The very same. And the guy behind getting the proto WWFRR translite produced, too.

He can be seen on the Wrestlecrap website doing the Alex Wright dance in front of a row of pins.

Huge Wrestling fan since I was a kid. Last Year I went to my first live WrestleMania. Looking forward to the Royal Rumble. Also like ROH.

Originally it started as a vacation in Orlando that the end turned into a Wrestling Vacation. We did WrestleMania Axxess which was cool. We got autographs from Gallows and Anderson, Nia Jax and Dean Ambrose. I wanted to do NXT Takeover but was trying to score tickets Day of. Good deals went quick on tickets that came up for sale.
We left the day after Mania so no Raw or SD.
WrestleMania was a blast. I would do it again if I had the chance.

Mind blown. That is incredibly cool! That site got me through the doldrums of the post-Monday Night Wars!

I think it’s a good idea. I could got good seats for about $30 a piece for takeover. It was just hard to try and get 5 of them last minute.

My wife told Ambrose he made the Christmas Card. He recommended above the fireplace. Loved meeting him in person.

1DD75CCC-96FF-47FA-9E53-E3A43AE4834F (resized).jpeg

Was a fan growing up in the early 90's through mid 2000's. Turned into Raw a few weeks ago while channel surfing and had to change the channel once a match actually started. The constant changing of camera shots was nauseating. Don't know how you can watch when the shot is changing every 2 seconds.

I listen to the "talk is jericho" and Stone Cold podcasts, and occasionally Jim Ross's (while one of the greatest announcers of all time, he isn't as great of a conversationalist!) Stone Cold, on the other hand - is a phenomenal interviewer. I also am poring through Jim Cornette's HILARIOUS interviews/commentaries. Even if you don't agree with what he said (and I'm finding more and more that I pretty much do agree, given some thought), he says everything in such a hilarious way they are gold mines. Check it out on Youtube. He offends everyone with equal measure

Anyone going on the Jericho Rock N Cruise?

Thinking about it. It’s not that much, the roster of wrestlers is great! The rosters of Rock guys... eh..

I'm a dedicated listener of Cornette, too. I prefer Cornette's Drive-Thru (a short-form laid back Q&A from the fans) rather than the Cornette Experience (one topic, peppered with lots of political bitching), but grabbing clips from the Cornette You-Tube channel will give you the highlights of both, focussing on the funny stuff.

I'm also enjoying Bruce Prichard's Something To Wrestle With podcast. It's a bit long in the tooth at times, but decent classic wrestling content from a twenty-plus year WWF insider.

I must be listening to the shorter ones mostly, the majority of it is wrestling content, although I don’t mind the politics (I live in DC after all). He gets so pissed off about pretty much everything, it is hilariois

I just listen to the Post Wrestling Podcast recaps of Raw and Smackdown to keep up with wrestling. If they talk about something cool happening I’ll fast forward to it on the DVR. WAYYY too much product to keep up with now.

Last guy I was really into was Daniel Bryan because he was believable as a person. Now everyone is just way too scripted and robotic.

I do like what HHH is doing with NXT though. That is a great show and the Takeovers always deliver.

I like both of Conrad’s shows. Tony Shiavone is just hilarious to me. They do go a little long a lot of the time though and sometimes they get a little too wrapped up in their catchphrases and T-shirts.

100% agree with all of this. My son got me Daniel Bryan’s book for Christmas, and while it (really really) isn’t the most well-written book, the story is interesting. It’s written in Daniel’s voice and he talks a LOT about his lack of ambition while in ROH and before, just wanting to have good matches but not be the top guy. Then when he hits WWE something changes, and it’s clear they saw something in him. He specifically noted that Vince gave him a LOT of opportunities to improve before they really put him out there. They knew what they were doing with him all along, it seems. Or at least that’s what the book implies.

I was a big ECW fan and now watch ROH and Lucha Underground.

I watched WWF/NWA as a kid and into the 'Attitude Era'.

I can't watch WWE today, the in ring product is weak at best.

Roman Reigns, one of their top 'stars' finishes people off with a spear. Lol, I know it's scripted and all but at least do a move worthy of finishing your opponent.

Oh and he does a Superman punch, wow, how impressive.

My son LOVES Roman, so I try to be careful what I say about him - but yeah the Superman punch.. ugh.. I think if they would just change the name to something else, it wouldn't be quite so awful. I don't mind the spear, it is visually impressive. I dont think anybody does it better than Goldberg (even Edge!) but it's a great on-camera move.

Lucha Underground I am really enjoying - but I do feel like the matches can seem more like acrobatic contests than moves. Ricochet in particular - he's amazing in the ring, but good lord, SELL every once in a while! Lucha Libre has always been more about spots than psychology, but they do sell the moves - there's no excuse on Lucha Underground where it's all taped anyway. That said, I really think it's a super innovative way to do wrestling. They have RULES! And time limits! And they count falls! Holy crap! Those changes alone would give the WWE guys so much more to work with...

I'm only half way thru season two of Lucha Underground and yes, it's definitely a different take on wrestling.

You can really see Robert Rodriguez's influence on the show. I really enjoy the over the top story lines and how it's presented as an underground fight club.

I thought I'd have a hard time with most of the wrestlers wearing masks but after a few shows I don't really notice so much.

I unfortunately have limited time to watch wrestling, so it's ROH and Lucha Underground for me. I just have little interest in WWE unless it's to see how former ROH talent is doing.

Yep, makes a lot of sense. Again, ROH has rules (except Fight with no Honor, I guess). That is key to developing meaningful athletic-based storylines. How do you cheat if there are no rules?! WWE has the infrastructure to just bowl people over, and they are rewriting history - it's not wrestling, it's "sports entertainment." But they're even doing a crap job at that.

Another thing I've never really cared for about WWF/E is when they bring in new talent.

Even though it's almost certain they worked in another promotion before, they are introduced like they were just pulled out of thin air.

While other promotions don't go deep into a wrestlers history, they at least acknowledge the fact that they have one.

Funny, Daniel Bryan covers that in his book - he cut a promo when he was starting out (I think right before the Nexus program) and said something like "Yeah, Daniel Bryan is new, he's lost every one of his WWE matches... he doesn't have anything on Youtube. But if you look up BRYAN DANIELSON, that guy is huge!" Apparently Vince was pissed. But then he liked it so they ran with that. Then he fired him anyway after the Nexus angle because Bryan spit in Cena's face

Whoops, sorry - and that. The strangling and the spit. He said Vince fired him personally (over the phone), and sounded like he basically didn't' want to do it, but they had just gone public and they needed to show they were serious about the PG thing. This is a WWE book after all, so who knows how much of this is legit.

He was not fired for spitting. He was fired because he choked the announcer, Justin Roberts, with his tie.

Damn Casey beat me to it

It specifically says in the book that it was the choking with the tie *and* that he spit in Cena's face. And apparently Vince loved the choking. AND they didn't tell Roberts he was going to choke him.. lol. Hey we made the thread go on fire!

Popular guy. Roberts was the one who had his passport "disappear" overseas (presumably by JBL) and couldn't make the return flight home with the rest of the tour.

Your right.

Maybe bring Justin Roberts back for Raw 25th to relive the choking moment.

LOL!!

Good to see Rollins got his curbstomp back.

I was a fan as a kid growing up in the 90s. Really got into it around 94 when the first major feud I followed was Bret vs. Owen. Couldn't afford PPVs but faithfully watched Monday Night Raw and the Saturday morning show called Mania hosted by Todd Pettingill, which was a weekly recap show. My first live show was in the little town of Yuma, AZ in March 11th(?) 1995 and saw Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Undertaker, Bret vs. Owen in I think was an 'I Quit Match' among others. Main event was Diesel and Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels and Jeff Jarrett. Nitro premiered that year and things got really good! I miss those Monday nights when I always looked forward to getting home from school and waiting for both shows to come on. By this time I was more of a WCW guy. LOVED the international talent they had. Going into my high school years, WCW started to turn to crap by the late 90s, so I started watching the Japanese leagues - New Japan, All Japan, FMW, Michinoku Pro, etc. In 2000 I was lucky to be in attendance at the ECW Guilty As Charged PPV.

I think 2001 was a major turning point for me as a fan. WWF absorbed WCW and ECW and while it seemed exciting at first, to think that I would be able to see everyone in one viewing, that was obviously not the case. I began to lose interest. I think it was by 2005, all my favorite wrestlers were starting to retire (or pass away). Stopped watching live for the next 6 years and instead watched old tapes and DVDs of the Japanese leagues when I felt like watching wrestling.

In recent years, I watch WWE with my wife, who became a fan because of me. I'm not into it like I used to be, but I can appreciate some of the wrestlers of today. The thing thats different now, is the loss of priority of protecting the business. Wrestling is different now. I think the majority of fans now are different. Fans know too much and wrestlers expose too much - whether it's being under-trained, over-botching or hanging out and taking pics with rivals on social media. 'Big move' high spots are over used. Gimmick matches are over done, and it seems like every match on the indy scene has to involve a chair or a table. Feels like we have all just accepted it as an act. I can understand when guys like Jim Cornette go on a rant.

Oh yeah, I really hate when they zoom in and out and shake the camera around like there's a damn earthquake. Ugh.

Me and a group of friends are looking into it, we just got our tickets for NXT Live coming to Indianapolis on March 4th, and we booked the full weekend pass for Wrestlemania that has Hall of Fame tickets and NXT Takeover tickets included, road tripping it from Lafayette to New Orleans together for that one.

We are watching the Royal Rumble next weekend at my location and we are going to do a tournament on Royal Rumble. WWFRR will be set to one ball. Players will draw numbers before the start. #1-4 start off, lowest score is thrown over the top rope, work our way all the way to #30 if we have enough people there for the event. I figured it should be a fun way to include some pinball into a wrestling filled day.

Raw 25 tonight should be fun. Bringing back lots of the favorites.

Think there will be any surprises? They are advertising Austin, Flair, Undertaker. I think the Rock is almost a guarantee but he comes back so often, I hope they don't let him take over the whole place. Austin really needs an outstanding return, and Undertaker may break kayfabe who knows. He's gotta be done, right?

I think Taker will do another Wrestlemania.

If they are going to try to reintroduce Hogan into the mix tonight would be the night for it. He was pretty nuclear for awhile though so knows if that will ever happen.

I've been hearing Taker vs. Cena at Mania gets set up tonight, Hogan was the surprise I could think of but that seems to be pretty much not happening. I don't think I would be made if he came back at this point though.

I would love to be a fly in the backstage this afternoon and evening with all the commotion ....

I think Hogan is still on the outs. There was an official/non-official statement categorically denying he would be there. They don't usually just lie, so I doubt we'll see him. I don't think as many people really associate him with RAW as much as Stone Cold, Rock, Mankind, HHH, DX, etc. I DO hope Sting will be there. He's of course not a "RAW guy" but it's not like they're going to do a 25th for Nitro...

That would be over the top cool. I re-watched his match with Roman from WM. And I get Roman is a great worker, that was a long match. But I don't think it was really that *good*. Taker was going out, and there was no way for Roman to get out from under that heat, but the match itself should have been a showstopper. It should have been Cena. Too many of the top guys are known to be part timers.

100% agree.

I agree too; SM seems kind of tired of it too, and they’ve obviously changed as people, it was kinda fun but a little empty. I was pretty sure that Scott Hall was on something too; as a guy who funded a quarter of his hip surgery, that made me a little sad.

The 8-woman tag match was pretty good (adult/mickie/barley/Sasha weRE CLEARLY the better team). The Asuka crazy turn at the end was MONEY!!

Lucky! NXT Takeover specials always deliver. Raw 25, IMO, did not. Really sick of the writing on Raw and Smackdown.

I thought best match was Miz VS Reigns. Miz is really turning into a top performer on RAW IMHO.

I’d really like to see it on Joe, who is also a tremendous heel, but since he’s on the injury list I guess we keep waiting. They have totally wasted Nakamura since he started

Awesome! Congrats! I was able to score tickets for an NXT live event this February for my son and I--front row on the entrance aisle. My son already got a high five from Johnny Wrestling and shook hands with then-champ Drew McIntyre at the last live event when we sat on the aisle--he was beside himself. It'll be his first front row experience. I sat front row with MY old man back at a 1987 house show main evented by JYD/Davey Boy Smith vs. Magnificent Muraco/Cowboy Bob Orton. I had made a sign: "Muraco is a Beach Bum!", and ol' Don got right in my face--trash talked me and threatened to rip up my sign. I was seven years old. I think I sh*t my pants a little bit. My father stepped in and gave him the gears right back. It was a moment I'll never forget. It's cool seeing this stuff come full circle with my son.