The Final Countdown

No amount of preparation should allow Stephanie McMahon, an executive who's wrestled a handful of matches in her career, to block an armbar from a judoka who built her reputation on tapping people out very quickly with armbars.

I've seen a lot of people say that, but I don't buy it. That match was 20 minutes; along with the Ronda tag, it was the longest on the show. I don't think Vince allotted those guys 20 minutes of in-ring time and said "Remember, don't do TOO good out there, because we've gotta save something for Backlash!" And the post-match angle would've worked even better if it had been following a classic match, IMO. There was no reason to hold anything back if Shinsuke was going to turn heel afterwards, because that would already offer a completely different dynamic to the rematch(es.) I think this was intended to be a classic, and instead was just 'pretty good.'

That Kenny vs. Cody was bigger can't really be in doubt, can it? You might not have been interested in it, which is perfectly understandable if you only watch ROH and not New Japan, but the crowd made it pretty clear what match they were there to see first and foremost. That's definitely not happening any time soon, not with the amount of merchandise they sell. The funny thing is that I as a New Japan viewer was pretty much exactly where you are now with the Bullet Club 2-3 years ago, when it felt like they were being shoved down my throat and it detracted from my enjoyment of the shows. I think New Japan has gotten much better about that though. Even with all the ongoing Bullet Club vs. Bullet Club drama, it doesn't ever feel like they monopolize the focus of events like they used to. The biggest and most important story in New Japan is Okada as the dominant champion about to shatter the records, and whether or not anyone can stop him. It's too bad ROH can't pull off the same sort of balance. ROH is apparently in a better position financially than ever before, but they really do need to focus more on building their own guys instead of relying on NJPW guest stars as attractions for their biggest shows, especially now that New Japan is branching out and running shows in the US. What happens if NJPW starts running in the US frequently enough that it no longer makes sense for them to let ROH borrow their top guys? Yep.

I just saw someone Tweet that AJ Styles' best Wrestlemania match was with Shane McMahon. I laughed. Then I thought about it, and realized that I actually agree. He had a better match with Shane McMahon than he did with Chris Jericho or Shinsuke Nakamura. ...How is that even possible?

Of all the matches I expected to disappoint me, I NEVER would've guessed it'd be Nakamura vs. Styles. It wasn't bad or anything, but... Ok, as I'm typing this, Nakamura is stomping the living piss out of him after the match. This, I can get behind.

"The Undertaker is back, better than ever!" ...If you say so. I feel sad any time I watch him now.

Sorry for the double post, but... STEPHANIE MCMAHON BLOCKED A RONDA ROUSEY ARMBAR. That's so dumb on so many levels, I don't even know what to say.

How do you guys handle this camera work week in, week out? All these camera cuts every five seconds are driving me insane.

I legitimately just want Cena to sit in the crowd the entire show, with no sign of Undertaker.

I guess that depends on what you're looking for, but any Wrestle Kingdom over the last several years is probably a good bet. Some NJPW fans would suggest diving into the G1 Climax, but I feel like that'd be pretty overwhelming if you aren't already following the product.

Yeah, that match placement was so baffling. I couldn't believe it when I realized Kenny vs. Cody was going on second to last, because it was such an obviously bad decision. Everyone knew what the most anticipated match on the show was, and it wasn't close. ROH knew it too, so why set it up the way they did? Maybe they didn't want the world title to take a backseat, but putting Marty and Dalton in a position to try and follow that match did them no favors. I heard there were lots of problems with ROH's Honor Club service for those trying to stream the show through them. I had my doubts that they'd be prepared for that kind of traffic so soon after launching, which was one of the reasons I bought the show through FITE TV instead. Sounds like I made the right choice.

August Renaissance Update, News and September National Battle Report http://i.imgur.com/2aDyraK.png <hr noshade size=3> http://i.imgur.com/HLY8nvy.jpg The Observer now recognizes NOAH as a national-level company in Japan, so for the moment they're ahead of the rest of the cult-level pack and have joined us and WWE. That sounds like a good thing on the surface, but it came at a really bad time for them. They'll need all the help they can get to try and measure up in a battle of stars, and now they're without the injured Kenta Kobashi for the next year. Our working relationship should soften the blow when NOAH is compared to WCW, but I'm worried about their chances of competing with Vince. http://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg Bobby Roode's contract is nearing its end, and Michinoku Pro has jumped in to try and steal him. Not happening, Sasuke. Some broadcasting news. -We signed extensions with Dish Network (USA) and MVS Multivision (Mexico) to continue airing our PPVs. -In Mexico, Renaissance will be leaving 52MX and joining Nitro on the bigger Televisa. The same is true in the British Isles, leaving Channel 5 to air on ITV. -Both shows have been extended on Sky Euro. -Renaissance is moving to Seven Network Australia, an upgrade from Ten Network. -Since the bigger Nippon TV wasn't willing to take on any additional wrestling content (they air all of WWE's shows), Renaissance will stay on TV Asahi in Japan. I've signed Ace Steel, trainer of CM Punk and Colt Cabana, to a developmental contract. He was the reigning TNA tag champion with Kent Kohl at the time, but that's not my concern. http://i.imgur.com/ebDwXEW.jpg Kazushi Sakuraba dropped the NWA World title, to Kid Romeo of all people, in a four way also including Onyx and Todd Sexton at a recent NWA Wildside TV taping. I can't imagine Zero-One was too thrilled about that. Ricky Morton of the Rock 'n Roll Express has said he's worked his last match. I kind of thought those guys would work forever. Former ECW Tag champion John Kronus has retired from in-ring wrestling and will apparently be opening his own dojo. <hr noshade size=3> National Battle Report: September 2003 <hr noshade size=3> Bit of a delay here. I wasn't feeling motivated to spend any time on this recently, so I didn't try and force it and just waited, which is why I've only played through one week (the final week of August, after the Supershow.) I did that Nitro yesterday and Renaissance today though, so hopefully I'll keep rolling for a bit. Happy Wrestlemania weekend, to those who are interested! I don't have the Network so won't be watching Mania or NXT, but between the ROH show on Saturday and three other events I won't have to pay anything for thanks to some FITE TV promotions, I'll still have a ton of wrestling to watch over the next few days! If you're interested in seeing any ROH era Danielson, try and track down pretty much any match he had against Nigel McGuinness. The match at Unified in 2006 was my personal favorite, but I don't think I saw anything between those guys that wasn't great. Yeah, I've learned that storytelling holds matches back. I have to use one on every show though, so I try and pick a match I don't expect a ton out of, unless there's one that should deliberately focus on story instead of action. Happy (belated) Easter to you and everyone else as well! Hope you guys enjoyed it.

<p>I'm not sure how Will Ospreay avoided a broken neck at Sakura Genesis. Good lord.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="milamber" data-cite="milamber" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="40971" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Golden Lovers vs Young Bucks vs *****.<p> </p><p> I wonder if we might get Nick vs Matt at All In if they take different sides in the Elite/BC breakup.</p></div></blockquote><p> Kind of feels that way to me. They'll want to do something special on that show, and since Bucks vs. Lovers just happened, that seems like the biggest match the Jacksons could have.</p>

August 2003: Supershow Wrap-up http://i.imgur.com/HLY8nvy.jpg Tammy told me NOAH has reached out to Chris Candido about coming in for a full-time gig, and the two sides are negotiating right now. Good for him. I'm kind of surprised WWE didn't give him a call when they were hiring a bunch of people to support their brand split, but I guess they were focusing on filling out the bottom of the card. Extreme World Wrestling officially closed. I know next to nothing about them, but there you go. <hr noshade size=3> Hall of Champions: <hr noshade size=3> I don't always remember to say it, but K-Nection has my continued thanks for his awesome work on the PPV posters. It can't be easy to design anything featuring The Unnatural, but I thought he got creative and did a really good job coming up with something different and cool. If someone had gotten the TV title match right, I would've been worried that my computer had been hacked! His in-ring skills are solid. I didn't have all that much faith in it either. When I first decided to go forward with that match, I figured it'd be a solid B+; nothing approaching a 99. It already did. They had a major title match in ROH in 2006 (probably ROH's peak, at least as far as my own personal enjoyment), and it was amazing. Probably in my top 5 all-time favorite Danielson matches. I believe I've turned a profit every month since I started, other than I think a slight loss in the month that I spent a bunch of money to establish my women's developmental territory. Me neither! I never would've predicted Dustin would be headlining PPVs either. I hoped to give O'Haire a decent push, but I wasn't sure how well he'd do in my product. I kind of figured it would be actually, especially since I had my doubts about Dustin vs. O'Haire. I think it's a combination of my product, plus the talented wrestlers now starting to build the overness to match their in-ring skills. Maybe me giving their matches the story telling note has something to do with it too. Here's another frame of reference thing to keep in mind: at this point, Scott Steiner's popularity in Japan is lower than that of AJ Styles and TAKA, and only slightly ahead of Knoble, just at a quick glance. When I first started Scott was one of if not the most over guy in the company, but he's nowhere near that now.

<p>WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match</p><p> Tully Blanchard vs. “<strong>Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner</strong> ©</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Sting</strong> vs. Animal</p><p> </p><p> Two-on-One Handicap Match</p><p> “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash vs. <strong>Totally Buff</strong></p><p> </p><p> WCW United States Heavyweight Championship Match</p><p> Konnan vs. “<strong>The Chosen One” Jeff Jarrett</strong> ©</p><p> </p><p> WCW X Division Championship Match – Last Man Standing</p><p> <strong>Rey Mysterio Jr</strong>. © vs. “The Franchise” Shane Douglas</p><p> </p><p> Envy Match</p><p> A winner-takes-all ladder match with each person putting something on the line and also earning a championship match at their discretion!</p><p> “The Prodigal Son” Dustin Rhodes vs. Sean O’Haire vs. Billy Kidman vs. General Rection vs. <strong>Lance Storm</strong> vs. “The Dog-Faced Gremlin” Rick Steiner</p><p> </p><p> The Streak Battle #93</p><p> <strong>“Da Man” Goldberg</strong> vs. Kanyon</p><p> </p><p> Tables Match</p><p> Sid Vicious vs. <strong>Mike Awesome</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Booker T</strong> vs. Shawn Stasiak</p><p> </p><p> Tiebreaker: How long will the main event last? <strong>10:07</strong></p>

<p>August 24th, 2003: Japan Supershow</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="sD6hAXa.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/sD6hAXa.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> </p><p> <strong>August 24th, 2003</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> From Jingu Stadium in Tokyo, Japan</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Attendance: 44,589</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Announce Team: "The Professor" Mike Tenay and Bret "The Hitman" Hart </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <img alt="2nqjRO5.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/2nqjRO5.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="nG8aWZm.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/nG8aWZm.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <strong>Official Theme Song: "Just Like You" by Three Days Grace </strong></p><p> </p><p> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="<a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/04fQTmvFfGo" rel="external nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/embed/04fQTmvFfGo"</a> frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe> </p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Hayabusa vs. Brian Kendrick</strong></p><p> <span>http://i.imgur.com/p13CqOT.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg</span><img alt="waBVEEI.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/waBVEEI.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Paul London joined us on color commentary for this match to further his program with Kendrick. He wasn't great in that role, but he took the time to explain that he wanted another match with Brian so he could beat him for a second time and hopefully teach him some humility, so it served its purpose. The work in the ring was very strong. Kendrick was good, again proving he's ready to perform on these big stages, and I thought he showed some improved aggression as he brawled as well. Hayabusa was great. Obviously he can do some eye-popping aerial stuff, and his popularity in Japan really takes his matches up to another level whenever we bring the guys over here.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> This was non-stop, all-out action, and it was a good way to kick off the PPV. Kendrick had Hayabusa in trouble late and showed incredible disrespect by trying to tear his mask and expose his face (he'd wrestled matches fully unmasked in the past, but just ignore that please.) London took exception to that. He threw down his headset and walked close to the ring, yelling at Kendrick to show some respect. Brian took time out to tell London to mind his own business, and he turned around right into a palm thrust to the face. That floored him, and the Phoenix Splash gave Hayabusa the win.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: 82</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="g1BYlVy.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/g1BYlVy.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="bH5oivJ.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/bH5oivJ.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="tUGU31v.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/tUGU31v.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>We got word of a "developing situation" backstage, and sent a camera to get to the bottom of it. The camera man arrived, pushing through a crowd of wrestlers and other employees (including Roddy Piper, who chose to stick around to be in this angle instead of going home) to capture Matt Hardy and Arn Anderson crouched beside Jeff Hardy, who was unconscious on the floor. We didn't have anybody do much talking, what with the language barrier and all, but obviously some questions arose from this:</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Who attacked Jeff? Would he be able to compete in the TV title match tonight? And if he couldn't, would that match become a 3-way or would a replacement be named? </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: 85</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/u0cJ04Z.jpg</span><p> <strong>KENTA vs. "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson {©} </strong></p><p> <img alt="oI71OzK.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/oI71OzK.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><span>http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg</span><img alt="lAlFtSW.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/lAlFtSW.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Some might expect the fans to be behind KENTA, the native Japanese star. But the simple fact is that NOAH's shows are on tiny networks, while we've been on massive networks with great exposure in Japan for years. KENTA certainly got a much better reaction than he would have if we held this match anywhere else, but even here the fans have seen Danielson more and treated him as a bigger star. As for the work, KENTA was okay, but Danielson was great. He led KENTA in some nice mat wrestling exchanges, and sold and reacted really well to get his strikes over as formidable.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> KENTA got several near falls with those strikes, and probably would've won the match and the title with his Go 2 Sleep if Danielson hadn't been fortunate enough to land near the ropes. But in the end, Bryan wrestled KENTA to the mat and submitted him with the Cattle Mutilation to win this international, cross-promotional cruiserweight bout.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: 77</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> <em>Chavo Guerrero Jr., Matt Hardy and Shane Helms were all in the ring, and now it was time to find out what was going on with the TV title match. Mike and I revealed that we were getting confirmation from the back that Jeff Hardy had been ruled out of the match, and furthermore, Arn Anderson was inserting an emergency replacement so the match could at least be a four way as advertised. Out came said replacement... </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/BSCxEF8.jpg</span><img alt="Zbmlytw.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Zbmlytw.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <em>Bobby Roode, accompanied by Ric Flair!</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: 70</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <img alt="rrRBDgP.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/rrRBDgP.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong>Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Matt Hardy vs. "Sugar" Shane Helms vs. Bobby Roode (w/Ric Flair) </strong></p><p> <img alt="0qRNVUJ.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/0qRNVUJ.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><span>http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg</span><img alt="bH5oivJ.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/bH5oivJ.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><span>http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/hlbUlLo.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/BSCxEF8.jpg</span><img alt="Zbmlytw.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Zbmlytw.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>The last-minute addition of Bobby Roode didn't sit well with Matt or Chavo, and they went after him and did a lot of double teaming early on. Helms was content to sit back and watch, though he made sure no one got close to a pin or submission since this was a one fall match (normally I'd do elimination rules for any title match, but I didn't feel bad about breaking my policy here since there wasn't a defending champion who could lose his belt without actually being beaten.)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The match really picked up when Helms hit Hardy with a shot from behind, and it turned into more of a four way battle as everybody looked for an opportunity to catch a fall on one of their opponents. Hardy was the best here, largely because he's over with the fans and got them involved. Roode's probably the second most over, at least in Japan, and he's also a really good and well-rounded worker, so it wasn't a surprise that he was just behind Matt. Chavo and Helms did fairly well themselves and held up their end, but Hardy and Roode were the story. Fittingly, it was Hardy who took center stage when he knocked Helms out of the ring, then hit the Twist of Fate on Chavo. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> But before he could make the pin, Roode threw him over the top rope and swooped in to cover Chavo himself. Three seconds later, Roode went from not even being on the show to becoming the TV Champion! </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: 80</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. The Jung Dragons (w/Stacy Keibler)</strong></p><p> <img alt="JJHE89M.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/JJHE89M.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><span>http://i.imgur.com/ffZqipS.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg</span><img alt="frhLUo7.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/frhLUo7.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="CtEcIzq.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/CtEcIzq.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="paNPh85.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/paNPh85.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>While I did consider having these guys scale back a bit on the action and focus more on playing up the dissension story we've teased with Eddie and Rey, in the end I decided to just let them work, call it in the ring and see what happened. That was definitely the right call, because this match was fantastic. Everybody knows how great Eddie and Rey are, but the Jung Dragons stepped up and matched their level of performance here. They didn't even go all out or anything; it was just about 15 minutes of exciting back and forth action that the Japanese fans loved. Obviously all four guys are great fliers, and with Eddie and Rey there to lead it, there was also good mat wrestling and everything made sense, worked and told a story. The guys coming up later would need to be at the top of their game if they wanted to beat this one for match of the night.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Despite the storyline, and despite a few isolated incidents where we teased the potential of friction between Rey and Eddie, they remained on the same page and worked together all the way through the match. Rey seemingly had an opportunity to deliver his springboard hurricanrana to Yang, but instead he passed the baton to Eddie and made the tag. Guerrero made the most of it, hitting Yang with a triad of vertical suplexes and then landing the frog splash. Rey made sure Hayashi couldn't intervene, and Eddie got the pin for the team. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: 97</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>"Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Goldberg</strong></p><p> <span>http://i.imgur.com/k45HPCq.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg</span><img alt="oWRzmsy.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/oWRzmsy.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>My expectations weren't too high for this one after what was a fairly lackluster match last month, but that was fine. They weren't being counted on to deliver a great match or anything; they were just here to conclude the story we'd left unfinished. The match was all about the story of whether or not Goldberg would stay true to his word and wrestle Steiner on his own. The fact that he came out alone suggested he would, and there was no sign of anybody else coming out as the match progressed.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Scott was off his game tonight. I thought Bill did pretty well, but there wasn't much selling from either guy. Maybe that was deliberate and ego-driven? Whatever the case, this was a bit better than their match at Bash at the Beach, but still would be nowhere close to the best of the night. Goldberg used his power to keep Scott from getting the Steiner Recliner on, and the spear and Jackhammer brought him the clean win.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: 79</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="LEPRnye.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/LEPRnye.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="ZZPLj6h.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ZZPLj6h.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><span>http://i.imgur.com/3ZTpoTU.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/ncMyE2p.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/cAw5Dl8.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/CCq92jB.jpg</span><img alt="Z3xclCp.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Z3xclCp.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Moments after Goldberg's win, we cut to the back for an Empire promo. Bischoff switched back and forth between English and Japanese, talking in English to his allies while addressing the audience in Japanese. He congratulated Goldberg on shutting Scott Steiner's big mouth once and for all, and said the rest of the night was going to go just as well for The Empire. First, up next, Jamie Knoble was going to beat that "phony redneck" Steve Austin up so bad, he was going to admit Jamie was the true redneck ruler and go back to pretending he was from Hollywood. And a bit later on, TAKA was going to get his revenge on AJ Styles and bring the United States title into the fold!</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: 87</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>"The Hellraiser" Steve Austin vs. Jamie Knoble</strong></p><p> <img alt="dIHv4ym.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/dIHv4ym.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><span>http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/CCq92jB.jpg</span> </p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>I thought about playing up the "redneck" bit and having these two guys just brawl, but I thought that would be too limiting for Knoble, who is okay at brawling but better at mat wrestling and aerial stuff. Since I really wanted to see how he would do in this spotlight, I just let them go. I knew what to expect from Austin, who is still great, but could Knoble come through on a similar level?</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The answer? Pretty much, yeah. Jamie was really good here. Between his mat wrestling, focusing on Austin's arm (which wound up being bitterly ironic, but more on that later) and pulling off an occasional top rope move or dive to the floor to catch Austin off-guard, Jamie came off like a big time performer who was capable of being in the ring with Austin and taking him to the limit. Steve was very generous in helping the up and comer look like a big threat, and his own performance as a brawling babyface was pretty much flawless. You know how I said anybody would need to be at their best if they wanted to top the tag match a bit earlier? These two did it.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> For over twenty minutes, Knoble went toe to toe with one of the biggest stars of all time. It was an epic match, and I was enjoying having the chance to call it.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> And then....Austin bumped on a simple back suplex and immediately grabbed his arm. We all instantly knew something was wrong. Steve, the stubborn professional that he is, continued on and hit the Stunner (with his other arm) to win the match, but my good mood about the match and the continuation of the storyline was the furthest thing from my mind. I didn't need a doctor's diagnosis to know Steve was hurt. The only question was, how hurt was he?</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: 99</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/S0cu0uO.jpg</span><p> <strong>True Heroes vs. The Unbound (w/Father Isaac) vs. "Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels and Brian Adams {©} </strong></p><p> <img alt="heiyf1p.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/heiyf1p.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="IyPxuzp.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/IyPxuzp.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><span>http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg</span><img alt="CsQnr5C.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/CsQnr5C.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><span>http://i.imgur.com/ptxupoY.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/hSGqVHg.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/GoltiY2.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/uY8UroB.jpg</span></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>I needed to set my worries about Austin aside if I was going to do the rest of the show justice, so I quickly shifted gears and threw myself into providing color for this three way title match. I thought this had a chance to be great after seeing what the Heroes pulled from Daniels and Adams last month. Sadly, the magic was not recaptured tonight. This match was merely passable; more along the lines of what the tag team title matches have been doing recently. That wasn't for lack of effort from the Heroes, who were great as usual. Mortis was right there with them, and the match was at its best when the three of them were involved, particularly when the focus was on Mortis versus either Punk or Storm. Alexander and Daniels did pretty good themselves, but Adams brought up the rear. That was to be expected, but it's not like he didn't have to be carried through last month's match too. I'm not really sure what went wrong here, but this match was pretty disappointing.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The first elimination of the match came courtesy of Punk, who forced Adams to tap out to the Second City Stretch. With that, we were guaranteed new champions!</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> It was between the Heroes and The Unbound to decide who would walk out with the belts. The two teams went back and forth, and with Adams out of the picture, the match did pick up a bit here. It could have been either team's match, but...</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/4CP35O5.jpg</span></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <em>The Destroyer came down and attacked Punk on the floor. With Punk taken out, Storm had to go it alone. He gave it a valiant effort and even trapped Alexander in the Calgary Clutch, but Mortis saved his partner before he had to tap out. Despite his best efforts, Lance fell victim to the Fatal Flatliner and The Unbound claimed the titles! </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: 78</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/fn8zdsQ.jpg</span></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>The Unnatural wasn't even aware that his Salvation brothers had just won the tag team titles, because he was isolated from all else. He was warming up in a dark hallway backstage, preparing for his title defense against Sean O'Haire. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="JJHE89M.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/JJHE89M.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><span>http://i.imgur.com/ffZqipS.jpg</span></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <em>Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio Jr. walked by and sarcastically wished him good luck in his title defense. Not much was said since we wanted to avoid any potential language barriers, but the point was Rey and Eddie showing Unnatural that his attempts to create dissension between them had not worked, and they were as united as ever.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: 100</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/mitTbCm.jpg</span><p> <strong>TAKA (w/Eric Bischoff) vs. "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles {©} </strong></p><p> <img alt="JYc2Jmc.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/JYc2Jmc.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><span>http://i.imgur.com/ncMyE2p.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg</span><img alt="ICMDAHo.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ICMDAHo.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Heading in, I thought this had a chance to be a sleeper match of the night. There probably wasn't much chance of that at this point after how fantastic Austin vs. Knoble was, but I still had high hopes for it. They delivered on those hopes without question. Being in Japan wasn't as big a bonus as you might think, because TAKA is basically just as over everywhere else in the world, but obviously both of these guys are excellent workers. I didn't give them any real instructions aside from making sure it was a back and forth match where both guys got plenty of offense in, and I gave AJ a chance to call it in the ring this time and show me how well he can read a crowd and tell a story. He passed that test with flying colors, because the fans loved this match. It was a great blend of exciting aerial spots and some pretty solid chain wrestling, with these two under-30 wrestlers showing they can step up and produce a legitimate main event-quality PPV bout.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> One of the recurring things AJ built the match around was TAKA having the Styles Clash well-scouted. Any time AJ went for his big finish, TAKA had a different counter prepared that swung the match in his favor. In a deliberate call-back to their match at last year's Slamboree where AJ won the Cruiserweight title from TAKA, Styles caught him on a springboard dropkick attempt and stepped through for the Styles Clash, but this time around TAKA countered the counter by shifting it into a hurricanrana! The ref hurried into position and counted once...</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> twice...</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> but AJ kicked out just in time! TAKA got back up and charged straight at AJ, wanting to press his advantage, but Styles stopped him dead in his tracks with a back flip kick. That dropped TAKA to his knee and left him groggy, and he was unable to fend off the Styles Clash this time. It was by far the most impressive match between these two, but the end result remained the same: AJ Styles came out the winner. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: 95</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <img alt="P2oAF93.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/P2oAF93.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="dcrMvyP.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/dcrMvyP.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <em>AJ didn't have long to celebrate his win before RVD and Paul Heyman casually walked down the ramp and entered the ring like they owned it. RVD got in AJ's face and did his thumb pointing pose while Heyman laughed and clapped in the background. RVD was great here, arrogantly stealing the spotlight after AJ's great match to make the moment all about him. The Japanese fans reacted to AJ like a star too, cheering him on. They're looking forward to this one. So am I, to be honest.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: 84</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/haJKoFv.jpg</span><p> <strong>Sean O'Haire vs. The Unnatural {©} (w/Father Isaac) </strong></p><p> <span>http://i.imgur.com/zbQxlTu.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/EiVoLiY.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/fn8zdsQ.jpg</span><span>http://i.imgur.com/hSGqVHg.jpg</span></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>We put together a pre-match video, putting over O'Haire's journey through the Power Plant, the Natural Born Thrilers, the feud with former partner Chuck Palumbo, capturing the TV title and making his fifteen successful TV title defenses to earn this world title shot. The production team did a great job. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: 100</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <em>So here it was. This was a huge match for both guys. For O'Haire that goes without saying. This was far and away the biggest match of his career. He's got the size, the look, he's gotten over and he's developed into a solid worker, but could he step up and deliver a singles match worthy of main eventing a PPV, especially on this talented roster? He'd just been part of an excellent six man tag on Nitro, but we didn't have the Heroes and Unbound to fall back on tonight. It was just him and Unnatural, one on one. Obviously Dustin is on the greatest run of his career, and last month he kept the trend of great world title matches alive. But that was while working with Eddie Guerrero, one of the absolute best in the world. Could he pull off something similar with O'Haire? The pressure was on, especially after some of the great matches we'd already seen earlier on the show.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Both guys inarguably delivered. With Dustin there to lead the way and call the match, he and Sean matched the same excellence we'd seen from Austin and Knoble earlier. While Dustin was slightly better, Sean was awesome in his own right. He looked like an absolute wrecking machine, throwing The Unnatural all around the ring, and he also displayed his athleticism in some key points, like when he went up to the top rope and nailed a flying clothesline. Dustin put together a beautiful match, designed to put O'Haire over as the bigger, stronger and more imposing presence, with the great athleticism to boot. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The Unnatural could not match O'Haire physically, so his only hope for victory was to outthink the challenger and rely on his 11 year experience edge. Since none of his usual tactics were working, he spent most of his time going after O'Haire's legs and trying to cut the big man down to size. He absorbed a lot of punishment to do so, but stuck to his plan. It eventually started paying off in the latter half of this 24 minute match, as The Unnatural got O'Haire to the mat and worked his legs over extensively with stomps, elbow drops and submissions. The Japanese fans urged O'Haire on, and cheered when he kicked Unnatural away on a spinning toe hold attempt, sending the champion crashing chest-first into the buckles. O'Haire used the ropes to pull himself up to his feet, then snapped off a big spinebuster. He made a throat slit gesture, then lifted Unnatural up onto his shoulders for the Widow Maker! </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Unfortunately for O'Haire, his legs chose that moment to give out on him. His legs buckled and he collapsed to the mat under the weight of the champion, and Unnatural had the sense to hook his legs and snatch a sudden victory from the jaws of defeat.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>Grade: 99</strong></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="font-size:18px;">Show Overall Grade: 97</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p>

<p>Gedo has his faults like any other booker, but say this for him: when he wants to make a star, he commits. In the span of, what, 10 days or so, ZSJ cleanly tapped out two of the big four in singles matches, plus one of the most popular guys in the company in Ibushi. The "least" credible of his four victims was SANADA, who is in the most over faction in the company and just took Okada to the limit in his most recent defense. </p><p> </p><p> Part of me wanted to see Okada vs. Tanahashi for the title. That was the rivalry that turned me from someone casually aware of NJPW into an avid fan. It would've been cool to see them fight for the title one final time, with Tana trying to maintain sole possession of his title defense record. But hey, you won't hear me complain about Okada vs. ZSJ.</p><p> </p><p> Adding TAKA as the Gedo to ZSJ's Okada was a great move right from the start of the tournament, and even moreso now that he's actually challenging Okada.</p>

<p>August 2003: Pre-Supershow News and Notes</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong>August 24, 2003</strong></p><p><strong> Tokyo, Japan--Hours before belltime</strong></p></div><p></p><p> I watched on from afar as DDP tried to explain some of the finer points of psychology to David Flair. It was nice of Page to try, but I'm just not sure David has it. Still, I need to at least keep the kid around until his contract is up, unless I want to really make Ric mad. It's not like David's breaking the bank with his contract, so I can keep putting him on the pre-shows, maybe find an angle for him here or--</p><p> </p><p> The sounds of shouting and cursing from further down interrupted my train of thought. I could tell some kind of argument had been going on for awhile, but I tended not to get involved in those things unless they escalated. By the sound of it, this one had just escalated. Time to be the boss.</p><p> </p><p> I rounded the corner in time to see Arn Anderson, Fit Finlay and Dustin Rhodes pulling Hugh Morrus back, while Ric Flair crouched down on the floor next to Roddy Piper. As I got closer, it was easy to see that Roddy was holding his jaw. Probably a punch to the face.</p><p> </p><p> "Somebody tell me what happened," I said. Hugh opened his mouth to respond, but I shook my head. "Not you. Somebody else."</p><p> </p><p> "Hugh's been bothering Roddy all day," said Dustin, assuming the role of leadership. "Then he attacked him."</p><p> </p><p> "So Roddy kept his cool?" I said, wanting to be sure I had the story straight. "Hugh was the one who created the problem, and the one who threw the first punch?"</p><p> </p><p> "Yep," Dustin answered. I saw the rest of the boys gathered nearby nodding in agreement, so clearly this really was the way it happened. </p><p> </p><p> "Grab your gear and get out," I said, pointing at Hugh. "Find your own flight back."</p><p> </p><p> "You can't suspend me," he pointed out. "I'm not even under written contract anymore." Maybe that's what this was all about? I didn't know, and I found I didn't care either.</p><p> </p><p> "You're right. I can't. What I can do is not book you anymore, so that's what I'm going to do."</p><p> </p><p> "You're FIRING me?!" Hugh shouted. "Over beating up some old man?"</p><p> </p><p> "I'm not firing you. Like you said, you're not under contract. I'm just not going to book you any more. Good luck on the indies."</p><p> </p><p> I ignored Hugh's angry shouts and looked down at Roddy, who was still holding his jaw. He gave me a grateful nod, obviously appreciating the way I'd handled it. I nodded back.</p><p> </p><p> "Go and get checked out by the doctor," I said to him. "If you want to go straight home after that, you can take the company plane back."</p><p> </p><p> Our locker room is pretty harmonious overall, but for some reason stuff like this seems to keep happening the day of our PPV shows. Hopefully it stops. Maybe getting rid of Hugh will make people think twice about picking fights backstage, and against a retired guy like Roddy no less.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p> </p><span>http://i.imgur.com/HLY8nvy.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>Our friends in NOAH held their 'Vengeance of Pride' PPV on August 22nd. It was a fairly standard show overall; about what they've been doing recently. The big headline was Kenta Kobashi winning the GHC Heavyweight title from Akira Taue in a really good main event. Taue had quite a few great matches during his time as champion, but no one would consider him the best worker in the company, plus he's getting up there in years. Moving the title to Kobashi was a good idea, and I'm sure they were optimistic that he would lead the way back to the excellent show quality that used to be the norm for them.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Unfortunately, disaster struck the very next night. While working a TV match against his namesake KENTA, Kobashi landed awkwardly on a simple suplex and shattered his elbow. He'll probably be out for a year or more. That's a huge blow for NOAH, and they'll have to scramble to change all their plans and crown a new champion.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>There have been many more additions to support their brand split. Gangrel, Halloween, Gedo, Jado, Navajo Warrior, Ray Leppan, Kendall Windham, Michelle Starr, Kris Travis, Cannonball Grizzly, Alex Pain, Rick Michaels, James Maritato, Thrasher, Martin Stone, Rockin' Rebel, Super Crazy, Bas Van Kunder, Kyohei Mikami, Robert Thompson and Mr. Ooh La La have signed with WWE. Not too many impressive names in there if you ask me. The only ones even on my radar were Maritato and maybe Super Crazy.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Brian Lee came back not as Brian Lee, or Chainz or whatever the hell his biker name was. Instead he returned to his fake Undertaker gimmick. I'm not kidding.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> They've continued to adjust the rosters of their brand split, or should I say they've continued to send more people to ECW. William Regal made the move, as did Test. The Test move was very strange since he and Albert held the tag belts and Albert is still on Raw, but obviously that problem was solved at Summerslam.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> TNN has been rebranded under the new name Spike. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg</span></div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>We're moving our PPV events from TV Asahi onto Nippon TV in Japan. It's still a commercial network since PPV itself has never caught on in Japan, but it's a bigger network with even greater exposure.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Kyoko Inoue signed a one year contract extension.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> I've noticed that CM Punk and Christopher Daniels have been hanging out a lot on the road, so I guess a friendship has formed there. Interesting timing with the tag team feud going on.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p> </p><span>http://i.imgur.com/sDkxtEI.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>The annual G1 Climax tournament wrapped up on August 12th. Yuji Nagata, who'd returned from his torn quad just in time for the tournament, won it all by beating Masahiro Chono in the finals. That was a great match, but the highlight of the entire tournament was Chono's win over Koji Kanemoto, who continues to deliver at a top level for NJPW while being passed over for one of the top spots. This was an excellent show.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/syuSRKH.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>AJPW held 'Impactful Warriors' on August 10th. Hiroshi Hase retained the Triple Crown over Taiyo Kea in a fantastic main event, and the semi main event of Keiji Mutoh beating Shigeo Okumura was decent. The rest of the matches were pretty mediocre and that did detract from the show as a whole, but it was still their best PPV in several months. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="fOS5DO2.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/fOS5DO2.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>In the continuing struggle for the top spot in Japan, Zero One made a strong roster addition by signing Ken Shamrock to an exclusive contract. Ken's someone I had my eye on, and I feel like he's a great fit for their style.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="2LYetxN.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/2LYetxN.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>Not to be outdone by Zero One's Shamrock signing, Michinoku Pro signed young Irishman Fergal Devitt to a written deal. Devitt had been doing tours with both M-Pro and Zero One, but now they've locked him up. Things seem to be heating up in Japan, which five groups all fighting for top positioning (not counting us and WWE.)</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/JO5PDMM.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>Mantaur was back home stinking up the joint once again at Lashing Out on August 10th, as he retained the TNA World title against Marc Mero in a nothing match. At least they didn't put him in the main event this time. Instead they closed the show with Sonjay Dutt and Jeff Jarrett winning a tag match against BJ Whitmer and Matt Sydal. That blew every other match on the show out of the water, and thanks to that this was easily the best show TNA has put on. They also switched their X Division title on this show, as Jimmy Rave won the belt from Kent Kohl.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p> </p><span>http://i.imgur.com/1eeVS9d.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>It sounds like the Japanese group DDT might be on the verge of shutting down.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Minoru Suzuki, a former pro wrestler who's been focusing on MMA, has announced he's returning to wrestling full time. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p> </p><span>http://i.imgur.com/ebDwXEW.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>ROH has crowned a new World champion, as Jose Maximo won the belt from his brother Joel at the Death Before Dishonor event. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <hr noshade size=3></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="ThorJ" data-cite="ThorJ" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I though about that and changed to Pop>performance and im starting to notice a difference but not as big. Im with WCW too and the roster differences are huge. It will be the Mod as well though as im still using a lot of the older wrestlers as Main Eventers</div></blockquote><p> Give it time. I wasn't pulling these type of grades right away either. I think I had two A rated matches in all of 2001, whereas now multiple 99 rated matches in a single month is becoming a trend.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="smartman" data-cite="smartman" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Interesting Summerslam. And I'm a little confused on how NJPW is pretty much bankrupt in your game while not touring. Did they just get locked at Cult too long? Also, just a fair warning for anyone else thinking of picking up those mods, they pre-set the contract lengths. So, stealing people, well capable people "stares at Kronik", early on isn't going to happen. No wonder TFC was happy to stay at Cult for so long. 2 years is a very, very long time.</div></blockquote><p> They started the game at national, fell to Cult in February '02, rose back to national in August, then fell back down again in May of this year. Not sure why they've lost so much money.</p><p> </p><p> I <em>may</em> have artificially shortened some of those pre-set contracts to make things more interesting. <img alt=":cool:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/cool.png.f00d2562b2c1d873a09323753efdb041.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Smasher1311" data-cite="Smasher1311" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I might be biased, but the Brian Pillman documentary is still the best piece from the BTR section, in my opinion.</div></blockquote><p> Is that the same one that came out on DVD like 10-12 years ago? If so, yeah, that's great. Related note: the Pillman biography that came out last year is really good too.</p>

I don't even think proof has anything to do with it. There was ample proof of Warrior being racist, homophobic and just an all around terrible person, ON HIS OWN OFFICIAL WEBSITE and in his own words, no less. That didn't stop them from naming an award after him. All they care about is whether or not something will get picked up on by the mainstream media and make them look bad. Obviously everyone knows about the Benoit thing, and the Hogan sex tape/racist speech was a pretty mainstream story too. But Warrior's general awfulness and Moolah's sex trafficking haven't been picked up on like that, so they don't care.

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Mootinie" data-cite="Mootinie" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25169" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>They have an award named after the Warrior, why are people even outraged by this at all? This is par for the course, you're wasting your energy if you're genuinely mad about this.</div></blockquote><p> You're right about it being par for the course, but Moolah was FAR worse than Warrior.</p><p> </p><p> Then again, they honored Jimmy Snuka with a tribute video when he died. Like you said, par for the course.</p>

<p>August 2003: Road to Japan Supershow</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="enmXTV2.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/enmXTV2.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> </p><p> <strong><span style="font-size:18px;">The Backstories:</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Saving Sean from Himself</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>His fifteenth successful title defense made, Sean O'Haire had officially done everything he could do as TV Champion. Now it was time for him to relinquish that title and claim the ultimate reward: a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship. He did so on July 21st, handing the TV belt over to Arn Anderson in the ring. The Unnatural was on hand to watch it happen, and O'Haire got in his face and cut a promo about how every single thing he'd done as a pro wrestler, from enrolling in the Power Plant, joining the Natural Born Thrillers faction, winning tag titles, having a dominant run with Chuck Palumbo, beating Chuck and making him pay for turning on him, winning the TV title, taking on fifteen challengers in a row, all of it had led to this moment. It all led to him getting this shot at the championship of the world, and he would not fail! At the Japan Supershow on August 24th, he was going to take everything Unnatural could throw at him, chew it up, spit it out and take that title! Unnatural watched it all passively, his face showing no reaction to anything O'Haire said, and he offered no rebuttal.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Unnatural did have something to say on August 4th. He sent the rest of Salvation to the back after an eight man tag victory and called O'Haire to the ring. He explained that he'd remained silent last week because he'd been conflicted. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>The Unnatural, 8/4/03</strong><p><strong> "Despite what you might believe, Sean, I like you. I see a lot of potential in you, a potential for great things, things beyond what you can even comprehend for yourself. But you are not ready to become the world heavyweight champion and deal with all the trappings that come along with it. Not even your massive shoulders would prevent you from collapsing under the sheer weight of the burden that I bear. It is for that reason that I must shake off my concerns and deny your hopes and dreams in Japan. I can only hope that your psyche will be able to recover from the bitter taste of ruined dreams."</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> <em>O'Haire's response was simple and to the point: he laid him out with the Widow Maker! They stepped into the ring in an official match the next week, and it was O'Haire leading himself and True Heroes to a six man tag win over Salvation with the Widow Maker on Alexander.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> On the 18th, six days before the PPV, we brought in Roddy for a Piper's Pit segment. Unnatural repeatedly interrupted Piper and went on long monologues, again talking about how beating O'Haire wasn't something he wanted to do, but it was the best thing for Sean in the long run. He called himself a compassionate man, and that's why he had to win in order to save Sean from the clutches of self-importance and avarice. O'Haire chose to respond physically rather than verbally, but he didn't attack Unnatural this time. Instead he just got in his face and silently dared him to take a swing. Unnatural just shook his head and walked off, and O'Haire stared at both him and the title draped over his shoulder as he left.</em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">It takes a redneck...</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>With Chuck Palumbo down, Steve Austin claimed another victim from The Empire. After Austin's win over Johnny Parisi on 7/21, Eric Bischoff stepped into the aisle to introduce Austin's next opponent. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>Eric Bischoff, 7/21/03</strong><p><strong> "I have to admit you've been quite a nuisance, Austin, you stinking redneck. But as I've been thinking about it for the last 24 hours, I've realized that there's an obvious solution to this problem. If you want to beat a redneck, don't send a highly skilled aerial wrestler like TAKA or a big, tough man like Chuck Palumbo. No, to beat a redneck, it takes a redneck!"</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> <em>That, of course, was a reference to Jamie Knoble, who joined Bischoff in the aisle and pointed at Austin, who laughed and motioned for him to bring it on.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> After Knoble picked up a win over Harry Smith on 8/4, Austin cut a promo on him.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>Steve Austin, 8/4/03</strong><p><strong> "You call yourself a redneck, runnin' around doin' whatever Bischoff tells ya to do? I tell you what: if you think you can beat this beer-drinkin', hell-raisin' redneck, you come and give it your best shot, son!"</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> <em>The two men got into a heated argument backstage on the 11th, with Knoble showing his displeasure at Austin questioning his...redneck legitimacy, I guess? They had to be held apart by their fellow wrestlers to prevent a brawl from breaking out. No such luck on the 18th, because Knoble hit the ring after an Austin squash and the two self-professed rednecks had a brawl in the ring, around ringside, into the crowd, back over the guard rail, in the aisle, and to the back before they were finally pulled apart.</em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">"Da Man" is his own man</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>After Goldberg squashed poor El Dandy on 7/21, Scott Steiner came down and called him all sorts of names. He was furious about the way their match turned out, and said it was obvious to everybody that Goldberg wasn't any kind of real man, because a real man would've fought him face to face instead of needing his whole damn group to help him out! Goldberg called Steiner a sore loser and said he'd won their match all on his own, but Scott had the production team air highlights which showed the indisputable evidence of Bischoff distracting the referee so King Corino could sneak in and lay Scott out with a piledriver, leaving him gift-wrapped for a Goldberg Jackhammer. Goldberg looked none too happy after seeing the video, and later in the night cameras captured him having words with Corino backstage.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Goldberg came into the aisle after a Steiner squash on August 4th, with several other Empire members trailing close behind. He ignored their attempts to convince him to return to the backstage area, because his focus was fully on Scott. He said that he was going to give Steiner a rematch, and this time he was going to beat him without any help from anyone! </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Scott cut a promo on the 11th in which he dared Goldberg to live up to his word and actually fight him like a man. Goldberg was surrounded by the rest of The Empire for his rebuttal later in the night, and he made it clear to all of them that he wanted no help of any kind. The go home show was just pre-taped promos from both guys, mixed with workout and training footage. </em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Triple Trouble</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Payback was swift on The Unbound for ruining the tag title match at Bash at the Beach. On 7/21, they "won" their match against Hugh Morrus and Konnan, but only because True Heroes ran in and beat them down for the DQ. Arn Anderson invited the Heroes to his office on the 4th, and since he felt they had been unfairly screwed out of their title shot, he offered them a rematch. Punk said they appreciated that and getting the titles back was still a top priority, but right now they needed to get The Unbound in the ring and make them pay. Arn thought about it for a few moments, then offered them a way they could have both: a triple threat between the Heroes, Unbound and Daniels and Adams for the titles!</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The Unbound were quite happy with that in a promo on the 11th, saying they'd welcome the opportunity to punish the Heroes for their arrogance (the entire reason they'd targeted them in the first place, apparently) and "save" the tag titles at the same time. Daniels and Adams were understandably less than thrilled with the idea. Daniels complained that they were being treated unfairly.</em> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>Christopher Daniels, 8/11/03</strong><p><strong> "The Heroes had their shot at the belts. They failed! That means they should go to the back of the line, but instead WE are being punished by having to defend our titles against two opponents at the same time! It's blatant favoritism and unfair treatment, but Brian and I will STILL prevail and hold onto these belts, against all odds and defying all expectations!"</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> <em>Daniels and Adams would only watch from the back as the two challenging teams took part in a six man tag main event later in the night, but they got more directly involved in the go home show. The three teams took center stage on that night, and it was Mortis who gave The Unbound some momentum by winning a three way singles match, hitting the Flatliner on Daniels and pinning him before Punk could break it up. But on Sunday the partners will be involved and the gold will be on the line.</em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Dissension? Objection!</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Rey Mysterio apologized to Eddie Guerrero on 7/21, but Eddie was quick to assure him that no apologies were necessary. He knew Rey was just trying to keep Father Isaac from getting involved in his title match, and he blamed himself for letting his concentration be broken in the heat of the moment. They were interrupted by the Jung Dragons, who "objected" to this faux display of understanding and said Eddie and Rey need to be honest and admit their friendship is doomed so long as they both have their eyes on the World Heavyweight title.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Stemming from that altercation, Guerrero met Hayashi in a singles main event on the 4th. It was a thrilling match won by Guerrero, but Yang joined in for a post-match beating. Rey was quick to come out to Eddie's aid. A tag match was subsequently announced for the PPV, and on the 11th Eddie and Rey got in a tune-up tag team victory. The Dragons were not impressed. They cut a promo taunting Eddie and Rey, "objecting" to that pathetic excuse for teamwork, and promised to show them how true partners and friends operate.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> It was back to singles on the go home, and this time it was Rey and Yang's turn. This match wasn't nearly as good, which was just as well since Hayashi attacked Rey for a DQ. After a bit of a delay, Eddie ran in from the back in street clothes to make the save. </em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">TAKA wants to return the favor</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>AJ Styles was being interviewed on 7/21 about his title defense against Alexander when he was suddenly attacked by TAKA! The next show, Eric Bischoff explained all.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>Eric Bischoff, 8/4/03</strong><p><strong> "April 21st, 2002. Do you remember that date? I can assure you that TAKA does. On that date, AJ Styles took what TAKA held most dear. He took the cruiserweight championship! TAKA has never forgotten, and he has never forgiven. He's been waiting for his chance to return the favor to AJ Styles, and now is his chance! AJ, if you've got the guts, give this man a shot at your United States championship!"</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> <em>Styles responded on the 11th, saying he had no problem agreeing to the request. He would've gladly gone to Arn Anderson and petitioned to have the match made it TAKA had only asked, but he had to do the cowardly thing and attack him from behind to make his point. So now AJ was going to give him his shot, and he was going to take even greater pleasure in beating him just like he beat him to become cruiserweight champion.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> There was a face to face confrontation on the 18th when Styles barged in to the Empire locker room to tell TAKA he'd better be ready. As AJ pointed out, he was 3-0 against TAKA in singles matches, and he'd only gotten better since then. TAKA just smirked while Bischoff told Styles to shine the belt up to maximum sheen so it'll look really nice when it's added to the Empire trophy case.</em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">A new Champion of Television</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Sean O'Haire's ascension to the world title picture left a vacancy in the hall of champions. That hole will be filled in a four way match on the PPV, and we held qualifying matches to determine the participants. On August 4th Chavo Guerrero Jr. beat Tony Mamaluke and Matt Hardy took care of Brian Kendrick, and on the 11th Jeff Hardy won against Fit Finlay and Shane Helms prevailed against Billy Kidman. Now the four will meet to determine a new champion. Promos hyped the match on the go home show, and a lot of attention was paid to the Hardy vs. Hardy aspect. Both Hardys said they'd have no problem with a little friendly competition, and if the other won they'd be the first to congratulate him. </em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">International Cruiserweight Clash</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>After Bryan Danielson's successful title defense against Paul London on August 11th, Arn Anderson let him know that he'd arranged for a cross-promotional title match at the Japan Supershow, where he'll defend his belt against KENTA from Pro Wrestling NOAH! Danielson, an avid student of the game, said he looked forward to the challenge. He talked all about KENTA's credentials on the go home show, putting him over as a bright young star with devastating kicks, but said he was prepared to take whatever the Japanese star dished out in order to keep his title.</em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kendrick meets The Phoenix</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>During a joint interview on 7/21, Brian Kendrick said his loss to Paul London was a travesty and a joke, but it didn't change anything. He was still way better than Paul ever was or ever would be, Paul still wasn't worth his time, and he was no longer going to let "Loser London" drag him down. As far as he was concerned, they were done and he never wanted to breathe the same air as London again.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Kendrick competed in a TV title qualifier against Matt Hardy on the 4th, and London appeared at ringside during the match, which Kendrick went on to lose. Brian sat in on commentary the next week when London challenged Bryan Danielson for the cruiserweight title, and he blamed London for his loss. After London was (cleanly) defeated by Danielson, he took the mic and challenged Kendrick to another match so he could prove who the better man really is, but Brian said he already knew who the better man was and didn't need a stupid victory to prove it. Arn Anderson came out and said that since Brian wanted no part of a match against London, he was putting him in a match against another cruiserweight: Hayabusa! Kendrick confronted Hayabusa on the go home show, saying he was going to waltz into Japan and show him and his countrymen the future of cruiserweight wrestling. </em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="color:#FF0000;"><span style="font-size:18px;">Show Summaries:</span></span></strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>7/21:</strong></p><p> <img alt="e0gjKuC.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/e0gjKuC.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <em>Notes from this show:</em></p><p><em> -"Kidman looked good working with RVD. I hope you can come up with something for him to do soon." -CM Punk</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <strong>8/4:</strong></p><p> <img alt="B8dLQk4.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/B8dLQk4.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <em>Notes from this show:</em></p><p><em> -Interestingly, Dustin brought his fellow Salvation member Alexander before the wrestler's court. I guess Alex had been annoying some people by moaning and complaining a lot, and Dustin told him he needed to either cheer up and improve his attitude, or stop talking so he at least doesn't get on people's nerves anymore. He suggested the best way for Alex to start turning over a new leaf was to buy everyone a round of drinks after the show. Alex seemed to take the message to heart, as he did indeed pick up the tab at the bar that night.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -Chavo over Tony Mamaluke was a TV title 4-way qualifier. Mamaluke's injury was really bothering him during the match. I'm trying not to book him in too many matches, but all signs are that this will be a nagging injury for months on end, so it's not like I can just put Made in Italy in deep freeze.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -Matt Hardy over Brian Kendrick was another TV title qualifier. Kendrick was distracted by Paul London during the match.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -"That tag team match sucked, 'cuz Aguila sucks! Nobody likes his flippy crap or his stupid mask, and you should get ridda him!" -Scott Steiner</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <strong>8/11:</strong></p><p> <img alt="QD8T1IE.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/QD8T1IE.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <em>Notes from this show:</em></p><p><em> -For some reason I've never thought of Hayabusa as much of a gamer, but he brought in an Xbox and some game called Marvel vs. Capcom 2 to play with the boys.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -Brian Kendrick was pretty weak on commentary for the opener.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -Jeff Hardy over Finlay and Helms over Kidman were the qualifying matches for the final two spots in the TV title match.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -Obviously the main event was great. We gave it plenty of time, there were lots of talented and popular guys and even the team chemistry/experience of the Heroes and Unbound to rely on, so I was expecting great things and got them. But I was mainly watching O'Haire to see how he held up in this kind of match, and he did not disappoint. He wasn't quite on the level of Unnatural or Punk, but he did an awesome job in his own right, more than holding his own.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -"I liked what London showed in his match with Dragon. He's going to be great." -CM Punk </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <strong>8/18:</strong></p><p> <img alt="w9x2TAb.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/w9x2TAb.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <em>Notes from this show:</em></p><p><em> -CM Punk cleared out the locker room with a horrible fart. I chuckled when I heard about it. One of the privileges of no longer being an active wrestler is that I don't have to put my gear on surrounded by all the sights, sounds and smells of the dressing room!</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -Eric Young cracked his tail bone in his squash match with Austin. Talk about a rough debut.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> "It's bad 'nuff that Ric Flair's old ass is still around, but why you gotta book his son too? You better never let him outta the dark matches, 'cause he sucks!" -Scott Steiner</em></p><p> </p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> </p><p> Fan Scorecard:</p><p> </p><p> World Heavyweight Championship: Sean O'Haire vs. The Unnatural {©}</p><p> </p><p> "The Hellraiser" Steve Austin vs. Jamie Knoble</p><p> </p><p> "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner vs. Goldberg</p><p> </p><p> World Tag Team Championship: True Heroes vs. The Unbound vs. Christopher Daniels and Brian Adams {©}</p><p> </p><p> Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. The Jung Dragons</p><p> </p><p> United States Heavyweight Championship: TAKA vs. "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles {©}</p><p> </p><p> World Television Championship: Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy vs. "Sugar" Shane Helms</p><p> </p><p> Cruiserweight Championship: KENTA vs. "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson {©}</p><p> </p><p> Hayabusa vs. Brian Kendrick</p><p> </p><p> What will be match of the night?</p><p> </p><p> How many championships will change hands? (the TV title DOES NOT COUNT)</p><p> </p><p> General diary comments/questions/critiques:</p><p> </p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> <hr noshade size=3></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Happy0wns" data-cite="Happy0wns" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I'm not gonna lie, I do love Bret Hart's WCW, so I've tried replicating the product.<p> </p><p> Literally cannot (the product settings are like the bane of my existence i can't ever figure them out)... sooooooooooooooooooo i was wondering what they looked like :3</p></div></blockquote><p> Probably just easier for me to do a screenshot.</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="h7I8eGd.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/h7I8eGd.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Hashasheen" data-cite="Hashasheen" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>The fact that Bill Goldberg is a top guy to such a degree says to me that he should be sticking around for as long as possible and kept happy. Between his pop, his menace and his passable in-ring skills, you should be doing a Phantom Stranger with him and using him to elevate almost all of your young hopefuls. <p> </p><p> And on a sidenote, given that there's no women's fed running around, have you thought about setting something up in Japan to give some women work there? Or maybe an NWA women's fed or something, to at least keep some people working?</p></div></blockquote><p> The Japanese women aren't too bad off actually. I've got the cream of the crop on Renaissance already, and most of the others are under PPAs with my women's developmental company and so get to work steadily. And then many of the Japanese women who aren't covered by one of those two work one night contracts for me as enhancement talent. A women's-only fed in the US with an NWA affiliation isn't a bad idea though; I might have to consider that.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="K-Nection" data-cite="K-Nection" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>He does have his Development territory in Japan but maybe the NWA could set up something in the states to bring in the crop of female workers that are going to pop up in few years like AJ Lee, Mercedez Martinez and Sara Del Rey. (It just dawned on me that I know more about women's independent wrestling then I do mens lol) There is a couple real life promotions that should be open right now that may have not been put into the mod.</div></blockquote><p> AJ's yet to debut, but the other two are already active. Mercedes has actually been under a developmental deal with me since January of 2002. Skill-wise she's probably ready to come up, but she's got an ankle injury and will be out for a couple more months still. Sara is on my radar and I considered signing her to a dev deal as well, but she's the current NWA Women's champion and gets fairly steady work, so I'm staying away from her right now.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Other promotions don't open until 2005 including the biggest one being Shimmer.</div></blockquote><p> The only two yet to debut women's promotions in the mod are SHIMMER, which you mentioned, and then STARDOM in Japan, which won't come in until 2011 I believe.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="kinnikuniverse" data-cite="kinnikuniverse" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>L<p> Hey, speaking of which, are the women doing well pop-wise? Cause an initiative like that around that time period, especially IRL, would've given WCW some big recognition among feminists and could potentially bring in female fans to the sport.</p></div></blockquote><p> I guess it depends on what you consider "well." None of them would autopush as main eventers. Manami and Ivory default to upper midcarder, and pretty much everybody else on the brand would autopush at midcard. </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="smartman" data-cite="smartman" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>It's the WCW Lives mod that you can get from wrestlingnexus.com or homeofprowrestling.com. They have a couple all set around that time though there are a lot of relationships missing from them, and for some weird reason, if you play the WCW Dies version, NJPW isn't a touring fed which means they make a massive load of money unlike in the Lives version where they're about to close. Though they're blocked from hiring outside of Japan so they don't bother you at all. I'm crushing it as an early ROH.</div></blockquote><p> NJPW isn't touring on Lives either, at least not on the version I have. Same with NOAH and AJPW.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="smartman" data-cite="smartman" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Keep in mind he's using a performance>pop fed whereas WWF is a much pop>performance fed so you have pretty much polar opposite companies with different agendas and roster requirements. Though I'd love to know how he's grown the golden 4 (Bryan, Punk, AJ, and Corino) pop so dang quick. I'm lucky to gain 4 per month, and that's with 2 shows now and hiring more popular unemployed wrestlers to job out.</div></blockquote><p> I really don't think the growth has been <em>that</em> quick. Looking at the US pop of the four you mentioned over the last year:</p><p> </p><p> Punk's generally went up by 1-3 points a month, but he had one month where his popularity went up by at least 5 or 6 points in all regions, and one region even went up a full ten points. Okay, that's a pretty big leap. That was the month where they regained the titles from the Hardys, so I'd assume that's why the growth was so big. I'm beginning to think he's now bumping against his popularity cap. That stinks if so because it'll hold him back from ever being a viable replacement for Austin/Goldberg at the top of the national battle list, but at a high B+, he's still popular enough to be a good main eventer.</p><p> </p><p> Bryan's high was 5 points in a month, and that was the month after it had dipped to its lowest level all year. His push has been more gradual so it's not a surprise to me that his growth has been slower, but he's gone up by 15-16 points on average for the year, so not bad.</p><p> </p><p> Corino's the most over of the four (though there isn't much distance between he and Punk.) He didn't really have any one month with big growth. Not even when he beat Austin; but I had to protect Austin to make that happen, and Corino was already very popular anyway. I'm pretty sure he's also at his cap now.</p><p> </p><p> AJ had one month of big growth; when he retained the US title against Lance Storm. I'm worried about his cap as well.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="DHK1989" data-cite="DHK1989" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Just thought of something. What if Rey, Eddie, Chavo and a couple other luchadores reformed the LWO to take on Salvation in War Games? <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div></blockquote><p> There will be no factions with the initials _WO in Bret's WCW. <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="K-Nection" data-cite="K-Nection" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Well I would have if I wasn't already in the PM phase booking on the other side of TFC for last year's Summerslam. For the record I tried to make the safest ladder match in existence and even at that the injury risk was too high for the network.....I had to book a scramble for the Light Heavy Weight Title instead of a ladder match. I was pretty annoyed by that. Also another thing to note I don't know if its been fixed yet but there is a major contradiction between what WWE's product calls for in match danger and risk and what the network they broadcast their PPVs on. Every match I booked had to suffer a penalty which is was a bit annoying as well.</div></blockquote><p> Yeah, I know what you mean. I was prevented from booking a hardcore match on Nitro a few months back for this very reason. I think it's content risk rather than injury risk though, unless I'm mistaken. I had no idea about the match danger/risk issue though. Can any of the other previous guest bookers chime in on whether or not you've had that same problem?</p>

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Liger!Liger!" data-cite="Liger!Liger!" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="40971" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>How was today's Cup show? Heard Taichi pulled some new moves.</div></blockquote><p> It was okay but I liked the first night more, insanely scary Elgin botch aside. When it first happened I was sure Ishii's neck was broken.</p>

If I ever watch a show with him announcing again, I'm pretty sure that's going to be in my head the entire time.

<p>July 2003 Renaissance update, News and August National Battle Report</p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/2aDyraK.png</span></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">July 2003 Update</span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> <em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grand Prix Tournament, A Block:</span></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> 7/19:</em></p><p><em> -Akira Hokuto took down Alexis Laree in a good tournament opener.</em></p><p><em> -Takako Inoue prevented Daffney from using the mist and beat her in a battle of heels.</em></p><p><em> -Meiko Satomura avoided Kyoko Inoue's Victoria Driver and got the win with Scorpio Rising.</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Current A Block Standings:</strong></p><p> <em>Akira Hokuto: 2 points (1-0)</em></p><p><em> Meiko Satomura: 2 points (1-0)</em></p><p><em> Takako Inoue: 2 points (1-0)</em></p><p><em> Alexis Laree: 0 points (0-1)</em></p><p><em> Kyoko Inoue: 0 points (0-1)</em></p><p><em> Daffney: 0 points (0-1)</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grand Prix Tournament, B Block:</span></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> 7/26:</em></p><p><em> -In a friendly match between the members of Our Generation, Nattie Neidhart got the better of her partner Melissa Anderson.</em></p><p><em> -Etsuko Mita got her Grand Prix off to a good start when she beat Sonoko Kato via Death Valley Driver.</em></p><p><em> -Momoe Nakanishi's flash pins came so close to giving her a win, but the veteran Chigusa Nagayo survived and overcame the youngster.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Current B Block Standings:</strong></p><p> <em>Nattie Neidhart: 2 points (1-0)</em></p><p><em> Etsuko Mita: 2 points (1-0)</em></p><p><em> Chigusa Nagayo: 2 points (1-0)</em></p><p><em> Melissa Anderson: 0 points (0-1)</em></p><p><em> Sonoko Kato: 0 points (0-1)</em></p><p><em> Momoe Nakanishi: 0 points (0-1)</em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="color:#FF0000;"><span style="font-size:18px;">Show Summaries:</span></span></strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>7/12:</strong></p><p> <img alt="xNNOuqj.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/xNNOuqj.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <em>Notes from this show:</em></p><p><em> -The triple threat won by Kato was promoted as a Grand Prix qualifier. I considered all three of those women for the final slot, so I thought it would make sense to book this particular match.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -Aja Kong said she was feeling pretty fatigued after this match and asked to have a lighter schedule for a bit. That was the plan anyway with the Grand Prix about to start.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <strong>7/19:</strong></p><p> <img alt="7IBM8vg.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7IBM8vg.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <em>Notes from this show:</em></p><p><em> -Toshiyo Yamada and Akira Hokuto were apparently bonding backstage over the newest cars from Honda.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <strong>7/26:</strong></p><p> <img alt="5WKgx7y.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/5WKgx7y.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <em>Notes from this show:</em></p><p><em> -Though we had Manami Toyota accept Toshiyo Yamada's challenge for a title match, we didn't speicify when or where it'll happen. That's because I'm not exactly sure about that yet; I'm trying to decide which Grand Prix show might lack a quality main event.</em></p><p> </p></div><p></p><p></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> <hr noshade size=3></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>WWE signed recent Tough Enough winner John Hennigan, and he'll be joining the other winner Matt Cappotelli down in developmental.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> They also signed a few names to bolster their recent brand split. Nothing wrong with that, but when the names are Brian Lee, Julio Torres and JERRY SAGS (yes, really), that's not so great.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg</span></div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>Mariko Yoshida, the reigning champion down in 5SSW, signed a one year extension of her developmental deal. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Canadian indie worker Eric Young has agreed to a per-date deal with us as enhancement talent. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p> </p><span>http://i.imgur.com/HLY8nvy.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>NOAH held their big event of the month on July 26th. The main event wasn't quite the match of the year candidates NOAH had become known for, but it wasn't too far off that pace either. That's to be expected when you've got talent like Akiyama and Kobashi beating Misawa and Ogawa in a PPV tag match. It's too bad nothing else on the show was good at all; because of that, overall it wasn't much better than their other recent PPVs have been.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><span>http://i.imgur.com/syuSRKH.jpg</span> </div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>AJPW held their latest big show on July 24th. This show featured Jushin Liger beating Toshiaki Kawada in a match of the year candidate, but that was only the semi main event. The main event of Hiroshi Hase and Genichiro Tenryu retaining the Unified tag titles against Shigeo Okumura and Takao Omoro was easily better than anything else on the show, but wasn't in the league of Liger/Kawada. Better than last month's show overall, but nowhere close to the shows AJPW was putting on earlier in the year. </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="fOS5DO2.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/fOS5DO2.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div><p></p><p></p><p> <em>Shinya Hashimoto became a 2-time Zero 1 World champion when he beat Katsuyori Shibata on a show during their Evolution tour. Hashimoto's their ace so I can't fault the decision, but it's a bit of a shame because there's a lot to like about Shibata, especially since he's just 23 and should only get better.</em></p><p> </p><p> <hr noshade size=3></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="font-size:24px;"><span style="color:#0000FF;">National Battle Report: August 2003</span></span></strong></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="ebDwXEW.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ebDwXEW.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;"><span style="font-size:18px;">USA</span></span></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>#1:</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <img alt="nUYCk9q.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong>World Championship Wrestling</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>Top 5 Stars:</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> 1) Steve Austin (1000 points)</em></p><p><em> 2) Bill Goldberg (990)</em></p><p><em> 3) Rey Mysterio Jr. (794)</em></p><p><em> 4) CM Punk (770)</em></p><p><em> 5) Rob Van Dam (756)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Total Points: 4,310</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>#2:</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <img alt="7AiYO6E.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong>World Wrestling Entertainment</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>Top 5 Stars:</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> 1) The Rock (1000 points)</em></p><p><em> 2) Hollywood Hogan (851)</em></p><p><em> 3) Triple H (816)</em></p><p><em> 4) The Undertaker (810)</em></p><p><em> 5) Big Show (740)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Total Points: 4,218</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="ieBLbQ1.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ieBLbQ1.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;"><span style="font-size:18px;">British Isles</span></span></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>#1:</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <img alt="7AiYO6E.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong>World Wrestling Entertainment</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>Top 5 Stars:</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> 1) The Rock (1000 points)</em></p><p><em> 2) Hollywood Hogan (878)</em></p><p><em> 3) Triple H (824)</em></p><p><em> 4) The Undertaker (810)</em></p><p><em> 5) Big Show (741)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Total Points: 4,253</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>#2:</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <img alt="nUYCk9q.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong>World Championship Wrestling</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>Top 5 Stars:</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> 1) Steve Austin (1000 points)</em></p><p><em> 2) Bill Goldberg (990)</em></p><p><em> 3) Rey Mysterio Jr. (778)</em></p><p><em> 4) Rob Van Dam (745)</em></p><p><em> 5) Scott Steiner (735) </em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Total Points: 4,248</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="1eeVS9d.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/1eeVS9d.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;"><span style="font-size:18px;">Japan</span></span></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>#1:</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <img alt="nUYCk9q.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong>World Championship Wrestling</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>Top 5 Stars:</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> 1) Steve Austin (1000 points)</em></p><p><em> 2) Bill Goldberg (990)</em></p><p><em> 3) CM Punk (803)</em></p><p><em> 4) Rey Mysterio Jr. (788) </em></p><p><em> 5) Rob Van Dam (760)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Total Points: 4,341</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>#2:</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <img alt="7AiYO6E.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong>World Wrestling Entertainment</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>Top 5 Stars:</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> 1) The Rock (998 points)</em></p><p><em> 2) Hollywood Hogan (862)</em></p><p><em> 3) Triple H (824)</em></p><p><em> 4) The Undertaker (811)</em></p><p><em> 5) Kurt Angle (732)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Total Points: 4,227</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="mUExTtD.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/mUExTtD.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> <span style="color:#FF0000;"><span style="font-size:18px;">Europe</span></span></p></div><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>#1:</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <img alt="7AiYO6E.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7AiYO6E.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong>World Wrestling Entertainment</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>Top 5 Stars:</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> 1) The Rock (1000 points)</em></p><p><em> 2) Hollywood Hogan (850)</em></p><p><em> 3) Triple H (813)</em></p><p><em> 4) The Undertaker (809)</em></p><p><em> 5) Big Show (734)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Total Points: 4,206</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>#2:</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <img alt="nUYCk9q.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/nUYCk9q.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong>World Championship Wrestling</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>Top 5 Stars:</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> 1) Steve Austin (1000 points)</em></p><p><em> 2) Bill Goldberg (925)</em></p><p><em> 3) Rey Mysterio Jr. (747)</em></p><p><em> 4) Scott Steiner (726)</em></p><p><em> 5) CM Punk (726) </em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Total Points: 4,124</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> <hr noshade size=3></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Here's the update. I'll try to keep going at a good pace, but if I fall behind, blame Atlus and Persona 5 for monopolizing my free time! <img alt=":eek:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/eek.png.0e09df00fa222c85760b9bc1700b5405.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Danny_H22" data-cite="Danny_H22" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="43035" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Another great show and a brilliant write up. Well done!<p> </p><p> I do have some questions, so I’m sorry if they’ve been covered before </p><p> </p><p> - what are you backstage settings? Do you allow guests backstage etc.?</p><p> </p><p> - what do you use to plan? I use a google doc which I can update with ideas in work and I have a word doc which I update with some other stuff</p></div></blockquote><p> My backstage rules are pretty lax. I don't allow drugs or smoking, provide catering and organize transport and hotels.</p><p> </p><p> You'd be surprised at how little I write down ahead of time. After one PPV is over, I write down the next PPV lineup in a word document and then work backwards from there, filling in the major things on each Nitro leading up to the PPV. I also have a tentative Starrcade lineup that periodically gets updated throughout the year. Beyond that, my ideas are mostly in my head. It's a bit different right now with the Grand Prix, which I completely planned out ahead of time to make sure the schedules and points all stay accurate.</p>