2008 Running Pro Wrestling Thread

Agree on the Flair moment complaint -- but that ramp was SO long to the ring!

Mark Henry? Who said anything about him being the favorite? I thought Stevie Richards or Colin Delaney given how they've had a mini-push would be candidates (Delaney wasn't in the match at all as it turned out and Richards was a late add, but wasn't a factor after all). Kane winning the battle royal wasn't a surprise, but a squash of Chavo was.

MVP's chances ended as soon as Hardy appeared. That feud for the U.S. belt should be a top match at Backlash IMO. Punk was a surprise, but I hope that since he beat Jericho at the end that Punk can turn heel now.

 

I am hoping that Paul Boesch will get inducted in next year's HOF. Few indy promoters were as big as he was when he had Houston as one of the hotbeds of wrestling for more than three decades. Houston Wrestling was one of the all-time great TV shows, and the list of performers who got their break in H-Town is a long and proud list, even if it includes Hacksaw Duggan.

Note on Duggan: I did a story on him about four years ago and found him to be a very engaging man and one of the few who wisely invested his money so he wouldn't end up like Tony Atlas, who (at the time) was apparently homeless in Boston. The one thing he told me -- "I'd never go back to WWE because I trust Vince McMahon as far as I can lift him" -- sounds pretty hollow now. Still, I had about an hour or so with him, and some of the stories he told about the industry were gold.

 

Duggan is also a cancer survivor and I wonder if there was any help from WWE that influenced his decision to return.

 

I figured Henry being the favorite because they were pushing him so hard (no pun intended).

Agree that the MVP-Hardy feud was going well, but it could have elevated the feud had they been feuding over the MITB instead of the almost forgotten U.S. title.

 

Ditto on the Paul Boesch induction. God knows, if you took a list of all-time pro wrestling greats that toured through the dank, dungy Sam Houston Coliseum on Friday nights in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s ... it would be a who's-who of the industry/sports entertainment. I don't have cable TV, but if anyone has WWE TV and gets a chance to see old-school matches from Houston, then it was something special.

Oh yeah ... Mark Calloway (The Undertaker) should go HOF in Houston next year.

 

I'll actually watch Raw tonight. Flair's expected to be feted by an all-star cast, including several Four Horsemen alumni. That explains why there wasn't an on-camera moment for Flair last night. It's a great ratings grab for sure. A markout moment for sure. The only thing to consider is if it's done without incident.

 

I know one former Horseman who won't be there.

Ole Anderson.

VKM has had heat with him since the Brisco Brothers sold their stake in Georgia Championship Wrestling to Vinnie. Ole hates McMahon's guts and the feeling is probably mutual.

Hope to see Tully there. How about Baby Doll?

 

Ooh, would there be riots in Houston if that happened.

'Taker should hold the belt for a month or so, drop it to get some fresh blood (MVP? Punk?) in the world title scene, then start up a feud to a monster non-title match at next year's WM.

Induct him in the HOF next year, don't induct him in the HOF next year. That doesn't matter. But the logical choice, if WM25 is indeed UT's last, is to have him leave with the undefeated run intact to a gigantic hometown ovation. He's earned that much.

 

Barry Windham, Arn Anderson and Dean Malenko are former Horsemen on the WWE payroll right now. Ricky Steamboat and Dusty Rhodes are also on the payroll. Tully Blanchard and J.J. Dillon should also be in attendance. Add in Evolution (HHH, Orton and Batista) and guys like HBK, Carlito and perhaps even Austin (?), Piper (?), Greg Valentine (?) and too many others to mention and it figures to be a big deal.

Would definitely be interesting if Ole shows up, but yeah, i don't expect it at all. Same goes for Horsemen like Paul Roma, Lex Luger and Sid Vicious. Sting is another obvious no-show. Randy Savage would be an interesting sight to see, too, since he and Flair feuded with the late Miss Elizabeth as the prize. Don't expect Eric Bischoff to be anywhere near the arena, either. As for the women, that's a good question as to whether or not they'd have anyone there.

 

The Charlotte Observer has a photo slide show tribute of the city's first " major sports" franchise (Dale Earnhardt Sr. being the second). Hopefully they can dig up some photos from his earlier days when I pulled for him to win the Mid-Atlantic Championship.

http://www.charlotte.com/multimedia/galleries/gallery/559560.html

 

I wish they had some of his older photos. I think the oldest they have is from 1996...

 

Cryme Tyme!!