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It's been a few years since the last time I attended the Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus. A lot has changed in that short space of time. Then again, some things have stayed the same, too. What's changed is that money is quite a bit tighter for us these days. When I started planning to attend this year's event, I knew that I wouldn't have the kind of "mad money" that I had back in 2006. At the 2006 Mid-Ohio Con, I was able to land some pretty remarkable finds, including a classic that had eluded me for a very long time, Captain Marvel #100 (1949). That particular book was a landmark find for me, as it cracked the elite ranks of my comic book "Wall of Fame." It was truly an exciting find and it was one of my best comic con purchases ever.
Airboy, vol. 4, number 1 (1947)
My interests have changed since 2006 as well, as I've spent a good deal of the last 18 months or so working on the project that ultimately became the book Red Youth: Young Heroes of the Great Patriotic War. Add to that the fact that I've been busy with the guys from The Wrestling Daily to produce our new site that is coming along very well these days. Each week seems to bring something new for TWD and we seem to have real potential for terrific growth. It's time-consuming but tremendously exciting stuff.
As far as my taste in comics, that's still pretty much the same. I took a printout of my partial inventory with me to the Con and, as usual, I was on the lookout for affordable copies of Golden AgeAir Fighters and Airboy issues. I am also always looking to fill gaps in my collections of Power Man and Iron Fist and Rom: Spaceknight so that I might end up with full runs of each series. After all these years, I am still a sucker for the Bronze Age stuff.
Since my spending money was on the lean side, I figured I'd be pickier than usual and my expectations were pretty low as far as making a big score this year. Hillman comics seemed to be pretty scarce. I did find a dealer out of Louisville who handed me a nice stack of Airboy issues to look though, but the average price on the books was about $125. Here and there I found other copies of Airboy comics, ranging in price from about $40 to $185 or so. It was the first big comic con I've attended in a while that didn't seem to have any copies of Real Clue or Headline Comics and that was kind of disappointing.
I found one dealer who was more or less liquidating his inventory and he had a copy of Airboy volume 4, number 1 (1947) marked at $30 but he was also offering it at 50% off. I made a note of it and a few booths down the way, I found the same issue for $185! Needless to say, I walked back to the other guy and bought his copy for $15. It's got tape on the spine, but it's complete and the cover displays well. And it was way cheap, too. Those are the most important things to me when it comes to acquiring Golden Age books for my collection.
There were a couple of pro wrestling booths at Mid-Ohio and I took the opportunity to do a little networking on behalf of TWD. One guy specialized in old school DVDs and we had a nice chat about industry business. He was also nice enough to let me have whatever DVDs I wanted for $5 each. Among the DVDs I scored was a disc that features the complete ECW/USWA feud. I watched most of it last night and I have to say it is the most tremendous display of action and storytelling I have ever seen in the world of pro wrestling. This series has the best shoot promos from Jerry Lawler, Jim Cornette, Tommy Dreamer, Beulah McGillicutty and a lot of other huge names. Incidentally, I think Beulah's "eye for an eye" promo about Tommy Dreamer's injured testicles might just be my new favorite promo piece of all time. The matchups feature so many ECW originals that it's hard to even list them all from memory. I think when it' all said and done, this might be one of my favorite "unofficial" DVD compilations of all time.
I also got some face time with a promoter from an up-and-coming regional promotion and he seemed pretty interested in what we're doing at TWD. There seems to be a good chance that we might work together in the near future.
Marv Wolfman was in attendance at Mid-Ohio. I met him at the 2008 Gem City Comic Con and he didn't seem too interested in talking that day. Luckily, he was in very good spirits this time and he was happy to sign my trade paperback of Crisis on Infinite Earths. I also presented him with Total Eclipse #1, explaining that I love Eclipse Comics and that I had just re-read the entire mini-series over the summer. I told him that the editors had bragged that Total Eclipse was Marv's "most complex" plot to date and when he heard that he rolled his eyes, saying he was never really pleased with that particular series. He explained why, confirming a little of what I have previously heard about Eclipse. It was a pretty fascinating glimpse into the business side of the comics industry and it was especially noteworthy to hear It from such a legendary writer like Wolfman. He was not terribly nostalgic for the Eclispe days, but to me, Eclipse will always stand out as a tremendous source for great storytelling, particularly with their resurrection of so many Golden-Age characters. Before I moved on, I shared with Marv that his writing has been a huge influence on me for the better part of my life now and I thanked him for that. He was very gracious and it was a positive experience for me.
Marvel Two-In-One #24 (1977)
I don't usually sell or trade comics, but I did take a copy of Zoo Funnies #3 (1945) with me in hopes that I could unload it for cash or credit. It's generally considered the first Charlton comic book ever. A couple of the people I showed it to were intrigued with its historical significance as a Charlton comic but they were also quick to add that "funny animal" stuff doesn't sell these days. Whatever. After striking out with about 4 dealers, I ended up finding a guy who was willing to trade me for it, offering 20 comics from his inventory in exchange for my one book. As luck would have it, he had a ton of Power Man and Iron Fist and Rom issues, so I made out pretty well. I also landed a Marvel Two-in-One featuring Black Goliath (another one of my favorite Marvel Bronze Age characters) and a few copies of The Flash from the mid 1980s. One day I hope to put together a full run of the Silver Age Flash series as well. So I guess I ended up with a nice haul after all.
Mid-Ohio is a nice experience and all, but in times like these, a $15 admission fee is more than a little steep. It took patience and tenacity on my part to find a handful of good deals this year. Still, I got to see a lot of nice comics and toys and I ended up with some nice new additions to my collection. Now if I only had time to read all of these comics that I just bought…
Well…despite my best intentions, it's been difficult to focus on one or even two projects lately because there's just so much in the works for us at any given time.
Most recently, I've joined up with a small group of pro wrestling fans to launch a new website called The Wrestling Daily. The foundation for TWD was set many months ago when I met up with a couple of guys on a website called "Bleacher Report" (sorry folks, but you can look that link up yourselves). There's really a lot to that part of the story and maybe I'll share it some other time. For now it's enough to say that the three of us found that we have a lot in common, including our rather caustic senses of humor. Our respective writing skills and talents meshed well and because we were far from happy with some of the goings-on at B/R, we decided to set out on our own.
The mere mention of this new project generated significant interest from many other talented wrestling enthusiasts who shared our vision for a new standard in pro wrestling journalism. Of course, not everyone could be counted among our well-wishers and there were a few folks here and there who took it upon themselves to try and shake our confidence and stymie our progress. There was a fair amount of saber rattling directed at us, including threats to "silence" us and to "take action" against us (whatever that means).
The Bleacher Report guys even went so far as to delete one of my article from their site that was entitled "Building a Better Website" in which I discussed the imminent launch of TWD. It only took their thought police something like four hours to take it down, too. Turns out I apparently violated their "Terms of Use" or something like that. I kind of know what that means but consider this: In the last week alone, I've seen all kinds of garbage spring up on B/R, including a series of hateful and slanderous rants directed at a young female writer. B/R allowed these comments for fester online for over 24 hours despite the fact that multiple users flagged the offending text a number of times in a relatively short space of time.
Their virtual blind eye to hate speech aside, B/R also seems to be extremely selective when it comes to deciding what kind of promotional activity that they allow on their site. By selective, I mean that TWD is the only site to my knowledge that has been so maligned and censored by the B/R oligarchs as of late. In one recent article, a "writer" promoted a new wrestling-themed blogging site in the bold introductory text to his article. That particular piece is still unedited at present after several days online. There's also a guy who is actively recruiting wrestling writers for some kind of new blogging project on a toy store's web site. Whatever.
Now, if you don't regularly visit B/R and what I just reported above doesn't make sense to you, then you understand it all perfectly. If you are a B/R regular and you haven't seen the hypocritical shit I'm talking about, then you're either a complete dumbass or you're just not paying attention. Like I said in the introduction to the revised edition of my "banned" article: "Integrity, meet the bottom line."
On Monday, August 17, the detractors and naysayers failed and we succeeded when the inaugural edition of TWD launched. Our roll-out lasted three days and we posted a total of 12 articles, one by each of TWD's family of writers. My first piece for TWD was entitled "Lessons from the Old School: How It's Done." The piece is a look back on Ric Flair's first and only appearance on the set of Jerry Lawler's legendary Championship Wrestling show.
Venom's driving force, the mighty Cronos
There's a lot more to come from TWD and I'm looking really forward to it. The experience thus far reminds me of an old interview with the band Venom (one of my all-time favorites, as most everyone knows), in which the guys talked about how the band's impetus. They explained that they had never been happy with a lot of the other metal bands they had seen over the years, so they created Venom in an effort to become the very band that they had always wanted to see on stage. With TWD, I can very much relate to that very idea, because for so long, I had searched the 'net looking for a pro wrestling site that was coherent, interesting, and compelling. To my mind, TWD accomplishes all of these things very well and it is, indeed, the very kind of site that I have always wanted to read.
This article is for Jason, Ray and the TWD writers because you guys don't suck at all.
Please note that the above opinions are mine alone and I do not represent the writers and staff or The Wrestling Daily in any official capacity through this or any other article published on greeklish.org.
Last night, I caught the huge WWE event at Dayton's EJ Nutter Center. It's worth mentioning that the Nutter Center is really in Fairborn. I am surprised that Wright State still advertises that Nutter Center is in Dayton, seeing as how the Gem City's current claim to fame is that we're on the Forbes list of America's fastest dying cities. Something to be proud of, I'm sure. Leave it to the spectacle that is sports entertainment to take our minds off the spiraling malaise of our economic recession...even if it's just for one night.
Anyway, the last WWE event I attended was back in October 2007 and as great as that show was, last night's show was way better. Plus, this time around I landed ringside seats. This was a big first for me and it was every bit as exciting as I'd hoped. Just like the last time, I made a sign in support of CM Punk and I had it with me throughout the show.
The event was actually three WWE shows in one, including tapings for both ECW and SmackDown! as well as two matches for WGN's Superstars show.
The ECW show was the first one of the night and for a little while I thought I might be able to hold it together without completely losing my mind. But once Tommy Dreamer made an appearance, I completely flipped out. To me, Tommy Dreamer is true wrestling greatness. Vladimir Kozlov was pretty exciting as well and I am completely loving his new "Lundgrenesque" training montages and entrance themes (complete with Red Army Choir music and archival film footage). The formation of the new incarnation of The Hart Foundation was a great moment as well. I was disappointed that Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart's daughter Natalya didn't see any action in the ring, but at least she made an appearance during the show.
Seeing Rey Mysterio wrestle twice in one night was pretty cool. He had an impressive bout with Shelton Benjamin for the Superstars show. Once SmackDown! started, I had the feeling we were in for a really good show and the opening match certainly got things headed in the right direction. CM Punk's tag partner was John Morrison and they took on The World's greatest Tag Team in what I thought was a sound, solid match. Punk and Morrison had surprisingly good chemistry considering their heated rivalry some years ago when they fought over the ECW championship.
I'm not a huge fan of the Divas division, so I wasn't really enthusiastic about the tag match. But Gail Kim is pretty impressive and it was really something to see her in person.
Edge before the SmackDown! main event.
Jericho and Edge stole the show with some really caustic mic work that set the stage for a phenomenal main event. When GM Theodore Long booked Jericho vs. Edge as the final SD! match of the night, I went crazy. It was kind of unexpected to see the two biggest heels square off going into a pay-per-view weekend and these guys are two of my all-time favorites, so it felt like something really special. Early in the match, I wasn't sure who I'd root for but once Jericho locked in the Walls of Jericho of Edge, I knew I was pulling for Y2J. I jumped up and charged towards the barrier yelling, TAAAAP! Tap, Edge! Edge is gonna taaaap!" Some 10 or 11 year-old kid started yelling "No he's not!" at me. I looked at him and smiled for a second and then I started heckling Edge again. Once Edge got out of the hold the kid was like, "See?" Yeah, whatever. I kind of freaked out when I saw Edge apply what looked to be a Sharpshooter on Y2J and I think other people were as shocked as I was. It was a great moment.
The ending for the main event seemed to be something of a letdown at first, but after Edge was laid out (courtesy of a run-in by Jeff Hardy, if I remember right), the real excitement started as CM Punk's music hit and he charged down the ramp with the Money in the Bank suitcase. For a minute there, I thought he was going to cash in his contract and win the title just like last time. I knew it was unlikely given that the weekend's PPV card was set, but or a second there, it almost happened. I ran into some friends after the show and one of them told me, "When CM Punk's music hit, we thought he was going to win the title for sure tonight! We were so happy for you!"
My hair is tied back
and I'm all sweaty and hoarse... but I'm also very, very
happy!
Umaga came out and squashed CM Punk's shot at the title, but Punk did deliver a massive blow to Umaga's face with the MITB case and that was pretty cool. The ensuing melee saw Edge and Hardy take their fight into the crowd as Jericho, Mysterio, Punk and Umaga fought all over the damn place. It was chaotic, but very well done.
After the SD! Taping concluded, the crew set up the steel cage for a non-televised championship match featuring Jeff Hardy and Edge. Edge retained the title in a short but well-choreographed match.
It was a great night and I have sure come a long way from sitting in the nosebleeds at Rupp Arena with my dad and my older brother. Of course, I do have some really good memories of those days many years ago. Now my daughters keep asking if they can go with me to a live wrestling event. One of these days – once they're old enough to handle all of the noise, drama and excitement of a bombastic WWE supercard -- it will sure be a lot of fun to make some new memories with them.
I took some photos and posted them in a gallery here. Anyone who has been to an event like this knows it's kind of tough to get good photos in this setting, but I think this batch is okay.
My new pal "M" from the sports website Bleacher Report has graciously permitted greeklish.org to post his recent article on ICW and "Leaping" Lanny Poffo. The article was voted Bleacher Report's Pick of the Day" for February 25, 2009. I am a huge fan of both Lanny Poffo and the illustrious "M". Part One: Love for the "Old School"
Over the course of last few years, I have finally come to the realization that no matter how old I get, I will never outgrow my love for professional wrestling. Like most longtime fans, I became hooked as a kid and my interest lasted well into my teenage years. As a young adult, my attention shifted to more important things. I got married, landed a real job, started a family, and pursued some post-college studies as well as some other endeavors. I pretty much missed out on most of the "Attitude Era" and the original ECW promotion but then again, I was having a pretty good time doing some grown-up things during those years.
Somewhere along the way to my new life as a responsible adult, I got sucked back in to the world of wrestling. My enthusiasm for the spectacle of pro wrestling came back stronger than ever several years ago and ever since then, I've been almost powerless to fight it. It's like I've been caught in a mental hammerlock of sorts. So here I am, a grown man with children of my own and I'm watching hours and hours of wrestling every week, buying action figures and DVDs, and reading news and gossip on Internet wrestling forums.
I think I realized wrestling had become an obsession for me the day I heard my two young daughters trying to sing Rey Mysterio's theme song. The funny thing of it was that they couldn't figure out the line "Booyaka, booyaka, 6-1-9" and it somehow came out as "Hoolika, hoolika, one State Farm..." That's the truth, folks. Funny stuff, indeed.
Anyway, I am certainly enjoying some aspects of today's pro wrestling scene and I have spent a few years getting caught up on what I missed in the mid to late 1990s. However, there's a big part of me that longs for the "good old days" when pro wrestling was still considered to be a sport and the rule of something called "kayfabe" still prevailed. I miss the decidedly low-tech entrances, the full-on shoot-style promos and the smash-mouth, in-your-face style of the local organizations and the regional territories. I'm talking about the "old school," people.
When I was about 10 years old, my family moved to central Kentucky. Up to that point, I was largely unfamiliar with pro wrestling. I think my dad had taken my older brother and me to a live event at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia a few years earlier, but this was a special occasion. We hadn't really seen wrestling on a regular basis on television before then. I vaguely recall that Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka and Andre the Giant were on the card that night, but I was too young to appreciate it all. That would all change a few years later.
Central Kentucky was a hotbed of pro wrestling activity in the early 1980s. The two dominant promotions in the area were Jerry Lawler's Championship Wrestling out of Memphis, Tennessee promotion and Angelo Poffo's International Championship Wrestling (ICW). My brother and I picked up on the action pretty quickly. I'm almost positive that the first televised wrestling show I ever saw was an episode of ICW in which "Pistol" Pez Whatley had to wear a mop on his head as a consequence for losing a big match. The studio audience kept chanting "Mop head! Mop head! Mop head!" at Pez and the louder they yelled, the angrier he became, stamping his feet and swinging the mop around on his head. It is fair to say that with this episode, my youthful curiosity was piqued. I was completely and utterly hooked.
Lawler's Championship Wrestling was a great show, but it was ICW that really captivated me. In fact, some of the kids in our neighborhood started calling me "ICW" because I talked so much about the show (and also probably because they never bothered to learn my real name).
ICW was an exciting show with a brilliant talent roster. "Macho Man" Randy Savage, the son of Angelo Poffo, was one of the biggest stars to come out of the promotion, but in its heyday, ICW featured an impressive collection of seasoned veterans and rising stars. Ox Baker, Ronnie Garvin, "Iron" Mike Sharp, "Cowboy" Bob Orton, The Great Kabuki and Elizabeth Hulette (Miss Elizabeth) all worked in ICW at one time or another.
"Leaping" Lanny Poffo, also the son of promoter Angelo Poffo, was another prominent "main eventer" for ICW. Although Lanny is probably best known for his run in the WWF as the poetic professor "The Genius," he spent a number of years at the top of the card on television shows and at packed venues throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, and other southern states.
Lanny established himself as a dynamic athlete and performer during his years with ICW. His expertise as a technical wrestler and his unique acrobatic abilities made it possible for Lanny to hold his own with some of the larger wrestlers and legendary talents of the day.
His cerebral approach to promotional spots made his microphone work seem more like legitimate theater and less like the vitriolic tirades that are most commonly associated with "sports entertainment."
Lanny was one of the most popular babyface wrestlers on the ICW roster for the better part of the promotion's existence. When ICW folded in 1984, Lanny and his brother Randy Savage went to Championship Wrestling. Managed by the villainous Tux Newman, they wrought havoc throughout the promotion, engaging in long and bloody feuds with the region's biggest talents, including Jerry Lawler and the legendary Fabulous Ones. Part Two: Reminiscing with Lanny Poffo
As a young wrestling fan, I was absolutely thrilled to follow Lanny's exploits week after week, and I followed his career with great interest for many years. I recently caught up with Lanny through his official website and asked him to spend a few moments reflecting on his early days with ICW and Championship Wrestling. He was kind enough to answer a some questions via e-mail for this article.
M: Lanny, these days it seems that a lot of wrestling historians like to refer to International Championship Wrestling as an "outlaw" promotion. Of course, this has a lot to do with the fact that ICW was not affiliated with NWA, but in your opinion was there anything else that made the promotion stand out from those of the neighboring territories?
Lanny: The word outlaw implies that running a rival wrestling promotion is illegal. The NWA was an attempt at a monopoly which is illegal. Most of those promoters died broke anyway. Crime doesn't pay.
M: By some accounts, the ICW roster was prone to letting fights spill over out of the ring. I have even read accounts of real life run-ins and parking lot brawls with wrestlers from the Memphis Championship Wrestling promotion. What was the ICW locker room like during the heyday of the promotion?
Lanny: I was in the babyface locker room. We had Ronnie Garvin, Bob Roop, George Weingeroff, El Bracero, Rick McCord, and others. Our locker room was very happy. Those guys had personality.
M: One of my favorite memories of ICW was your epic feud with "Hustler" Rip Rogers. The buildup to the steel cage, hair vs. hair match at Rupp Arena was tremendous. As you likely recall, your match was the second main event for the evening with the first main event being a bloody cage match between Ratamyus and Randy Savage. To my mind, this was the peak of your run with ICW. What are your reflections on being in the main event that night and was this the pinnacle of your success with ICW or were there other moments that you think were more important?
Lanny: According to Mick Foley's book, Rip Rogers was the best worker who never made it. That was true. Rip Rogers was a great athlete and a great worker. He never made it because he was too weird even for this business. That's a quote from his book. I agree.
Rupp Arena has a lot of prestige. It also has a lot of expenses. It's a beautiful building but I'm only interested in the bottom line. We did better when we wrestled in Henry Clay High School and let their boosters club sell tickets. That may not seem quite as glamorous, but profits are better than losses when you're living in the real world.
M: When you moved to Championship Wrestling, you adjusted quickly to a "heel" role. I remember one particular promo in which you wore a suit of armor and stood on a hillside reciting a funny poem about Jerry Lawler. When I go back now and look at footage from your Memphis years, it seems as though you were laying the groundwork for the "Genius" character you portrayed during your run in the WWF. How different was the creative process in the territories compared to your time in the WWF?
Lanny: Not being ugly or crazy looking was a handicap as a heel. I had to go for outlandish ideas.
M: Did the poetry that you wrote come naturally or was it difficult to come up with new and interesting verses week after week? How was it that you came upon the poetic side of your in-ring persona?
Lanny: I met Shel Silverstein twice in my life. He inspired me to write. In the WWF, I had a handicap named chief Jay Strongbow. He knew who I was going to wrestle on TV but never let me know in advance so I could have more time to write a better poem. When I asked him about this he said. "I don't like your gimmick!" It wasn't a gimmick. It was real. His name is Joe Scarpa. He's Italian. He's not an Indian. that is a gimmick.
M: Your in-ring style has always involved an intriguing mixture of traditional wrestling holds and fast-paced acrobatics. This really helped you to stand out in territories that favored mat-oriented grappling and smash-mouth brawling. How do you think the "Leaping Lanny" character would fare against today's high flying superstars like Rey Mysterio?
Lanny: In no way do I consider myself the talent that Rey Mysterio is. The bar has been raised. I'm from the '80s. He's the man.
M: On your official website, you discuss your recent endeavors, including your work as a motivational speaker and an author. Would you care to share a bit more regarding your post-wrestling endeavors?
Lanny: I have a tuxedo and love to speak. I'm in my element. It's my way to make a difference.
M: Thanks very much for taking the time to reminisce with a dedicated fan. Your unique contributions to the spectacle of professional wrestling have given many of us some terrific memories. I wish you the best of luck in all that lies ahead.
Lanny: Wrestling's been very good to me!
To visit with Lanny and to learn a little bit about his past and present adventures, visit his official website, www.lannypoffo.com. To learn more about the history of International Championship Wrestling, visit the Kayfabe Memories ICW history archive.
Extra special thanks to Ray for some much-needed editorial assistance.
This article is for my older brother. I am grateful that he never seriously injured me in all our attempts to duplicate our favorite old school moments.
If you woke up this morning asking yourself, "Does Mike still think CM Punk is awesome?" then I am here to tell you that the answer is a resounding "YES!"
On the January 19 edition of Monday Night Raw, CM Punk beat William Regal to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship. The match was not as thrilling as Punk's September 2007 victory over John Morrison for the ECW title, but there were some pretty amazing moments, including the scary sight of Punk landing almost head-first after a "counter" by Regal that looked kind of like a botched Dragon Suplex. The sight of Punk's head hitting the mat was reminiscent of the time when Chris Benoit accidentally broke Sabu's neck during a match back in the glory days of the original ECW. Punk's finishing move, known as "Go To Sleep" or "GTS," is still my favorite finishing move in pro wrestling and it was a terrific end to the match with Regal.
Punk's win has been the subject of some debate over the question of whether or not he has actually made wrestling history with the quickest "Triple Crown" victory in WWE history. But irrespective of which side you favor in that particular debate, one thing that's clear is that this guy is making his mark in the industry. CM Punk is the future of professional wrestling.
Last night on Monday Night Raw,CM PunkandKofi Kingstonwon theWWE World Tag Team Championshipafter beatingTeam Priceless. And again, I totally screamed like a little girl when CM Punk got the pin. Punk is one of the best and most exciting talents to hit WWE in years. It's too bad that hisreign as World Heavyweight Championwas so short-lived, but it's not his fault that WWE can't figure out how to effectively write for Punk's character.
I really wasn't expecting WWE to put another title on Punk anytime soon because the writers have seemed hell-bent on bumping him back down to the lower portion of the midcard. So last night's win was a pleasant surprise. My favorite spot of the match (other than the actual pin, that is) was Punk's "counter" to theRussian leg sweep(0:28 in the clip below). The Russian leg sweep is such a fast move that there usually isn't an effective counter to it. If I've ever seen a counter to it before, I can't remember it. Turns out all you really have to do is grab a rope, though. Punk's high spots were pretty good, too. "Go To Sleep," which is CM Punk's finishing move, (0:34) is probably my favorite finisher since "Sweet Chin Music." Awesome. Finally some good stuff from WWE!
Never underestimate the importance of exposing your children to professional wrestling at a young age. Any doubts that I had were dispelled last night. Over dinner, Thomai and I were discussing our mutual disdain for Sarah Palin when our older daughter chimed in to say that Palin reminds her of Smackdown's Vickie Guerrero. I told her that this was an excellent comparison with the exception being that Vickie merely plays the part of an evil character, for the sake of entertainment while Palin is downright awful in real life. My daughter appreciated this important distinction.
So, it's been a few days and the work week is officially over. As I decompress a bit tonight, I have to honestly say that my enthusiasm regarding CM Punk's big win has definitely made this a good week for me. I know it is weird and pretty eclectic for me to get so much pleasure out of something as cheesy and over-the-top as pro wrestling, but I just can't shake it. I have watched Punk's win at least twice a day over the last 3 days or so and every time I thought about it this week, it has brought a smile to my face. I forget about politics, bills and all my other worries for a few moments and I'm just happy. Really. The whole angle was just wonderfully executed. If you don't know the story leading up to it and you don't know what "Money in the Bank" is, then it's probably all lost on you, but take my word for it that this was all way cool.
I started watching WWE again about a year and a half ago after a really long hiatus from all the current wrestling shows. Before that, I had basically just spent years watching the same old Memphis and ICW tapes and DVDs over and over again. Once I picked up WWE again and started watching Raw on a weekly basis, I really looked long and hard for one of those great "Raw" moments that are celebrated in the DVD retrospectives and YouTube compilations. But the writing for WWE is pretty sloppy and inconsistent at times and it's hard to get too excited about story-lines and feuds, especially when there seems to be a real tendency on the part of WWE to endlessly tease and screw with fans. The "big" moments are really few and far between these days. I think the last time I really jumped out of my seat was when Edge cashed in MITB and beat Undertaker for the Heavyweight title last year. Before that, it was when Shawn Michaels beat Cena after that hour-long bout in London after WrestleMainia 24. That was way cool. Jericho's comeback was a big deal and it was fun to see Shawn Michaels superkick Randy Orton a bunch of times. But that's really my short list of big WWE moments for the last 18 months or so. And Punk's win really trumps all of those for me.
A lot of Internet "smarks" have moaned and groaned about Punk winning in such a heel-like fashion, but I think that is a pretty lame complaint at the end of the day. I don't think it takes anything away from his charisma or appeal to have him turn the tables on Edge, who won the title from the Undertaker in the exact same way. That's the whole point of the angle -- to bring it full circle, really. Besides, it's best not to over-think this stuff at the end of the day and just enjoy the moment. It's called "sports entertainment" for a reason.
I saw it live on Raw and it was the coolest thing I have ever seen on television...ever! EVER! I screamed so loud that I scared the kids and the dogs!
I am a big Edge fan, but it was amazing to see Punk cash in MITB and totally steal the title. My throat hurts from yelling so much. Seriously, it went on for like ten minutes. I almost hyperventilated. Sweet.
August 27, 1994: Shane Douglas throws down the NWA title and makes history
Is there any better wrestling blog/column these days than Paul Heyman's "The Heyman Hustle"? I really don't think so. And is it really that big of a surprise that Heyman is so insightful? Nah. I mean, the guy changed the face of the pro wrestling industry almost a decade and a half ago and quite a bit of what wrestling fans see these days – good and bad – bears the unmistakable imprint of Heyman's creative genius. He doesn't have the golden touch every time, he's not always right, and sometimes he's downright unbearable...but when he is on the mark, nobody can touch him. His recent column on Ric Flair and the NWA Hall of Fame was both poignant and hilarious at the same time. And how great is it that Heyman can still get a rise out of the NWA's top brass almost a decade and a half after he almost single-handedly buried the entire promotion by having Shane "The Franchise" Douglas throw down the NWA title (watch the video here). Hell, the NWA was so pissed at Heyman after his last column that they even issued a press in an effort to refute his piece, but in the end they just ended up looking as ridiculous as they did when he screwed them in 1994. The man knows how to play ball. Too bad Paul E. probably doesn't read greeklish.org, because I totally think he is the man.
I am currently reading Hardcore History - The Extremely Unauthorized Story of ECW by Scott E. Williams and I have to say it is pretty good. In some places, it kind of reads like a synopsis of the The Rise and Fall of ECW and Forever Hardcore DVDs, but I like revisiting a lot of these old stories anyway and there are some good, relatively obscure nuggets in the book that make it a worthwhile read if you're interested in wrestling.
And speaking of ECW, over at 411mania.com, there's a new series underway called "The History of the (WWE) ECW Title." I just read part one today and found that it's not so much "history" as it is one person's opinion wrapped in contempt and elitism. Here's the first couple sentences:
At One Night Stand in 2006 Rob Van Dam cashed in his Money in the Bank title opportunity against WWE Champion John Cena. Thanks to the assistance of a Paul Heyman, Edge, and a table, RVD defeated Cena for the title much to the delight of classless, intolerant ECW fans worldwide.
Ummm...what? Wow, you jerk. Way to alienate a whole bunch of your readers right of the bat. Seriously, even though most people are less than excited about WWE version of ECW these days, I think most ECW and WWE fans still acknowledge that RVD beating Cena at ONS 2006 was entertaining, shocking and incredibly exciting. That is, unless you're a Cena fan...I guess. Kudos to the guy who posted a comment to the article in which he quoted the "classless and intolerant" quip and then called the article's author "pathetic."
Phillyburbs.com, another good online wrestling news source, gets it. They just posted a "Top 5" ONS moments column in which the RVD/Cena match comes in as the best ONS moment of all time. But the column's author Eric Gargiulo doesn't stop there, saying "This is one of the greatest main-events in all of WWE pay-per-view history." No kidding. It is still a really great match to watch even today, but some of the drama is probably lost on folks who aren't familiar with all of the plot and drama leading up to the event and the controversial finish.
By sheer coincidence (I hadn't seen either of the above-mentioned columns until yesterday), this weekend I added a clip of RVD winning the title at ONS to my "What I'm Watching on YouTube" on the left of the main page of our site. And not only that – just yesterday, I got one of my most recent eBay purchases in the mail: an authentic "take home" folding chair from the actual ONS show on June 11, 2006. Nothing says "I am obsessed with wrestling" like a limited edition folding chair!
Oh yeah...I saw Jericho's heel turn on Raw last night. I thought it was pretty impressive.
If you woke up this morning asking yourself, "Does Mike still think 
