However, the batteries are charged up now to fire up some opinions. As Conan O'Brien always says, I have a lot in store for you today. Not only do I have the RAW and Nitro hype, but I also have a book review! The review is of Scott Keith's The Buzz on Professional Wrestling, which I read during the weekend and finished up very late last night.
On to the PDC!
Today's PDC
*WCW Stuff (1989 Wrestle War, Nitro Hype)
*WWF Stuff (Heat review, RAW Hype)
*Phat Book Review
On that show, it had one of the BEST technical matches, ever, in the history of wrestling. Yes, I'm talking about Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat part 3 for the NWA World Title. Damn that's a good match! Also on the card, Sting manhandled the Iron Sheik, and the funny thing about the match was when the Sheik requested that he be referred as a former World's Champion.
Another match I found to be very funny was the Dynamic Dudes vs. the Samoan Swat Team. Dynamic Dudes feature Johnny Ace, who is the head booker of WCW now, and Shane Douglas, the Franchise, currently getting screwed in WCW. The SST was managed by Paul Heyman.... excuse me, Paul E. Dangerously, and the SST consisted of Samu and Fatu. Yes, Fatu is the guy you see as Rikishi right now, but he was a LOT smaller then than now. Samu surfs the indies right now, if I'm correct?
I could go on and on about this fun show, but I have a lot to cover today. Please check it out if you happen to find it in a local video store.
The Cruiserweight Tag Team tournament continues tonight, with Air Paris and AJ Styles against Elix Skipper and a Mystery Partner. That partner will probably be Kid Romeo, who nobody really knows yet. Way to hype up a mystery partner. Despite probably being a well worked match, the crowd only knows Elix Skipper, and they don't exactly cheer or boo him anyway.
I swear, WCW does NOT know how to hype a Pay Per View. Tonight, they are featuring a NON-TITLE match between Shane Helms and Chavo Guerrero. Hello?!? Why are you giving away the money match so soon? If they put on a bad match, then that will discourage any remaining WCW fans from wanting to see their match at Greed. WCW did this before Superbrawl by having 3 of the PPV matches on a Nitro beforehand, and they are repeating it again. Someone with some brains better start running things better backstage, I swear. By the way, Shane Helms will have a new entrance theme or something tonight?
Konnan will take on Lance Storm, from Calgary................... Alberta, Canada. Why doesn't he say that anymore? I miss that. Anyway, I can remember Storm defeating Konnan about a month or 2 ago, so it's time for paybacks. Yes, the hard working Lance Storm, who works through injuries will most likely job to someone who gets in arguments with bookers and gets injured too much. Understand the logic?
The "Nitro Buzz" is saying that we might see Rick Steiner fighting Booker T, although it's just hinting. If Booker T loses that match, I'll be scarred as a WCW fan for life.
Also in the Nitro Buzz, it says that one of the greatest tag teams in history is contemplating a comeback. Folks, welcome back the Road Warriors to the 21st Century.
Dean Malenko, the man, fought Funaki to a pretty decent match up. I don't really know where Dean-O is going with his career, but I have a simple suggestion: Just team him with Perry Saturn on a regular basis. Lord knows Perry needs it, as we'll get to him in a second.
The NEW That's Incredible is a front face suplex? Ummm, ok. You know, it's sad, because the only move that made Justin Credible what he is to begin with was his Corkscrew Tombstone. But thanks to the WWF rule, he must use a front face suplex. Hey, guess who he defeated on Heat?!? You guess it, Grandmaster Sex-ay. Man, I'd just love to job to someone who was there only a month. I think it's safe to say that Jerry Lawler won't be rejoining the WWF ever again, and that Brian Christopher will probably take an axe once the Spring Cleaning comes around.
Both Test and Raven worked a decent match, as I wonder if the WWF will ever give Test an official finishing move. He has everything from the top rope elbow, the gutwrench powerbomb, the Meltdown, and the Big boot. At least it's not something like a People's elbow. I wouldn't want to be hit with any of those 4 moves by a big man like Test.
Chris Jericho vs. Perry Saturn was OK, but there isn't much hope left for Saturn. Good old Wrestling Historian pointed out that with the white parts of Saturn's gotee, he looks like a Walrus!!! HAHA! I agree on that one! He is the eggman... he is the Walrus, goo goo g'joob!
Not a bad show overall though. I'll give it a generous B. Get a better guest other than K-Kwik please.
WWF.com says that Paul Heyman is indeed in Washington D.C. today, and he's rumored that he might appear on RAW tonight. Rumored? Shit, what else is he doing in Washington this week, discussing the tax plan with George W. Bush? It appears that Heyman will be selling himself to the darkside, and he's most likely going to either become an announcer for RAW, announce that ECW is closing and that he's a part of the WWF booking team now, or he'll use RAW for a last ditch effort to promote the March 11th ECW pay per view. I bet that he's joining the WWF, officially now, and that's nothing but GREAT news!
There are no matches listed this week, so we don't have anything else to really rip on. D'oh! WWF.com is hyping that Vince McMahon will continue a "plan" that he mentioned on Smackdown. Will Vince announce that he's the Greater Power again?!? Tune into RAW!
Now the book starts out with the basics of wrestling. Yes, it's called the "Buzz on Pro Wrestling" because it's aiming to describe what pro wrestling was all about and why everyone was so attached to it. It starts out describing wrestling terms, holds, and other various wrestling features that we've all grown up with. But this book is part of a "Buzz On" series, which many aren't understanding. There's a Buzz on Sex-Dating-Relationships, Fashion, Wine, Finance, Golf, Travel, and Fitness-Exercises. This book is most likely aimed at someone who might want to know more about pro wrestling and doesn't know the stories or special stuff that it contains. Many smart marks have jumped all over that thought, and they didn't quite understand that.
The book starts off well for the information part, and then we get to the WWF Golden Age. Now the way Scott Keith does the chapters, I personally don't like. I would have liked to see more of a better organization in terms of years, instead of just focusing on a handful of wrestlers. But I guess since this book is aimed at people who are newer wrestling fans, I guess this format is ok. They know at least most of the names focused on in the book. Still, I would have preferred going through each year, describing the superstars that way. Also, I would have liked to see how the bookers affected the wrestling product.
Each era, the WWF Golden Age, End of NWA-Birth of WCW, the Dark Ages, and Monday Night Wars are all done by focusing on the wrestlers. Again, I would have liked to see more of an overall look at each promotion, instead of just a certain wrestler. Sure, there's a lot of history surrounding a certain figure, but the bookers, owners, presidents, and many more played a key role in what wrestling is today. Not much featured why WCW struggled in the years 1992-1993 for WCW, and also the rise of the WWF in 1997-1998. Just a focus on the wrestlers, and not Pro wrestling as a whole. Keith or someone should have named it "The Buzz on Pro Wrestlers".
Aside from that, there are some good facts in here that would shock the readers behind their favorite superstars. I knew most of them beforehand, but again, I took the role of understanding someone who is more of a newer fan to pro wrestling. That's how you must view this book, if you are a so called "smart" fan. Keith does a great job describing, especially, the Honky Tonk Man IC title reign. That's probably the best part of the book. For a couple of facts though, Keith sort of tells different stories than he does in his rants, or at least alters them a little. I guess other readers wouldn't notice that, but from reading his work beforehand, I saw that a lot.
One major criticism that I have of the book is the AWA section. He sticks it at the very tail end of the "Dark Ages" section, which didn't make much sense to me. AWA ended in 1991, and the section covers 1990-1996. Sure, it died in that era, but most of the damage was done in the 80s. I believe that should have been a separate section, instead of seeming to be out of place.
Bottom Line: Overall, this book is pretty decent and I'd recommend it to anyone who needs more knowledge about pro wrestling. Especially those who are sort of new to the sport, and wonder why guys like Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Sting, Steve Austin, and many more gained so much popularity and prestige from the federations they worked in. But some inconsistancies and some organization problems will lag this book for regular fans of wrestling. Therefore, I'll give the book a
Oh wait, let me grade it on a Keith match scale: I'll give the book ***1/4, and I'll say Mildly Recommended.
Please check out Scott Keith's website by CLICKING HERE
If you want to order the book, then Click HERE or HERE.
Wrestle Palooza Audio Show: Check out Yesterday's show with news on Francine to the WWF?, Bischoff and Flair arguing?, and yours truly on the show.
LoP T-Shirts: NEW STUFF IN STOCK! Mouse Pads, Sweat Shirts, Coffee Mugs, more T-Shirts, Baby Doll shirts, and more! Also, you can now order via Credit Card!
Backyard BBQ: The Best in Backyard Wrestling!
@That's all for today. I'll be back tomorrow with the MONDAY NIGHT IMPRESSIONS, so just chill till the next episode!!!
Phat Pharm: NEW Unspoken Word to Read, so CLICK HERE!
Take Care, and Thanks for Reading.
Orlando Rage: 21
Memphis Maniax: 19
ESPN recap
WEST
Los Angeles Xtreme: 3-2
San Francisco Demons: 3-2
Las Vegas Outlaws: 3-2
Memphis Maniax: 2-3
I was listening to the "Big One", WWVA am Radio in my area, and I was listening to Saturday Sports Day when someone asked him about the XFL. He offered a good opinion about how the viewers will really stop dropping once the weather gets better. He offered another opinion about how this time of year just isn't a football season. The idea was blamed to kill the USFL, who also played in the late winter/early spring.