon pumped another $8 million this past week into her campaign, making $14.5 million she has spent thus far. Her campaign is almost completely self funded, as there have been only $5,454 in outside donations."

On one hand, Kane kicked out of the pedigree on Raw, which never happens. On the other hand, HHH did all this shit and took Kane's mask and never had an ounce of comeuppance.

If the discussion is racist, by the standards of a racist Rock is black and would thus not be deserving of any sort of special attention. Which he certainly got from day 1 in WWE. Heh, that does prove a point somewhat, because no full-blooded African-American ever got a tenth that sustained push.