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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 30, 2007 18:23:35 GMT -5
I'm confused. 1. What does Test have to do with this at all? 2. Why are those four fighting in a Ladder match on free television? 3. Sting and Abyss have suddenly recovered from last week? Answers...1. Test debuted. That was the point. Before his debut, he didn't have anything to do with this. Now he will... 2. To pop ratings. 3. In "seven days", I'm sure they're both fine. It's really not that confusing, to be honest. Are people using "confusing" because they don't like stuff? Since it seems like it...then I'm really confused by Test's hiring.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 26, 2007 8:15:43 GMT -5
I clicked on this thread to make fun of JCW.
Then I saw the name "Scott Hall", and I wish that event nothing but success. It's cool as hell that Hall's got his mind and body right, and into working some shows. From 1992-97, nobody was consistently better, IMO.
I'd love to see him eventually get a legend's run as Razor Ramon in WWE. And this is coming from an old-school WCW/anti-WWF mark from the '90s.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 30, 2007 6:50:01 GMT -5
Since this said "debut", the only world champs free and clear to realistically debut in TNA are...
Sid Vicious Bret Hart Goldberg RVD Warrior Big Show Brock Lesnar Chris Jericho Sabu
Macho Man, DDP, Vader, Race, Muta, Luger, Whipwreck, Corino, and Shamrock have already been in TNA (I believe).
To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if it's Superstar Billy Graham in a mentor/goodwill embassador role like they've done in the past with Piper. In fact, I wouldn't be shocked if the Superstar showed up and cut a promo putting over Big Poppa Pump fresh off his face turn.
Whomever it is, it couldn't be a big deal as far as regular in-ring talent or they would've leaked "an announcement" to more people then their mobile subscribers...as was the case when Angle and Christian came...and both debuted on PPV.
And Pacman Jones is only a world champ at getting suspended.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 27, 2007 6:59:38 GMT -5
On Spivey looking old...he's just old. The guy got a late start, debuting at 32 in 1984. Even in WCW as a Skyscraper, he started off with a flat-top mullet and eventually had "Hulk Hogan Hair" two years later.
However, I'm pretty sure that Dan Spivey is the first worker to intentionally "powerbomb" another wrestler on U.S. soil. Yesterday on YouTube, I saw him do it in a 1989 Clash of the Champions, before he was in The Skyscrapers (which was when Sid first powerbombed), and surprisingly, the announcers popped like us marks, and didn't even know what to call it. And it was awesome.
Pretty sure Spivey brought the powerbomb from Japan, but he's possibly the first guy to use it on American TV (unless it was Tenyru...but I doubt it).
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 25, 2007 10:29:19 GMT -5
According to the internet, he's almost 55. Didn't debut in the business until he was 32.
Guess that makes his Skyscrapers run all the more impressive. When I was a kid, I thought Dangerous Dan was money. Now he just looks old, and rightfully so. His mugshot looks better than Nolte's.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 25, 2007 9:17:41 GMT -5
I am totally NOT signing him when I replay my 1987 EWR scenario...
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 27, 2007 7:17:37 GMT -5
It's depressing that people were once throwing Kidman's name around as a guy who could be the next "Shawn Michaels". When the IWC started, people were throwing around the "next Michaels" tag (because HBK was supposedly done) for guys ranging from Chris Jericho to Danny Doering. Kidman was one of those guys, but unlike Doering, it was rightfully so.
Kidman should've made it. On-screen, WCW beat down his character, then WWE choked his character out. It sucks that he isn't working on TV right now.
Billy Kidman was 10-to-25 times the worker that "Chavo" is. It'd still be that way now, had WWE not fired Kidman. Why does Chavo have a job and Kidman doesn't?
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 26, 2007 7:46:13 GMT -5
Hogan never properly put Kidman over. He made him look like a scrub for most of their feud, as did most of the Millionaires Club guys to their New BLood counterparts (Other than Flair & Hennig really). It pretty much killed the idea of Kidman and guys like him ever being seen as Main Eventers AND the New Blood/Millionaires Club storyline. It's too bad too, because I thought the whole NEW BLOOD idea was pretty awesome when it started. Spot on about the Hogan feud. There's no "putting a guy over" when "tweener" Hogan beats the hell out of a heel Kidman for 10 minutes, loses on a fluke pin, then beats the hell out of him for another 10 minutes. This wasn't Hogan's "creative control" either, this was just a stupid matchup from the get-go. Arguably, between 2000-2003, Kidman was misused and booked more terribly than any other young talent in the business...ever. Kidman was money from the moment he broke out of Raven's Flock. He should still be a star on RAW, Smackdown, or TNA...or at least a very credible veteran used to put young guys over every now and then. Back in the day, Billy Kidman and Juventud Guerrera would regularly have WCW Thunder matches that would compete for "TV Match of the Year" nowadays. It sucks that neither of those guys are relevant nowadays...they both have the talent.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 27, 2007 5:41:28 GMT -5
Steiners are the best, hands down. Road Warriors/LOD were awesome, and very influential, but in a bad way. Think of all the crappy LOD ripoffs over the years (Demolition, Powers of Pain, The Terminators, Master Blasters), and think of all the good ways that the Steiners influenced in-ring work.
From 1991-1993, Scotty Steiner was arguably the most exciting heavyweight wrestler in the world. Just look at his moves...he singlehandedly popularized the Frankensteiner, Tilt-A-Whirl Backbreaker, and Release Overhead Suplex in America. Plus, he invented incredibly dangerous exciting moves like the Steiner Screwdriver, and the Fallaway Slam Moonsault (don't think that's the name, but that's what it was. It's on YouTube somewhere). Scott Steiner was innovative, and seemed to love trying out cool looking spots.
He influenced cruiserweight guys, and guys like Kurt Angle. Scott was clearly a future world WCW champ before getting in trouble in 1992, quitting, and going to the WWF, Japan, and ECW....then back when Nitro started.
And Rick Steiner was once neck-and-neck with Sting in 1988 as to who NWA's new babyface would be heading into the 1990s. Rick was no slouch when he was in shape, and the guy's always been over. The Steiners are the best ever. Better than The Road Warriors, Dudleys, NAO, Hart Foundation, The Rockers, The British Bulldogs, Patterson & Stevens, Flair & Valentine, The Briscos, and The Briscoes. After 1998, neither Steiner was the same, because Scott was into being the next Superstar Graham, and Rick was broken down. But when they were on, they were money. And they still show flashes of coolness, as evidenced by last night's Impact "shoot" on the Dudleys, and Voodoo Kin Mafia.
Plus, The Steiners originally came out to "Welcome to the Jungle" when that song was actually out in current pop culture. Awesome. Maybe they're just the best tag team of my childhood, but hell, they'd be even cooler if they would've debuted in today's wrestling, esp. in a place like ROH, NOAH, maybe even TNA.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 27, 2007 1:23:38 GMT -5
Good find. I like "Mid-Life Crisis" Schiavone. Plus, he was really good before 1997 or so, before he began losing credibility with the audience at a faster pace than current Joey Styles.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 27, 2007 1:39:27 GMT -5
I don't know if Russo booked that whole angle or not, but I give the man credit if he did. Lance Storm rightfully got some great TV time in the States and he deserved every bit of it. From what Lance said, it was Johnny Ace....who at the time worked for WCW....who booked the whole angle with Lance Storm as a bet to Russo that he could get this guy over. I know Johnny Ace seems like a huge turdball nowadays, but one of the reasons (if not the main one) that he was brought into WCW in 2000 was specifically to book creative clean finishes for matches, due to his experience working for Baba in All Japan, and learning that particular style of how to book a finish. The deal was this...in a strange moment of clarity, WCW was gonna go in a hard-core "all clean finishes" direction to make their TVs and PPVs more meaningful again after years of steadily driving millions of viewers away by constantly screwing them. And as I recall, the one-night U.S. Title Tournament (that Lance Storm won) in 2000 was one of the first things that Ace booked all the finishes for, and the tournament was pretty awesome. The Ace/clean finishes experiment was one of many ideas WCW tried throwing at the wall to see if it'd stick. I don't know how long it lasted. And it sucks that a guy who wanted to help introduce an All-Japan style in America ultimately wound up such a huge turdball, but doing Vince's dirty work (firing talent) doesn't help his popularity.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 27, 2007 5:52:07 GMT -5
For one, the Steiners always seemed to beat LOD.
But second...anybody could get over if they came out to Black Sabbath's "Iron Man", did not sell whether it's a punch or a piledriver, and just beat the hell out of everybody they faced. Who couldn't get over in that scenario? You could put Gregory Helms & Shannon Moore in that role, and they'd be over. Not as much as the Road Warriors, but they'd still be over.
Later on, through extensive work in Japan, Hawk became an above-average worker. But the Road Warriors are not the best tag team ever. They're barely above the orbit of Tully & Arn, The Midnight Express, and Rock & Roll Express.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 22, 2007 6:25:29 GMT -5
Rick Rude. Case closed.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 25, 2007 10:21:11 GMT -5
According to some morons on this thread...there's really only one solution for TNA's health/surgery problems..."just pay for it!!!, OMG, c'mon!!! TNA is the Devilz!!!!"
Realistically, the only solution for TNA paying for their workers' health problems only comes in two parts....
A) Forbid their low-paid workers (like Sanjay) from working indy dates. That way, TNA can KNOW those guys were injured on their watch. Even better....this way, those guys can figure out how to make a real living off of $600-a-month, minus expenses (which is impossible).
B) Then, strictly blood-test TNA veterans (Konnan) who may have destroyed their major organs over the past 20+years in the business, whether it be through steroids, painkillers, alcohol, or other drugs...all used while working for OTHER employers. Then, they can blindly dole out money for their MAJOR, uninsured surgeries...no questions asked.
TNA isn't like WWE. Vince McMahon doesn't let John Cena show up to work wrestling matches at a high school in West Virginia on his off-nights. Unlike WWE, TNA gives their workers "some" freedom, but with that freedom comes certain responsibility.
If you're a grown man and you can't pay for health insurance, maybe you should get a real job and stop sucking off the teets of the wrestling business....just a thought. Most of the stuff on this thread defies the logic of business, science, and most importantly, COMMON SENSE.
Wrestlers live in the real world, too. Just like us. Health Insurance is expensive. "Independent Contractors" (like TNA and WWE wrestlers DO NOT receive company health insurance...it's out of their pocket).
If TNA even "loaned" anybody for surgery they weren't responsible, they're probably kinder than many of us with our own money.
PS: And before any of you ROH-ist fans chime in, I DARE you to reply that Gabe would actually hire Raven for a year or two...then agree to pay out of company pocket for his liver or kidney transplant from damages sustained since 1987 or before. I DARE YOU.
PPS: WWE does have all of the above responsibilites, because even though their workers are "independent contractors" like TNA, most aren't allowed to "work" anywhere else. And if anyone even brings up Booker T's PWA or whatever promotion, they're an idiot.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 22, 2007 6:14:26 GMT -5
hell, even ROH kinda helps with hurt guys by booking them on shows in other capacities. The tone on this thread is moronic. Hell, TNA actually DID "kinda helped hurt guys (Konnan) by booking them on their shows in other capacities". These are the facts... 1) Konnan used steroids and painkillers throughout his career, which may or/may not have caused his kidneys to cease functioning. 2) Konnan took steroids long before TNA. He took the painkillers (which may have ruined his kidneys) possibly during TNA, but to nurse a hip injury that may or may not have been suffered during TNA. 3) Konnan, despite earning over $1M of Uncle Ted's money, could not afford health insurance. 4) TNA did "loan" him money for proper medical treatment. You people do know what a "loan" means right? You have to pay it back. Konnan agreed to this. You can crap on TNA all you want, but they have nothing to do with Konnan's predictament...good or bad. And bless him, hope he does well, he's one of my faves. He's one of the best minds in the business....
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 25, 2007 10:32:35 GMT -5
Bring back Muta? That's stupid. Americans don't care about foreign wrestlers! Funny you should say that when it was Russo who brought Muta BACK to WCW before it died. Unless you were being incredibly stupid and uninformed in a sarcastic way. If so, I apologize.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 26, 2007 8:06:25 GMT -5
Minutes after we enter QVC's Dungeon....
HOGAN: "What? This grill isn't HOT!!!"
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 25, 2007 10:43:26 GMT -5
Kids, save your money. Especially if you make an average of $2 Million a year for 25 years.
That way, when you're 55, you won't have to resort to wrestling Paul Wight in front of 2,000 people when you can barely walk, whoring your untalented daughter to Hollywood and killing her aspirations, and trying to sell a "as seen on TV" product that nobody will ever buy.
However, if it ever gets to that point, try to fake a brewing divorce on VH1. Maybe that will work.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 26, 2007 6:50:45 GMT -5
All wrestling promotions have stupid ppv names. Agreed. Plus, that PPV poster looks like "TNA presents WTF???" Actually...WTF could be a good name for a regional indy promotion. Book it. Think of the crowd chants. Then, un-book it.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 22, 2007 6:17:55 GMT -5
Good riddance. Hoyt couldn't get over a garden snake.
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