Ladies and Gentlemen, please, could you bring your attention to me? It’s time for day FOUR of WrestleMania week, and the FOURTH of EIGHT WrestleMania reviews going up this week. Today, I bring you the first WrestleMania I watched with my wife, which was the start of a great tradition for us, WrestleMania 23! Let’s roll!
The following is a repost of A Celebration of Professional Wrestling: Thank you!. We are about to kick things off again this year in celebration of WrestleMania 28, which occurs on April 1st, 2012… unless of course Vince McMahon is secretly planning on the biggest April Fool’s Day joke ever played on wrestling fans.
This post includes all of the content posted at both BoredWrestlingFan.com and Wonderpodonline.com for the week leading up to WrestleMania 27. Click below for all of last year’s content before we begin our online barrage of wrestling-themed content!
(more…)
We’re back! And hopefully I won’t mistype the link to the actual podcast this week. Check out the new format of BWF Radio! We recap the shows, and then we talk about the news around the wrestling world this week. A discussion on Hulk Hogan’s sex tape sets the tone as we talk about Consequences Creed possibly coming to WWE, Brian Kendrick returning for a cruiserweight themed show on WWE Network, Kharma’s tragedy, the possibility of Mark Henry being inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame, which company uses Social Media better, what could possibly be on CM Punk’s DVD set, a Pennsylvania boy who had a prosthetic leg designed in the style of Rey Mysterio, Deaf Wrestlefest, and our question of controversy, “Does Vince McMahon have an anal fetish.” Right click and save as the link below to download, and then hit the jump for links to a couple of the stories referenced in this week’s episode!
It’s Sunday, and you know that means it’s time for another installment of Bored Wrestling Fan Radio. This week was a little different than our regular format. ThinkSoJoE was kidnapped, and duct-taped to a chair by Stone Cold Steve Austin, J.T. tore his quad walking across the ring, and DrowGoddess turned face in Toronto facing the Rock. Since Vince McMahon never bothered to ressurect the Wolfpack, Pintnoir and myself did one better. We made the show happen. I’m not sure which of us is Sting or Scott Steiner, but I assure you, neither of us are Buff Bagwell.
This week we discussed the results of the Royal Rumble, RAW, Impact Wrestling, and Smackdown. We took time to focus on the little things while going through the results, addressing some issues that have bothered or pleased us during the week.
See, even when things are not planned, even YOU can record a podcast. Therefore:
In Canada, we observe Remembrance Day. I have only respect for this holiday. In the USA, they celebrate Veteran’s Day today… but I’m not American. Nonetheless, I hope people south of the border hold the same regard that I do for my Nation’s holiday.
However, today is also Friday, which means that Smackdown is on. Tonight’s episode was taped in the United Kingdom. Rumor has it that Vince McMahon has become “too tired” to oversee Smackdown and leaves it to others lately. That might explain why it has been a very good program. Will that trend continue? Let’s hop to it, shall we?
What is going on Wrestling fans? This time around Im going with a match that is both unique and special in the history of pro wrestling for 2 reasons. For starters its a WWF title match taking place in Calgary, but its in an official Stampede Wrestling ring featuring one of Stampedes most popular wrestlers of all time. Thats pretty unique. Also, its the celebration of Stu Harts 80 Birthday, and as a consequence, wrestlers from around the world came to the event to both preform and also wish the legend a Happy 80th. This time around we will be enjoying Razor( Scott Hall) VS Owen Hart, for the intercontinental WWF championship. And this joint Stampede/WWF match is called of course by the legendary Ed Whalen, the voice of Stampede Wrestling for many decades. Worth noting at the beginning of the video Owen has a quick segment talking about his father, which is a very nice touch. Owen was playing the role of a heel at the time in the WWF. However, when in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, its pretty hard to have the crowd hate any former Stampede Wrestler as Vince McMahon would soon learn and capatialze on in the future with his Hart Foundation story-line. Also worth noting while watching the video is the top ring rope coming off and being quickly turned into a weapon. You will then notice a quick exit from the ring to draw the attention away from the rope being put back on. Finally worth noting is the “run in” by one of my least favorite wrestlers of all time. Here is a hint as to who he is ” I made a porn Movie with a Man/Woman and lived to tell about it”. Also, if these videos are getting your old school classic wrestling interests up, feel free to download our Stampede podcast .G and myself discuss all things Stampede wrestling including our run ins with the likes of Davey Boy Smith, Bad News Brown, Chris Benoit and Bret Hart when we were just kids! http://wonderpodonline.com/?p=2533 See you all next time !
[youtube -NviS1E0CF4]
I’m almost at a complete loss of words over last night’s WWE RAW. The beginning was great. WWE proved that they could do a show with just four guys, and it would be a great show. Then Vince McMahon came out, and from that point forward, WWE proved that they could do a terrible show with 60 guys.
I don’t know why, but I absolutely loathe John Laurinaitis. I feel that it’s more than just the character, I think I actually despise John Laurinaitis the person. Over the past couple of months I didn’t mind him so much, but as soon as he was appointed “Interim RAW GM,” I started to hate his very being. And the strange thing is, I don’t think it’s his fault that I hate him at all. What I really hate, is heel authority figures in wrestling.
The first couple of times, ok cool. Now, it’s just stale. It’s old. I can’t stand it. This is wrestling. I’m supposed to be rooting for the good guy and booing the bad guy, not rooting for the good guy and booing the good guy’s boss. If I wanted to boo a good guy’s boss, I’d march into my boss’s office with my thumb down.
Look, I get the idea that we’re all supposed to hate our boss, and that when the good guy’s boss finally gets his comeuppance, we’re all supposed to cheer because we’re living vicariously through our favorite Superstar. I actually like my boss. Sure, sometimes I think I’d like to hit him with a Stone Cold Stunner, but most of the time I think I’d rather share a couple of Steveweisers with him (WHAT?).
The fact is, we’ve been doing this same angle for 15 years now. For everything the WWE is doing right – pushing the tag team division, bringing back managers and stables – this is one of the wrongs. There was a time when I’d tune in to WWE programming because I liked the wrestling. A promo here or there and a very rare post-match beatdown went a long way back in those days. Now, we have an hour of promos on a two hour program and a beatdown after every match – almost literally in the case of last night’s RAW – and they’ve lost their effectiveness.
I think what we need in mainstream wrestling – WWE, specifically – is a face authority figure (Teddy Long doesn’t count) who will restore order. Post-match beatdown? $250,000 fine. The effectiveness will eventually be rebuilt because the only time we’d see a post-match beatdown is when somebody dislikes a guy so much that they’ll gladly pay a quarter of a million bucks to get in a few extra shots at them. Is it a perfect suggestion? Maybe not, but at least I’m trying to come up with something different.
For now, I think I’ll vote with my remote control – I’m considering not watching wrestling until they replace Laurinaitis as RAW GM. That’s how strongly I feel about this crap.
Well, words escaped the end of last week’s Raw. That was one of the most surreal Raws I ever saw. Now it’s time to see how the WWE follows it up. The announcer’s seats are empty. We get a nice perspective of the back area. And we get to start with Triple H. Surprise. And after HHH’s entrance, there’s only 15 minutes left of Raw, so no worries there. The superstars are outside and waiting for HHH to step down. Then he panders worse than Hogan’s cup to the ear thing. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, the Confederate Warrior himself John Cena comes to the ring. We get serious John Cena. He didn’t sound so scripted. And then comes out my Pasty White Hero, Sheamus. He’s still with HHH. Then Punk comes out. He’s still with HHH. He makes a match. Cena vs. Sheamus with Punk on commentary and HHH as ref.
Commercial break. I have been without caffeine for 2 days. Any more Red Robin commercials, I will need to be held down.
After the commercial Vince McMahon comes out. Everyone’s heart sunk. Vince likes watching Raw at home. Board of Directors met about this situation. HHH is no longer running Raw. The new person running Raw is Super Dave Osborne. If I was not doing this review, I would be watching 2 Broke Girls on DVR.
Brian Wilson is on my tv. All of a sudden, Super Dave Osborne isn’t so bad.
Now all the wrestlers are coming back in. John Morrison tells Johnny Ace he sucks. Then he continues his burial tour against Christian. My wife notices Morrison has shaved his face. She acted like I did when Nelson Cruz hit his grand slam. Morrison was squashed. Then Ziggler, Swagger & Rhodes take out Morrison.
Then HHH threatens Super Dave.
Then Randy Orton and Mark Henry had a match. Cody Rhodes interferes. DQ. Mark Henry beats him up a few times. Randy Orton is ridiculously stale.
We had Kelly Kelly & Eve vs. Rosa & Tamina. We’ve still got psycho angry Kelly. Eve pins Tamina. Poor Tamina. Super Dave asks JR to come into the ring. Really? At this point in his career, what are you going to do to JR they haven’t already done? Super Dave is so awful on the mic. He just sounds like he’s reciting a script. He fired JR.
We get Matista & AirBoom vs. Swagger, Ziggler & Otunga. This is the best match of the night so far by default. The highlight was the powerbomb Jack Swagger did on Evan Bourne. I have nothing against Matista/Mason Ryan. He just looks like he couldn’t pass a piss test.
John Cena’s movie looks awful. And I like Ethan Embry.
Punk and Del Rio were fighting until Super Dave stopped it and reinstated Awesome Truth. I stopped caring during this match. I was impressed by what I saw from ADR. The work in this match was really good. I just felt like I was watching House-no show is ever new; I just watch out of habit. Miz/Truth were disqualified and then HHH came to Punk’s rescue.
This is without a doubt the worst Raw I have seen in a long time. This is just as bad as Katie Vick era or the night the nWo started demolishing the Nitro set. The first 15 minutes were brilliant and then it was just like a fart in church from there. They most likely killed drawing in Oklahoma and I would be surprised to see their ratings higher than 2.5. Not saying all hope is lost. But something needs to change.
To follow me on Twitter, click here. For Facebook, click here.
Forgive me for this rant. But I’m angry. This is not focused on a specific wrestler. This is just me railing on the upper echelon of the business and the prices it takes to get there. Forgive me, but I am angry.
I’m angry that there are still wrestlers out there using PED’s. I understand I am not a wrestler, and I don’t have the same perspective on the business as somebody inside would. But I am a fan. The people in front of that camera matter to me. I’m tired of caring about a wrestler and then hearing about them violating the wellness policy again and again. And it’s not the same idiots like Chris Masters or Mr. Kennedy (dramatic pause… Kennedy). It’s guys I’ve cared about: Chavo, Regal, Sin Cara (though it looks like they might find a better one because of the first one’s violation). I’m angry at watching wrestlers cut corners.
I’m angry at the unreal expectations the WWE, TNA, AAA (Yeah, I’m going after my sacred cow, too.) have set before their wrestlers. Why is Andy Leavine on juice? Why is Sin Cara? What about Hector Garza? Why did they take 5’3” Rey Misterio Jr. and make him put on weight? He is way ridiculously over his ideal weight for his size. And we wonder why he’s about to get ANOTHER knee surgery? What about Chris Benoit’s and Eddie Guerrero’s abnormal thickness for their heights? Remember when Randy Orton was coming back from surgery and Vince McMahon told him he needed to work out (on national tv)?
I’m angry that nobody seems to be trying to look into the “why.” Nobody seems to care about finding the root cause of “why” wrestlers are using their PED’s. Maybe it’s Body Dismorphic Disorder. Maybe it’s addiction to the adoration of the crowd. Maybe it’s cause they’re young and stupid and think they won’t get caught.
It’s time to change the culture. You can’t just give press lip service and then do what you’ve always done. Be different.
To follow me on Twitter, click here. For Facebook, click here.
The BoredWrestlingFan.com crew got together earlier today to record their second ever audio roundtable. Who does the crew think will win at the WWE’s biggest event of the summer? What other matches do they expect to see? Just who was the Anonymous RAW General Manager? And which one of the BWF crew feels that they’re like Vince McMahon when it comes to Podcasts? Only one way to find out – click the link below!
SummerSlam 2011 Audio Roundtable
Also available on iTunes here