The Rant Of The Week: Bring Back Rasslin Managers

Greetings conversationalists all across the fruited plain it is I, your personal Harvester of Sorrow the one and only Phantom Lord and this is the Rant Of The Week. As always I am coming to you from my above ground bunker in the greatest city in the world, Brooklyn, New York. We dodged the bullet of Hurricane Earl last week as it was too far out to sea to do any damage. I was tempted to go out to Coney Island to get some pics, but all the fun surf was further out on this God forsaken Island of Long. Ah well some storm is bound to have a track that will give it a bee line right for the city and I’ll probably be dumb enough to stand outside during it like I do with driving blizzards to get some pics. But until then we have plenty of rasslin news to get to this week.

Yes I know I am a week late but congratulations go out to Kaval for winning NXT Season 2.


BROOKLYN REPRESENT

I have been a fan of Low Ki’s for years and to see him make it in the WWE after being squandered in TNA is a joy. It’s amazing to think that Daniel Bryan, Kaval, and CM Punk are all in the WWE and in theory will probably be carrying the company in the coming decade. Years ago people used to think “well if any of them go to the WWE, they’ll just get squandered as creative has nothing for them”. Well for the most part we were wrong. Kaval was one of the bright spots of NXT along with LayCool. Kaval is now on Smackdown so at least there’s hope of him having some damn good matches with the likes of Mysterio, Punk, and others.

Now on the flip side of Kaval’s win, I was shocked that Joe Hennig aka Michael McGillicutty did not win. Well he probably did have the competition won up until he opened his mouth. He has just about all the talent of his old man but good lord he cannot talk. See this is the reason why managers are desperately needed once again in wrestling. A manager was a miracle worker for guys who could not string together sentences with out sounding stupid. Now perhaps it could just be that he got a little tongue-tied trying to cut a scripted promo. It happens to the best of us when trying to remember something we had to memorize. But it could also be that Mike is not the talker that Curt was during the prime of his career. Things can change because if you see video of Curt at the start of his career, his promos were a little wooden to say the least. So with a few years of seasoning it’s possible and probable that Mike McGillicutty will be a very good promo guy if studies from the right people. But when it comes to NXT, it’s pretty clear he lost because he couldn’t cut a promo.

With the exception of Percy Watson, Kaval, and Alex Riley, none of the guys on this season really could cut promos. Husky Harris got a pass simply because he’s so sleazy and badass looking. Wrestling needs guys who look like that, but they need managers more then anything else. It drives me nuts when some people take the position that managers can’t draw in wrestling today. Well sure if you just have them stand around and not do much then sure they won’t draw. But if you find someone who really gets on people’s nerves and build it up over time where you want to see the good guy kick the shit out of them then that would be a draw.

I’ve been told that I would probably make a good wrestling manager. I really know how to get on peoples nerves and if you’ve been reading this column for a while now then you know I know how to do that. Only problem is there needs to be a fundamental change in the way wrestling is presented for managers to be viable again. Authority figures and General managers need to go. It was a good run when Mr. McMahon stumbled onto gold with his feud with Austin, but that ship has long sailed and the sooner everyone (the WWE & TNA) realize this the better. If you are lucky enough to have WWE 24/7 then you know what I am talking about. Up until say 1993 the manager carried the load for so many people on the mic. After 93 the manager became less and less visible until they finally just up and disappeared. Occasionally you would still have one like a James Mitchell in WCW/ECW and later in TNA. But for the most part the manager was reduced to a comedy act and it would disappear.

Well we have come to a time where managers are desperately needed once again. It’s a shame that Gary Hart has passed on to the great arena in the sky. Gary Hart forming a new stable of men to make the life of John Cena a living hell would be fun television. TNA sort of has a new stable with Fourtune but they haven’t pulled the trigger as usual. Ric Flair as the new JJ Dillon has infinite possibilities, but it’s TNA so of course they aren’t going full tilt with it.

I like to look back to my childhood when I think of managers. As I’ve mentioned so many times before, John Cena is this generations Hulk Hogan. Now no one can deny Hogan was the biggest draw in wrestling in the 80’s. But can you imagine how things would have been if Hogan didn’t have a never-ending feud with The Heenan Family? To a larger extent would Steve Austin and The Rock been the mega stars they are now if they didn’t have The Corporation and Vince McMahon to feud with? Yes Vince wasn’t a manager per se, but in 1999 he was the closest thing to one. I just can’t imagine things working the way they did back then if they were like they are now.

The WWE sort of has something going with Nexus, but we still have to find out whom the mastermind is. Someone put Nexus up to all of this and clearly is pulling the strings. There are plenty of great talents in that group. But they all could use a manager to do the talking for them. I go back to my original point about McGillicutty and the current crop of wrestlers in the WWE. There are so many guys that have the look and probably the talent but once they start talking they get very boring very quickly. I could be wrong, but odds are I won’t be. The worst part about all of this is you just know some of these guys will be released because “creative had nothing for them”.

Speaking of creative having nothing, NXT Season 3 has started and my God what a glorious train wreck it is. Season 3 of NXT is all Divas and after one episode I am glad my DVR for some mysterious reason is recording the show again. I know I didn’t set it to record. I was happy with taping Covert Affairs in that slot. Apparently in a month NXT will go exclusively on WWE.com since I don’t think there’s a chance any other NBC owned cable network would take the show. It’s probably for the best since Sons Of Anarchy is back on. NXT draws TNA-esq numbers so it’s no real loss if it’s on television or on WWE.com. After one episode it’s clear it will be a horse race between AJ Lee and Naomi. A close third in my view is Maxine. My favorite paring on the show is Goldust and Aksana. I love anything Goldust does and Aksana is perfect for him. If only Goldust were on Smackdown then we would all be happy. Aksana is basically doing Vladimir Kozlov’s original gimmick and I like her all ready. She said Double Double E and she wants to entertainment everyone. She’s going to be my sleeper pick. It’s just a shame Maryse is not on this show. Aksana and Maryse yelling at each other in their respective languages would make for some fun television.

Aside from that this show is going to be horrible. I mean with the exception of AJ Lee, everyone on this show is a model. The WWE trains them just enough so that they don’t kill themselves or the person they are facing in the ring. The Johnny Ace method of skimming through the Victoria Secret catalog has picked some gems for us in the past. But for every Trish Stratus, Maryse, and even Candice Michelle there are Ashley’s, Joy’s, and others whose names I am blanking on right now. Kelly Kelly has come a long way since being that chick that stripped on ECW a few years ago. So I guess there is her to along with Alicia Fox (I believe her and Kelly were both in the same aforementioned Victoria Secret catalog). But aside from them the rest have been duds. I like The Bella Twins though so they get a pass from me.

Some people complain that oh well the WWE should scour the Indies and get some real female wrestlers. I’m going to stop you right there because the WWE has not now nor will they ever give a shit about who is a good female wrestler. Even in these PG times where the women aren’t being paraded around in thongs, that wrestling stuff is not a high priority. If they can find someone like The Undertaker’s Old Lady and Layla who can adapt and actually become somewhat decent in the ring then it’s win for them. Sure it would be nice for us the viewing public if a women’s match didn’t have so many botches, but you have to realize at the most the Women might get five minutes on television and they aren’t being used just because they have a good workrate. It would be nice if that weren’t the case, but unless say a new Wendi Richter comes along for a Cyndi Lauper for this generation that won’t change.

I had a horrible thought about Lady Gaga getting involved in an angle. Thought it would be an amusing thought of the pitch for that one.

: I AM DIGGING THIS BAD ROMANCE SONG. LIVING IN A BAD ROMANCE, I’M LIVING IN A BAD ROMANCE. YEAH THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S A BAD ROMANCE DAMN IT.

I probably just scared the hell out of a lot of you. I am sorry about that.

Moving along to other news of interest, wasn’t that a great Impact last week. Oh that’s right it wasn’t on last week. Spike felt that a Gangland marathon was a better idea to air then their highest rated non-UFC show. Truth was Impact would have been up against Thursday Night Football with The Saints vs. The Vikings and it would have been SLAUGHTERED against it. The NFL had it’s highest rated season premier game in history so I’m guessing TNA and the people at Spike finally made a smart decision and decided to take the night off.

What they should have done was aired Impact on Saturday night or something. How the hell can you do a PPV the week before (which btw I wasn’t aware there was a PPV until I had seen the previous weeks Impact) and then not air a show at all following it for a week and a half?

This is why TNA is doomed to fail. If this were UFC do you think Dana White would allow for this kind of non-sense to go on? Well I’ve read the spoilers for the next three weeks and I have to just shake my head as usual. TNA is building up to some sort of Live Impact on October 7th that will be the lead in for the Bound For Glory PPV on October 10th. For those of you who don’t wish to be spoiled, I won’t say anything. But you can just imagine it’s more of the same from TNA.

The other night on Twitter in a sign of how things might really be in TNA, Kevin Nash went on a drunken Twitter spree talking about how he’s leaving when his contract is up on October 12th. Basically TNA owes him money for a certain amount of shows and as usual TNA is trying to screw someone out of money that is owed. This is a pattern when it comes to TNA. They’ll burn through peoples contracted dates and we’ll get something like the RVD deal where he was “poked full of holes” by Abyss. I never understood the whole dates thing. If you sign someone for a year then that’s what it should be for. If some how you manage to burn through the dates and the guy is say your world champion then suck it up and cough up the extra cash. A clueless idiot in Bob Carter funds TNA. He seems to buy anything his equally clueless daughter tells him and the stockholders of Panda Energy. I’m sure if they worded it right and said they needed some extra cash to keep the World Champion around till a certain time he would okay it no problem. God knows they have given far more money to others to do less.

Speaking of money, it’s painfully clear that Hulk Hogan is hard up for it. Now I know I said I wouldn’t spoil on the Impacts but this one needs mentioning. At Bound For Glory it will be announced in a couple of weeks that Sting, Kevin Nash, & The Pope will take on Samoa Joe, Jeff Jarrett, and Hulk Hogan at Bound For Glory. I won’t explain why The Pope is in this match (mostly cause it makes no sense, but this is TNA). Kevin Nash and Sting are two of my favorite wrestlers of all time. I still love anything they do. But this whole angle they have been part of with Jarrett and “TNA Management” makes no friggin sense what so ever.

It’s so hilarious when Jarrett and Hogan call out Sting and Nash about not wanting to give up the spotlight.

Pot & Kettle meet Mr. Black.

First off if Jarrett had any power he would be TNA Champion right now. Secondly if Hogan had any mobility he would have beaten Jarrett for the title by now. So the basis of this whole angle makes no sense what so ever. It is good though that the fans are solidly behind Nash and Sting, which says a lot about who are the faces in TNA.

Now we have Hulk Hogan who just got out of the hospital for more back problems. He posted some videos on his twitter where he was pretty damn doped up on morphine for those back problems. Hogan apparently can’t even bend over with out flaring up his back and he’s going to wrestle? Now granted with a six man tag means he doesn’t have to do much. God bless Andre The Giant because if you ever saw a match of his in the last couple years of his life in Japan they were mostly six man’s where he only really got involved at the end. His back and whole body was beyond FUBAR but the money was still good for him and he suffered through it. I don’t see why Hogan is doing that because it can’t possibly be worth the money.

I mean it’s TNA so how much money could he be making? If he were doing this in Japan I can understand because he’s still probably a draw over there, but here not so much. If it were me I wouldn’t even bother with it. It’s not worth being in a wheel chair in your later years. But since this PPV is in Daytona in the same exact building where the N.W.O. formed you better believe there is a swerve coming. Odds are Hogan will turn heel and join “The Band”. Nash says he’s leaving a couple days later so I’m guessing what ever will happen will involve Hogan, Sting, and Samoa Joe. What that will be…well your guess is as good as mine. Who the hell knows where any of this is going. All I do know is Hogan has no business being anywhere near a ring and if his back is truly as messed up is it’s reported to be there’s a good chance Hogan will be leaving the building on a stretcher.

Knowing TNA they will have something “happen” to Hulk during the PPV so he can’t make the match.

Of course this could all be a ploy by Hulk Hogan to get himself the role in the eventual direct to dvd cheap sequel of The Wrestler. Hogan said he was offered the role of Randy The Ram so maybe he’s doing a long audition. Couldn’t be any worse then any of Kurt Angle’s recent movies.

On a lighter note, the latest attempt at WWE Studio’s to make John Cena an “actor” fell flat as Legendary grossed a little under $140k on 175 screens. Of course I am sure the WWE will pull a very obscure movie ranking out come this Monday to say how the movie was number 1 at the box office. Truth is limited release is code for “it’s not going to make money this way”. Sometimes a limited release works in favor for a movie, but not this one. I think the main problem with the movie is no one can buy John Cena as a wrestler. No not a Pro Wrestler but a real Greco Roman wrestler. I’m sure the movie will do well enough with on demand PPV and DVD rentals, but the WWE has to be kidding it self if they think they can put out drama’s.

The WWE probably can do buddy comedies with no problem what so ever. But they should steer far away from dramas. Randy Orton is supposed to be in some sort of drama at some point. Edge has one coming out next year as well. Hopefully this little WWE Studio’s experiment fades away much like the first go round with McMahon and Hogan did in the early 90’s.

You know I’m surprised they haven’t remade No Holds Barred yet. That movie just screams John Cena.

Speaking of drama, it appears there might be some with Matt Hardy brewing as he was apparently sent home from the European tour. The reports have it as the WWE being concerned about his condition. What that condition is I don’t know. He’s been posting some erratic messages on his twitter account. But as we know wrestlers just love to have fun with everyone so they could all just be an elaborate work for the amusement of himself and some others. The last one he posted was him letting everyone know he was uploading a video that he just recorded in England. Perhaps Matt is trying just a little too hard to get wished well in his future endeavors. There are easier ways to get fired if one wants to do that.

In a tweet about a week or so ago he posted a comment to Shane Helms about how he has 13 months left on his current deal with the WWE. It’s a pretty safe bet that the only reason Matt Hardy is still in the WWE is because the WWE clearly fears an OMEGA reunion. I mean if he went to TNA in the future it wouldn’t matter much.

Seriously though he has overcome a lot in the last year with his body. He has a really nasty torn abdominal muscle that caused a problem with his intestines that almost killed him. Some say that’s the problem with wrestlers who would rather tough it out then get something treated before it becomes a major problem. Matt gets a lot of grief from people but he’s by far still one of the most over guys on Smackdown and it’s the WWE’s own fault if he’s so pissed that he’s thinking of ways to get himself fired. I hope that’s not the case. I mean it’s so much easier to just sit around and wait for creative to tell you they have nothing for you.

Before I go I want to send out my thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of Mike Shaw who passed away at the age of 53 over the weekend. Shaw was best known to my generation as Norman The Lunatic in WCW and Bastion Booger in the WWF in the early 90’s. He made his real mark in wrestling up in Calgary in Stampede Wrestling as Makhan Singh where he had a long running feud with Owen Hart. Honestly as a kid, Bastion Booger grossed me out. He was so disgusting to look at especially when he would eat in mid match. One infamous match I remember was him on Team Bam Bam vs. The Doink’s at Survivor Series 93. He and The Wild Samoan’s were eating a whole turkey and it was just a mess. But God bless him because he made the most of it. Well I hope he is at peace now. When someone passes away that’s all you can really ask.

So on that note I am done for this week. Hopefully I’ll be back soon but who knows how my writing mood will be with school. But until next time, remember someone has to give you this information and it DAMN well has got to be me.

You can click here to send me any and all feedback at phantomlordnyc@yahoo.com or leave me some feedback on my Facebook page under my given name http://www.facebook.com/josephrd

The Rant Of The Week: Morons Of Wrestling

Greetings conversationalists all across the fruited plain it is I your personal Harvester of Sorrow the one and only Phantom Lord and this is The Rant Of The Week. As always I am coming to you from the greatest city on the face of the earth…Brooklyn, New York and the heat is still going strong here in the now oven baked Apple. This is my second attempt at writing this column because I had one about half done last week and then my writers block kicked in and I lost all interest in finishing it. It’s not that there wasn’t plenty of stuff to go on about. Sometimes I just lose all interest and by the time it finally passes it’s almost a week later and I find myself with dated material.

In some news about myself which probably will effect my output as a lowly wrestling columnist, I have decided to go back to school and financial aid aside I should be starting next week on the 26th. Back in the early days of this column I was able to still keep posting on a regular basis. So perhaps with all the added stimuli of having to think again I might be able to churn out columns like I used to. But if I should suddenly disappear then you know it’s because of school and not because I finally went off the deep end. For those wondering I am going to be majoring in Film-Screen Writing. I’ll be happy if in a few years I’ll have a couple of quirky comedies under my belt. Of course I’d be equally as happy with SyFy movies. Money is money and that’s all that matters in this economy.

Well enough about me, it’s time to get this thing started. Sadly we start off on a sad note as last weekend Lance Cade passed away at the age of 29. It’s been reported that Cade died from heart failure. Heart failure at 29 is pretty rare so I would imagine all the necessary tests are being run. The WWE in their typical cold and callous nature put out a statement where they expressed their thoughts to the family but made sure to note he wasn’t under contract to them when he died.

Linda McMahon also put out a statement in an interview that just baffles the mind.

Linda McMahon has spoken out about the death of Lance Cade, saying that the WWE should not be blamed for it. The Connecticut Post reports that Linda said the WWE should no more be held accountable for the deaths of performers "than a studio could have prevented Heath Ledger's death."

"Who knows what causes people to have addictions and do what they do," McMahon added. She also went on to say that the press only want to talk about WWE, while people she meets want to discuss job creation and the economy.

First off as a Republican, Connecticut what the hell is wrong with you. Falling for Linda McMahon and her “I’m for the little guy” crap. How many little wrestling companies has the WWE put out of business in the last 25 years? Hell they still do it when they raid companies and sign their top guys to developmental deals. Now do not get me wrong, I am a capitalist through and through. But anyone with half a brain knows how full of shit Linda’s campaign message is. Then again considering whom she is running against it’s like that episode of South Park with the school mascot election.

Now having got that out of my system, what the hell is wrong with her? Saying the WWE is no more responsible for the deaths of performers (they just can’t say wrestler) then a studio could have prevented Heath Ledger’s death has to be one of the most idiotic things I have ever read in politics. The fact remains that there is an epidemic of guys who worked for the WWE in the last 25 years that all have died before the age of 50. Most of them were before 40, but 50 is a more realistic number to round things off at. The WWE made billions off the bodies of these people and when they are of no more use to them they “wish them well in their future endeavors”. Granted it’s the corporate policy of just about any major company to wash their hands of someone when death is involved but how cold can you be?

I sincerely hope that Lance Cade is in a better place right now. But Linda McMahon owes an apology to Lance’s wife, children, and family for those comments.

Painkiller addiction is so prevalent in wrestling because of the wear and tear on the body. There is a reason Oxycodone is called Redneck Heroin. It’s very easy to get hooked on the stuff and damn near impossible to kick it. The WWE has a schedule that would break down even the most physically of fit people. Sure they have the “wellness program” but everyone knows there are ways around even the most stringent of drug testing.

In the report about Cade’s death it was said he wasn’t looking well in the days before his death.

Cade's wife Tanya noticed that he was having trouble breathing and didn't seem healthy. On Tuesday night, he was rushed to the hospital where he passed out at one point but was then revived. He was released from the hospital the next day. On Thursday, Cade's father Harley noticed that he didn't look good. Harley brought Lance to a family home in San Antonio, TX where Lance died during the night.
Credit to www.f4wonline.com

At the very least I think Cade’s family might have a good case for medical malpractice. Clearly he should have not been released from the hospital when he was. But that’s more about hospitals and insurance companies wanting to get people in and out as quick as possible to hold down costs here in the states. Either way based on what’s been said, it’s probably possible that Lance’s death could have been prevented. Vince and company will shake off any talk that there is a need for more time off for wrestlers or regulation. The wrestling mentality always has been if you can’t go there will always be someone else ready and waiting to go in your spot. Sadly his will not be the last death of wrestlers in this generation.

I could probably continue to write about this subject but honestly it angries up the blood when I do. All the WWE cares about is if someone dies they don’t die on their watch. It’s as simple as that. That’s all the wellness program is there for.

If you want more reading on this subject and many others (after you finish reading this column of course) I suggest you check out Irv Muchnick’s blog called Wrestling Babylon. http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/

Irv wrote a really good book called Wrestling Babylon and he has another book that I have to read called “Chris & Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling’s Cocktail of Death”. Irv does a lot of in depth research onto these subjects and he is reporting what Dave Meltzer did in the latest Wrestling Observer that Lance’s suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephelopathy. The same brain disease that Chris Benoit and Chris Kanyon both had which is caused by repeated blows to the head. So if you want to read a lot more on the subject I highly suggest going to Irv’s blog.

Moving along to other news, Summerslam was the other day and depending on whom you ask it was either a decent PPV or an uneventful one. The big surprise of the night was the return of Daniel Bryan to the WWE as he joined Team WWE. Most people figured Daniel would be back after the 90-day clause was up so it was a welcome surprise. The Miz ended up getting Bryan eliminated from the match but at least he looked great as he tore apart Heath Slater. The WWE is really building up the eventual Miz/Bryan title match for the US championship, which will probably be at Night Of Champions in a couple of weeks. The Miz is riding high as the Money In The Bank winner as he continues to try and cash in at a moments notice. So far he’s been thwarted at every attempt to cash in and I figure one of two things will happen in the Bryan/Miz feud.

Daniel will ether beat the bejesus out of The Miz and win the United States Championship or he will beat the bejesus out of The Miz and cost him his MITB match. Either one will put Daniel over huge and kick this feud into high gear. Either one of those options wouldn’t hurt The Miz at all as he continues to be on a roll. I remember at this time last year a lot of us on the net thought The Miz was doomed when John Cena wiped the floor with him on a PPV. But here we are a year later and The Miz is easily the top heel on RAW right now. There is a very good chance that The Miz could headline Wrestlemania with in the next two to three years. It’s been reported that WWE management is very high on him (what ever high means) mainly because of the way he handles himself outside of the ring. The Miz much like John Cena is a media machine for the WWE and that is a good thing. He was doing the comic con circuit, appearing on shows left and right for interviews. The Miz is probably the best United States Champion the WWE has ever had. Yes granted the title belt is just a prop as him being champion has fallen on the back burner while he goes around as the MITB winner.

Daniel Bryan is really in the best spot possible right now working with The Miz. If anyone else were his pro I don’t think all of this would have worked the way it has. Between Michael Cole riding The Miz’s dick like he’s the greatest thing ever and The Miz just being such an incredible asshole, how can you not root for Bryan to make The Miz tap? The only thing is in the good old days (the 80’s) this would have been something built for a few more months. The Miz would do everything to duck Daniel until he was finally forced into a match. But now since everything is so sped up, a return angle for Daniel that should run to the end of the year will probably be over by the end of next month. That’s my only real complaint with wrestling these days. Everything is over before it can really get started.

One thing floundering is Women’s Wrestling in the WWE and TNA. Now despite the awesomeness of Layla and the current Mrs. Undertaker Michelle McCool as LayCool, the WWE especially has been lacking with any real talent since Beth Phoenix is out for another month or so (or longer…who knows with wrestling) with a knee injury. When Kelly Kelly is your top babyface (and God bless her because she sure does try) you know your talent pool is stretched thin.

Last week they had a try out clinic down in FCW and reading this paragraph really got me pissed off and reminded me how much of a douchebag Johnny Ace really is.

The company reaction was that of the 63 people who tried out at the clinic, paying $1,000 to be seen, that approximately 50 of them had no business being there. In particular, AAA Women’s Champion Sexy Star received harsh reviews as company officials felt her work was terrible, her English was terrible and that she was overweight. They also felt she wasn’t pretty looking without her mask on. John Laurinaitis told those in FCW that when it comes to hiring female talent, the standard is if they aren’t pretty enough to appear in Playboy, then they shouldn’t be hired.
Credit to www.f4wonline.com

Ah Johnny Ace you really are a scumbag. John Laurinaitis only has his position of power now because he got really lucky in Japan about fifteen years ago. For years people have been ripping on this former Dynamic Dude for how much of a douchebag he is and well after reading that I don’t doubt it for a second. To give you an idea of just how inept Johnny Ace is, I was looking for some outside opinion and came across this gem on the Wrestlecrap.com Message board from the IWC’s Favorite Sean…Sean Careless of TheWrestlingFan.com

He's generally hated because unlike the ostensibly endless slew of wrestlers released during his run, he is seemingly bullet-proof and above any and all ramification -- despite his complete incompetency at his job. And he was a mid-carder in Japan. Let’s not overplay the dude. He was the Attitude-era Billy Gunn of the Orient. Any money he did draw was in a tag team where his partners were significantly more over than he. He does have a good mind for ring psychology and finishes, though. But as a judge of talent? Come on. He couldn’t get his own ass over in the U.S. to save his life, and now he’s axing people who had just as much to offer (if not more) as he did? Playing politics is the dude’s true legacy. The business will be much better off when WWE finally realizes that every money drawing star of the last 15 years was not hired by Johnny Ace, and subsequently fire his ass.

I removed a line about the alleged rumors about him and Mrs. Baba. Most things are taken as fact on the Internet, but just because it’s on the Internet doesn’t mean it’s true. But I couldn’t have said it any better myself. The Billy Gunn of the Orient is so funny and true because it describes him perfectly. How the hell else was Johnny Ace in tag matches with Stan Hansen and Dr. Death against the likes of Misawa, Kawada, and others. The “they should look like Playboy models” line is hilarious considering the fact the WWE doesn’t do anything with Playboy anymore. PG era be damned because I would actually buy a copy of Playboy if Gail Kim or Melina (or why not both) were in it.

Personally I think it was horrible how they described Sexy Star. They are trying to tap into the Mexican market and she is by far one of the biggest female rudo’s in the country. Who are they to pass judgment on the talent level of a woman wrestling when the WWE’s mantra for the last years has been hire models and train them just enough so that they don’t cripple or kill themselves or the woman they are facing. Fit Finlay who has worked with the Women for years should be nominated for Sainthood for the miracles he’s performed in that regard.

Sexy Star along with Las Gringas Locos are the top female rudo’s in Triple A and they are in the mist of a long feud with Fabi &Mari Apache & Cynthia Moreno as part of the big Foreign Legion angle Konnan is doing. Lucha Libre’s wrestling style is far different then the “sports entertainment” style of the WWE. Sure I wouldn’t doubt that Sexy Star compared to Gail Kim is horrible. But as we know they don’t hire women for wrestling talent anyway. It’s still all about looks but if they can do that wrestling stuff (like Gail, Melina, Jillian, Beth) then that’s just an added bonus. Occasionally you find a gem like Layla who went from just being that diva search winner chick who did dancing during beer runs and piss breaks to someone who is actually pretty good in the ring.

There are so many great women’s wrestlers that people would love to see in the WWE. Wrestlers like Cheerleader Melissa, Amazing Kong, Sara Del Ray, MsChif, Allison Danger, and many others. But sadly none of these women would get a second look because they don’t have the WWE mold look.

These same women would also be great in TNA but just as idiots run the WWE, The same can be said of TNA. TNA had the best women’s division on television with the Knockouts. But slowly and surely one by one they destroyed it piece by piece. First Gail Kim. Then Awesome Kong. Then ODB and Alyssa Flash (Cheerleader Melissa). They have a few good wrestlers still in the division. Ayako Hamada is one, but they don’t use her too much because she makes a STAGGERING $850 per appearance. To say TNA is cheap with the women would be an understatement. It’s a well-known fact that most of the women in the Knockouts division make next to nothing. Even with all that the Knockouts still manage to draw some of the highest rated segments on Impact and I think it just kills Russo, Bischoff, and others in TNA that the women outdraw all the chosen ones.

They do everything they can to water down the Knockouts. Sometimes giving them a measly three minutes on Impact (and this includes Introductions and promos). There is one small glimmer of hope as Angelina Love and Velvet Sky are back together. Honestly that’s when The Knockouts division went to hell is when that visa issue with Angelina came up and they released her. It’s been snowballing downhill ever since then. But Angelina is HORRIBLE as a face. Sudden heel turns for no real reason are a hallmark of Russo booking. Turn Angelina heel so the original Beautiful People can go back to being the super bitches we all know and love.

Of course I doubt that will happen since Angelina is a five time Knockouts champion and a couple of her reigns came from winning the title in dusty finish (which she ended up having to give it back to Madison so I guess it didn’t count to begin with) and my personal favorite…winning it by opening the right box.

I honestly don’t know what the hell they are doing with the Knockouts. All I know is Daffney continues to not be used and that’s a crime against humanity.

But it’s no wonder the Knockouts have been driven into the ground. The same people who did that thought this was a good idea as well.



From the end of The Whole F’N Show event two weeks ago where Abyss finally got to “use” Janice and he was supposed to have attacked RVD with it. Because of this RVD had to vacate the title because “he may never wrestle again”. Uncle Eric told us on Impact last week that RVD had 117 stitches from his neck down to his ankle, punctured organs, and possible head trauma.

In reality RVD only had a certain amount of dates on his contract and he’s done most of them. So instead of Abyss winning the title from him they chose to make it look like a murder scene out of a horror movie. We could have lived with Baby Hughie as TNA World Champion. But now there’s a tournament that’s all ready half over that’s supposed to last until Bound For Glory in October.

As it stands right now you have Kurt Angle, Mr. Anderson, Jeff Hardy, and D’Angelo Dinero. A tournament that could have eaten up a month with qualifies and then the quarterfinals were done unannounced in one night. The Semi-finals will probably be set during the Impact tapings this week and then it will be a month of the usual TNA bullshit before the eventual Title match, which I guess, would be between Kurt Angle and Mr. Anderson. Kurt’s doing a thing where if he loses then he’s done with wrestling so of course he’s going to finals. TNA had Jay Lethal in the tournament but he lost to Mr. Anderson and that right there shows TNA’s stupidity.

Wrestling has always been about rooting for the underdog and after beating Ric Flair on PPV, Jay has lost every match since then. This is the SECOND time they’ve done this to Jay Lethal. He was on fire after the big angle with Team 3D and they almost had a chance for a new Randy Savage and Ms. Elizabeth with him and So Cal Val and they fucking ruined that. Jay has come a far way from being a comedy act and people want to root for him and TNA fucks is up every time with him.

I wonder why they do that and all I have to do is look up a couple paragraphs at the picture and realize that’s why. Its no wonder Paul Heyman said TNA isn’t ready for him. It’s really run by a bunch of morons who don’t know what the hell they want to do. I can only hope if Tommy Dreamer is getting some booking sway he at least can steer them into some sort of direction rather then the current lets throw something at a wall and see if it sticks strategy.

I’m sure between now and the next time I post a column TNA will do some more stupid shit that will make me want to drink. It’s a good thing for TNA my bottle of Scotch disappeared because the last thing they want is me doing these columns while hammered.

On that note I am done for this week. I can always count on TNA no matter what time of the day to piss me off and get my blood pressure to rise. Hopefully I will be back in a timely manner but since I am going back to school for the first time in about five and a half years I might just be a tad more burned out then usual. But fear not I’ll still be calling it just as I see it no matter what.

So until next time take care and remember someone has to give you this information and it DAMN well has got to be me.

You can click here to send me any and all feedback at phantomlordnyc@yahoo.com or leave me some feedback on my Facebook page under my given name http://www.facebook.com/josephrd

The Rant Of The Week: Total Desperation

Greetings conversationalists all across the fruited plain, it is I your personal Harvester of Sorrow the one and only Phantom Lord and this is the all mighty Rant Of The Week. As always I am coming to you from my above ground bunker in the rotten apple that is Brooklyn, New York. I must say the heat seems to be getting worse this summer if that is all possible. To make things even more fun, Mother Nature is screwing with the New York City area. There have been many big thunderstorms over the last couple of weeks and 95% of them some how managed to miss the city all together. But I am making the most of what I have to keep cool. I do my part for the city’s way over burdened electrical grid and I keep my AC off during the day.

Now you might be asking yourself what the heck does any of this have to do with what’s going on in the WWE or TNA? Well nothing really. This is my column and I just like to blow off some steam in the opening tirade. Besides with the headache that is TNA it’s best I release my built up anger in small doses rather then go thermonuclear all at once. Though there is a good chance that might happen especially with this “ECW but we can’t call it ECW” invasion they are doing.

But before I get to that there is some other stuff of interest going on in the world of wrestling.

In an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune, former wrestling champion Bill Goldberg said he wants one final wrestling match because he wants his family to see him wrestle live. "If the money was right, I'd go out there and do it in two seconds," Goldberg said. "I'd have to be totally prepared for it, because I wouldn't want to tarnish my image, but I'd like to be in the ring one more time so that my wife and my son can see me wrestle live." He also discussed his love/hate relationship with the wrestling industry in the interview. "I don't ever want to say that I miss anything about the wrestling business," Goldberg said. "I miss the ability to put a smile on a kid's face, more than one at a time. That was a true charge for me."
Credit to NoDQ for posting this

I have to admit that I did laugh when I read, “I don’t want to tarnish my image”. What image would that exactly be Bill? The one where you were so sloppy in the ring that you destroyed the career of Bret Hart in an instant? Well at least he isn’t bullshitting anyone when he says he’d only do it for the money. To be honest I’d love to see Goldberg come back and spear some people but I doubt it will ever happen. McMahon probably wouldn’t give Goldberg the absurd amount of money he thinks he’s worth. And TNA couldn’t afford what Goldberg thinks he’s worth. Some Japanese promotion probably would shell out a close to seven figure deal for him though so if Goldberg ever wrestled again odds are it would be in Japan before anywhere else in the world.

Maybe Bill should finally try his hand at MMA. Who wouldn’t love to see Goldberg vs. Batista? He could easily get a shit load of money from Strikeforce for that train wreck. It would be way better then the possible Batista/Lashley match in the future if Batista takes the MMA plunge. Though part of me wants to see Goldberg vs. Cena at Wrestlemania. Say it happened next year in Atlanta. The old WCW faithful would boo Cena and his wannabe jarhead act right out of the Georgia Dome if he were facing Goldberg. While a Japanese promotion could easily give Goldberg the money he wants, Goldberg vs. Cena would do an insane buyrate. It would probably be worth the $54.95 to see Goldberg spear the fuck out of Cena and then Jackhammer him. That wouldn’t happen, but it would be fun to see.

Speaking of Cena, there are rumors on the Internet that the WWE might finally be willing to turn him heel. Only instead of him going heel in the way we want him to (i.e. ripping on everyone for turning on him when he went all corporate) it would be him being revealed to be the leader of The Nexus. Now Nexus is doing pretty well for it self right now so I don’t see how Cena being the mastermind behind it all would exactly work.

For Summerslam Cena has put together a team of guys to take on The Nexus. It’s going to be him, Jericho, Edge, Morrison, Truth, Khali, and Bret Hart as the final man on the team. Most people think Ricky Steamboat would have been the final man had he not suffered a burst capillary on his brain (the WWE still refuses to admit it was probably one of the moves he took in the Nexus beating that caused it). I think it’s fairly obvious that they are setting up for a huge swerve in this match where the real Nexus leader will be revealed. Bret Hart makes the most logical sense for him to be the one leading them. Bret held a grudge for all those years. You really didn’t think him beating the piss out of Vince would be the end of it. Of course a lot can happen between now and then. We all know how Vince has his mood swings and what was written in stone ends up getting torn up and they start over from scratch.

Congratulations go out to Bret Hart as he tied the knot for the third time over the weekend as he married a 27-year-old woman by the name of Stephanie Washington of San Francisco. Bret’s had a lot of up’s and down’s over the last decade and he’s come back from every last one of them. So as a life long fan of The Hitman I can only wish the happy couple all the best. What ever happens at Summerslam it should be interesting to see Bret’s involvement in the match since it’s now a 7 on 7 Elimination match. I’m going to guess it will come down to Bret and Cena vs. The Nexus since Cena will no doubt try to over come the odds. I’ll be the happiest person in the world if Bret kicks Cena in the balls and then locks on the Sharpshooter after The Nexus have beaten him silly.

The only other interesting match at the moment that has been announced for Summerslam is Sheamus vs. Randy Orton. Orton has been on FIRE lately as the crowds are going apeshit for him. The RKO was always a cool move, but now it’s really the new Stone Cold Stunner. It can come out of nowhere and when he hits it everyone goes insane. I’m really torn on whom to support in this match because on the one hand Orton is great. But on the other so is Sheamus. I just love it when he calls people FELLA. The X factor in this match is how The Miz will be involved as for the last two weeks he’s been itching to cash in his MITB briefcase only for it to be foiled each time.

If you said a few years ago that The Miz would be a potential WWE Champion I think everyone would have said you are crazy. Now he’s a cashing in moment away from that happening. There was a report that The Miz is in the good graces of those who matter in the WWE because he has been doing everything John Cena did to get where he is now. Basically The Miz makes every corporate appearance he can for the WWE, does a lot of publicity, and kisses the ass of the right people. Hey I’m not going to complain about that because The Miz really is a Goldmine waiting to be tapped so I am glad he is getting this chance to shine. It would be awesome if The Miz cashed at Summerslam but I think it depends on who wins the match. If Sheamus some how beats Orton it’s got to be almost a lock that The Miz will finally cash in and win the title. If he cashes in on Orton he’ll be the first person to lose when cashing in. Either way it should be fun to see what happens.

Over on Smackdown Kane is finally having a long over due run as World Champion. While the whole “who attacked the Undertaker” story is getting a bit silly since it’s obvious Kane is going to say “IT WAS ME” at some point, I’m glad Kane shocked the world and won MITB. Honestly with Kane in that match I figured he would come close but end up losing to Drew McIntyre. It was fun to see him cash in on Rey Mysterio later that night. Kane has been around for so long and he’s always been one of the most reliable guys in the WWE. So to see him finally get a real run as champion is great. Plus Kane is a fighting Libertarian. He was on Freedom Watch with Judge Andrew Napolitano on Fox Business over the weekend. I think it honestly shocks people how intelligent he is. Outside of wrestling, Kane has been blogging under the name of Citizen X for a while. Kane really has come a long way from being that guy with the stupid voice box. I just hope he gets a lengthy title run.

Check out http://www.adventuresofcitizenx.com

Of course Kane’s title run hinges on how long The Undertaker is out of action. When I said the whole who attacked The Undertaker story was silly, I was really referring to the whole “vegetative state” part of it. In the real world the longer one is in a vegetative state the less hope there is for that person to come out of it. It will be amusing if it does come out that Kane did it all along. I’d love to see Matt Striker explain how Kane was the Claus Von Bulow of the WWE. It’s going to be dumb when it happens but it should be at least amusing to watch. Personally I’m holding out hope for The Biker Taker coming back but I doubt he will.

Moving along to TNA, right now they are doing an ECW invasion because apparently the corpse of ECW still had a little bit of blood to be sucked out of it. As a fan watching TNA do an ECW invasion is really maddening to watch. TNA first off is dancing a fine legal line because the WWE owns all the trademarks and copyrights for ECW so TNA can’t even use the name ECW. I’m sure Vince if he wanted he could file a cease and desist the week before the PPV but right now I don’t think they really care enough to do so. TNA really is that person who exists just in the hope they can get the cool persons attention but they never do. So here they are being a full blown nostalgia promotion and don’t get me wrong, I love nostalgia as much as the next person. But like so many classic rock bands who still record great new music I would rather see Tommy Dreamer, Raven, and the others do something new then just take an easy paycheck and rehash something that’s been rehashed all ready.

Apparently Tommy Dreamer is booking this whole thing and I’ll give Tommy some credit. Despite all the bullshit he still cuts some of the best baby face promos. After watching Tommy break down on Impact and do a really good Glenn Beck impersonation, despite all my reservations for why this is such a horrible idea the fan in me was like GO GET EM TOMMY. I can’t explain it but for probably many others and me Tommy has this ability to connect on a personal level with the fans. If you are a fan of his you want to see him overcome the odds. Tommy can take a beating better then anyone else and he can just draw you into the match as you root for him. That’s what wrestling needs. It needs people you can get behind to root for. But this whole ECW thing is just such a bad sign of desperation on TNA’s part. I hope it’s somewhat of a success for TNA because if it is then maybe Tommy can do some more booking on the show. Some people shit on Tommy’s booking abilities based on his stint in OVW. I never saw that stuff but you know what…what TNA is doing now is not working. It hasn’t been working for a long time now. A desperate change is needed and I’d rather see Tommy get a shot then them just stay with what they are doing now.

I know it will never happen and Dixie is as stubborn as Vince McMahon. But one can hope and dream. TNA landing Paul Heyman will probably not happen because Dixie refuses to give Heyman the power to fire people from the last reports on the situation. Now maybe something has changed between then and now, but at the moment it looks like the messiah of extreme won’t be crossing the line.

Hey that was a nice one liner. I do surprise myself sometimes.

Heyman was right in his criticism of TNA in that their biggest problem is not creative but the fact no one knows whom the hell they are. Look at TNA’s buyrates. Allegedly the last few ppv’s have been doing UNDER 10,000 buys. Apparently things are so bad that there isn’t even that many people bothering to stream them for free. I think that should be huge alarm bells that if people can’t even be bothered to basically steal the broadcast that it tells you what the interest level in the product really is.

TNA’s Nielsen ratings are usually between 0.9 and 1.15 give or take. About one and a half million people watch Impact every week. For a network like Spike that’s actually a pretty respectable number. But the problem is TNA gives people no reason what so ever to want to fork over $34.95 for a PPV. They give everything away for free on television and when they do that they don’t even bother hyping it. If the numbers are correct then this means less the 1% of the TNA viewing audience bothers to order a TNA PPV.

Dixie and company must be certifiably insane or perhaps on drugs or both if they think their current business model is a good one. It really is like a broken record because a lot of us on the net have been saying this stuff over and over and over and over and over and BAH GAWD OVER. But the people in charge of TNA are content in continuing to drive the company right into the ground. Sure they do something’s right, but most of it is just so idiotic.

Take for example this “PPV Quality TV Special” planned for the Impact after the Hardcore Justice PPV on August 8th.

According to prowrestling.net, there are plans to tape a special edition of TNA Impact the night after the Hardcore Justice PPV. Essentially, the idea is that it will be a "free PPV" event. The working title is "The Whole Fn' Show" and all the matches will be PPV-quality with no storylines/skits.

You really can’t make this sort of stuff up when it comes to TNA.

WHAT IS THE FUCKING POINT OF DOING A PPV IF YOU ARE GOING TO ESSENTIALLY DO ONE FOR FREE A COUPLE OF NIGHTS LATER???

The best part about this mess is this show will be headlined by RVD vs. Abyss in a “Stairway To Janet” match. In case you’ve missed it, over the last month or so Abyss has been carrying around a 2x4 covered in nails that he calls Janet. So far Janet has lost to the ring canvas, the turnbuckles, and a side of beef. It’s basically the old Stairway to Hell match from ECW. I really hate Abyss right now. There was a time when it could be argued he was actually one of the best big men in wrestling. Now he’s a fucking parody of a joke. I really hope Abyss loses this match so he can just go far far FAR away. Abyss being this gigantic psycho retard is just horrible and the whole Janice think makes him look even more stupid if that is even possible.

I just still can’t believe they are doing this show a couple of days after the PPV. Granted it could be a test run for possible Clash Of The Champions shows in the future but like they say, timing is everything and this timing just sucks. The one thing that annoys me about this TNA ECW thing is it is doing NOTHING to build up people in TNA. The good thing about ECW was you would always get a couple of show case matches on the card. Where the hell is that for this show? Why isn’t Samoa Joe who is clearly the new Taz on this show? Why isn’t Homicide who clearly would be the new New Jack on it? If Sabu were on the show I’d love to see him take on Jeff Hardy. I’m glad some of the old ECW guys are getting a much-needed paycheck but Jesus you could easily do some ECW/TNA matches here.

See it’s stuff like this I’m sure they didn’t even think about. Well I’m sure they thought about it but someone probably said it wouldn’t work so they said the hell with it.

Dixie seriously. What ever Paul Heyman wants I can do it for half the price and I can do it a hell of a lot quicker. TNA has my contact information buried somewhere so I’m just putting it out there in case this doesn’t work.

There is a lot of stuff I am not covering simply because it hasn’t aired yet. I really wish TNA would move to doing shows live on Thursday nights. I know a lot of people probably base their decision to watch TNA solely on how the spoilers look.

Well the wrestling fan part of my brain is willing to give all of this a chance. But the cynical jilted part of it is realistic and odds are this might be a disaster. The only match announced at the moment for the PPV is RVD vs. Jerry Lynn in a non-title bout. That should at least be a good match because Jerry can still go and RVD always had some of his best matches against him. Apparently TNA will be announcing on the website after Impact some of the names that will be on the show. It’s not like that should be on television or anything.

I mean seriously could you imagine the WWE even for a weak PPV telling people “oh by the way go to WWE.com to find out who’s going to be on this thing…”. It would NEVER happen. The Internet is a good marketing tool but it’s nothing compared to the power of television. And they wonder why no one bothers to order the PPV’s. Paul if you do get an offer you cannot refuse you really have your work cut out for you to clean up this mess.

On that note I think I am done for this week. I’m a depressed enough person as it is and thinking about TNA honestly depresses me even more.

Before I go I want to share a link with you my loyal readers. My friend Trin has a page on the art site RedBubble. http://www.redbubble.com/people/rushingtide

She is an amazing writer and artist with photography and photo manipulation. She has some amazing art pieces for sale on this site, so maybe if you see something you think is really cool then place an order. I personally bought a copy of her piece called “Bleeding Me”. Metallica song titles are a recurring theme in her art pieces. You can’t go wrong with that.

So until next time remember someone has to give you this information and it DAMN well has got to be

You can click here to send me any and all feedback at phantomlordnyc@yahoo.com or leave me some feedback on my Facebook page under my given name http://www.facebook.com/josephrd

The Rant Of The Week: Paul Heyman's Midas Touch

Greetings conversationalists all across the fruited plain, it is I your personal Harvester of Sorrow the one and only Phantom Lord and this is The Rant Of The Week. There’s a lot of stuff going on in the world of wrestling so you can imagine I will have plenty to say. First summer is officially here and the Big Apple is the Baked Apple right now. Summer is here and good lord is it hot.

First off congratulations are in order to Brock Lesnar as he defeated Shane Carwin by submission (yes you read that right) to become the UNDISPUTED UFC Heavyweight Champion of the world. It was a hell of a fight as Carwin beat the living shit out of Brock in the first round, but since Shane hasn’t gone past the first round in any fight Brock may have gambled with the biggest game of rope a dope ever. Shane was clearly gassed and Brock got a take down and eventually he locked in an arm choke. Shane Carwin tapped just as his head started going from red to purple.

For a minute, Dana White probably was biting his nails as Brock was getting the bejesus beaten out of him. Brock is the UFC’s golden boy and for a couple of minutes in round one it looked like karma was coming back to Dana for mocking Strikeforce after Fedor’s loss last week. But all is well in the UFC as Brock is back. He recovered from an illness that almost killed him and he reclaimed his throne. See now that is what we call compelling television. I guarantee Vince McMahon was probably watching the PPV or has by this point because he knows even though he claims there is no competition (ITS TWO DIFFERENT THINGS DAMN IT), UFC is the reason all the adult male fans are leaving wrestling in droves. Well that and booking things for kids and watering everything down to the point where even the most die hard of fans says this is stupid.

But Vince will never buy that. The people that kiss his ass under him will continue to say “Oh well its two different audiences…no need to worry about those 1 Million buys boss”. It’s amazing how even a bad throw away UFC PPV out does most WWE PPV’s by a wide margin. The WWE’s solution to everything being bland is MORE GIMMICKS. Another cookie cutter PPV is coming up this time in the form of Money In The Bank. I guess the train wreck spot at Wrestlemania is now gone for the guys who would otherwise never get on the PPV because the WWE has decided to do a PPV with not one but TWO in the same night.

Does the word burnout not even mean anything to these people? A match that was actually interesting and worth the wait till Wrestlemania now will happen twice in one night. It’s no wonder no one actually orders PPV’s anymore. They keep jacking up the price but not the effort in making one want to actually pay to see it.

Paul Heyman gave a pretty good interview to Fight Magazine after the Lesnar/Carwin fight where he noted that Pro Wrestling fans are now UFC fans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDOcy7GlhYQ

UFC is the WWE and Strikeforce is TNA. UFC is the multi million-dollar giant and Strikeforce is the well-funded yet seemingly inept competition. UFC has the dominant place in the market and Strikeforce is doing everything they can to get a foot in the door. He said in another interview with www.mmafighting.com that UFC did more PPV buys domestically then all of Professional Wrestling did world wide. It’s not hard to understand why. But I am sure there are people all over the wrestling industry who still don’t get it and it’s only a passing fad. I know Ric Flair said as much in an interview from a couple of weeks ago. Then again Flair probably only said that because some guys in the UFC make a fight what he used to in a year. With three divorces and alimony’s to pay, he is a tad bitter.

Speaking of Paul Heyman, right now TNA is betting everything on an ECW invasion angle in the hopes that Paul Heyman will come to TNA and save them from the fate of WCW before them.


TNA officials have gotten more aggressive over the past week or two when it comes to signing Paul Heyman. As noted before, Heyman has been offered the head of TNA creative job but Heyman wants a role where he’s the guy running everything, something similar to Dana White in UFC. It was also noted that he sees the creative side of things as a problem but not the biggest problem.
Credit: F4WOnline.com

If Paul wants the keys to the TNA kingdom then HAND THEM TO HIM. Paul should make it Iron Clad where no one can under cut you or sabotage his work. But as bad as TNA’s creative team is, it’s not the biggest problem there is. The biggest problem TNA has is no one knows whom the fuck they are. TNA has some of the worst promotion, which is amazing considering they have a great TV Pitchman in Don West on the payroll. How many people bought Mark McGwire rookie cards because of him? Are you telling me he can’t be on television at least shilling matches and up coming events?

TNA relies heavily on the Internet, which is nice, but the Internet only goes so far and I’m pretty sure this is what is meant by “not the biggest problem” or at least one of them. TNA does these great Before The Bell specials sort of like UFC’s Countdown To shows but unlike the UFC ones, Before The Bell ends up on Youtube and not on Spike where it should be.

Before a PPV why isn’t there at least a special on Spike to entice people to order the show? Well I know one reason why. It’s because TNA thinks TV Ratings are more important then PPV buys. See it’s that kind of thinking that if Paul Heyman does sign with TNA needs to be the first thing to go.

I could list a whole bunch of things wrong with TNA just from a production standpoint. I am sure Paul has these very things down on a list and if he does sign they will be first things addressed. Anyway you look at it, Paul knows rebuilding TNA from the inside out won’t be an overnight thing. If he were to take on such a thing, he has made it clear it has to be worth the sacrifice to his family. It could possibly be a five-year project to turn TNA in a company that is worth a damn…much less one that is making money and lots of it.

On Friday night TNA held a show here in Brooklyn at MCU Park where the Brooklyn Cyclones play and they drew their biggest North American paid attendance with between 5,500 and 6,000 fans. I was in attendance and I have to say the difference between the television shows and these house shows is astounding.

I have said a lot of horrible things about Jeff Jarrett over the years and I think I would like to take some of them back right now. Jarrett books the house shows and from top to bottom it was pretty damn good. No bullshit angles, no nonsense, and no nothing usually associated with TNA. It was a good old fashion professional wrestling card top to bottom. It’s such a novel concept to do pro wrestling that it could just work for them if they tried it.

Despite what you might think given my generally negative attitude towards TNA, I want to see them succeed. Obviously there are 6,000 other people here in the New York City area that wants to see them succeed as well.









Just a sample of the pics from the show that I personally took with my vastly outdated Nikon Coolpix 885. I pushed the limits of the ZOOM to its breaking point. If you are inclined to, on Facebook I have more photos from the show.

But look at that crowd. There is a fan base and it is willing to continue to support TNA. Now I don’t know if Paul Heyman will be the Messiah some make him out to be. Does he have the Midas touch to turn everything into Gold? I don’t know. But one thing is for sure here. What TNA is doing right now is not working. What TNA has been doing for the last eight damn years has not worked and it will continue not to work. TNA has the wrestlers with the talent to pull things off. TNA is like a gigantic ship that is loaded to the gills right now. But it has no one at the wheel and its just going in circles over and over and over. People in TNA who probably read this column know that is a fact.

Ah well we shall see what happens. There is a rumor floating around that Hulk Hogan is pushing for Abyss to win the TNA title at Victory Road so he can face him for it at Bound For Glory.

I don’t want to get all conspiratorial here; but the show was rumored to be in Charlotte and built around Flair suddenly gets moved to Tampa and Hogan is pushing for a title shot.

Well I’d probably order the PPV just to see it. There would be a lot of betting pools on how many bumps Hogan takes before his back finally breaks into a million pieces. Hogan doing a thumbtack bump is an amusing thought. Who would have ever guessed when Hogan was bullshitting about being up for the role of Randy The Ram that it would actually come true? Hogan’s back is seriously messed up and he has to be INSANE to think this would possibly work. Well we know he’s all ready insane, but there’s different levels of insanity and he’s going off the deep end if he thinks this is a good idea assuming the rumor is true.

But then again it wouldn’t surprise me if it were. I mean you really didn’t think Hogan was putting over Abyss with out thinking of himself in the long run did you? Hulk Hogan only puts someone over so long as it makes him look better in the long run. We shall see what happens. I really hope TNA doesn’t do something that stupid but knowing them will.

That would be a fun question to ask Paul Heyman. Say he does get an offer he cant refuse from TNA and he comes in just as Hogan is crowned champion. How in the hell does he fix that kind of mess?

In case you haven’t noticed, TNA has been using the likes of Tommy Dreamer, Raven, and Stevie Richards as part of some sort of angle where they just show up in the crowd and watch a match and then disappear. Apparently a few months ago TNA had some sort of focus group do market research and the one thing that came back in unison was people liked ECW.

Well no shit. Everyone loved ECW. But its 2010 and while we still love Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Stevie, and the others…I don’t want to see a rehash of a rehash of a rehashed angle.

See what people liked was the ECW show it self. Lots of wrestling and minimal bullshit. Anything that happened of importance happened inside the ring and not in some pre-taped sketch in the back. Hell I would take Mid 80’s Memphis Wrestling over ECW. It’s not that hard to figure out what works and what does not. It’s all about the build to the big match. You have to get us emotionally invested into wanting to see say Jay Lethal overcome weeks and weeks of punishment to get the big win and revenge over Fortune.

TNA would end up doing something that could last weeks in one or two shows and that is the problem.

ECW was old school in the sense it was all about the build to the big ECW Arena show. Sure there was more violence but there was plenty of old school stuff to tug on the old heartstrings. That is what TNA needs to do in a nutshell.

Abyss keeps referring to “THEY”. Well I hope “they” turn out to be the ECW guys and “they” end up beating the crap out of him. Abyss would have never been worth a damn in the real ECW. What he needs to do is just go to Japan or CZW all ready and win some deathmatch stuff. I’d rather see a Youtube clip of Abyss taking a swan dive into a pile of light tubes in some parking lot then it happening on Impact.

Moving along to the more ridiculous stuff in the news, this one really made me laugh when I read it. Read it yourselves and I’m sure you’ll have the same reaction.

The Wrestling Observer is reporting that Vince McMahon has banned the "knife edge" chop from use in WWE matches. The chop, which was made famous by Ric Flair, generally gets a "woo" reaction from the crowd after it's used by a wrestler, and Vince does not want the crowd woo'ing as it of course reminds them of Flair, who works for TNA right now. It should be noted that straight down chops like the ones used by The Great Khali and Big Show are still being allowed as they don't draw a "woo" reaction from the fans.

Vince McMahon might be the best promoter in all of wrestling, but he really is a schmuck sometimes and this is one of those times. What is next? Do you ban punches because it might remind someone of Hogan or someone else who’s on the McMahon shitlist? Though apparently this rule has been in place for a while now but only Flair and Shawn Michaels were allowed to do them.

There is a solution though for this. I suggest everyone who is reading this column who is going to some sort of WWE event in the future, anytime Show or anyone else does an open hand slap you have to do a WOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Hell you should just do it at random times to really drive them nuts. It’s always fun to screw with the audio and make them dump out entire sections of the crowd if they aren’t reacting the way they want to.

The Nexus Angle continues to be the best thing the WWE has going right now even though it almost got cut off at the knees last week when Wade Barrett had a visa issue to be worked out. The Nexus rookies ended up beating up Arn Anderson, Dean Malenko, Jerry Lawler, Michael Hayes, Mike Rotunda, and Ricky Steamboat in an awesome angle. Steamboat is in the hospital for real due to a broken blood vessel in his brain (not an aneurism as initially feared).

Right now they are playing it as the heels of RAW are ganging up on the good guys who are trying to take out the Nexus. Arn Anderson did a rambling but still damn good promo on RAW last night where he told Sheamus that he’s basically gonna get his ass kicked by them in the end. I know people complain about old guys who hang around way past their prime (cough Hogan cough) but you know what, I wanted to see The Nexus take on some of the Legends in a street fight. During RAW last week when all the legends formed a circle and rolled up their sleeves you knew that it was going down. Who wouldn’t love to see Arn get some revenge with a tire iron along with Barry, Mike, Sgt Slaughter, and other old timers? Dust off Tony Garera and whatever corner he’s been hiding in and have him be part of it. A good old fashion eight-man tag would be awesome.

See now I would want to see the legends come out of retirement for a shot at revenge at the young punks. Nexus in a no holds barred fight against the legends would do way more for the angle then lame talking segments.

The WWE got lucky at the end of RAW when John Cena beat the living shit out of Black Cena Darren Young. That was the first time in years that John Cena didn’t look lame to all the men in the crowd. Usually I laugh at Cena when he’s doing his “I’m quiet so it means I’m serious” then “GRRRRR I’M ANGRY” schitck, but last night it worked big time. I am looking forward to see what happened next as Cena will be in a Overcoming The Odds 7 (well I guess 6 now) on 1 match next week. There really is so much that still can be done with this but I fear they are barely scratching the surface on purpose. I say go all out and bring back the unpredictability factor to RAW. That was the one good thing about the Attitude era. You didn’t know what would happen next. At any given moment all hell could break loose. The Nexus angle is bringing that back. Someone being left in a pool of blood couldn’t hurt either.

There is just one small thing that I don’t like about The Nexus. Can we please have them wear some clothes? They aren’t wrestling so why are they in their full gear? Have them all dress up in matches black jeans and shirts with giant N’s on them. It just looks weird when these guys who up all dressed to wrestle even though we know they aren’t going to. Just put some damn pants on them…please.

Other then that the only thing of interest over the last few days was last week The Undertaker made it official with his Old Lady Michelle McCool. She officially became the new Mrs. Undertaker and we can all expect her to run the WWE Women’s division with an iron fist as long as she is. We used to joke that Triple H and Stephanie’s daughter Aurora would someday break Moolah’s record as longest reigning Women’s Champion. Well it looks like she has some competition now. Though with RAW having a Divas title and Smackdown having a Women’s championship in theory both of them could have record breaking runs.

I can’t hate on McCool though. Right now the FLAWLESS LayCool team is tremendous on Smackdown. People hate Layla but she really has improved so much since just being a diva search winner. I look forward to the day when they break up because McCool wants her belt back. That will be a fun feud even though we know who will win in the end.

On that note I am done for this week. It’s way too hot here to continue. I mean I could, but right now I think I’ve covered all the bases for this week. It will be interesting to see how many buys Lesnar’s fight did and how many combined WWE PPV numbers it equals.

Well until next time keep cool and remember someone has to give you this information and it DAMN well has got to be me.

You can click here to send me any and all feedback at phantomlordnyc@yahoo.com or leave me some feedback on my Facebook page under my given name http://www.facebook.com/josephrd

The Rant Of The Week: Who's The Narc?

Greetings conversationalists all across the fruited plain, it is I your personal Harvester of Sorrow the one and only Phantom Lord and this is the Rant of The Week. As always I am coming to you from the rotten apple that is Brooklyn, New York and summer is almost upon us. Well for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. To all my readers in all parts south, I hope you have an enjoyable winter. But yes it is approaching summer and things are heating up in the world of wrestling. For years the WWE has been phoning it in and finally out of the blue when no one is really paying attention they do something that still has people saying, “Damn did you see what happened on RAW” almost five days later.

Do you have any idea how long it’s been since they’ve done something like that? It’s been a REALLY long time. It’s been so long that I almost forgot what it was like for something this amazing to happen.

But alas things might be off the track all ready as we have some breaking news.

FIRE UP THE DRUDGE SIREN!!!



WWE has come to terms on the release of NXT first season rookie Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) as of today June 11, 2010. We wish Daniel Bryan the best in all future endeavors.
Credit to WWE.com



What? WHAT??? Oh it gets better folks because you know there’s something that will just make you want to punch a wall with this one.

Around the time that WWE announced it on their website last night, Danielson changed his Twitter username, dropped the WWE references on his page and wrote the following:

"Just changed my twitter name to Bryan Danielson. The winds of change are stirring."

So there was some hope this was all part of the nXt angle. I mean it would make sense for the WWE to fire on of the upstart rookies as punishment for beating the piss out of their biggest cash cow. But oh no…it’s never that simple with the WWE. Everything is done for a reason and if you heard in the middle of the night that is the sound of ultimate suffering. My heart made that sound when the six-fingered man killed my father. The entire Internet wrestling fan base makes it now.

Okay I had to throw in some Princess Bride there for the overdramatic but the point remains. Even in the middle of the night there were plenty of people collectively saying WHAT THE FUCK. Then we find out the what part and well if you are eating or drinking then I suggest you finish up and take a deep breath.

As noted before, the reason being told for Daniel Bryan's release is because of him choking Justin Roberts with his own tie during the NXT invasion angle on RAW.

Word is that someone very important complained to WWE officials about the angle with the idea that kids who were watching may think it's fun to choke people with their ties. It's unknown who actually complained but it had to be someone with a lot of power.

Bryan is being described as a scapegoat. WWE does want to bring him back to the roster once the whole thing blows over.
Credit to www.f4wonline.com

Excuse me for just a moment…



Okay who’s the narc? I mean seriously who ever complained about this should be smacked. There’s no easy way to put it here. Kids might think it’s fun to choke someone with a tie??? Are you fucking kidding me? Kids do a lot of stupid stuff on their own and find numerous ways to hurt themselves and others. I’m pretty sure there have been cases of kids choking other kids before this and it’s safe bet there will be after this and Danielson choking Justin Roberts will have no baring on that what so ever.

Where was the outrage when Batista tried to run over John Cena with a car on PPV a month or so ago? Where was the outrage when a couple minutes later Cena threw Batista off the car and through the stage? This is the same company that has no problem with Triple H bashing people in the head with a sledgehammer and yet a fucking tie is cause for concern? Sheamus goes around bashing people with a pipe for God’s sake. Maybe the WWE is screwing with the Internet here. I hope that’s the case but either way I can feel my blood pressure rising and it’s a been a really long time since anything the WWE has done has gotten me fired up. Nah they’re not screwing with us here. If they were screwing with us then axed the whole first season cast of nXt. What happened here is some corporate pussy just potentially ruined the greatest angle of the last decade.

Oh you might think I am jumping the gun here and pushing the panic button a little to early here? This is the WWE after all. Do we remember what happened with Muhammad Hassan because of the unfortunate timing of the attack on The Undertaker? UPN panicked and refused to air anything with him on Smackdown and because of that the WWE in turn panicked and they “killed” off Hassan a couple weeks later at The Great American Bash.

WWE's creative team has been re-writing the RAW script this weekend. Not only have they been re-doing the NXT angle but other things are being changed as well for this week's show.
Credit to www.f4wonline.com

That right there is your reason for panic. Anytime the WWE re-writes anything on short notice it is never good. The fact they are changing the nXt angle is enough for me to be concerned. I am willing to see how this goes because Wade Barrett is so awesome so I think what ever change happens he can make it work (at least until SuperCena destroys them all). But I have no faith in the WWE when they are in panic mode. RAW tonight shall be interesting to see what happens. They all ready had the season 2 pro’s beat up all the rookies so they don’t get any ideas on nXt.

Well they had a big old brawl on RAW and Sheamus ended up getting involved with his little steel pipe. Later in the show the nXt rookies grabbed Bret Hart and roughed him up and threw him in the back of a limo and it pinballed around the parking lot crashing into cars.

Okay so we are clear here. Vehicular assault/hit and run’s are fine. Sheamus hitting people with a little pipe is fine. But Danielson making the mistake of choking someone with a tie isn’t.

My God you people have some messed up priorities at Titan Tower.

The angle continues on Sunday as Bret Hart fired Wade Barrett so all the nXt rookies want contracts and if they don’t get them then there will be more trouble.

I really hope they come up with something that doesn’t look like a joke this Sunday.

Moving on to season 2 of NXT, aside from Joe Henning having the worst name ever and Husky Harris (Windham Rotunda) being my new favorite drunken redneck after Trevor Murdoch, it’s going to be an interesting one. So far a personal favorite of mine is Percy Watson. You just can’t hate him no matter how hard you try. He is the ying to Black Cena’s yang as they are supposed to be a party boy tag team. Now Percy I can buy as a party boy (in the Steve Urkel sense). Darren Young not so much. But man if they play their cards right he is going to be the biggest star of the new decade. If you are going to cater to children then fine. Here you have a guy that kids would love to get behind. If you think the beating Cena got was bad with kids crying, it would be nothing compared to the reaction kids will have when Percy gets beat down.

Now maybe I am getting my hopes up, but I like Percy all ready. How can you hate a guy who wrestles with Urkel glasses? I know I can’t and I’m pretty sure there are many of you who can’t either.

After watching nXt last night it’s pretty clear the WWE still has no direction for the show. They want it to be “reality based” but Striker keeps everyone on a short leash when everyone is jawboning at each other. There is some hope with Kaval a.k.a. Low Ki on the roster for this season. The paring of him and Laycool is a very amusing one as Layla and Old Lady McCool treat Kaval as a lil puppy who is oh so cute. A lot of people were angry that the WWE would do such a thing, but you have to remember people with a juvenile sense of humor run the WWE. Personally I hope there is at least one video of Laycool shopping and Kaval having to carry all the bags. It’s all about paying your dues in the WWE…lol.

Speaking of Laycool, as much as I can’t stand The Undertaker’s Old Lady and how she runs the women’s division on Smackdown…even I can’t deny how great she and Layla are together. It was fairly obvious they paired them up to be the WWE’s version of The Beautiful People and it’s worked to perfection.

The Wrestling Observer is reporting that WWE creative is very happy with team "Lay-Cool" which consists of Layla El and Michelle McCool. It's being said that a few people within WWE were upset at the fact that TNA was able to create The Beautiful People and make WWE's women's division look weak in comparison. However, that attitude has apparently changed as the feeling now is the creation of Lay-Cool is now better and more popular than The Beautiful People are in TNA.
Credit to www.f4wonline.com

Well the WWE must feel vindicated now considering how TNA treats the Knockouts absolutely horrible. The WWE has never been serious about pushing the women since they know at best the Diva’s are a piss break/beer run at most shows. But TNA knows damn well that the Knockouts are the only proven draws they have and they do everything to short change them and screw them over at every turn. Wrestling is a man’s sport and profession. So obviously if some women are on a show and they out work and out draw the men…well odds are you’ll have some people in power not to happy about that. It’s amazing to think how much money TNA has blown over the years on “big name” stars yet when it comes to the stars they all ready have they are as cheap as it gets.

Several of the TNA Knockouts are currently angry over the money they are being paid to work. Most of them earn indy level salaries and are working for a national promotion on TV. Some of them are having to hold down day jobs in order to make ends meat. A number of them spoke up at the last set of tapings about this but there is no word yet on how it all came out. Christy Hemme who no longer wrestles and only does backstages interviews recently re-signed for around $150 K for five years. No other female in the company is making anything close to this and they are working matches on TV and house shows. Gail Kim was given a very low offer to re-sign when her deal was up and she jumped to WWE. If TNA doesn't start offering these women more money a number of them may jump ship.
Credit to Gerweck.net and I assume Wrestling Observer or PW Insider

TNA is very lucky they are nowhere near the company the WWE is. If they were they would be sued for gender discrimination. With travel expenses it is insane that TNA pays the Knockouts somewhere in the range of $250 a show. Scott Hall was allegedly getting $3,000 an appearance. I like Scott Hall and I hope he gets his shit together some day, but what does it say when basically he was getting paid what ten women in total would have in the same company.

This all goes back to Gail Kim and how TNA shortchanged her. She was by far one of the biggest draws they had and was putting on stellar matches with everyone. But when it came time for her contract to be renewed TNA played hardball and said it couldn’t match what the WWE offered. We know that’s bullshit plain and simple. I have no idea what Gail’s WWE salary is but if I had to guess it’s probably somewhere between $100-200K a year. Maybe more…maybe less but it has to be in that range. Gail was everything they look for in TNA (mainly she was in the WWE).

I’ve explained my theory on TNA’s inferiority complex. That’s why they try to get the WWE’s attention but the WWE ignores them at every turn. Gail Kim would still be the center of the Knockouts if they resigned her but now she’s playing second fiddle to Eve on RAW.

Tara was another high profile former WWE star that TNA signed for the Knockouts division and in my view she was a great wrestler to land as she had some of her best work in years in TNA. Sure they dicked her around with the title and other stupid stuff, but never the less she made it work and did a damn good job. But when it came time for her to resign TNA once again played the money card and said “we love your work but we just can’t afford you right now”.

Once again I say BULL SHIT. If they can afford to bring in big stars like RVD and Jeff Hardy then they can afford at the very least a minimal increase of money to the Knockouts.

Well with Tara gone (though she probably will be back soon since she’s too old for the WWE’s tastes) they had brought back Roxxi who was a proven fan favorite in TNA. People got behind her and she was one of the more popular Knockouts. After breaking her ankle on the decently rated New Years Knockout Eve show she recently came back and was feuding with Madison Rayne over the last couple of weeks. Then at the PPV last week they threw a curveball at her for no apparent reason.

I had heard earlier that there was a ton of backstage heat over a last minute angle change that involved Roxxi, so apparently she showed up and found out she was done with the company. Roxxi was in tears when it was over, but they cut away so fast to show a video for the next match that it didn't really mean anything on the show.
Credit to Dave Meltzer and www.f4wonline.com

How fucked up is that. I mean that is some cold-hearted stuff right there what they did to her. And in typical TNA fashion they have someone forced to retire and they skip to the back for something else.

April Hunter was also on that special and TNA had been trying to sign her to some sort of deal as well. April put out a blog on her decision to turn down TNA’s offer.


I think TNA is missing the boat on women’s wrestling and cruiserweights. This is the niche that founded them…what WWE has consistently left out. This is where they could make themselves stand out. I also think they’re missing the boat on Roxxi. She’s got a unique look and persona - it’s what endears her to fans. She’s not cookie cutter. She’s also one of the best (and safest) females I’ve ever been in a ring with. But most of all, she’s got a stellar work ethic. In a business where so many are content to get by with doing as little as possible, she’ll always give ‘er. I can’t say this about many I’ve crossed paths with in my eleven years in wrestling. I’m coming from a heritage of hard working immigrants, where work ethic means something and entitlement simply doesn’t exist. You earn what you get, and she has.

I am continually disappointed in TNA. They have all the tools, yet can’t figure out how to use them. Dropping the ball is the only thing they excel with.

As a fan, it’s frustrating. As a worker, it’s heartbreaking.

I reckon if Dixie Carter spent half as much time promoting as she does twittering, they might actually have some ratings.
Credit to AprilHunter.com & her newsletter

That last line there is what you call a BURN.

April is smarter then a lot of people will ever give her credit for. She saw the writing on the wall and said the hell with that. But she’s absolutely right in what she says. TNA is missing the boat on women’s wrestling and the X Division. The X Division is the reason why anyone gave this company a chance to begin with.

The X Division is the reason we sat through YEARS of bullshit with Jeff Jarrett where he booked himself over everyone. They are at least trying to build up a credible champion again in Douglas Williams (who’s heel act is great btw), but for the last couple of years the X Division has only been used for cannon fodder to pad the shows.

It’s funny how April called Dixie out on her tweeting since last week Dixie posted a bunch about a big surprise. Naturally people took this to mean that there would be another in a long line of surprises at Slammiversary. It turns out the only surprise of interest was Tommy Dreamer showing up during the Brother Ray/Jesse Neal match. He just appeared in the crowd and then made his way to the back and that distracted Ray long enough for Jesse to win.

I am a huge fan of Tommy Dreamer and I’m glad to see him in TNA. But all they are going to have him do is rehash ECW stuff. Honestly Tommy has a great mind for wrestling and a guy like him should be on the “creative” team. TNA needs a new point of view and Tommy would be a welcome change of pace from what they have now. I’m holding back my full opinions on Tommy since more happens with him and a couple of other former ECW guys on this and next week’s Impact. I’m trying to avoid spoilers for those of you who don’t read them. But lets just say I would take Tommy and this other guy in a position of power booking over the entire TNA creative team any day of the week.

Of course there are plenty of people who are not happy with this. I can see why they are. But you know what I’ll take this over the giant Emo semi-retarded Evad Abyss Sullivan. It could be worse though. Hulk Hogan could be TNA World Champion right now. If he wasn’t so crippled you know it would have happened by now. I’ll have more on Tommy Dreamer and him in TNA as it airs. You know TNA could avoid this problem if they ran live every Thursday night. Don’t have to be spoiled with spoilers and dare I say maybe people would tune in instead of just reading the spoilers and saying meh.

In other news, Scott Hall was let go from TNA so maybe now that they aren’t spending $3 grand on him maybe they can funnel some of that money to the Knockouts. I seriously hope that Scott Hall gets his life together. If he continues to be the legendary drunk that he is it’s only a matter of time before we see a headline like “Scott Hall in need of liver transplant” or “Scott Hall dead from liver failure”. That’s assuming he doesn’t end up like Bon Scott, John Bonham, Keith Moon and so many others who drank themselves to death. It really is sad to see Scott Hall because he should have been a World Champion especially during his run in WCW in the late 90’s. Hell he still has it in him to be a world champion and a top guy in a company. But I suspect this was his last chance in a major company.

On a final note there’s some sort of PPV this weekend from the WWE. They call it Fatal 4 Way where all the big championship matches are Fatal Four Way’s. Yeah that’s really worth the $44.95 right there. Just another PPV in a line of cookie cutter shows that they think branding with special gimmicks is what will draw. It’s here in New York at the Nassau Mausoleum. If the Barclay’s Center is ever built here in Brooklyn people will never have to trek out to Long Island and to that eyesore of an arena. Cena and Swagger will probably retain. Other then that I don’t know what’s on the card and I don’t really care and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

So on that note that is all for this week. As always take care and remember someone has to give you this information and it DAMN well has got to be me.
You can click here to send me any and all feedback at phantomlordnyc@yahoo.com or leave me some feedback on my Facebook page under my given name http://www.facebook.com/josephrd